《Wolf of the Blood Moon: A Blood Magic》


 Book 1: Chapter 1: A Visit Gone Wrong

    Book 1: Chapter 1: A Visit Gone Wrong


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    The city is full of life today, just like it apparently always is in a Tier 1 city such as this.


    A beautiful full moon hanging high in the sky, just <em>towering </em>over the massive skyscrapers that are blocking my view of the rest of the city, despite me already being nearly thirty floors up above the ground. What must be hundreds of magi-tech cars quickly flying through the air-streets between each building, not even mentioning the various magic-less cars driving by on the ground belonging mostly to city visitors. Like me. And dare I mention the lovely shimmer radiating off of each skyscrapers outside windows and walls, acting as a shield in case of a Demonic Assault urring in the capital?


    So much beauty. So much awe.


    And yet


    Are you listening to me? thedy standing next to thefortable chair Im sitting on in the middle of the room asks in a rather disgruntled tone. And I so want to respond with no, not really. But I dont. Because that wont help my situation in the slightest.


    Yes, I answer while turning my gaze away from therge window to see thedy in all her receptionist glory standing next to me. Shes wearing rtively normal business attire, with a dress shirt and a id skirt, and her hair done up in a braid running down one of her shoulders.


    I cant help but look up from my seat at her thanks to her annoying high heels. Something no one will ever find me wearing.


    Just the thought of it gives me shivers.


    You can either sit there and wait for four more hours for the CEO toe back and kick you out, or you can leave now, she says, her voice rtively high pitch as she adjusts her sses with a sneer sent my way.


    I let out a sigh. One that seems to irritate her even further somehow before I turn my back to her to face the window where I see my own reflection in the mirrorlike surface. In it, Im wearing my favorite red and ck jacket over a random ck shirt that I grabbed from my closet. One with the logo of my old high school on the chest. And to top it off, a pair of ck pants and ck boots.


    A rather nice color scheme if I do say so myself. It even matches my ck hair and incredibly grey eyes!


    Ive already said this, but Im here because- I begin, only for the rudedy to cut me off.


    Yes, youve said it before. She says with a re that I can see reflected in the window. Youre here because you <em>believe </em>that your old orphanage director- she pauses here to scoff -was the <em>CEO </em>of Silver Works. She scoffs again as if once wasnt enough. Ridiculous.


    Yeah, this isnt getting very far. But what can I do?


    It does sound rather oundish when you think about it, even if it <em>is </em>the truth. Not that I know why he was working as an orphanage director despite being the CEO of one of the richestpanies in the world.


    Nothing I can do but ignore thedy though, since she cant legally call the cops or the security officers in this building unless Im being an actual problem for their office. And since they cant get in touch with Allen until he is done with his meeting, and I proved in some ways that Im at least connected to him thanks to that little badge he gave me, I can sit here for as long as I want.


    But I do wish he would get here sooner, because thisdy is annoying. Or at least let someone else get here to take her attention away from me.


    As if on cue, the phone over at her desk rings, saving me from the hell of sitting here with her constant discriminatory nagging.


    Its not my fault Im an orphan from a Tier 3 city. So please take that nasty face youre making at me and shove it in a pot somewhere.


    Why a pot? Not sure.


    Why not?


    Im not done with you! she says, still making that face before turning around and walking back across the empty reception room, past the many empty chairs towards her own desk where she sits down and grabs the phone. Hello? Youve reached the Silver Works upper reception. How may I help you?


    I try really hard not to scoff at the obvious difference in treatment.


    It was like a switch flipped in her head the moment I mentioned orphan and Tier 3. In fact, just hearing the term orphan tends to make people tense up, mostly out of fear that the orphan may be a changeling in disguise  something that started over one hundred and fifty years ago. Kind of sad, but not something I havent grown at least a little bit used to now. After all, the number of times Ive been turned away from the universities here in the capital city of the Terran Republic, Terra, is way too many to count. Which is surprising, considering that I didnt even realize they had that many universities to begin with.


    Then again, they have a lot of stuff in a Tier 1 city that a Tier 3 doesnt have.


    Flying cars for example.


    I let out another sigh while focusing on the peace and not so quiet outside of the building. At the many people going about their day. The flying cars, the shields, everything else that this city has that we didnt have back home.


    All of it makes it just how clear the world is.


    In fact, if I had to describe the world in some way, then Id say it were like a video game. One with handicaps depending on where youre born, rules set in ce only for those who dont have the strength or backing to ignore them, and no clear cut way towards victory. Just one endless battle of wits, blood, luck, and a touch more blood in the case of Demonic Assaults that everyone has to navigate through every day of their lives.


    And one where certain people-


    I nce at the receptionistdy happily speaking away with too many titudes to count towards whoever it is on the other side of the phone.


    -have a fun little handicap boosting them far above others even at the start of the game.


    I lean back in my chair while closing my eyes and facing forwards again.


    Just the idea of moving up in the world to a Tier 1 city, where I can live a much better life without others bothering me. Its all I really want.


    But I only have a few more months left to shoot for that goal. Just a few months. And then its to a Tier 2 city I go instead.


    Damnit.


    What the h-


    My thoughts are interrupted by the feeling of my phone  recently purchased  buzzing in my jacket pocket, making me practically jump out of my skin from surprise. I quickly reach into my pocket while opening my eyes, only to find a message from Belle, my best friend. Otherwise known as Arabellia Silvester. The CEO of this verypany, Allen Silvesters daughter.


    [Did you find dad yet?]


    Following the message is some sort of emoji with a tanuki holding a sign with a question mark. Where she managed to find an emoji like that is beyond me, but I do have to admit that it is a little cute.


    [No. Apparently hes in a business meeting right now in a different building, so Im left listening to the nagging of a receptionist.]


    Her response follows incredibly fast, making me wonder just what shes doing right now.


    [Aww, just hold tight until he gets back, champ! And dont get yourself into trouble!]


    I blink once, then twice at the text before narrowing my eyes.


    Now why on earth would I get myself in trouble? Im perfectly well behaved.


    [You know very well that Im not the one who gets into trouble all the time. That would be Arthur, your little sweetheart.]


    I respond with a smirk.


    Shes had a crush on Arthur  our other best friend, and another orphan from the same orphanage I stayed at  for who knows how long. Even if neither of them have said anything about it to each other. So it certainly makes for fun teasing.


    Before she can respond, I send another message as if as an afterthought.


    [Also, stop treating me like a child just because youre three inches taller than me.]


    I nod my head to myself, satisfied with my work, only for my mouth to drop open when she responds back to me.


    [Im four inches taller, and you know it. So you can go ahead and stop with your little teasing, because Arthur and I are already a thing!]


    Theyre what?! How! When?!


    I begin to type in response, ready to barrage both her and Arthurs phones with texts, only for a loud cracking sound to echo throughout the city, following which a shattering sound akin to sses from the skies. When I look out the window, I find myself staring at a blood red moon, with various cracks in space high above the skyscrapers.


    A loud rm begins ring throughout the building, following which the power to the lights shuts off, leaving us in the dark with the only light being that of the emergency lights and the red light of the blood moon.


    Nonono no no noooooooo!!! I faintly hear the receptionist screaming while dropping the phone and seemingly having a full blown panic attack. This snaps me out of the daze I had entered the moment I saw the blood moon.


    I immediately get up from the chair, feeling slightly dizzy from getting up so quickly after being seated for a long time. Or at least, thats what Im guessing it is. Then I rush over to thedy, where I try to shake her as I ask, Do you know where the closest bunker is?


    But shes too deep in her panic attack to notice me. All she manages to do is mutter barely audible words, most of which make very little sense in the panic.


    So I p her in the face, snapping her out of it before shouting, Do you know where the bunker is!?!


    That gets her attention, and she finally blinks, sanity returning to her, followed closely by anger  likely at me pping her. But fortunately, she has enough sense to drop it and get up, albeit shakily as she answers my question, T-theres one on the other side of the f-floor.


    I nod my head in appreciation before standing up straight again, feeling the dizziness growing stronger and stronger in the process.


    Strange. Why isnt it going away? Im pretty sure Ive been standing for long enough now


    Deciding that it doesnt matter right now, I quickly focus on the receptionist who is still frowning at me.


    Are you just going to stand there and frown at me? I ask her rather cynically with a frown of my own, snapping her out of it as she turns away and unlocks a door that was behind her desk and leads me through it to a point where the glowing red arrows are. I dont have to ask where theyre pointing, considering all of the drills weve had back in high school in case a Fracture ever urred there. Which it didnt.


    I nce down at my phone as were walking, noting that my inte connection has been severed before I look up again and massage my temples.


    Just whats going on?


    The original bout of dizziness is still growing stronger, but with a headache mixed in with it now.


    At some point we begin running down the halls, mostly because of thedy rushing off after a loud crash sounds from somewhere nearby. Then, after a few minutes of running, I begin to hear a strange sound. Almost like a bug skittering across the ground.


    Miss, do you he- I begin to ask her, only to cut off as arge, one meter long spider suddenly bursts through a door, smashing it in the process beforending on thedy, who is now screaming her head off. Holy shit.


    Finding that the demon  who Im assuming is probably a Spawn, the weakest amongst all of the demons  has already pierced its incisors into thedys face, killing her and cutting off her pained screams, I perform an about-face and run away as fast as my legs can carry me. But in the process of running so quickly, I only find that my headache and dizziness is growing worse. And to make matters worse, my eyes and the top of my head are beginning to hurt as well.


    Shit shit shit, what the ever fliiipping hell is going on!!!!


    I nce back to find the original demon that had appeared snacking on the receptionists body while two more of them make their way out of the door before noticing me.


    And it just gets worse.

 Book 1: Chapter 2: The Contract

    Book 1: Chapter 2: The Contract


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    The instant I meet the terrible gazes of the eight legged, eight eyed, ck creatures, I speed up my running as fast as possible. Doors fly by me at a rapid pace as I ignore the arrows pointing me in the opposite direction to get as far away from those spiders  who I can hear following me  as possible. Eventually I make it to a dead end, so I choose a random door and enter through it, hoping against hope that I didnt choose incorrectly.


    What I find on the other side of the door is a rathervishly decorated office. It has arge desk made of wood in the back, with twofortable chairs facing each other in front of it, and an office chair behind it. One that looks morefortable than the chairs I have at my own apartment.


    I carefully walk further into the room, onto the massive carpetid out across most of the floor that I bet is a huge pain to vacuum before stumbling forward and catching myself on the table standing between the two chairs.


    Seriously, whats wrong with me?


    Out of nowhere, my vision begins to blur, only for everything to gain a red tint and then go back to normal. To get a red tint, and then go back to normal again. Over and over again as the pain in my head gets worse and worse, both around my eyes, and behind them.


    I hear a growling sound, making me turn to the door, only to remember that the demons were spider subspecies Spawn if I had to guess. Not anything that could or should be able to growl.


    If thats the case, then where did that sounde from?


    The alternation of my vision repeats over and over again until I lose my strength and fall to the ground. I hear the sounds of spiderlike footsteps skittering into the room, only for the red tint in my eyes to suddenly sh really strongly, to the point that I feel like I see a bit of red light reflecting off of the floor.


    Then the spiders make a panicked sounding hissing noise and rush out of the room.


    Before I can so much as question their actions, I hear a masculine yet robotic sounding voice resonate in my ears.


    <strong>Curious.</strong>


    I barely manage to turn my head in the direction of the voice despite all of the pain that has now spread throughout my entire body instead of just my head, only to find some sort of what? No, seriously. What?


    Some sort of tanuki is just sitting in the air, floating in ce. And-


    <strong>Very curious.</strong>


    -somehow talking to me?


    I blink in surprise, somehow forgetting about the pain Im in for just a single second. Just one.


    Is a tanuki calling me strange?


    <strong>Yes. I am. But Im not a tanuki. Im a fae.</strong>


    Oh. Okay. Sorry about that wait, what?


    <strong>Your apology is epted, mortal. The finding of a half demon is more than worth the trouble.</strong>


    I groan as the pain grows even worse somehow, shaking me out of my shocked stupor.


    <strong>Your demon half has been awakened and is attempting to swallow your human half.</strong>


    The pain may be incredibly severe, but it doesnt stop the creatures words from registering in my mind.


    Half demon?


    <strong>If this continues as is, you will die.</strong>


    I feel tears begin to build up in my eyes as the pain continues to grow, only to suddenly vanish again a secondter leaving me to suck in a violent gasp of air before flopping on the ground in exhaustion.


    What just happened?!


    <strong>I have determined that a conversation will not be fruitful while you are feeling such pain. Therefore, I have numbed your nerves for the duration of our talk.</strong>


    I blink in surprise. It did what?


    Wait a second, never mind that. What is this tanu- err, fae, and how can it read my mind?!


    The creature in question floats down to rest right on my chest as he  Im assuming its a he, considering its voice  says, <strong>I am of the fae, or as the non-contracted call us, a spirit. And I am here at the benevolence of his majesty to grant you a contract. You, the sole half demon to have ever been born.</strong>


    My eyes shoot open in shock at that.


    Im a half demon? How is that hows that possible?


    <strong>A demon and a human being-</strong>


    Wait, wait, wait! I dont mean that! I mean why did it happen? Why would a human and a demon you know!


    <strong>Youre asking why your mother and your father would get together instead of fight each other?</strong>


    I nod my head repeatedly.


    The fae  not tanuki  doesnt say anything for who knows how long. So I try to move my body, only to find that I have a lot of difficulty doing so.


    <strong>The answer to your question is unknown. And I would suggest not moving, else youll speed up your death.</strong>


    My mouth drops open for a second before closing again.


    Right. All he said was that he numbed my nerves somehow. Not that he fixed me.


    How is it possible for a human and a-


    <strong>Unless you would like to die in thirty five seconds, then I would advise you stop asking questions and form a contract with me.</strong>


    Oh.


    A vague feeling of fear sweeps through me at the thought of how close I am to death, but I sweep it away with a deep breath that likely doesnt help anything.


    How do we form a contract?


    <strong>Simply share our blood with each other.</strong>


    I blink in surprise.


    <strong>Do you agree to form a contract with me? To share a small portion of the life force you drain from any demons and humans you kill throughout your life?</strong>


    Life force?


    Several seconds pass in silence as I stew over that thought. But after a little bit, the fae reminds me of the remaining time left.


    <strong>Twenty seconds.</strong>


    And I make a decision. Right here and now.


    Whatever will happen after this, I dont know. But I want to be one of those yers on the board game of life who have the power to be free. The power to make change. Or put simply, who have power.


    So yes. I agree to this contract.


    <strong>Very well. So shall it be done.</strong>


    The tanuki raises its paw and chomps on it before lowering itself to my face and dripping its blood into my mouth. And as soon as the blood touches my tongue, I feel my eyes widening in shock as a strange yet not unpleasant feeling spreads through me, despite my nerves apparently being numbed.


    It then scratches at my face, drawing only a tiny amount of blood that it quickly brings to its own mouth and swallows.


    My eyes widen even further as I stare agape at what I know to be one of those System Notices that the Guardians always talk about on the news. And the only thing thates to mind at the sight of it is that it really does look like a video game.


    <strong>System Initialization in progress</strong>


    <strong>Please wait</strong>


    <strong>You are now awakening to the System. This process will stop your demon genes from obliterating your human side for the time being.</strong>


    I stare at the notification for who knows how long, a feeling of hope spreading through my still numbed chest, only for me to blink in surprise as the faes words register in my mind.


    For the time being? Actually, why are you helping me anyways? Arent the fae supposed to be helping humanity against demons? So why are you helping a half demon in the first ce?


    I dont really want to look a gift tanuki in the mouth, but it just doesnt make sense. And that doesnt sit well with me.


    The spirits, or ording to this one the fae  from what Ive learned back in school  are mystical beings thate from who knows where to help humanity in its time of need against the demons. They first appeared about two centuries ago, only a few years after the first Demonic Assault, and have been contracting with Guardians, giving them ess to the System ever since. And they only ever appear in the middle of a Fracture  an enclosed area being assaulted by demons during a Demonic Assault like the one Im in now  to offer a contract to one of the humans stuck inside of the Fracture.


    The fae just stares at me for a few seconds before snapping its little tanuki ws in a ridiculous disy that immediately has me regretting questioning it as the pain returns to me.


    <strong>I will tolerate your insolence this time because of how unique you are. But you are not to question us ever again. Do you understand me, mortal?</strong>


    I hurriedly nod my head in agreement.


    No questioning the fae, and especially no angering it. Got it.


    The fae snaps its ws again  which I still question if thats even possible in a tanuki form  before answering my question despite its rather arroga- err, benevolent disy.


    <strong>His majesty, King Oberon, Ruler of all of the Fae, believes that there must only be one sapient mortal race and has therefore ordered all fae to assist both sides of the war in forming contracts, answering limited questions, and granting their contracted initialization into the System.</strong>


    My mouth drops open.


    Theyre helping the demons too?

 Book 1: Chapter 3: A Change and a Rush

    Book 1: Chapter 3: A Change and a Rush


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    Demons. The enemy of humanity. The harbingers of the apocalypse, and enders of the old world.


    <strong>And your kin.</strong>


    The faes words strike something in me, making my mouth part in silent shock as the realization fully hits me. That Im technically <em>part </em>of those harbingers. Those monstrous creatures.


    What does that mean for me? Am I still a human? Can I still exist on earth? Whatll happen if the demon genes fully obliterates my human genes? Will I die?


    The fae seems to answer myst couple questions first with a rather shocking answer, <strong>You will not die. With the System in ce, should your human genes be fully obliterated by the demon genes, you will simply be a full blooded demon instead. However, there are ways to stop your human genes from being obliterated.</strong>


    I let out a sigh of relief, not really sure what I was expecting to hear. The fact that death isnt in that sentence is a huge relief. But bing a full demon?


    That


    How do I stop my human genes from being obliterated? And is there a way to obliterate my demon genes instead?


    The fae whose name I still do not know despite having a contract with him waits for a second before asking, <strong>Girl, do you not wish power? To have the ability to rule?</strong>


    The question surprises me, and honestly, if he hadnt said it himself, then I probably wouldnt have thought about it.


    I want the power to do what <em>I </em>want to do. To not be herded around like cattle by those Guardians and other wealthy people at the top of the human food chain.


    <strong>Your demon blood is particrly pure to an incredible degree. With it, you may someday surpass the strongest of humans, even in this <em>Tier 1 City </em>of yours, </strong>the fae responds to my thoughts as if some sort of devil floating over my shoulder, whispering temptations to me.


    And for once, I might just agree. I never went with what others told me before.


    When everyone told me to give up on advancing to a higher education because of my status as an orphan, I proved them wrong and became the top scoring student in our high school. When the Board of Education tried offering me a half paid schrship to Rhettford University in the Tier 2 city of Rhettford, I managed to negotiate it  with Allens help  to be a chance at joining a Tier 1 university in the capital of the Terran Republic, despite myck of sess in that particr department.


    But now


    I feel heat begin to build up all over my body, with it being particrly strong around my eyes, the top of my head, my hands and feet, and my chest. But I ignore it as a burning desire to prove <em>everyone </em>that has ever mocked me and the other orphans wrong grows stronger and stronger in my head.


    <strong>Very good. This may just be the most fun Ive had in decades.</strong>


    Through the haze of warmth that Im feeling, and through my current feelings, I hear the slightest hint of emotion in the faes usually robotic tone of voice. And that has me smirking.


    <strong>The best way for you to survive is to remain a half demon. And to do so, you must hunt. Whether human or demon, you must hunt. You must build up your lifeforce to a point where your genes will reach stability with themselves. Then your path will be set, young mortal girl.</strong>


    The faesst words in that sentence feel almost as if its mocking me, what with how he paused for a split second between each of thest three words. But at the same time, I remember hearing in school that the spirits cannot lie.


    I narrow my eyes at the creature as the heat reaches a fever pitch throughout my body.


    What is your name, fae?


    The fae-professed-tanuki stares at me for several seconds without saying a word before it eventually answers me in a lower pitched tone than normal.


    <strong>Tarankar Floorid Del Vaschmir Detra. As my contracted partner, our lives are now linked, and you deserve to know of my name.</strong>


    The smirk on my face grows even wider.


    I open my mouth, only to quickly tilt my head when I cough out blood onto the carpet before responding in kind, out loud this time, I am Scarlet Asger.


    This fae is a tricky one. I better keep an eye on the thing.


    <strong>One block away from the building Scarlet is in</strong>


    The Demonic Assault so far hasn''t been as bad as most of the ones Cipher has to help deal with. And he''s been in a lot at this point.


    <em>Nothing but ss II and I Fractures for the most part. Which is a rather tame Demonic Assault.</em>


    The man can''t help but let out a sigh as he watches the civilians run past him into a different room before turning around and stabbing his hand straight through the head of arge demon fomorian  one of the weakest ss II demons often used as cannon fodder in a ss II Fracture  that had attempted to sneak up on him. He then opens his other palm up and whispers, me. Release, making a geyser of mes burst straight out of a small opening in the armor covering his hand, burning another fomorian alive that was attempting to sneak up on him.


    The ss IV Guardian is wearing a full set of cybeic armor, colored with blue armor ting on his forearms, shoulders, torso, and other areas that are often used inbat to block a hit. These armor tings have veins of blue energy moving between them, serving as the magical conduits of the mans armor which easily block the fireballs being sent at him by the demon acolyte as he blurs across the cafeteria he is in, his speed greater than the average uninitialized human eye can track. The tables in his way smashing into the walls of the cafeteria in the process of his passing before his raised fist meets the chest of a demon wraith that was attempting to sneak around the cafeteria to chase one of the citizens that he had already let escape from the room.


    <em>Damned thing probably already fixated on one of those survivors.</em>


    After giving the wraith one more smash to the head, ensuring that itll never be getting up again, Cipher turns back to the acolyte, raises his hand, and activates a skill that sends a bolt of lightning made out of nanomachines straight at the creature. And before the bolt even strikes, the man turns to the rest of the demons, sending another wave of mes that turns them all into ash, following which he begins walking back to the exit of the cafeteria. All before the ash even gets the chance to hit the ground.


    Tenth floor is cleared, he states into a device on his arm. One of which the Guardian uses in order to get past the signals of the shield that block other types of inte and tels.


    It takes only a few seconds for a response toe through thes before Cipher nods his head to himself and states while walking towards the door that the citizens hid behind, Ill get these citizens to safety before clearing the eleventh floor.


    A beep sounds from the device on his wrist, following which he lowers his arm. But just a secondter, another long and drawn out beep sounds from it, and he raises the arm again.


    <em>Another call?</em>


    The moment he sees the caller id on the small disy shown on his arm, his eyes widen, and he immediately epts the call.


    What is it, Belle?! Are you okay?! he shouts into the device the moment his daughters face shows on the other side with a worried frown. The girl has the same amber eyes as her father, with long ck hair, and is wearing a white blouse and ck pants on the other side of the call, seemingly in a ssroom of the university she goes to.


    Belle immediately nods her head and says, Its not me you should be worried about! I cant connect to Scarlet!!


    <em>Shit. Thats not good.</em>


    Cipher, also known as Allen Silvester, frowns at that and asks, Do you know where she was before this?


    At this, his daughter scowls at him and practically shouts into her device, She was at <em>your </empany headquarters to ask you for a favor!!! Have you not been looking at your emails over the past few days?!


    <em>She what?!</em>


    The people hiding inside of the pantry room connected to the cafeteria send frightened looks at the door as the muffled sound of someone shouting makes its way through the steel doors.


    Arabellia ignores his outburst of not-so-quiet curses as she asks, Are you able to go to her?!


    Cipher shakes his head slowly as he answers, Not yet. Mypanys building is, ording to Sage, only a ss I Fracture. So the City Board is prioritizing the building Im currently in, which is a ss II. Even if I asked, they wouldnt be able to let me out. And even if I tried breaking out, it might destroy the entire building and kill everyone in it in the process of breaking the shield.


    <em>And all that would do is let the demons escape the building, leaving them unchecked in the streets.</em>


    Arabellias scowl grows deeper, only to soften slightly as she thinks of the many people trapped in the same building as her father.


    Just, please hurry. I cant lose her too she says, a tear beginning to trail its way down her cheek as she no doubt thinks of her dead sister.


    As fast as I can, Cipher answers with a quick nod before the call cuts out and he rushes over to the pantry door and proceeds to rip it open with his bare hands.


    <em>Lets see if I cant speed this up. For Scarlets sake.</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 4: Changes

    Book 1: Chapter 4: Changes


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    The heat grows even stronger not too long after we exchange names until it reaches a point thats damned near unbearable. But soon after that, it somehow vanishes in an instant to be reced with extreme pain that has me silently screaming with nothinging out of my mouth for what feels like forever. The pain this time is focused on each of the same areas as before, but for some reason, the top of my head feels even worse.


    Eventually, I find the pain too much to tolerate and pass out, only to wake up again who knows how longter to find that all of the pain is gone. Almost as if it were all a nightmare.


    After a brief bout of confusion, I look down to find Tar  I am not going to bother trying to pronounce his full name, much less his first one  lying down on my chest seemingly taking a nap. And the sight of him there draws conflicting feelings out of me.


    For one, hes adorable. But for two, its an entity who threatened me earlier and likely knows more about me than its telling.


    In the end I decide to get up, letting the tanuki fall to the ground without catching it.


    But no sooner than I reach my full height, I notice something off. Kind of like an extra weight on my head, along with some strange sensation? Some sort of mental switch.


    What is this?


    I frown before shrugging and mentally flipping the switch. And almost immediately, everything around me grows much louder and more detailed. To the point that I can hear the footsteps of a spider demon walking down the hall on the other side of the floor from here. I can even hear a freaking conversation going on within the shielded barrier of one of the bunkers on the floor. The very one I was going to with the receptionistdy.


    May she be at peace with the souls of the fallen.


    Oh, I also hear the tanuki, err, Tar waking up on the floor, somehow having not been woken up immediately by falling onto the ground. But then again, it was afortable carpet.


    Anyways, whats up with my new hearing?


    <strong>Its because you awakened. Youre no longer human, and your appearance matches that.</strong>


    It takes a second for his words to register in my head. Just a second. Then I scramble for my pocket to find my phone to use as a mirror before showing my face in its reflection.


    I blink in surprise at the sight of red eyes. Ones that seem to be glowing in the darkness of the office. But what catches my attention more and has me groaning is the sight of what look like ck and red wolf ears with small bits of white fur on the inside on top of my head.


    <strong>Whats wrong? You dont like wolves?</strong>


    Without even turning to the creature, I answer, expressing my depression with this turn of events rather clearly in how my ears somehow follow my mood and droop, Do you know how much of a pain thesell be?!


    The tanuki, err, Tar. I need to stop doing that. Tar tilts his head and asks in a confused yet still robotic tone of voice, <strong>Physical appearance changes aremon amongst awakened humans. You wont stand out. And creatures of the same race as you cant identify you, therefore no human can see your identi-</strong>


    I cut him off as I turn to him and exim, Now what do I do if people think Im wearing a wolf ear headband wherever I go?!


    Tar just stares at me.


    I re back at him.


    My pride is important, okay?! And animal headbands are not <em>cool</em>!


    We continue our staring match for what feels like hours but is in all honesty probably just like ten or so seconds until he lets out a sigh.


    I smile and give him a nod in triumph before going serious again as I ask, You mentioned that the Guardians cant just identify me?


    Tar nods his little tanuki head.


    Thats good.


    <strong>Is there anything else you would like to check before we move on to your status?</strong>


    I blink in surprise at the question, wondering a little bit why he is actually being slightly considerate instead of the rudeness he was showing before. Either way though, I nod my head and ask, Are there any other changes that I dont know about?


    Something I didnt notice before now thanks to my focus on my ears is that my eyesight seems to be improved a lot, and even has a bit of night vision. Although colors are a bit harder to make out. Whether thats just in the dark or not is something to figure outter.


    I hope its just like that in the dark though.


    <strong>Besides the change in your eyes and ears, you also gained a second heart, and the tips of your canines were sharpened a little bit. Beyond that, your hands were prepared for the possibility of transformation urring in the future through your skills.</strong>


    Thats okay, thats pretty cool.


    I raise my phone up to my face again before opening my mouth to look, only to find that my canines really were sharpened. Albeit not by much. Not even enough to be noticeable if you arent looking.


    <strong>If you are finished looking at your changes, I would like to bring you up to speed on your status. However, something- </strong>he begins, only to cut off as I jerk my head towards the door at the sounds of that very same spider demon that I heard earlier approaching the door. <strong>You can hear it already. We need to hurry.</strong>


    I nod my head, only for my eyes to widen slightly as a notification appears in front of my vision.


    <strong>System Initialization isplete</strong>.


    <strong>Wee to the path of ascension.</strong>


    <strong>May your rise be ever fruitfu</strong>l<strong>, lone half demon.</strong>


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find Tar looking slightly surprised at something on the notification. But he simply ignores it immediately after.


    Interesting.


    So Tar, all I have to say is status, right? I ask, wanting to hurry it up, just to be surprised by the sight of something appearing in front of me in the ce of the notification. Likely my status.


    <strong>Correct. And we will speakter about you calling me Tar.</strong>


    Yeah, yeah, I mutter while reading the status floating in front of me.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 0</strong><strong>SP: 0</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 14</strong><strong>Mental: 11</strong><strong>Magical: 13</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 71.5/71.5</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>N/A</strong><strong>N/A</strong><strong>N/A</strong>


    <strong>Okay. Your first skill is called Blood ws. Just think the skills name and it will activate. We do not have time to go over everything there right now, so close out of your status.</strong>


    After very quickly focusing on the word description, I heard it echoing in my head before closing out of my status without bothering to check anything else.


    <strong>{Blood ws - Allows the user to coat their hands with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana.}</strong>


    Immediately after hearing the description, I think the word in my head and begin to feel a sort of power connect to me from that word, even if it was just thought in my head. The power then draws on some sort of energy well inside of my chest that I never realized was there.


    Mana.


    I knew of the term from video games and the Guardians interviews Ive watched from time to time, along with the status itself, but it still feels odd that I would have it myself.


    As if straight from a movie or a video game, blood begins to form in the air around my hands, coating them and making them look more akin to the paws of a wolf mixed into the form of a human hand, with sharp ws to match. Kind of like a werewolf from the old horror movies in the old world.


    Is that what I am? I didnt think about checking my species while it was open. Assuming it even listed what type of demon one of my parents was.


    Clearly some type of wolf though, considering my ears.


    My thoughts are interrupted as I hear the spider getting incredibly close to the door. And somehow, it seems to be homing directly in on us.


    Tar seems to understand my thoughts and answers before I even ask, <strong>You were releasing the aura of a noble demon the moment you began awakening. But now that you have awoken, you no longer have that aura on you, your human side having snuffed that noticeable effect out. So now the demons that were avoiding this area can smell you and areing.</strong>


    Oh. Wait a fucking second, did he just say a noble demon?!


    The sharp leg of a certain spider demon suddenly pierces through the door, making me refocus my attention on the creature.


    Kill demon now, question the tanukiter.

 Book 1: Chapter 5: First Blood

    Book 1: Chapter 5: First Blood


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    Deciding that the best time to strike is when it still has its leg pierced through the door, I sprint forward and swipe my new blood ws straight at the leg. And my ws dont actually do that much. All they manage to do is pierce nearly half an inch in, drawing some sort of ichor that is drained into my ws, changing their color to add a slight green tint before returning to the red of my own blood.


    The spider demon lets out a pained screech before yanking back its leg and tearing the door off of its hinges in the process, revealing the rest of the demon in all of its spidery glory. And the moment my eyestch onto it, I hear some sort of voice echo in the back of my head.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Spider  Level 4|</strong>


    Its level 4?! That exins why I barely did anything to it! At least, if video game logic applies in this situation.


    <strong>Good luck and try not to die before I can at least exin your status.</strong>


    My eye twitches at the sheer callousness of the tanuki whose name I wont even bother saying this time before I jump back, very nearly tripping over the carpet in the process to end up between one of the chairs and the table. Meanwhile the spider lets out another shriek as it tries  and fails  to fit through the door. Only to end up climbing the wall and then entering while sideways instead of upright.


    Right as Im expecting it to jump on the ground and chase after me, it instead begins climbing up the wall towards the ceiling.


    Are you kidding me?


    I jump out of the way right before it leaps from the ceiling straight at where I was just standing, destroying the table in itsnding. And before it can gather its bearings, I swipe my ws at it again, still unused to having any sort of weapon, much less blood ws to use in the first ce.


    Once again, I dont manage to do much damage to it. But I do at least notice that this time it did a little bit more than thest time.


    Does it have anything to do with its blood entering my ws?


    <strong>Skill descriptions are not all there is to a skill. Remember this.</strong>


    My eye twitches again as I notice the tanuki floating in the air close to the corner of the room, right beneath the ceiling while watching me fight for my life. But I take a deep breath to calm down again before jumping away when the spawn swipes two of its legs at me, barely missing my head in the process.


    Unfortunately, in the process of dodging its w tipped legs, I trip on the chair next to us, falling to one knee where the spider turns around and tries to snap at me with its incisors, taking a chunk out of my arm in the process as I raise it to block the strike.


    I let out a scream of pain before gritting my teeth so hard that it feels like they might break.


    You Terran damned spider! I shout at the thing as if thatll help while trying to roll out of the way again. After I manage to make it to my feet a couple of meters away from the spider, I nce at my arm to find it leaking quite a bit of blood down from the wound. But surprisingly, the blood ends up mixing with my ws, making them grow slightlyrger.


    That might be useful.


    Still gritting my teeth to ignore the pain, I raise my head to look around the room, my gaze narrowing on the chandelier that I hadnt noticed when first entering the room. Thatll work.


    Hopefully.


    Right as the spider begins to charge at me again, I charge right back in its direction, seemingly surprising it for a second. And before it can get over that surprise, I climb up the chair and jump off of it,nding on the spiders back, where I then jump to a bookcase not too far away. I barely missnding on the bookcase and instead have to drag myself the rest of the way up with my legs dangling.


    That couldve gone better.


    I turn back to find the spider looking around for a few seconds in confusion before turning to me. So I dont miss the chance to jump again straight at the chandelier above it, where I climb up and swipe my ws at the chain holding it up.


    <strong>Interesting.</strong>


    Is thest word I hear before the chandelieres crashing down on top of the spider, its chain having been shredded with rtive ease by my ws.


    The spawn makes a loud hissing sound that quickly detes with the sound of its carapace being shattered by the chandelier, but it still tries to move even after the thing fell on its head. So I climb down from the chandelier that is still somehow intact and on top of it to walk over to its face, where I bring my fingers together with a grimace and dig them straight into one of the creatures tworgest eyes.


    A rather unpleasant feeling follows as my hand digs into its head before I quickly rip it out and wipe it on the carpet beneath me.


    Sorry whoevers carpet this is. But youre probably gonna need to rece it.


    A ding sounds in my head, followed by another message by that same voice as earlier.


    <strong>{Level 4 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Demon Spawn.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 1 through killing your first demon. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    As soon as I hear that, I flop onto the ground with an exhausted grunt. And soon after, the tanuki flies over to me beforending on my chest again.


    <strong>Your use of the name Tar aside, I will not be subjected to being called a tanu-</strong>


    Before the tanuki can finish, I cut it off by barely saying through my exhaustion, I dont care. Youre a tanuki. Get over it.


    At first I was gonna be nice and call him Tar. But that was until he decided to watch me fight for my life as if I were some pawn or <em>thing </em>that didnt matter.


    The tanuki narrows his eyes at me and crawls up to my face before literally stomping its tiny foot on my cheek. Which, as expected, doesnt exactly do much.


    Why exactly was I afraid of this thing again?


    Oh, right. Because it was numbing my pain earlier during the awakening. And it couldve stopped at any moment.


    I raise my arm slightly to look at it, where arge cut in my favorite jacket now lies revealing a bloody gash equal in size on my pale skinned arm beneath.


    Seriously? Thats going to be a pain to sew up. Because I am <em>not</em> recing this jacket.


    I dont really care about the shirt underneath though. Thatll just go in the trashter.


    Several seconds pass in not-sofortable silence  considering the burning pain going through my arm  before I finally notice out of the corner of my eye that my hair now has red highlights that it didnt have before.


    Odd.


    Doesnt matter though.


    Better red ones than yellow or some gross color like that.


    The tanuki also kind of falls off of my face when I turn my head to look at my hair, but thats a little inconsequential right now. Especially when he just floats back up to stop right above my head with a rather displeased expression on his face.


    <strong>Open your status.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at the fact that the usually arrogant and overbearing tanuki isnt actually saying anything in regard to my actions right now, only to mentally shrug and think, Status.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 1</strong><strong>SP: 16</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 16</strong><strong>Mental: 12</strong><strong>Magical: 15</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 2</strong><strong>Mana: 81/90</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>N/A</strong><strong>N/A</strong><strong>N/A</strong>


    Oh, thats nice. Not really sure whats different from before, but Im guessing my stats are higher since the voice  which Im assuming is the System  said that Id leveled up.


    Wait.


    Im half Blood Lycan?


    I stare at those words for who knows how long.


    Oh.

 Book 1: Chapter 6: Skills

    Book 1: Chapter 6: Skills


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    So one of my parents is one of the strongest races of demons? A noble demon bordering on royalty?


    What the hell was a ss V demon doing getting involved with a human anyways?


    Judging by the fact that there are spawn in this Fracture, it is most likely a ss I Fracture. The weakest type of Fracture there is. And likely the only reason Im alive right now.


    As for my magic well, considering that Im half blood lycan, that makes sense.


    <strong>Lets get this over with before anything else gets here, </strong>the tanuki begins, drawing my attention back to it, <strong>your listed magic is what determines the direction that your skills will go in terms of the power theyre based off of. It does not mean that its actual magic. Although in your case, it might just be thatter on.</strong>


    Yeah, I already knew that part.


    <strong>Stats do not change your body at all. All they do is alter the way your body interacts with reality around you, making you stronger in the sense that your presence in reality is stronger and you therefore are physically, magically, and mentally more powerful than you were with lower stats, which is something a lot of humans dont seem to understand,</strong> he continues, making my eyebrow raise slightly at the indignant manner of which he spoke thatst part. <strong>The stats you get per level are decided by your species and your magicbined with what ss as you humans call it, that youre in. Levels 1 through 100 being ss I, 101-250 being ss II, 251-500 being ss III, 501-1000 being ss IV, and anything beyond that ss V.</strong>


    Wow. Hes really just going straight through it without wasting any time.


    <strong>What each stat does should be self-exnatory, and Ill correct you in the case that youre wrong. All Ill say on that front now is that a 10 in each of the three main stats is the average for most unawakened humans, </strong>he says, ignoring my thoughts.<strong> Next up, we have Skill Points and Skill Levels. There are two types of skills. Inherent, which are what you get from leveling up, and purchased skills. You have to level up inherent skills through using the skills, whereas you have to level up purchased skills  and purchase them in the first ce  using skill points. Now think, Skill Store.</strong>


    I blink in surprise, trying to register everything that he just said. Because while hes right that the stats are rather self-exnatory. Mostly. I havent heard much talk about the specifics of skills.


    Deciding to just go ahead and do as he says, I think Skill Store.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Predator I</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least three levels.</strong>


    <strong>The lowest rarity predator skill.</strong>


    <strong>It grants the user a 3% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Common</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing your first demon.</strong><strong>A basic utility skill used to clean the user and their equipment.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Common</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing your first demon.</strong><strong>A basic utility skill used to repair non-magical clothing.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Common</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing your first demon.</strong><strong>A basic utility skill used to recharge magical equipment through the users own mana.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Common</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    <strong>Before you spend your skill points, I would like to advise you taking Predator I, </strong>Tar says as I read through the skills. <strong>At this point in the Fracture, there are far more likely to be more demons above your level than at or below your level, so any little bit will help. And the rest of the skills you have ess to at level one with your achievements are simple utility skills. Ones not meant for battle.</strong>


    After reading through the first two or so pages of skills, I quicklye to agree with the tanuki before reaching out and touching the words Predator I, making a confirmation message appear afterwards. So I touch the word Confirm, making a warm feeling spread through my body for a few seconds before vanishing again.


    <strong>Now to exin. Skills are broken down into six rarities. Common, Umon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical. Each of them costs a different amount of SP to purchase, and the skills get quite a bit stronger the rarer they are. But theyre also a lot harder to unlock through achievements. Suffice it to say, if you unlock a high rarity skill, youre going to want to purchase it.</strong>


    I nce at the tanuki before looking at the status I still have open next to my skills list, briefly noting that my SP dropped from 16 to 6. And that I have the new skill added to it already.


    <strong>There are three different types of skills. Active, which are skills that must be used in order to activate, Passive, which are active all the time, and Static, which are skills that cannot level up. They will always be at level 1.</strong>


    Literally every single skill I have unlocked right now is a static one. And only one of them has a requirement other than to y my first demon.


    Also, I find it weird how helpful the tanuki is being now considering how it treated me in the fight


    Hearing my thoughts, which is really getting annoying, the tanuki nces at me and says, <strong>Fae are not allowed to participate in the war between humans and demons beyond advisement to their contractor and granting them ess to the System in the first ce. Furthermore, I needed to be convinced that you were worth the trouble. That you wouldnt just die in your first battle.</strong>


    My eye twitches at his tant admission that he wouldve just let me die.


    So much for our lives being bound together.


    The tanuki ignores my irritation to continue his exnation of skills, <strong>Unlike purchasable skills, inherent skills do not have a rarity. They simplye to you at certain levels depending on your magic and species. But they are always at least as strong as purchasable skills up to the Rare rarity. At the same time though, their strength varies depending on your magic and species.</strong>


    I re at him for a few seconds before sighing and focusing on the skills list again.


    <strong>Many purchasable skills are locked behind achievement restrictions, as you already know by now. But some of them are also locked by magic restrictions, only allowing you to purchase them if you have the necessary magic amongst the listed magics they require, </strong>he says, pausing slightly as my wolf ear twitches at the sound of another spider spawn entering the floor from the stairs on the other side of it. <strong>Most skills of any use inbat only be avable after you reach level 10. So dont bother searching through them for anything you can use to help you right now.</strong>


    That exins why theyre almost all utility skills, except for Predator I. Also, considering that theres an old world country number  I think it was called a roman numeral  after the name, theres probably a higher rarity for the skill. Which makes me wonder what would happen if I bought that too? Would they stack? Or would one rece the other?


    Im distracted again by the spider thats slowly approaching our room. At this rate itll likely get here in about five or so minutes.


    Stupid spawn and their sense of smell.


    How does a spider even smell in the first ce?!


    <strong>That should be everything. So you can go ahead and deal with that pest, </strong>Tar says, making me do a double take at him for calling the demon a pest.


    Wasnt he supposed to be a neutral party to our little war?


    <strong>While I am considered a neutral party, after we sign a contract, most Fae end up rooting for the side that they signed the contract for. Besides. Even other demons consider spawn pests.</strong>


    Oh. That makes sense.


    Also, isnt that a little brutal? For demons to consider one of their own a pest?


    Actually, dont answer that.


    Wait, what about the mana stat? How is that calcted?


    The tanuki gives me a less than useful answer, <strong>Math.</strong>


    I stare at him until he exins further.


    <strong>You can figure out the exact form when you leave this Fracture, just know that it is abination of your Mental and Magical stat, </strong>he finally answers after a few seconds of staring.


    Thats better at least.


    I slowly get up from the ground again whilst cradling my arm, still feeling the blood lightly trailing down it from the wound. At some point the blood ws on my hands just kind of flickered out while I wasnt paying attention, so I reactivate the skill by thinking its name in my head again.


    <strong>Blood ws</strong>.


    Then I begin to slowly walk towards the door.


    Maybe I can find a storage room somewhere on the floor thatll have bandages after this fight. Or better yet, a bunker that hasnt already been locked. But the chances of thetter are rather low, considering how its already been at least half an hour, maybe even an hour  who knows how long I was unconscious for  since the Demonic Assault began.


    Heres to hope, I guess.

 Book 1: Chapter 7: Healing Under the Moonlight

    Book 1: Chapter 7: Healing Under the Moonlight


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    As I walk over to the door, I notice Tar vanishing out of the corner of my eye. And when I turn around to look, I dont see him anywhere in the room anymore.


    Huh.


    <strong>Ive gone invisible now that we are leaving the room and may make contact with people, </strong>his voice resonates in my head, making me feel slightly ufortable in the process.


    Its weird to hear someone talking and not know where the voice ising from. At least with phone calls and stuff you know the voice is technicallying from the phone. But not in this case.


    Neither me nor the tanuki speak for a little while as I walk out of the office and begin heading down the hall, asionally checking doors along the way in the hopes of finding a storage room. Only to have no luck in that department.


    By the time I make it halfway down the hall to where the door of the receptionist area that I was at when this all started is, I finally stop as the sound of the spider stops right outside of that very door. I then stare at the door for a few seconds, slowly spreading my ws outwards while tensing up ever so slightly.


    Seconds pass by in silence with only the asional chittering noise of creaking joints from the spider moving in ce on the other side of the door.


    Why is it waiting?


    Unless the huntsman demons are too quiet for me to hear, there shouldnt be any more demons on this floor. Meaning it cant be waiting for anything.


    Could it be going to sleep?


    I wait another five or so seconds before my impatience gets the best of me and I barge right through the door to find the spider demon eating a corpse in absolute silence. One that I do not recognize.


    The creature jerks its head up as it hears my entrance, but Ive already swung my wed hand at its side, tearing a much deeper gash through it than I was ever able to make on the other spider. And thats when the voice echoes in my head, telling me the demons information.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Spider  Level 2|</strong>


    That exins it.


    The demon lets out a loud screech of pain before I follow up with another strike with my ws, albeit with my wounded arm this time. And the pain thates along with it has me wincing.


    I feel more blood pouring out of the wound, eventually leaving a trail to my ws on that arm before the ws themselves grow in size and opacity.


    While Im not sure how to drain my own blood to power the skill, or even how to enhance the skill with extra mana, I do at least know that my blood can enhance it even if its just blood from a wound like this.


    I hurriedly try to jump back, away from the spider as it sends a sharp limb straight at me, only for that very limb to get stuck in the wall in the process. So I take advantage of this to rush forwards again with my wounded arm, where I straight up grab at the back of its head, letting my ws dig deeper and deeper into it until the entire spider begins to convulse.


    It sends another wed limb at me, but I notice it getting slower and slower the closer it gets to me, all the way until it stops the instant I dig my other wed hand straight through the spiders eye, trying very hard to avoid its incisors in the process.


    <strong>{Level 2 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    As soon as I hear the messages, I rip both of my hands out of its head with a very disgusted look on my face at the sight of green blood coating the ends of my jacket sleeves.


    Im going to get that cleaning skill. Absolutely going to get it.


    <strong>All Guardians end up getting three of the utility skills that are pretty much a requirement unless they want to end up covered in demon gore withpletely ravaged clothes, leaving them nearly half naked and filthy every time they leave a Fracture, </strong>Tar suddenly says, responding to my thoughts.


    Hmm. Good to know.


    Too bad I cant afford another skill right now.


    Also, if I had to guess, you mean the clean, repair, and recharge utility skills?


    <strong>Correct, </strong>he answers right away, his voice still slightly disconcerting me.


    Thought so. The rest of the utility skills dont seem anywhere near as useful.


    Since I dont have any magical items to recharge, that leaves me with either repair or clean. And right now, I only have a single cut on my clothes. So clean would probably be better. Especially if I want to avoid getting an infection in my wound.


    I wipe the ichor from my jacket sleeves onto the chair, briefly nce at the spider limb still stuck in the wall, then nce at the window that I was just staring out of not too long ago, before this all started.


    So much can change in just however long its been since it started changing. And while I might not have wanted to end up like this  I cant help but nce at the wolf ears on my head showing in the reflection of the window  it will make life a lot easier on me. Since no one should be able to tell that Im not just a regr guardian.


    Right, Tar?


    The tanuki appears closer to the window for some reason before answering, <strong>Youre correct. There should be no way for humans to know that you are not one of them. This is because no one can identify members of the same species, and since youre half human, you are considered the same species as them.</strong>


    I nod my head with a smile.


    Thats good.


    I walk over to the window before looking out it, through the shield that is likely there, invisible to those of us inside of it, at the blood moon hanging high in the air.


    For some reason, the moon makes me feel calm. Rxed even.


    Is it because Im half blood lycan?


    As I stand here, basking in the red moonlight, I feel a strange tingling sensation arise from my wounded arm. And when I look down at it, I find the wound radiating a faint red light.


    Huh?


    <strong>You didnt know? </strong>the tanuki asks in a slightly mocking tone of voice that has me turning to look at him with a scowl on my face. <strong>Blood lycans heal in the direct light of the blood moon.</strong>


    Oh. Thats nice to know.


    I pull my arm as carefully as I can out of the jacket sleeve so as to not irritate the wound or get any more blood than I have to on my jacket before going closer to the window. The tingling sensation grows stronger and stronger the closer I get to the window, and soon enough I can see the wound <em>very </em>slowly closing on its own.


    Very slowly.


    Seconds pass, and soon enough the seconds turn into minutes. Before long, I feel like Ive just stood here for nearly five entire minutes before the wound is small enough that its nothing more than a very faint scab. So I put my arm back through my sleeve, frowning slightly as I feel some blood along the way but otherwise ignoring it.


    Guess I dont need any bandages anymore.


    I smile at that thought before turning around and walking towards the stairs.


    It sounds like there are a few demons on the floor beneath us, with more and more on each floor beneath that. Meaning that the Fractures core is most likely closer to the bottom of the building. Quite a bit far away from us here on the thirtieth floor.


    And  if I remember correctly from the drills and sses we had to take in high school about Demonic Assaults  the Fractures tend to appear close torge gatherings of humans, on a ce close to a t surface. Meaning that its probably somewhere between the first through fifth floors, since those are the most popted.


    The tanuki vanishes again as I make my way to the staircase down the hall from the receptionist area.

 Book 1: Chapter 8: People

    Book 1: Chapter 8: People


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    After a quick walk down the stairs, I find myself entering the twenty ninth floor through the open stairwell. But before I enter the ratherrge greeting room on the floor, I walk over to the edge of the stairwells center to peek down at the lower floors. And as I suspected, I see quite the number of demons on the lower floors just moving through the stairs themselves.


    What makes it even worse is that I can hear the asional screaming from the other floors now that Im at the main stairwell  an area connected to every floor of the building.


    I shake my head after a few seconds before going into the greeting room, which is basically just a massive room with a few areas full offortable chairs or couches meant for rxation while people wait here for something. What this floor is meant for, Im not sure. But I do hear people on the floor. And none of them are in a bunker by the sounds of how loud their voices and movements are.


    At the same time, none of the demons are near them either. So theres that at least.


    From what I can hear, two of the demons are most likely more Spawn, while the third demon on the floor is something else. It clearly has only two legs, but at the same time, it has much lighter steps than anyone else on the floor, and is moving around through the floor rather slowly.


    If I had to guess, then Id put my money on it being a huntsman. Which is a type of demon that tends to narrow in on someone they mark as their prey before chasing after them and beginning their hunt. Its also something Ill have to worry about, since they actually use a weapon. A crossbow.


    To start things off, I head in the direction of the spawn closest to the humans on the floor. Since it may go after them while Im dealing with the other two.


    <strong>Look whos already getting into their role as a defender of humanity, </strong>I hear the tanukis voice echoing in my head. But I cant help but frown at its words.


    No, not really. While I do think it would be a shame for them to die, Im not some superhero wholl run around killing demons all the time to save peoples lives. After all, its their lives to live. Not mine.


    Life in a tier 3 city taught me how heroes end up in the end. Six feet under.


    <strong>Oh? </strong>the tanuki mutters, sounding both slightly amused and interested. <strong>Tell me then, half demon. Why are you going after the one closest to the humans first, despite it being the furthest away from you?</strong>


    Because the demons will be stronger if they kill the humans there. And that would make it a bigger problem both for me, and the other people on the floor below us if I dont manage to take the demons out.


    Also, why not?


    <strong>So its a pragmatic choice of what would be better for the masses or for you, over what would be better for an individual other than you? That or a whim? </strong>Tar asks, sounding more and more curious as I continue making my way through the hall, getting closer and closer to the spawn in the process. Which also happens to be getting closer to the humans too.


    Yeah, I guess. Call me selfish or cold all you want, but Im not going to sacrifice my life for a stranger. And at the same time, if I can help people without it inconveniencing me too badly, then I will. After all, theres no reason not to.


    The tanuki stays silent this time, not responding to my thoughts.


    I continue running down the hall for a little bit longer before turning the corner and finding a wide open room, with what appears to be a bunker standing wide open on the other side of it, and a demon spawn in the middle of the room. The room itself looks like some sort of middle room area, with various doors branching off of it, some of them being wide open and showing an office on the other side. There are pots and nts located closer to the middle of the room, with even arge tree smack dab at the center.


    My eyes move towards the open bunker to find a group of eleven people trying to close the bunker door but failing.


    Is it broken?


    No matter how many people they have trying to pull down the lever to close the door, it doesnt budge in the slightest. Which really shows ack of care in this floor.


    Maybe I should mention that to Allen the next time I see him?


    I look directly at the spawn of which is moving closer to the people in the bunker before a light smile tugs at my lips.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Spider  Level 2|</strong>


    Another level 2. This shouldnt be too hard. I think.


    The instant the people in the bunker notice me, the terror on their faces is reced with hope, and I even hear several of them muttering, Guardian!


    I give them a brief nod before activating my <strong>Blood ws</strong> skill again and leaping straight towards the spawn,nding on its back, and startling it in the process thanks to its attention having been focused solely on the people in the bunker. It lets out a loud screech that only grows louder as I dig the ws of both of my hands into its body. Then I-


    A sudden sh of light makes me blink twice to clear the spots from my eyes before I nce towards the people to find two of them pointing their cameras at me while the others continue trying to close the door. The two being the youngest of the group. Just a couple of high school girls by the looks of it.


    Seriously?


    One of them even seems to be recording. Whichll be a pain.


    Why are they here anyways?


    I focus on the spawn again as I begin to climb its body closer to the head, only to notice out of the corner of my eye an iing leg to which I move my arm up at thest moment, making the w strike at its own back.


    By the stars that couldve been painful.


    The spawn lets out a high pitch screech showing off just how painful it thought it was before I finish making my way across its slightly-longer-than-a-meter body to grab onto and dig into its head, just like thest one. Then I finish it by dragging myself forward and stabbing my other hand into its biggest eye.


    Thats really turning out to be a good way of killing them.


    Although its rather gross every time I do it.


    I turn my head towards the bunker again to find that the people are still staring at me.


    Oh. Right.

 Book 1: Chapter 9: Free Point Distribution

    Book 1: Chapter 9: Free Point Distribution


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    I get off of the demons corpse right as the message ys in my head about the EXP.


    <strong>{Level 2 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    That should make eight Skill Points now. Just two more and I can get the cleaning skill.


    After canceling my Blood ws skill, I wipe my hands of the demons ichor onto the very small amount of fur that the spider has before walking over to the bunker, grabbing the lever on the outside of it, and yanking it down with all of my strength. Just to find that this one is working perfectly fine.


    A little awkward.


    Guess I kind of assumed that if the inner lever wasnt working then the outer one wasnt too. But then again, they probably didnt think about the outer one since someone would have to be outside to pull it. And theres no way to open it or get inside after pulling it.


    I nce at the now-shutting doors of the bunker to see a few more pictures being taken of me to my irritation, along with several people waving and expressing their appreciation towards me.


    After the door finishes shutting, I find myself heaving a sigh of relief.


    I really dont deal withrge groups of people well.


    <strong>You do realize those pictures and that video will likely be blown up as you humans say on your inte by morning? </strong>I hear the annoying tanuki tell me something I already know and very much wish wouldnt happen.


    <strong>You shouldve already known that this would happen. Guardians dont live in obscurity. It just doesnt happen, </strong>Tar says, amusement clear in his normally robotic tone. <strong>There are just too many ways for humans to record images and spread them around for you to-</strong>


    I cut him off by saying, Yeah, yeah, I know that already.


    Such a pain. Despite how cute he looks, hes practically a devil on the inside.


    Why are you in the form of a tanuki anyways? I ask out of curiosity as I walk back towards the hall I came from to head towards the other demons on the floor.


    <strong>Whatever my appearance is, its your fault, </strong>he says, sounding ever so indignant in his response. But I stop walking at that with a confused expression on my face.


    Hows it my fault?


    <strong>We fae take on the appearance of whatever animal  not including humans  wasst on the mind of the human we approach for a contract, </strong>the little tanuki says, making my eyes widen.


    Oh. So, its Belles fault then.


    I nod my head, satisfied with my shifting of the me before I continue walking down the hall.


    Somewhere in the back of my head, I hear a certain tanuki scoffing at my thoughts. But I ignore it.


    It only takes me around another ten or fifteen minutes to navigate through the maze of a building to find the next demon spawn before I kill it simply by jumping down from a balcony of an upper deck in the room it was in tond on its back and proceeding to do the same thing Ive done with thest few demon spawn.


    <strong>{Level 2 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 2. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    I let out a sigh as I feel a nice surge of something that feels almost like adrenaline rush through my body from the level-up. Then I open my status to check out the differences, only to pause and ask the tanuki out loud, What do you think I should put my free points in?


    I kind of forgot to distribute those earlier.


    Tar lets out a sigh of relief before answering, <strong>Its about time you asked.</strong>


    Oh? So you were waiting for me to say something about it to talk about free points?


    That doesnt sound like something a good <em>mentor </em>should be doing.


    The tanuki appears in the air in front of me with a disgruntled look on his cute little face as he practically shouts in my mind, <strong>I am <em>not </em>your mentor! I am your contracted partner!!! Get it straight, girl!</strong>


    I raise an amused eyebrow at his loss ofposure.


    Right. Keep telling yourself that.


    Tar flies up to my face and literally punches me, to no affect. Then he floats up andnds on my head of all ces and begins answering my question as if this interaction had never happened.


    <strong>My thoughts are always to keep your stats rtively bnced, albeit with your species stronger stats with a little bit of a lead. So Id suggest putting your free points into Mental to let it catch up a little bit with the other two stats before spreading the spare around wherever.</strong>


    Hmm. Makes sense, I guess.


    Dont want to leave one of your stats far behind the others, making a tant weakness open up.


    Although, what does the mental stat actually do?


    <strong>It increases your ability to affect other peoples minds through skills, to defend against others attempting to affect your mind, andstly, your ability to process things.</strong>


    Right. So having a low mental statpared to my other stats would leave me weak against mental attacks then.


    Good to know.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 2</strong><strong>SP: 9</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 19</strong><strong>Mental: 16</strong><strong>Magical: 17</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 121/136</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Predator I</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Alright. That should work.


    <strong>You put three free points into mental and one into physical? </strong>Tar asks rhetorically before muttering, <strong>Not bad.</strong>


    I smirk at that before heading off to deal with thest demon on the floor. Which is currently standing in front of the sealed bunker.


    Looks like I was right. It is a huntsman. And its prey got inside of the bunker, leaving it unable to do anything to them.


    Honestly, I could probably just leave it there and it would never move an inch. But I want its EXP. So back to that room I go.

 Book 1: Chapter 10: New Instincts

    Book 1: Chapter 10: New Instincts


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    I take one look at the huntsman before turning around and leaving.


    <strong>|Demon Huntsman  Subspecies: None  Level 15|</strong>


    Good thing it already has a fixation.


    <strong>Youre lucky this time, but you might not be the next time around, </strong>I hear the tanuki warn me. <strong>Be more careful.</strong>


    Aww, is the little tanuki actually worried about little ol me?


    Of course, he doesnt respond to that.


    Looks like the fae isnt as bad as Id thought. Still keeping my eye on you though.


    And would very much appreciate some privacy in my own head too.


    He stays silent to that as well.


    Yeah, didnt think so. But it was worth a try at least.


    Anyways, my mind returns to that huntsman. The thing really did have a humanoid form, just with a pale gray skin tone, two odd stubs that look like the beginnings of wings, and a crossbow in its hands just aimed at the door. But despite it aiming at the door, it wasnt moving an inch. Just sitting there.


    I honestly had a small urge to go over and kill it while it was there despite its level, but I know the huntsman isnt braindead. Even with its fixation, it would still attack me if I got close enough. And I cant just throw it out the window or something, considering that the shield is a one way thing, blocking anyone from leaving the building during a Demonic Assault, but not blocking people from entering. So itd just shatter the ss before being blocked by the shield.


    Of course, I could try knocking its crossbow out of its hands, but that would be a risky n. Especially considering that I dont know if theyre able to fight without the crossbow or not. And if they are? Then that is a good way to end up dead.


    If the shields protecting the outside of the building themselves were like the ones on the bunkers, then maybe. But a demon thirteen levels above me is too much to risk.


    Such a scary creature.


    Whoever its fixation was is lucky I got to them before it did.


    I continue walking through the floor until I get to the stairwell before going down the stairs and entering the twenty-eighth floor, which seems to have a lot more demons than the other two Ive been to. It has around eight or nine wandering around the floor. And there doesnt appear to be any people on this floor, unlike thest. Or at least, not any outside of a bunker. I hear some muffled sounds at one spot, along with the ring of a shield, so Im guessing the bunker on this floor is active and the people inside.


    Meanwhile, of the demons on this floor, only four of them seem to be spawn. The other four or five sound like hounds. Which are the second weakest demons.


    Thankful that there arent any huntsmen on the floor, I walk into a simple office room, filled with dozens of cubicles before continuing on until I find the first demon spawn on the floor.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Spider  Level 4|</strong>


    Its a higher level again. Of course it is.


    <strong>The demons will only continue to grow stronger as you get closer to the core of the Fractures. You should know this, </strong>Tar says in a slightly exasperated tone of voice.


    Yeah, yeah. I know.


    Doesnt change the fact that its making this harder than it needs to be.


    <strong>You couldve gone upstairs instead of downstairs to find weaker demons instead, but you chose to go down, </strong>he mentions, making me stiffen up slightly at the realization.


    Hes right.


    Why did I go downstairs?


    Because I barely heard any demons at all upstairs? Because the demons upstairs felt like they wouldnt be a challenge?


    No its because they wouldnt make good prey.


    I blink in surprise at that thought.


    Prey?


    When did I start thinking of demons as prey?


    <strong>Ever since you awakened as a half blood lycan, </strong>Tar responds as if its no big deal.


    Shit. Changing species wait of course changing species, or awakening to a new one would alter my instincts a little.


    Just the thought of going back upstairs to fight weaker demons and level up the easy way leaves me feeling appalled at myself. And Im not sure how to feel about that.


    But right now isnt the time, as the demon spawn hiding in the cubicle is likely to notice me any second now, and I dont have a moment to waste lest I lose my advantage of surprise. So I climb up the wall of the cubicle before jumping straight onto the spawn andtching on with my ws into its carapace, which feels a lot easier than I was expecting.


    Probably the free point I put into physical along with the level up.


    Thanks to that, my ws sink into the demons head just as easily as they would have sunk into a level 2 demon spawns head before the update to my stats, making me grin slightly as the demon tries to shake me off of its back. I dont let it though, and its shaking ends up causing more damage to it thanks to my ws stuck in its head than to me. Until it begins trying to m me into the walls of the cubicle, which doesnt really work all that well either considering that its not an actual wall. So the cubicle simply copses instead of me being knocked off.


    I vaguely hear another of the demon spawn getting closer and nearing this room of cubicles, but I put it aside for the moment to focus on digging my ws deeper and deeper into the demons skull. Meanwhile the creature continues letting out loud screeches throughout the process while iling a few of its limbs at me in a poor attempt to cut me apart. And I say poor because most of those limbs are getting stuck in or straight up slicing through some of the furniture and appliances scattered in the fallen cubicle.


    Eventually, the creatures struggle draws to a close and it falls silent, with the System giving me my message not too long after.


    <strong>{Level 4 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    I let out a sigh before smiling.


    Thats ten skill points.


    Right as Im about to open the Skill Store to purchase them, my mind returns to the other spawn as it enters the room from the opposite end of the cubicles. So I immediately duck down.


    Shit.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Spider  Level 5|</strong>


    This ones even stronger.


    <strong>I would suggest you purchase the skill. Now.</strong>


    I frown at the urgency in his request before opening the Skill Store and purchasing the Clean skill. Then I quickly use it, making three points of mana drain away as all of the ichor and blood covering me magically disappears.


    <strong>Now leave that body and hide in a cubicle if you still want your advantage of surprise, </strong>he continues, making me understand what hes doing.


    The spawn mightve been able to smell all of the ichor and blood covering me since I havent been able to wash it off of my hands at one of the bathrooms like I did before entering the floor. At least, it might be able to if it got close enough. And its heading to the body now.


    I quickly do as the tanuki says and hide in the cubicle next to the destroyed one.


    Its a little surprising that Tar is helping me though.


    I wonder why?

 Book 1: Chapter 11: Eavesdropping

    Book 1: Chapter 11: Eavesdropping


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    A few seconds pass before I hear the spawn stopping right in front of the other spawns corpse. So I wait a few more seconds, then climb up onto the desk and then onto the cubicle where I jump onto this spider as well, just like the other one. But unlike the other one, my ws dont manage to dig in as deeply into its head. They still enter it though, and thats all that matters in regard to the n working as it lets me dig in and not fall off.


    The spider tries to toss me off with a little bit more sess than the other one, only in that my legs lose their hold on it and end up flying around to hit the floor with a rather painful smacking sound as my feet literally dig into the floor heels first. But after that my legs end up flying back up again when the creature jerks backwards again, so its struggle was in vain. Except for the pain in my feet, and the holes in the floor.


    I continue worming my ws deeper, only for them to stop at some point.


    Shit, is this things carapace just too strong for my ws to break through?!


    In that case, how the hell do I enhance the ws?


    I try various things including willing that strange sensation in me called mana towards my hands, to no avail. I try willing my blood in that direction, which obviously fails since I have no idea how to even begin trying that. And I even try reaching forward to bite my own arm and get my blood down to reach my ws, but that doesnt work since I cant lock onto my own arm with all of the spiders iling.


    Eventually, my hold on the creature begins to slip.


    No no no, please dont-


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    I blink in surprise, only to feel a surge of strength enter my ws from somewhere. Somewhere inside of the demon''s own body.


    My grip stabilizes rather quickly, and soon enough I find myself able to dig even deeper until I finally hit its brain. And with good timing too, because I dont think I wouldve been able to keep avoiding those legs that have been slicing at me throughout the battle for much longer.


    <strong>{Level 5 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Three Skill Points are awarded for leveling an inherent skill for the first time.}</strong>


    <strong>{Two Skill Points are awarded for leveling the inherent skill Blood ws for the first time.}</strong>


    I blink in surprise at the extra messages before pulling my hands out of the dead spawns head and slumping onto the ground in exhaustion.


    After a few seconds, I remember my Clean skill and use it to get rid of the ichor from my hands. Then I take a moment to listen for the other demons on the floor, finding each of them to be a safe distance away from me before I let out a groan.


    Today has been a rough day.


    I am absolutely skipping my workout tomorrow.


    Actually,e to think of it, do I even really need to workout anymore? What with the reality altering stats thing?


    I stare at the ceiling for a few seconds as that thought brews in my mind before I shrug, close my eyes, and focus on my hearing.


    Lets see if I cant hear the conversations going on in the bunker. Because Im pretty sure those bunkers have special technology in them to secure a connection past the shields. So they might have information on when backup will be arriving for this Fracture.


    Although considering that its a ss I Fracture, I doubt thatll be anytime soon.


    After several seconds of focusing, I finally manage to barely hear some very quiet voices.


    <em>You think well be out of here by morning? I have a report that I have to finish before noon </em>a slightly higher pitched male voice half asks halfins.


    I cant help but raise an eyebrow despite my eyes being closed.


    Yes. Because a deadline is what you should be worried about right now.


    <em>Probably. The boss is only a few buildings down, in a ss II Fracture from what Ive heard. Hell likely clean it up in a few hours, </em>an older female voice responds, seemingly ignoring theint part of his statement.


    Oh. Right. I almost forgot that Allen is a Guardian.


    <strong>How do you forget someone is a Guardian? </strong>I hear Tars voice intruding on my thoughts.


    Well, Im used to seeing him at the orphanage. Not with his armor equipped. So it was kind of hard to view him as some powerful Guardian when he was surrounded by little kids ying with them quite often.


    The tanuki doesnt say anything for a few seconds before eventually responding with a short, <strong>Understandable then.</strong>


    <em>Still, I find it hard to believe that a Demonic Assault in Terra only had ss I and ss II Fractures in it, </em>another voice, this one sounding like its from an older gentleman.


    My eyes shoot open at that.


    Huh.


    That honestly is quite surprising.


    Demonic Assaults in the capital almost always have at least one ss III Fracture in them.


    So whats up with this one?


    I stare up at the ceiling for a few seconds before beginning to get up with a grunt.


    Guess its better not to question a good thing. Especially when I have some more demons to hunt.


    I check the floor again, focusing once more on the demons, only to find myself frowning as I find less on this floor than there should be. Did some of them leave the floor?


    When I entered the floor, I estimated there to be nine demons total. Five hounds and four spawn. Now Ive killed two of the spawn, and it looks like the other two have either died, gone still, or left the floor entirely.


    But what catches my attention even more is that the hounds seem to be bunched up near the stairwell. And they dont appear to be leaving the floor.


    <strong>Be careful with those hounds. They like to hunt as a pack, and theyre generally stronger on average, albeit smaller than the spawn youve been fighting, </strong>Tars voice suddenly echoes in my head, sending a shiver down my spine.


    Well, this is a problem.


    And to make matters worse, the hounds appear to have just started moving. Right in my direction.


    Shit. Theyre hounds. Of course theyd be able to track like a blood hound!

 Book 1: Chapter 12.1: The Hunter Becomes The Hunted Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 12.1: The Hunter Bes The Hunted Part I


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    Okay, if these things are stronger on average than the spawn Ive been dealing with, then there is no way I can take on a pack of five of them at once. At least, not without some help.


    But what might be on this floor that could help me deal with them? I dont know this building well enough to n around it!


    I stand frozen for several seconds before a thoughtes to me.


    The shields. Each bunker has their own miniature shield in ce, and these shields are detrimental to demons but do not hurt humans. And theyre set up to defend against anything ss III and below. At least, the basic ones are. The more advanced shields should be able to defend against ss IV demons too.


    Each bunker shield has ayer of electricity around the barrier that will absolutely fry any demon that touches it. Which makes me a little hesitant to touch it my-


    <strong>Dont worry about that. The shields will register you as human, </strong>Tar relieves my only worry about this n.


    I nod my head and immediately begin running in the direction of the shield.


    Lets just hope that I manage to navigate this damned maze of a building before those hounds catch up with me.


    As I run through the halls of the building, I eventually begin to hear the hounds begin howling and barking at the same time, some doing one some the other. As if they were enjoying themselves chasing prey.


    My eyes narrow at that thought.


    I am not prey.


    It takes me another few minutes of running to reach the bunker, which on this floor is located in the corner of anothermon area. The normal spot to put them. Where a lot of people congregate.


    I quickly turn back to see the hounds turning the corner before slowing down as they enter themon room.


    My eyes narrow at them, and I activate Blood ws, spreading my hands out on either side of me to ready for battle.


    Do or die time.


    <strong>Inside of the Bunker next to Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>A few moments ago</em></strong>


    Jacob never really expected to be able to be a security officer for a building owned by Silver Works, nor did he believe himself to be worthy of the position. But despite that, he always hoped for it. And when he finally got it? He was over the moon with joy.


    But now?


    Now he wishes that he could be anywhere else <em>but </em>here.


    How the hell do you expect me to hide in here while she might be in danger?! Abigail Young shouts while physically swinging her arms to her side and ring directly at Jacob, not intimidated in the slightest by hisrge build. Open the damned door and let me go, young man!


    The olddy appears to be in her sixties or seventies and has long grey hair running down her back. Shes wearing regr business attire for thepany, along with a pair of sses long since forgotten after falling off her face.


    Jacob lets out a sigh before shaking his head and saying, Im sorrydy, but even if I <em>did </em>let you go, the shield around the building is unbreachable from the inside. And thats assuming you even got there without being killed by the demons along the way.


    The other people inside of the bunker arent making things easier for Jacob either, with their obvious looks of dont open that door practically bleeding through their faces.


    I dont <em>care</em>! Abigail shouts, making some of the people flinch at the panic clearly on disy in her voice. I need to find my granddaughter! Shes all I have left!


    Jacob sends a nce to the other security guards in the room, only to be ignored by them as they each suddenly find the ceiling incredibly interesting to look at.


    <em>Damned cowards!</em>


    The man turns back to Abigail and breathes in deeply to begin speaking, only to breath out again and turn towards the bunker door when it starts beeping. Then his eyes, along with those of everyone else in the room shift to the screen that lowers from the ceiling, showing the events going on outside of the bunker.


    Everyone goes silent as a girl, no older than Jacobs own daughter, runs into therge room connecting dozens of offices with arge window scaling the wall on one end of the room and various other decorations scattered throughout it. The girl is obviously a Guardian, considering her wolf ears and glowing eyes, but some of the people in the room can tell a vast difference between her and their boss, who is always looking around for threats and practically stiff as a board unless hes talking to his daughter.


    <em>A new Guardian, maybe?</em>


    This thought runs through many of the peoples heads in the room and soon enough, whispers begin to spread. And Jacob cant help but frown as he hears some of them.


    <em>Do you think one of our coworkers contracted a spirit? No, it cant be. Shes clearly not wearing attire fit for ourpany. Yeah, she looks like shes just in casual clothes. So she cant be an employee here, can she? She looks like shes only recently graduated from high school or something! Theres no way she couldve gotten a job here so quickly!</em>


    Jacob focuses on the screen again to examine the girl more closely, taking in her attire of a ck and red jacket over a ck shirt with some sort of logo on it that he doesnt recognize, and a pair of regr ck pants. Nothing extraordinary or anything. Outside of the red highlights in her ck hair and her inhuman features that show her as a Guardian that is.


    He cant help but stare at her ears.


    <em>I wonder if theyre as soft as they look?</em>


    After a single moment, he realizes what he had just thought and shakes his head.


    Then he hears the murmurs of the others grow in volume.


    <em>Look! There are demon hounds! Do you think shes gonna fight them?! Of course she is, you idiot! Shes a Guardian! But isnt she just a new Guardian? Is she strong enough to fight off a pack of hounds?</em>


    Jacob looks over to the entrance that the girl had walked through before finding five demon hounds slowly prowling into the room like a pack of wolves. The creatures are clearly smaller than wolves, yet stillrger than regr dogs, and have pitch ck fur and eyes, with a few streaks of red going across the ck.


    <em>Shit. This might be bad if shes as new to being a Guardian as I think.</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 12.2: The Hunter Becomes The Hunted Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 12.2: The Hunter Bes The Hunted Part II


    <strong>Inside of the Bunker next to Scarlet</strong>


    Everyone goes silent as they watch what looks like blood materialize in the form of werewolf ws over the girls hands, startling quite a few of them in the process. But Jacob continues watching with his eyes narrowed despite that.


    <em>Looks like shes nning on fighting. But does she really think she can deal with that many hounds at once? As a newly contracted Guardian?</em>


    Ignorant of the mans thoughts, the girl raises one hand up and beckons the hounds toe after her, surprising the people in the bunker even more with her confidence. But the moment the hounds do leap towards her, she backs up and runs over to the bunker doors, making the camera recording her switch to another one in the process as the beeping grows louder from the hounds proximity.


    <em>Whats she doing? Is she baiting them or something? But for what?</em>


    Jacob tries to block out the sounds of the other upants of the bunker as he nces at Abigail who is silent as she watches the screen, then looks up at the screen again himself. And what he sees on it has his frown growing deeper.


    <em>That girl cant be older than twenty, and shes kiting those hounds around in circles like that? Sure shes making a lot of mistakes, but jeez. I didnt realize bing a Guardian changed so much about a persons fighting capabilities right away.</em>


    On the screen, the girl continues barely avoiding each hounds attack as they continue trying to leap and attack her from all sides. But eventually, after she backs up close enough to the shield, the one behind her fans out slightly to avoid it, leaving her back to the shield itself.


    Jacobs eyes widen in realization right before the hound directly in front of her leaps at her, and she ducks right under the attack, letting the hound strike the shield face first. The shield then lets out a horrifying shrieking sound as what must be millions of volts of electricity burst into the hound, making it fall limp to the ground while smoke rises off of its body while the girl flinches slightly at the same time.


    Silence fills the bunker as everyone watches the girl quickly duck down and sh out the hounds throat with a smug look on her face after its no longer being electrified, ignoring the fact that shed just flinched. She then looks up at the other hounds with a grin and asks, Whos next?


    <em>Holy shit!! Holy shit holy shit holy shiiiit!</em>


    Jacob hears someone shouting out his joy, making him turn around to find a teenage boy with his phone pointed at the screen as if he were recording the fight.


    <em>Seriously?</em>


    Put that away, Jacob says while ring at the kid. But the kid just looks up at the security guard then ignores him to continue recording.


    And while this pisses Jacob off enough that he clenches his fists, he doesnt do anything and simply turns his attention back to the screen. Because after all, there are nows against recording a Guardian at work. No matter how badly Jacob thinks there should be.


    Because while there are the asional few Guardians who are against poprity, the majority of them love it. Fame. Glory. The wealth thates along with it.


    <em>But democracy isnt for the few. Its for the many.</em>


    Jacob thinks as he returns his attention to the screen, just to see the girl covering a bloody wound on her leg where one of the hounds clearly bit her rather hard before getting its neck torn out in kind. He then watches as the three remaining hounds back away from her ever so slightly, showing clear caution now.


    Surprisingly, the girl rushes at the closest one out of nowhere, paying no heed to her injury despite the clear signs that shes feeling it. And once she reaches the startled hound, she physically grabs it, digging her ws in at the same time before tossing it straight at the shield and shocking it just like the first one. Then the other two hounds sprint off, leaving the room and the girl behind in their retreat.


    <em>Huh? Why did they run? Where are they going?</em>


    Most of the people in the bunker clearly dont remember their lessons on the lower ranking demons.


    Demon hounds are pack creatures, and once their pack reduces down to two members remaining, they will always run away and avoidbat, Jacob answers the confused looking people staring at the screen.


    <em>Oh, that makes sense. Right!</em>


    Jacob watches the screen for a few seconds as cheers begin to rise from the other people in the bunker, just waiting for it to happen. And then, after nearly ten whole seconds, it does.


    The girl copses onto the ground with her eyes closed while breathing heavily, exhausted from the battle. This causes some of the cheers to lower in intensity as the people show concern for the girl, but most of them still continue.


    <em>Should I open the door for her and close it again right after? Shes a Guardian, but shes also only a teenager, fresh out of high school by the looks of it. So</em>


    Before he can think much further on the question, the girl opens her eyes and stares directly at the camera, a slight blush creeping onto her face as she likely realizes that everything was streaming to the people in the bunker live. She then climbs to her feet in a sluggish hurry and begins leaving the room, taking the decision out of Jacobs hands.


    Everyone in the room quietly chatters about the new Guardian, many of whom  mostly the women in the room  seem to wish that they could touch her ears, just like Jacobs first thoughts on seeing them. But eventually, everything returns full circle, and Abigail beginsining to Jacob again.


    Well?! Are you going to let me out or not?! she asks, tapping her foot in a rhythmic pattern. But this time, no one is watching them, everyones attention still on the hot topic of a new Guardian.


    Jacob lets out a sigh.


    <em>Why did I want to be here again?</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 13: Risk and Reward

    Book 1: Chapter 13: Risk and Reward


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As soon as the houndspletely leave my sight, turning a corner, I copse onto the ground in a sweaty heap. Meanwhile the pain from the bite in my leg just keeps throbbing and throbbing, reminding me constantly of the mistake I made during the fight in turning my attention solely on the ones in front of me, leaving myself wide open to thest one. Which did at least give me an opening to kill that one without the help of the shield, but the price I paid for that opening will take who knows how long to heal from the moonlight.


    <strong>{Level 5 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 5 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 4 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing ten or more demons above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Demon Hound.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 3. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    A very faint smilees to my face at the constant flood of messages from the System.


    Now thats nice.


    I lie in ce for several seconds in silence before Tar suddenly says, <strong>You might want to switch back to using your lycan ears.</strong>


    My brows furrow for a second, only for me to mentally shrug a secondter and switch back to my lycan ears, wincing slightly as the noise of the shield enters my ears. The very reason I switched to my human ears again in the first ce, despite it feeling rather ufortable for some reason.


    <em>Her ear twitched! Did you see that?! I want to touch her eaaarsss!! </em>


    My eyes shoot open as soon as I hear that before focusing on the security camera that I now see above the bunker.


    What the fuck?!


    <strong>You wouldve noticed if you hadnt switched your hearing to your <em>inferior</em> human ears, but the humans in the bunker have been watching you this entire battle, </strong>the tanuki says, satisfaction and smugness practically oozing through his words in the process.


    I feel my cheeks heat up before I quickly try to get up, ignoring the throbbing pain from my leg to limp out of the room as quickly as I can, if for no other reason than to get away from those cameras.


    <em>Aww, shes gone!</em>


    I feel a shiver run down my spine at the disappointment I hear in that little girls voice. As if she has lost a toy she had wanted to y with.


    Children are scary.


    Also, why is there a kid in here anyways?


    I continue limping through the hall until I find an office with a window and lie down against the wall next to it, just letting the moonlight from the blood moon soak through my wound. But unlike with my arm wound from before, I dont roll up my pants, because theyre too tight to do that. And the wound is much worse this time.


    Then I lean up against the wall with a sigh of relief.


    That hurt.


    But it was worth it in the end.


    A tense smile stretches across my face, tainted only by the pain in my leg as I open my status.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 3</strong><strong>SP: 24</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 21</strong><strong>Mental: 17</strong><strong>Magical: 19</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 2</strong><strong>Mana: 101/161.5</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Predator I</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Okay. Thats enough SP for two moremon skills.


    Also, I focus on the description for Blood ws again to see if its changed.


    <strong>{Blood ws - </strong><strong>Allows the user to coat their hands with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana, drained from the body of whatever the user has their ws in, or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana.}</strong>


    Okay, thats basically what I was expecting.


    I quickly allocate the two free points to Mental, just to keep it up with the other two stats, before I close out of my status and open the Skill Store.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Predator II</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked by killing at least ten demons whose level is higher than your own.</strong>


    <strong>Predator I is required to purchase this.</strong>


    <strong>It grants the user a 7% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Umon</strong> <strong>15</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing your first demon.</strong><strong>A basic utility skill used to repair non-magical clothing.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Common</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing your first demon.</strong><strong>A basic utility skill used to recharge magical equipment through the users own mana.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Common</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Echo</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing your first demon.</strong><strong>A basic utility skill used to infuse the user''s voice with mana, amplifying the sound of their voice.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Common</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    Wait, an umon skill? Thats a wee sight.


    Predator II.


    <strong>Id get it, </strong>Tar says while appearing out of thin air and floating up to the window. <strong>It should set you close to even with the demons a level or so above you in terms of stats.</strong>


    I nod in agreement before purchasing the skill and finding it recing my Predator I skill.


    Its likely that anything I face in this ce will be a higher level than me.


    Although its unfortunate that I dont have enough SP to buy Repair anymore. But that can wait. Its not like Im nning on tearing this jacket to shreds or anything.


    After purchasing the skill, I close out of both my status and the skill store before looking out the window. The moonlight isnt as strong on this side of the building as opposed to thest time I stopped to heal. But thats because its the other side of the building, facing the opposite direction of the moon.


    Rather bad luck there, but nothing I can do about that.


    Because theres no way Im getting up again with this leg.


    I close my eyes to listen for demons, tantly ignoring the small voices I hear belonging to the people in that bunker. And fortunately for me, the two hounds seem to have gone upstairs if the whimpering I hearing from the stairs leading up is anything to go by.


    So I should be able to deal with them after my leg is back to full strength.


    I just hope it doesnt take too long for that to happen.

 Book 1: Chapter 14: Fright and Education

    Book 1: Chapter 14: Fright and Education


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Stop giving me that look, I tell Tar after nearly an hour has passed, and my wound has healed up almost all the way. I am never going to let anyone touch my ears. Period.


    Tar just gives me an amused look from his ce sitting in myp. A look that only grows even more amused after I hear the next thing said by the people in the bunker.


    <em>I heard from my friend who was able to touch the tail of Panther once that it was as soft as silk! Do you think that girls ears are the same?</em>


    Why wont they just drop it already? Is there nothing else to talk about but me in there?


    If its not my ears theyre talking about, its who am I, why I was in this building, how old I am, and so on and so on.


    But a lot of them just seem to want to touch my ears. Which, as it turns out, are incredibly sensitive to touch.


    I tried it myself.


    Which only makes me double down on the no touching rule.


    Anyways, I finally begin to get up from the floor, not bothering to warn the tanuki who falls onto the ground from myp. I stretch a little bit with a faint smile on my face at the sight of the tanuki ring at me from the floor before heading out towards the stairwell again.


    Its time to hunt those hounds above us.


    So as it turns out, the hounds had already gone up three more floors judging by the faint scents and rather dirty pawprints they left behind on the stairs. And after going to the thirty-first floor to check things out? I simply find them both growling at me directly in the entry chamber.


    I wonder why they didnt


    My thoughts trail off as I hear some strange cracking sounds from further into the floor. Simr to that of an egg hatching.


    <strong>Get out of that floor. Now! </strong>Tars voice shouts in my head, and I dont question it, just turning around and rushing down the stairs. Meanwhile, I hear the two hounds following after me. So once I get back down to the thirtieth floor, I spin around in a circle before catching a leaping hound, to which I use its own leverage to throw it down the stairs where it falls with a loud yelp.


    I turn my attention to the other hound to find it having stopped at the edge of the stairs midway between the thirtieth and thirty-first floor with clear hesitation.


    We stare at each other for several seconds, only breaking away once I get the message about the other hounds death prompting me to jump up the stairs again with a veryrge amount of force that sends me straight to the top of this half of the staircase. The hound quickly scoots back in fright despite being a higher level than me, but I continue flying through the air towards it until Ind directly on top of it, where I then dig the ws of both of my hands, blood ws having activated on my flight up, into its neck.


    After hearing the death message for this hound, I let go of its body and begin walking down the stairs again while using my clean skill.


    Tar, what was that? I ask, a small amount of fear entering my voice.


    <strong>That, </strong>the tanuki says, a hint of fear in his own voice surprising me, <strong>was a breeder. Why it was so high up in the building, I dont know. But you need to avoid that floor at all costs.</strong>


    I shiver at the mention of a breeder.


    I dont remember what the creature was described as in the textbooks, but I do remember this. Not only do they constantly breed new spawn, but theyre defended by demon knights. Three of them.


    Just a single demon knight could split me in half with ease. There is no way I am ever entering that floor again during this Fracture.


    A few seconds of silence pass before Tar seems to calm down and asks me a surprising question, <strong>You seem to know a lot about the demons despite only bing a Guardian a few hours ago.</strong>


    Or rather, implied a question.


    I shrug in response.


    You probably read my mind earlier about the me graduating at the top of my ss thing for a schrship, so


    The tanuki just stares at me.


    Of course, itd ignore the important part.


    Well, I begin by speaking out loud as I walk down the stairs, since thinking my answers still feels weird  like Im talking to myself in my head, but not, I was an orphan in a Tier 3 city. Which basically meant that I had very few prospects in life. The most I could hope for was a job that might be able to pay my bills paycheck to paycheck with a home living below what most people would consider good.


    I jump down thest few steps of the stairs to the twenty-eighth floor.


    So I devoted myself to studying as hard as I could, even going to the trouble of asking Belle  my best friend and the daughter of the orphanage director  to lend me her own textbooks from her higher level school as an extra boost, I continue while walking over to the staircase down to the twenty-seventh floor, where I hear nearly half a dozen voices from people who are obviously not in a bunker. Thanks to that, I managed to be the top graduate in my year, earning me a schrship which I then negotiated into the chance toe here. To a Tier 1 city.


    Tar just slowly follows me through the air as I talk, not saying a word in the process.


    And thats about it. I learned all about a lot of the demons through the textbooks for history ss and demonology ss, I finally get around to answering his implied question. Right as I reach the halfway point of the staircase.


    After several seconds, the tanuki finally responds, <strong>Okay.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at the ratherckluster answer.


    Just okay?


    I stare at the tanuki for a few seconds.


    Huh.


    Just okay.


    Why am I spilling my life story to a tanuki, anyways?


    I jump the rest of the way down the stairs to the twenty-seventh floor before focusing on the conversations Im hearing on the floor itself.

 Book 1: Chapter 15: Survivors

    Book 1: Chapter 15: Survivors


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <em>Do you think these are enough? </em>a low pitched male voice asks, worry clear in his tone.


    <em>I doubt it. They went down there with two magi-tech pulse rifles from theb and still didnte back up, </em>a woman answers him with just as much worry in her voice as the man.


    My eyebrows rise at the mention of pulse rifles.


    Those things should be strong enough to obliterate up to a level twenty-five demon, if I remember correctly from my research on Allenspany. And if the people who went down there didnte back even with them


    Although, I wonder why they arent just hiding in their bunker?


    I begin to walk through the floor in the direction of the voices. And as I walk, I open my skill store and purchase the repair skill, which I can now afford thanks to those demon hounds that I killed up above. Then I immediately use it on my jacket and other clothes, reveling in the sight of the holes and cuts and whatnot on them closing themselves up for only the small price of a couple points of mana each article of clothing.


    My jackets finally whole again! Yippee!!!


    I cant help the smile that blooms on my face at that, only for it to fade after I hear the continued conversation of the people on the floor.


    <em>Damnit, why did the generator have to break down now!</em>


    Oh. That exins why theyre not in the bunker.


    Not sure where the generator is for this floor, but most generators tend to support more than one shield. Meaning its probably not on this floor, judging by their conversation.


    If theres no generator, theres no shield for the bunker. And if theres no shield, theres no purpose for the bunker.


    Not when any demon can just break through the door.


    Or most demons at least. I dont think spawn can break through a solid steel door. Probably.


    Also, why arent there any demons on this floor?


    I walk through the strangely silent floor, outside of the humans on it of course, for nearly five minutes, just slowly navigating towards them as their conversation continues on and on, going round and round in circles with no decision in sight. Eventually, I finally make it to the door that sounds like it opens up into the room theyre in. So I grab the knob and open the door, startling over a dozen people in the process.


    Three of them immediately raise pistols to point at me, only to lower it again at the sight of me. Meanwhile the rest all jump backwards, many of them tripping over stuff in the process.


    A few seconds pass in silence as we stare at each other.


    Of the fourteen people I find in the room, one is a little kid just ying in the corner as if nothing had happened, ten are adults at the very least in their early thirties, one is an old man, and the other two are both teenagers.


    Why are there so many teenagers in this building?


    The people in front of me look even more surprised for some reason before sharing a nce with each other. Then one of them  who, judging by his voice, is one of the ones I heard talking on my way here  answers the question I had asked in my head, Well, today was a day that the possible interns from the nearby high schools were visiting to see the office, maam.


    I blink in surprise.


    Wait, did I ask that out loud?!


    Also, did a man over ten years my senior call me maam?


    <strong>Its because youre a Guardian, </strong>a certain tanukis voice echoes in my head, answering my question.


    Oh. Right. That.


    No need to call me maam, I tell them with a shake of my head, which somehow draws their attention to my ears. It makes me feel old.


    Right, the guy responds, his eyes quickly returning to my face, unlike some of the other members of their little group who continue to stare at my ears. Is there some way we can assist you?


    I stare at him for a few seconds, a little surprised by his words.


    <strong>Guardians are given the authority of a major in the military during Demonic Assaults, making you the equivalent of a military officer in his eyes, </strong>Tar answers my unasked question again, finally proving his worth beyond just his cuteness as a tanuki.


    He snorts at that thought.


    Actually, I had heard you all talking from the stairs and was wondering what had happened? I sort of half ask, half state with a frown. Because in all honesty, Im not sure why I came over here to them. Maybe out of pure curiosity?


    The man looks surprised for a second before straightening himself out, which seems to snap the others out of their little wolf ear staring stupor as he asks, Um, if I may ask, are you a new Guardian to this Fracture?


    I hesitantly nod my head at that.


    This makes the looks of hope that I had seen blooming on his face ever since his eyesnded on me begin to fade away. But the woman and other man next to him  likely the people I heard him talking to about the situation  push him forwards anyways, to his obvious chagrin.


    Oh. He wants me to help with their situation.


    I look around the group, most of which dont seem to know how to react to me  except the two teens of course, who are still staring at my ears for some reason.


    Why is it that every teenage girl in this building that Ive heard or seen wants to touch my ears?! I mean, I understand theyre soft, but seriously!


    Then theres the little kid who cant be any older than five years old. Theyre just ying with some toy as if nothing was happening.


    Someones kid, I guess?


    I- no, we would like to ask if you could help us, miss Guardian, the man who was speaking to me asks, bringing my attention back to him as he uses an even more awkward title to call me than before.


    Should I help?


    I stare at him for a few seconds as I think of the benefits and drawbacks.


    Its likely only going to be an hour or two longer before a Guardian or two arrives to quell the Fracture, so I cant see these people being in <em>too </em>much danger outside of a bunker. Not with me hunting the demons around here, and there not being any on this floor in the first ce. Likely due to those pulse rifles now that I think about it.


    But at the same time, Im heading downstairs anyways. I might as well help them out.


    Sure, I answer with a shrug. And call me Scarlet.

 Book 1: Chapter 16: Assistance

    Book 1: Chapter 16: Assistance


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Some of the tension seems to leave the mans body while at the same time the two teens finally stop focusing on my ears.


    Thank you, miss Scarlet! the man seems overjoyed, but despite that he still has himself wellposed. Unlike the other two next to him, one of whom seems to be from across the ocean to the east judging by appearance and how hes bowing towards me, whereas the other one is just staring up at the ceiling with quiet tears flowing down her face.


    Rather odd.


    And hes still calling me miss Scarlet. But I guess theres no breaking that. The guy looks like he has some sort of disciplinary training, like the military or the police or something.


    As if reading my mind, the man suddenly introduces himself, My name is John Winslow, and Im a police officer who was here in order to meet with the CEO. But then everything else happened, and that kind of went out the wayside. He reaches his hand towards me with a polite smile on his face and adds, Its nice to meet you, miss Scarlet.


    I shake his hand, feeling like this is a bit more normal. Much better than the awkwardness of our initial greeting.


    Now, ording to mypatriot here, the man pauses as he waves at the woman next to him, who simply waves at me in response, the generator for this floors bunker is located in the bunker directly beneath us, and considering that its not on, something bad must have happened down there. So we sent down my partner and one of the security officers on this floor, each armed with some of Ciphers patented pulse rifles, to investigate.


    And they never came back, I finish for him before crossing my arms and ncing at the other man of the three who are standing up front. The guy just waves at me and smiles at my look though, so I turn back to Officer Winslow, who is nodding his head in confirmation of my words.


    Correct, he says before ncing behind him at a few of the men who are wearing security officer uniforms, we only have one pulse rifle remaining, but these three have pistols with them as well. He turns back to me with a hopeful look. Will you consider helping them get down to the twenty-sixth floor?


    I look between the men for a few seconds before considering the help that a pulse rifle could give me in hunting demons. Which is a lot of help.


    Sure, I answer with a shrug. Was headed down there anyways.


    A wave of relief passes through everyone in the room. Except the kid. Even the teens look relieved at my answer.


    I blink in surprise at that, only to shrug it off a secondter before turning around and walking towards the door.


    Well, Ill be at the stairs when youre ready, I tell them, waving my hand over my shoulder. Eager to get away from the group of people.


    The people in the room  many of them being the ones who hadnt said a word throughout that whole exchange  practically smother me in thanks and appreciative words until I close the door behind me with a sigh of relief. And not even a secondter, I hear the tanuki start talking.


    <strong>You really dont like dealing with people, do you? </strong>


    Its that obvious?


    <strong>Yes, it is.</strong>


    Stupid furball. That was a rhetorical question.


    <strong>Yes. That it was.</strong>


    My eye twitches as I walk through the hall towards the stairs.


    The stupid furball is bing sassy. Didnt know a spirit, or rather a fae could do that.


    It only takes me three minutes to make it to the stairs this time, since I had already made it through the maze of a floor once. And only another two minutes before the others arrive to join me.


    Unsurprisingly, one of the people is the police officer, whereas the other two are security guards, leaving one of the guards behind likely as a protective measure for the other people on the floor. Meanwhile, the one holding the pulse rifle, which I recognize from tv, is one of the security guards. Not sure if its because they didnt trust an outsider with the tech, or if this security guard is just better at using it. Either way, it doesnt really matter to me.


    Not really sure what the point of telling me they had three pistols was if they were only bringing two though.


    Scarlet, Officer Winslow says with a nod. Shall we be off?


    I nod back and begin walking down the stairs.


    We shall.


    The three of us walk until the mid-point on the stairs, where I stop and close my eyes, just listening to the sounds on the floor.


    Scarl- I cut him off by raising a finger.


    After listening for a few seconds, a frown develops on my face, and I open my eyes.


    Sounds like there arent any spawn on the floor. Just hounds and bipedal demons, I tell the three, a slight fear building at the back of my mind at the thought. But I quench that fear just as quickly as ites. Because if we have a pulse rifle, then they can take care of the huntsmen. And if its a knight, then we can just run. Theyre pure defenders who assign themselves to guard something or someone, and never leave that charge. That means we could be dealing with either huntsmen, or knights.


    I immediately see the three tensing up at the word knights. And I cant me them.


    The things are terrifying from what Ive read. But they arent all that hard to escape, otherwise there would be a lot more casualties in ss I Fractures.


    Although its possible they could be in a ce blocking the others from passing. I dont know the buildingsyout after all.


    In which case Ill figure out what to do when the timees.


    You, I point at the guy with the pulse rifle  a ratherrge man with a thick beard and long brown hair  making him open his mouth in surprise before pointing at himself. Yes, you. I want you right next to me with that pulse rifle of yours.


    He nods, not saying a word in response.


    Likely because I show a hint of confusion at that, the officer exins, Sorry, Carl is mute.


    Oh.


    Okay.


    Carl walks up next to me and nods again, but this time with a slightly sad look on his face.


    Poor Carl.


    You two, just stay behind us and try not to get hurt, I tell them, albeit maybe a bit more callously than I meant to.


    I turn around again and continue walking down the stairs.


    Lets go.

 Book 1: Chapter 17: Questions

    Book 1: Chapter 17: Questions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It must look rather odd for a young woman like me to be giving orders to a bunch of thirty year old men armed with guns and a magic weapon. But theres no other choice, considering that theyre only human, and they cant hear what I can. Not to mention the chain ofmand that is apparently set up for Guardians.


    Once we reach the bottom of the stairs at the twenty-sixth floor, my eyes immediately locks onto several demon hounds. All of which are between levels five and seven.


    The sound of the pulse rifle going off echoes in my ears, making me wince slightly before I rush forwards. But out of the corner of my eye, I see one of the hounds gettingpletely vaporized by the pulse rifle, leaving nothing left.


    I grimace at just how loud that thing is, much louder than Id expected, but still continue forwards, taking advantage of the hounds distraction given to me by Carl and his pulse rifle to activate my blood ws and slice straight through the neck of one of the hounds. This  along with the sounds of bullets being fired from the other two pistols  snaps the remaining five hounds out of their stupor, leading to one of them quite close to me attempting to take a bite out of my leg. But once again, I hear the st of the pulse rifle, following which the hound vanishes, having been vaporized as well.


    The other hounds begin cautiously backing up, having realized the predicament theyre in. But I dont make it easy on them by rushing forwards again, my ws empowered now by the blood of that first demon hound I killed in the fight.


    Another bullet from a pistol fires forth, not really doing much damage beyond a small wound to the hound it hit as I rush forward to tear straight through the jaw of a hound that tried to match my ws with its mouth, with little sess. And now, with only three of the seven hounds remaining, one of which being injured, the hounds quickly begin to make a full-on retreat from the room.


    But not before another loud noise echoes from the pulse rifle, making me reach up to cover my ears this time as another hound is vaporized.


    The other two hounds manage to escape down the hall, so I rx ever so slightly, letting my hands lower down from my head again. I turn to look at the other three to find them all safe and sound near the stairs, each with a smile on their faces.


    Guess theyre happy with how that went.


    <strong>{Level 6 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 6 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    I open my status to nce at my SP before looking at the pulse rifle.


    Maybe I should consider buying the recharge skill just for that rifle? After I have enough SP, of course.


    Itll take another seven kills to get enough SP for that skill. Which shouldnt be too much in the long-run.


    Also, it looks like those killed by the others dont give me any EXP or SP. Or at least those killed by the pulse rifle didnt. Since the other two didnt manage to kill anything.


    I just wish their guns were quieter.


    Wow, Officer Winslow says with a wide grin splitting across his face. That was amazing!


    The other security officer  the one who hasnt actually said anything or even given me his name yet  nods his head in agreement and says, Very amazing.


    Carl just gives a thumbs-up to go along with his grin.


    I return Carls thumbs-up before turning around and closing my eyes to focus on my hearing again. The others go silent during this, likely understanding that I need silence whenever I do this.


    After a second of focusing, I manage to make out several shouting voices, the sounds of quite a few guns shooting off, one of them being a pulse rifle judging by the familiar sound its making, andstly, some strange noises akin to that of something hitting metal and bouncing off. Which leads me to believe that theyre all fighting a knight for some reason instead of just running away from it.


    I open my eyes again while turning to Officer Winslow and saying, At the center of the floor, there are several people shouting and shooting guns, one pulse rifle included, along with a knight by the sounds of the battle.


    The grins are instantly wiped from their faces as they turn serious.


    Do you know the way? the officer asks me while visibly tightening his grip on his pistol.


    Yes, I answer, surprising all three of them.


    Normally I wouldnt know where they are, at least judging by my past experience on the upper floors. But this floorsyout is different. There really isnt much on it beyond a few reallyrge rooms, and at most a couple of small hallways judging by how clear the noises are. So its rather easy to track this time.


    Not really sure why theyd even need me to help them navigate their way through such a small floor like this anyways. Or, simple, rather than small.


    Alright, lets go save them then, he says with a look of determination recing the fear I had seen sh in his eyes at the mention of a knight. Which also makes me wonder just what that knight is protecting. Since I clearly dont sense any breeders  thankfully  and the captain is obviously not going to be down here. Itll be with the core as its themander of the Fracture.


    But that still leaves the question of just what is the knight protecting if its not another demon?


    Also, why is it that Tar sounds especially quiet right now?


    A few seconds pass as we all begin rushing into the floor, through the door into the entry room, which looks like some sort of equipment room. And even after we reach the halfway point in the room, the tanuki still hasnt said anything. Which leads me to wonder something.


    Can a fae leave its contracted partner during its contract, or is it required to stay next to them all the time?

 Book 1: Chapter 18: The Biggest Hunt Yet

    Book 1: Chapter 18: The Biggest Hunt Yet


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but ponder over the question as we run through the hallway. But my attention is immediately taken away from that subject the moment we enter therge room where the people on this floor are gathered as my eyes focus on arge demon. One seemingly wearing a set of pitch ck armor with a glowing red sword in its hand, and a red visor in the horned helmet on its head.


    A knight! I hear Officer Winslow shout, bringing the attention of some of the people in the room fighting it to us before they return their attention to the fight. Albeit not until after a brief nce at me.


    My mind almost nks the moment my eyes reach the demon knights head and I hear the message from the System ying out in my head.


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Subspecies: None  Level 53|</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    The demon doesnt make a single sound outside of its footsteps as it swings its massive sword around like some sort of stick. And every time it does, the people around it move far back, avoiding the de whose path makes a whistling sound just from splitting the air as it passes right in front of them, sending a small st of air in their direction and pushing them back even further. Meanwhile, I also see a few huntsmen around the edges of therge room, which looks to be some sort of chamber meant for experimenting with weapons or something, because while arge portion of the room is amon area like space, theres also a lower level that has targets, along with what looks to be a disabled shield over it that would act as a tform for people to walk on.


    I also cant help but notice that the hounds we were just fighting are dead, seemingly at the hands of the knight itself for some reason.


    Maybe by ident? The thing is rather clumsy. Which is really the only reason why Im considering staying to fight it.


    Jackson! Officer Winslow shouts, looking in the direction of the security officer holding the pulse rifle fighting alongside the seven other people against the knight.


    The guy returns his look with a nod before firing his pulse rifle at the demon knight, only for it to barely leave a small burn on the armor.


    Shit. Its way too strong for the pulse rifle to be enough!


    Damage or not though, it does serve to distract the knight for a moment, leaving the others to fire at the huntsman scattered in the corners of the room, aiming directly at their crossbows.


    I nod my head in agreement with that decision. Because theyre not likely to be able to do much with the knight here without their crossbows even if they can fight without them. And the guns wont do much to the huntsmen either. Considering that theyre all between levels fifteen and twenty.


    Does the shield generator for the experimental chamber down there still run! I shout at the people fighting, seemingly confusing them for a moment before one of them answers, Yes!


    Without wasting anymore time, I lightly drag my blood ws against my own arm to pull in more blood, grimacing slightly as I cut open my skin before rushing in with the strengthened ws towards the knight while its distracted.


    Lets hope this works.


    <strong><em>The other side of the room</em></strong>


    Arnold Fraught wasnt sure how today couldve gone any worse. First he waste for work. Then he found that the shield generator used for the experimental testing chamber was jammed and needed to be fixed, making his job a lot harder until someone finally managed to fix the damned thing. And not even a few minutes after that?


    A Demonic Assault began, with a Fracture smack dab in the middle of thepany building. Even if its only a ss I Fracture.


    And that was fine. The first thought that went through his head when he saw the spawn was that maybe this could be considered some sort of offhanded luck that they managed to finish right before it happened instead of being stuck working on it while it was happening.


    That is, until he went to the bunker with the other researchers and found the generator in there just as busted as the generator for the experimental field. And by the time they reached the main chamber of the floor where the field was, they already found that a demon knight had taken up residence in the area for some reason.


    And the thing seemed absolutely against anyone trying to enter the experimental field.


    After seeing that, hed lost all hope he had of surviving. Because no uninitiated human can survive a knight unless they run. And there wasnt anywhere to run with the knight blocking the path.


    Arnold cant help but nce at the pulse rifle the security guard from the floor above them is holding before turning his gaze towards the girl who is obviously a Guardian as she runs towards the knight.


    <em>Now though theres hope at least.</em>


    Then he sees her cutting her own arm with her bloody ws and begins to question whether that hope is a false one or not. Until he sees her rushing at the demon knight who is still stepping towards the security officer who is waiting for his pulse rifle to cool down to fire again before the girl leaps into the air andnds on the demons back.


    At this point he wonders if shes entirely sane, or if shes just too powerful a Guardian to care.


    Either way, he continues firing his own pistol at the knight while being extra careful not to shoot the Guardian girl as she tries to dig her ws into the creatures armor-appearing scales with no sess. She then frowns at this before ncing at the security officer and shouting, Try to hit the same spot as before on the knight! and jumping off of the knight in the process. The entire time the knight didnt even bother acknowledging her presence thanks to the greater threat of the pulse rifle.


    Arnolds eyes widen slightly in understanding, and apparently the security guard seems to understand as well, because as soon as the rifle is ready to fire again, he aims at the exact same spot on the knight and fires out another pulse of blue energy that burns ever so slightly deeper into the creatures scales.


    Everyone! Arnold shouts at the others around him, Shoot at the huntsmen to keep them distracted and give the others time to deal with the knight!


    Arnolds research team  all not experienced in any form ofbat  manage to give out shaky answers of agreement before firing at the huntsmen who are all hiding in the shadows. But before Arnold can join them to do the same, the girl runs up to him and quickly says, Can you turn on the shield for the experimental chamber down there?


    After a brief moment of surprise, Arnold nods his head and answers, If itll help.


    He then runs off to the shield while the knight is busy with the girl and the security officer.


    <em>Lets just hope that whatever shes nning works.</em>


    I watch for a second as the man who had answered my question earlier runs off while the knight is focused on Jackson before turning around and going back to the knight myself.


    These things arent very intelligent from what I remember in my lessons. They have incredibly durable scales that for some reason take on the appearance of armor but are singrly obsessed with defending whatever their charge is and will almost always singrly attack a single target. The one it sees as the biggest threat to it and its charge.


    Which right now is that pulse rifle in its eyes, meaning it sees me as nothing more than a gnat flying around the room. No matter how insulting that may be.


    Carl! I shout at him, Can you help Jackson in shooting that one spot?!


    I see the mute man giving me a thumbs up before attempting to go around the knight to shoot it in the same spot that Jackson just did.


    Okay. This n may be a rushed one, and also may or may not take in the fact that it lets me finish the thing off to get the EXP, but it should work.


    Probably.


    It also hinges on them not, ya know, shooting me. Because that would kill me. But I know the security guards here are trained to shoot well, even with these rifles. Something about Allen requiring it.


    I rush in towards the knight again right after it swings and misses Jackson once again, showing off its rather slow speed. Or is it a slow reaction speed?


    <strong>Thats one of the things that can happen when your stats arent evenly bnced. </strong>Tar suddenly says, having returned who knows when from who knows where. <strong>If your mental stat isnt high enough, your thoughts may not be able to always keep up with your bodys enhanced physical capabilities. And demon knights are notorious for how low their mental stat ispared to their physical.</strong>


    Putting aside where youve been till after this fight, that sounds incredibly unbnced.


    <strong>That it does. These knights arent meant to do anything besides act as living shields for their charges after all, </strong>the tanuki responds, ignoring myment about his having been missing.


    Okay, thats kind of sad.


    For it that is.


    The creature continues to ignore me as I rush up to and even sh at its legs, ducking as it finally decides to attack me, only for the attack to be disrupted by another pulse shot to its chest that goes frighteningly close to my head.


    Please dont hit me! I shout back before going around the creature and deciding to attack it from the other side.


    Surprisingly, the knight finally lets out a groan after another shot hits it from Carl, just a few seconds after the one from Jackson. And after that, it begins to shake slightly, simply stopping in ce.


    Just in case its about to do something big, I jump back, creating arge amount of distance between myself and it. And I quickly find myself to be ecstatic that I decided to do so. Because not even a few secondster, the knight stomps one of its feet on the ground, sending a strange red shockwave outward in a circle around itself that barely misses me as I jump over it at thest second. The shockwave continues for several meters in each direction, only stopping right after it hits one of the researchers who is busy distracting the huntsmen for us.


    My eyes widen in shock as the man lets out a hoarse scream while his body seemingly liquifies below his calves.


    What. The. Fuck?!


    And that almost hit me too? Would have if I hadnt jumped.


    Almost everyone stops to stare at the wounded man who is now sobbing almost nonstop, no longer firing his gun  likely too overwhelmed by the pain to do so. But after only a couple seconds of this, the man who I had talked to earlier shouts, Youre in no situation to stare right now!!!


    His words snap both me and the others out of our stupor before I hear two pulse rifles firing at the same time, both at the knights armor. And once the smoke clears, I find that the scales have beenpletely melted, with some of the flesh beneath burnt.


    Leave this part to me! I shout at Carl and Jackson. You two help the others deal with the huntsmen now!


    The huntsmen are annoying in that they like to hide and shoot a bolt out at random. But these havent been doing much thanks to the bullets that keep being shot at their crossbows.


    Despite that though, theyre still a problem that needs to be dealt with.


    I cant help but send a slightly fearful nce towards the researcher whose legs are now nothing more than a pile of goo before shaking my head and rushing towards the knight.


    No time to be afraid right now.


    I nce at the experimental chamber to find the man who broke everyone out of their shock tinkering with some sort of machine that was hidden behind a panel in the wall.


    How much longer until the shield is- I begin to shout, only to cut off as I hear the sound of the shield starting up, followed by arge blue barrier appearing over the experimental chamber. Never mind.


    The man gives a half-hearted grin at that, to which I try to return before focusing on the knight again as it begins moving towards Jackson at a slightly faster speed than before. Which honestly works out, since Jackson is closer to the edge of the floor overlooking the experimental chamber.


    I run up to the railing before grabbing it and breaking part of it off, following which I run over to the knight.


    Please let this work. Oh <em>pleeeaase </em>let this work!!!


    Without a second to spare, I run around it on its side closer to the railing right after it swings its sword again, only barely missing Jackson in the process and slicing straight through the railing a little further down from me. Then I jump onto the railing and kick off straight towards the creature with a pipe in one hand and my ws stretched out in the other.


    While the creature is still recovering from swinging itsrge sword, I stab my ws straight into the gap in its scales, making my hand dig nearly two inches deep. But my momentum, along with the creatures blood joining my ws, allows my hand to dig just a little bit deeper. Meanwhile the pipe remains unused in my left hand as the knight lets out a roar of pain that has me grinning.


    Looks like I finally got its attention.


    I rip my hand out of its body, sending a spray of greyish ck blood out to cover my jacket and Jackson behind me before I kick off of its body into the air. The creature tries to reach for me but is too slow and barely misses. Whether thats because of its low mental stat making its reaction time terrible, or the wound I just gave it slowing it down, Im not sure. But either way, Ind nearly four meters in front of the thing, with its back facing the shield and railing.


    A surge of pride runs through me as I feel the hunt reaching its climax at the sight of the knight raising its sword with a bit more difficulty than before, only to then pause at the top of its climb and instead raise a foot.


    Shit, run! I shout while leaping backwards, vaguely noticing Jackson already having started running immediately after getting sshed by the blood.


    I let out a sigh of relief at seeing the wave barely miss me before I take advantage of the little period of rest I noticed it had after using that particr skill by rushing at it with the pipe of the railing held up like a javelin. Then, the moment I get within one meter of it, I pull back, jump up, and send it shooting forward with my momentum, right into the knights chest. And while it doesnt really dig very deep, it still goes nearly four inches in.


    But thats not the main reason for my doing this.


    I jump off of the creature as it falls backwards, topples over the railing, and straight onto the shield that ends up making a loud shrieking sound as bolts of electricity fly off of the creatures body, ravaging it from both inside and out, with many of the boltstching onto the pipe and being driven into the creatures body through it.


    After a few seconds, the pain in my own ears from thebined noise of the creatures roars and the shield make me switch to my human ears just for some relief.


    The electricity continues shocking the knight for over five seconds before the bolts begin to grow evenrger, some of them even striking through the pipe away from the field, barely missing me and making me back up a few feet.


    Wow.


    Thats beautiful.


    After watching the electric show for a couple more seconds, I look down at my hands in front of me with a frown before using my Clean skill.


    Then a bolt from a crossbow punctures straight through my arm and into my stomach.


    I turn to stare at it for a few seconds, briefly wondering where it came from before looking up and finding one of the huntsmen with its head and crossbow peaking out from behind a pir. Only for said huntsmen to get that very same head vaporized by a pulse shot from one of the pulse rifles.


    Whether its from shock, adrenaline, or what, I dont really feel the wound. All I see when I turn back to look at it is a thick ck crossbow bolt going straight through my arm. In one way and out the other, with the head of the crossbow going into my gut only by an inch or so.


    But that doesntst long before the pain really arrives. And its so great that it has me falling to my knees while silent tears leak out of my eyes practically nonstop.


    The pain is so much worse than a hound simply chomping on my leg a little. So much worse than anything Ive felt before.


    After a few seconds, the pain bes too much and I fall onto the ground with onest thought going through my mind.


    Didnt the huntsmen already have fixations here?


    Then a ding echoes in my head, and everything goes ck.


    <strong><em>The Experiment Hall</em></strong>


    <em>Holy shit! She did it! She fucking<strong></strong>did it!!! The girl actually killed the knight!!</em>


    Arnold cant help but let out a <em>whoop </em>of excitement as he stands up from his spot kneeling next to the generator and watches as the knight is pumped full of electricity from the shield. But his excitement dies just as quickly as it had started when he sees the crossbow bolt enter straight through the girls arm and into her stomach.


    Oh <em>hell no</em>! the man shouts before breaking off into a sprint to get to her as fast as possible, uncaring of the remaining two huntsmen who are still being shot at by the two pulse rifle bearers.


    <em>She did </em>not <em>just save our lives to die herself!</em>


    As soon as he gets to the girl, he touches her wrist to feel for a pulse before nodding at finding one and reaching for the bolt stuck in her arm. Only for a tanuki to suddenly appear in between his hand and the bolt, startling him into falling onto his rear.


    <strong>Do not take the bolt out until she is in the moonlight, </strong>the tanuki talks to him, making him wonder for a very brief moment if hes losing his mind. But after a few secondster, and the sounds of more pulse rifle shots followed by the vaporization of the remaining huntsmen, he realizes hes not.


    Then one of the men that had apanied the girl here  one he recognizes as the head of security for the floor above this one  walks up and stares at the tanuki before muttering, A spirit?


    Arnold  having heard his muttered words  jerks his head to look at the tanuki again and asks, Wait, are you her contracted spirit?


    The tanuki just nods its head and answers, <strong>Bring her to the moonlight before you take out the arrow.</strong> Then it vanishes again without a trace.


    Silence passes for a mere two seconds after the tanukis disappearance before Arnold and the man gently begin picking the girl up and moving her over to the room connected to this one that has a window.

 Book 1: Intermission 1

    Book 1: Intermission 1


    <strong>One block away from the building Scarlet is in</strong>


    <strong><em>A couple hourster</em></strong>


    At first, she was just a part of a contract. He was asked to bring her to an orphanage of his own creation in return for permission to set up his own Association.


    But after a few years, she began to grow on him. Her more than any of the other orphans in the orphanage he had set up as a cover for the contract. And by the time she got old enough to argue with him? To question him on his inventions? He couldnt help but admit that he was starting to care for her as he did his own daughter.


    Of course, it didnt hurt that Scarlet was quickly bing best buds with his actual daughter. So when Allen heard that there was a Fracture near the orphanage several years back, he didnt hesitate to drop everything and rush over to the city from the capital  arriving there in less than half an hour thanks to one of his skills. Only to find that he had overreacted, and the kids werent even in the Fracture.


    But now shes in actual danger. Now shes in a Fracture.


    This thought echoes through Ciphers mind as he throws a punch straight at the core of the ss II Fracture, bolts of electricity created by nanomachines wrapping around his fist in the process before the core shatters in a matter of seconds. He then sends a wave of mes through the room, torching alive all of the demons in it including the level 250 Demon Commander in charge of the ss II Fracture.


    Without a hint of hesitation, Cipher rushes out of the room, all of the demons in the building beginning to lose their connection to the world of Earth now that the core is gone. And by the time the Guardian gets to the front door of the building, everyst demon is gone from it, already sent back to their home world of Tartarus, with the shield automaticallying down around the building now that theyre gone.


    Cipher summons his magi-tech, skill enhanced hover pack and breaks the sound barrier as he bursts through the air in the direction of hispany building, ignoring the shocked looks hes getting along the way from the few people still on the streets. He thennds on the ground right in front of the main doors, spreads his hands, and lets arge stream of nanomachines fly out to surround the entire building as his eyes close.


    If there were any people near this building, they would see his eyes constantly moving beneath his eyelids as he uses the nanomachines to get ayout of every floor in terms of both people and demons. But once the nanomachines reach the twenty-sixth floor, he pauses, his mouth parting open slightly as they find something rather surprising.


    His eyes open and a scowl appears on his face.


    <em>She signed a contract.</em>


    He listens in on the conversations held by the people in the room, which amount to about ten, two of which are armed with his own pulse rifles. And after just a few minutes of listening, he understands what happened, his focus briefly shifting to the dead demon knight located in the middle of the shield in the experimental field.


    <em>That damned idiot! Of all the foolish, moronic, and arrogant things you couldve done and have ever done in your life, this takes the fucking cake!</em>


    Despite his thoughts, the man doesnt hesitate to have his nanomachines scan her body from outside of the building. And what he finds is that she isnt in critical condition, only with a very light wound to her stomach and a very strange and seemingly impossible  possibly already partially healed?  wound on her arm, along with the crossbow bolt lying next to her unconscious form.


    He lets out a sigh of relief at that before his scowl grows evenrger, this time more out of anger directed towards her recklessness than anything else. Anger that he quickly begins to dish out towards all of the demons on the first floor the moment he steps inside, incinerating everyst one of them with ease.


    <em>Considering who told me to create and orphanage and bring her to it in the first ce, its not surprising that she was chosen for a contract. But the sheer recklessness of fighting  and somehow defeating  a demon knight in the very same Fracture you contracted in is mind boggling.</em>


    Cipher doesnt even pay attention as he simply goes from floor to floor, incinerating the demons while not touching any of the humans  the ss I demons not being anything more than simple bugs in the face of his power.


    <em>Maybe this will teach her not to be so reckless. First its trying to teach other orphans bullies a lesson when they were twice her size by filling their lockers full of worms  Tartarus knows where she got them  then it was trying to negotiate with the fucking board of education for the ability to apply for Tier 1 Universities. And now its taking on demon knights while only being a newly contracted Guardian?!</em>


    As the mans irritation rises, so does the death count of the demons he kills through the floors. All the way until he reaches the sixth floor and finds the core situated there with a level 100 Demon Captain guarding it, along with two level 75 demon knights stationed next to the core. But none of them so much as slow the man down as he simply walks in, turns each of them into barbecue, then grabs and shatters the core in his bare palm.


    Space begins to warp around them ever so slightly before stabilizing again as the demons filling the building all begin to fade away, each being sent back to Tartarus with regret. Meanwhile all of the humans in the building let out cheers of excitement, relief, and pure joy as the man saves their lives while simply taking out his irritation on the core and the demons.


    Cipher doesnt even stop moving after dealing with the demon core. He just continues walking up the stairs in his path towards the twenty-sixth floor, not even bothering with answering the calls he is getting from Sage and the other Guardians of his Association now that the Fracture has been dealt with.


    But as he is stepping onto the eleventh floor, he pauses as he sees through his nanomachines the very source of his current stress, anger, and anxiety waking up.


    Then his eyes narrow as he sees the faint smile that makes its way across her face, likely at seeing the Systems message of her killing a demon knight, and whatever achievements thates along with at her level. Which are most likely quite a lot.


    <em>Of course, she doesnt regret it. Because all the System is going to do is reward her for it.</em>


    And so, the mans irritation rises again as he continues climbing the stairs to go meet his wayward ward.

 Patreon Announcement

    Patreon Announcement


    <strong>Hello everyone, and I apologize for the interruption!</strong>


    <strong>However, I would like to announce my Patreon, since it is finally finished being set up for Wolf of the Blood Moon!</strong>


    <strong>That said, do note that I use the same Patreon for all six of my current ongoing stories.</strong>


    <strong>Now then. On to business.</strong>


    <strong>You can read up to 57 chapters in advanced of what is currently on Royal Road on my Patreon. </strong>


    <strong>Currently being as of 3/15/2023 8:43PM CST.</strong>


    <strong>Yes.</strong>


    <strong>I said 57. Chapters.</strong>


    <strong>Arge portion of this is from my initial backlog for the story. Meaning that it might eventually drop down to a minimum of 20 chapters in advanced that you can read on my Patreon. And I say minimum because I will be adding any extra backlog chapters I write to my Patreon. But I won''t be letting the amount of advanced chapters go below 20 advanced chapters past what is on Royal Road.</strong>


    <strong>In the future I can see it fluctuating between up to 20-40 advanced chapters on my Patreon total for this story.</strong>


    <strong>If you''re interested in checking out my Patreon, click here!</strong>


    <strong>I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day. Daily chapters will continue as normal.</strong>


    <strong>Have a random Scarlet image!</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>

 Book 1: Chapter 19: Awake

    Book 1: Chapter 19: Awake


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The moment I wake up, I suck in a breath through my teeth at the pain of my injuries. But theyre nowhere near as bad as they were before I lost consciousness, judging by the pain. So I slowly open my eyes to look at my surroundings, only to find myself in an office next to a window, with only a couple of people in the room. Although by the sounds of it, there are several more on the other side of the door.


    I also find that I can hear a lot of joyous cries throughout the building without any of the regr noise that I havee to associate with demons. Which means that the Fractures core was probably destroyed while I was out.


    With that relieving thought in mind, I nce at my wounds to find that they have managed to heal a decent amount. Which leaves me wondering if Tar said-


    <strong>They dont know what was going on. All I said was for them to put you next to the window where moonlight was shining through and they obliged, so its most likely that they believe you have some sort of skill that lets you heal in moonlight, </strong>the tanuki says in my mind, sounding just as robotic as ever. But despite that, I cant help but feel like he was worried about me for some reason.


    <strong>Preposterous, </strong>the tanuki in question responds to my thoughts. But then the Systems messages suddenly y out in my mind before I can say anything in retort. <strong>Just listen to your messages and dont bother me.</strong>


    I raise an eyebrow as I begin listening to them, a wide smile spreading across my face in the process.


    <strong>{Level 53 Demon Knight defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature fifty levels or more above you. An EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon fifty or more levels above you. With riskes reward. And you drown yourself with risk, gathering all of the reward you deserve. But beware the price you may one day pay for that reward.}</strong>


    <strong>{Fifteen Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon twenty-five or more levels above you.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon ten or more levels above you.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon knight while under level ten.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Demon Knight.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 4. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 10. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the inherent skill, Blood Siphon.}</strong>


    Alright, now <em>thats </em>a nice set of messages. Although I couldve done without the cryptic warning, thank you very much. I get enough of that from Allen as it is. I dont need the System joining in on criticizing my recklessness.


    Speaking of Allen, I should try convincing the people here to not b about me taking on a demon knight so early. Because it would be a pain if he found out.


    Now then.


    Time to check out my gains!


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 10</strong><strong>SP: 67</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 35</strong><strong>Mental: 24</strong><strong>Magical: 33</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 16</strong><strong>Mana: 396/396</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Predator II</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Without any hesitation, I focus on the description for the new skill.


    <strong>{Blood Siphon - Allows the user to drain the blood of nearby creatures and use it for various purposes, including transfusing the users or others blood or infusing the blood into the blood ws skill and other possible skills.}</strong>


    I smile with glee at the changes and the new skill before immediately investing nine free points into my Mental stat, then another three into Physical, and two into Magical. Then I take another look at my status, only for a severe mixture of pain and pleasure to sweep through my body, leaving me grunting and losing my bnce to fall back t onto the ground.


    The hell was that?


    Officer Winslow  who was sitting in the corner of the room without having realized that I was awake  quickly gets up and moves over to me as I groan before shouting, Scarlet! Youre awake!!! He then assaults me with questions such as am I okay, do I feel sick, do I feel any pain, and so on.


    I just groan in response as the pain and pleasure continue moving through my body until eventually stopping who knows how longter. And by then, the officer has already gone to get the others.


    Oops.


    <strong>Its rmended not to use more than five free points at once as the changes can prove severe on the nerves of the Guardian, </strong>I hear Tar mentioning long after the information wouldve been useful for me.


    I just grunt in response, feeling too weak right now to give a proper retort.


    After a couple minutes of silence, my ears twitch as I finally notice the slight buzzing sounding from outside the building. But when I look outside, I dont find anything.


    What is that noise?


    It also sounds like there are a lot of people going up and down the stairs now, likely checking on if everyones alright. Or maybe just checking their things. Who knows.


    Then theres the set of footsteps that sound much heavier than everyone elses, despite being a lot faster. And theyre quickly approaching the twenty-first floor.


    Not sure why theyre in such a big hurry to climb up.


    Maybe they had family in here?


    But if that were the case, I cant imaging someone who clearly has some sort of magi-tech equipment with them to just stand by when their loved one is in danger just several floors higher in the same building.


    Although its also possible that the footsteps belong to the Guardian who destroyed the core, and theyre now heading here because they sensed Tar.


    I listen to the footsteps for a few seconds before mentally shrugging right as others begin to flood into the room, making me feel awkward.


    Im fine, I tell them, stopping them from asking anything, was just using my free points. Do you know what that knight was protecting?


    They look surprised for a second before the officer answers, Were actually not sure about that ourselves. The shield turned out to still be busted, so it wouldnt turn off to let us in and see. And then the Guardian destroyed the core, so whatever it was, its not likely there anymore.


    I narrow my eyes at that before sighing. Guess it doesnt really matter with the core being destroyed.


    So with that thought in mind, I open my Skill Store. Because I <em>have </em>to have unlocked something good after all of those achievements. Not to mention the massive amount of SP I have now.


    So its shopping time! Then I can focus on testing out that new inherent skill.

 Book 1: Chapter 20: New Skills

    Book 1: Chapter 20: New Skills


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After seeing me focusing on what looks like air to the others, Arnold  who it turns out is the person who turned on the shield for me before  and officer Winslow shoo the others out, leaving me in silence to focus on my newly unlocked skill.


    And good they are. Very, <em>very</em> good.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Predator III</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least ten levels.</strong>


    <strong>Predator II is required to purchase this.</strong>


    <strong>It grants the user a 12% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>Predator IV</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least fifty levels.</strong>


    <strong>Predator III is required to purchase this.</strong>


    <strong>It grants the user a 20% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least ten levels, by killing a demon knight while below level ten, by being level ten or above, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>An attack skill that slowly makes the blood of the target begin to boil, causing slow internal damage that builds up while slowing down the reaction speed of the target.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least ten levels, by being level ten or above, by almost dying once, by hurting yourself to enhance a blood skill, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    I stare at the skills, unsure how I should proceed in my shopping spree.


    <strong>You needbat skills, </strong>Tar suggests while appearing in front of me and then floating down to lie in myp. <strong>Id suggest getting Blood Boil for a rangedbat skill, Predator III for obvious reasons, and the rest you can choose from there. Either wait for a few more SP to get Predator IV, or go ahead and get Blood Sacrifice.</strong>


    Not a bad idea, but just in case, I search through the rest of the skills in the store. But none of them are as good as the top ones, which leads me to believe that the System automatically puts the highest rarity skills closest to the top.


    <strong>You could also just use the excess to level Blood Boil if you choose to purchase that one, since its not a static skill, </strong>Tar suddenly adds as an afterthought.


    Oh. Thats right.


    I stare at the skills store for a few more seconds before deciding to just go ahead and purchase Predator III and Blood Boil, then turn to my status and go down to the Blood Boil skill to level it up. Which only ends up taking three SP.


    A lot cheaper than I expected.


    <strong>[Skill Blood Boil has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    I look back at my status to see if the skill has changed or not, but it hasnt. Not in the slightest.


    Huh.


    <strong>Purchased skills have less of a difference with each level than inherent ones do, </strong>Tar answers my unasked question for me. <strong>Its-</strong>


    I look down at him after he cuts off to find him staring in the direction of the other room with a nk expression on his face.


    Whats wro-


    He vanishes.


    I blink in confusion before trying to get up, only to wince and fail at that as the pain from my injuries grows more severe with the movement.


    Why did you disappear and stop responding?


    Several seconds pass with no answer.


    Right when Im about to repeat myself, I pause as a familiar voice enters my ear from the other side of the floor, at the staircase where that same person from before  the one equipped with whats most likely magi-tech gear  enters the floor.


    Oh shit.


    Why is oh, right. This is his building. And he was only a few buildings away.


    Why didnt I think about that earlier?!


    I try to get up again, only to wince at the pain and fall back down. Then I try to look out the window.


    Could I survive a fall from this height? Maybe. Would there be a point? Not really. Then Id just be in even worse shape on the ground where he would just go find me instead of up here.


    What about breaking the window and going into a different room on a different floor?


    Not likely with my injuries.


    After thinking of several other possible methods of escape, Ie up nk.


    So I close my eyes and try to fake being asleep.


    While doing that, I also listen in on the conversation that Allen is having with the people on the floor. Or rather, by conversation, I mean him asking where I am.


    <em>You want to know where Scarlet is? </em>the voice of Arnold asks in confusion before saying, <em>Oh, youre probably here because shes a new Guardian. Right, shes just over here.</em>


    I dont like Arnold anymore.


    After a few seconds, I hear the door to the office opening, followed by footsteps entering it as I keep my eyes closed and pretend to be asleep. Because maybe he might-


    I know youre not asleep. Ive had my nanomachines watching you since I got to this building, Allen says, crushing the hope I had of avoiding a conversation with him for a bit longer.


    I open my eyes and fake a smile through the pain of my arm and stomach.


    Hey Allen, hows it going? I ask, acting as if nothings wrong.


    He just stares at me.


    Yeah, didnt expect that to work either. But it was worth a try.


    Were going to be having a nice long chat, youngdy, he says, a scowl stered across his face that shows just how mad he is right now.

 Book 1: Chapter 21: ‘The Talk’

    Book 1: Chapter 21: ¡®The Talk¡¯


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Wait. Maybe I can stall this conversation after all?


    Um, could we wait for my injuries to- I begin, only for him to cut me off without a shred of care. No.


    So much for that.


    And I cant call Belle for help because all thatd do would make them team up on me instead of only dealing with him.


    Also, speaking of Belle, I think my phones ringing.


    Too bad I cant take it out right now, what with my arm having a hole in it. Albeit a small one now that its healed for who knows how long.


    What the <em>hell </em>were you thinking, Scarlet!? he shouts, his voice echoing through the room and the room next to it, startling the workers that I had saved in the process. You couldve gotten yourself <em>killed</em>! You know that, right?!


    I let out a sigh.


    Yeah, but its not like youre any different, I tell him with an eyebrow raised. Youre a Guardian after all. And now I am too. Sort of. Not to mention that being a Guardian will be a much better job for me than trying and failing at finding a Tier 1 university thatll take in an orphan.


    He actually winces at that.


    That doesnt change the fact that you put yourself in danger needlessly, he pushes on. You didnt have to fight that demon knight. You couldve just left and stayed safe. But nope. You had to go in, fighting a demon knight just hours after awakening as a Guardian yourself. Maybe not even that long, depending on when you were contracted during all this.


    It was at the start of the Fracture, I whisper, making him raise a brow.


    I take the hint and stop talking.


    The phone stops ringing after I fail to pick it up.


    Just a single wrong move and that knight wouldve killed you. It mustve been, what, level thirty? Just one misstep. One mistake. And it wouldve been over, he says, his worry finally bleeding through the anger a little bit. Do you understand that Scarlet?


    I try really hard not to wince as I hear him severely underestimate the demon knights level. And fortunately, I dont think hes noticed.


    Yes, but <em>Cipher</em>, I use his Guardian title just to drive my point, youve done much riskier things in your time as a Guardian than I have.


    The guy hates it when I call him Cipher. In fact, I dont think he even likes me calling him Allen, wanting instead for me to call him dad or something. But I refuse.


    If he isnt my biological father, then I wont call him that. Simple as that. Even if hes like a father to me.


    Allen opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off by saying, Look, Ill try as best as I can to keep myself alive. But taking risks is part of the job I signed up for when I became a Guardian. And if Im being honest? Its what I enjoy.


    Thest part seems to surprise him.


    I nce past him at the people staring at us in shock. People that are more than just the ones who were on this floor, including people I dont even recognize. Meaning some people mustve followed Allen to this floor.


    Youre not going to listen, are you? Allen finally says after a few seconds of silence. But he doesnt even wait for my answer as he sighs and mutters, What am I saying? You never do


    Nope. Never will either, most likely. After all, every risk Ive ever taken has given me quite the reward afterwards.


    Just know that I wouldnt have taken the risk if I didnt think it was possible to win, I tell him with a reassuring smile. Or at least, what I hope is a reassuring smile, considering that my canines were lengthened at some point. And Im also still in a decent chunk of pain right now.


    Although the pain has lessened a bit more thanks to it healing as were talking.


    Allen lets out a sigh before kneeling down and giving me a light hug that has me stiffening up for more than one reason.


    I know you dont like physical contact, but please. Just let me have this, he says, emotion practically bleeding through his words.


    I let out a sigh before patting his back once with my non-injured arm.


    At least he is trying to avoid my injured arm.


    Out of nowhere, a blue light shines from said arm, making me look to see that he has some sort of machine floating next to it. Then I watch as the remainder of the wound closes up.


    Nice, I say, a grin forming on my face as he lets go and stands up straight again.


    He chuckles at that.


    I stand up as well, discreetly motioning for him to look at the hall, which is where are little popcorn gallery has gathered. He then raises a hand and flips it, making several nanomachines shut the door in front of our viewers.


    There we go, he says before turning back to me and asking, so wheres your fae?


    I frown at the question.


    Thats a good question, I answer. The bastard vanished the moment he noticed youing.


    Allens eyebrows rise at that, and he nces towards a corner where some sort of fluffy panda appears floating in the air.


    Okay, just why is it that all of you fae have to appear in the form of cute animals on Earth? I cant help but ask, making the panda blink in surprise. Even Allen looks surprised for a second before he bursts out intoughter.


    The panda nces between me and Allen for a few seconds and only answers after realizing that Im actually serious, Tis because a cute animal would look more trustworthy for someone in a dangerous situation.


    I blink in confusion as I hear its voice.


    Um. Why is its voice so different from Tars?


    Tars has always had this ethereal intensity. Like every word he says has major importance or something.


    But this fae just has a regr voice. Like a human. In the form of a cute panda.


    Okay, that makes sense, I answer, getting over the difference in voice. But I still dont know where Tar went.


    They both look surprised at hearing the name Tar for some reason.

 Book 1: Chapter 22: Names and Calls

    Book 1: Chapter 22: Names and Calls


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The two share a nce for some reason before turning back to me.


    Is that your contracted faes actual name or one you gave him as a nickname? Allen asks, his tone sounding serious.


    I blink in confusion before tilting my head slightly and annoyingly enough noticing Allens eyes flicker to my ears and back to my face again as I answer, Its a nickname I gave him to shorten his really long name.


    The two share another nce.


    Okay, why are you being so secretive all of the sudden? I ask while using my clean and repair skills to fix up my clothes and clean up the blood on my jacket before putting my hands in my pockets. Its just weird.


    They turn to look at me again as Allen carefully says, Look, the fae are special in that their names have importance. Meaning that most fae tend to keep their names hidden, only letting those they trust know them.


    I stare at the two for a few seconds before the realization hits me.


    Tar trusts me? That what?


    Hows that possible? I ask with a frown, seemingly confusing them even more, Tar literally threatened me when we first met! How could <em>that </em>trante to trust?!


    Now <em>that </em>surprises the two.


    Thats not possible. We fae are not capable of harming humans or demons by decree of the royal family of the fae, the panda says, surprising me back in the process.


    I frown.


    Does taking away my pain and then giving it back when I dont listen to him count as threatening me?


    The two share another nce. Which is really starting to annoy me.


    When they look back at me again, Allen says, Technically, it does. But it doesnt count as harming you. So your fae just sounds like an oddball amongst the fae.


    His panda fae nods its little head in agreement with that.


    Oh.


    Also, you mentioned that his name was long? How long is it? Two words? Three? Allen asks seemingly out of nowhere. The length of a faes name can generally be used to determine how high up the fae court they are.


    Wait, so thats why his name is so long?


    He has five names, I answer them, surprising them once again. But this time its enough to make Allen almost lose his footing and fall after leaning too far to one side if it werent for the panda catching him.


    Five?! he shouts, a mixture of disbelief and shock in his tone. He then lowers his head to look at his fae as he asks, Only members of the royal family have that many names, right?


    My mouth drops open.


    Yes, youre correct, the fae answers, also seemingly in shock. And that means a royal fae has contracted with a human and given them his full name. The panda then looks directly at me and says, If you care for your contracted partner at all, do not tell anyone his full name.


    I unconsciously nod my head.


    Thank you, the panda says before vanishing.


    Huh.


    Both Allen and I just stare at where the panda was in silence for who knows how long before were interrupted by the sound of beepinging from Allens wrist. And unlike when I was called, he answers it, making Belles livid face show up on the screen.


    Belle? Allen asks, slightly surprised, and still a little stunned from the revtion we both just had.


    She immediately opens her mouth to speak, only to close it the moment she sees me through the camera feed. Then the anger on her face vanishes in an instant, reced almost immediately by a flood of tears as she shouts, Scarlet! Youre okay!!!


    After a second though, her joy takes on a slightly confused tone as she sees my ears and adds, And you have wolf ears? Wait, you became a Guardian?!


    I nod my head, slightly amused at her reaction. At least, until she adds, Can I touch you-


    No. I shut that down immediately before she can even finish asking.


    Meanwhile I can hear Allen trying to hold himself back fromughing. I scowl at him for a second before turning back to the screen as I ask, So how are you doing? Are there any Fractures near you? And what about Arthur?


    She looks confused for a second before muttering, Pretty sure Im supposed to be the one asking you if youre alright, but yeah. Im okay. And so is Arthur. There was one Fracture near me- Allens head jerks to stare at the screen at the mention of this -but it was only a ss I. And the Guardians at the university took care of it quickly enough.


    Allen lets out a sigh of relief after hearing thatst part.


    Ignoring the protective parent in the room, I nod my head with a smile, Im d youre both safe then.


    Before either of us can say anything else, another beeping soundes from Allens device, following which a second call opens up, showing a screen next to the one of Belle. This screen has a woman with a rather nk face simply staring through the screen, giving me an incredibly unnerving feeling in the process. Almost like she can tell everything about me just from a single nce, which I know isnt true.


    Sage. Allens information gatherer andmunicator. A subordinate of his that brings him intelligence and spreads it around his people.


    We have been trying to call you for nearly ten minutes now, sir, she says, her voice just as nk sounding as her face. Kind of like a robot. But I now see that it was because of the young miss. Sage pauses for a second as she looks at me and adds, Congrattions on bing a Guardian. I will be looking forward to working with you if that is what you decide.


    Then the call cuts off without us being able to say a word.


    None of us say anything for a few seconds before I look at Allen and ask, Did she just hack your suits terminal?


    He nods his head without a word.


    Wow.

 Book 1: Chapter 23: A Job

    Book 1: Chapter 23: A Job


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Putting aside the illegal actions of his own subordinate for the moment, Allen simply turns to me and asks, Im a little bit curious as to what your magic is. Because while seeing bodily modifications is rathermon, I dont think Ive seen one thats given something simr to some sort of animalistic blood magic, assuming your ears and the ws are anything to judge by.


    Oh? Do tell, Belle says from the other side of the call while leaning forwards with a slight grin on her face.


    I roll my eyes at the two before answering, I have blood magic.


    Really? Allen asks, a little surprised at first only to shrug his shoulders a secondter and add, Guess there isnt really a logic behind the changes, so I shouldnt be so surprised. He pauses for a second. Youre sure theres no bestial aspect to the magic?


    I raise an eyebrow at him, I just got a skill that can boil the blood of a living being. Do you think that has any bestial aspects to it?


    He raises both hands in a cating gesture as Belleughs at our interaction.


    Im a little surprised by how epting they both are with all of this. But then again, Allen is a ss IV Guardian if I remember correctly. So hes probably used to dealing with new Guardians. And it makes sense that his daughter would take it well too.


    That aside, I take in Allens attire.


    Its not very often that I actually see him wearing his magi-tech armor outside of the news and on the inte. But it really does look pretty cool.


    Im not a fan of the idea of wearing armor myself though. Maybe I could get some way to enhance my jacket?


    Allen seems to notice me checking out his gear and suggests, If you want, I can make you some armor. Then he quickly adds, Of course, youd have to pay it off, after seeing my frown beginning to form.


    I blink in surprise before smiling.


    Looks like he does remember how much I hate epting handouts. Because then I feel like I owe them back for it.


    The only reason I got his help with the negotiation for the universities was because I didnt think there was any other choice. So if I do have a choice, Ill avoid it like the gue.


    I might just take you up on that. But only if its possible to upgrade my jacket, or at least make an energy armor that goes over it, I say, making the man roll his eyes at my attachment with my jacket.


    Hey. Youre the one who said it was the only thing that I had when you found me.


    Yeah, I can do that, he answers with a grin on his face. But the grin fades away as he grows serious and asks, Would you like to work for my Association?


    I frown as I seriously consider his question.


    An Association is a group of Guardians who work together during Demonic Assaults. They have a lot of power in the Republic, and even more during a Demonic Assault, practically being able tomand even the ruling Council of Governors as long as they have reason to. Although the exact amount of power each Association has is generally linked to the number of Guardians they have in them, and how powerful each of those Guardians are.


    Most new Guardians end up joining the Society of Humanities Guardians, which is a rather blunt name. This Association basically epts every Guardian in existence, no matter their strength or personality. And theyre one of the top Associations purely because of the massive number of Guardians in it. But at the same time, its one of the weaker of the top Associations purely because it has quantity over quality.


    Meanwhile, Allens Association  if I remember correctly  is a newer one despite being one of the most powerful. Although its strength and draw for powerful Guardians lie almost entirely with its leader. Allen Sylvester. Otherwise known as Cipher. The current CEO of Silver Works, the firstpany to invent magi-tech.


    Allen sees me hesitating over the decision and he adds, Remember, you can leave any time you wish. Just say the word.


    I look up at him again from the floor to find that he really seems to want me in his Association.


    Nepotism at its best there, I guess.


    I turn to look out the window, briefly ncing at the call thats still open to see Belle staying silent in the process. And what I find when I look down at the street below us is the sight of a bunch of people all leaving the building at once.


    Guess Allens letting everyone off early for the day. For good reason.


    After several seconds pass in silence, I let out a sigh and turn to look at Allen again.


    Look, I really dont like epting handouts.


    He interrupts right away and says, You wont be! We could really use a blood magic user in our numbers!


    My eyebrows rise at that.


    Really? I ask incredulously.


    Allen nods his head, Yeah. Blood magic is one of the more desired magics. After all, it can both heal and attack, act as support, and can even be used as a berserker. There are all kinds of ways a blood magic user can go!


    I stare at him for a few seconds before realizing that he actually means it.


    So maybe not nepotism after all.


    Seemingly sensing my change in attitude, Allen presses on the attack, If you join now, Ill even let you go with a couple of the others to attack a ss I Fracture.


    My eyes immediately lock on his and I feel my heart start racing at the thought of more prey. Only to blink in confusion at that thought, then shrug and stare at him anyways.


    Guess theres nothing to do about those new instincts but ept them.


    That said, I dont work well with oth-


    Youll also be able to split off from them <em>while under surveince </em>to fight the weaker demons on the outskirts of the Fracture, he adds a cherry on top that has me immediately saying, We have a deal. As long as I can still leave whenever I want.


    Belle breaks out into augh at the ridiculousness of this negotiation, meanwhile Allen just grins at me.


    Hes probably going to stick more nanomachines on my metaphorical tail than I can count. But at least it means I can try out my new skills, and continue gaining more EXP and SP.


    And I have a job now.


    Which reminds me.


    Now lets talk about my pay.


    My statement wipes the smirk off of his face rather quickly.

 Book 1: Chapter 24: Royal Fae

    Book 1: Chapter 24: Royal Fae


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We end up settling on a pretty decent pay at about eight credits an hour that Im not on the job, just to let them use my face in their little sponsorships and promotions, and a t eleven credits per hour that I am on the job under their name. Not too much, but still a lot more than I wouldve ever dreamed of getting before bing a Guardian.


    Thats far above the average living person in a Tier 1 city. And leagues above a Tier 2 or 3 citys average wages.


    Definitely goes to show why Guardians are always rich. Like, swimming in bathtubs of money rich.


    Not that that would befortable, just considering all the paper cuts.


    Allen suddenly bursts out intoughter from his spot next to me as we walk down the stairs of the building towards the entrance. And when I turn to look at what has him so amused, my eyes practically bulge out of their sockets at the sight of the video hes watching.


    A video of some random guymentating over a video of me fighting with a bunch of demons. One that consistently shifts from one scene of me fighting demons to another.


    Theres no way there were that many people able to record me fighting, I whisper to him, punching his arm as I ask, you didnt do anything youre gonna regretter, did you?


    He just continues watching the video while giving me a thumbs up, making my eyebrow twitch in my irritation.


    He did. He totally sold the security camera footage of me fighting to people online.


    Dont worry, youll get your cut, he says, brushing the issue aside.


    Im gonna kill him.


    <strong>That would be difficult, </strong>a certain tanukis voice echoes in my head out of nowhere, making me stiffen up for a second before my anger shifts from Allen to the tanuki.


    Whats this about you being a member of the faes royal family?!


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before his voice once again returns, albeit with a hint of embarrassment in it, <strong>Well, you never asked.</strong>


    My mind nks out at that answer.


    Are you fucking kidding me?


    <strong>Yes, Im sorry, </strong>he answers, and I almost snap back at him, only to pause as I realize what hed just done.


    Did did Tar really just apologize? He can do that?


    <strong>Yes, and theres no need to be rude about it, </strong>he says, making me blink in confusion.


    How did this get turned around on me?


    <strong>I havent been entirely truthful with you, Scarlet. And I would like to fix that, </strong>he says, making me suspicious. <strong>First off, yes. I am the eighteenth son of King Oberon, and am the second fromst currently in line for the throne should he ever pass on.</strong>


    Oh. Well, thats wait, eighteenth? Just how many siblings do you have?!


    <strong>A lot, </strong>he says, not specifying an amount. <strong>And the way the king and our people decide on who is most fit to be the heir is by the contracted partner of the princes and princesses.</strong>


    I nkly stare ahead for a few seconds, stopping in ce and seemingly confusing Allen for the time before a look of understanding dawns on his face and he just stands in ce to watch the stupid video.


    And youre telling me


    <strong>Yes. The reason I picked you was because you  as a half blood lycan  are the individual with the most possible potential out there, and I thought you might be able to win me the throne, </strong>he says, unabashed about doing it but seemingly a little embarrassed about hiding that he did it.


    A few seconds pass in rtive silence as I stand there, the only noise being that of the ridiculous video still ying from Allens terminal.


    He used me, but wasnt I kind of using him as well? For his knowledge, and, well, the contract? For the System?


    Even if I was upfront about it.


    Actually, maybe thats why hes not ashamed about him using me in the first ce?


    Ya know what, Tarankar, I think this might actually work better than if you had no use for me at all. Because I hate not paying back my favors. And despite how much of a pain in the ass youve been sometimes, you are really the only reason Im alive right now. Considering that you offered me the contract and all. Even if you do kind of abandon me out of nowhere sometimes.


    Please stop doing that, by the way.


    The tanuki appears in the air in front of me, startling a lot of the people around us, and to be honest, me as well, since I wasnt expecting him to ever show his face in front of others. Even Allen looks rather startled.


    <strong>You would ept our contract even after knowing? </strong>he asks, his voice still using telepathy despite being out in the open.


    I nod my head.


    Honestly, this contract feels easier to ept now that I know what Im getting into more clearly.


    Although I would like to know how it is your king and people recognize which Guardian is doing the best.


    The tanuki stares at me for a few seconds before answering in a single word, <strong>Power.</strong>


    Power?


    He nods his head. <strong>Power.</strong>


    Oh. So do you mean pure levels? Or fighting ability including levels and skills?


    Tar floats around me in a circle for a few seconds before answering,<strong> Level is what determines a princes ce in the heritage, but the only real deciding factor is the contracted Guardians fighting power by the time the tournamentes around.</strong>


    A tournament? To decide who will be the next king?


    Isnt it odd to have it decided by a proxy?


    Tar nods his head, <strong>But odd or not, its the kings decision. Therefore no one else has a say.</strong>


    Interesting.


    Anyways, d we understand each other better now.


    Although, is there any chance you can delete that video hes watching?


    The tanuki nces at Allens arm, where Im pointing, only to turn back to me and shake his head.


    A pity. But I guess its fine as long as I get a fair cut of the videos profits. Because embarrassing or not, credits are credits.


    And I get the feeling that the only reason he did that was because he knew Id think this way, but only after the fact.


    I re at him for a second before continuing to walk down the stairs, with Allen following shortly after me a secondter.

 Book 1: Chapter 25: News

    Book 1: Chapter 25: News


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I repeatedly tap the door of the air car as we fly through the sky in the direction of the closest ss I Fracture, my attention solely focused on the video in front of me, with my ear buds present in both of my ears. But no matter how much I tap, I cant get rid of this ufortable feeling that I get from seeing my image stered across the video.


    <strong>[Hello, folks! Today we have with us some very interesting news!]</strong>


    Thementators voice is that of a typical video streamer on the inte  intense, jolly beyond reason, and interesting enough to hold peoples attention. They have a webcam showing over the video, covering most of it up as its paused, but even at this point, I can still see my ears poking out above the webcam. Which Im pretty sure was done like that on purpose.


    <strong>[Weve received word of a brand new Guardian to this Demonic Assault, originating in the main headquarters of Cipherspany, Silver Works. But thats not all! Theyve already be a bit of a hero, saving the folks in the building many times over and fighting off the demon scourge!]</strong>


    At this point in the video, the webcam vanishes entirely, revealing the frozen image of me in midair with my blood ws outstretched ready to strike at a demon hound.


    <strong>[We bring to you, the Scarlet Wolf!!!] </strong>my mouth drops open at that unoriginal name <strong>[Shes the new star of the Silver Association, and a hero to many of the people in Silver Works! The hero managed to take down who knows how many demons-] </strong>he pauses as the image frozen on the screen that I realize isnt actually a video yet changes to show various other images like a slideshow, each of me fighting different demons until it pauses again on the demon knight <strong>[-and even a single Demon Knight on her very first day as a Guardian!]</strong>


    I cant help but grimace as the video andmentator rub on my nerves in the wrong way.


    The frozen image showing the demon knight at around the time I enter the room unfreezes and begins to y through the whole fight as a video.


    <strong>[While most would have run, she stood her ground and leapt into the fray to save the people!] </strong>the man says, getting rather enthusiastic in his entirely inurate assumptions <strong>[She led the officers and researchers in battle, took down the demon knight, and even gave a sacrifice to do it! Just like the best heroes in the city!]</strong>


    My grimace turns into a frown at thatst line.


    What are Guardians to this guy? Some sort of cannon fodder against the demons? Or maybe just cannon fodder to make his videos more popr?


    Thats sickening.


    The video suddenly switches after showing the bolt strike through my arm, making me flinch at the reminder, to show me and Allen walking down the stairs unharmed. <strong>[But dont worry! Our brave hero with the amazing looking wolf ears is perfectly safe and is even nning on heading to another Fracture any moment now! Just stay tuned, and youll be more than happy with what you see of our new, brave, heroine!]</strong>


    Not sure why he switched to heroine for thest line when he was just using the gender neutral term every other time, but whatever.


    Also, what was with thatment about my ears?


    The video ends on a rather cool looking scene showing me standing back looking out over the demon knight as its being electrified by the shield, which was right before the bolt struck me in the arm.


    I stare at my phone for a few seconds before leaning back and resting my head on the cushion of the chair within the air car.


    Im gonna kill Allen.


    The misunderstandings in that video aside  or rather, the clear propaganda  its going to make it annoying to walk around unosted now.


    Although at least I shouldnt have to worry about people thinking my ears are an animal headband or something now. Since a lot of people will likely recognize me and understand Im a Guardian, assuming my eyes arent already a clear giveaway.


    Which I probably shouldve thought about when I first saw my ears, but whatever.


    At least there arent as many people seemingly wanting to touch them outside of the building.


    Not really sure why there were so many there that did.


    Just gotta remember the credits. The beautiful credits.


    I nce at the front of the vehicle thats driving itself before looking out the window at the buildings simply flying by, very few of which are actually undergoing a Fracture right now. Fortunately.


    After looking out the window for a few minutes, I turn my attention back to the video to read thements. Only to immediately regret it.


    <strong>Johny1234  [Shes so young!]</strong><ul><li><strong>DarkShadow27  [Thereve been younger Guardians before. Im pretty sure Golden Heart is only fifteen years old, so a young college student isnt really that surprising.]</strong></li><li><strong>Johny1234  [Really? She still looks young enough to be my daughter!]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>DocAr15  [Why do all of the Guardians look so beautiful or handsome? What, is there some sort of cutoff in looks for someone to be offered a contract? Are the spirits biased?]</strong><ul><li><strong>RainbowNinja87  [Not all of them are top tier in looks. I know of a couple who I wont name that only look about average.]</strong></li><li><strong>SavageSwan42  [What about REDACTED? Hes rather ugly.]</strong></li><li><strong>GcticGiraffe7  [Savage, thats just rude.]</strong></li><li><strong></strong></li></ul>


    <strong>SterSeahorse  [ Aw!! Shes so cute! And I want to touch her ears!!!]</strong><ul><li><strong>EnchantedEmu11  [Agreed.]</strong></li><li><strong>StealthPenguin42  [So Im not the only one?]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Frosty13  [She doesnt look like shes used to fighting. But I have to say, her ears look really soft.]</strong>


    <strong>ElectricLioness22  [Its always nice to see new Guardians </strong><strong>]</strong>


    <strong>MysticPhoenix33  [I wonder why shes actually fighting? Because I doubt its purely to save people. She doesnt really look like the type. She scowls too much for that.]</strong><ul><li><strong>Luminousma23  [I bet shes fighting for the EXP. I would do the same if I were in her position.]</strong></li><li><strong></strong></li></ul>


    I frown after reading some of thements.


    This is why I dont have social media.

 Book 1: Chapter 26: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 26: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I sigh.


    At least there doesnt seem to be any antagonisticments towards me. Most of them seem to be positive, even if some are a little antagonistic towards the spirits choice in Guardians or mention my obviousck of experience and apparent habit of scowling.


    I dont scowl that much, do I? I mutter.


    <strong>Youre scowling right now, </strong>a certain tanukis voice echoes in my mind before he appears in the air car andnds on myp.


    No idea what youre talking about.


    Out of boredom more than any form of interest, I continue reading through thements for a little bit until we arrive at our destination. But most of thements appear to be around the topic of my appearance, whether its because of my young age where quite a few are trying to guess how old I am, or my apparent good looks. Which Ive never really put much thought into, since most people dont bother looking past the fact that Im an orphan.


    And quite a fewments about my ears, unfortunately. A couple about why I have wolf ears but no tail, which Im going to promptly ignore.


    Surprisingly, therere only a few about my glowing red eyes. Most of which think theyre rather cool.


    There were a couple though that mentioned that my eyes were scary and that that effect was only enhanced by my scowl.


    As soon as the air car pulls over in front of arge building spanning only about half the size of Allens, which was already about fifty floors, I close out of the video and itsments before putting my phone in my pocket and getting out of the vehicle. And the first thing I see is the man standing next to the entrance tapping his foot in his obvious impatience. The man is actually about the same age as me in appearance, with silver hair and blue eyes. Hes wearing a fancy suit simr but also slightly worse than Ciphers, with it being a magi-tech suit with a silver core on the center of the chest.


    <strong>Try sensing for his mana, </strong>Tar suddenly suggests, making me raise my eyebrows before I give a mental shrug, close my eyes, and focus on my senses. And after a few seconds, I begin to feel <em>something </em>emanating from him. <strong>Thats his mana. Its one of the ways a Guardian judges the strength of another Guardian. Or at least, for magic focused Guardians.</strong>


    He pauses for a second as I open my eyes to find the mans own eyes having locked onto me.


    <strong>Its not always urate, since physical focused Guardians might not have as much mana as they do physical stats. Or they might also just have a skill that helps hide their mana.</strong>


    Makes sense.


    That aside, the man  who I feel like I vaguely recognize but cant ce his name  only briefly nces at my ears before focusing on my face and giving me a nod. Youre finally here. He then turns around and says, Lets go.


    Guess were not introducing ourselves.


    <strong>His mana is quite a bit stronger than your own, but also far, <em>far </em>weaker than that Cipher guy. Id ce his level at around the bottom of ss II.</strong>


    Oh, okay. Guess he probably considers this some sort of babysitting job then. Looking after the newbie as he works on clearing out the Fracture.


    I follow after him into the building, entering past the shield and into the entrance hall to find quite the number of high level demons inside.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Imp  Level 31|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Imp  Level 30|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Imp  Level 31|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Huntsmen  Level 51|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Huntsmen  Level 56|</strong>


    Holy shit. And at the back of the room, near the stairs, I can even see a couple of demon knights.


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Level 61|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Level 67|</strong>


    Stay back here and watch, the man says, his eyes shing with a bright silver glow, maybe you can learn from this. After the floor is cleared, go to the higher floors for opponents at your level.


    I nod in eptance with that before watching as the man slowly steps into the floor, bolts of silver lightning beginning to build around his body, just dancing across his skin in a brilliant disy. And the sight of this finally makes me remember where I recognize him from. He was in one of those posters I saw hanging up across the Silver Works headquarters.


    Sylver was his title, he should be the same age as me, and I believe he uses some sort of strange silver lightning that has the effect of being able to move even without a conductor? Or something like that at least.


    It does feel odd to be taking orders from someone whos the same age as me. Even if he did be a Guardian about four years ago. At least, assuming the fliers are urate.


    The man continues stepping forward before raising one hand and directing all of the lightning dancing across his body towards that hand, where it then bursts out from his palm and envelopes dozens of demons at once. And after just a few seconds, I can tell the demons are already beginning to die from the lightning. Even the two knights.


    An ideaes to me, and I use my Blood Boil skill on several of the demons, giving me a slight headache from using it so many times. And while it doesnt really do much to them, what with the level difference between us, I do notice a couple tiny boils appearing around their already badly burnt skin before popping.


    Sylver nces at me for a second before focusing on the demons again while taking a single step forward, sending another surge of lighting through the air, frying everyst demon on the floor, including the ones I used blood boil on. And just as Id hoped, the ones I used the skill on do end up giving me EXP. Albeit with a major reduction.


    <strong>{Level 61 Demon Knight assist. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature fifty levels or more above you. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for barely assisting in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 61 Demon Knight assist. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature fifty levels or more above you. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for barely assisting in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 51 Demon Huntsmen assist. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature ten levels or more above you. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for barely assisting in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 56 Demon Huntsmen assist. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature ten levels or more above you. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for barely assisting in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 30 Demon Knight assist. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature ten levels or more above you. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for barely assisting in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 31 Demon Knight assist. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature ten levels or more above you. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for barely assisting in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 31 Demon Knight assist. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature ten levels or more above you. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for barely assisting in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 11. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    Ouch. The System means it when it says arge penalty. But a levels a level.


    I look away from my messages to find Sylver staring at me with an iprehensible look on his face.


    Is he mad that I didnt just sit back and watch?


    Whether he is or not, he doesnt show it as he just turns around and says, The way to the stairs is clear. Leave me to my business.


    I blink in surprise before shrugging and heading over to the stairs.


    Works for me.

 Book 1: Chapter 27: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 27: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Part II


    <strong>The Bottom Floor, After Scarlet Leaves</strong>


    When Collin was told that hed have to babysit a newly contracted Guardian who had only just joined the Association a couple of hours ago, he was pissed. Extremely pissed.


    After all, this was his first Demonic Assault since reaching ss II, and hes stuck fighting in a ss I Fracture still with a newbie?


    Not what he was hoping for in the slightest.


    And his first impression of the girl wasnt exactly a good one either, considering that she arrived at the Fracture wearing a pair of regr pants, a shirt that looks like its from some random school, and a ck and red jacket that you could find pretty much anywhere. Not a single piece of defensive equipment. No armor, no magi-tech, no nothing. Not even a weapon.


    But now that hes seen her using some sort of blood magic on the demons despite having been told to sit back and watch? Collin isnt sure what to think anymore.


    Is<em> she a kid who deserves babysitting?</em>


    He cant help but wonder this as he watches the girl quickly enter the stairwell before climbing the stairs without a hint of fear.


    After a few seconds of silently watching her until she vanishes from sight, he thinks back to what he was told when Sage had assigned him to this task.


    <em>You are assigned to watch over the new recruit as you both clear out ss I Fractures. This job is of the utmost importance, and if youre caught cking and she gets hurt badly, you will be fired. But you are not to let her know you are watching. Nor are you to baby her. Let her do her thing while you do your own. Sages eyes on the call narrow as she pauses and adds, Beware of treating her poorly, as she will be someone to fear in the future.</em>


    Sylver shakes his head after a second, deciding not to put too much thought into it. After all, the girls only now being contracted despite apparently being the same age as him. Theres no way she could be strong enough to make him worry even the slightest bit in the future.


    <em>But Sages warnings have always been pretty urate</em>


    After a second, Sylver ignores the demons in the first floor to send a bolt of silver lightning straight to one of the security cameras, giving him the ability to see through every camera in the building. But he focuses solely on the stairwell where the girl is before she stops leaping straight up the stairs at around the twentieth floor and heads in.


    <em>Shes stopping on the twentieth floor? Shouldnt that still be too close to the Fracture Core for a brand new Guardian?</em>


    Sylver tenses slightly in case he needs to save her as he watches her enter the floor before facing off against the demons inside. And what he sees after that has him reevaluating the girl entirely.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    This prickling sensation in the back of my neck is really getting annoying. Just how long is he going to watch me?


    When the sensation first appeared while climbing the stairs, Tar mentioned that it was some sort of instinctual feeling that blood lycans have when theyre being watched by something stronger than themselves. Which was nice to know, but the sensation constantly being there is just a little unnerving, to say the least.


    Its obviously Sylver watching me, seeing as Allen already headed off to another ss II Fracture a while ago, but how is he doing it? Doesnt his power control simple lightning that ignores physics? Or is it something more?


    I let out a sigh as I walk into the main room of a gym full of workout equipment and demons. A strangebination.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Imp  Level 11|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Imp  Level 10|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Imp  Level 11|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Hound  Level 15|</strong>


    The hound looks just like the hounds from the other Fracture, but the imps look rather odd. They are about three feet tall and are somehow flying through the air on red wings that are only a foot in length.


    Is it the red glow emanating from the wings thats allowing them to fly?


    Some sort of magic?


    Putting aside the imps breaking of thews of physics for a second, the things havepletely pitch ck bodies except their wings, with incredibly long and sharp talons on the ends of their four fingers. And for some reason they dont have a mouth.


    Doesnt stop them from shrieking the moment theyy eyes on me though.


    <strong>You shouldnt expect demons to follow humans sense of normalcy, </strong>Tar suddenly says, his voice echoing in my head as I activate blood ws.


    Yeah, but that doesnt change how unnerving it looks.


    I try to test out blood siphon on them, but my control over the blood in their body is too weak to even break past their skin. So I switch over to blood boil instead, which has an immediate effect unlike how it affected the demons on the first floor.


    The four demons all slow down immediately with small red spots beginning to appear all over their skin as they let out low groans of pain.


    Interesting.


    I rush forwards while theyre distracted by my skill before ripping my ws straight into the hounds side, tearing a trail of blood through its fur. And without wasting a second, I use blood siphon on the hounds blood now that it has an open wound, drawing it out of the wound and into my ws with a grin.


    This I can get used to.


    Although the mana cost on keeping all three skills active at once is pretty harshpared to any of the mana usage Ive had before now. To the degree that I dont think Ill be able to keep this particr strategy up for long.


    But while I have it active, might as well take advantage of it!

 Book 1: Chapter 28: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 28: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>{Level 11 Demon Spawn defeated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 10 Demon Spawn defeated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 11 Demon Spawn defeated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 15 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    It takes a surprisingly short amount of time to deal with all four of the demons. Although Im kind of disappointed that I didnt get a level from them.


    But then again, I only just used the free points from the level I got on the first floor while climbing the stairs. So who knows how much EXP I need between levels.


    I quickly open my status before focusing on the SP and closing it again.


    With those four Skill Points, I have twenty eight skill points right now. Which leaves two more left before I can buy Predator IV.


    Right as Im about to begin hunting the other demons on the floor, I remember my mana, which is sitting at about three quarters full simply from fighting those four demons. Although I think a sizable chunk of that was also taken when I used blood boil on the demons on the first floor.


    Seems as if the higher the level of the demon you use the skill on, the more mana it takes to do it.


    I nce at my ws before then ncing at the demon corpses on the floor and grinning.


    This could work.


    <strong>Before you go off on a killing spree, I wanted to ask if you wish for your notifications to be dyed until you call them up or if you just want them to continue appearing as you kill demons, </strong>Tar suddenly asks as I begin drawing the blood from the corpses and stuffing it all into my ws, making the blood ws turn a deep crimson in color.


    Wait, is that possible?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>he answers rather calmly.


    Then by all means, go ahead! Those messages are rather annoying.


    <strong>Alright, </strong>Tar says before pausing a second and saying, <strong>Its done. Now all you need to do is will for your messages to appear and they will.</strong>


    Convenient.


    Now then.


    To the hunt.


    <strong>The Second Floor of the Building</strong>


    Sylver cant help but gawk as he watches Scarlet tear through the demons on the twentieth floor with crimson ws made of their own blood.


    Despite knowing that he can easily take her on, he feels slightly unnerved watching her charge straight through the floor of mostly workout rooms, some private, most public, with one of two expressions on her face. Either a scowl, or a faint grin.


    <em>And the blood</em>


    A shiver runs down Sylvers spine as he watches what a new Guardian with blood magic is able to do.


    Every time her bloody ws strike at a demon, they burn just a little bit of the blood inside them, only to transfer it out for the blood inside of the demon itself as the girl somehow drains the blood from their bodies and charges her ws with them. And this process only continues on and on with every demon she kills.


    Until, of course, she runs out of mana. At which point she begins to hunt a lot more carefully.


    <em>I cant believe a rookie Guardian is hunting demons as if they were game and she probably got a pretty good new skill at some point early on in this hunt, considering how her attacks randomly started doing a lot more damage. More than just a level-up would justify.</em>


    Sylver shakes his head and focuses on the demons on the second floor again, deciding that he shouldnt ck just because its a ss I Fracture.


    But despite that, his mind cant help but constantly wander back towards that girl. Because now he is convinced of Sages words.


    She will be someone to fear one day.


    <em>Are all blood magic users like that? Or is it just her?</em>


    Sylver ponders this as he electrocutes all of the demons on the second floor with his silver lightning as he passes by them.


    <em>Then again, her style of fighting  if one could even call it that  is incredibly reckless. Shes constantly putting herself in danger for a chance to attack. Almost like she doesnt have all that much care about her own safety.</em>


    The Guardian continues ughtering the demons on the second floor for a few minutes before shaking his head and tapping on the terminal on his arm.


    After a few seconds of the terminal beeping, a louder beep sounds out, followed by Allens voice, Hello. Cipher here. What is it, Sylver?


    Sylver nces at the girl again as she takes a break from hunting the demons next to a window, likely to go over her gains from her hunting spree. But after a few seconds, he notices that some of the many wounds shes gathered are beginning to heal.


    <em>A healing skill as well?</em>


    He turns his attention back to the screen as he asks, Has the girl ever been trained, or even prepared forbat before?


    Cipher looks surprised for a second that Sylver is even paying attention to her before shaking his head and answering, No. She was an orphan at the orphanage I ran in Rothwell City. So she hasnt had any preparation forbat of any kind. Unless you count studying the demons for ss.


    <em>I thought so.</em>


    After Sylver doesnt say anything back in response, Cipher asks, How is she doing?


    Shes incredibly reckless and constantly endangering herself, Sylver answers bluntly before adding, but shes also almost cleared an entire floor by herself in just fifteen minutes.


    Cipher stares at Sylver for a few seconds in silence. Then he lets out a sigh.


    Of course, she did.

 Book 1: Chapter 29: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Finale

    Book 1: Chapter 29: A Bloodthirsty Hunt Finale


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As soon as I will the messages forward, they alle flooding at me like a tidal wave.


    <strong>{Level 12 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 12 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 15 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 15 Demon Hound defeated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing over fifty demons total.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing over fifty demons above your own level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x26</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 12. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 13. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 14. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 15. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the inherent skill, Life Drain.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 3.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Siphon has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    I grin as I watch my levels go up, and especially at the sight of the new skill. Now, of course, they were technically going up when I actually killed the demons. But still.


    Theres just a certain satisfaction at seeing them shoot up at once.


    Although sometime during this I started getting less EXP as I passed the demons in level.


    I shift slightly in my position lying up against the window, wincing a little at the pain.


    At this point, my entire body is covered in wounds. And my clothes were pretty badly shredded since I was trying to avoid using repair to save mana.


    Doesnt help that the moonlight cant reach them if I have clothes covering the wounds. So Im stuck with sleeves and pant legs left in tatters as I lie next to the window enjoying the healing glow from the moonlight.


    Something I realized at some point during my hunt was that I could siphon the demons blood to use as a recement for my own, making the small injuries not really matter beyond the pain. As long as I kept from getting any major and life threatening injuries, I could just heal from the moonlight at ater time.


    Quite convenient when trying to rush through a floor of demons.


    <strong>I still say you shouldnt be doing that, </strong>Tar says with a huff as he appears in the air and floats down to lean up against the side of my leg, not going to myp because of my injuries. <strong>It creates bad habits.</strong>


    Says the one who entered me into a tournament for him that has mepeting against people far beyond my level.


    If Im going to survive that, then I need to level up.


    He stays silent for several seconds before saying, <strong>Okay, understandable. But you do have to remember that the tournament isnt for at the very least a century. Maybe even more than that.</strong>


    I know. But you also said that it could technically happen any day now as well. That the king can start the tournament whenever he wants. Just that he will most likely wait until each royal has a contracted Guardian deemed fit forbat in the tournament.


    And I really dont like the idea of having a possible axe hanging over my head. So Im going to give it all I can to level up. Especially considering that the System seems to reward taking risks.


    Now then.


    I open my status before distributing my free points and looking at my skills.


    Lets just hope Life Drain is a healing skill


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 15</strong><strong>SP: 44</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 48</strong><strong>Mental: 40</strong><strong>Magical: 45</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 31/900</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 3</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Predator IV</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    I focus on the description.


    <strong>{Life Drain - </strong><strong>Allows the user to drain the life energy of nearby creatures into themselves, healing them in the process. Costs mana to use.}</strong>


    Yes! Finally!


    <strong>Congrattions, </strong>Tar says, slightly amused by my enthusiasm.


    I finally have a healing skill that doesnt have me sitting for hours in front of a window.


    After my enthusiasm fades a bit, I check out blood ws new description along with blood siphons, but the only differences are that blood ws now no longer said that it can drain my blood only when Im out of mana, and there isnt any difference in blood siphon.


    Putting that aside for the moment, though, why is the System set up as it is anyways, with the statistics? What with bncing them out being the only real way to safely go forward.


    <strong>Was wondering when youd ask that, </strong>Tar says immediately, making me raise a brow from my spot lying on the floor. <strong>There are a couple of reasons. The first being that there are some people  incredibly few  that do not require one of the stats. At all. Such as a ghost, which has no need for a physical stat with its body being ethereal.</strong>


    Oh. That makes sense.


    And the other reason?


    <strong>A trap, </strong>Tar answers, surprising me for a moment, <strong>or at least, thats what we believe. Because most species need all three stats to be bnced, even if one is higher than the others. So when someone who is initiated into the System decides to go with an unbnced build? They fall into that trap and most of the time end up dead rather early in life.</strong>


    Thats brutal.


    <strong>Yes. It is, </strong>he responds, his tone sounding rather dark. Making me wonder if he has a history with that.


    Come to think of it, you probably had a different contracted Guardian before me, didnt you?


    He stiffens up at that.


    An awkward silence falls over the roomsting for who knows how long.


    Eventually he says, <strong>I would rather not talk about that.</strong>


    Oh.


    Okay.


    And so, the awkward silence continues until I eventually hear a light tinker sound, kind of like the sound of a very, very thin piece of ss shattering. Then all of the demon sounds I hear from the other floors begin to vanish.


    Guess Sylver will probably being over here soon.

 Book 1: Chapter 30: Plans

    Book 1: Chapter 30: ns


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As expected, Sylver arrives nearly fifteen minutester, only a couple of minutes after Tar vanishes again. And the Guardian has the terminal on his suit pointed towards me, showing the screen where Allen is currently ring at me.


    Probably to be expected.


    Whats unexpected is that the first words out of his mouth arent to yell.


    Youre grounded from fighting in Fractures until you have properbat training, he says, the re never leaving his face as he talks.


    I blink in surprise before staring at him.


    Is he even technically able to ground me? Im a full grown adult after all


    And before you try to argue, yes, I can do this, he continues as if reading my mind. As long as you are working under me, you will be <em>trained </em>forbat. You will not be recklessly endangering yourself without even thebat ability and experience to at least back it up.


    Oh.


    I open my mouth to speak, but he just cuts me off again, And if you dont agree with that, then I wish you luck with finding an Association thatll ept you.


    My eyes narrow as I turn my own scowl on the man in the screen.


    Youre willing to go that far? I ask, my displeasure with his decision clear in my cold tone of voice.


    He doesnt even hesitate for a second before nodding his head, Yes. Your safety is too important to be squandered for mere System rewards. And if youre still going to risk your life despite my warnings, I want you to at least be as prepared as possible for it. Is that really too much to ask?


    I stare at him. He stares back.


    Sylver awkwardly shifts in ce, likely wanting to be somewhere else right now.


    But we both ignore the guy as we continue staring.


    Eventually I let out a sigh and mutter, Fine. Have it your way.


    Allen grins like hed just won the lottery before immediately saying, Thank you! and ending the call.


    I blink in surprise at the abruptness of the exit, only to frown at Sylver, who clearly told him what happened. Unless Allen had nanomachines stalking me?


    He just shrugs and says, In all honesty, your father was correct. Because while I do admit that youre incredibly strong for a new Guardian, you are far too reckless.


    My mouth drops open in surprise at his actually speaking to me more than necessary. Not to mention thepliment, criticism aside.


    But then one particr part of that statement registers in my mind, and I find myself saying, Hes not my father.


    Sylver just stares at me for a few seconds before shrugging and turning around, calling out over his shoulder, Your family drama not mine. Were headed back to base. Ill be waiting outside for you to finish healing.


    Im serious! Hes not my I trail off as he enters the stairwell, and hes gone.


    I lean back against the window with a sigh.


    Damnit.


    Tar appears in the air with a smug expression somehow nted on his tanuki face.


    Dont. Say. A word.


    <strong>Okay, I wont say that, </strong>he says, equally as smugly as he looks.


    I just groan while lying t on my back next to the window.


    My injuries werent all that serious, so most of them have healed to the point of scabbing by now. But I really dont want to go down there, so Ill give it another ten minutes to let them finish.


    But just five minutester, Im interrupted from the impromptu nap that I ended up taking by my phone buzzing in my jacket pocket, which is lying next to me on the ground. And when I reach over to grab it, I find that its a text from Allen. One with a message at the beginning that makes it clear he really is watching me with his nanomachines.


    <strong>[I can see that youre mostly healed by now, so go head to the base with Sylver. You can rest in the room that Ive assigned to you. All night long and even into the morning if thats what you wish. But dont keep him waiting to get a head-start on that sleep. Your schedule for the next few days will be sent through email after this message.]</strong>


    Ugh.


    A few secondster my phone buzzes again and I find an email from Sage showing what Allen has nned for me in the next few days. Which basically includes rest for the night and however long I sleep in, a tour of the Association base after I wake up, introductions to the currently present Guardians of the Association, enrollment in the Lions Heart Guardians University  which I guess ys well with my entire reason for going to the Tier 1 city in the first ce  andstly, mybat training.


    My arm flops on the ground with my phone in hand as I let out a slow groan.


    This is going to be a busy next few days.


    Although if I remember correctly, the Lions Heart Guardians University is the only Guardian University at the capital city and is the hardest one to get into in all of the Terran Republic, and even harder to stay in it. Not only do the Guardians there have to keep up really good grades, but they also need to participate in a certain number of Demonic Assaults each semester and have topete in the Interschool Tournaments.


    But I guess thats just another thing to tag onto my list of things to do.


    Probably gonna have to take an entrance exam as well, so I better start brushing up on the history of the Guardian Universities in general.


    A few more seconds pass in silence before I get up with a grunt, putting my jacket back on and using repair on all of my clothes. Then I use clean after that and begin to walk towards the stairs.


    <strong>By the way, when using your blood siphon skill to transfuse blood into people other than you, make sure you pull the blood out of their body before youre done, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me frown. <strong>The only reason its safe for you to keep the blood in your body is because youre half demon. Any other human would have a problem if it stayed in their bodies for too long.</strong>


    Oh. Okay.


    Thanks for the heads-up.


    He bobs up and down once before vanishing.


    Time to see their base. And then to take a nap.

 Book 1: Chapter 31: New Home Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 31: New Home Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As it turns out, Sylver doesnt have a car and is using a magi-tech motorcycle instead. So the ride there ends up being a tad awkward and very unpleasant for me due to my dislike of physical contact, but nheless short and quiet. And by the time we reach the base, I realize that its not actually in the city proper, but in one of thoserge, wide open areas that  while still inside the city dome  is surrounded by opennd. Or, open in the sense that its filled with training grounds, areas where I find people testing new magi-tech gear despite it still being the middle of a Demonic Assault, and even some areas where theyre for some reason raising cattle.


    Several of the people around the base stop what theyre doing and wave at us, not even showing any surprise at my presence.


    Guess they were already notified ahead of time?


    Sylver doesnt bother waving back as he continues driving the hoverbike past them and into a garage that opens up the moment he gets near before closing again after were inside. He then drives a little bit further in and stops near a bunch of other bikes. And the moment he does, I jump off of the vehicle, handing him back his helmet to build distance between us.


    The guy doesnt say anything, although he does look vaguely surprised as he turns off the engine and gets off of the vehicle himself.


    I ignore his surprise to look around at therge garage. In it are a couple dozen expensive looking vehicles. Some of which are simr to the one Sylver was riding, and others are magi-tech cars. There is even one magi-tech artillery vehicle for some reason.


    But then again, the Silver Association does have a leader who is one of the current leading inventors and innovators of magi-tech. So, it makes some sense theyd have random artillery.


    Aside from that, the garage itself has a very high tech feeling to it, with smooth metal walls, each with a neon blue line of mana flowing through them powering the shields defending the walls. Meanwhile, the entryway we went through vanished the moment we passed through after it closed, the door so well hidden that its nearly impossible to tell just where it is anymore. And the door on the other side of the garage that leads further into the base has the blue lines from both sides of the door converging into arge blue circle.


    It''s also opening right now to reveal Sage, who is walking through in a simple white business suit. Not really something youd expect to see a Guardian wearing. She has hair as white as the fallen snow back in Rothwell City, with it put up in a single braid that goes over her shoulder.


    In fact, basically everything about her appearance is just white. Which kind of makes sense considering I believe her magic is rted to seers or something? Sensing the future, or foreknowledge?


    No one seems to know the exact specifics. Just that she creeps people out.


    Sage nods her head at Sylver and says, Youre free to go now, before turning to me, Scarlet, follow me to find your quarters. She then performs an about-face like what youd see in a tv show and walks back through the door, clearly expecting me to follow her.


    I shake my head, mostly expecting this behavior from having dealt with her a couple of times in the past before following after her into a hallway. The hallway has the same type of walls and shields as the garage did, with several doors scattered throughout it, and the asional person. Each of whom wees me in their own way, and some of whom I think I recognize from tv.


    Some of them greet me in a simple way, others say hi, others try to introduce themselves only to be scared off by Sage who seems to be in a rush, and others ignore us altogether.


    Eventually we reach an area of the base that seems to be slightly different in that the shields are stronger on the walls, but the walls themselves vary in color as the hallway goes on. Which looks rather odd, but after passing by an open door, I realize these are all bedrooms. Or suites of rooms to be exact. Each and every door leading to a different one.


    I pause for a second before continuing on.


    That exins why the doors are so spread out in this area of the base.


    Sage continues leading me through the hall until we eventually stop at one door, and she presses her palm against the panel next to the door. This causes it to light up with a palmprint scanner, following which she presses some buttons, types in a couple of things that Im not gonna risk angering her to look over her shoulder and peek at. Then, finally, another palm print scanner appears, and she takes a step back while saying, ce your palm there.


    I do as she says, making a glowing bar of light pass back and forth across the scanner, following which I feel a very light prick on the palm of my hand and the screen changes to say, Mana signature and palm print stored. New owner assigned.


    This is your suite of rooms. Do be careful not to disturb your neighbors as some of them do bite, Sage says with a warning before turning around and leaving me behind right as the door to my new suite opens up.


    Some of the neighbors bite? What?


    I frown as I try to figure out what she meant, only to shrug and enter the suite. And soon enough, I find myself smiling at therge entry room meant just for me.


    This will be a very nice change of pace from the hotels Ive been staying in. Even if the hotels arent that bad.


    I go around the suite for a bit, checking out the rooms to find that there is a bathroom with a tub and a shower separate from each other, an entry room, a bedroom, a workout room with a notice that theres also a public gym, and a ratherrge living area.


    Whoever chose my suite for me looks like they knew my favorite colors, since theres a lot of reds and cks everywhere.


    But after a brief glimpse through the rooms, I walk up to the door to the suite, close it with my handprint, then head straight to the bedroom and copse on the veryfortable mattress, falling asleep almost the instant my head hits the pillow after a brief nce at my reflection in the screen of the clock sitting next to the bed.

 Book 1: Chapter 32: New Home Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 32: New Home Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up to the sound of my door opening, making me straight up jump out of bed before turning to find a robot walking into my bedroom with a basket full of my stuff? Oh. They brought my stuff from the hotel I was staying at.


    The robot ignores me as it ces the basket on the ground and walks out of my room.


    I stare at the door for a few seconds, only to pause as I realize that I dont hear anything from the neighboring suites.


    Soundproofing! Yes!!!


    Im guessing its because of my instincts, but it just feels <em>wrong </em>to switch back to using my human ears. Just really, <em>really </em>wrong<em>. </em>And the fact that I dont have to switch back while here just makes thefortable suite even nicer!


    Although the robot waking me up was annoying.


    I nce at the clock near the bed before my eyes widen at finding it already at about noon.


    Okay, maybe it was a necessary wakeup call.


    After stretching a bit, I get up and move over to the basket, noticing that the robot wasnt very orderly in their transfer of my stuff. They didnt break anything  mostly because I dont have much to break  but all they did was stuff everything into the basket. Both clothes and non-clothes.


    Thisll take a while to sort out.


    <strong>Why is your entire wardrobe so dark? </strong>Tar suddenly asks, making me jump in fright, having briefly forgotten about him in my sleep addled mind. <strong>Oh, well good morning to you too. </strong>He huffs.


    Sorry, I apologize while rubbing the back of my neck, only to frown and add, Wait, leave my wardrobe alone!


    <strong>But its all cks, whites, and reds! Theres nothing else there! </strong>Tarins, making me wonder if tanukis wear clothes in their realm. Wherever that is.


    Oh, right. He only has this form here.


    Wait a second, I wonder if his form is anything remotely human?


    <strong>No, we fae do not look like humans in the slightest, </strong>he says, reading my thoughts. <strong>Although we are humanoid in form. And we do wear clothes thank you very much.</strong>


    Interesting.


    Anyways, I kneel down next to the basket before beginning the long and arduous process of sorting things out. Following shortly after by putting everything around the new suite. Most of which is only the clothes, daily necessities, and other stuff like that. Very little actual personal items or decorations.


    Much to Belles chagrin.


    After putting everything away and changing shirts and pants but leaving on my jacket, I stretch once more before ncing at the clock and finding it to be about 2PM. Which is further announced by my growling stomach.


    Lets go get something to eat, I tell the tanuki thats been following me around my room for some reason. Only to pause after just a single step where I turn to ask, You do eat, right?


    Surprisingly, the tanuki shakes his head and says, <strong>Fae are not mortals and therefore do not require the same sustenance that mortals do. Instead, we require the lifeforce of other living beings.</strong>


    My mouth forms an O in understanding.


    So thats why part of the terms of their contracts is to extract a small portion of the lifeforce we drain when killing something.


    Wait, doesnt that make them like vampires? Lifeforce vampires or something?


    If the twitching of his ear as he floats past me is anything to judge by, the tanuki pretends he didnt hear me.


    Yep. Definitely lifeforce vampires.


    His ear twitches again.


    I smirk.


    Guess Im going to be eating by myself then.


    I head towards the door to my suite before opening it with my handprint. Only to find three people standing on the other side having a conversation in a hallway that looks very different from what it looked like when I first arrived. One that stops the moment they hear the door opening.


    One of them  a woman with golden hair wearing a Lions Heart Guardians University uniform with some jacket in her right hand  immediately smiles at me the moment she sees me.


    Then she rushes at me while shouting, You poor girl! her form turning into a bit of a blur before she glomps me with so much force that I forcefully let out all of the air I had in me while backing up a couple of steps until she stops us. After that, my air is cut off as she holds me so tightly that it bes difficult to breath,pletely distracting me from the physical contact itself. I pat her arm multiple times as a sign to let me go, only to end up pushing her instead after that doesnt work. No one should have to fight a knight in their first Fracture! No one!!!


    Am I really going to die by suffocation through a hug?!


    Denise, youre crushing her, one of the others says  this one a man with short ck hair with vibrant green highlights who looks to be about a couple years older than me. And only a second after he says that, thedy lets go of me, letting me gasp, finally breathing in air again. This is what you get for unbncing your stats. You need to fix that as soon as you can.


    The woman, who is wearing the same outfit as the other two but with a skirt instead of pants and a slightly different design for the zer on the girls uniform than the guys, looks ashamed for a second before ncing back at me and saying, Im sorry. I got a little carried away


    I look between the three while backing up so that theres a whole meter between me and thedy before I finally manage to catch my breath and answer, Its its okay. Just please dont touch me. I dont like physical contact.


    For some reason me saying that seems to make her sad, but it doesnt really matter.


    That aside, their uniforms are clearly for Lions Heart Guardians University. Which likely means theyre my fellow students there who also happen to be in the Silver Association.


    I nce at the third of the little trio to find them standing about a meter behind the guy.


    But the moment our eyes meet, she immediately rushes to the guy and hides behind him.


    Guess shes shy?


    The girl is wearing the same uniform, but she has her hair  which is mostly ck with much more vicious green highlights than the boy  flowing straight down her back, and unlike Denise, whose hair reaches down to about her hips, this one has long hair reaching all the way past down to her thighs.


    Must be a pain to deal with. Assuming she doesnt just use the clean skill, now that I think about it.


    Which is a nice realization I made while checking out the bath and showerst night.


    What strikes me the most interesting about the girl though, is that her eyes are glowing with a faint green light.


    Interesting.

 Book 1: Chapter 33: New Home Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 33: New Home Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My apologies for ourpanion, the man says with a light bow of his head, she can be a little too caring for her own good sometimes. And iscking the filter to stop herself from doing things she shouldnt.


    I make sure to keep my eye on the girl in case she tries something else as I slowly answer, Its alright. Just, dont do that again.


    A few seconds pass in awkward silence before the guy puts his hand on his neck in what looks to be embarrassment as he says, Well, we were going to show you around and give you a wee to the Association, and the university, but things he trails off with a nce at the Denise girl, didnt pan out as were nned. He turns back to me again and says, Lets start over. Im Michael Winters. The one hiding behind me is my sister, Emily, and the idiot is Denise Harley. Were all Guardians whove contracted in thest few weeks and were scouted to join the Silver Association just like you.


    I nce at the girl hiding behind him before looking at him again. Then I repeat this a few times.


    You both contracted and still somehow ended up with the same hair color? I ask with a confused frown.


    Unless they both dyed their hair or something. Which is entirely possible.


    Emily just hides her face behind her brothers shoulder as he chuckles and says, Well, that just sort of happened. Both of our magics are kind of green in nature, so our hair mimicked that.


    I notice his sister flinching at the word magics but decide to ignore it as I focus solely on Denise, who is literally twiddling her thumbs. In all honesty, Im a little surprised she didnt say anything to being called an idiot. But at least she looks apologetic.


    My name is Scarlet Asger. Its a pleasure to meet you, I tell them with a nod of my head before ncing at Michael again to find his sister behind him peeking out over his shoulder at my ears. But I ignore that to ask, You mentioned something about a tour?


    He immediately nods his head, a relieved expression showing on his face as he says, Yes! This ce is ratherrge, so its pretty easy to get lost without knowing the ce! Michael then turns around, startling his sister in the process before calling out over his shoulder, Follow me!


    Some of the awkward atmosphere begins to dissipate as we walk through the building. Although Denise still hasnt said anything since her first outburst. But in all honesty, I dont mind that.


    And this is the cafeteria, where we have quite the number of top ss chefs hired to keep all of the Guardians on a healthy and tasty diet, Michael says, almost making me pause as he talks as if he had something to do with that. Which he clearly didnt, considering that hes only been here for a few weeks himself.


    Maybe he just has pride in the Association hes a part of now?


    Either way, I listen to his spiel  which sounds just like what a real tour guide would give  just taking the important information out of it. Which generallyes down to the locations of the training halls, the cafeteria, meeting hall, the public gym, garage, experimental fields, research sector, the library, the dozens of bathrooms, and, of course, themon area.


    Which is a lot to keep track of.


    A lot of the other areas he showed me arent ces Ill ever be going. Hopefully. Like the photo gallery, where photo shoots are taken of the Guardians who want a little bit more money and are fine with being turned into public celebrities or models or whatever. Or the control center, which is basically where Sage lives despite having a suite of her own. Its where the more technical and not directlybat focused Guardians tend to work. Meaning I wont be going there unless I am asked to.


    Also, when we went outside to see the experimental fields, I saw that the blood moon was gone and the sun was high in the sky. Meaning that the Demonic Assault had ended at some point while I was asleep.


    I am happy that we were able to eat while touring the cafeteria though. Even if I seemed to have eaten a lot more than nned.


    After showing me everything and describing it all like a salesperson, Michael turns around in themon area and asks, So Scarlet, would you like to join ou- His words are cut off by the sound of the speakers high in the room clicking on and Sages voice echoing throughout the entiremon area, bringing the attention of a few dozen people up to the ceiling as she says, Scarlet Asger, please meet with Cipher in training hall 1 to get yourself evaluated.


    Then the speakers click off again, leaving themon area in silence for a few seconds only for quite the number of eyes to turn to me  the new girl. And some of their voices enter my ears, questioning why Im being evaluated by Cipher himself and not Sage or someone else. Only for them to be answered by people showing them some of the videos of me fighting online.


    My eyebrow twitches, but I focus on Michael anyways as I ask, You were saying something? breaking him out of his stupor.


    Uh, yeah. But that can wait till after your evaluation, he says, stuttering once before continuing as normal. Good luck!


    I watch him for a few seconds before nodding my head in appreciation. Then I nce at the other two, who both mutter well wishes as well.


    Right as Im about to head towards the training hall though, I hear Denise speaking up, Im sorry for earlier! I hope we can be friends!


    The corner of my lips twitch upwards slightly as I raise my hand without saying anything.


    Was wondering when shed get around to it. It was obviously eating her up, the mistake she made. So Ive been wondering how long it would take her to speak up.


    Anyways, time to see this evaluation of theirs.

 Book 1: Chapter 34: Evaluation Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 34: Evaluation Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It takes me about ten minutes to find my way to the training hall in question to find Allen standing at the very center of it. The hall itself is incrediblyrge, spanning the size of a football stadium with a ceiling going dozens of meters into the air. It has the same blue lines going across the walls, albeit being bigger to allow for more mana for the shields, and there are several areas to the training hall. One has several targets set up, another a training dummy made out of metal and obviously magi-tech, some seem to have devices in them that I have no idea what to do, and others are just straight up sparring rings.


    Youre here, Allen says with a serious look on his face, telling me that hes in his business attitude right now. We need to evaluate your stats to determine your Tiers.


    I frown at that, but before I canin, he adds, And no, Im not going to be determining or asking for your statistics. This is purely to ssify what your strengths and weaknesses are in each stat. Like your strength, agility, mental defenses, mental offenses if you have any mental attacking skills, and so on.


    Oh. Okay.


    What were going to be doing is going through a multitude of tests, where the machine will ssify your different capabilities into tiers ranging from Tier E through A, with A being the top Tier. This is standard procedure for a new Guardian and is required by thew, not to mention the Guardian Universities, Allen exins before crossing his arms. The way it works is that each Guardian has a different makeup for their statistics. In their physical stat, some are stronger than others, some faster, some have better physical reflexes. And its the same with the other stats, so a Tier system was created to judge each individual characteristic within the stats andpare it to the average.


    That makes sense. I did think it was a bit odd that the System never rified what exactly was changing with each stat point, and whether or not every physical capability was changing at the same rate.


    Someone with a Tier A capability in one area generally has a magic that focuses solely on that capability, whereas Tier B capabilities are only seen when someone has a magic that focuses on two, or rarely three capabilities. He continues while uncrossing his arms again and walking over to a terminal at the center of the training hall. Tier D is the average capability ssification for the capabilities that arent amongst a users magic enhanced capabilities, while anything below that is considered below average.


    Allen begins messing with the terminal for a few seconds before stepping back and nodding his head towards it. Enter in your level. It will be used in the ssification process before being immediately deleted after the process is over. Your capabilities will then be determined as if you had all of your statistics at the exact same point using all of your free points. He pauses for a second as he sees my frown to add, Its illegal for anyone to force someone into showing someone their status or telling them their level, and even more illegal to use methods such as stealing their level from a machine like this before its finished. So dont worry if thats bothering you.


    I still give him a frown, only to eventually sigh and walk up to the machine as he turns around to not look.


    Not you that I dont trust, but the possibility of a hacker breaking into it. But its just my level, so I dont really care too much about it. Not enough to get into trouble just to avoid the miniscule chance someone could actually hack into this machine and find my level.


    So I put in level 15 before tapping submit and saying, Its done.


    He turns around again and immediately says, Now remember. You need at least two capabilities at Tier B, or one at Tier A to be able to qualify for Lions Heart. Even if I can get you in with capabilities lower than that, you wouldnt enjoy your time there. Not at all.


    I nod my head before looking at the terminal again, which is now showing three stats. Physical, Mental, and Magical.


    Lets start with physical capabilities first, Allen says while reaching out and touching the boxbeled Physical, making the screen change to show several more boxes. These include Strength, Agility, Constitution, Endurance, Perception, and Vitality. And underneath each one is a description of what the capability is.


    <strong>Strength</strong>


    The measure of how physically strong an individual is.


    <strong>Agility</strong>


    The measure of how fast and maneuverable an individual is.


    <strong>Constitution</strong>


    The measure of how much damage an individual can take.


    <strong>Endurance</strong>


    The measure of how much stamina an individual has.


    <strong>Perception</strong>


    The measure of an individuals senses.


    <strong>Vitality</strong>


    The measure of the regenerative rate of an individual.


    Beginning with Strength so that I can show you the ropes of how this works, Allen says while tapping on the ck box for Strength. You can go in whatever order youd like after that.


    I nod in understanding, only to quickly spin in a circle to find one of the sections of the training hall seemingly rotating out for a different one. This one being a single magi-tech dummy.


    This one is incredibly simple as all you need to do is punch the thing with all of your strength, not using any of your skills in the process, Allen says before nodding his head towards the dummy.


    If thats all it is then why do you want to show me the ropes for the first test?


    I narrow my eyes at him only to shake my head and walk towards the dummy.


    He probably just wants to see my first result before he goes to do whatever hes nning on doing while I do the rest. Which could very well be sitting around and doing work as he watches from afar or something.


    I stop walking once I get in front of the dummy before ncing at my fist.


    Thisll be interesting.

 Book 1: Chapter 35: Evaluation Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 35: Evaluation Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I pull my fist back before punching directly at the chest of the dummy, making a loud crashing sound echo throughout the training hall. But despite the noise, the dummy doesnt so much as budge. Then I hear a beep from the dummy, followed by Allens voice, Do it again and again every time it beeps.


    Following his directions  which turn out to be more useful than I thought  I repeatedly punch the dummy about five more times before a loud beep sounds from the terminal at the center of the room.


    Thats enough. Now we can see your Allens voice trails off as I turn around to look at him, just to find him standing over the terminal gawking.


    <strong>I should warn you, youre not a human. Not fully at least. So your capabilities will probably be higher on averagepared to a regr human Guardian, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me want to p him for thete information.


    You couldnt have told me that sooner?!


    Tar somehow sends the mental equivalent of a shrug before exining himself, <strong>It wouldnt have mattered. You wouldve just tried holding back or something, which the machine wouldve been able to detect unless you were a master at your own body. And then it wouldve required you to redo the test. Not to mention that having higher capabilities is what gets you a better ce in the universities of this world.</strong>


    I cant help but agree with that assessment.


    Allen stays silent as I walk over to the terminal, only to turn to me with a frightened look on his face as he puts his hands on my shoulders and practically shouts, You didnt unbnce your stats, did you?!


    I shake my head, No, theyre bnced.


    And my answer only serves to make his fear shift to confusion. So I turn to look at the terminal to find that my stats are at about Tier B for Strength.


    Oh. Yeah, guess that makes sense why hed be afraid of that possibility.


    After all, he knows my magic is blood magic, and knows some of the skills it gives me, making it obvious that its not a strength focused stat. And if I understand correctly, the devices in this room are also set up to recognize the use of any mana, meaning using active skills and therefore cheating is easily detectable by the machine.


    Maybe youre just really strong because of some passive skill you got from killing the demon knight? Or maybe blood magic has a secondary bonus to strength? Allen begins muttering to himself. But because I know Im not gonna need him for the test anyways, I simply select the next test, which is agility, before going back to the machine after it flips to the next one. And because he looks like he might need a moment.


    This next test has a treadmill-like device going through most of the floor.


    After I stand next to the treadmill for a few seconds, a screen lowers itself down above the tform, but far enough above that it wont mess with the test. Then the words, Run on the treadmill appears on the screen.


    Simple enough.


    I step onto the device, and it immediately starts moving at a much faster speed than the treadmill I usually use at the gym. But at the same time, it feels too slow for me thanks to my status as a Guardian.


    A few seconds pass and the treadmill starts to speed up, slowly at first, then faster and faster until it reaches my own pace where it stops speeding up. And when Im beginning to think the test is too straightforward, hurdles and other sorts of obstacles begin to appear on the treadmill, making my eyes widen with a mixture of surprise and fear.


    That looks like itll hurt if I mess up.


    I continue running through the treadmill, avoiding most of the obstacles, but still hitting around six of them before the treadmill slows to a stop again and a loud beep sounds from the terminal.


    Then the sound of someone mming something enters my ears, directing my focus towards Allen who is staring at the terminal with his fist on the counter beneath it, sending cracks through the poor counter.


    Yeah, I get the feeling hes going to be doing that a lot today.


    When I walk over to the terminal, I find this one also at Tier B for agility. Which is quite nice. But it seems to be giving Allen an aneurism or something as he cant take his eyes off of the screen.


    Maybe if would be better if I just went through all of the tests back to back?


    Yeah, that would be better. Like tearing off a band aid right away instead of slowly peeling it. If he gets all of the surprises out of the way now, maybe the counter might just survive the day?


    And with that thought in mind, I press the next capability on the screen. Constitution.


    When I turn around to look at the tform, it has something that kind of sends shivers down my spine. But I still walk towards the tform either way.


    After stopping right in front of therge golem  one armed to the teeth with weapons  I feel a refreshing feeling very much like when Allen healed me before sweep through my body. And looking down, I find a green glow to be the cause of it. Oneing from the floor of the tform.


    Good. So the tests do heal you in between.


    Im guessing its every two tests or something?


    Either way, I stare down at the golem before finding a screening down again.


    Fight the golem.


    This test doesnt bode well. Not when its one to see how much damage I can take. And especially not when this golem has des all over its body, hammers in the ce of hands, glowing eyes, even more weapons stored on its body that arent attached, and who knows how many hidden weapons it must have as well.


    I dont think Im going to like this test.


    And that thought is confirmed the moment the golem bursts into movement, with all of its weapons going into action, slicing straight through my clothes and skin.

 Book 1: Chapter 36: Evaluation Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 36: Evaluation Part III


    <strong>At the Terminal while Scarlet is doing her Evaluation</strong>


    Cipher continues staring nkly at the terminal for who knows how long, wondering just what the heck is going on. Never once has there been a blood magic user whose physical capabilities were so high. Not once.


    Blood magic is supposed to be a magic focused, well, magic. It is not supposed to be a physical focused one.


    <em>But if thats the case, then what are these results?!</em>


    After a few seconds, Cipher finally begins to remember that he isnt alone. So he looks up just to find that Scarlet had already begun the Constitution test, making him immediately grimace before turning around at the sight of her clothes ripped up. Even if she continuously repairs them to keep them from getting too badly damaged to repair again.


    <em>Everyone hates that test.</em>


    Nearly three minutes pass before the test ends at the sound of the tone from the terminal. And the moment Cipher sees the results, he cant help but shout, What the fuck is going on here?!


    <em>Tier B Constitution. Three Tier Bs in a row. In Physical capabilities. For a Blood Magic user.</em>


    Cipher raises his head to gawk at Scarlet, who is already walking back to the terminal with the tform having healed her of all of the wounds and even cleaned her and repaired her clothes for her after the test finished. But that doesnt do anything for the scowl thats on her face, showing exactly how she felt about that test.


    After she reaches the terminal, she doesnt even bother looking at Cipher, simply pressing the next test button and going back to the tform.


    <em>Is this why White wanted me to bring her to an orphanage of my my own creation and give her the same care as the other orphans? Because she knew just how powerful Scarlet would be if she became a Guardian? Or is it something else about Scarlet that I dont know? There is of course the question of where her ears came from when she just has simple blood magic, but I can''t see that making her this powerful...</em>


    Cipher cant help but think back to the day when White<em></em>arrived carrying Scarlet as a baby neen years ago. The first thing he thought when he saw her was that there was something strange about her. About the way she looked at him. Not as a baby would look at an adult, but with silence. With calm eyes and not making a single sound in the process.


    Some things never change. And that was one of them.


    Cipher looks down and rubs the lower half of his face as he ignores the test going on right now.


    <em>But just what is Scarlets connection to White? At this point I wouldnt be too surprised if she were her mother. They do look a little bit simr, in a way. But then why would she give her daughter to someone else to raise? It doesnt make any sense.</em>


    He thinks about the questions for several minutes before looking up again to find Scarlet struggling to keep going in the endurance test after having run on the treadmill for who knows how long. The test also asionally stops the treadmill and has her fighting with a golem that is instructed not to actually harm her but to just tire her out before switching back to the treadmill again.


    <em>Another unpleasant test. But theres no way she can get a fourth Tier B capability. Right?</em>


    Time flies by as the test continues until it finally ends with another tone, following which he lets out a sigh at seeing the capability at Tier C this time.


    <em>Right. No more Tier Bs. She cant be that much of a demon.</em>


    If her capabilities were too high then people would flood her with requests to join their Association, or to enter their university. She wouldnt have a moment of peace, and he knows exactly how that would turn out.


    With her probably running and blowing everyone off, not bothering with it after only the fifth request. Which would in turn look bad for Cipher.


    <em>Shes already passed the criteria and more for Lions Heart, so its fine even if she gets a Tier D beyond this point.</em>


    Cipher nods to himself as Scarlet passes by, sending him a strange nce at his actions before pressing the next button on the screen.


    Perception.


    <em>Wait. Doesnt she shit.</em>


    Cipher stares as she walks into the perception test, only to walk out of it again a few minutester with the terminal beeping once more, showing her perception as Tier A.


    <em>Well, shit.</em>


    Scarlets eyes widen before she smirks and then presses the next button as if getting three capabilities in Tier B and one in Tier A wasnt earthshattering already.


    At this point, Cipher just stares at her, not letting anything faze him anymore. Not the nonchnce shes carrying herself with, nor the theoretically impossible Tier set she has listed next to her physical capabilities.


    Scarlet he says, calling out to her right before she steps onto the tform of the vitality tform. But when she turns around to look at him with her head tilted slightly and her ears somehow tilting with them, he just says, Nevermind. Just just continue.


    Scarlet frowns at him, her head straightening, only to shrug and continue onto the tform.


    After her test starts, he finds himself putting his face in his hands and leaning them on the cracked counter with a groan.


    <em>And to think I was originally thinking that Id enjoy seeing her capabilities. That maybe herpetitive streak would be sparked by seeing some low capabilities or something and she would work hard in training to make up for thecking capabilities instead of just trying to level up. Or that hed just be proud of her for doing quite well.</em>


    The tone sounds again a few minutester, making him lift his head to see a B for Vitality as well.


    <em>At this rate, Im pretty sure the others are going to be going after me to take her in.</em>


    Cipher turns to look at Scarlet, his frown growing deeper as he stares at the source of his current troubles. Only for her to frown and tilt her head ever so slightly in confusion again.

 Book 1: Chapter 37: Evaluation Part IV

    Book 1: Chapter 37: Evaluation Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I swear, some of these tests are just trying to torture us. And why does Allen keep staring at me like Im doing him some great disservice or something? Its getting annoying and awkward.


    Allen takes in a deep breath before letting it out again. Then he repeats that process once more and says, While your capabilities may be theoretically impossible, dont let that get to your head. It doesnt mean you''re immediately the strongest person even close to your level or anything like that. All it means is that your physical capabilities will rise at a slightly faster pace than everyone else on average. But there will still be people who  even at the same level or below you  can challenge you with ease as long as they focus on one stat or just happen to counter you.


    I nod my head, taking his advice to heart.


    He nods back before pressing the okay button on the screen that appeared after I finished thest physical test, making the screen go back to the three main stats, but with Physical crossed out this time. Then he waves for me to do the rest myself as he goes to the edge of the room and sits in a chair while rubbing his temples.


    Does he have a headache or something? I know my capabilities are quite good, but is it that big of a deal?


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tar says, his amusement clear in his voice. <strong>Noble demons are known quite well for having a stronger talent in both magic and physical prowess over humans after all. So it makes sense that a half blood lycan would be stronger than most humans at the same level. But as he said, dont let this get to your head. Humans are crafty, and magic is  as some would say  without bounds.</strong>


    I nod my head again as I reach out and touch the button for Mental stat capabilities.


    <strong>Processing</strong>


    The measure of the processing power of an individual''s mind.


    <strong>Intuition</strong>


    The measure of how fast and efficiently an individual can understand new things.


    <strong>Resistance</strong>


    The measure of how strong an individuals mental resistance is towards mental attacks.


    <strong>Offense</strong>


    The measure of how powerful an individuals mental offense is.


    <strong>Reaction</strong>


    The measure of an individuals ability to react to active stimuli.


    <strong>Willpower</strong>


    The measure of an individuals mental endurance.


    Huh. Not what I expected.


    Video games make it sound like things like wisdom or intelligence should always be mental stats or something. But on second thought, it makes sense that theyre not. After all, you cant really measure just how intelligent someone is. Not urately at least.


    By the way, Tar?


    <strong>Hmm? </strong>his voice echoes in my head as I reach out and touch the processing box.


    I wouldve thought there would be a reflex capability or something in the physical stat. Why isnt there?


    <strong>Oh, that. Yeah, reflexes arent really something that improve in your body, </strong>he says, confusing me in the process. <strong>I guess the Reaction capability would be the closest thing to reflexes, even if its still different. Because thats <em>your</em> ability to react to something, not your instinctive reaction to something.</strong>


    Huh. Okay. Im just going to pretend I understood that and move on.


    <strong>Yeah, lets just say that your reflexes dont change as you grow stronger and leave it at that, </strong>he says, clearing it up in a better way.


    Hmm.


    Anyways, I walk over to the processing test to find that the test is basically just overloading me with mental stress in the form of random useless information and seeing how I cope with it, and how much I can actually process via answering questions about the information its mming into my head.


    By the time I get out of the test, I have a rather strange urge to go punch whoever made these tests in the face. But I doubt that would work out well for my career, assuming theyre still alive.


    Before I even see my result, I surprisingly find Allen letting out a sigh of relief. Which probably means its not as theory breaking as my other capabilities.


    I walk up to the terminal before looking at the results.


    Yep. Tier C.


    <strong>Yeah, most of your mental capabilities wont be as good as your magical or physical, and you should know why by now, </strong>Tar says with what sounds like a yawn.


    Yeah, yeah. Blood lycans are stronger in both physical and magical stats than in mental.


    Also, are you just watching me get tortured while almost falling sleep?!


    The tanuki doesnt say anything in response, making me narrow my eyes in suspicion. But after a few seconds, I just press the next button and head back to the tform.


    Why do I feel like this next one will be a quiz of some sort?


    The rest of the mental tests fly by rather quickly, albeit painfully in some of their cases. Such as the resistance capability test. And by the end of it, Im looking at a row of almost straight Tier Cs, with the exception of Reaction and Willpower, which are both Bs.


    I re at Allen who seems to be jumping for joy for some odd reason.


    Why is he happy at my bad results?


    <strong>Um, those arent actually bad by human standards. Theyre pretty go- </strong>Tar begins but I mentally respond with a big, Dont care before he can finish as I continue ring.


    The culprit in question seems to notice my look and coughs lightly once before pressing the okay button and then the Magical button, showing the next capabilities for thest stat. But I continue ring at him for a few more seconds anyways, just to drive the point home. Then I turn to the screen.


    <strong>Capacity</strong>


    The measure of the amount of mana an individual has.


    <strong>Power</strong>


    The measure of the purity of an individuals mana.


    <strong>Control</strong>


    The measure of how much control an individual has over their mana.


    I blink in surprise.


    There are only three capabilities for the Magical stat?


    Thats surprising.


    <strong>Well, the only magic you can use are the skills you have. And you dont get much control over those until ss IV or even V, which only a couple of humans have ever reached, </strong>Tar exins in response to my surprise.


    Oh. Okay.


    I select Capacity first before turning around and finding the tform to now has a single orb on it.

 Book 1: Chapter 38: Evaluation Finale

    Book 1: Chapter 38: Evaluation Finale


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The test turns out to simply be pouring half of my mana into the orb, so it isnt painful, stressful, or anything like that. It doesnt even take longer than a couple of minutes before I hear the tone from the terminal stating that the test is over.


    And once I get back to the terminal, I find that I have Tier B Capacity as well. Which is nice.


    The two tests following that arent very hard to do either, and I end up with Tiers A and B for the next two in order.


    In the end, Allen and I are left looking at a final list showing all of my capabilities in each stat, along with a little loading symbol on the bottom of the screen and the words Sending results to officials above the loading symbol. But Allen doesnt say a word until its finished. And the moment it is? He just sighs. Then a loud ringing sound echoes through the room followed by arge screen floating down in front of us.


    Before I can ask whats going on, the ck screen changes to show Belle who is sitting down on a desk in what Im guessing is a ssroom. And she doesnt look very happy either.


    But that changes after she sees me, making a smile spread across her face again as she practically shouts, Scarlet! Youre awake!


    I raise an eyebrow before chuckling.


    Good morning, I tell her, only to frown for a second then correct myself, Good afternoon.


    Sheughs for a few seconds. But then she turns a scowl on her father, who is still staring at my results. Dad, we need to talk.


    His head shoots up and aplicated expression reces the dumbfounded stare he had. One that looks both confused and guilty at the same time. As if he felt guilty but didnt know what he was guilty about.


    I almostugh at the look on his face, only to hold myself back as I hear Belle saying, I want to go to Lions Heart.


    Uh, this conversation doesnt sound like its gonna go in a direction Id like to be here during.


    Fortunately, Allen turns to me and says, Your results should have been sent to the authorities, so go explore the base a bit for the rest of the day. We can deal with your application to the university after the results are processed.


    I nod my head in appreciation, nce at Belle to find her ring at her father, then quickly make my exit as fast as my legs will carry me. But despite that, I still hear Allen stating, No. Non-Guardians are not allowed on a Guardian University campus without a good reason, and you know this.


    Then the door shuts, and I cant hear anything else.


    I let out a sigh of relief.


    Now then. To the gym.


    <strong>Didnt you say yesterday that you were going to skip your workout today? </strong>Tarments with confusion evident in his voice.


    That was before I got so much pent up stress I needed to work off.


    Then I can take a shower after that. And I dont care if youre human or not, youre either gonna disappear at that time or youre staying in my room.


    Tar just chuckles at that.


    I let out a huff of air as I begin my walk towards the public gym.


    <strong>A few hourster</strong>


    I let out a sigh as I get out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my neck, over my shirt to keep my wet hair from my clothes before my phone buzzes from my pants pocket, my jacket having been left on my bed during my shower. So I take the phone out before unlocking it and raising an eyebrow at the text I find there. One with a simple thumbs-up emoji at the end of it.


    <strong>[I managed to get a tentative maybe on that going to Lions Heart thing!]</strong>


    She actually managed to convince him? Or no, she said a tentative maybe.


    <strong>[What did you do?]</strong>


    After sending my response, I run the towel through my hair and then toss it while lying back on my bed and raising my phone in front of my face, just searching through the videos online about me. And it only takes me a few minutes to find a full blown news article as well, instead of just the simple videos posted on streaming services.


    There isnt much different about it from the videos Ive already seen though, just that the articles are written by people who are actually with the news and not just some video streamer. Makes it look more official.


    I flop my hand against the bed with a sigh before muttering, This is going to be a pain.


    Tar appears in the air above me, only to float down tond on my chest. I almost unconsciously drop my phone and reach out to start petting him as I close my eyes.


    If I remember correctly, the capital has the most Demonic Assaults out of all of the cities in the world. Generally about one every three or four days. But since the city is so massive, the various Fractures are spread out, and rarely ever strike the same building more than once in two months time.


    I cant remember how big the city is though. Not exactly at least. Just that its multiple timesrger than any Tier 2 city, and at least a dozen timesrger than Rothwell City was.


    And Rothwell City was still about a few hundred square kilometers in area.


    So the city is massive. And every Demonic Assault has at least a couple dozen Fractures spread across the city, focusing in areas with a lot of people  hence why it often happens in buildings. They also cant appear where there is no t ground, so the airways of the city are safe as well despite how many people are always flying through it on their air cars.


    Which is still a strange sight to see.


    Although a new Guardian contracting in a Fracture is rather rare. On average only one new Guardian every few dozen or so Fractures. And only around a quarter of those new Guardians even survive, mostly those contracting in ss I Fractures.


    After all, bing a Guardian only gives them some power and a chance to fight. It doesn''t mean they are able to actually fight and survive till the end of the Fracture.


    My thoughts are interrupted by my phone once again buzzing. So I remove my hand from the unbelievably soft tanuki to grab the phone, only to gawk at it after seeing her reply.


    <strong>[Dad agreed to take me to a Fracture during the next Assault as long as I stay safely at the entrance. And if I do get offered a contract, then he will allow me to apply for Lions Heart.]</strong>

 Book 1: Chapter 39: Call For Help and a Talk

    Book 1: Chapter 39: Call For Help and a Talk


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>[Are you kidding me?! Dont do something so stupidly dangerous! Im the reckless one, remember?!]</strong>


    I re at my phone, having a hard time believing someone like Belle would actually do something like this. And for what? Just to go to Lions Heart Guardians university? Why does she want to go this badly anyways?


    Ive heard that there are some Guardians who take their children to Fractures in case a spirit decides they want to contract with them, but generally thats looked down upon. Many believing that surviving your first Fracture unaided until reinforcements arrive being the best way to prove yourself or something. Not to mention that apparently people who do that arent anywhere near as likely to be contracted. To the point that Ive only heard of one or two people who did manage to contract that way.


    <strong>Of course, they arent contracted, </strong>Tar suddenly says, reminding me of the weight on my chest that I had forgotten about thanks to her message. <strong>When youre looking for a champion to represent you, would you pick someone who is basically being walked through their first Fracture, taking the easy way through life? No. You wouldnt.</strong>


    Then the tanuki goes quiet again.


    He makes a good point though. If a faes status is represented by their contractor, then they wouldnt want some spoiled rich kid.


    I feel like I do remember hearing some news about people who tried getting a contract this way and failed, only to end up in a Fracture themselves by mistake or happenstanceter on and get a contract then instead.


    Belle responds to my text a minuteter, making me grimace.


    <strong>[Then take this as me learning your tricks. You always pull through after all, so why cant I?]</strong>


    She has a point. I dont think I have the right to get mad at her over this.


    But


    I quickly copy her original text saying her n before sending it to Arthur.


    He can.


    And with my tattle tailing done-


    My thoughts pause as the phone buzzes again before I can even put it down.


    <strong>[I see. Thank you for telling me, Ill be sure to have a nice little chat with her.]</strong>


    I grin at that as I put my phone away and get up, startling the tanuki into flying into the air. But after a few seconds, he just floats over to my head and lies down there instead, making me flinch as he touches my ears, which are still way too sensitive for their own good.


    Better not to let others touch them, else they might see how sensitive they are. Specifically, Belle.


    Shed have a field day trying to tickle me through my ears.


    I grimace at the thought as I reach over to grab my jacket and pull it on while walking over to the door.


    Time to get some fresh air.


    Tar appears next to me  having vanished the moment we left my suite  as I lie down on my back on the roof of the base. Which took me a while to find.


    High in the sky are the beautiful stars that you dont get to see from the city proper thanks to the lights, along with the full moon glowing a bright yellow. I cant help the smile that stretches across my face as I just stare up at the sky, looking at the moon.


    At least I now have a logical reason for why I love the moon so much. Its probably because Im half blood lycan.


    The peace of the night calms my nerves after spending most of the day doing tests that were more akin to torture than evaluations, followed by my workout which fortunately was a lot less eventful. Even if there were still some people watching me, what with me being a newbie here and all.


    Actually,e to think of it, do Guardians really need to continue working out?


    Tars ear twitches as he answers, <strong>Yeah. Its a littleplicated, but your draining of life force basically makes your presence in reality stronger, increasing the current prowess of your body. And if you dont keep in shape, it will show in a pretty decent decrease in your physical capabilities. Of course, youd still be far stronger than a regr human being. But not as strong as you could be, and you wouldnt look as well fit either.</strong>


    Oh. Thats honestly rather interesting.


    Theres still one thing bothering me though.


    <strong>Whats that? </strong>Tar asks, lying down on the ground next to me, surprisingly not lying on top of me this time.


    Well, I noticed that my life drain skill mentions that it drains the life energy from other beings to heal myself. Whats the difference between life energy and life force?


    Tar nces at me before staring up at the sky again with his little legs syed out on each side in an adorable manner that showcases just how artificial his body is considering theck of any biological parts besides what appears necessary to defend himself. Which I guess makes sense since the fae are supposed to look as endearing as possible to the humans they''re contracting, and their body on Earth is just artificial.


    My thoughts are distracted when he answers my question, <strong>Life force is what grounds you to reality and what reality uses to ground itself to you. It establishes your presence, and your power. But life energy is basically just what keeps your body alive. Kind of like the HP or hit points you often see in a video game.</strong>


    Wait, you know about video games?


    The tanuki rolls over as he says, <strong>Yeah, myst contracted partner was really big on them. To the point it was nearly an obsession, and he was even starting to think of the world as a game as well. What with the simrities between the System and games. Which wasnt a good thing for a Guardian.</strong>


    I wince.


    Yeah, I can see that being bad.


    Sorry I asked.


    Tar floats up into the air and onto my stomach as he says, <strong>Its fine.</strong>


    We both stay silent for several minutes, just enjoying the peace on the roof that is only asionally broken slightly by the sound of an explosion asionally happening from the experimental fields. Explosions that make me even more happy that the building is soundproof. They also makes me switch to my human ears, because ouch.


    Tar, I ask, my rxed face turning sad for a moment.


    How do you think the others would react to knowing that Im a half demon?


    The tanuki doesnt say anything for nearly an entire minute.


    <strong>Probably not well, </strong>he eventually responds in my head, which is unusual for when hes out physically on Earth, since he usually talks in my mind while not physically here and out loud when he is physically present. <strong>But I can see your friend Belle looking past it, from what Ive seen of her so far that is. And maybe that Cipher guy as well. Maybe.</strong>


    Hmm.


    Thank you.


    He nods his head before closing his eyes and resting his head on my stomach as if he were going to sleep.


    If Im being honest, I dont really care much about not being fully human anymore. But I do care about what theyd think.


    Tar doesnt say anything to that, his breathing hinting towards him having fallen asleep.


    I let out a sigh.


    Why couldnt life be more like a video game than it already is? Games arent oftenplicated. Not some of them at least. Move your chess piece one space to the right and look at the board to figure out your next move. Not guessing beyond the limited scope of moves the other yer has. No way they could break the known rules and go off the board. No other yers there to interfere with the game.


    No emotions going into y in the game,plicating everything.


    I let out another sigh before following the tanukis example and closing my eyes.


    A short nap will be nice. Then I can go back to my room.

 Book 1: Intermission 2

    Book 1: Intermission 2


    <strong>Within the Government Hall at the heart of the Capital City of the Terran Republic, Terra</strong>


    Can you verify these results? Are they real? Jacob R. Ashton asks his assistant as he stares at the paper in front of him. One with the results of the new wolf girl Guardians evaluation.


    The assistant nervously nods her head before answering, Ive had several people going over both the documents, the terminal on our end, and the terminal on their end, and nothing looked wrong. Everything was working. We even have recordings of her evaluations with the initial inputting of level taken out.


    The official in charge of registering new Guardians sighs as he slumps into his chair. The man is wearing a ck business suit with a dark blue crystal amulet hanging around his neck over the suit. One that will transform into his armor at a moments notice. He has short brown hair that matches his chair as he stares at the paper in front of him.


    <em>This this shouldnt even be possible. So what am I looking at?</em>


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong>


    <strong>Magic: Blood</strong>


    <strong>Age: 19</strong>


    <strong>Physical Capabilities:</strong>


    <strong>Mental Capabilities:</strong>


    <strong>Magical Capabilities:</strong>


    <strong>Strength:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Processing:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Capacity:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Agility:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Intuition:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Power:</strong>


    Tier A


    <strong>Constitution:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Resistance:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Control:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Endurance:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Power:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Perception:</strong>


    Tier A


    <strong>Reaction:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Vitality:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Willpower:</strong>


    Tier B


    And were sure she didnt lie about her level? Jacob mutters, not taking his eyes off of the results.


    His assistant answers with more confidence this time, Yes sir. You know as well as I do that the Capacity test also judges the level of the user it is testing to make sure they didnt lie at the beginning of the test. Furthermore, even if she did somehow manage to lie, do you think a regr person would be able to reach a high enough level to get <em>these </em>results from a faked test?


    Jacob just sighs again.


    <em>I know a Guardians capabilities arent everything and are only really important for people within around a dozen or so levels around your own, but still the Guardian Research Team is going to have a field day with this real proof that a Guardian can reach past the theoretical ceiling that was decided upon.</em>


    After gathering his thoughts together, the official finally sits up again and truly looks over the girls paper in front of him.


    <em>She seems like shed make a good scout with her perception, but thatd also waste her offensive capabilities that she has with those other physical capabilities and her magical ones. But one things for sure. We should avoid having her go to any ss III Fractures until she gets a skill to defend her mind, which seems to begging behind the others. Even if whatscking for her is average, or even considered good for others</em>


    The man continues nning on how shed best be taught, only to eventually realize that he isnt the one who will be teaching her.


    <em>Right. I left that position when I handed down the university</em>


    A few seconds pass in silence with the assistant nervously gripping her clipboard to her chest until out of nowhere, the man grins and says, On the other hand, it might not be a bad thing that I stepped down from the headmaster seat.


    His assistant tilts her head in confusion.


    Oh, right, he says, clearing his throat. Well, the various universities are going to have a field day with her, fighting over who has the right to enroll her. But in the end, shell likely end up going to Lions Heart, as do almost all of the exceptional talents.


    <em>But Im not the one fighting over the talents anymore. Thats her job now.</em>


    Jacob cant help but chuckle at that thought. Then he stops a few secondster and says, Get me Cipher on the phone. I would like to talk with him. And if possible, with the girl.


    His assistant  Marie Jones  hurriedly nods her head and rushes away, out of his office.


    Jacob tilts his head as he watches her for a second.


    <em>Despite how nervous she is, she does do a good job. Looks like hiring her to pay her back hasnt been a total wash at least.</em>


    He then shakes his head and looks down once more at the document in front of him.


    After only a few minutes, Jacobs phone rings and he immediately picks it up right when his assistant forwards the call she had made to him. Then, another ten or so secondster, Cipher picks up the phone on his side and says, Cipher here.


    Hello, Cipher. Imagine how surprised I was to find the new Guardians capabilities appearing on my desk today, he immediately gets to the point of the call.


    Cipher doesnt say anything for a few seconds before saying in a slightly strained voice, Youre not the only one who was surprised.


    Jacob scoffs at that as he leans back in his chair. Dont give me that. I bet youre jumping for joy at having such a talent in your Association. Youve been needing morebative Guardians recently, am I right? Well now youve got one.


    Yes, Cipher says immediately in a tense voice. But this will also cause problems with the other Associations, not to mention the other universities who want her.


    The official justughs without saying a word.


    Seriously? Cipher mutters. You do know that this is <em>her, </em>right?


    Jacob shuts up immediately while practically shooting to his feet and shouting, <em>What?!</em>


    This time Cipherughs before hanging up the call, leaving Jacob to stew over the revtion.


    <em>If shes really the one who White had him raise, then maybe those capabilities might begin to make some sense maybe.</em>


    The man continues pondering over the subject for several minutes, only to realize that he didnt get to the point of the reason he called Cipher in the first ce. To ask what university she was going to go to, and to attempt to ring her into the government after her higher education is over.


    That bastard just yed me he mutters with a frown, only to shake his head and shout, Jones! Bring me some coffee!


    <em>Today is turning into a long day</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 40: Registration Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 40: Registration Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I yawn as I enter what is apparently Allens office after being called over  and woken up  by Sage using the inte again. This time about my application to Lions Heart. And the first thing I see in his office is the sight of him sitting down on afortable looking sofa holding his head with his elbows resting on his knees.


    So is this because of Belle? Or something else? I ask with a raised eyebrow, making him look up with a scowl. Your moping I mean.


    His eyebrow twitches.


    Maybe a little of both? I ask while putting my handsfortably in my jacket pockets and walking over to the sofa across the table from him to sit down.


    He just stares at me, scowling all the while.


    Probably a little of Belle and a little of my capabilities.


    Eventually, the man lets out a sigh and reaches over to grab a document from his desk that he then puts onto the table in between us as he says, This is the application for Lions Heart Guardians University. Fill it out.


    Oh, hes really in a bad mood. But also, it feels a little bit different from his normal bad mood. Since hes normally fine with yelling at me then.


    Meaning he must also be happy about something I did? Or something involving me right now?


    Either way, I reach forward to grab the paper, only to find that I dont have a pen. But before I can ask, he grabs a pen and puts it on the table as well.


    Thank you, I mutter before beginning to read over the application. Which isnt really that much. Just basic information, who my sponsor is, answering a few personal questions about humans, demons, and Guardians, along with some of thews that are in ce that are different between humans and Guardians.


    After I finish filling it out, I ce it back on the table again and say, Done. Anything else?


    He lets out a sigh and gets up from the sofa while saying, Yes. You will also have to take an exam, but that is given out in person. But I doubt itll really have an impact on whether youre let in or not, just purely because of your capabilities.


    Theres the exam. Knew there would be one of those.


    You know when well be doing that? I ask, only to be surprised as he meets my eyes and says, Now.


    My mouth parts open for a second, only to close as he adds, Or rather, a couple of hours from now. On the university campus.


    Oh.


    Two hourster I find myself standing in the office of the Registrar for Lions Heart, who does not look to be very happy.


    So why did you bring this orphan girl here, Cipher? the woman asks with a scowl on her face and a slight look of hatred directed towards me. But the hatred immediately vanishes when Allen tosses my file on her desk in front of her, the womans eyestching onto it in the process.


    Wow. She''s rude even towards Allen. Although then again, this is a Guardians University. Meaning every single person on the campus is a Guardian as non-Guardians are not allowed to step foot within the campus bounds. And considering that she''s the registrar for the greatest Guardians University in the world, she''s probably at least ss IV as well. Just like Allen.


    Probably rich too.


    Silence follows for several seconds. Then she immediately reaches to grab it as if her life were on the line, reading everyst capability I have and asionally ncing between me and the paper.


    Wow. Guess my capabilities really did matter that much.


    After what feels like five whole minutes but is probably just half a minute or so, the woman finally asks, And this has been verified and confirmed by the Governmental Office already?


    Her eyes widen even further after seeing Allen nod his head. Then she turns to me with a brilliant smile and says, Wee to Lions Heart Guardians university! I hope you have the best stay possible!


    My mouth drops open in shock at theplete change her personality just did.


    She ignores my very obvious shock to gather the paper along with my application as she says, Now, of course we still have to deal with your examination, but Im sure that wont be a problem. But I think I should also get the vice-headmaster in on this, since Im pretty sure theyd want to be notified about such a shining star of a new student, dont you think? she says thest part while ncing up at Allen with a pretty smile on her face, showing off her perfectly white teeth.


    The Registrardy then takes me and Allen to a veryfortable looking lounge where she leaves us, saying that she will be right back with the vice-headmaster.


    I stand in silence, not even bothering to sit down as I stare at the door she had just left through.


    What what just happened? I mutter, dumbfounded by the events that just took ce.


    Allen just bursts outughing. Andughing. Andughing some more.


    Eventually I get sick of it, so I threaten, You keep that up and Ill tell Belle about your little stash of-


    He stops before I can even finish, immediately saying, No! Theres no need for that! Then, after seeing me sit down, he sits down as well and says, A lot of the faculty, and especially the higher ups and professors at this university are incredibly old school in how they do things. Theyre even worse than the other universities in terms of orphans since they like well-bred stock as a matter of terms. People who are raised in the best of families, with the best educations possible.


    And certainly not orphans, much less ones from a Tier 3 city.


    But at the same time, they value capability and magic over basically anything. And you have both of those in spades. An incredibly useful magic. One that is versatile and can be used in many different ways inbat. And the capabilities of a lifetime. Practically a dreame true for any Guardian University, he exins, making me understand just why he was moping so much recently but also silently happy with me. In fact, youre so important that even if youpletely failed everyst part of the exam far below a passing score, theyd probably just fake the test results entirely.


    Wait, so my results on the examination literally dont matter? I ask him, feeling that thats more than a little unfair.


    He nods his head with a shrug and says, Yeah, but thats just how high society is with Guardians. Power makes right. And talent makes power.


    I blink in surprise. Doesnt that mean Im now one of those people who have a positive handicap in a way?


    Our conversation is interrupted as the door opens again, this time with an old man walking through it. Which is surprising, considering that Guardians dont tend to age that much. Mostly depending on how much they actually fight and level up, since leveling up tends to stall your aging process.


    And the moment he sees me, his eyes widen with what looks like recognition.


    Huh? Whats up with that?

 Book 1: Chapter 41: Registration Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 41: Registration Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The recognition in the old mans eyes goes away just as quickly as it had appeared, making me briefly wonder if I was just seeing things.


    If I had to guess, then Id say this is the vice-headmaster that the registrar was going to get. But surprisingly, thatdy isnt here anymore. Even after he walks in. And judging by Allens face, he doesnt seem very surprised by that fact.


    Maybe she was scolded for how she initially treated me or something? From what I understand, thats normal. Since even ss II former orphan Guardians tend to get treated a little questionably, much less a brand new one. It isnt until one reaches ss III that the people somehow seem to forget you were an orphan.


    Although I get the feeling this universitys registrar was even harsher than most other universities would be. Which makes me wonder if she lost someone in a Fracture once? Since there are a lot of people who just straight up push the me for that on orphans subconsciously, seeing as orphans make a clear visual representation of the consequences of the Demonic Assaults.


    Good morning Cipher, and a wonderful morning to you as well, Scarlet Wolf, the old man says, making me frown at his term of address towards me. And I cant help but hear Allenugh at it.


    Seriously? Even other Guardians are starting to use the title the inte came up with for me?


    Where is the originality in that title? Its literally just tacking on Wolf to my name!


    Although, from what Ive been able to gather, someones been hiding my name from the public. Or at least censoring it wherever it appears, so most people dont know my actual name.


    Which probably makes it worse since they dont know how ridiculous the title is without knowing my first name.


    My title aside, the old man is wearing some sort of magi-tech infused business suit. One that looks kind of like regr formal wear but with lines of glowing blue running throughout it, along with two feline tails sticking out of his backside, and glowing blue eyes.


    I cant help but nce at the tails as they slowly sway behind the man before I focus on him to find him simply staring at me without any real expression on his face. Then we stare at each other for who knows how long.


    This is awkward.


    Eventually, an elderly smile stretches across his face, and he says, I think shell do nicely. Then he turns around and adds, Follow me to the examination room, young miss Asger.


    I nce at Allen, only to find him mouthing, Only you.


    Guess Allens noting then.


    I turn around and begin following after the old man. And as we walk through the fancy halls of the university, I notice that not a single student is actually wearing their uniforms. Which is odd.


    We continue walking for several minutes until we end up in arge room that I can only assume is meant for examinations testing arge number of people. Right now, though, theres only a single desk despite the size of the room, with several papers on the desk and some writing utensils.


    The man walks up to the front of the room next to a whiteboard and turns around while finally introducing himself, My name is Alfred Raynsford, and I am the vice-headmaster currently overseeing the university in the headmasters absence. He then pauses to indicate the desk. You will now take your entrance exam into Lions Heart Guardians University. But dont worry as regardless of what your result is, Im sure we can manage something.


    He says thatst part with a smirk.


    Guess Allen was right about that.


    I sit down to take the exam, which ends up taking nearly an hour. Throughout it are various questions over different subjects, such as mathematics, history, a little bit of science, and a lot ofbat knowledge and Guardian Laws. And while I feel incredibly good about the mathematics, history, and science portions, Im quitecking in thebat knowledge, and a littlecking in the Guardian Laws.


    All of which is confirmed when the old man looks over my exam right after I finish it and basically says the same thing. But he does look a little surprised as hes talking about my mathematics, history, and science portions of the exam. And in the end, he raises his head and says, You did a lot better than I was expecting. In fact, your scores in mathematics, history, and science were top notch, brought down only a little by yourck ofbat training or teachings in Guardian Laws.


    I cant help the proud smile that stretches across my face.


    Looks like I passed even without the cheating they had nned.


    And I cant help but feel like my value in the old mans eyes just rose thanks to that. Maybe he was mentally preparing to have a country bum educated properly or something and didnt expect me to actually be smart?


    Either way, he gathers up the papers and puts them into a man envelope before smiling at me and saying, Wee to Lions Heart Guardians University, young miss Asger! May you enjoy your stay here and make pleasant memories along your path to power!


    Thank you, sir, I answer, feeling like the words are necessary right now.


    Alfred nods his head in approval before motioning me with his finger to follow him again. We then move through the halls some more before ending up back at the room where we find Allen lounging on the sofa.


    He immediately sits up at our unexpected entrance and asks, So how did it go?


    I give him a smile, making him rx ever so slightly.


    Guess he was worried about how Id do even knowing that theyd cheat my score. Which makes sense, as itll likely affect how Im treated. In fact, I think it already has since the old man started talking a little bit while we walked unlike when we were going to that examination room in the first ce.


    She did extraordinarily well for someone raised in a Tier 3 city, the old man immediately begins before asking, Could that be because of your influence?


    Allen just shakes his head and answers, Unfortunately not. She was influenced mostly by the people around her who would always treat her rather poorly for being an orphan. It seems to have led to her developing a bit of aplex towards overworking herself to prove those sorts of people wrong.


    I re at him for trying to psychologically analyze me.


    The man just ignores my re as he continues, She did ask for a lot of research and study material from my daughter though.


    Oh really? Alfred mutters while turning a curious nce towards me. Very interesting.

 Book 1: Chapter 42: Registration Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 42: Registration Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Lets get down to it then, the old man says, ncing between me and Allen in the process. The Fall semester begins in a week, next Monday. You are expected to attend the Semester Opening Ceremony the day before the first day, on Sunday, where the speeches will be held by the faculty and the student council president, following which a tournament will be set up. During this, the Guardians may challenge other Guardians within their same ss and year. This is to set up the rankings for that year.


    My mouth parts open at the mention of rankings.


    I knew the Guardian Universities werepetitive, but damn isnt that a bit much?


    Many new Guardians tend to wonder why we do things with a ranking system, so Ill just tell you this now. Its there to inspire Guardians to go out and fight in the Fractures. Otherwise, many of our more spoiled students wouldnt bother as theyre already given most of what they want in life without having to risk their own lives to get it, the old man says, answering my unasked question as if it were normal. You will be sent two uniforms soon, one of which has pants and the other a skirt. Which one you wear will be up to you, but you are only required to wear the uniform during social gatherings such as the Semester Opening Ceremony. And you do not have to wear it when inbat, such as the tournament that follows the Ceremony.


    I let out a breath of relief at hearing that.


    Because Im really not a fan of uniforms.


    Its also quite nice that the skirts arent required, because the one that Denise girl was wearing looked too short in my opinion. So even if I wasnt against wearing skirts in the first ce, that isnt something I would be caught dead wearing.


    The corner of the old mans mouth twitches slightly most likely in amusement at seeing my visible relief before he continues, The ranking you get in the tournament will decide what group youre put into. The Regr one, the Advanced one, and the Top ss one. Each of these groups have different permissions across campus and are given different levels of assistance by the faculty. And the higher your rank is, the more priority youll get for the Fractures in the city. Since youll be temporarily working under the universities name alongside your work under the Silver Association while youre a student here. He pauses here to nce at Allen as he asks, Im assuming she will be gettingbat training during this next week?


    Allen nods his head, prompting Alfred to turn back to me as he says, Then I would also suggest you fight in one of the Fractures of the next Demonic Assault to get some more levels before fighting in the tournament.


    I nod my head, Of course.


    His lips twitch again before he says, The exact rules of the tournament will be announced at the beginning of it. So prepare for it. He pauses for a second before ncing at me and adding, Our Registrar will be seeing you within the first days of ss to make a public apology for her actions. The woman has some issues with orphans in general. More so than most people. So please dont hold it against her. The man then nods his head towards me, then towards Allen and says, Scarlet Wolf, Cipher. It was a pleasure.


    We both respond in kind, following which the man leaves us be with one final statement saying that anything else I may need will be sent to me via email.


    Although I cant help but frown at the use of that title. But if hes using it, then the government probably already has me under that title. And since Guardians are symbols for peace and hope and all that, they arent really allowed to pick their own titles if one is chosen for them by the public. Assuming that title is an appropriate one that is.


    They arent able to choose for themselves unless theyre at least ss III and theyre changing it, or the public never decided one for them.


    After his departure, I turn to Allen and ask, So what now?


    Now we head back to the base, he answers while walking over to the door.


    It doesnt take long before were back in Allens office with him sipping coffee and me having a soda.


    I still dont know what you have against coffee, Allen mutters as he stares at the soda in my hands.


    I just shrug and retort, Well I dont know why you like that disgusting stuff. And Ive never had trouble staying awake, so theres really no point in having coffee.


    He scoffs and goes silent, understanding that the argument wont go anywhere. Not if the past who knows how many times weve had it are anything to judge by.


    We sit in silence for several minutes before he eventually says, That went a lot better than I was expecting. But well still be receiving theints of the other Associations, even if we got the other universities to shift their target from us to Lions Heart before they even learned of your existence.


    I nod my head, not really understanding some of it since he hasnt exactly told me of all of his problems. Just that the other Associations and universities probably want me and dont like how quickly I was snatched up by someone else.


    Youll probably end up being harassed a little bit by the other Associations as they try to convince you to join them and leave the Silver Association. So tell me if they try anything you cant handle, Allen says, a serious look on his face. And I mean it. Dont just deal with everything yourself like you always tend to do.


    I purse my lips for a second before reluctantly nodding my head.


    Good. Theres nothing else for the rest of the day, so do whatever, he says while getting up from the sofa and walking over to his desk. I have a bunch of paperwork to get through thanks to you.


    I cant help but raise an eyebrow at that, only to shrug a secondter as I begin to walk out of the room. But right before I close the door, I tell Allen, Thank you for all your help.


    He pauses and literally drops a piece of paper he had been holding before I shut the door, not giving him the chance to respond.


    Allens helped me a lot in these past few days, even if I sometimes get annoyed at his assistance. And especially in the forceful manner he sometimes approaches it.


    Guess he really does think of me as a daughter of sorts, just like Sage and Sylver keep implying.


    A tiny smile makes its way onto my face at the warm thought before going away again as I begin walking down the hall.


    Time to get breakfast, since I was never able to eat that. Although by now itd be lunch.


    Because Im starving.

 Book 1: Chapter 43: Recruitment Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 43: Recruitment Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I sit in the corner of the cafeteria with quite the number of people staring at me as I wolf down therge volumes of food in front of me. And despite their attempts to stay quiet, I hear plenty of the conversations around me.


    <em>How does she stay so thin despite eating that much?! Is she a bottomless pit or something? Was she starving for days?</em>


    I ignore thements at first, but then some more join in, answering the question for the others.


    <em>I heard she uses blood magic. Oh, if thats the case then it makes sense. Yeah.</em>


    Thats all the convincing it took? Is that really why Ive been so hungry since bing a Guardian?


    <strong>Part of it at least. Its also because youre half blood lycan, </strong>Tar answers my question. <strong>Some blood magic spells use the users blood in the process, so the users end up needing to eat a lot. And lycans in general have a fast metabolism.</strong>


    Oh. Okay.


    Kind of annoying though, since Im not much of a fan of eating in general.


    <strong>Oh really? Why is that? </strong>Tar asks as I continue eating, thankful that the people around me arent talking about me much anymore. Except the new arrivals that is.


    Its because its a waste of time. Instead of eating, I could be working on something. But nope. I have to spend time from my days eating.


    <strong>But you wasted time showering and even going outside to stare at the moo- </strong>Tar begins, only to be cut off by my thoughts.


    No. Thats not wasting time. Thats what I want to do. So its not a waste. But eating isnt something I want to do, so its a waste.


    Tar goes quiet as I feel waves of confusion running through whatever strange bond we have going on.


    Dont try too hard to think about it. Belle, Allen, and Arthur all gave up long ago on trying to figure me out.


    My internal conversation with the tanuki is interrupted when I hear someone approaching me through my wolf ears, making me turn to find Michael, Denise, and Emily approaching me with trays of food. And they each look surprised when they find me turning towards them, likely not having expected me to know of their approach or something.


    Would it be alright if we sat with you? Michael asks politely while indicating the other seats on this circr table.


    I just shrug with a Sure, and return to eating my food with gusto.


    They each sit down, with the two siblings sitting next to each other and Denise sitting on my left with Michael on my right. And I quickly spot them sending a strange nce towards my food only to ignore it as they begin eating their own much smaller assortments of food.


    None of us talk for several minutes, but after I finally move on to myst dish, Michael speaks up.


    I heard you were epted into Lions Heart?


    I nce at him before looking at my food again as I answer, Yes.


    More like they were rushing to get me in though.


    The guy watches me eat for several seconds  which is just weird  before I eventually ask, Why?


    I noticed that theyre all still wearing their uniforms despite not needing to ording to the vice-headmaster. Which is quite odd, but to each their own.


    And Denise is still strangely quiet, which I also find very strange considering her first reaction towards me. To the point that it feels a little creepy somehow.


    And why are you so quiet? I originally pegged you as a talkative and energetic person, I ask rather bluntly towards Denise, startling her in the process.


    She hurriedly looks between me and the others before eventually focusing on the food in front of her with a vaguely sad look on her face as she says, Well, I thought you didnt like me and would prefer for me to be quiet. Its what I deserve after what I did to you when we first met


    I blink in surprise.


    She felt guilty? Incredibly guilty by the sounds of it but why would she think I disliked her?


    When I ask her that, she just looks confused and says, You said not to touch you again


    I stare at her in silence for a few seconds.


    Why would that trante to me disliking you? I ask, not really understanding that jump in logic. I dont even like my own best friend or father figure touching me in any way, much less someone I just met.


    This time she stares at me for several seconds in silence.


    Then a blush emerges on her face, and she looks down again while muttering, I... I thought you were only saying that to get me to stop


    I raise an eyebrow.


    Why would I do that? I ask, a frown stretching across my own face.


    Well, some people just make up excuses to politely tell someone not to do something! she says as if defending herself before gaining a sad frown. Sorry.


    Yeah, Im not really the type to do that.


    Dont apologize. Just stop being so mopey and quiet. It really doesnt suit you, I tell her, muttering thest part a little quieter than the rest.


    Her head shoots up with a surprised expression on it, but I return to eating my food before she can say anything. I do nce up while eating to look at the siblings though, just to find them both with expressions showing a mixture of surprise and amusement on their faces. Then I focus on my food again until I finish the veryst dish.


    Right when I stand up from my seat, about to excuse myself to head to a training hall, I hear Michael ask, Hey, Scarlet, can I ask you something?


    I nce at him before simply saying, You just did.


    He grimaces at that for a second, only to then grin as he repeats himself, Can I ask you two more somethings?


    I stare at him for a second before grinning myself and crossing my arms. Go ahead.


    Without any hesitation, he immediately gets to the point, I would like to ask if youd join our team for the interschool tournaments.

 Book 1: Chapter 44: Recruitment Part II and a Surprise

    Book 1: Chapter 44: Recruitment Part II and a Surprise


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Your team? I repeat, a frown developing on my face.


    If I remember correctly, the Guardian Universities Interschool Tournaments are always broadcast live to every city regardless of Tier. They are basically the recement of the old worlds Olympics, making it the most important sporting event of the year to a lot of people.


    The tournaments themselves are located in things called Magical Realities which are created through specific types of magic put into magi-tech that allow a sort of virtual world where everyone who dies in the world is simply just kicked out of it with a massive headache. With no actual damage done to them. So killing is perfectly legal in these tournaments as it prepares the Guardians for realbat in Fractures. Which makes sense.


    Its honestly a little sickening how a lot of the powers Guardians gained were basically turned into ways to make them celebrities soon after the Demonic Assaults became less of a pressing issue and more something that many Guardians treat as ways to grow stronger and get more wealth and poprity. But I guess thats human nature at its finest.


    Especially considering all the suffering that the people went through in the process. But the people are the ones who put the Guardians on a pedestal in the first ce, so. And the world was basicallying to an end in some ways at the time.


    You should know that I dont tend to work well with groups, I tell them, not breaking eye contact with Michael, who is obviously the leader of their little group.


    He just shakes his head at that and retorts, Thats not true. I saw you working perfectly well with those researchers and security guards in the video of your fight against the demon knight. You just prefer not to work with groups, or in dislike it.


    I barely manage to hide my wince.


    In fact, Id say youre even pretty good at leading a team, or at the very least co-leading one, he presses on, standing up from his chair to reach his full height, which is a few inches taller than me, making me look up to maintain eye contact. Which is rather annoying. And you having blood magic makes you the perfect member of nearly any team. So what say you? Will you join?


    We continue our staring contest for who knows how long before I eventually turn around, breaking the stare lock as I bring myrge number of trays over to the counter while calling back, Ill think on it.


    Whether or not I need a team will determine my choice. If I have topete in the team branches of the tournament, then I will work with them. If not? Then I wont.


    That or a whim if I end up actually liking them.


    I dont look back to see what their reaction is, but I can still hear Michaels previously racing heart slow down a little as he lets out a sigh and sits down.


    Which wasnt really something I noticed until I actually focused on it. The fact that I can literally hear a persons heartbeat.


    Maybe I can use that to my advantage? I feel like I remember hearing about Guardians with incredible hearing being able to detect lies or something.


    Ill have to look into that.


    But first, its time to go visit the training hall. Because I really need to learn how to better use my skills inbat.


    I frown as I reach training hall D and realize that the dummies dont exactly have blood for me to experiment with. Nor do they have life energy, ording to Tar.


    Well, this makes things difficult.


    Am I always going to have to test my skills blindly inbat? Because that doesnt sound especially safe.


    I stare at the terminal for several seconds, just frowning as I try to think of a solution until the sound of the door opening brings my attention back to the door, where I find Sylver standing there. And he doesnt look surprised to see me in the least. In fact, he nods his head at me as the door shuts behind him and he begins walking over here.


    The man is wearing much more casual clothes than thest time I saw him, with a simple hoodie and shorts on, each ck and silver in color. Which is a good set of colors.


    Scarlet Wolf, he says, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he no doubt links my name to my title, making my eyebrow twitch with irritation. But other than that, his face is still mostly without any real disy of emotion. I thought Ide to assist you.


    I narrow my eyes.


    Why?


    He frowns before shrugging and saying, Because youre too reckless. And without proper training, or the knowledge of using your skills, you will end up dead.


    I stare at him for a few seconds before sighing.


    Hes right. Putting how he came to know that I was in here aside for the moment, he is right.


    Alright, I tell him while crossing my arms. Train me then.


    Hes a ss II Guardian, so he has to be strong. And to have survived long enough, theres no way he doesnt at least know the basics. So even if he doesnt end up being the greatest of teachers, hell at least be able to get me started while I wait for Allen.


    He nods his head, Good attitude. First, use whatever skills you need to test on me. I frown at that, but he just adds, Unless youve gotten new skills since, I can already pretty much guess what your skills do from the recordings. Its one to manipte the blood of your enemies in some way, one to somehow boil the blood of your enemies, and one to create ws of blood on your hands, right?


    I reluctantly nod my head, only to secretly hide a grin.


    He doesnt know about life drain.


    From my understanding, most of a Guardians skills arent really possible to keep private. After all, were always using them in public to fight the demons, and a lot of people tend to get camera happy around Guardians. So most of the skills are leaked out rather quickly.


    Not much use in hiding it, especially from a fellow Guardian in the same Association as me.


    I wont exin them though.


    Come at me whenever you feel ready, Sylver says while stepping up a few steps before stopping in ce and casually putting his hands in his hoodie.


    Seriously? Am I that little a threat to you?

 Book 1: Chapter 45: Training

    Book 1: Chapter 45: Training


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The first thing I do is take off my jacket, which garners a raised brow from Sylver. Then I activate Blood ws, watching the mana drip down slightly on my status by about a point or so every five or so seconds. I keep my eye on my status as I draw my w down my arm, cutting it open a little and seeing my mana decrease at a faster pace of about one point every second instead.


    Okay, so using my ws increased the mana cost of the skill.


    I keep my eye on my status as I drain some of my own blood and find the mana decrease slowing down again. So I pull the ws out of my forearm, leaving it a little bit soaked in blood.


    After a second though, I use clean to remove the blood before turning to Sylver, whos just staring at me like Id gone insane.


    Whats wrong? I ask, slightly confused as to why hes looking at me like that.


    He just shakes his head and mutters, The way you can just cut open your arm like that is honestly a little disturbing.


    Oh, I mutter before shrugging and adding, well, it wont be hurt for long. Youre gonna help with that.


    This time he looks genuinely confused. But I dont give him the chance to say anything as I use life drain while keeping an eye on both my wound and my status.


    I also make sure to nce at him from time to time as his expression twists into difort, and he raises his hand to his chest. And its because of that that I notice a tiny little stream of red energy, almost like a fog leaving his chest and going into mine. But he doesnt seem to notice it.


    At the same time, my mana begins to drop rather quickly. About ten or so mana a second. And the wound on my arm closes up in just about three or so seconds as well.


    Interesting, I mutter, only for my eyes to widen as I realize that I never asked about-


    <strong>Dont worry. Just like HP in a video game, life energy regenerates with time as well, </strong>Tar says, predicting my bout of worry somehow.


    I let out a sigh of relief before looking at Sylver, who is giving me and my arm a strange nce.


    Dont mind me. Just testing out my skills, I tell him, hiding a smirk.


    Now then. Lets see what blood boil does on a ss II Guardian!


    I continue experimenting with my skills for nearly an hour before he seems to get sick of having his blood yed with and starts thebat lessons. And he actually turns out to be a good teacher, against my expectations.


    Or at least I think hes good. Im learning at least.


    Not like Ive ever had abat instructor before, so


    He starts off with teaching me various stances, followed by correcting my manner of punching and kicking, and showing me more ways to attack with parts of me other than just my hands and feet. Such as using my forearms or calves for example.


    Then after finishing showing me everything and having me repeat it once or twice each, he goes through and has me redo everything from the start. Over and over again. For three hours.


    And the first time I ask to call it a day, he just says, Youre quite a bit stronger than a normal new Guardian for more reasons than one, your Predator Skill likely having something to do with that at the very least. So I think you can continue on for another hour.


    Then after <em>two </em>more hours, I copse onto the ground with a groan, thanking the stars that I had the clean skill. Otherwise, my clothes wouldve been soaked with sweat.


    Despite that, everyst muscle in my body aches, feeling almost as if my muscles would all just split apart at the seams. Assuming muscles had those. Which I doubt is true unless you consider tendons seams?


    Whatever. Im not a biology major.


    <strong>Are you talking to me or yourself? </strong>Tar asks, hearing my brief insanity caused by mental exhaustion.


    Either way.


    That was because I used blood boil on you too much, wasnt it? I manage to groan out to the Sylver who is currently popping his neck and grabbing his coat, ready to leave.


    He nces at me, mirth clear in his eyes this time as he says, No. It was that other skill you used to heal yourself. It really was quite ufortable. Like having pins and needles piercing through my heart. Then he turns around again and leaves the training hall with me still a mess on the ground.


    Ya know, Tar, I pause to spit up a tiny bit of blood, I think Im growing on him.


    Tar just snorts.


    Hey, its probably true. He would barely even look at me when we first met!


    <strong>And do you care if he likes you or not? </strong>Tar asks, the sarcasm clear in his voice.


    Well, no. Not really.


    <strong>Exactly.</strong>


    Huh. Good point.


    Out of nowhere, I feel a wave of relief flowing through my body that almost has me groaning just from the relief of it. But I dont. Barely. Instead, I roll over onto my back to look up at Michael, whose hand is glowing green.


    Hello there, I hear him say with a smirk of amusement as the green light begins to fade.


    Hi, I respond back before trying to get up and stretching my arms, feeling all of the kinks and pain having vanished. Huh.


    Another perk of joining my team, he says while shing me a grin showing all of his teeth, I have nature magic, which pretty much specializes in healing and summoning.


    Oh. A healer.


    Interesting.


    Dont you remember that blood magic can heal too? I ask while walking over to my jacket and reaching down to grab it off the floor.


    Yes, but Im pretty sure most blood magic users need other creatures nearby to heal themselves or others, he says from behind me, making me wince. But since hes behind me, he cant see it as I put my jacket on.


    After that I turn around and put my hands in my pockets while saying, True. Im still thinking about it, so be more patient.


    I wonder why hes in such a hurry? Guess I can ask if I ever do decide to join his team.

 Book 1: Intermission 3

    Book 1: Intermission 3


    <strong>Ciphers Office within the Silver Association Base</strong>


    Cipher has never before wanted to m the phone down in the middle of a call and destroy the device more than right now.


    Im sorry, but since you were the orphanage director that raised her all the way till her bing an adult, you are legally considered her guardian, and therefore you are responsible for filling out the portions of the paperwork meant for each students legal guardians, Alfred says with his mirth clear in his voice.


    <em>Hes enjoying this! Hes seriously enjoying making me suffer through mounds of paperwork?!!</em>


    What self-respecting <em>university </em>requires a parent to sign and read through fifty-six documents!!!! Cipher shouts, his voice echoing down the hall out of his office despite the door being shut, startling anyone who happened to be walking by. Its ridiculous!


    Why, Im sure your parents had to sign those too, Alfred says, skillfully hiding his amusement this time behind a wall of sternness. In fact, I can go ahead and call them right now if you want me to.


    Cipher immediately backtracks, saying, Nonono, thats fine. Theres no need for that! But are you sure that all of these documents are-


    My apologies, Cipher, but my assistant is calling me. If you have any other questions, then you may forward them to the Registrar, Alfred cuts him off with a smile on the other side of the video before bowing his head and saying, Good day to you. Then the call drops.


    Several seconds pass silently in the office before a loud shout can be heard once again by anyone wandering by his office door.


    <em>I understand that he might be mad at me for organizing that little </em>party <em>back when I was a student at Lions Heart, but does that really deserve sending me extra documentation that wouldnt have been necessary? And he cant convince me that signing a document about Scarlets permission to go to the swimming pool is something that a guardian should be fucking signing!!!</em>


    A knock sounds from his door, making Cipher raise his head and look through his nanomachines at whoever is on the other side of the door. And when he sees Sylver there, he says, Come in.


    Sylver quickly makes his way into the office, only briefly ncing at the stack of documents before sending a look of pity towards the leader of his Association.


    Dont give me that look, Cipher mutters. What did you need?


    Its about Scarlet, Sylver says, making Cipher groan and put his face in his hands as he mutters, Just what did she do now?


    Sylver blinks in surprise before saying, I was training her for a while and noticed that she was quite a bit stronger than she shouldve been when fighting against me. Stronger against me than the dummies. So after some sparring with her, I realized that she has to have her Predator Skill at either Predator III or Predator IV.


    Ciphers head shoots up from the desk as he shouts, She <em>what?!</em>


    His shout doesnt faze Sylver, and he continues, Furthermore, after more sparring, along with making some questions towards the researchers who were with her, Ivee to the conclusion that she likely has Predator IV.


    But that would mean that shes fought and killed something at least fifty levels above her, Cipher mutters, anger beginning to re in his eyes as he realizes what Scarlet had said when he was talking about her fighting the demon knight. And as he thinks about it, he vaguely remembers seeing her face twitch when he said it was probably around level thirty. That little sneak


    If theres nothing you need me for, then Ill take my leave, Sylver says before turning around. But before he can reach the door, Cipher says, Wait, you said you were training her? What did you teach her? I need to know for when I start herbat lessons tomorrow.


    Sylver turns around and begins exining each of the moves he taught her, along with the basics of sparring while using her skills.


    After listening for a few minutes, Cipher narrows his eyes on Sylver.


    <em>Why do I feel like they did something else as well, but he wont say?</em>


    Sylver doesnt let any signs slip, so Cipher lets it go. But he does ask one more question.


    Why did you teach her, anyways?


    This time Sylver opens his mouth to speak, only to pause, not getting anything out for a few seconds. Then he eventually says, I dont know.


    Cipher frowns, but still says, Alright. Youre dismissed.


    Sylver nods and leaves the office, shutting the door behind him with a click that resonates throughout the room as Cipher continues staring at the door.


    <em>Suspicious. Very suspicious.</em>


    He continues staring at the door for a few seconds before shrugging.


    <em>Then again, hes never really been the type. So I doubt its that.</em>


    Cipher looks up at the ceiling before closing his eyes with a grimace.


    <em>She killed a demon over fifty levels above her in her first Fracture, has the highest recorded capabilities in the world, and uses blood magic.</em>


    Several seconds pass in silence.


    <em>And for some reason has wolf ears despite having regr blood magic.</em>


    Cipher eventually opens his eyes and turns on his officeputer. He then navigates to a folder that he has yet to show Scarlet and clicks on it, opening the folder. One that isbeled White.


    Inside of the folder is the image of a baby Scarlet with raven ck hair and small little specks of red in her otherwise grey eyes. The baby is being held by a woman with stark white hair and grey eyes. Eyes incredibly simr to the ones Scarlet used to have before bing a Guardian.


    But what strikes Cipher more is the simr appearances between Scarlets current appearance as an adult and Whites, despite the drastically different colored hair and eyes.


    <em>Is she really your daughter? Because if so, then everything would finally make sense sort of. Because the ears still arent making sense to me.</em>


    It would also make things even moreplicated, Cipher mutters after a few seconds.

 Book 1: Chapter 46: A Terrible Decision and Payback

    Book 1: Chapter 46: A Terrible Decision and Payback


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After the sparring, I take a quick shower before calling it a night. But the next morning, Im woken up by the sound of loud footsteps entering my suite.


    I rub my eyes as I sit up in my bed, more than a little annoyed at being woken up. Again. For the third time sinceing here. Out of three nights.


    Its not a robot this time, as robots dont have footsteps. They simply roll in or hover over the ground.


    Which means its someone with the clearance to enter my suite. And I can only think of a few people who would likely have that clearance


    Soon enough, I hear Allen shouting while banging on my door, not daring to open it when I could be undressed or something.


    Scarlet! Wake up right now and exin to me why the <em>fucking</em> hell you thought it would be a good idea to fight a demon knight over <em>fifty </em>levels above you!!!!


    Oh.


    I scowl at the door.


    Hes just mad about that.


    I nce down at myself to find that Im wearing a tank top and shorts before muttering, Its too early to deal with this. Then I nce at the clock to find that its six AM, only to look up at the door through sleep filled eyes and call back, Come back in a few hours!


    Come back in <em>what?! </em>You cant just ignore this, youngdy! he shouts, but Im already going back under the sheets and using my pillow to cover my ears.


    Then I fall back into thefortable confines of sleep.


    <strong><em>Several hourster</em></strong>


    I groan as I climb back to my feet from the mat, only to spit out a mouthful of blood.


    Maybe going back to sleep was a bad idea.


    My gaze goes towards the still-irate man whos been beating me up since I woke up in something that he calls sparring. Which in reality, is nothing like the sparring I did with Sylver. This is more just him teaching me while using the chance to take his anger out on me.


    Or is it the other way around?


    Well either way, hes certainly enjoying ourbat lessons with way too much vigor.


    You too weak to move on? Or was that level fifty-three demon knight just sitting there for you to kill? Allen taunts me, making a vein throb in my forehead as I rush at him again. Wrong. Only to be knocked t on my ass again by Allen. You leave too many openings, not to mention that you forgot to use your skills entirely in that attack. Try again.


    I want. To punch. Him. Soooo badly!!


    After a second of life draining him, which he learned about through Sylver and decided to use to lengthen our lessons, I climb back to my feet again and enter a ready stance, just like he and Sylver taught me.


    Good. Now again! he shouts, and I burst forward to attack.


    A good five hours straight of painter, I find myself barely dragging my sore body into the cafeteria where I order two of everything on the menu. Because using so much blood magic was quite possibly the most hunger inducing thing Ive ever done.


    It doesnt help that he didnt let me have much time for lunch earlier either.


    Also, is it just me, or is everyone sending me looks of pity?


    I look around for a second to find everyone hurriedly turning away and focusing on their food.


    My eyes narrow.


    Definitely something going on here, but Im too tired to figure out what.


    I sit at whats be my regr table in the corner before lying my head on the table as I wait for my food to arrive. And only a few secondster, I hear footsteps approaching. But at the same time, I dont smell any food. So I raise my head to see who it is, just to find Michael approaching me without any food or anything, really. And hes still in his uniform.


    Why do you always wear your uniform? I mutter while resting my head on my arms on top of the table.


    Michael looks down for a second before looking at me and answering, Well, the status it grants me when Im out of the Association and the university campus. That and the magi-tech in it.


    I blink in surprise, raising my head slightly.


    It has magi-tech? I mutter, a little bit more curious about the uniform.


    The nature magic Guardian looks at me surprised for a second before answering, Yeah. You didnt know? Silver Works makes the uniforms.


    My mouth parts open slightly for a second before closing again.


    Oh. I mutter, only for the sound of food, err, the waiter approaching to grab my attention away from the man.


    Somewhere in the corner of my mind I hear him chuckling as I quickly begin digging into my food the moment its ced in front of me.


    I can ask Allenter what the magi-tech in the uniforms do. For now, filling my empty stomach is more important.


    Time seems to freeze as I practically devour all of the food in front of me before I make my way through towards my suite. And after sluggishly closing and locking the entrance, I walk over to my room, then flop on my bed, not bothering with a shower this time, instead using clean. Because that would be more effort, and we cant have that.


    I let out a sigh of relief the moment my face hits the pillow, and I dont even bother taking my jacket off to sleep, just like the first day I got here.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Tar appearing and tugging the nket over me.


    Thank you I mutter, my eyes drooping before fully closing.


    The number of times he told me not to push myself, and now hes doing this to me?


    Must be karma.


    Its got to be.


    <strong>Just go to sleep, </strong>Tar says as I feel him lying next to me. So I hug him while going to sleep.

 Book 1: Chapter 47: The Library

    Book 1: Chapter 47: The Library


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but groan and curse at the same time as I am woken up by my door opening to a robot entering. But by the time I bring my head out from under the sheets to look, the robot is already gone, with two bagged uniforms lying on the floor of my room.


    Oh. Right. The uniforms for Lions Heart.


    Why cant these people find a better time to barge in anyways?


    I nce at the clock to find that its 7:30AM. Which isnt as bad as the jerk from yesterday.


    Turning my attention back to the uniforms, I get up from my bed with a grunt before grabbing them both and putting them on my bed, where I leave them to get ready for the day. Then, after doing that, Ie back to them again.


    I stare at them for several seconds, only to shrug and leave my suite, locking the door behind me.


    Time to check out the library.


    As I walk across the base  only getting myself lost once in the process  I notice that everyone is acting rather tense. Which in hindsight makes sense, considering that its been a few days since a Demonic Assault. So another one is bound to happen either today or tomorrow.


    That thought shakes out any of the sleepiness that was lingering in my head as Ie upon the library, which is ratherrge. Practically the size of one of the biggest libraries in a Tier 3 city, or a public library in a Tier 2 city.


    I walk inside, briefly taking a moment to take in the massive size of the ce before focusing on thedy standing behind the counter, who is also looking at me now.


    Wee, Scarlet Wolf! How may I help you today? she asks, sounding incredibly polite. Which just makes her use of my title feel even worse.


    But I guess I better get used to it as its most likely gonna stick.


    The woman looks to be in her early to mid-forties, with brown hair and a warm, motherly face. Shes wearing a red blouse and a ck pair of pants, with a watch on one arm and several books stacked up next to her on the counter.


    I was wondering if you had any books on Guardian Laws? I ask while ncing around the library, only to turn my head back to her again when she answers, Of course! Only the best for the Silver Association Guardians after all!


    That statement makes me cringe a little inside.


    Joey! Go get the Basics of Guardian Law, by Jonathan Legrange, the Introduction to Guardians, by Rachel Whiteford, and The Differences Between Human Law and Guardian Law, by Andrew Smith! thedy shouts at some young kid who immediately scurries off to the left side of the library. Theyre in the Guardian-Government section!


    When the boy doesnt stop running, she shouts, Its in the other end you dolt!


    That gets the boy to turn around rather quickly.


    I cant help but wonder if the boy is thisdys son or something, but before I can so much as ponder over that, she turns back to me and asks, By any chance, do you like reading?


    Uh, I stutter for a second before answering, Yes. Why do you ask?


    She leans against the counter while tilting her head ever so slightly as she says, Oh, just wondering if Id be seeing you again on a regr basis or not. Its always nice to find new readers here! Especially amongst the Guardians!


    Actually, that reminds me.


    I know that there are a lot of non-Guardians on the base as well as the Guardians, but why is that? I ask the question thats been burning in my mind since I arrived. Just that I never had the time to ask.


    She doesnt actually look surprised as she answers, Everyone who works here is from Silver Works, and we have all been vetted by either Sage or Cipher himself, proving that were trustworthy enough to work here.


    My eyebrows rise at that quick answer.


    Guess other new Guardians have asked the same question? I ask, genuinely curious.


    Hit it right on the nose, she says, a grin breaking out on her face. Only for the grin to drop as she turns to look at the kid and shouts, Whats takin ya?!


    As if summoned by her shout, the boyes running with three books in his hand of varying sizes. He then tries to hand them to thedy, only for her to point him at me. But he seems to grow shy once he gets near me, even blushing just from looking at my face.


    I reach out and take the books before thanking him and thedy and walking over to find a nice spot to read. Which I soon find to be afortable reclining chair next to a window on the second floor of the library.


    Very nice ce to read indeed.


    I spread the three books out on myp as I recline the chair back and stretch the legs of it outwards. The thickest of the three books is titled Basics of Guardian Law, whereas the other two are both about the same size. But I decide to go ahead and start out with Introduction to Guardians, because a refresher never hurts. Especially when this probably has more information about being a Guardian than the school taught us.


    The moment I turn the cover though, I find the words The Saviors of Humanity written inrge print on the first page.


    Guess I know where the author of this book stands on the Guardians.


    There are multiple standpoints, with some researchers and critics believing them to be the saviors of humanity, and others believing us to be rather sinful, and not much better than the demons. A sort of necessary evil, since we have power, and there are more than a few Guardians who tend to lord that power over the non-Guardians. In fact, some even over other Guardians who happen to be weaker.


    Its rather sad to be honest. But the public kind of ignores those bad Guardians as they dont number very many, and theyre almost always in Tier 3 cities.


    I flip to the next page and begin reading the book.

 Book 1: Chapter 48: Guardian Law

    Book 1: Chapter 48: Guardian Law


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As it turns out, there really is some stuff I hadnt read about before in the book. Or learned in general.


    Such as the origin of why Guardians started bing celebrities in the first ce. Which in hindsight shouldve been rather obvious.


    After all, people needed hope when they were faced with what they saw as the end of times, and making Guardians  people with supernatural abilities that fight off their worst nightmares  into public figures for everyone to look up to makes perfect sense. It brings that spark of hope needed by the people.


    And the Guardians get fame, fortune, and opportunity in return for being put on a pedestal. So its a win-win situation.


    It was never really specified in ss. Just the fact that it happened and some of the important developments in Guardian Society throughout thest two centuries.


    Nothing else in the book is new to me though. Just stuff about the Guardianspetitive nature towards each other, the bare bones about what the public understands about spirits, the specifics behind out status and the stuff that was already exined to me by Tar.


    In the end I close the book and move onto the next one. Basics of Guardian Law.


    The very first page specifies the exactws that are the most important and that every Guardian should know.<ol><li><strong></strong><strong>The Assault Obstruction Act  </strong><em>Obstruction of a Guardian from entering a Fracture of any ss by anyone except another Guardian is prohibited by thew and is grounds for a years sentence in prison.</em></li><li><strong></strong><strong>The Guardian Assault Obstruction Act  </strong><em>Obstruction of a Guardian from entering a Fracture of the same ss as themselves by another Guardian is prohibited by thew and is grounds for a severe fine defined by the government unless said entering Guardian does not own a certification granted by attending and or graduating from a Guardian University.</em></li><li><strong></strong><strong>The Rightful Earnings Act  </strong><em>All Guardians are to be paid fairly by the government office for each Fracture they clear out or assist in clearing out based on an amount determined by a randomly selected jury of citizens and past payments to other Guardians as a whole made for that ss of Fracture.</em></li><li><strong></strong><strong>The Association Act  </strong><em>Guardians may create an Association of their own with the permission of one of the Knights or every member of the Council of Governors. These Associations may take in other Guardians, train them, acquire and distribute their Fracture payments, and act as partially responsible for the Guardians during their stay in the Association.</em></li><li><strong></strong><strong>The Lawful Associations Act  </strong><em>Associations must pay their Guardians at least 90% of their earnings from the Fractures they specifically help clear out, in addition to whatever their pay would be for working under the Associations employ.</em></li><li><strong></strong><strong>The Guardians Law Act  </strong><em>Any criminal charge applied to a Guardian is to be taken under consideration in a court ofw and decided upon whether it should be redacted or reduced based on that Guardians circumstances.</em></li></ol>


    Huh. I actually didnt know about thest threews at all. They of course taught us about the first three acts, but I guess it makes sense that they wouldnt just go around telling people that a Guardian could get off Scott-free for breaking aw that a regr person would be sentenced to years in jail for. Or even just fined for breaking one that would lead to a life sentence for a regr person if the Guardian is important enough to society.


    I do feel as if I remember hearing rumors about a couple of Guardians breaking thew and then having it covered up for them or something.


    As for the fourth act? The Associations? I knew about them but not what exactly they entail. Just that most Guardians join an Association because it benefits them to work together in a lot of Fractures rather than working alone. And Associationse with a stable pay and other benefits.


    Like this base for example.


    I continue reading, but the first several chapters are literally just going over thews I just read. Pointing out every detail about them, going over their origins, and even covering some court cases that they were used in.


    All rather boring stuff, but I make sure to read through it once at least before moving on.


    I can study thatter for university.


    After those chapters, there are a few dozen otherws specified towards Guardians. But none of them are really that relevant. So it makes sense that theyd ignore them.


    I also notice that there are very fewws protecting a Guardians privacy. Which is rather stupid, but I do at least understand that theyre trying to make Guardians into public celebrities. And having extraws to protect their privacy might hinder that, especially considering that Guardians are generally far strong enough to protect themselves.


    After all, humans will never be anywhere near as strong as a Guardian. Nor as wealthy.


    And from my understanding, the majority of Associations tend to do some less than legal cleaning of the inte, if what Allen told me is true.


    He also mentioned that the government overlooks it since its part of their powers, and they dont want to piss off the Guardians.


    <strong>You humans sure love making suchplicatedws, </strong>Tar suddenly says, having apparently been paying attention as I read.


    Well, how do you fae organize your society if you dont have them?


    I feel a vague sense of confusion from Tar before he simply states, <strong>The King makes all of the important decisions. And if he doesnt care about it, then its left to the council to do what they believe he would do if he did care.</strong>


    Wait. So the fae have a tyrant as a ruler?


    Wow.


    Did not expect that.


    <strong>And now you see why its so important to select the right heir to the throne, </strong>Tar says while appearing in the air in front of me despite us being in the public before he floats down andnds on myp. <strong>If the wrong heir is chosen, things could go horribly wrong in our realm. Although it shouldnt affect you, since the fae still need humans and demons to contract in order to nourish themselves. Otherwise wed just starve to death rather slowly.</strong>


    Huh. Thats rather sad.


    <strong>Yes, that it is, </strong>Tar replies in his usual robotic tone of voice. But somehow I think I sense a hint of sadness inside of it despite that.


    Anyways, time to move onto the next book.

 Book 1: Chapter 49: The Hotel Fracture Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 49: The Hotel Fracture Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The third book really isnt much use in the end. All it does is go over the specific differences in how thews apply to a humanpared to a Guardian. But I do feel like it could be something that might be tested over in a ss, so I make sure to read it all anyways.


    By the time I finish reading it and look out the window, I realize that its already the afternoon, and my stomach is growling rather loudly. So I grab the three books and head off to turn them back in before going to the cafeteria and grabbing some food.


    Several minutes into my meal though, I hear someone approaching my table. And when I look up, I find it to be Sylver who doesnt seem to be all that happy.


    Ive been looking for you for hours now, he states, irritation clear in his tone. Where have you been?


    I stare at him for a few seconds before answering, I was reading up on Guardian Law in the library.


    That seems to surprise him for a second, following which he lets out a sigh. The library. Of course.


    So, why did you need me? I ask before digging into my food again, asionally ncing at him in the process.


    He watches me eat with an incredulous look on his face as he says, Your father told me to train you today since he couldnt make the time to do it.


    I finish chewing the food Im eating right now and mutter, Oh.


    Sylver watches me eat for a few more seconds then sighs and sits down at the table. Ill just wait for you to finish eating then.


    Cool.


    In hindsight I shouldve expected Allen to be too busy to train me and teach me on a daily basis. He is after all the CEO of one of the most sessfulpanies in the world, and the leader of a powerful Association. Whiches with a lot of responsibilities.


    <strong>Youre not even going toment on his calling Allen your father this time? </strong>Tar asks out of curiosity.


    No point. Everyone just keeps doing it anyways since its clear that Allen thinks of me that way. And while I do view him as a father, there are reasons why I cant admit to it out loud. At least not until Im strong enough that my orphan status doesnt matter.


    So why bother correcting it every time?


    Itd just get old fast.


    The tanuki doesnt say anything in response to that.


    Time passes and soon enough, Sylver looks incredibly bored. That is, until right before I finish eating, when a shattering sound resonates throughout the city and the air itself bes tainted red.


    Practically everyone shoots to their feet as a siren then begins echoing across the city, marking the beginning of another Demonic Assault.


    Everyone, begin preparations for the Assault as you wait for your assigned Fractures, Sages voice echoes from the inte, just as emotionless as always. They will be sent to you through your terminals shortly.


    The inte beeps as its shut off, leaving me frowning at the mention of a terminal.


    You havent gotten yours yet, Sylver says as he taps the thing on over the forearm of his clothes. Then he reaches up and taps on the amulet hes wearing, making it transform into a full body magi-tech suit. Your orders should be going through my terminal as well.


    As if summoned by his words, his terminal shes and Sages voice echoes out of it, Sylver and Scarlet, you are both to head to The Ancient Dragon 5 Star Hotel to deal with the ss I Fracture there.


    Sylver immediately begins grimacing, likely at being stuck babysitting again. But this time it goes away as he turns to me with a nk expression and says, Well, lets go.


    I make a sour face at the thought of riding on a hover cycle with him again.


    Im left gawking for a second in front of the massive building that is apparently a five star hotel after we make it to the Fracture. The thing stands at what must be a hundred floors with a giant dragon snaking up the building in what I believe is the old world Eastern style of dragon? The one that looks more like a snake with wings than a dragon. A big snake with wings.


    Snap out of it, Sylver says, breaking me from my stupor to find him dismissing the hover cycle and walking over to the buildings grand looking entrance. Sage says that the core weve detected in the building is on the rooftop penthouse, where the building was apparently hosting a massive party. And the building itself is giving off ss I signals.


    I quickly follow after him to the entrance as he continues talking, This time Ill be leaving you to clear your way past each floor upwards as I skip through the stairs to the higher levels. Unlike thest Fracture, the majority of the people are in the top floors of the building, so the rest of the floors should have a much lower chance of casualties.


    Without hesitating, we both pass straight through the active shield into the hotel, following which he makes a break past the demons in the entry hall to head towards the stairs. Meanwhile I take a second to focus on the demons themselves.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Panther  Level 2|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Panther  Level 3|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Panther  Level 2|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Panther  Level 4|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Panther  Level 4|</strong>


    There arent any hounds on the floor, with the only type of demon here being panthers. And theyre all quite weak in terms of levelpared to thest demons I faced.


    The panther spawn themselves are honestly a little simr looking to the hounds. But as panthers instead of hounds. They have ck fur with streaks of red going through the ck, along with glowing red eyes that honestly remind me a little of my own eyes.


    Without wasting any time, I immediately use blood boil on half of them, drawing their attention to me as that half begins whimpering and falling to the ground with small bubbles of crimson blood popping on their skin, soaking their fur in the process and painting the ck parts crimson. After that, I activate my ws on both hands and rush in, focusing hard in order to use the newbat moves Sylver and Allen taught me on the creatures before I eventually move on to demons that can actually prove more of a challenge.

 Book 1: Chapter 50: The Hotel Fracture Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 50: The Hotel Fracture Part II


    <strong>The Stairs of the Ancient Dragon Five Star Hotel</strong>


    Sylver continues rushing through the building stairs, taking them two at a time and only asionally stopping to ughter the demons along the way. But as he makes his way further up the building, he eventually realizes just how powerful the demons are getting and slows down a little bit.


    <em>Its only the fortieth floor, and there are already level sixties? Shouldnt they be higher up if this is a ss I </em>


    His eyes widen in shock as he mutters, Oh shit.


    In a rush to confirm his theory, Sylver speeds up his stair climbing to leaping from the bottom of each staircase to the top without wasting any time until he eventually runs into a ss II, level 102 Demon Fomorian. The creature has a humanoid form with grayish green scales coating its entire body, a set of worn out looking leather armor, and the head of a crocodile with a sword as equally worn out looking as its armor.


    Fuck! he shouts before jumping around the creatures sword to throw a bolt of silver lightning at its back, which he follows up shortly by extending a de from the armor at his wrist and stabbing it into the creatures neck. Sylver then reaches out and taps a few times on the terminal on his arm, sending a call out that is quickly epted by Sage. This is not a ss I Fracture! I repeat! This is <em>not </em>a ss I Fracture!


    Sages face changes from her usually indifferent one to show surprise before her eyes narrow and she asks, A Hidden Core?


    Sylver nods his head as he starts running up the stairs again.


    A couple seconds pass with the only noise being that of the demons in the building and his feet touching the stairs until its broken by Sage eventually saying, Confirmed. On second diagnosis of the building, ss II signatures can be read from floor seventy and up. And on further analysis and inquiries to the bunkers on the floors surrounding the suspected location of the ss I core, we have confirmed that a bunker was indeed sealed by a panicked individual after they saw demons attempting to leave the bunker. However, the individual felt too guilty toe forward about it until asked, and it was therefore left unreported until now.


    The man nods his head, Thanks, before ending the call, ughtering another fomorian, and then pausing.


    <em>Scarlet is left down there unknowing of the other core</em>


    He frowns as he looks back down the stairs, only to shake his head and continue climbing upwards anyways.


    <em>She can handle herself if its just the first half of a ss I Fracture.</em>


    Despite that thought, he does send a drone back down the stairs without stopping, with the drone having the orders to ry a message to her.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The first four floors dont take long to clear of demons as all there are on them are the level ones through level fives, and I can hear everyst one thanks to my ears.


    I dont stop moving until I reach the fifth floor, where I pause at the stairs to ask, Show me my System messages please. And the System immediately does as asked, showing a pretty impressive list of messages, most of which are from me killing lower leveled demons.


    <strong>{Level 3 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x14</strong>


    <strong>{Level 1 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x20</strong>


    <strong>{Level 2 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x21</strong>


    <strong>{Level 4 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x10</strong>


    <strong>{Level 5 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x7</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x39</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing over one hundred demons total. Skill Points will no longer be earned through killing demons ten or more levels beneath your own.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing ten each of three or more different types of Demon Spawn.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 16. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 17. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Siphon has leveled up to level 3.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    I cant help but grin at the pleasant feeling of raising my stats after using the free points before opening my status to check out my stats and total skill points.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 17</strong><strong>SP: 103</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 52</strong><strong>Mental: 46</strong><strong>Magical: 49</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 501/1127</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 3</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 3</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Predator IV</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Yes! I broke one hundred skill points!!!


    Although when I focus on the description for Life Drain, it didnt change at all. And neither did Blood Siphon.


    I quickly rush to open my Skill Store, only for Tars voice to resound in my head before I can do so.


    <strong>Didnt you decide to wait before using your skill points to see if youd get anything at a higher rarity?</strong>


    A frown appears on my face at that, but when I open my mouth to respond, I end up closing it again at the sight of a drone flying through the staircase before stopping right in front of me.


    Message for Scarlet Asger, the Scarlet Wolf. Message for Scarlet Asger, the Scarlet Wolf. Message for-


    Okay, I got it already! Just tell me the message! I tell the thing while mming my fist on top of the circr drone, making it shut up for a second before beginning to rey whatever message it has.


    Sage has confirmed that this is not a ss I Fracture as we were led to believe. I repeat. This is not a ss I Fracture. Sylvers voice echoes out of the drone, making my eyes widen at the gravity of the situation. Sage has informed me that reinforcements wont be arriving for another two hours, as many of them were sent to deal with a nearby ss III Fracture. Hold out until the reinforcements arrive, and do not push too far towards the ss I core on the fiftieth floor of the building.


    After saying its peace, the drone suddenly starts flying back up the stairs again, leaving me on the fifth floor staring after it.


    Well, shit, I mutter.

 Book 1: Chapter 51: The Hotel Fracture Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 51: The Hotel Fracture Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>I think you need new skills. Now, </strong>Tar says, appearing in front of me with his tanuki arms crossed.


    I nod my head and open up the skill store, only to find my eyes widening at the sight of a couple of new and very nice looking skills.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least fifty levels, by killing at least one hundred demons, by entering a ss II Fracture before level twenty, by killing over one hundred demons within your first week of contracting, and having achieved all of these requirements while at ss I.</strong>


    <strong>On ount of the users absolute blood thirst and utterck of a self-preservation instinct, you have learned to grow stronger through each kill.</strong>


    <strong>This skill passively increases all of the users statistics by a t 0.5% bonus for each enemy in for a period of one minute after their death.</strong>


    <strong>This effect is stackable.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>Life Energy Transfer</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least ten levels, by being level fifteen or higher, by draining the life energy of at least ten different creatures, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>A healing skill that allows the user to transfer life energy to another being in order to heal them.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least ten levels, by being level fifteen or higher, by having siphoned off or manipted the blood of over ten creatures including your own, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>A storage skill that allows the user to store the blood of either themselves or other creatures in the void for use at ater time.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least ten levels, by being level ten or above, by almost dying once, by hurting yourself to enhance a blood skill, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    Both Tar and I stare at the legendary skill for several seconds. Then Tar just bursts out intoughter.


    When faced with my scowl, he just exins midughs, <strong>Even the Systems making fun of your recklessness!!</strong>


    I continue scowling at him for a few seconds before letting out a huff and turning back to the store box again.


    Should I buy it or-


    <strong>Yes. </strong>He answers right away without a hint of hesitation, ending hisughter at the same time.


    I blink in surprise.


    That was fast.


    <strong>You do not waste time when getting Legendary skills, </strong>he exins as if it were some universalw. <strong>Also, to exin that note in the skills description, the skills begin to have a bit more vor in their descriptions when you get to the legendary and mythic skills.</strong>


    Oh. So it wasnt just the System making fun of <em>me </em>personally then.


    Thats good to know.


    I purchase the legendary skill without another thought, leaving me with 43 more SP remaining. Of which I decide to spend on Blood Bank to store the blood of the demons I y so that I can use it for my wster on. And thest 23 SP I decide to use just going ham on leveling up the new legendary skill.


    Tar is briefly surprised by that but doesnt seem against it. Probably because its a legendary skill.


    <strong>[Skill Blood Thirst has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Thirst has leveled up to level 3.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Thirst has leveled up to level 4.]</strong>


    Interesting. It cost only 3 SP to level up Blood Boil once, but it cost 5 SP to level up Blood Thirst once, then 7 to do it again, and 9 to do it again. Taking up an entire 21 SP just for three levels.


    <strong>Thats because the higher the rarity of the skill, the more expensive it is to level up, </strong>Tar exins before adding, <strong>Check the skill again.</strong>


    And so I do, only to find that the amount of time each stack of the skillsts has been extended to 1 minute and ten seconds.


    Nice.


    <strong>If I had to guess, then Id say it should have an increase in the percentage that each stack increases your stats by in the next level. On every fifth level.</strong>


    Now that sounds very nice.


    This skill really does sound incredibly useful. At least, when Im fightingrge numbers of enemies that is.


    Not all that useful outside of that though.


    <strong>Dontin about a legendary skill, </strong>Tar berates me with frustration obvious in his usually robotic voice. <strong>Other Guardians would kill to get one of those.</strong>


    Yeah, yeah.


    It will certainly help while Im clearing these floor of demons at least.


    I quickly check my status again to see how much my mana has regenerated before closing it again at the sight of it having gone up by about twenty-one points in the short break weve taken. Which in hindsight isnt very much.


    Any chance I can find a skillter on thatll increase my mana regeneration?


    <strong>Thats probable, yes. I also wouldnt be surprised if you found a skill to convert life energy into mana or something like that, </strong>Tar answers while floating into the air.


    That could work. Because my mana regeneration isnt fast enough to ughter my way through all of these monsters.


    <strong>Well look at the bright side, </strong>Tar says. <strong>That legendary skill you wereining about will also increase your mana by somewhere between thirty to fifty points per stack.</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock at that.


    By the stars, are you serious?! If I can keep the bonus going


    <strong>Right. As long as you keep killing demons back to back, Blood Thirst will keep increasing your mana in a sort of temporary mana storage, making your skills only draw out of that before it vanishes again, </strong>Tar exins, making me finally realize why this skill is so amazing. <strong>With this you could farm weaker demons all night long with very little time spent regenerating your mana.</strong>


    Okay. I love this skill.


    I cant help the wide grin that splits across my face as I run into the floor proper, straight at the level three Spawn I find near the entryway. And before it can react to me, my speed from having fourteen levels on it making me too fast for it to notice at first, I activate my blood ws and dig them straight into the creatures neck, draining the blood inside. Then a message appears in my vision.


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 1]</strong>


    My grin grows even wider.

 Book 1: Chapter 52: The Hotel Fracture Part IV

    Book 1: Chapter 52: The Hotel Fracture Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Who knows how much time passes as I ughter my way through the fifth through tenth floors, not even stopping to talk to the few people I do once in a blue moon find as it would only waste my stacks. But eventually I do have to stop since despite the nice effect on my mana that Blood Thirst has, the drain on my mana from fighting is still greater than the stacks in the end, albeit only by a little bit. So I do run out and have to take a break.


    I lean up against the window as I let all of the System messages flow by.


    <strong>{Level 3 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x29</strong>


    <strong>{Level 1 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x11</strong>


    <strong>{Level 2 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x14</strong>


    <strong>{Level 4 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x23</strong>


    <strong>{Level 5 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x12</strong>


    <strong>{Level 6 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x4</strong>


    <strong>{Level 7 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x5</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 18. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 19. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 4.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 3.]</strong>


    Well, there goes my Skill Points.


    <strong>I did tell you at one point that Skill Points would be harder toe by atter levels, </strong>Tar says while simply looking out the window at the moon.


    Yeah, that you did. Im rather surprised we havent run into any hounds yet though.


    <strong>We will likely start running into them soon, </strong>Tar says before floating down and sitting on the ground. <strong>Im willing to bet well be seeing some huntsmen soon as well.</strong>


    I groan at the thought as I remember the feeling of being struck by a huntsmens crossbow bolt.


    That was not fun. Not in the slightest.


    But on the bright side, it also means I should be getting Skill Points again soon.


    Whether I want to spend those points on leveling up my skills or just buy another skill is an important question though.


    <strong>Id rmend getting your current levble skills to level five before going to get more again, since if you keep that up youll never level your purchased skills, </strong>Tar advises me, giving me a t look from the ground next to me. One that looks rather adorable given his furry nature.


    Yeah. Right. Makes sense. Ill probably also want to level the legendary skill, since that apparently gets a lot better as it increases in level. Since of course the first few levels of it arent legendary, what with the skill not being static and all.


    Oh, right. While were waiting for my mana to regenerate, I was wanting to ask this for a while.


    <strong>What is it? </strong>Tar asks, tilting his head.


    Well, from my understanding, humans drain the life force of the demons they kill. But if thats the case, then why does the System say Bonus EXP or EXP Penalty when we get a message about killing something?


    Tar looks surprised for a second before he answers <strong>I guess you could say its because the System is processing the life force into you in a way. And it takes some of that life force for itself to keep itself running, giving you only a portion of it, which you give a small portion of to me. But when you do something extraordinary, like fighting something that is a lot stronger than you, the System tends to reward you for it by giving arger portion. And its the same with the penalties, with it punishing you for killing something weaker than you.</strong>


    I stare at Tar for a few seconds before muttering, So its like the System is ying us all like a video game just pulling our strings?


    Tar nods his head. <strong>Thats a fair assumption. But we fae dont believe the System is actually sentient. From our understanding, it was created to be this way by the original Fae Ruler, who is long since passed by now.</strong>


    Oh. Wait, I thought Oberon was the original King of the Fae?


    <strong>Oh, no. </strong>Tar responds, sounding a little bit reverent of his king and father. <strong>My father has been the king ever since the first Demonic Assault two hundred years ago, but before that, it was Queen Titania who ruled over the fae. And it was Her Majesty that created the System in the first ce before passing away.</strong>


    Huh. Thats interesting.


    You also sound like you respect this queen Titania?


    Tar immediately nods his head, showing a rare smile on his tanuki face as he gushes, <strong>Oh, yes! Titania was amazing as a Queen! She was fair to all of her people and let the fae do as they pleased, giving us absolute freedom before father took over!</strong>


    I blink in surprise.


    Wait, so your father took away the freedom she gave with his tyranny, yet you still respect him?


    <strong>Of course. Hes my father, and he is the most powerful of all the fae by leagues and bounds, </strong>Tar says, defending his father with a frown. <strong>Whats not to respect?</strong>


    I stare at the tanuki for a few seconds before rubbing my temples.


    This is starting to give me a headache.


    <strong>What is? </strong>Tar asks, making my headache grow worse.


    Oh, nothing much.


    I think we just have vastly different ideas of whats normal and whats respectable.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>the tanuki mutters, seemingly growing contemtive as he lies back with his head resting against my thigh. <strong>Come to think of it, you seem to dislike physical contact with others, but also seem fine with me lying down on you. Why is that?</strong>


    I blink in surprise at the sudden shift in topic.


    Well, because youre a cute tanuki. Not a human. No other reason.


    The tanuki in question sits up and res at me as heins, <strong>But Im not a tanuki. Im a fae, and my form in-</strong>


    Youre a tanuki. It doesnt matter if you look like a blue human or a humanoid bat in your realm, youre a tanuki here, and thats all that matters tanuki.


    Tar grumbles about something, but I just chuckle as I lie my head up against the window, simply waiting for my mana to regenerate.

 Book 1: Intermission 4

    Book 1: Intermission 4


    <strong>Inside of the Grand Mall located a few blocks down from the Ancient Dragon Five Star Hotel</strong>


    Cipher crashes through the fourth floor of the Grand Mall, falling down into the skating rink while wrestling with a level 500 Demon Enforcer, the leader of the ss III Fracture that hes inside of right now. And the moment they both shatter the skating rink, chains of ice shoot up from the ground to bind the demon in ce for Cipher to bring his fist back and smash it straight into its draconic, armored face, shattering the armor covering it.


    The creature lets out a loud screech of pain, but continues pushing against the ice, asionally causing a chain to break in the process. Meanwhile Cipher continues sending blow after blow across the demon''s body, a blue energy beginning to build up around his fist in the process with each new blow until he opens his palm and ps it straight on the demons chest, making a powerful blue ze shoot out of it to engulf the demon entirely.


    After the ze fades away, so does the demon, leaving the melted ice beneath the two as water as Cipher catches himself on his knees while heaving breaths of exhaustion.


    Ya know, for a ss IV Guardian, you sure arecking in the brute force strength if youre struggling to kill a level 500 demon, a female voice echoes through the skating rink as footsteps echo from the ice, following which a woman with ck hair streaked with a pale blue walks right up to Cipher. The woman is wearing a very simr set of magi-tech armor as Cipher and is looking down at him while taunting.


    Ha, ha, ha, very funny, Cipher mutters while rising to his feet. If youre done joking around, we still have some unfinished business.


    Frost nods her head and creates a bridge made of ice down the railing at the edge of the viewing portion of the floor all the way to the first floor, where the core was previously covered by a cage of thick ck bars of some sort of metal. But now that the demon enforcer has been vanquished, it is exposed to a simple spear of ice that Frost sends flying through it.


    That makes one core down, Cipher says while stretching his arms after walking across her bridge after her. How about we go out to eat with Belle after this assault?


    Frost nces at her husband with a brow raised, No Scarlet?


    At the mention of the girl, Cipher gets a strained look to his face. I have the distinct feeling that shes going to be too busy sleeping to want toe along.


    <em>Not to mention avoiding you.</em>


    Oh. Thats a pity, Frost says, making Cipher flinch, I wanted to give her a big hug for making it into Lions Heart!


    <em>And thats why she avoids you.</em>


    Well, anyways, dinner sounds wonderful! Frost says, the sad look that had graced her face at the thought of not seeing Scarlet being reced by a happy one. Where should we go?


    Cipher opens his mouth to answer, only to pause as his terminal rings. He closes his mouth again, holding up a single finger before answering the call to find Sage on the screen.


    The ss II Fracture at the Grand Arena has been ended, along with the ss II Fracture at the Central Subway Station. But the ss III Fracture located at City Hall is still going strong and needs backup. Please head there once you are able to.


    The man nces at his wife with a grimace, who raises an eyebrow in amusement at his subordinate seemingly ordering him around.


    <em>Shes gonna give me grief about thatter, isnt she?</em>


    He sighs after a second before responding, Affirmative. Hows Scarlet doing?


    Sage doesnt answer right away, making Cipher narrow his eyes with suspicion since she always answers right away.


    After hearing Scarlets name, Frost walks up to the two and looks over Ciphers shoulder at the screen on his terminal, only to find Sage frowning. A rare expression for the woman to make.


    Sage, Frost growls with a scowl. Answer the question.


    The woman looks at Frost with a slightly fearful expression before shortly answering, The ss I Fracture the young miss and Sylver were sent to turned out to be a ss II Fracture with a hidden ss I core. Meanwhile we have not been able to send any reinforcements over their way, leaving the two to deal with it on their own until reinforcements free up from the other Fractures.


    Before Sage can even finish speaking, icy mist begins leaking from Frosts pores, freezing the ground and making Cipher shiver a little in the process as she asks, And you didnt report this to your superior because?


    Even the seer shivers at the sight of Frosts rage as she answers, I received a prophecy. One of which implied that she would have good fortune if she were to be able to hold out on her own. And if I were to report it immediately, not only would you rush your current Fracture to go help her, putting the survivors of the Fracture in harms way, but I believed it would stunt her growth, therefore leading to a decrease in her value to the Asso-


    A vast wave of ice shoots out from Frost as her rage reaches new heights, making Cipher wince as the cold affects him. But fortunately for him, his wife manages enough control over it to avoid hurting him as despite her lower level, she is very much abat focused Guardian, unlike him.


    <em>Fucking hell</em>


    Before she can even say anything, Cipher scolds Sage, You do not get to make decisions such as these. If you do this again, you will be sentenced to grunt work for a year, with your pay decreased along with it. I will also see that your parents are made aware of this.


    Sage grimaces at the list of punishments before dering, Very well, sir.


    Make sure you send the first ss II Guardian who bes avable to her location as soon as possible, Cipher orders her, cutting the call immediately after to find Frost ring at him. Yes, I know. Dinner is canceled.

 Book 1: Chapter 53: The Hotel’s Sponsor Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 53: The Hotel¡¯s Sponsor Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After spending about an hour or so letting my mana regenerate back to halfway full  which was helped by me raising my mental stat again with free points and therefore increasing my mana  I begin to make my way through the eleventh floor. But not even a few minutes in, I start to hear the cries of a child along with panicked screams of a few adults somewhere down the hall. So I begin running in that direction, clearing out the two spawn panthers that try to stop me along the way.


    Soon enough, I find a huntsmen aiming his crossbow at three adults and a young girl who looks to be only about six or seven years old.


    <strong>|Demon Huntsman  Level 15|</strong>


    My eyes narrow as I find the huntsmens fingers gravitating over the trigger, about to fire before I use blood boil on it, making the creatures blood begin to boil beneath the surface as it cries out in pain and staggers, making it just barely miss its shot. The bolt going straight into the wall next to one of the adults  a woman who is currently hugging onto the child  head.


    Everyone  including the demon  turns to look at me, but Im already rushing towards the huntsmen with my blood ws out and ready to strike. The creature raises its crossbow to block, but I just push through, shoving the crossbow into its chest and knocking the air out of it in the process. I then kick out at it while still using blood boil, making little bubbles of blood pop across its skin before I eventually tear out its throat.


    <strong>{Level 15 Demon Huntsman defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 1]</strong>


    I try to catch my breath while I climb back to my feet from on top of the demons corpse before wiping my forehead of sweat, only to grimace as I realize there was blood on my jacket sleeve. So I deal with that by using the clean skill.


    This amount of blood at this point isnt really much to bother me, but it might be a problem for that child over there.


    Im already bad enough with kids as is, theres no reason to add a bunch of blood smeared all over me to that.


    As soon as I look over at the civilians, I feel relief at having done that. Because not only is the child still crying, but one of the three women look like theyre in shock.


    I take a second to close my eyes and focus my hearing on the floor, feeling one of them twitching in the process before I open my eyes again.


    The bunker should be open still on the other side of the floor, I exin to the people, bringing the attention of the woman who is still holding the childs to me. There arent any other people on the floor, and there arent very many demons either. Ill escort you there while I deal with the creatures.


    A visible wave of relief floods across their bodies as they rx a little, but that goes away rather quickly when a spawn that I had hearding jumps around the corner, only to slow down when I use blood boil on it. This one isnt very strong  only being around level ten or so  so I finish it off without much issue before turning back to the others again as I ask, perhaps a little callously, Youing or not?


    Callous or not though, it does the job as the three women quickly begin moving, with one of them  the same one who was holding the child before  picking up the child and bringing her with us. Somewhere along the way though, the child calms down and stops crying, just looking around with a tiny bit of curiosity and confusion mixed into her fear.


    The child looks a lot like the one carrying her, having the same blue eyes and blond hair, making me think theyre a mother-daughter pair. Theyre also wearing some rather expensive looking clothing, each with magi-tech on them that I can see on their coat sleeves. Which I guess is par for the course considering what hotel were in right now.


    After a few minutes of traversing the halls in the direction of the bunker and asionally killing a demon or two along the way  most of which being spawn  Im surprised by the mother suddenly saying from several feet behind me, Thank you, Scarlet Wolf.


    My eyes widen at her use of my title before I nce at her and give her a nod. Dont worry about it.


    I was on the floor anyways, dealing with the demons in the process. No reason not to help.


    A few more seconds pass and we turn down another corner, only for a young voice to sound from behind me, making me turn my head to find the child reaching for me as she says, Touchy!!!


    No, Sara! You cant touch her ears! the mother immediately understands what her daughter is wanting to do before looking at me with worry and saying, Please dont mind her. My daughters just turning six today, so shes probably feeling a little spoiled.


    Lemme touuuchhh!!! the kid begins to whine, making both my eyes and ears twitch a little in irritation. But right before the mother is about to admonish her again, I let out a sigh and stop moving, my ears twitching as I find no demons making any sounds nearby. Then I walk up to the mother-daughter pair and lower my head to her while saying, Just this once. But only if you stay quiet until you get to a bunker, okay?


    Yaay!!! the kid practically squeals in my ear, making me wince before she roughly grabs them and starts caressing them, making me wince again at how sensitive they are.


    I let her do it for about three seconds before I pull away again and immediately turn around.


    Never again.


    Its like someone tickling the bottom of an incredibly ticklish persons foot. And Ive always had rather dull senses when ites to that sort of thing, which only makes it worse when its that bad.


    We continue walking through the hallway with the kid now silently mumbling about how soft my ears were with a very pleased expression on her tiny face, to the amusement of her mother and the other women who I noticed shifted their attitude towards me from a respectful but distant one to a slightly more casual and free attitude.


    Maybe I shouldnt have done that. But at least shes quiet now, giving my ears a break from her whining.


    Because if theres one thing I hate, its the whining of little kids. Its just so annoying.


    My thoughts pause as I stop in ce, the sound of shifting feet echoing in my ear from the bunker.

 Book 1: Chapter 54: The Hotel’s Sponsor Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 54: The Hotel¡¯s Sponsor Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I frown while raising one of my hands to get the others to stop. Then I close my eyes and focus on the sounds.


    Sounds like humanoid footsteps stopping somewhere around the corner, directly inside of the bunker.


    But judging by the crinkling sound of their strange armor  one thats akin to flesh or some sort of pseudo hide  Im pretty sure its safe to say that theyre huntsmen. At least three of them.


    Stay here, I whisper to the others, making them tense up. There arent any demons on the floor behind us, so youll be safe. Let me go deal with the ones in the bunker.


    My mention of the bunker seems to spring hope in the eyes of the people, but they also appear even more wary at the same time thanks to the part about demons being in there.


    I turn the corner and make my way over to the bunker. And once I reach it, I quickly stick my hand out and yank it back, making a bolt fly straight past where my hand just was.


    After a very brief sigh of relief, I leap into a roll, passing straight through the doorway of the bunker and letting two more bolts fly by as I roll. Then I get up and rush over to the three huntsmen, focusing first on the one on the left which is the closest to reloading. Before it can do so, I swipe my ws straight at its crossbows string, snapping it in the process before kicking my leg out at its own leg, knocking it on the floor.


    Right as Im about to jump over and tear out its throat though, I hear the sound of another bolt being released and barely manage to dodge it, only for another one to follow right after and tear straight into my shoulder, making me let out a cry of pain as I drop to my knees. But this time  unlike thest time I was struck by a bolt  I manage to keep my thoughts together and push against the ground with my unhurt arm, sending me over the downed huntsman who I quickly and awkwardly tear my ws across the chest of beforending in a sprawled mess on the ground next to him.


    I grit my teeth in pain before getting my feet beneath me again and grabbing the bolt to yank it out. Then I nce at the downed and dying huntsman, followed by the two living ones who are both reloading.


    Shit. This isnt going well.


    But the second the first huntsmen dies, I feel a small surge of relief run through my body as I grow a little stronger, and I use that surge to life drain the other two huntsmen while also boiling their blood, making the both of them miss their shots in surprise from the two sudden attacks. And I take advantage of that while ignoring the pain of the very slowly healing wound on my shoulder to rush them both with my arms out wide, knocking them both down by the neck to the ground where I then tear out their throats with the extra time that gives me.


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 2]</strong>


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 3]</strong>


    Ignoring the messages, I copse on the ground t on my back, waiting for my shoulder to stop throbbing. But it never does since my sources of life energy are now dead.


    Certainly a major problem with my only healing skill.


    I lie there on the ground for several seconds before hearing footsteps echoing from down the hall, in the direction of the civilians.


    Shit, did I somehow miss a demon?!


    The tension that had left my body after the battle returns again at the thought, only to die down once I see the mother turning the corner of the bunker with a slightly fearful but determined look on her face. A look that grows to panic the moment she sees me lying on the ground next to three huntsmen corpses while bleeding from my shoulder through my jacket.


    Dont worry, I pause as a coughes out, but fortunately not with any blood, it wont take-


    The woman cuts me off by shushing me.


    By shushing me.


    I vaguely hear Tarughing somewhere in my head, only for him to cut off as well once she pulls a glowing vial of blue-green liquid from her purse and then grabs my mouth, dumping the disgusting stuff down into my mouth by force. And while Im choking the stuff down, I vaguely notice her reaching into her bag again and then feel her tugging on my jacket for something. But Im too busy trying not to choke to look down to see what.


    After having it forced in, right before I canin and ask what that was, I feel a warm glow suffusing my wound as it closes up, making me turn my head and gawk at my shoulder.


    A potion?! I whisper-shout, my mind nking at the sheer cost of one of those things.


    The woman just smiles and sits down with her legs to her side as she says, Dont worry, sweetie. Dozens of those old things arent worth as much as the girl who saved the lives of me and my daughter.


    I blink, surprised as I stare up at her, still lying t on my back. But after a second, I begin to sit up and stare instead.


    Dozens she says. Old things she says.


    Just how rich is thisdy?!


    Also, I cant help but notice that she only said her and her daughter, acting as if me saving the lives of the other two women were of no consequence to her or something.


    Eventually I manage to climb to my feet again, the woman following after me as I say, You shouldve just waited till I told you it was safe. Although I dont really care too much, since it wouldve been her own fault if she got hurt.


    At least she didnt bring the kid.


    Anyways, I walk up to the hallway before shouting, Its clear! Calling the others to join us, which they quickly do, with the daughter walking on her own this time instead of being carried.


    I warily watch the daughter walk by me while staring at my ears with an obvious desire to touch them unhidden behind her eyes.


    After all of them are inside of the bunker, I walk over to the lever, only to pause as the mother says, Ill be in contact with you once this is over, sweetie!


    I nce at her for a second before pulling the lever without a word.


    Wish shed stop calling me that.

 Book 1: Chapter 55: Demon Society Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 55: Demon Society Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I take a few steps in the direction of the stairs while putting my hands in my pockets again thanks to theck of demons on the floor, only to pause as my right hand feels something. And when I grab it and take whatever it is out, I soon find it to be another potion.


    She didnt I mutter, just staring at the potion. Then I remember the tugging sensation on my jacket while I was choking on the potion, along with her pulling something else out of her purse. She did!


    Just how freaking rich was thatdy?!


    Potions are <em>not </em>something you just give out like candy!!! They take a ss III or higher Guardian pouring <em>thousands </em>of points of mana into, not to mention hours of work for each potion!!


    Just one potion costs 1000 credits! Five of those could buy you a freaking house in a Tier 3 city!


    And a single <em>higher</em> ss potion costs the equivalence of almost two years of my sry right now


    <strong>I thought you were happy about the sry you got from the Association? </strong>Tar asks, curiosity showing in his voice as he appears in front of me.


    I nce at him before sighing and continuing my way through the hall towards the stairs.


    Yeah, I am happy. Do you know how much I was being paid from myst job back in Rothwell City? I was being paid a total of two credits per hour on the job. An entire quarter of what Im being paid now while not even on the job.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>Tar mutters, <strong>is that normal in a Tier 3 city?</strong>


    I shake my head.


    No. Its normal for an orphan in a Tier 3 city. Regr people still tend to get three credits per hour most of the time.


    In fact, most people dont even bother hiring orphans out of the fear they may be a changeling in disguise.


    Tar goes silent at that.


    Neither of us say anything more about the subject all the way till I get to the stairwell.


    I do wonder who thatdy was though. To be able to just fork out so many potions without a care in the world, she has to be filthy stinking rich. Not to mention that she was in a five star hotel when the Fracture began.


    Speaking of which, I have to try out one of the beds in this ce before we leave.


    <strong>Seriously? </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him at the thought of thefortable beds.


    Oh, I know. I can lie on the bed inside of one of the rooms when I next regenerate my mana!


    <strong>Youre serious </strong>Tar mutters again, only to shake his little tanuki head while flying next to me. <strong>Well, I guess its morefortable than lying on the floor.</strong>


    Now youre getting it, my floating furry friend!


    I smile at that thought, only for the smile to fade, reced with a cold, serious expression as I reach the next floor. The twelfth floor. One where I hear the sounds of some huntsmen, quite the number of hounds, and a few spawn.


    Well, looks like its time to clean up this floor. There dont seem to be any civilians on it, so time to spam blood thirst some more.


    I should also get enough Skill Points on this floor to bring the skill to level 5, where it <em>should </em> emphasis on should  raise the percentage boost. Whichll help me quite a bit.


    After another binge of demon ying that ends on the neenth floor, I copse on a veryfortable bed, just bouncing up and down a couple of times before going still and letting my messages flow.


    <strong>{Level 17 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x30</strong>


    <strong>{Level 18 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x12</strong>


    <strong>{Level 16 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x15</strong>


    <strong>{Level 15 Demon Spawn defeated. An EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level.} x22</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 20. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 21. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing over two hundred and fifty demons total. Skill Points will no longer be earned through killing demons five or more levels beneath your own.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x48</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 4.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Siphon has leveled up to level 4.]</strong>


    Ah, gotta love just listening to those messages flow by after a lot of hard work.


    <strong>Its something most Guardians and sapient demons seem to enjoy, </strong>Tar says, hearing my thoughts.


    Well, that makes sense. Its a nice benefit.


    Say,e to think of it, you fae contract with demons too, am I right?


    Tar floats above me as I lie on the bed facing the ceiling before he answers, <strong>Thats correct. But remember that Ive taken your side through our contract.</strong>


    Right, right. I was just curious. You know how our humans society is, and now I know how the fae society works. What about the demons society? How does their society work?


    We didnt actually go over that very much in high school. All they really mentioned were the noble demons, and that almost everyst noble demon lives to see ss V in power someday. And that if you should ever find yourself in a ss V Fracture, which there have been very few of over the years, then you better pray to the stars that there are over a dozen ss IV Guardians near you ready to fight for their lives, or for the very slim chance that one of the small number of ss V Guardians might be in the area to get to the Fracture fast enough before you die.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>Tar mutters before floating down andnding on my chest. <strong>Sure. Ill exin it while you regenerate your mana.</strong>

 Book 1: Chapter 56: Demon Society Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 56: Demon Society Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>To start off, the demon society is a lot more like the fae than the humans, </strong>Tar says as I stare up at the ceiling. <strong>There are the noble demons, who you know are all ss V, except for their children of course, and then there are the four Demon Lords, and the Demon King. And everyst pure blood demon is required by blood to follow the orders of the current Demon King. Its just in their blood. Instinct.</strong>


    I shiver at the thought of being tied down to obey the orders of someone else.


    Wait, you said everyst <em>pure blood</em> demon. Does that mean Im safe from that?


    <strong>Indeed, you are, </strong>Tar says, not exining any further before he continues the topic of demon society. <strong>Out of the demons, there are various noble races, and the only ones who can be a Demon Lord are the nobles. Meanwhile the only ones that can be the Demon King are amongst the Demon Lords.</strong>


    I lower my head to narrow my eyes at the tanuki for a few seconds.


    How do they know that the demon kingsmands wont work on me if Im the only half demon to have ever existed?


    <strong>The seven noble ns consist- </strong>Tar begins, but I cut him off by stating, Tar. Answer my question.


    He opens his eyes and looks at me, conflict clear in his gaze before he eventually sighs.


    <strong>Father has known about you since you were born, and lets just say you were given an order by the Demon King once as an infant, but the magic in the order simply bounced off of your human blood, failing to take any measure of a hold on you, </strong>Tar answers, making my entire body stiffen up.


    I I was close enough to the Demon King once for him to be able to give me an order? Face to face?


    How is that even possible?


    <strong>I apologize, but I am not allowed to give you that information, </strong>Tar says, burying his face underneath his paws on my chest. <strong>Know that I have already stretched the rules set in ce by father about what I can tell you on this matter.</strong>


    I scowl at the tanuki for several seconds, only to eventually let out a sigh.


    Fine.


    I trust you enough to know by now that you dont outright lie to me. So if youre serious about this, and you sound like you are, I wont push it.


    But it doesnt mean Ill give up on trying to get my answers.


    <strong>Understandable, </strong>Tar says, lifting his head again. <strong>Now. The seven noble ns. Do you know of them?</strong>


    Yes, I do know that at least. Or at least I know some of the ns.


    The seven noble demon ns consist of the Oni, representing the Wrath demons, the Ghouls, representing the Gluttony demons, and of course the Blood Lycans, representing the Pride demons.


    I blink at that thought.


    Hey, is the reason Im so prideful because Im half blood lycan?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers before continuing the lesson, <strong>the other four noble demon ns consist of the Subi, representing the Lust demons, the Arachnae, representing the Envy demons, the Kitsune, representing the Greed demons, andstly, the Mindeaters, representing the Sloth demons. But remember that these are just the demon ns that almost always be nobility. There are hundreds more noble demons. Basically any demon that reaches ss V.</strong>


    I grimace at the mention of the Mindeaters. Because now that he mentions them, I do remember learning about the demon n that specializes purely in mental attacks. The demons often like to put their target to sleep before they enter their mind and begin devouring it from the inside.


    Theyre probably one of the most hated demons of all, purely because of their mental attacks, which not a lot of Guardians tend to get very many defenses against. Especially since skills that defend against mental attacks often need you to be attacked with a mental skill in the first ce to be able to purchase.


    <strong>Also, the Demon Lords almost alwayse from amongst the demon ns. Take now for example, </strong>Tar says, his tone shifting slightly at the mention of the Demon Lords. <strong>The four Demon Lords at present timee from the blood lycan n, the Mindeaters, the ghouls, andstly, the oni. And the Demon King himself is a blood lycan.</strong>


    My eyes widen at thatst bit of information.


    By the stars... does that mean


    <strong>Dont take the information based on assumptions, </strong>Tar says, stopping my thoughts. <strong>There are thousands of blood lycans, some of them even having been exiled from the n. And not all of the blood lycans are equal, nor are they all closely rted. Even if they are all rted in some way, albeit very distantly rted.</strong>


    I let out a sigh of relief.


    Good to know Im probably not directly rted to the Demon King, even if Im partially of the same species as him.


    Wait. He said thousands of blood lycans. As in thousands of noble demons of just a single species?


    The hell?!


    <strong>Good to see that you noticed, </strong>Tar says. <strong>The Fractures arent just on Terra, or as the world used to be called, Earth. They begin on the home world of the demons, Tartarus, where the demons can pass through to your world. But the demons that are able to pass through are limited by the Fracture core, so they are often kept strictly guarded to help organize what you call Demonic Assaults better, since the weakest demons, the spawn, are often without sapience.</strong>


    Thats horrifying.


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar continues, his voice taking on a grave note. <strong>Many humans, and even Guardians at the lower level, assume that the demons are not organized or are mostly unintelligent creatures bent solely on destruction. But thats not true. Not in the slightest bit.</strong>


    Then why are they attacking us?


    Tar opens his eyes and nces at me with a frown.


    <strong>We dont know.</strong>


    That has me frowning as well.

 Book 1: Chapter 57: Demon Society Finale

    Book 1: Chapter 57: Demon Society Finale


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    You dont know?


    Tar nods his head very gently and repeats himself, <strong>We dont know.</strong>


    So does anyone know why? Is it the Demon Kings doing, or do the demons just hold a grudge against humans for some reason?


    <strong>All we know on the subject is that the Demon King  whoever it is at the time  has always held a grudge against the humans. All we can do is make our own assumptions on the matter, </strong>Tar exins, closing his eyes again. <strong>And the only exnation we can think of is that the humans formerly on their world before they were wiped out must have done something unthinkable to the demons, and the Demon Kings always pass that knowledge down.</strong>


    My frown grows deeper at that.


    That Im not really sure how to feel about that. Being told that no one knows why were being attacked by the demons. Not even most of the demons themselves.


    Also, the very fact that there <em>were, </em>in fact, humans living on Tartarus at one point in time is surprising.


    <strong>We didnt find the demons until only several decades before the Demonic Assaults, as you call them, began urring. And even we dont know why it is that they did start urring, nor why the demons are dead set towards annihting all of humankind, </strong>Tar says, surprising me again.


    Wait, so the fae werent behind the connections between the two worlds? I kind of suspected that King Oberon or the past queen had something to do with it.


    Tar shakes his head and answers, <strong>No. We fae dont have much power outside of our realm to begin with. Were only absolute within the Farshore.</strong>


    My brows climb at the mention of the name of the faes realm.


    Why is Tar suddenly being so open and free about the information he gives to me? Normally he just doesnt bother telling me this sort of stuff, or says he cant


    <strong>Its because your level is raising, </strong>he exins, reading my thoughts.


    Oh. Interesting.


    Also, I know you fae cant lie, so why did you say that the fae are helping both humans and the demons because King Oberon wanted only one mortal race? That doesnt exactly line up with some of the things youve said since.


    Tar answers instantly, <strong>Because that was his original thoughts when he heard of the humans and demons on Tartarus. So he did indeed say that at one time. He just doesnt feel that way anymore.</strong>


    And I guess youre telling me this now because you trust me more? Or because Im at a higher level now than before?


    Silence passes between us for a few seconds with Tar neither confirming nor denying either of those possibilities before I eventually ask out loud in a random bout of curiosity, Hey, you fae feed off of life force, right? So who is King Oberon contracted with?


    Tar stays quiet.


    After several seconds pass, I look down at him again, finding him either asleep, or faking being asleep.


    Did he really fall asleep, or is he just avoiding the question?


    I watch him for a few seconds before sighing and lying my head back down on the pillow again.


    Guess he still is keeping secrets. But at least hes generally honest about it, and not just hiding or manipting me as much anymore.


    And the bit about my level having something to do with what he can tell me definitely something to think about.


    Still wish he wasnt able to read my thoughts though. Because thats just an invasion of privacy.


    Anyways, its obvious that Im not the only hu- err, Guardian who knows about all this. Because if Tar is willing to talk about it, then who knows how many other fae are. So its likelymon knowledge amongst the Guardians.


    Unless the information is some sort of secret only the royal fae know about?


    Either way though, all of this does make me curious about who my blood lycan parent is. Because even if they were some sort of outcast  which Im assuming they are, considering that they had a child with a human  theyre probably still quite powerful. After all, I dont think Ive ever heard of a single known noble demon who didnt be a ss V demon eventually. Not that there are that many examples to go off of, considering the infrequency of ss V Fractures.


    In fact, I think theres only been one ss V Fracture since I was born. And it was a few days before I was found by Allen and brought to the orphanage


    My thoughts trail to a halt as something clicks in my mind.


    The fact that apparently the Demon King has given me an order before but failed, meaning I was likely on Tartarus personally once or just saw him somehow in a Fracture. That one of my parents is likely a ss V demon. And that a ss V Fracture urred just right before Allen brought me in


    It cant be could it have been possible for me to have met the Demon King in that Fracture? Or even somehow crossed over to this world from it?


    But where does my human parente into all of this? And why


    Damn it! Too many questions.


    I clench my fist, having a serious urge to punch something in my frustration before eventually letting out a sigh and flopping my arm on the bed again.


    After a few seconds, I take in a deep breath, hold it for a few, then let it out. Then I repeat that process a couple more times before looking at this a different way.


    Why does it really matter who my parents are? Who Im rted to? Or even where the hell Im from?


    I am who I am, and I was raised by Allen alongside the rest of the orphans. Thats who I am. And I worked through, or rather cleaved through way too much in my life to go blowing it all off on ount of stuff from the past.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the tanuki peeking his eye open to look at me with a proud expression on his face.


    You little bugger, you were awake all along!!!


    I reach out to grab the guy, but he just vanishes before I can with a chuckle resonating through my mind.


    Damnit Tar! Where do you go when you do that anyways?!


    An amused voice enters my head from the tanuki, <strong>The border between the mortal realm and the Farshore. A ce no mortal can enter.</strong>


    My eye twitches as I hear the clear taunting in his voice.


    I look around with my eyes narrowed before closing my eyes and focusing on my ears. But nothinges. Not until I suddenly feel something poking my ear, making me immediately flinch back with my eyes shooting open to find a tanuki floating in front of me, only for him to disappear again when I lunge at him.


    Damnit, tanuki!


    His chuckling just continues to echo through my head, an entirely uncharacteristic action for the tanuki.

 Book 1: Intermission 5

    Book 1: Intermission 5


    <strong>A Higher Floor of the Ancient Dragon Hotel</strong>


    Sylver performs a backflip purely to avoid the sma bolt being fired at him by the demon acolyte  the weakest amongst the magic using demons  before covering his foot with silver lightning and smashing it on the ground, sending a thick bolt of it through the ground straight into the demon in question. He then bends over backwards as another bolt flies straight through where his torso just was, following which he sweeps his arm out, sending an arc of silver lightning straight at the creature, cleaving it in two.


    The Guardian pants in exhaustion as he leans forwards again, rising back to his full height before wiping his brow of sweat and looking around at the demons. He briefly pauses as he listens to the death messages of the level 126 demon acolytes and then walks forward to tear the mana gem out from their staffs.


    <em>At least I can finally start truly profiting off of a Fracture. Just a pity that the only things that stay behind are mana gems, with everything else vanishing with the Fracture core, back to Tartarus.</em>


    Without a care about how the world would view thoughts like that, the man raises his hand and opens a silver portal next to it before dropping the gems into the storage skill and closing it again as he begins walking towards the next room. But only a few stepster, he stops at the sound of his terminal going off.


    After epting the call, Sages face appears on his terminal and she immediately says, Reinforcements are being sent your way. They will arrive in half an hour, and they consist of four ss II Guardians. However, you will have to wait for Cipher and Frost to clear the ss III Fracture at the mall for them to shatter the shield of the bunker hiding the ss I core.


    Sylver lets out an inaudible sigh of relief before nodding his head and saying, Roger that.


    The call cuts out as soon as Sage hears his reply.


    Despite his relief though, Sylver cant help but tense up ever so slightly at the thought of Frost arriving.


    <em>If anyones a monster in this Association, itd be her</em>


    A shiver runs down his spine as he remembers when he first met her, at his very first Fracture, where he originally made his contract. A ss III Fracture where  despite the cmitous strength, in his eyes, of the demons  the woman still turned them all into living statues of ice in mere moments.


    <em>And if shes here with her husband as well, then this is just overkill. But I guess I can understand</em>


    His thoughts turn to the girl the same age as him dozens of floors down the building from him who is most likely recklessly killing demons with abandon. Especially now that she has that life draining skill signature to most blood magic users.


    <em>Such an unfair skill.</em>


    He shakes his head before casually ncing at a security camera and sending a small spark of silver lightning at it. His eyes then close as he focuses on the security cameras of each of the first floors, slowly going up floor by floor until he eventually finds her standing up from a bed on the neenth floor while stretching her arms.


    <em>Guess she was letting her mana regenerate? Guess thats something at least. She wont just go brute forcing it even without any mana.</em>


    You seem to have developed an interest in the girl, Sylvers fae appears in the air next to him in the form of a small tiger, only the size of a housecat. Thats not like you.


    Sylver nces at the fae before answering, If someone doesnt stop her, she will one day run herself into the ground. Just like I almost did. Then he continues walking through the floor, asionally closing his eyes and shifting his attention to the neenth floor as she moves through the hall into the twentieth floor. But just a single nce at the demons on the floor give Sylver pause.


    <em>Theyre all level twenty or above? What?</em>


    He stops walking again as he focuses on the security cameras of each of the floors after the twentieth floor, just checking all of them for demons of a certain level. But despite searching through parts of each floor from the twentieth through the fiftieth, there dont seem to be any other level jumps.


    <em>She should be able to deal with that. Whether Frost will be happy that she is dealing with it or not is a question to askter. When Im far away from Frost.</em>


    Sylver opens his eyes again, confident that the girl is safe. However, he misses as a faint, ck shadow passes by him into the stairwell, making its way down the floors.


    The Guardian continues through the floor, killing off the demons at a much slower pace than he was before until he eventually clears out the floor and heads to the stairs. And with a single nce at the stairs, he shakes his head to himself and stands in ce at the staircase.


    <em>The higher floors are too powerful for me to deal with. Better to wait for reinforcements now.</em>


    He then looks through the security cameras again to find the girl struggling hard against a group of three demon hounds  each at level 21. But she manages to kill them, even if it takes her receiving several injuries in the process to do so before healing each of them.


    Sylvers eyes narrow as he notices something.


    <em>Is she getting stronger with every kill she makes? But thats just what rarity of skill would that take?!</em>


    He watches her slowly make her way through the floor for a few minutes before sighing.


    <em>There is something really off about that girl, but I cant put my finger on it.</em>


    Thats not the only reason youre keeping your eye on her, is it? his fae asks, prodding him again after hearing his thoughts.


    Sylver nces at the fae before sighing again.


    Maybe not, but thats none of your business, he says, returning his attention back to the stairs again as a couple demon fomorians try to make their way down them.

 Book 1: Chapter 58: Drunken Idiots

    Book 1: Chapter 58: Drunken Idiots


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a sigh as the prickling sensation at the back of my neck fades away, likely meaning that whoever was watching me  probably Sylver  is not anymore.


    <strong>You really dont like that sensation, do you? </strong>Tars voice echoes in my head as I continue sprinting through the hallway towards the huntsman I find peeking its head out of a room. Before it can send a bolt flying my way though, I use both blood boil and life drain on it, making it stagger and miss its shot, therefore giving me enough time to reach it and tear out its throat.


    Of course I dont like knowing that Im being watched but not knowing where the spy is at. Its just unnerving.


    I stretch my wed hand out to the demons throat, controlling its blood to flow out of it while I can still control it with my skill and into my little blood bank.


    Just the idea that I wouldnt be unnerved by it is bizarre.


    After the creatures death finally sets in or whatevers happening when the skill stops working on the things after killing them, I turn my attention down the hall where I hear several humans chatting away as if they werent in danger.


    Are these idiots even aware of the Fracture going on?


    My answeres to me in the form of one of them in particr hupping as if he were drunk before slurring, Wwweee, ssssshould go theerre tomorrroooow!


    I roll my eyes.


    So deadbeat drunk that he doesnt even realize theres a Demonic Assault going on right now. But at least the guy has one friend in there who sounds sober in his pitiful attempts to get them all to stay in ce.


    Pitiful or not though, they at least seem to be working. For the most part.


    <strong>I still dont understand you humans and your apparent desire to poison yourselves, </strong>Tar says, confusion evident in his tone.


    Ya know, Tar, I speak out loud while turning around and heading in the opposite direction as the drunk party. I dont understand that either.


    <strong>Huh, </strong>he mutters, <strong>maybe its because youre only half human?</strong>


    I cant help but raise a brow at that, only to shake my head and continue walking without saying anything in response.


    By the time I get to thest demon on the floor, the drunken party seem to have gone silent. Whether thats because of the sober guys efforts  in which case I salute the man  or because they all passed out cold, it doesnt matter. Regardless of why they went silent though, I simply pass by their room without a second nce on my way back to the stairs.


    Thest time I dealt with what sounds like a bunch of drunken college students didnt end all that well, soooo yeah. Although it might be different now that Im a Guardian. But drunk idiots will always be drunk idiots, and someones status might not matter to them.


    Anyways, do you know why the demons suddenly jumped in level? On the neenth floor, they were averaging at about level 17, but now they averaged at about level 20 or 21, without a single demon being below level 20.


    <strong>I dont know, </strong>Tar responds quickly enough as I step into the stairway. <strong>Lets just hope there isnt another random jump in levels for the next floor as well. Otherwise you might have to fall back and wait for reinforcements.</strong>


    I grimace at the thought.


    And  ironically, as if he were listening to our thoughts  I find a drone flying down the stairs with a recorded message on it.


    Reinforcements should arrive in a little less than half an hour including several ss II Guardians. Then, both Frost and Cipher should be arriving within a few hours after that to deal with the bunkers shield covering the ss I core.


    My eyes widen at the mention of Frost.


    No thank you.


    I look around the stairs before ncing out the fancy stained window with Eastern dragons flying through the air.


    Maybe I can find a way out of this building before she gets here?


    <strong>You know thats impossible with the shield up, </strong>Tar says. <strong>Why are you even thinking that? Who is this Frost woman?</strong>


    A scary woman who has no idea what the word boundaries means. One who can probably freeze an entire building if she wanted to, killing off everyone inside. And one that makes me go shopping with her.


    Tar appears next to me and stares for a few seconds before muttering, <strong>Okay, I guess I can see why you dont want to be here when she shows up. But its not like you have much of a choice.</strong>


    I let out a long and extended groan, only to nce at the drone which is still here.


    Wonder what its still doing here? Shouldnt it have left already?


    I walk up to it before tapping it on its lens, making it bob up and down once. Then it finally begins floating up the stairs again.


    Hmm. Not sure what that was about.


    Anyways, I go back to the window, looking out it with my eyes narrowed as if the woman would just suddenly appear out of thin air.


    At least Denise apologized for her actions and never did it again. Frost  otherwise known as Cynthia  is dead set on trying to get me to call her mom or mother, didnt even do that. Its like the woman is just against listening to other people. Like she just has a mental block that came with all of her power against it. And for some reason she just happens to really like me.


    And I feel like I cant yell at her or scold her for it because I know shes only this protective and clingy because of Belles sister passing away. In a Fracture no less. One that she couldnt get to in time.


    So I mostly understand how she feels, even if I personally didnt really know Belles older sister.


    Shes worried that something like thatll happen again, and ever since then has grown clingy beyond belief.


    After a second of silence, the tanuki speaks up in my mind, clearly avoiding the subject that I just mentioned in passing, <strong>Make sure to remind me to never show up around her.</strong>


    You are <em>not </em>abandoning me to her!


    <strong>I dont see why I shouldnt, </strong>the tanuki says while pointedly looking away from me without a hint of guilt on his face and then vanishing again. <strong>Just go be a good wolf girl and go back to killing demons.</strong>


    I let out another distressed groan before climbing up the stairs once more, not even deigning to dignify him with a response to that.

 Book 1: Chapter 59: Team Obsidian Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 59: Team Obsidian Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After about twenty minutes of fighting more demons, I make it to the twenty-third floor, where I pause at the top of the stairs.


    Whats that sound? I mutter aloud as my ears twitch at the sound of some sort of sizzling noise. Kind of like a low fire burning. And I think I also hear some very faint tapping sounds.


    I focus on the sounds for a few seconds before frowning.


    It really sounds like theres some sort of fire on the first floor, but shouldnt that be too far for me to hear?


    <strong>Not necessarily, </strong>Tar suddenly answers, <strong>its likely that your senses have increased enough to be able to hear that far by now.</strong>


    I blink in surprise before staring straight ahead of me.


    Wait. My senses will also be increasing as I grow stronger?


    Tar appears in front of me with clear confusion on his face as he says, <strong>Of course. Why wouldnt they?</strong>


    Oh.


    Well, I guess I was still thinking of the stats a little bit like a video game in the sense that its only my physical, magical, and mental strength growing as I level, and not my senses and stuff.


    <strong>Whoever made those video games clearly doesnt know how reality works, </strong>the tanuki says with a huff.


    Wait, so how far would a ss II person be able to hear?


    Tar floats around in a circle for a few seconds as he seemingly thinks on it before answering, <strong>Someone at the early levels of ss II can probably hear about a tenth of the distance from themselves as you can hear right now.</strong>


    I blink again in surprise, only to remember that blood lycans have incredibly good hearing in general. Meaning my enhanced hearing and senses are from my demon side and not because Im a Guardian.


    Anyways, that means that if Im able to hear some small noises from the first floor while on the twenty third right now, someone like Sylver should only be able to hear something somewhere between two and three floors away from him?


    <strong>Indeed. </strong>Tar says before vanishing again.<strong> But remember that it varies from Guardian to Guardian. Remember that your perception capability was Tier A?</strong>


    Oh, right. Interesting.


    Well, anyways. Im starting to hear some very quiet voicesing from the first floor stairs, which means the reinforcements have probably arrived.


    Do you think the young miss is okay? I hear one of them asking  this one being a woman sounding maybe a bit older than me judging by their voice, footsteps, and tone.


    Probably. Youve seen the videos too, I presume? a man answers, sounding rather clinical in his words, with the voice of someone at the same age as the first woman.


    Then again, determining age is a very difficult thing to do with Guardians, considering that when you level up, your age is stalled for a time. And if you level up multiple times at once, your age might even begin to revert a tiny bit back in the direction of your prime.


    Anyways, I scowl at the ground at the thought of those videos, which are once again striking at my pride.


    If only they had me in a cooler light. Then I might be okay with them. But nope. Most of them seem to be either calling me cute or calling me terrifying because of my eyes and my blood magic and ws. A rather contradictory mix if you ask me.


    And neither descriptions being ones Im okay with.


    <strong>Well, you can be a little terrifying sometimes, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me scowl at the space in front of me as if he were there, <strong>especially when you scowl like that.</strong>


    Deciding to ignore thepletely false words of the tanuki in my head, I begin making my way around the twenty-third floor, clearing it of demons until I hear the footsteps echoing down the stairwell stop on the same floor as me.


    Shes on this floor, and it looks like she knows about us, the womans voice says again.


    How would she know about us? We havent even informed the ice block about our arrival yet, a new voice says, one thats rather androgynous, making it difficult to determine much about them from the voice. Although they do sound a touch prideful for some reason.


    Whats she doing on this floor anyways? Shouldnt she be on a lower floor fighting the weaker demons, ones closer to her own level? the deep and monotone voice of the fourth and final person amongst the Guardians says, making my ear twitch in my annoyance. Which seems to be happening from time to time now. As if the habit of my eyebrow or eye twitching is somehow transferring to my wolf ears.


    Something I really need to stop, since it makes them look cute. And thats not something I want.


    Thest thing I need are more people wanting to touch my ears. Im already worried that if I try to go out in public I might get people trying to touch them, and I dont need to add more people onto that list of possibilities.


    Not that Im really the type of person to go out and do stuff anyways.


    Well considering that it looks like the girls already cleared out all of the floors below this one, no, I dont think she should be fighting only the demons on the lower floors, the womans voice returns, making me realize that shes able to sense everything on a floor somehow.


    Are they some sort of team of Guardians, and shes their scout or something?


    Cleared them all?! What?! How! And are you sure it wasnt Sylver who did that? the fourth voice returns with incredulity in it.


    I know because shes currently finishing off the demons on the twenty-third floor who are all at least around level 22 or so, and because Sylver is currently on the 79th floor right now, the woman patiently answers him, putting them all into a shocked silence.


    I use this time to kill thest demon on the floor before making my way over to the stairwell with a scowl.


    Shesing here now, and the energy shes putting off doesnt seem to be a happy one, the woman says soon before I open the door of the hallway, revealing the group standing right outside of the stairs in said hallway.

 Book 1: Chapter 60: Team Obsidian Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 60: Team Obsidian Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Yeah, theyre definitely a team.


    Unless theyre all just close friends wearing matching outfits. Or rather, matching armor. All magi-tech by the looks of it, and all ck for some reason.


    Not that Imining. ck is a wonderful color after all.


    Anyways, their armor is the typical ck magi-tech armor created by Silver Works, with ck armor and a different colored core embedded in the chest tes of each of their armor. The big guy with incredibly dark eyes and a darker toned skin than the others has a ck core, while the rather petite girl with pinkish-white hair has a white core, the man who looks to be about the same age  mid-twenties ish  as the pink haired one has full on red hair that appears to be letting out tiny sparks of me and has a red core, and thest one has ck hair with violet highlights and a violet core. Theyre also quite androgynous, making it hard to tell if theyre a guy or a girl.


    Guess it doesnt really matter though.


    Talking about someone behind their back isnt the best way to make a first impression, I tell them bluntly while scowling, surprising everyst one of them but the pink haired one. If youre here to check on me or something, dont bother. Just go help Sylver upstairs.


    They stare at me  with the exception again of the pink haired girl who just stays silent  for who knows how long in stunned silence. Eventually though, I get bored of waiting and begin walking towards them, hoping to pass them by and enter the stairs.


    But I guess it was too much to ask.


    Wait! therge guy shouts right when Im about to pass by them. How are you able to- OOF! he bends over and begins coughing when the guy with red hair elbows him in the gut. That very guy then bows his head towards me and says, We apologize for our rudeness. Please forgive us.


    I raise an eyebrow, turning my gaze between the others to find the pink haired girl still seemingly uncaring of it all  likely because she wasnt actually rude to me  and the purple cored one just standing with their hands linked behind their head. But after a second they do give me a nod, so Ill take what I can get.


    Alright, I state while turning my attention back to the redhead. You three are forgiven.


    He nods his head, only to pause for a second as he likely notices that I said three and not four.


    In all honesty, I dont really care much about what you say to me, I state while looking at the guy who is getting back to his feet while holding his stomach with a frown. But Id prefer it if you said it to my face. His frown grows even deeper and he begins to open his mouth to speak, but I cut him off again as I turn to the redhead and add, I wont let it create any problems between us though.


    After a second of silence, I nce at the pink haired one to ask, By the way, whats this young miss thing about anyways?


    She looks surprised for a second before shrugging and answering, Youre the bosss daughter, so I think itd be self-exnatory.


    This time both my eyebrow and my ear twitches.


    Im not his daughter, I tell her with a frown, making her raise a brow.


    <strong>I thought you werent going to say that anymore? </strong>Tar questions.


    Correcting someone who is saying it despite me saying hes not my father is different from correcting someone who is saying it without me having said it before. So everyone deserves being told it once, and if they dont listen after that? Theres no point in repeating myself.


    Of course, the woman doesnt listen to me as she says, Well, young miss, we were going to leave Zachary here to stay with you, she pauses as she indicates the big guy who grimaces at the same time, but I see that thats probably not a good idea. So what about you, Alex? she turns to look at the androgynous Guardian who apparently has an equally androgynous name.


    Alex nods their head and turns to look at me with a grin.


    Why do I feel like Im being stared at by a predator of some sort?


    Oh, right, we forgot, the redhead suddenly says in the silence that follows the pink haired ones statement. My name is Leon Ledger. The one with the pink hair is Bridget Harwood, the big guy is Zachary Harris, and thest one  who is a girl by the way  is Alex Barker. And our team is called Team Obsidian.


    Called it. They are in a team.


    I nce at Alex for a second.


    Also, turns out they are a girl.


    She grins at me, sending a shiver down my spine before I focus on Leon again  the most sane one of the group judging by first impressions.


    Im almost tempted to just go off on my own and ditch her, telling the others that I dont need someone to be with me here. But considering what Ive seen of this Alex girl, I get the feeling it would just make her excited about chasing me instead or something like that. Which is even creepier.


    Seriously though. Whats up with this team?


    I should ask Allen about themter.


    That aside though, I turn to narrow my eyes at the girl, creepy or not, as I warn her, Dont steal my EXP.


    She justughs.


    Of course, she does.


    I turn around and begin walking up the stairs, ignoring them as I reach the twenty-fourth floor and begin walking into the hallway, briefly noticing the very light footsteps behind me but nothing else. When I nce back, I just find Alex following me with a few meters in between us and her hands sped behind her head with a wide grin still on her face.


    Certainly carefree about being in a Fracture.


    Also very quiet, even with my hearing being as good as it is. Makes me wonder if she specializes in stealth or something.


    Regardless though, I turn around and begin hunting demons on this floor, now with a babysitter who looks to be the same age as me.

 Book 1: Chapter 61: A Surprise Run-in Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 61: A Surprise Run-in Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Even as I fight the monsters, often times getting wounded, the girl just continues watching me with a wide grin on her face  respecting my desire to take them on myself. And more importantly, not lose the EXP theyd give me.


    But I do notice over time that she seems to be growing a little bit more respectful in her posture, likely due to seeing me in action personally. And eventually she even stops following me, staying only at the entryways of each floor to make sure that no other demons enter the floor. Specifically ones that she believes I wouldnt be able to handle.


    At the same time, I hear her enter a call with the others.


    <em>Yeah, shes quite powerful for a newbie, </em>Alex says, a hint of surprise and respect in her tone that wasnt there when she was talking to me. <em>Shes taking out entire floors of level twenty and above demons down here on what should only be her third Fracture, I believe?</em>


    <em>Yes, its her third, </em>Bridget responds, no surprise in her voice as if she had already assumed I was this strong.


    <em></em>Surprisingly, Zachary actually stays silent this time. Probably because he knows Im likely listening in on them and doesnt want to say anything to tick me off. Which  if thats the case  is smart.


    My thoughts nk as I hear the sound of something smashing into something else on the floor above me, followed by yelling, the sound of something akin to ss shattering, and then footsteps. Two sets of them. One heavy and sounding like they belong to a knight, and the other the light footsteps of a human.


    I stop walking down the hallway I was going through for a second to focus on the noises. By the sounds of it, some demon knight is chasing someone down the halls of the floor above me. Which doesnt really make much sense unless that someone took whatever it was the demon knight was guarding. Because the knight shouldve been stationed as somethings bodyguard, and who would be stupid enough to do that? Especially as a regr-


    A thick sword suddenly slices through the ceiling of the hallway, following which the entire ceiling begins to cave in, making me jump backwards in surprise. Then I watch as both a demon knight and a Guardian? What?


    I blink in surprise as I stare at the kid who looks to only be about fifteen or sixteen years old falling from the ceiling while scrambling in the air. He is wearing expensive clothing just like basically everyone else in this building and has a very silky looking tail of a nice silver color.


    After a second, I jump through the air and catch the kid beforending on my feet a few meters away from where the demon knightnds. Then I turn around again to check out the knights level.


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Subspecies: None  Level 30|</strong>


    Uh, okay Im not sure if I can take that. Maybe?


    I narrow my eyes as the creature slowly tries to climb to its feet before I decide to go store the kid somece safe first. So I run down the hall, very much wishing I had some stacks of blood thirst built up right now. But that skill has be a lot less useful since reaching demons who are at the same level as me. Seeing as I cant just mass kill them all and get the stacks built up.


    As I run, I nce down at the kid to find him blushing rather hard, which also makes me realize that despite me calling him a kid, hes actually taller than me. Which probably makes this awkward for him, being held in whats basically a princess carry. But apparently Im easily strong enough now to lift him up, so who cares about his dignity.


    After a few seconds of running, I turn the corner, open a door, and toss him inside onto arge bed where he lets out a yelp before I m the door shut and go back to the demon knight. Who I quickly find turning the corner, so I duck under him before activating and swiping my ws across its shin, only for them to barely even scratch the surface.


    Hmm. Yeah, thats not going to work.


    Time for n B.


    The creature  having missed me with its strike and instead mming its sword into the wall which it is currently trying to get it out of  lets out a simple grunt when I start using both blood boil and life drain on it, following which I repeatedly tear streaks across its body with my ws. And even after it manages to free its sword from the wall, it doesnt manage to do much as the sword is way too big for this hallway, making me grin wide in excitement.


    Our little game continues on for several minutes until I see the kid  who I should probably stop calling that, considering he only looks to be about four or five years younger than me  poking his head out of the room. This immediately gets the attention of the demon knight who directs its gaze towards him the moment he enters its vision.


    Yeah, he definitely has the knights charge.


    Either way though, I use the knights distraction to tear my ws straight across its back, in a ce Ive already done so a few times before. This finally makes a crack in the scales instead of just the scratches its been making, and I further that crack by mming my other fist into it, knocking the knight a step forward as it stumbles.


    Then the thing just tightens its grip on its sword, climbs to its feet again, and begins charging after the boy like Im nothing more than air.


    Seriously? I shout, not really used to the demons just ignoring me like this.


    Before I can actually get irritated though, I notice thepletely wide open back of the demon knight and my grin returns.


    Maybe its not a bad thing to be ignored like this.

 Book 1: Glossary

    Book 1: Glossary


    <strong>World:</strong>


    There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.


    <strong>The Terran Republic:</strong> Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.


    Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.


    Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.


    Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.


    The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    <strong>Currency:</strong> Credits and Skill Points.


    6 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    2 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    50 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to night''s stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to night''s stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to night''s stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong>System:</strong>


    There are two types of skills. Inherent skills, and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.


    Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.


    Inherent skills do not have a rarity.


    The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.


    Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users ability or powers take. Especially in their inherent skills.


    At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.


    <strong>Form for calcting the mana capacity of an individual:</strong>


    Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.


    <strong>Form for calcting the mana regeneration for an individual:</strong>


    Average between the multipliers of an individual''s Vitality capability of their Physical stat and their Power capability of their Magical stat, multiplied by their Magical stat.


    This gives the percentage of their total mana that they regenerate every day.


    <strong>Form for calcting the average raw punching force of an individual without any skills or techniques meant to boost it such as System skills or martial arts:</strong>


    Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 psi. And that is the estimated amount of psi someone should be able to deal in a single punch. The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 psi on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.


    <strong>Demon Spawn</strong>


    Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.


    Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8


    <strong>Demon Hound</strong>


    Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.


    Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15


    <strong>Demon Huntsman</strong>


    Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.


    Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20


    <strong>Demon Knight</strong>


    Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.


    Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100


    <strong>Demon Breeder</strong>


    Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.


    Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50


    <strong>Demon Captain</strong>


    Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.


    Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100


    <strong>Demon Fomorians</strong>


    Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.


    Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150


    <strong>Demon Acolytes</strong>


    Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.


    Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155


    <strong>Demon Wraiths</strong>


    Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.


    Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160


    <strong>Demon Berserkers</strong>


    Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.


    Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200


    <strong>Demon Defenders</strong>


    Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.


    Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200


    <strong>Demon Summoners</strong>


    Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.


    Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210


    <strong>Demon Commander</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250


    <strong>Changelings</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves after eating the children and taking their form then spreading throughout parts of old world China. They have a skill that blocks other humans from identifying them.


    Weakness: Unknown.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Unknown. They don''t appear in Fractures. They enter Earth directly through Gates.


    <strong>The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.</strong>


    <strong>A new glossary will be postedter on with updated demons for the remaining sses.</strong>


    <strong>Characters</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, has ck hair before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.</strong>


    <strong>The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public.</strong>


    Find more art in the story art chapter.


    <strong>Allen Silvester</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.</strong>


    <strong>Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.</strong>


    <strong>Cynthia Sylvester</strong><strong>:</strong><strong></strong>


    <strong>Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.</strong>


    <strong>Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.</strong>


    (This image is fromter on in the story but since it doesn''t spoil anything I''m posting it here)


    <strong>Arthur Barnes</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.</strong>


    <strong>Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.</strong>


    <strong>But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.</strong>


    (This image is also fromter on in the story but does not have any spoilers in it)


    <strong>Arabellia Silvester</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.</strong>


    <strong>She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.</strong>


    <strong>Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.</strong>


    <strong>Sylver</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.</strong>


    <strong>Michael Winters</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.</strong>


    <strong>Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.</strong>


    <strong>Denise Harley</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.</strong>


    <strong>Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.</strong>


    <strong>Emily Winters</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.</strong>


    <strong>Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.</strong>


    <strong>Sage</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.</strong>


    <strong>Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.</strong>


    <strong>Alfred Raynsford</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.</strong>


    <strong>Jacob R. Ashton</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart. However, not much else is known about him beyond his being familiar with White.</strong>


    <strong>White:</strong>


    <strong>White is an unknown in the story at this moment. Her exact identity will be exined in the future, but at this moment, all that is known about her is that she contracted Allen Sylvester to create an orphanage and left Scarlet to him, telling him to raise her like she was just a regr orphan, that she has ties to the government official Jacob R. Ashton, and one more detail that is not directly stated in the story but many might catch onto.</strong>

 Book 1: Story Art

Book 1: Story Art


    Ads used on Royal Road:


    Discord Stickers/Emoji Chibi Scarlet:

 Book 1: Chapter 62: A Surprise Run-in Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 62: A Surprise Run-in Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The boy lets out a short yelp and ms the door shut, as if that would do anything to stop a demon knight. But I dont pay any mind to that as I rush up and jump straight onto the demon knights back while putting more and more effort into using blood boil and life drain. At the same time, I grab onto the demon knights shoulder with my left hand and repeatedly stab my right hand at its back where the cracks are the densest, slowly worming my hands way inside as the creature continues marching forward.


    But surprisingly, when my ws reach a few inches into the knights back, the creature suddenly stops and raises its arms to grab at me.


    Shit, I mutter before stabbing my ws in one more time, opening the crack a tiny bit and bending back to avoid the hand thats reaching behind to grab me.


    The thing finally decided I was a threat.


    I cant help but notice that its still walking towards the boy though, albeit at a slower pace.


    Guess the base demons instincts are too powerful for it to ignore entirely.


    Taking advantage of the knights inability to stop moving, I continue stabbing my ws of blood into the crack on its armor until the scalespletely shatter in that area, letting my hand pass through into its back where they immediately begin absorbing its blood. I then begin to dig my hand around its back while the creature lets out pained grunts and groans.


    Until, of course, the slow moving creature finally reaches the door that the kid closed and swings its sword, mming through the wall with a lot less force than before. But still enough to destroy the hinges of the door and send it falling to the ground, revealing the scared ki- err, teen on the other side.


    I continue digging my hand around in its insides  which both sounds and feels incredibly gross  until I find what I can only hope is one of its hearts before squeezing it, making it immediately drop its sword that it had just begun to lift again. It then lets out a long and drawn out groaning sound and drops to its knees. Then it facents into the ground, just inches away from the boy, making me bounce up and down on its back in the process.


    <strong>{Level 30 Demon Knight defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 22. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon knight without assistance.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} </strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    I immediately yank my hand out of the demon knights disgusting insides before rolling off of its corpse and lying on my back next to it while breathing heavily in exhaustion.


    That was a pain.


    A few seconds pass as I catch my breath before I sit up and turn around to find the highschooler staring at me with a mixture of awe, fear, what looks like interest, and gratitude. Along with a tiny bit of irritation for some reason. But the irritation is mostly drowned out by the rest.


    Ignoring the interest there entirely, I wonder what I couldve done that mightve irritated him?


    So are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to introduce yourself? I ask the ki- err, the boy before standing up and adding, Because if not, then Im just gonna go.


    That seems to snap him out of it and he gets up after me and hurriedly says, Oh, uh, my name is Julian. Julian Alder. And, uh, I wanted to say thank you!


    I tilt my head slightly as I examine the boy a bit better. He has silver hair to match the tail that is poking a hole through his pants  rest in peace pants  along with two silver eyes. The same glossy shade of silver as his tail. The boy is wearing an expensive looking ck coat with equally expensive pants that are currently ruined by the aforementioned tail, a white scarf likely to protect him from the cold front that I heard wasing through here soon, and a single ck glove on, making me wonder where the other one went.


    Honestly, I kind of want to check my status right now and go through spending my SP, but I cant when I have to deal with him.


    <strong>Im sure hed be pleased you were thinking so much of him, </strong>I hear Tars sarcastic voicement in my head as hees back from wherever he was at during this little escapade. He then appears in front of me, startling the teen into scrambling backwards in a rather amusing disy of swinging his arms forward trying to catch himself from falling, only tond t on his back with a grunt.


    Ow, ow, ow he mutters while rubbing his lower back. Meanwhile I cant help but cover my mouth and turn to the door, hoping very much that he doesnt see me trying my damned hardest not tough.


    After a few seconds of very quiet deep breaths so as to not alert him to my actions, I turn back around to find him standing up again with a fox floating next to him. One that  of course  has silver fur and eyes. Just like the kid. Err, teen.


    I really need to stop doing that.


    Then I find the fox somehow bowing midair towards Tar and saying, Your highness, it is a pleasure.


    I blink in surprise. Then I nce at Tar. Then at the fox again.


    Didnt know a fox could bow. Weird.


    Oh. Right. Hes royalty, so that doesnt just mean Ill bepeting in some stupidpetition against my will, but Ill have to deal with seeing other fae grovel to him. Just great.


    <strong>I know, right? </strong>the tanuki in question says in my mind, following which I swear I hear him chuckling.


    Well then.


    Ignore the two fae, I tell the kid  who is currently staring nkly at his fae  before turning around and walking out the bedroom door while calling back, follow me. Oh. And my names Scarlet Asger.

 Book 1: Chapter 63: The New Guardian

    Book 1: Chapter 63: The New Guardian


    <strong>The Kid Scarlet Saved</strong>


    Julian wasnt sure what he was expecting when he woke up this morning. For it to be a normal day? To go to ss like a normal Wednesday ande home like normal maybe? Or even to have his sister nag at him like normal?


    But what actually happened was far beyond any of that. The Demonic Assault began, and he was immediately found trapped in his own room, unable to get past the demon knight standing guard near his door, blocking the hallway off. His sister was off doing business during the entire day, leaving him to his own devices and thereby without any help. The damned neighbors on the other side of the demon knight simply ran away, uncaring of the rich kid trapped on his own, despite knowing that his father was the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city.


    And right when he was about to just lie down in his bed and wait for a demon to simply navigate its way past the demon knight somehow  if that was even possible  a fox of all things appeared above that very bed, startling him into jumping backwards like a frightened kitten.


    But not long after that, just like most kids his age would do, he hurriedly epted the contract. And, also like a lot of kids his age, he thought he might be strong enough to take on the demon knight.


    <em>So much good that did besides make me suffer the embarrassment of being carried by a cute girl with wolf ears in a princess carry</em>


    Julian cant help but grumble  in his mind of course  about this turn of events as he quietly follows that very same girl that he had remembered his sister gushing about how much she wanted to touch her ears just yesterday. And as he follows her, he cant help but send frequent nces at her.


    <em>She really is cute though</em>


    Julian shakes his head at those thoughts and continues listening to her talk, Im not really sure if I should be praising you for bringing me some more pre- ahem, uh for managing to find me so that I could deal with the issue or berating you for the sheer idiocy that itd take to try stealing from a demon knight the very thing it was charged with protecting.


    Julian narrows his eyes at her poorly hidden change of words midsentence, but his guilt over thetter half of her sentence makes him look down with a sad expression on his face as he says, Well, all I wanted to do was take it and move it somewhere else so that I could leave my room


    How was he supposed to know that simply touching a demon knights charge is enough for the demon to chase you down until it kills you?


    The girl  Scarlet, Julian remembers  sighs and doesnt say anything for a few minutes as they continue walking down the hall. But eventually the silence grows too much to bear, and Julian asks, What are we going to do now?


    Scarlet pauses mid-step then nces at him with a brow raised.


    <em>That cant be good.</em>


    Sorry, but theres no we, she bluntly says before turning around again, shocking Julian into almost stumbling, Ill be leaving you with a *ahem*, shall we say, friend of mine, while I go off killing more demons.


    Julians eyes widen in shock as he stops walking. But the wolf girl just continues, uncaring of his rampaging thoughts.


    <em>Shes just going to abandon me?! But isnt it her job to-</em>


    Guardians are not given a job upon contracting, his fae, who Julian simply calls Sly, says, his voice echoing in Julians head and interrupting his thoughts. Guardians may do what they wish. And if she doesnt wish to protect you, that is her choice. You are a Guardian now as well, so theres even less reason for her to protect you.


    Conflicting thoughts continue running through Julians head, but eventually he has to shake his head and run after her since she had gotten too far ahead of him. And any demon on the floor could easily kill him right now.


    They continue walking in silence until they reach the stairwell of the floor and find someone standing there tapping their foot with a single brow raised in amusement.


    <em>Hey Sly, is that a girl or a boy?</em>


    Sly doesnt respond.


    Hey Alex, I found someone who needs your help far more than I do, so go ahead and look after this kid instead! Scarlet says, making Julians head jerk over to look at her in shock  both at her truly ditching him, and her calling him a kid despite the fact that hes several inches taller than her. And out of the corner of his eyes, he cant help but notice Alexs grin flinching ever so slightly. But clearly Scarlet doesnt care, as she simply grins even wider and says, Thank you, Alex! Youre great! then runs upstairs, abandoning Julian to this Alex person.


    Both Julian and Alex just stare at the stairs for far longer than they really need to. Even longer than the wolf girl is visible, her having likely already reached the next floor by now.


    Then, as if somehow coordinated, Julian and Alex turn to look at each other at the exact same time. Julian with a disappointed and slightly fearful look on his face, and Alex with one of clear disdain and irritation.


    <em>Well, this wont likely end well.</em>


    Agreed, Sly says, answering his thoughts. But I would rmend you get closer to that wolf eared girl. Because that would be in your best interest.


    <em>Whys that? And why were you bowing to her fae and calling him his highness?</em>


    Because that was the Eighteenth Prince of the Fae, and for a royal fae to choose a Guardian to contract, that Guardian must have a lot of potential. So it would do you well to get to know her, Sly says before adding offhandedly, and to not act on any desires you may have towards her.


    Julian blushes at that and immediately denies it.


    <em>I dont have any desires for her!</em>


    We both know you find her attractive, Sly says, not missing a beat in his usual robotic voice. And I would rmend you say something to the Guardian in front of you who seems to be getting more and more irritated the longer this silence continues.


    Julians eyes widen in shock, and he quickly takes note of the growing frown on the Guardians face.


    <em>Well, shit. This day is just getting worse and worse, now isnt it?</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 64: A Lecture Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 64: A Lecture Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but skip along the floor into the hallway while whistling very quietly, happy to have finally ditched that creepy Guardiandy, Alex. And not only did I manage to do that, but I also got back at her for stalking me! And gave the kid over to her as well.


    <strong>Did you give up on trying to stop calling him a kid? </strong>I hear Tars voice resound in my head as I slow down and stop whistling, focusing on the demons on the floor.


    Maybe.


    Judging by the sounds of it, the other party started clearing out floors of demons from the thirty-fifth floor and on. But they did clear out two floors before that. Floors twenty nine and thirty two. Strictly because there were people on them outside of the bunkers that needed saving.


    I cant help but grin at the thought of having the remaining eight floors to myself, without a single human being on them to interrupt my hunt.


    <strong>Your instincts as a blood lycan really are powerful, arent they </strong>I hear Tar mutter seemingly more to himself than to me.


    Ignoring the tanuki, I walk into a room before locking the door and sitting on the closest bed while opening my status. Then I quickly allocate my free points before leveling up Blood Thirst once to level 5, using up 11 SP in the process.


    <strong>[Skill Blood Thirst has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    Now to see the difference.


    I focus on the ellipses at the end of the active skills to extend it to show Blood Thirst.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 22</strong><strong>SP: 61</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 62</strong><strong>Mental: 60</strong><strong>Magical: 60</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 349/1800</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 4</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 4</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator IV</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Without any hesitation, I immediately focus on the description of Blood Thirst.


    <strong>{Blood Thirst -</strong><strong></strong><strong>On ount of the users absolute blood thirst and utterck of a self-preservation instinct, you have learned to grow stronger through each kill. This skill passively increases all of the users statistics by a t 0.6% bonus for each enemy in for a period of one minute and twenty-five seconds after their death. This effect is stackable.}</strong>


    Now <em>thats </em>exactly what I was hoping for, I say out loud with my grin stretching even wider across my face as I lie on my back on the bed.


    This should help me a lot. An entire tenth of a percentage <em>per </em>kill higher! And an extra five seconds too!


    <strong>Well, it <em>is </em>a legendary skill, after all, </strong>Tar adds his two cents in. <strong>Itd be weird if it didnt have powerful gains from leveling it.</strong>


    Well, yeah, that makes sense. But its still nice.


    Also, theres something Ive been meaning to ask you.


    I close out of my status, following which the tanuki appears in the air above me.


    <strong>What is it? </strong>he asks while floating down andnding on my chest as if this were some sort of routine.


    Are other demons able to identify me? Since Im clearly able to identify them.


    The tanuki blinks at me before answering, <strong>Yes and no. Remember when I said you cant identify something that is the same species as you?</strong> I nod my head. <strong>Well, <em>technically </em>a demon isnt the same species as you. A blood lycan is. Meaning you can identify any creature that isnt a blood lycan, and any demon that isnt a blood lycan can identify you.</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock at that, and I begin to sit up, only for him to quickly add, <strong>But dont worry! The System isnt designed to handle identifications of a hybrid, so whenever a demon that isnt a blood lycan tries identifying you, all they will get is your human side!</strong>


    I stare at him, half sitting up as he clings onto my jackets cor so as to not fall off. Then, after a few seconds, I lower myself back down onto the bed again with a sigh.


    Shouldve started out with that.


    <strong>Its your fault for not asking the right questions in the right order, </strong>Tar mutters, making me lift my head to stare at him. But he just goes silent, so I lie my head back down on the pillow again.


    I unconsciously reach up to pet the furball  this being the only reason I let him use me as a bed  before muttering, So I have to be cautious if I ever get stuck in a ss V Fracture?


    The tanuki nods his head, <strong>Indeed. Because a blood lycan will be able to tell somethings up just from trying and failing to identify you. And thats only if it wasnt stupid enough to recognize the ears on your head and your eyes.</strong>


    Ears? Eyes?


    <strong>Blood lycans have a unique tail, along with unique eyes and ears. They are one of the only shapeshifting creature that has some of their beast features shown in their humanoid form, and the only one with some human features in their beast form. Such as their humanoid shape when transformed into their other form, </strong>Tar exins, making my eyes widen again. <strong>Putting aside the exact abilities and biology of a blood lycan, their eyes are special in that they have very little, sometimes even no ck pupil in the blood red of their eyes. And their eyes are able to track whatever they deem their prey through walls for dozens of meters. Although they are only able to designate one creature as their prey at a time. Also, their tails are not made out of flesh and are instead made of pure blood solidified into metal by magic.</strong>


    I cant help but focus on his words as he speaks. Because exact information on ss V demons is generally difficult to find. And the spirits  from what Ive heard  are rather tight lipped about it. So this may be my only chance to learn more about blood lycans.

 Book 1: Chapter 65: A Lecture Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 65: A Lecture Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The tanuki closes his eyes andys his head down on his paws as he continues, <strong>You either dont know how to use your eyes properly yet, or you cant use them yet because youre not a high enough level. But you do seem to inherently be able to use your ears. And the ears of a blood lycan are some of the most powerful ears in the world. Theyre also a point of pride for the blood lycans, and every blood lycan hates having their ears touched by anyone. So its not just you in that department.</strong>


    Huh. Interesting.


    Why are my ears recognizable though?


    <strong>Its not necessarily that your ears are clearly recognizable  which they are a bit, since blood lycans are the only species with red and ck wolf ears in all of demon kind  its more so the presence of you having the ears with your eyes and hair. That makes it more clear to the blood lycans and even other higher up demons what you might be, </strong>he says, still not opening his eyes.


    So other higher up demons might be able to figure out what I am besides blood lycans?


    The tanuki sluggishly shakes his head without picking it up.


    <strong>No. Theyll just believe youre a human contractor  which is what the demons call Guardians  that got their own reality warped into having an appearance simr to a blood lycan. After all, youre still missing their tail. And all blood lycans bring out their tail when inbat, since its a powerful weapon.</strong>


    Oh. Thats good then.


    On that note, what happened with the reality warp anyways? I never really thought about asking till now.


    This time, the tanuki opens his eyes and meets my own as he says, <strong>Usually a Guardians magic will alter the humans body within reality itself to better suit their magic. But in your case? Your magic is already inherently suited for your body after awakening as a half demon, since all blood lycans <em>can</em> use in terms of magic is<em></em>blood magic. So the reality warping power given off by our contract went solely into initializing you into the System and holding back your demon genes from devouring your human genes.</strong>


    Thats not bad then. Its nice to be alive after all.


    It also means that none of my current features are actually from the contract, but rather from my blood lycan side.


    Silence fills the room for several minutes as we wait for my mana to slowly regenerate.


    I really wish I had some sort of skill to increase my mana regeneration I mutter out loud, only for my eyes to widen at the mention of mana regeneration. So I raise my head slightly to look at the tanuki who has his head on his paws and his eyes closed as I ask, What decides a persons mana regeneration anyways? And their mana capacity,e to think of it. Since you never gave me an answer and I forgot to look it up.


    The tanuki cracks an eye open before ncing at me, sighing, and answering, <strong>The mana stat is dependent on your power capability within your mental stat, and your capacity capability within your magical stat. Take your mental and magical stat and apply a multiplier depending on your capability while multiplying the two stats together, and theres your total mana.</strong>


    I stare at Tar for several seconds before asking, Whatre the multipliers?


    He lets out a groan, making it clear how much he enjoys talking about math. But he answers nheless, <strong>Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9. To figure out the multiplier that you have for your total mana, simply take the average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability and capacity capability. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.</strong>


    Oh. Thats annoyinglyplicated yet simple at the same time.


    If I remember correctly, didnt I have a C for the power capability, and a B for capacity?


    So thatd be a 0.4 and 0.6, which averages to 0.5. And 58 times 58 divided by 2 is 1,682.


    I open and nce at my status to make sure before closing out of it again.


    Okay. That wasnt very hard.


    Now tell me about how to calcte my mana regeneration.


    The tanuki just groans again.


    I wait for several seconds, not willing to let this go. And after nearly half a minute of waiting, he finally answers, <strong>Your mana regeneration is the average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat. You will regenerate the resulting mana every twenty four hours naturally with nothing external affecting it.</strong>


    Okay. I had a B in vitality and an A in power for the magical stat, so that averages to 0.75.


    Guess that means I naturally regenerate 75% of my mana every twenty four hours?


    The tanuki doesnt say anything, so I just take that as a confirmation.


    You really do hate math, dont you? Shouldnt that be something that a prince should be good at?


    <strong>Just because I may or may not be good at it doesnt mean I like it, </strong>he offhandedly answers while floating in the air and thennding back down next to me while facing the other way as if pouting.


    I cant help but raise an eyebrow in amusement at that.


    Who wouldve thought that the all-powerful  not really  prince of the fae has such a hatred for math? Maybe I should use it against him at some point?


    The tanuki in question actually raises a paw and shows me something I never expected to see in my entire life.


    A tanuki flipping me off.


    My jaw drops open in shock.


    He just chuckles at my shock before lowering his paw and seemingly going to sleep next to me as I stare at his still form.


    Did did that just happen?


    Where did you even learn to do that? Or do they do that in the Farshore as well?


    Oh. Right. He had a previous human contractor.


    Either way, no answeres from the tanuki, leaving me in silence as I stare at him.

 Book 1: Chapter 66: Onwards

    Book 1: Chapter 66: Onwards


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Over the next couple of hours, I spend most of my time just staring at the ceiling as I take note of all of the sounds within the few dozen floors of the building on either side of the one Im in. But I also make sure to spend 33 SP on leveling both Blood Boil and Blood Bank to level 5. Immediately after checking the changes to their descriptions though, I realize that the descriptions are pretty garbage for skills. Since there really isnt much difference.


    The only difference in the skills descriptions is that Blood Boil now no longer says that it slowly makes the blood of the target begin to boil and instead just takes out the slowly part of it, leaving the rest. And Blood Banks description didnt even change at all.


    Such a nuisance.


    <strong>I did tell you that the skill descriptions arent the end all be all, </strong>Tarments in my head as I get up from the bed and walk over to the door of the room.


    Yeah, yeah. But up till now, most of the skill descriptions have been mostly spot on with what the skills do and what the level-ups of a skill changes. So its a little disappointing regardless to see these not straight up tell me.


    <strong>Just take sce in that you figured out the change in your Blood ws skill, </strong>the tanuki tries to console me. I think.


    Yeah I mutter before thinking back to when I tried out blood ws again and immediately felt a difference. One that somehow just made me instinctively feel that I could draw on my own blood automatically instead of my mana if I wanted to. That will be a very nice benefit. Makes it so I dont have to wait as long for my mana to regenerate, since I can just charge up my ws on my own blood and keep it charged through the demons blood.


    The tanuki floats in front of me with an amused expression on his face as he says, <strong>Youre gonna end up cleaning out the cafeteria at the base if you do that.</strong>


    I pause mid-step at the thought, only to shrug and continue moving.


    Even if I dont like eating much, its a price Im willing to pay if it means a more efficient hunt. Which really isnt something I ever expected myself to think just a week ago, but meh.


    <strong>You know, theres something Ive been meaning to ask you about, </strong>Tar asks, floating in front of me as I reach the door of the room. I stop walking and raise an eyebrow at his words before he continues, <strong>You seem to adapt to new situations way too easily. Is there a reason for that?</strong>


    What do you mean?


    <strong>Well, from my previous experience dealing with humans, I wouldve expected one to cry or something if they were told they werent a human, or at least not fully human anymore, </strong>he begins, a frown forming on his tanuki face. <strong>But while you did initially freak out, you didnt cry. You didnt lose your awareness of your surroundings much. And you kept calm for the most part. Why is that?</strong>


    I stare at the tanuki for a few seconds, only to shrug.


    No idea. Pretty sure Ive always just been rather epting towards things. Because if I dont like them  which is often the case  all I have to do is work towards fixing it.


    After all, its not like throwing a pity party or bawling my eyes out will change anything, right?


    The tanuki just stares at me for a few seconds before slowly nodding his head in agreement.


    Although I do feel like my awakening as a demon mightve strengthened my feelings on the matter.


    A few seconds pass in silence, but when he doesnt say anything else, I leave the room before walking down the hall and entering the staircase, briefly pausing as I hear the boy from earlier whining about some sort of demon in the form of a human being. And right when Im wondering if Alex has him fighting a huntsman or something, I hear Alex saying, Suck it up and continue fighting. Dont be a wimp. Theyre just simple spawn.


    Oh. Hes calling Alex a demon.


    I stare at the stairs for a few seconds before eventually shrugging and walking up them to the next floor, deciding to leave the poor fe to Alexs venting. Since shes probably mad that I ditched her.


    Not my problem. May you rest in peace Julian.


    By the time I reach the next floor, Ipletely shut out the kids whining to focus on the monsters in the floor. Which number at around a dozen or so, one of which sounding like another knight, and the others just a bunch of hounds in one massive pack.


    This could be annoying.


    The stairwell this time opens up straight into a long and rather narrow hallway going down both left and right for quite a ways, with doors likely leading to suites of rooms sparsely spread out through it on both sides of the hall. Just like most of the rest of the hotel, the hallway has a nice red, orange, and ck color theme to it, making it appeal rather well to my sense of taste.


    I focus on the left side of the hall, since the right is where the knight is, with the left being where the hounds are. After all, the knight wont be moving from its spot unless another Julian happens by it.


    There are eleven hounds spread out through the rooms, in three groups. Two groups have four hounds, and the third has three.


    Shouldnt be too much of an issue assuming I can get them separated from each other, without the three groups forming one. And considering that its a narrow hallway with suites of rooms, that shouldnt be a problem.


    <strong>Theres a lot of shouldnt in those statements, </strong>a certain tanuki injects into my thoughts.


    Yeah, well, what could possibly go wrong in such a narrow floor?

 Book 1: Chapter 67: What Could Go Wrong? Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 67: What Could Go Wrong? Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Now what do you humans call this? I think Im nking on the term </strong>Tars voice echoes in my head as I run straight down the damned cafeteria while being chased by a pack of twelve hounds. Each of whom are about the same level as me. <strong>Ah, right. Was it karma? Or that term people call jinxing something?</strong>


    Shut up!!! I shout while leaping over a bunch of tables and running straight past the bunker where Im willing to bet people are watching my little escapade before going towards the door on the other side of counter. Then immediately after making it there, I grab the door knob with all my strength  crushing it ever so slightly in the process  before yanking it open and mming it shut again.


    I dont pause even after getting to the other side of it though, because the hounds simply m into the door, knocking it off of its hinges as I continue running through the kitchen towards the other door at the back. Which if my hearing is to be believed, <em>should </em>be another hallway. And that belief is confirmed after opening and mming this door as well, once again destroying a doorknob in the process.


    Good thing I wont be charged for coteral damage.


    A grin makes its way onto my face when I enter the hallway, only to circle around and go right next to the door. Then, when the door is mmed into by the hounds, I activate all three of mybat active skills at once, targeting each of the three hounds that pass through first with blood boil and life drain before I proceed to tear strips out of the side belonging to the first hound to appear. It lets out a howl of pain as it ms into the other two, but I dont stop there as I leap forward and m my shoes against the newly formed pile of hounds, following which I group my fingers together to form a single point with the ws and stab it straight into the hounds gut, feeling the blood in my blood bank and in the hounds body strengthening my ws in the process.


    After I get a message from the system about a stack of blood thirst being applied, I rip my ws out of its corpse and jump back right before two more houndse leaping through the door. They both proceed to m into the wall, missing me since Im no longer on the hounds while the other two beneath the dead one try to get out from beneath its corpse.


    One down, and four stunned.


    I hurriedly duck down, letting a hound Id heard charging at me fly straight over my head before I swipe my ws at it, tearing chunks out of its gut. Then I reach down and stomp on one of the hounds still stuck under the dead one, causing a massive bruise to be visible beneath its dark fur.


    A wave of paines from my leg as I feel teeth sp around my shin, but I ignore it to swipe my ws down at the other hound buried under the dead one, tearing out its throat in the process.


    I grit my teeth as the pain in my leg grows stronger, only held back a little by my life draining of three of the hounds at once  which would be more, but the skills current level can only handle three. The pain grows a little bit after I stomp on the hound whose fangs are locked in my shin, but then fade a bit again after it lets out a yelp on my third stomp.


    Then I run down the hall, escaping from the hounds again as the remaining four or five begin to enter the hallway.


    I continue running  in the opposite direction of the knight, of course  until I find a room and quickly open it and shut and lock it once Im inside.


    Please have a window. Please have a window. Please have a window.


    After searching through the suite for several seconds, I fail to find a window. And after a brief moment of honestly pondering over if I should punch a hole through the wall in the hopes of making a makeshift window, I hear sounds of the hounds beginning to m themselves bodily into the door.


    Guess the window doesnt matter.


    I hurriedly look down at my leg, only to find that the wound isnt as bad as Id thought. Mostly due to my life drain skill. Itll still be annoying, but it shouldnt get me killed at least.


    I quickly make my way back to the door before hiding in wait just like I did in the hallway. But on the other side of the door this time, because who knows if they learn from past mistakes.


    Just likest time, the door is knocked down,nding with a crash on the carpet floor, following which four hounds this timee through, one of which I quickly grab and tear the throat out of. Then I reach for another that begins entering the room after them, activating both life drain and blood boil on it to make it stumble and lose its footing, allowing me to tear long gashes across its back and drain its blood in the process.


    The other three hounds whod first entered the room immediately turn around afternding on the carpet, snarling all the while as they see me finish off a third hound. Which makes a total of five dead and 2 wounded. Leaving seven alive, five of which are uninjured.


    I grimace as I begin to run out of the room, only to run straight into the other four still living hounds. But I still continue running past them, getting a w to the side in the process a total of three times. Then I proceed to lead them through the halls till I find a dead end and enter another room, this time without having the time to close the door behind me.


    The room ends up being under construction of all things, only having a single room open at the moment besides the entry hall.


    Shit.

 Book 1: Chapter 68: What Could Go Wrong? Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 68: What Could Go Wrong? Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without wasting any time, I rush into the entry hall, only barely avoiding having my leg chomped on again by another hound. They all quickly follow me through the doorway into a rtively decently sized room with no window, no connecting rooms except a few ces marked on walls that look like would be a nice spot for a room or doorway, and some sort of kitchen area with a sink. The only rtively useful thing in the unfurnished room looks to be the chandelier hanging high from the ceiling. And even that is too high for me to reach, since despite the moderate size of the room, the ce is quite tall and without any furnishing.


    As soon as I make it out of the entryway and into the room, I rush to the other side of it and turn around, focusing on the hounds again as I continue using both blood boil and life drain on them, ever so slowly hurting them and healing myself. But despite my actions, they all manage to form an encirclement around me, forcing my back to the wall next to the one with the kitchen, facing opposite of the entrance.


    Of the seven hounds, I focus on the two located on the outskirts of the group, both of whom are limping pretty badly with visible bruising made worse by the bubbles of blood popping on the surface of their skin and beneath the surface.


    Without hesitating, I sprint forwards toward it, the wound on my leg nearly healed by now as I raise my blood wed right hand and swipe it straight at the hound, making it back up and just barely avoid my strike. I then hear the other hounds begin to close the encirclement further with my movement, but I ignore them to kick off of the ground and attempt to perform a flip around the hound, only to end up stepping on its tail and tripping in the process. The action of stepping on its tail though is enough to make it yelp and let down its guard long enough for me to hurriedly climb to my knees and reach around to grab and tear out its throat.


    Six dead.


    The other hounds dont dally and close in on me, a few of them quickly taking nips out of my legs and arms before backing up again as I grit my teeth in pain. But I dont take it sitting down and return the favor, tearing strip after strip out of them in the process. And after we both share strikes for who knows how long, I receive the stacks for three more of the hounds, following which the remaining three immediately beat a retreat, leaving me copsing onto my back in the room in ruined clothes and covered in blood.


    Seconds pass. Then the seconds turn into minutes, and I continue lying in ce until Tar finally says, <strong>If youre going toze around, do it near a window.</strong>


    So I struggle to my feet, grimacing as my wounds begin to seep more blood from the action before I slowly stumble my way down the hall, listening for sounds. Particrly the sound of a breeze, since the shield doesnt block the air from entering through. And after stumbling down the hall to a corner, I enter the first room around the corner and continue trailing a bloody path to the window on the far side of the living room the entryway opens into.


    Then I copse onto the ground right next to the window, barely having the strength to take my jacket off in the process, using repair on it afterwards while rolling up both my sleeves. I have to get Tars help to roll up my pant legs though, since I cant reach down there right now.


    After all, the floor is sofortable


    Surprisingly, it only takes about half an hour for all of my wounds to heal to a point that they arent any more than simple scabs. And at that point, I simply use clean and roll my sleeves and pant legs down again, repairing the rest of my clothes in the process.


    But as Im putting my jacket back on, I cant help but ask, Do you think leveling up is making my body somehow heal even faster from the moonlight?


    The tanuki doesnt look surprised at all by the question and answers rather quickly, <strong>Of course it is. Just like with how raising your physical stat increases your perception, increasing your magical stat will increase any inherent magical abilities your species has.</strong>


    Thats good to know.


    After stretching a little bit and using clean on myself once more just because I missed it earlier with my jacket, I focus on my hearing to listen to the demons on the floor. But I dont hear any, outside of that one knight  the same as thest time I checked just a few minutes ago.


    Guess the hounds really must have left the floor. That or Alex killed them.


    Its also possible that they went too close to the knight and were killed by it instead.


    Regardless of the reason for their disappearance, I begin to leave the room, all while letting the messages for the dead hounds finally flow.


    <strong>{Level 23 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.} x3</strong>


    <strong>{Level 24 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.} x4</strong>


    <strong>{Level 22 Demon Hound defeated.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for surviving a fight with ten or more demons above your own level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x9</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 23. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    Nice. A level.


    And a free five skill points too. Although only barely, since exactly ten of those hounds were above my level. The other two were at my level.


    Also, does it not count my level-up during the battle when calcting the achievement?


    <strong>No, it doesnt, </strong>Tar answers quickly enough as I continue walking down the hall. <strong>The system calctes possible achievements that a contractor can meet at the start of each period ofbat from what weve been able to tell. Meaning that when it gave you that achievement, it was still considering you level 22.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    Well, anyways, on to check out the knight! And probably run away on ount of it being too high a level or something.

 Book 1: Chapter 69: Hunter or Hunted? Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 69: Hunter or Hunted? Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After walking down the hall for a bit, ignoring the branch of the hall that has a massive hole in the floor, I eventually turn the corner and find myself staring at arge knight located far down the hall. And the first thing I do is turn back around and head back for the stairs.


    No thank you.


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Subspecies: None  Level 81|</strong>


    Passing by the hole branch again, I continue making my way down the hall, vaguely taking note of some new sounds I hearing from outside of the building.


    I grimace as I hear the sound of stuff freezing over.


    Yeah, shes here.


    As if on cue, I hear a loud bang echo from the first floor, followed by the sounds of stuff frosting over as Cynthia Sylvester  otherwise known by practically everyone as Frost, a ss IVbat focused Guardian  no doubt enters the building.


    Yeah, thisll be a pain.


    Maybe I can hide myself on the next floor somewhere?


    I continue walking down the hall with a sigh, only to suddenly freeze in ce as I feel something watching me. A predator too, judging by the shivers that are running down the back of my neck.


    <strong>Run. Now.</strong>


    I dont have to be told twice and immediately break off into a sprint back in the way I came, away from the source of the gaze. But the gaze stays firmly locked onto my back no matter how far through the floor I get.


    Shit, shit, shit I mutter before quickly shooting a nce behind me, only to not find anything. What the fuck is chasing me?!


    Tar doesnt respond right away, and right as Im about to turn towards where Im running again, I notice a very faint shimmering in the shadows of the rtively dark halls. As if something was cloaking itself in the dark.


    Shit.


    <strong>|Demon Wraith  Subspecies: None  Level 152|</strong>


    <strong>Run as fast as you can.</strong>


    And I do just that. Straight down the hall, past several turns, and directly into the branch of the floor where the hole in the floor is.


    Without a hint of hesitation or even ncing behind me, I jump into the hole down to the twenty-fifth floor. Then I immediately begin running as fast as I can towards the stairs, only feeling my wolf ear twitch slightly when I hear the sound of some sort of feet lightly hitting the ground back at the hole.


    Why the hell is there a wraith down here?! And why did it pick me to be its prey?!?


    <strong>It likely saw you as the weakest link amongst all of the Guardians in the building, since youre the lowest level aside from that kid, and youre alone, </strong>Tar answers right away, a hint of fear showing in his usually robotic voice. <strong>Im also absolutely sure that the only reason youre not already dead is because of both a wraiths tendency to y with its prey, and your ears.</strong>


    I cant help but feel a wave of anger bubble up inside me at the thought of something considering me prey. To the point that I turn my head around and randomly use blood boil and life drain, hoping to catch it. And surprisingly, I do. Even if it does practically nothing. To the point that I dont think its even noticing.


    Despite that, I continue using the skills as I run, deciding that if I cant fight it myself, Ill just have to bring it to someone who can. Which means going to the stairs and catching Frost before she passes. Assuming shes not just rushing here right now anyways.


    I continue running through the hallway for several seconds, hope beginning to rise in the pit of my chest that I might just survive this. Only for that hope to be quashed when I feel a major shiver run down my spine again, following which a wave of shadows explodes through the hall and I see something sh by me before a demon appears just two meters in front of me, blocking the hallway to the stairs.


    My eyes narrow as I take in the appearance of the wraith. It ispletely ck from head to toe and is wearing some sort of cloak. One with ripped up edges that somehow seem to fade from existence. It has glowing red eyes that I didnt notice before when looking at its cloaked form, and two arms made entirely up of des. Ones that I can easily see chopping me in half.


    If I remember correctly, wraiths are some of the more intelligent wild demons  demons without any sapience. They are kind of like cats in that they enjoy hunting and ying with their food. They will prowl from the darkness for a while, just stalking the prey before eventually going in for a shy kill.


    Theyre also the third most powerful wild demon species of the ss II demons, only weaker than the berserkers and the defenders.


    <strong>Its instincts will help you stall it, </strong>Tar says, for once actually giving me advice in a real battle, <strong>keep its eyes upied and make sure it does <em>not </em>grow bored!</strong>


    I frown at that, briefly wondering if Im fighting a demon or a cat for a moment before shaking my head and jumping towards the demon, seemingly startling it for a second.


    <strong>Good. Keep it off its toes.</strong>


    The wraith tilts its head, the ethereal hood hanging over it moving along with it before it suddenly vanishes and I feel a sh of pain from my side, making me almost lose strength in my legs. Then I find the wraith reappearing where it was just at with blood  my blood  dripping down its de.


    My eyes widen with fear, but the fear is quickly drowned out by rage. Where this rage ising from, I dont know. But the very idea that a lowly demon such as a <em>wraith </em>of all things is toying with me is-


    I blink in surprise.


    Huh.


    <strong>Good job in keeping your instincts under control but keep the wraith entertained!!! Now! </strong>I hear Tars voice shouting in my head, snapping me into taking a sudden step forward to catch its attention.


    Were going to be talking about those instinctster.


    <strong>Understood. Now move!</strong>


    And I do just that.

 Book 1: Chapter 70: Hunter or Hunted? Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 70: Hunter or Hunted? Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It only takes me getting sliced up three more times by the wraith to realize just how weak I am, and how futile it is to fight back at my current strength. Even if Im not actually trying to kill it and only dy it right now.


    And right when Im on the brink of copsing from blood loss, the creatures life energy not proving to be much due to our significant level difference, the thought of one of the skills I passed over a while back resurfaces.


    My eyes widen and I immediately jump back a couple meters while opening the skills store and purchasing blood sacrifice. Then without hesitation, I begin using it while also pumping the rare skill straight up to level five, spending a total of thirty-eight Skill Points in the entire process.


    Not even a secondter, I begin to feel a burning sensation spread throughout my body, mixed along with a surge of strength that I didnt have before. Arge one. But when I see the wraith rushing towards me again with its de-like arms crossed in front of it, I grit my teeth and push the blood sacrifice further, making actual red steam leave my pores.


    The burning sensation grows stronger, but I at least manage to back up quickly enough for the two des to only barely skim me, cutting across the sides of my waist and opening up my shirt and jacket in the process. And I continue to burn my own blood to increase my physical strength through blood sacrifice to barely avoid the worst of each strike, slowly getting myself cut open in the process as we continue backtracking our way through the hall.


    <strong>Shit,e on! Youre almost there! </strong>I vaguely hear Tar shouting his encouragement in my head, making me briefly question what hes talking about only to realize that were almost at the bunker.


    A spark of hope lights up in my eyes and I continue pushing myself, increasing my pace backwards a bit in the process. But the hope doesntst long as even with blood sacrifice  no, probably because of blood sacrificebined with the many wounds Ive sustained  I begin to feel my body growing weaker and weaker from blood loss. And by the time we actually get close to the bunker, I can barely even remain standing.


    Despite this, I continue pushing back, getting hit more and more with each swing of the creatures de. To make matters worse, Im having more and more difficulty keeping track of any of its movements, and the corners of my vision are starting to grow blurry.


    I cough up a mouthful of blood on the equally red carpet of the hallway.


    Everything begins to grow dark, and I feel the strength in my body fading away, my skill no longer having much blood left to burn.


    <strong>Use the damned potion you <em>idiot</em>!!! </strong>I vaguely hear Tar shout in my head, giving me enough of a push to reach into my pocket in between strikes of the wraith to grab the potion before raising it to my lips. But right when Im about to tilt my head back and drink it, I hear a shattering sound, and then I stumble forwards slightly, my head going straight into the falling liquid from the bisected ss holding the potion. Or that used to be holding the potion before the wraith cut it in half.


    I barely manage to get a mouthful of it in my mouth before catching myself on my foot thanks to the warmth it immediately spreads through my body.


    <strong>Duck!!!! </strong>Tar shouts as if his life depends on it.


    And so I do.


    Then the most horrifying shrieking sound echoes through my ears, making me immediately wince and jerk my head to the side, some of my strength returning to me even if I dont have blood sacrifice active anymore.


    And what I find is the sight of the wraiths de locked against the shield with volts of electricity running through it. Then I copse backwards,nding t on my back as everything begins to grow dark again.


    <strong>Not yet! </strong>Tar shouts, appearing in the corner of the room despite the danger. <strong>Get up! Now! Get up or youll die!</strong>


    I cant help the faint smile that appears on my face.


    Aww, he actually cares after all


    Then the shrieking soundes to an end, bringing my still fading attention back to the wraith to find it having dislodged its de from the shield. The creature is currently letting off steam, with what looks like lightning burns  burns in the form of several interconnecting lines kind of like a tree and its branches  extending from its de-like arm through its shoulder and into the rest of its body.


    Huh. Guess it survived.


    And it looks pissed.


    My pride burns away at me that I wasnt able to kill it, and that itll even kill me, still believing me to be its prey. But I guess theres not much I can do about that. Not when I cant even lift my head at all. Not even an inch. Not even a quarter of an inch.


    It was fun while itsted Tar.


    <strong>You damned, insufferable, idiotic, wolf girl! </strong>Tar shouts out loud, not caring that the wraith is ncing at it, still pissed off as ever. <strong>Get your furry head out of your-</strong>


    A loud crashing sound cuts him off, followed immediately by the sounds of stuff frosting over.


    Oh, hey. Looks like I might not die after all.


    How dare you, a rather cold and quite familiar voice echoes in the hallway, each word pronounced rather slowly as I watch the frost spreading to the wraith, gradually freezing it solid from the feet up. You wont be touching another hair on her head.


    Then  after the entire wraith is frozen solid  the sound of shattering ice echoes in my ears. But by now my vision has already gone mostly dark, so I cant see anything. And thest thing I could see before that was not a very nice one, considering how angry Cynthia looked.


    Almost as if on cue with the sound, I feel the rest of my consciousness slipping away, likely due to my lone source of life energy  the wraith  dying.


    And everything goes silent. Right, of course, after I hear a dinging sound y in my head.

 Book 1: Intermission 6

    Book 1: Intermission 6


    <strong>The Hallway After Scarlet Falls Unconscious</strong>


    Cynthia wasnt always so protective of her family. No. In fact, she used to be quitexed and carefree.


    But then her daughter, Lexi, died. All because she got caught up in a ss IV Fracture and neither Cynthia nor Allen were able to make it in time to save her.


    Ever since then, Cynthia has sworn that she would never let anything like that happen ever again. Not to Allen. Not to Arabellia. And not to Scarlet.


    And yet, here she is, gazing upon the bloodied form of her third daughter, even if not by blood. All of her clothes, torn to ribbons, exposing more of her than Cynthia thought Scarlet would ever expose, even if nothing is actually visible underneath all of the blood beyond open wounds.


    <em>Not again.</em>


    Cynthia thinks this as she rushes over to her daughter, uncaring of the shattered bits of ice holding parts of the dead wraith that she steps on and crushes in the process. And the moment she reaches her, she grabs a high ss potion from her Frost Arc storage skill and immediately starts pouring it down her throat. Meanwhile out of the corner of her awareness, she hears hurried footstepsing from down the hall as her husband closes the distance between them.


    But she doesnt take her gaze away from Scarlet as the wounds quickly begin to heal at a visible pace. Not even after all of the wounds are healed and she senses her husband reaching her. Not even when she senses her husband taking control of the cameras outside of the bunker and wiping the footage while purposefully pointing them far away from the trio to keep Scarlets modesty when he then uses a skill to clean her of all the blood.


    It isnt until several minutester, after Allen has already looked over her with his equipment for any injuries that may not have healed from the potion and speaks that she finally takes her eyes off of Scarlets unconscious form.


    Looks like she should be fine after plenty of rest. We arent able to fully replenish her blood with a potion, since she seems to have lost a lot of blood  even more than her wounds would suggest  so well have to get her toe by and look her over, he says, his voice rather quiet as he stands up, the scanner he was using automatically going back into his own storage skill in the process.


    Silence fills the hallway again for a few seconds.


    Lets bring her to a bed and then I can clear out the rest of the Fracture ASAP, he says, and Cynthia nods her head, briefly ncing at the shattered wraith.


    <em>The thing mustve locked onto her as its prey and hunted her down. But why would it be this far down the building? Because shes the most essible yet still strong prey it could hunt?</em>


    She stares at the pieces of ice for a few seconds, only to turn back around and  as gently as possible  lift up Scarlet before walking down the hall and entering the first suite of rooms theye across. And immediately after getting to the bedroom within the room and gently setting Scarlet down on the bed, she sits on the edge of it herself, still ignoring the tanuki that floated into the room with them, not even bothering to hide its presence.


    Dear, she says, a frosty tone infusing her voice as she continues watching Scarlets unconscious face as she lies still on the bed with the tanuki  Scarlets fae if Cynthia had to guess  floating around her with worry on its face. After the cores are destroyed, bring me the other Guardians in this Fracture.


    Cipher stiffens up as he hears herst words.


    I would like a word with them.


    After a second, he nods his head despite his wife not looking in his direction and says, Very well. Then he sends onest worried nce towards Scarlet before rushing out the door faster than the regr human eye can see. And not even a minuteter, sounds ofbat can be heard from the direction of the stairs.


    Cynthia doesnt say anything for several minutes, simply sitting next to Scarlet while watching her sleep. But from time to time, her eyes nce towards the fae that eventually lies next to the girl. And after another couple minutes, her own fae appears in the form of a ck ko. The fae then bows towards the tanuki, not surprising Cynthia in the least as it says, This one greets his highness.


    What does surprise Cynthia though is how the tanuki straight up ignores her faes formal greeting to instead rub his head against Scarlets hand.


    <em>This fae must really care for her</em>


    Dont worry about her, Cynthia finally speaks to the fae, Scarlet will be fine after some rest. She just needs to replenish her blood.


    The fae prince turns his head to look at Cynthia before narrowing his eyes.


    <strong>Is your name Cynthia?</strong>


    Cynthias eyes widen slightly, only to return to being impassive as she answers, Yes. I assume Scarlets mentioned me?


    <em>Good things, I hope.</em>


    The tanuki flinches as he nods his head.


    <em>Maybe not good things. Guess shes still not ready to be adopted.</em>


    Deciding not to make things awkward for the fae, Cynthia opts to stay silent, letting it return its attention to her. Although she does reveal a vaguely surprised expression when she sees the tanuki curling up next to Scarlet and seemingly going to sleep, even if she isnt sure hes really asleep. Because she cant help but feel like hes still watching her like a hawk.


    <em>Why would fae royalty contract with Scarlet? Is it because of her blood magic? Or maybe it has something to do with White?</em>


    Cynthia lets out a sigh.


    <em>Cant just ask it, because its Scarlets business and not mine. Besides. He seems to genuinely care about her, so pushing him to answer would just be an insult to my own fae.</em>


    Yes, that it would be,<strong></strong>Arlog  her own fae  answers her thoughts, his voice echoing in her head.


    <em>I just hope Scarlet prepares herself in the future to fight in your littlepetition.</em>


    Arlog doesnt say anything in response. And Cynthia doesnt try to force him to either. She just returns her gaze to Scarlet as she reaches over and begins caressing her daughters face, a sad one of her own visible as she does so.


    Minutes pass in silence. And at some point, Cynthias eyes cant help but gravitate towards Scarlets ears. She then nces behind her, only to reach out and touch one of her ears, making it immediately flinch.


    <em>So soft</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 71: Dream and Awake

    Book 1: Chapter 71: Dream and Awake


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>Five years ago</em></strong>


    <em>I narrow my eyes at the pages on the textbook before quietly muttering the words out loud, The history of the republic begins after the fall of the old world ind nation known as Japan to the demons. After the Guardians were no longer able to hold back the demons. Were no longer able to destroy all of the cores, letting some of the Fracture cores stabilize in our world, creating open gateways between Earth and Tartarus. Ones that to this day are still open, allowing the demons free range of the ind nation.</em>


    <em>I pause in my studying at the sounds of the door mming open from down the hall, a sign that the younger kids are probably home. But then I just continue reading the text out loud, preparing for my uing history test, All of the remaining countries took Japans fall as an example of what is to be of the world should the demons continue expanding. So they all closed off their ports close to the ind nation and began to work together, eventually forming what is now known as the Terran Republic, with its capital  Terra  being established in a city that used to be known as New York City.</em>


    <em>My reading is once again interrupted, but this time by the sound of the door to my room bursting open and three little kids  each around five to seven years old  running in while giggling. So I close my book with a sigh and turn around to find them running around the room.</em>


    <em>The sight of little Carol quite literally stomping on Belle  who had fallen asleep on my roommate Maries bed  has me almost snorting in amusement, but I keep it in as the girl in question has a rude awakening.</em>


    <em>First she just looks confused, but after that her face grows angry and she gets up from the bed, her skirt getting caught on the edge of it in the process and causing her to fall t on her face on the floor. Which only serves to set the kids off into another bout ofughter and giggles.</em>


    <em>And I try very hard to casually stare up at the ceiling while keeping my face as stoic as possible.</em>


    <em>Quite the challenge.</em>


    <em>You little brats! she shouts while carefully pulling her skirt over the edge of the beds frame and climbing to her feet, only to chase after the kids while shouting, Get back here!</em>


    <em>Feeling its safe again, I look down at my textbook and begin to continue reading. But I dont even manage to make it a single word in when I hear the front door mming open and Arthurs voice echoing through the hall into the room, Scarlet!</em>


    <em>Oh. That would be my cue to leave.</em>


    <em>I m the textbook shut, grab my jacket that was hanging on the back of my chair, then rush over to the window, utch it, and jump straight out right when the guy turns into the room.</em>


    <em>Damn it, get back here! he shouts, just barely catching a glimpse of me as Ind on the outside. Then I pop my head over the window and give him a very nice salute if I do say so myself before running off. Stop running! You are not leaving me to deal with Allen on my own!!!</em>


    <em>Since when do people actually stop when told to stop running? I call back while running around the corner of the house, vaguely noting the sound of him running towards the window himself. But by the time he gets out, I already turn the corner and book it down the rundown city street that has more orphanages than I care to count on it. Each of them grouped together to keep any changelings that might be here hiding amongst the orphans in the same area.</em>


    <em>Sorry, Arthur, but Im not gonna deal with Allen today. And besides. You were the one that put the worms in the locker. Not me. I just got them and handed them to you, hinting at you doing it.</em>


    <em>I only run down the street for a single buildings distance before turning into a small and not very safe looking alleyway to hide behind a recycling bin. And not too long after, I hear Arthur running past me, making me let out a sigh of relief.</em>


    <em>Now maybe he can make Allen cool off before the guy tears into me as well.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>The Present</strong>


    The first thing that I notice when I regain consciousness is that Im lying in the bed of my room at the base. And the next thing I notice is that I am wearing what looks to be some sort of nightgown that is practically form fitting, making me have a massive urge to take it off and change into something else right away.


    But before I do that, I sit up and look around, confusion evident on my face in my reflection on the mirror as I see myself all alone in the room sitting on my bed. Only for that thought to be wiped away when I pull the nket back further to find a certain tanuki having inserted himself under my sheets with me.


    Guess he gotfortable while I was out.


    I cant help but frown as I wonder who changed me, only for that thought to go to the wayside when I get up and walk over to the drawer, grabbing some pants and a shirt to change into, not even caring about the fact that the tanuki is still in the room. And once thats done, I toss the nightgown on the bed and look around my room for my jacket, only to not find it anywhere.


    Wheres my jacket?


    Please tell me it wasnt too badly damaged to repair


    I cant help but feel a pang in my chest at the thought of losing the only thing that I had when he found me on the streets. But that goes away when I find a note attached to the refrigerator  which I honestly didnt even notice was in here thest time I was here  that mentions how Allen took my jacket to go upgrade it with magi-tech. Mostly because, and I quote, you get into danger too often to not have the added protection.


    How rude. Its not like its my fault I keep getting into sticky situations.


    <strong>Its not like its not your fault either, </strong>I hear a certain tanukis voice from my bed, making me turn my head to see him rubbing his eyes, likely still half asleep. But then he suddenly seems to realize that Im awake despite having retorted to my thoughts before he rushes over to me, flying through the air at incredible speeds before literally tackling me.


    Ouch.


    Then he holds onto my shirt for dear life for just a few seconds then lets go, clears his throat, and asks, <strong>So are you going to continue staring or are you gonna check the System messages you got for almost dying again?</strong>


    I blink in surprise.


    Did he really just gloss over that?


    The tanuki doesnt say anything.


    He really just glossed over that.


    I narrow my eyes at him for a few seconds before sighing and letting the messages flow, my greed over seeing my rewards overshadowing my curiosity over his actions.

 Book 1: Chapter 72: Rewards Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 72: Rewards Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>{Level 152 Demon Wraith defeated. A massive EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature 100 levels or more above you. An EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in the kill}</strong>


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon one hundred or more levels above you. You continue to stretch beyond the bounds of what is known as possible. What is normal. And what is safe. Past mere risk and into the grounds of insanity. Will you continue toe back alive? Or will you fly too close to the sun and return as ashes?}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for killing a being of a higher ss than yourself.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for killing a Demon Wraith while under level twenty-five.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Demon Wraith.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Siphon has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 24. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 35. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the inherent skill, Partial Shift.}</strong>


    My jaw drops open at the sheer volume of levels and SP that I got from this one fight. Not to mention the new inherent skill.


    The System is very clearly warning me about risking my life, but how can it really do that when its giving out such a nice reward at the exact same time? Its just hypocritical. Like someone pping someone on the wrist for something then handing them a stack of cash with their other hand.


    <strong>Are youining? </strong>Tar asks, tilting his head.


    Hell no, I answer immediately before opening my status and slowly distributing my free points. First starting slowly with five points to my mental stat to bring it back up a bit.


    My head begins to ache, but nowhere near as badly as my nerves hurtst time. Which Im guessing is abination of the fact that I put it in mental, and that Im putting in less points this time.


    Then after the pain fades awaypletely, I put in another five points to mental, leaving me with 14 points left.


    The pain returns, making me go over to the bed and lie down again.


    I repeat this process from the safety of my veryfortable bed over the course of the next several minutes, putting in four points to physical, four to magical, and the remaining six in mental. Then I focus on my status, looking at the massive difference between now and earlier.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 35</strong><strong>SP: 110</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 93</strong><strong>Mental: 90</strong><strong>Magical: 90</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 4050/4050</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator IV</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Holy shit thats a lot.


    Wait a second.


    I nce down at my fist before clenching and unclenching it. Then I turn to Tar who is currently floating around my room as I ask, Why dont I need to adjust much to the new strength I have from the System?


    <strong>Because the System isnt changing your body per se, its changing how your body is. What it is to reality. Meaning in your head, as long as you bnce out your stats, nothing out of the ordinary has happened to your body, </strong>he answers while stopping in the middle of my room.


    Huh. Thats okay, this reality altering stuff really is quite confusing. But I guess it doesnt really matter in the end. As long as Im growing stronger.


    Well, anyways, I focus on the descriptions of Blood Siphon, Life drain, Partial Shift, and Blood Sacrifice, and the System tells me their descriptions back to back.


    <strong>{Blood Siphon - Allows the user to drain the blood of nearby creatures and use it for various purposes, including transfusing the users or others blood or using the blood for the users skills to substitute 50% of the required blood the user would have to personally use.}</strong>


    <strong>{Life Drain - </strong><strong>Allows the user to drain the life energy of nearby creatures into themselves and others, healing them in the process. Costs mana to use.}</strong>


    <strong>{Partial Shift </strong><strong> Allows the user to transform a single hand or foot into that of a beast for a significant and one time price of mana each use.}</strong>


    <strong>{Blood Sacrifice -</strong><strong> A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities. The more blood burned, the stronger the boost will be.}</strong>


    My grin just continues growing wider and wider with each description I read. Especially the new partial shift skill.


    Looks like blood siphon can substitute enemies blood into any of my skills now, hopefully including blood sacrifice. Life drain can use the life energy to heal others instead of only myself. If I remember the skill correctly from when I first looked at it, blood sacrifice  at level 5  is able to burn more and more of my blood at a faster pace for a better boost. Like I was doing in the fight against the wraith.


    And partial shift.


    <strong>That new inherent skill is your first blood lycan specific skill youve gotten, </strong>Tar exins, making my grin widen even further. <strong>But dont worry. There are plenty of shapeshifting skills out there, so no one should be able to easily link it to a blood lycan. Unless you find a blood lycan or a noble demon, in which case you already have bigger problems to deal with.</strong>


    Yeah. A blood lycan should be able to tell what I am without much trouble, and a noble demon will be able to kill me with a flick of its finger.


    Much bigger problems than simply recognizing one of my skills.


    Anyways, time to go check out the skills store. Since Im sure it has some very nice skills for me to obtain.

 Book 1: Chapter 73: Rewards Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 73: Rewards Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least one hundred levels and through killing a being at a higher ss than you.</strong><strong>Predator IV is required to purchase this.</strong>


    <strong>It grants the user a 30% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Static</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Unlocked through very nearly dying via the use of a skill that burns your own blood, through killing a being at least one hundred levels above you, by killing a being at a higher ss than you, by being a blood lycan, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>The second most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. This skill increases the natural regeneration of the user, both in terms of life energy and mana.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Achievement-Locked</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon wraith while below level twenty-five, through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>This skill can be used to create a clone made out of shadows and blood. It uses the users own blood and their shadow in the process of the skills use, and when the clone is destroyed, the user loses the blood and takes mental damage as bacsh.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Poisoning</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing various demons whose levels far surpass your own with indirect means, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>The user may corrupt a very small portion of their blood before separating it from their body and using it to infect other living beings.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    Oh. Wow. Two legendary skills, and two epics as well.


    Wait, it is just two right?


    I focus on the ellipses.


    Yep. Two epics.


    Although I cant help but feel a tad disappointed about theck of any mythical skill


    <strong>Ill eat my tail if you ever got a mythical skill, </strong>Tar says with a scoff, making me nce at him. <strong>There are only about ten or so people in all of existence who have them. And those are the strongest humans and demons, such as the Demon Lords and the Demon King, and the five Knights of the human world.</strong>


    My mouth drops open in shock.


    Theyre that rare?!


    Holy shit!


    The five Knights the five most powerful Guardians on Earth. Each named after a color corresponding to their magic. ck, White, Red, Blue, and Purple.


    Actually, have you ever met one of the Knights?


    <strong>Yes, as a matter of fact, </strong>Tar says, looking slightly smug for some reason. Which has me raising an eyebrow. <strong>I met Blue a very long time ago.</strong>


    Blue? The Aqua Knight? Wasnt that guy known for using some sort of shapeshifting magic that could turn him into a giant kraken from ancient Earths mythology?


    I think the guy was also kind of messed up in the headpared to the other Knights.


    Anyways, I kind of want to get a mythical skill now for no other reason than to make Tar eat his tail.


    I give a firm nod of my head at that thought before focusing on the skills store again.


    Ignoring the suspicious frown the tanuki is sending my way, I sit up on my bed and ask out loud, Any suggestions for skills? Im thinking that I should spend the SP to get Blood Regeneration and then save the rest to get Predator V.


    The tanuki continues staring at me for a few seconds before sighing and answering, <strong>Sounds like a good n. The thing you need the most right now is a better healing power, and a legendary healing skill  especially a natural regeneration one  would probably be the best fit for you.</strong>


    Thought so. But what does Achievement-Locked mean?


    <strong>You can treat those as inherent skills that you have to purchase first, </strong>Tar says, finally taking his gaze away from me as hends in myp and curls up. <strong>They are basically just inherent skills locked to a certain species that you have to have certain achievements to purchase and have as an inherent skill. So after you buy it, itll be just like any other inherent skill in that you cant level it with SP.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    Wait, does that mean Ill have to get hurt to level this skill?


    <strong>You get hurt more often than Id like, so I doubt thatll be a problem, </strong>Tar says offhandedly, making me re at him.


    Not like thats my fault actually, never mind. Some of it might be.


    Tar snorts at my thoughts.


    Aaaanyyyways, I quickly purchase the Blood Regeneration skill. And as soon as I do, I feel a warm sensation passing through my body just like when I got predator. Which does confirm my thoughts on how it only happens when you get a passive skill.


    Now I just need another ten Skill Points before I can afford Predator V.


    Which also makes me wonder just what the requirements for getting Predator VI might be.


    <strong>Probably killing a being over two hundred and fifty levels above you, </strong>Tar answers offhandedly, making me do a double take towards him. <strong>Wouldnt be surprised if there were other requirements too. So I doubt anyone will ever get that skill. And it may also not be called Predator VI, since itll be the highest ranked version of the skill.</strong>


    I stare at the tanuki for several seconds.


    Thats a bit much.


    Actually, something I was wondering. How does the System really determine the assistance of someone in a battle in regard to EXP and achievements?


    Tar opens his eyes and nces at me before closing them again as he says, <strong>Thats unknown. All we know is that the System just somehow knows and assigns EXP and achievements to those actually deserving of them. Meaning someone cant just have someone else power leveling them through everything. Because the System is gonna penalize them rather heavily and wont give them any achievements.</strong>


    Interesting. Guess the System really is fair in everything it does.


    By the way, any idea who changed me?


    Because the idea of someone else changing my clothes just makes me feel ufortable.


    <strong>It was that woman you were terrified of, </strong>Tar answers without opening his eyes.


    Ugh. Although I guess if someone had to do it then Id rather it be her.


    The nightgown makes sense now too, considering how badly shes tried over time to get me to dress more feminine. Which is ironic considering that she doesnt exactly dress very feminine either.


    I dont think Ive ever even seen her wear a skirt or a dress before. Thats more Belles line of fashion. And she isnt much better about this than her mother. In fact, shes worse since she sees me more often.


    Its rather annoying.


    Also, I cant help but shiver at the thought of Belle seeing my ears. Because Im ny percent certain that she is going to try touching them.


    I get out of bed, letting the tanuki fall off myp in the process before stretching a little and going over to get ready for the day. Then I can check out the cafeteria.


    Because Im hungry.

 Book 1: Chapter 74: Cynthia

    Book 1: Chapter 74: Cynthia


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After doing a quick use of the clean skill  which I have to say, is a life saver and probably one of my favorite things outside ofbat that I get being a Guardian, since I dont have to do anywhere near as much getting up from bed anymore  I nce at the clock once, briefly noting that its already evening on Thursday before I head towards the living room. Then I halt in my tracks at the doorway and do a double take towards the clock.


    Ive been out for almost a day?!


    <strong>Been wondering how long itd take you to notice that, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding slightly amused.


    I ignore him as I stare at the clock for a few seconds, briefly mourning the lost time that I couldve spent studying or training. But after a few more seconds, I get over it and continue walking out of my room, closing the door behind me. And right when Im about to reach the front door to my suite, I hear a set of footsteps passing through the hall outside in my direction.


    Wait, I can hear through the walls?


    <strong>Remember? Your hearing improves with your stats, </strong>Tar says, vanishing on ount of the person walking down the hall, <strong>although part of it is likely because your right next to the door, closer to the source of the sound and with less walls in between you.</strong>


    Hmm. Im not sure how I feel about my hearing anymore. Although I guess I could always switch ears if I end up hearing too well.


    Actually,e to think of it, I know some Guardians tend to change appearances as they advance to the next sses. Will that happen to me?


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds, leaving the only sound in the hallway to my suite being that of the clicking of what sounds like boots outside stepping down the hall. Then he eventually sighs and mutters, <strong>I guess nows as good a time as any to tell you. But we should wait for this conversation till after you see whoever is waiting outside your suite.</strong>


    And right when he says that, the footsteps stop outside my door, making me briefly wonder just what he is able to see from that ce he goes to after vanishing.


    I stare at the ground for a few seconds, wondering just what he meant and what hes nning on telling me, only to shake my head and tap on the terminal, making the screen disy live footage of whats outside of the room. And immediately after seeing it, I wish I could find some other way out of my room.


    Right when Im wondering what to do, I hear the door buzzing, followed by Cynthias voice, I know youre on the other side of the door. Might as well open it, sweetheart.


    I sigh.


    This is gonna be a pain.


    I tap on the screen, making it record my audio for her to hear before saying, No hugs.


    She visibly detes, even as I open the door. And I cant help but notice her hands twitching, likely itching to hug me. But she holds herself back. Which is a good sign.


    So, Scarlet, she awkwardly says while stepping back a little to let me into the hallway. And after I leave my suite, I lock the door behind me and turn around to look at her, my hands firmly in my pockets. Are you feeling okay?


    Shes wearing the same outfit shes almost always wearing. A ck, white, and pale blue set of magi-tech gear. Not made out of any sort of metal, outside of her chest, shoulders, wrists, and ankles, but instead made out of some sort of special fiber developed by Silver Works. The outfit has a cloak that goes all the way down almost to the floor, despite her being slightly taller than myself. Meanwhile she herself has blue eyes and ck hair, tinted with shades of pale blue.


    Im fine, I answer her, ncing behind her to see if theres anyone else in the hall, only to find no one. Then I look back at her again and add, Thank you for the help yesterday.


    A faint smile stretches across her face, and she says, Of course. Ill always be there if you need the help. Just say the word.


    And there she goes again. Hinting but not outright saying that she wants to help me. Particrly by adopting me.


    But my answer is still no. If the CEO of Silver Works  a ss IV well-known Guardian  and his wife  another well-known ss IV Guardian  adopted an orphan, even if she is a Guardian herself, it wouldnt look good for them. It would massively hurt their reputation, give Allens brother a chance at Allens position as CEO again, and hurt his credibility with the board of shareholders, and I really don''t want to cause harm to them considering all they''ve done for me.


    Only way I''d consider it was if I reached ss III myself. Then the people in this city probably wouldn''t look down on me at that point.


    In fact, most people kind of just forget youre an orphan after you reach ss III. Or at least, thats what happened with any other orphans whove contracted and reached that level of power.


    Mostly because there have been ss I and ss II ''Guardians'' who were actually changelings in disguise. It almost never happens, but it has happened before.


    But there has never been a ss III ''Guardian'' changeling. Probably because the creatures themselves are ss III, or at least start out that way. So it likely gets a lot more difficult to mimic a human Guardian at the same ss as themself for some reason.


    So then Id be fine with an adoption. But only then.


    Of course, I answer her with a smile before asking, hows the frontline?


    She seems a little disappointed with my answer as always but follows our little routine to the letter and answers, Its been slow. No real progress has been made towards taking back the ind from the demons. Mostly because that damned bastard Satan keeps changing up his attack n as if the sky would fall should he use the same tactic more than once!


    I grimace at the mention of the Oni that managed to sneak his way through the only ss V Fracture that was opened in Japan before the fall of the old nation and before that Fractures core was shattered.


    Whoever let that bastard out of the cores range of control before they shattered it should be drawn and quartered for all of the problems that demon has caused, Cynthia continuesining, seemingly uncaring of the fact that Im pretty sure the one who let him out of the cores range died in the process of doing so.


    In all honesty, humanity is just lucky that only three ss V Fractures have appeared in all of history. Only one of which was stopped. The other two  one that led to the downfall of Japan, and the one that led to the downfall of the northern pole of the  werent. Although everyone was rather surprised about the one at the northern pole of the considering thecking number of people there in the first ce.


    Another reason why no one could stop that one.


    The third one happened somewhere around neen to twenty years ago, right here in this city. And three of the Knights were present and managed to stop it.


    Honestly, the only reason the world is still free from demon control right now is that there appears to be a limit on who can actuallye through the gates that the cores manifest into, and how strong the ones who can pass through can be. Along with a cap on how many at once without reality bing shaky around the gate, possibly copsing the thing in the process.


    Well, enough about that, Cynthia suddenly says, surprising me that she isnt gonna drone on and on about how much she hates Satan. Or Blue for that matter, who is in charge of the assault on the old ind nation. Youre probably starving by now, so go ahead and get something to eat. Meet with me and Allen in his office once youre done, okay? she adds thisst part while reaching out and caressing my face, making me want to back away from the physical contact. But this time I let her, purely because I know she was worried about me.


    Okay, I answer with a light nod of my head, ncing behind her to see Michael and his team turning the corner in the hallway. Then I focus on her again.


    At least its not the ears.


    She nces at my ears.


    I narrow my eyes.


    She pulls her arm back and begins to walk away while waving and saying, Ill see you in a bit then, sweetheart!


    <strong>By the way, she touched your ears while you were unconscious, </strong>Tar whispers into my mind, making my eyes re as I shout, You stars-damned sneak! Do <strong>not </strong>touch my ears!


    Cynthia just starts walking faster while waving behind herself.

 Book 1: Chapter 75: Sharing over Food

    Book 1: Chapter 75: Sharing over Food


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I re straight ahead of me as I walk down the hall in the opposite direction of her towards the cafeteria.


    Damn it, no one touches my ears!


    <strong>You let that kid touch them before, </strong>Tar says with amusement clear in his voice, but I dont even stop walking as I answer out loud, I did that because of the situation. Because if she didnt shut up, then it wouldve put us in danger. Simple as that. And I <em>wont </em>be doing it again.


    I shiver as I remember how it felt when she touched them. It was terrible. Why  by all the stars in the sky  are my ears so damned sensitive?!


    <strong>I believe it had something to do with your hearing, but I didnt pay too much attention to that when learning about blood lycans, </strong>Tar exins, raising a couple questions in my mind that can wait tillter about his education.


    Well regardless of the reason, itspletely stupid. And Im <em>really </em>not used to feeling that much anywhere.


    <strong>Oh, right, you did mention that your body was rather dulled senses before, </strong>Tar mutters, and I nod my head as I continue walking, vaguely noting the footsteps behind me in the process. <strong>If I had to guess, that probably had something to do with your demon side being unawakened for so long. It likely had adverse effects on your body during that time.</strong>


    I stop walking this time.


    Wait, so that was why?


    <strong>Probably.</strong>


    Huh. That makes sense, actually.


    After a few seconds pass, I nce behind me  no longer mad at Cynthia for the moment  to find Michael and his team approaching. And immediately after noticing my gaze, Michael raises his hand and shouts, Hey! Have time for a chat?


    I nce at Emily to find her surprisingly not hiding behind her brother and instead demurely waving at me before looking at Denise to find her waving at me with a grin on her face.


    Not particrly, I answer while turning around and continuing walking while calling back, going to get breakfast right now. But you can join me if you want.


    Cool! I hear him say as I walk forwards, my hands still in my pants pockets. Then he hurries to catch up to me, walking side by side as Denise goes to my other side and Emily to Michaels, proving just how wide this hall is in the process.


    Well, since Cynthias gone, are you going to tell me about whatever it was you were going to tell me about, Tar?


    <strong>That might be a better topic for when youre alone, </strong>Tar says, sounding both nervous and afraid?


    Huh. This talk cant be a good one if hes acting like this.


    <strong>Knowing you, I doubt youll react too strongly to it, but yes, </strong>Tar says, <strong>its not something most humans would react to in a positive light.</strong>


    Hmm. Okay.


    Thats something that can be dealt with after I get rid of this gnawing hunger in my stomach. Because I really hate this feeling.


    We continue walking down the hall with the others talking and me staying mostly quiet, only adding a word here or there when necessary. And once we reach the cafeteria, Michael finally pops the question Ive been dreading.


    So have you decided whether or not to join our team? he asks, making me frown as we enter the cafeteria.


    Sorry, I answer rather quickly with a shake of my head, still havent decided.


    I havent had the time to. Not with all the studying, the training, and of course the almost dying.


    Mostly the almost dying.


    He looks visibly disappointed for a second, and so does Denise. But Emily doesnt really show much emotion as shes busy staring at the food at the end of the cafeteria, practically drooling at the mouth.


    Huh. Didnt pay attention before, but is she a foodie?


    With her rather small figure, I never wouldve guessed.


    We all get our food then sit down in my wonderful little corner of the cafeteria and begin eating. But after helping myself to four tes of food, I give in to curiosity and ask, I know Michael has nature magic, but what magics do the two of you have?


    Both Emily and Denise look up from their food at me with surprise before sharing a nce. Then Denise smiles and focuses on me again as she says in a proud voice, Inferno magic. Meanwhile Emily just quietly answers, Corruption magic.


    My jaw drops open.


    Excuse me, what? I ask out loud before realizing that I had just asked that out loud and pping my hands over my mouth.


    Michael bursts intoughter, meanwhile his sister just blushes and focuses on her food.


    How did such a shy girl get corruption magic of all things? I wonder what all it does?


    I nce at her hair and the highlights in it that are a sickly shade of green. Then I nce at her brothers hair, which has highlights of a much healthier and vibrant shade of green.


    Guess that makes sense then.


    Meanwhile I finally turn to Denise to look at her golden hair.


    Guess your hair didnt change at all during your reality warp, I offhandedly state with a raised brow, curious as to what did change, if anything.


    That actually makes her blush for some reason.


    Why is she blushing?


    Michael leans in out of the corner of my eye and adds, Actually, Im curious about that too. What <em>did </em>your reality warp do?


    I cant help but notice Emily covering her mouth and trying  and failing  to hold back a snicker for some reason.


    Interesting. Whatever her reality warp is, it mustve been in a rather embarrassing spot.


    Meanwhile, Denise just pointedly looks at her food like its the most wonderful thing in the world, making me even more curious as to what it is. But then Emily does something surprising. She actually leans over across the table, careful of the food in the process, and whispers to me, She got a mark on her navel symbolizing both fire and ice. You should see it some day!


    My eyes widen in surprise before I nce at Denise, who seems to be hiding her blushing face in her hands  likely having guessed what Emily was telling me. Then I nce at Michael who just looks confused, not having heard Emilys whisper.


    I turn my gaze back to Denise with a smirk and tell her, Ah, I got it. No need to tell me then.


    This just makes her blush even harder.


    Okay, this team might not be so bad after all. They''re certainly amusing.


    But the question is still on the table though.

 Book 1: Chapter 76: Family

    Book 1: Chapter 76: Family


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After eating, I leave to go to Allens office, separating from the others. And once I arrive, I knock on the door, quickly getting an answer in the form of Allen saying, Come in.


    So I open the door and walk in, finding both Allen and Cynthia sitting on one of his sofas, leaving the other one directly across the table from it open.


    Sit, Allen says, waving his hand at the other sofa. And I do so.


    Then silence fills the office for several seconds as the three of us stare at each other.


    Eventually Allen breaks it by beginning, I understand that you didnt have much of anything to do with yourtest near death situation. My eyebrows rise slightly in surprise at the understanding I can clearly hear in his voice, unlike the anger of thest time we had a talk. So Cynthia and I have talked it over, and we would like to bring your jacket to my father to work on instead of having me working on it directly.


    I stare at them for a few seconds before muttering, Wait, really?


    Wont that cost a fortune? Bringing the thing to the original creator of magi-tech? The one who brought about changes to society as a whole, turning the world from a hellhole to what it is today?


    A bit less of a hellhole. Well, except for Tier 3 cities, which are still using old world technology without any magi-tech beyond the shields around the important buildings, the sparse bunkers, and the city as a whole.


    Yes, he continues before seemingly hesitating and then adding, and we would like to pay for it as well.


    My brows furrow at this.


    I know they care about me. And I know they just want to help. But


    Will you please let us? Cynthia asks, a pleading look on her face.


    A few seconds pass in silence.


    I lean forwards resting my forehead on my palms with my elbows on my knees.


    Should I?


    <strong>Its up to you, </strong>Tar answers my rhetorical question.


    Ive always hated epting handouts, believing that everything I do should be earned by myself. That if I ept more from their family then Ill be reliant on them in some way. And that thought terrifies me. Just the idea that I might be reliant on them when they could abandon me just like my birth parents did.


    But


    I look up to see their pleading gazes, and Im pretty sure that if Belle were here shed be looking at me the exact same way.


    They really are like my family, even if I refuse to call them mom or dad. They are like my parents and are the only parents Ive ever known.


    <strong>Why do you refuse to call them mom or dad then? </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely curious.


    Because its not factually true. Its not exact. Mom or dad means that they are the ones who gave birth to me, simple as that. And they arent, even if I may view them as a mother and father figure.


    <strong>Thats an odd way to look at things, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly confused now, <strong>is it really so bad to not be exact in this? To bend the rules you seem to have set in ce just a little?</strong>


    Tar actually appears in between me, Allen, and Cynthia as he says this, startling all three of us.


    I grimace before eventually groaning and leaning back against the sofa again while resting my arm on my forehead and closing my eyes.


    Damn it. Stars damn it.


    Once cant hurt, I guess.


    I lower my head while opening my eyes again before whispering, Okay, mom, dad. Just this once.


    Both of their eyes shoot wide open, and they jump from their seats, making me flinch at the suddenness of it.


    Scarlet! Sweetheart!!!


    I purposefully look away from them, taking a particr interest in a nice picture engraved on the ceiling.


    Can you call me that again? I hear Cynthia ask, sounding as if shes almost in tears.


    It is a very nice picture.


    Very nice.


    I vaguely hear Tar chuckling in my head.


    After a second I hear Cynthia beginning to approach me, and I immediately look down again while holding my arms out and saying, Woah, woah, no hugs. Not ready for that.


    She looks slightly disappointed but goes back to her seat, sitting down at the same time as Allen.


    Anyways Allen, he looks a tiny bit disappointed by my manner of calling him, albeit with a lot of hope that wasnt there before that Ill likely call him dad again in the future. Which I can see happening, but nows too early still. Do you know when my jacket will be done? And if itll be done before the next Demonic Assault?


    Both Allen and Cynthia grow serious again as Allen answers, Were not sure. It might be, or it might not. Well just have to wait and see.


    I nod my head before quietly muttering, Thank you.


    The two smile and answer as if in sync, Of course.


    A few more seconds pass in silence.


    About adoption Cynthia prods, actually saying the word out loud this time. But I still shake my head.


    Its too early, I answer them, shocking the two with my subtle admission to a future agreement to it. Maybe when Im a ss III Guardian and people wont be looking down on me for being an orphan anymore.


    Allen begins to open his mouth and say something about others not daring to do that, but I raise a hand and interrupt him, You know very well that your brother would do just that. He goes silent at this, so I tilt my head and press on, Didnt he try the same thing when you went and created an orphanage? He tried to take your position as CEO and remove you from thepany, even if his n failed. So adopting an orphan, even if said orphan is a ss I Guardian, would just fuel the fire more. But when Im ss III, no one will likely even remember that I was an orphan.


    Neither of them have anything to say to that.


    Was that talk why you called me in here? I ask while rxing slightly on the sofa. And this seems to snap the two out of the stupor my previous words had put them in.


    Actually, Allen starts while leaning forward in his sofa and resting his elbows on his legs, we wanted to talk about you joining a team.


    I blink in surprise.


    What?

 Book 1: Chapter 77: Team

    Book 1: Chapter 77: Team


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We know that you arent very social and dont really like working with others, Cynthia says during my stunned silence, but we think itd be a good idea for you to join a team. Even if you only work with them for enough Demonic Assaults to get you leveled up to around level sixty or so to be able to handle yourself better. Then you can go solo again if you want.


    I stare at her, then at Allen, then back at her again.


    Both of them look serious. Both are probably very worried.


    But I really like going solo


    We stare at each other for several seconds before Allen taps away at his terminal and then says, How about you decide after we tell you who they are, since youre already rather acquainted with them considering the meals youve eaten alongside them.


    Oh.


    My eyes widen slightly.


    Oh! Its Michaels team.


    To start things off, Michaels magic is nature magic, and it allows him to heal people and summon familiars to help fight, he says, exining something I already knew. Denises magic is quite a bit more wild than that though. Inferno magic. Magic that uses both ice and fire with varying levels of strength. A very powerful ranged and up close hitter, since she has skills rted to both.


    Interesting. A better description of her magic. It would also exin the mark she apparently has on her navel.


    Emilys corruption magic is especially good at whittling down more powerful demons, and even weakening arge swarm of them, Cynthia adds in her own two cents, seemingly having picked her own favorite of the three. Her magic, as you can guess, generally focuses on anything that is used to corrode away a biological body. Such as viruses, diseases, poisons, and the like.


    Yeah, that really is an odd sort of magic for such a quiet girl to have. But I guess everyone has their oddities, so who am I to judge?


    Besides. Corruption magic sounds cool. End of story.


    So, a healer and summoner, a ranged and physical attacker, and a debuffer? I mutter, using video game terms that the two actually seem to understand, considering their nodding heads. And Id be an all-rounder of sorts. Someone that can fill in most of the roles without an issue.


    The two both nod their heads again before Allen raises his voice and says, You cane in now!


    I nce at the door with surprise visible on my face to find it opening, revealing Michael and his team on the other side.


    Wait, how didnt I hear them? Is the door just better shielded against sound than my suites walls? Or what?


    <strong>Thats probably the case, </strong>Tar says, having vanished the moment Allen said for them toe in.


    Guess that makes sense since this is his office. So it needs better protection.


    Sir, Michael says with a nod towards Allen and Cynthia, maam. He then nces towards me and smiles as he adds, Scarlet.


    I nod my head in response before ncing behind him to find his sister hiding behind his back, with Denise quickly moving forward with confidence. Then I look back to Allen and Cynthia to find them both staring at me with a look of askance on their face.


    So I look down at my hands for a few seconds as I ponder over the matter.


    In the end, it would only be for a few assaults and not forever, and itd allow me to limate a bit more to being a Guardian before going back on my own again. And I wouldnt have to worry about needing backup as much since Id have other Guardians helping me out.


    Because it is a little embarrassing almost dying so much.


    Even if it is rewarding.


    And their team really is built pretty well.


    I let out a sigh before looking up again and answering, Fine. Ill join their team for the next few Demonic Assaults, but thats it. Once I feel confident enough about my level, Ill be going solo again. Or at least splitting off from the team when we enter a Fracture and doing things on my own.


    Both Allen and Cynthia sag in their sofas with relief, meanwhile the team that had just entered looks over the moon about my deration. Well, except for Emily, who only looks excited  likely too shy to show as much excitement as the other two are doing.


    Guess they were already informed about this beforeing in.


    Whether I work with you for the tournament or notter on will depend on how well we work together and how I feel at the time, I further answer Michaels question, deciding to get that out of the way as well. And he seems to be quite happy with my answer, considering the fact that hes grinning as if he had just won the lottery.


    Meanwhile Denise just looks like shes itching to hug me but is holding back with quite a bit of struggle.


    Which I guess improves my opinion of her. The fact that she <em>can </em>and is <em>willing </em>to hold back that is.


    If its alright with you, Michael says while stretching his arm out to shake my own, continuing after I ept his handshake, Id like to work on somebat drills in a couple hours and to spend some time formting ns and getting to know each others capabilities.


    Oh, right. Capabilities are a thing. Thatll be a pain.


    Guess Ill have to be ready to shock them if they ask to know mine.


    Thatll work, I answer while letting go of his arm. He then turns to Allen and Cynthia and asks, Is there anything else you need, Cipher?


    After Allen shakes his head, he turns to Cynthia and repeats the same thing to her, only to get the same response before he thanks them both and leaves, his team members aside from me following behind him. And once the door shuts behind their group, I turn my focus back to Allen and Cynthia.


    And there is onest thing on our agenda before you can go, Allen says rather quickly while getting up from his chair. Cynthia doesnt move though, just watching him as he goes around his desk while saying, Gotta give you your Guardian Identification Card and Guardian Identification Papers.


    Oh. Right. Those are a thing too.

 Book 1: Chapter 78: Answers Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 78: Answers Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We learned about them a little bit in high school. A Guardian Identification Card, or a GIC, is kind of like a personal identification number for a Guardian. Except that the number and therefore your identity cant be stolen since its attuned to your life force, unlike a personal identification number. Meanwhile the Guardian Identification Papers just have information such as my name, magic, age, and all of my capabilities and Association.


    Im guessing you already know what they are, Allen says while digging around in a pile of papers, only briefly ncing up to see me nod before returning his attention to the pile. Then I wont bother exining them to you.


    A few seconds pass as Cynthia and I watch him dig until he manages to find a small card which he hands to me. The card has my name, a line of ten digits, my birthdate that Allen decided on for me when he took me in after confirming an estimate of my exact age at a hospital, and a brief description of my appearance, focusing mostly on my reality warp changes.


    He then turns back to the pile again until he finds arge paper printed inndscape that I can tell at a nce is my GIP, or Guardian Identification Papers.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong>


    <strong>Magic: Blood</strong>


    <strong>Age: 19</strong>


    <strong>Physical Capabilities:</strong>


    <strong>Mental Capabilities:</strong>


    <strong>Magical Capabilities:</strong>


    <strong>Strength:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Processing:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Capacity:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Agility:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Intuition:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Power:</strong>


    Tier A


    <strong>Constitution:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Resistance:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Control:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Endurance:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>Power:</strong>


    Tier C


    <strong>University: Lions Heart</strong>


    <strong>Perception:</strong>


    Tier A


    <strong>Reaction:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Association: Silver Association</strong>


    <strong>Vitality:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>Willpower:</strong>


    Tier B


    <strong>ss: I</strong>


    Make sure to put them somewhere safe, he says offhandedly before sitting at his desk and adding, thats all.


    I nod before ncing at Cynthia and nodding to her too, getting one in return right after. Then I head out the door, closing it behind me.


    That was a lot to deal with in one sitting.


    <strong>What do you mean? </strong>Tar asks.


    Well, Ive never been the greatest at disying my emotions to others or even understanding them myself. So thank you for the push you gave me in there.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>Tar mutters, <strong>sure thing.</strong>


    I faintly smile at that before turning serious again.


    Now then. Is now a good time for what you were wanting to tell me?


    <strong>Head to your room and Ill tell you there, </strong>Tar says, almost making me want to roll my eyes at this point. But I dont and instead make my way towards my suite, not stopping anywhere in the meantime. Then, once I do make it to my room and lock the suite doors behind me, he just tells me to sit down, making me really wonder what hes about to tell me.


    I hear him taking a deep breath before appearing in front of me, a serious look on his tanuki face.


    <strong>You asked me if your appearance would continue changing as you advance through the sses like many of the other Guardians appearances do, </strong>he begins, making me frown at where he seems to be going with this, <strong>well, do you remember what I said early on, close to when we first met? That your demonic genes are attempting to devour your human ones?</strong>


    My frown grows deeper, but I nod my head anyways.


    <strong>Well, what I said after was a half-truth, </strong>he says, making my frown turn straight into a scowl. <strong>You are able to keep your genes under control through hunting, yes, but the problem is that its not that simple. To put it simply, about a fourth of your remaining human genes will most likely be devoured with every ss advancement you go through.</strong>


    Are you fucking kidding me?! And you choose to wait till now to tell me?!


    My fists clench slightly in anger, but I take a deep breath to calm down before saying out loud, Please continue.


    <strong>When you advance to ss II, your body will likely change again, and youll go from a half human half blood lycan to 62.5% blood lycan and 37.5% human. And the only way to revert this change is to manage to find some sort of skill that you can purchase thatll revert the changes, </strong>he continues, sounding slightly nervous now. <strong>Which means hunting stronger and stronger prey to get better and better achievements in the hope that youll get a skill like that.</strong>


    I flop back on my bed with a grunt.


    That really does sound like a pain.


    I stay silent for several minutes, just staring at the ceiling.


    So if I dont find a way to revert it, then Ill be a full-blooded blood lycan by the time I reach ss V?


    <strong>Thats the conclusion my father was able to reach upon studying you and the System, </strong>Tar exins, making me shoot up at the mention of his father  the king of the fae  studying me. <strong>What did you think I was doing all those times I was gone? Taking a walk on the Farshore?</strong>


    My eye twitches at that.


    <strong>I was talking with father during those times, since he isnt often free, </strong>he says before adding, <strong>well, most of those times at least.</strong>


    Im not a fan of someone studying me, but at the same time, I know hes just trying to help. So Ill let that slide.


    Either way though, if I be a full blooded demon, humans would be able to tell, wouldnt they?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers right away, <strong>well, unless</strong>


    I frown at that.


    Unless what? I end up asking out loud after several seconds of silence.


    <strong>Unless  now, theres only a small possibility of this happening ording to father  unless the gene devouring stops right beforepletion, leaving you a single percent human still, </strong>he says, surprising me once again. <strong>But its only a possibility. In fact, nothing here is absolute. Its all theories, so take it as you will.</strong>


    Right. Because Im the first human and demon hybrid.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar answers, bobbing his tanuki head up and down once.


    I let out a sigh.


    Guess I have another reason now to risk my life for achievements. Although the Blood Regeneration skill should make things a lot easier in that regard.


    Anyways, theres something else Ive been wanting to ask.


    <strong>Go ahead, </strong>Tar answers right away, floating in above my face in the process, <strong>I dont want to keep hiding things from you anymore.</strong>


    Well, thats good.


    You mentioned a tournament for deciding the next ruler of the fae via proxy. How is this tournament going to be conducted, and where?

 Book 1: Chapter 79: Answers Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 79: Answers Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Tar looks surprised for a second before hesitating a second. But in the end he answers my question, <strong>All of the proxies will be brought into the in between located between the Farshore and the mortal realm. We will then have a series of tournaments andpetitions held there, and the winner will be decided on by whoever umtes the most points throughout the tournaments andpetitions.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    <strong>Amongst the tournaments andpetitions, there will be ones that are to the death, and ones that arent, </strong>Tar continues, surprising me at the idea of the tournament not being a pure to the death thing. <strong>Of course, the ones to the death are worth more points than the ones that arent. And you can surrender at any time during the not to the death ones, but you can only surrender once out of all the to the deathpetitions you participate in.</strong>


    I feel my pride re up slightly at the thought of participating in something like that.


    This tournament of yours actually sounds a little interesting.


    Although do I get anything from winning for you?


    <strong>Yes, you will be given achievements by the System that will help in gaining new skills, </strong>Tar says, adding more incentive towards this tournament. <strong>Not to mention the EXP of whatever demons or humans you may end up killing in the tournament, should you do the to the deathpetitions.</strong>


    I grimace slightly at the thought of killing another human, only to shake the thought out of my head a secondter as he adds, <strong>Oh, and the entire tournament will be conducted with the poption of the Farshore as the audience.</strong>


    This statement takes the wind right out of my metaphorical sails.


    Im going to have an audience watching? Now thats not gonna be fun.


    <strong>Yeah, I can see you disliking that part, </strong>he says while floating down andnding on my chest. <strong>None of this matters for a long time anyways. Not when the tournament wont likely happen for decades or even centuries down the road at the earlier.</strong>


    True. But Id still rather be prepared.


    Also, theres one more thing thats bothering me.


    <strong>What is it? </strong>Tar asks, ncing at me from my chest.


    I look up at the ceiling.


    If I did be a full blooded demon, wouldnt that mean a Fracture core would send me to Tartarus when shattered?


    He goes silent.


    Neither of us say anything for who knows how long.


    Thought so.


    The silence extends for a while longer before I eventually ask out loud rather quietly, Hey, do you know anything about who my parents are?


    This time the tanuki answers immediately, <strong>No. Ive tried to look into it, but I cant find anything. The only thing I could find was that your being on Earth likely has something to do with a Fracture that happened sometime around when Allen found you. And I also believe Allen may not have told you the full truth about how he found you.</strong>


    Hmm. Yeah, I kind of suspected that a while ago, to be honest. But its never really bothered me.


    If hes lying to me about it then he must have a good reason for it. And it doesnt change the fact that my birth parents abandoned me.


    <strong>Unless your birth parents are dead that is, </strong>he suggests, but I just shake my head.


    If one of them was a ss V demon then I doubt theyd be dead. And even if they were, then Allen still probably has his reasons for not telling me.


    <strong>Youre taking that rather well, </strong>Tar points out while closing his eyes.


    Well, yeah. Its not like I knew my biological parents, so why bother worrying?


    He just hums at that, not saying anything in response.


    Although if I could meet them, I would like to ask why. Why they had a hybrid child. Why they abandoned me, assuming they did.


    Tar hums again.


    I cant help but smile as I feel a warmth well up in my chest at finally having someone to really confide in, even if he doesnt always tell me everything he should. Since while Belle is a great friend, shes not all that good a listener. More a doer. Since she tends to just act on whatever fancies she has at the time as long as they arent too far stretched, and she wont just sit in ce listening for extended periods of time.


    Arthur was better at listening, but I dont think we were really close enough for me to confide in him. Close friends yes, maybe even close to feeling that hes like a brother in some ways, yes. But close enough to confide in? No.


    Although hes mostly better at listening because he isnt that talkative. Rather the stoic type.


    Tar hums in response to my thoughts again, not saying anything.


    Oh, right. Speaking of Belle.


    I begin to sit up, letting Tar roll down to myp as I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone to find Belles contact. Then I send her a text asking how that n she had going turned out for her bing a Guardian.


    And surprisingly, she answers almost immediately, making me briefly wonder what shes doing right now.


    [Yeah, that didnt work out. Nothing happened. I was just kind of left there watching dad ughter a bunch of demons.]


    <strong>That was to be expected, </strong>Tar says offhandedly.


    Im just d shes not hurt.


    Then again, Allen wouldnt have been acting as he was earlier if she had. And Cynthia likely wouldve verbally gutted Allen for letting him take her in the first ce.


    In fact, I bet she doesnt even know that he took her. And that when she finds out, she <em>will </em>verbally gut him.


    [It was rather stupid to suggest that n in the first ce, just so you know. But Im d youre alright.]


    After sending the text, I flop back on my bed again with my phone held off to the side and my arm resting on the mattress.


    I am curious as to how Arthur talked to her though. Especially considering that she ended up going through with the n anyways. Even if she did kind of fail in the process.


    My phone buzzes, making me bring it up to my face to read her response. And when I see it, my eyes widen in surprise.


    [Arthur wasnt very happy. And hes taken a couple of days off to visit despite therge price, so hell be here in a couple days.]


    The hell? I mutter, wondering where in the stars Arthur managed to get the credits to take a trip to a Tier 1 city. Much less where he got the permission to do so.


    Then the image of a certain protective father shes in my head and I realize that Allen is probably using Arthur to ground his daughter in a way right now, since he cant actually do anything with her being an adult and all.


    Interesting tactic.


    [Have fun with that!]


    After sending her my rather sarcastic reply, I chuckle at the thought of Arthurs little conversation that hell be having with her when he gets there. Since that guy doesnt mince his words.


    Then I just set up an rm on my phone for about an hour and a half from now then go to sleep, deciding to take a quick nap before the team gathering.

 Book 1: Chapter 80: Sizing up the Team Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 80: Sizing up the Team Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    By the time I reach the training hall, all three of them are already inside, along with Sylver for some reason and some random dude. One that I dont recognize.


    Each of the five are wearing the very same type of armor  just like what Allen wears forbat  but with varying colors and different cores at the center. Which I believe is the regr magi-tech armor avable to the members of the Association for a veryrge discount.


    Ah, looks like shes here! Michael says, bringing the unknown guys gaze to me, Sylvers having already been locked on me from the moment I opened the door. And judging by the mana I can sense from the unknown guy, he is stronger than Sylver but still weaker than Allen.


    ss III maybe?


    <strong>Youd be correct, </strong>Tar answers me.


    Cool. I think Im getting better at this sensing stuff.


    Michael gestures to the guy and introduces him, This guy is an instructor from Lions Heart. One responsible for tutoring us. And he heard that youd be here today, so he decided to stop by and watch.


    Oh.


    I give him a brief nod, Hello.


    He nods back without a word.


    Guess if he wont be giving his name Ill just call him instructor guy.


    I hear Tar snorting in the back of my mind, but I ignore him as I nce at Sylver, only for him to wave me off and say, Im here for your training. Not theirs. You can thank your parents.


    Oh, right. I almost forgot that Allen pushed the training me job onto him on ount of work.


    First I think we should go ahead and show off what we can all do, Michael begins as he steps up to the instructor, who is now somehow standing inside of the training ring without me having even so much as noticed him leaving his earlier position. And Ill start first. We can have Scarlet gost. He nces back at me after entering the ring and standing across from instructor guy and adds, Assuming thats alright with you?


    Knock yourself out, I tell him with a light nod of my head.


    He smirks before turning to the instructor guy and taking a deep breath. Then he raises both of his hands while a glowing green energy begins to cover them, following which the energy moves into arge ring in front of him before filling the ring.


    I lift a single eyebrow as I watch a tree walk out of the circle. Yes. Walk out. A tree.


    Huh, I mutter, not sure what Im seeing as the tree steps up in front of Michael. Then another tree walks out. And some sort of falcon. And what looks like a marshmallow.


    The marshmallow  which had originally fallen to the ground right after passing through the portal thingy  suddenly stops falling and begins floating in the air.


    Oh. My mistake.


    The floating marshmallow.


    I nce at Emily to find her blushing and staring at the creature, making me wonder just what is on her mind right now. Then I look at Denise to find her grinning with a rather wicked grin on her face. One clearly meaning to do evil.


    Wonder what thats all about?


    When I turn my attention back to the nature magic user and instructor guy, I find the instructor simply standing there, not bothering to use any skills or anything. Which makes sense in hindsight. Hes probably strong enough to pretty much shrug off most if not all of Michaels attacks as a ss III.


    The marshmallow  which really is just a floating ball of white fluffy stuff  begins flying around really quickly whereas the two trees stand guard in front of Michael and the hawk flies into the sky with the marshmallow. Then my eyes widen as I see the marshmallow shooting out random bolts of what looks like green lightning that strike wildly at the ground, startling the instructor who instinctively begins to dodge them. Meanwhile the hawk suddenly coats its entire body in some sort of green energy and flies in at an incredibly fast speed to attack instructor guy who is still distracted.


    Or at least, he looked distracted. But the man just bends his back over, dodging the hawk with ease before grabbing its taloned foot and throwing the thing at Michael, knocking him to the ground in the process.


    Guess the instructor guy isnt holding back.


    The guy suddenly swipes his hand horizontally in front of him, sending what looks like an arc of wind straight at Michael, likely to test out Michaels defense. And the arc is effectively blocked by one of the trees before a green energy covers the creature and the instructor guy winces slightly with a vague look of surprise on his face.


    Thorns? Sylver mutters, somehow having gotten close to me as I find him standing right next to me as we watch the fight. Interesting. Dont see that every day.


    Thorns? I ask, hoping for more information.


    He answers without looking at me, Thorns is a type of effect where when damage is done to something, it is magically returned back to the one who originally dealt the damage. Although in this case, Artorius is just too strong for the thorns to have mattered.


    Oh. Interesting.


    And instructor guys name is Artorius?


    I focus on the fight again to find Artorius once again sending an arc of wind, albeit this time a much stronger looking one, at Michael. And this time it cuts straight through the arm  or rather branch  of the tree used to block it and strikes Michael in the side, sending him flying a few meters in the process. He then immediately begins to heal his wounds with the same green magic he used on me once before getting back up without any problems.


    Interesting.


    Certainly some rather versatile skills there. Although I very much prefer my own up close and personal method of fighting.


    He shows us a couple other skills such as one to wrap himself up with an armor made from tree bark, which doesnt look very pleasant, along with one to do something that I have no idea what is doing. Just that his eyes and the eyes of the hawk are both glowing green.


    Maybe some sort of shared sense skill between him and his summon? Or something like that?


    After that though, the bout ends and he begins walking back to us, with Denise rushing over to the ring after him.


    Time to see this inferno magic then.

 Book 1: Chapter 80.2: Sizing up the Team Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 80.2: Sizing up the Team Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Denise just waves back at us after reaching the arena with a smile, then focuses on the instructor. We all then watch as a torrent of red energy begins enveloping her body, following which she ms her fists together and sprints towards Artorius at an incredible speed with her fist pulled back to strike.


    Oh. Wow.


    Shes fast.


    But despite her speed, Artorius just avoids the strike without much struggle, and she continues flying past him into the border of the arena, smashing her fist into it with a very loud noise that hurts my ears a little. The girl doesnt let that bother her though as she simply turns back around and rushes at him again, but this time with a pale blue energy coating the red energy on just her fist, making for an odd sight.


    A pale blue mist leaks from her fist as she flies towards him, and this time the guy decides to take her attack, likely to show us what she can actually do. And when her fist strikes his palm, light freezing soundse from the two collided fists as the mans glove begins to freeze slightly before he throws her away.


    A physical enhancement skill and an ice fist skill so far. Not bad.


    After that she does a roundhouse kick  one of the moves I learned from Sylver  with that same icy energy coating her foot instead of her hand now. Meaning its not an ice fist skill but some sort of ice strike?


    Either way though, the instructor blocks it just as easily has hed blocked the other one before pushing and sending her flying several meters. But despite the height she reached, she still manages tond on her feet. Then she raises her hands palm out towards the instructor and quite literally shouts, Fireball! out loud before, low and behold, a fireball forms in front of her hands and flies towards the man. But of course, he just swats it away like a fly.


    You really shouldnt do that, Michael shouts at her, and she just shouts back, I know! Im trying to resist the urge! I really am!!


    My brows furrow in confusion.


    What?


    Shes <em>very </em>big on anime, and when she first became a Guardian, shed always shout any skill she used out loud before using it like you see in those shows, Emily suddenly answers my question, surprising me at the fact that shes actually talking to me. Michaels been trying to get her to stop, and its been working for the most part.


    Huh, I mutter while ncing at the girl to find that she is still staring at the marshmallow that Michael never unsummoned, unlike the rest of his summons. Do you like that thing?


    She nods her head and mutters, Its just so soft to hold


    Huh. Guess she likes soft things.


    As if on cue, she nces towards my ears, making me narrow my eyes and tense up a little.


    Sorry, she mutters, quickly looking away.


    Yep. Definitely likes soft things.


    Guess thats kind of cute. But she better not touch my ears.


    Looking back at Denise again, I find her using a couple otherbat skills such as a spear of ice and some sort of eruption of fire from the ground. Simple ranged attacks, with no more physical ones.


    Then she finishes up,ing back to us with the instructor guy still standing in the ring, likely waiting for Emily to go in. And after a brief moment of hesitation, she does.


    Unlike the other two fights though, Emily starts out standing far behind the instructor, with a putrid green and ck fog beginning to spread out of her. The fog slowly spreads to be somewhere around three to four meters in diameter, with her as the center, before she rushes forward, not startling the instructor at all. Likely because he is their tutor and must already know their skills to a degree.


    The instructor allows the fog to touch him, making me hear tiny sizzling sounds signifying something melting while at the same time I see some of the cloth tying his long hair in a ponytail dissolving. But other than that, the man is too strong for the acid fog to do anything else, and he rushes forward to strike at Emily.


    Emily barely manages to stumble out of his hit before sweeping her arm horizontally, spraying what I think are tiny green needles at the man, but most of them bounce off of his armor. I do see two striking his skin though, and it begins to cause what looks like necrotic poisoning around the wound. For a split second, that is, before the wounds heal and the needles are forced out.


    So acid fog and necrotic poisoning needles? Pretty good so far. Not much in the way of physicalbat though. And the way shes moving kind of reminds me of a ninja from a movie.


    I also feel like I vaguely notice some tiny ck particles moving about the instructors skin, but I cant tell what theyre doing. Because they dont really seem to be doing anything.


    Shes using a skill that gradually builds up mdies in the target, but it just isnt effective against someone like him, Sylver answers my thoughts, probably noticing the confused expression I had on.


    I hum in response, not taking my eyes off of the fight, which is probably the worst matchup amongst the three. Since her attacks literally dont do much of anything to him at all, what with them all being focused on building up mdies and poisons.


    The fight continues for a few minutes before ending with her awkwardly walking out, looking quite down in the process. Which I can understand, considering that she didnt really do much of anything to him.


    Not that the other two did much better.


    I wonder what level the three are at anyways?


    Everyone turns to look at me, prompting me to start walking towards the arena.


    Well, guess its my turn.

 Book 1: Intermission 7

    Book 1: Intermission 7


    <strong>Outside of the Arena within the Training Hall</strong>


    When Michael first thought to ask the new girl to join his team, he was mostly doing it because she was a blood magic user, and because of what he had seen her doing on a couple of videos posted online. And blood magic users often be some of the strongest Guardians just from the pure versatility their skills give them, whether its through closebat, rangedbat, support, healing, pretty much anything.


    He knew that she would be instantly surrounded by people asking her to join their team the moment she arrived at Lions Heart, regardless of her status as an orphan. Which they likely wouldnt know about anyways, because the school would likely try to suppress that knowledge as best they can.


    So he decided to move first, even if Emily wasnt all that happy about it.


    But after meeting her in person and getting to know her a little? After seeing more videos of her, including the one of her fighting a demon wraith while still at the lower half of ss I? He became determined.


    But now he cant help but have the passing thought that maybe his team might not even be good enough for her as he watches her fight against his tutor, red steam floating off of her skin in waves as she swipes her wed hand  yes, ws, not blood ws, since her hand had transformed into that of what looks like a werewolf as soon as she entered the arena  at the man. And the man is actually pushed back just a couple inches from the hit!


    <em>Holy shit and shes only been a Guardian for a week at most? If thats the case, then what have I been doing all this time?</em>


    Michaels confidence slowly begins to drop as he watches the wolf eared girl fight his tutor much better than any of his team could ever manage. Even if she still only manages to leave a single scratch at most with her shifted hand, which doesnt amount to much.


    You probably shouldntpare yourself to her, Collin says, bringing Michaels attention to the man known by many as Sylver. Shes a little bit of a battle junkie if what Ive seen so far is to be believed. And she has absolutely no concern for her own safety.


    Michael blinks in surprise when he notices a very, <em>very </em>faint look of concern cross the mans eyes.


    <em>Sylver can care about other people? Thats new.</em>


    He turns back to focus on Scarlets fight again, briefly noting the grin she has on her face as she does so. Even if she isnt actually doing much to the guy. Although the stream of life energy moving between them feels slightly unnerving, since he himself is a healer.


    <em>Seeing her fight in person really is a lot different from watching her fight in a video. Especially when I know just how strong her opponent is.</em>


    Michael frowns as he watches, only to sigh once the two finish battling and begin walking over to them.


    Looks like thats all of you, his tutor says, sounding slightly impressed as he nces towards Scarlet  which doesnt happen often. Ive seen what I wanted to see and done what I can. He turns to Collin after saying that and adds, The rest is up to you.


    Then the man just leaves the training hall, not even bothering to say goodbye to his students.


    Michael turns away from the door to find Collin walking to the arena himself while saying, Come up withbat strategies yourself and then enter the arena when youre ready to use them. And try to be a real team while youre at it. Nothing like a new member to screw up the flow. He stops walking in the arena and turns around again with his arms crossed. Not that you were much of a team before though. Not when you only became a team a week ago.


    The group falls into an awkward silence at his words. But he doesnt say anything more, simply opening up his terminal and beginning to mess with it.


    <em>Well this is awkward now.</em>


    Eventually Michael breaks the silence by saying, Since were going to be working together for the foreseeable future, we should get to know each other better. Everyone turns to look at him as he continues, I dont think theres a person in this base that doesnt know Scarlet by now, Michael pauses when he sees Scarlets surprised reaction to that before continuing, so how about the rest of us introduce ourselves again?


    Emily and Denise both frown and share a nce before focusing on Scarlet, deciding that reintroductions are a good idea.


    Ill start first, Michael says, also focusing on Scarlet. My name is Michael Winters and Im the son of Astra. Scarlets eyes widen in shock at the name drop, but Michael just continues anyways, Im twenty years old, and I contracted three weeks before you did, while I was at the mall with my sister.


    Before Scarlet can say anything, Denise steps forward and starts her own introduction, Im Denise Harley, as I already mentioned before. But what I didnt say was that my father is the headmaster for Aquatic Pride, another Tier 1 city Guardian University. And once again Scarlets eyes bulge from shock as she realizes just how rich and important their families are. Im twenty-one years old and I contracted two weeks before you did. I hope we can be friends!


    Silence falls the group for a few seconds before everyone turns to look at Emily, Scarlet having already gotten over her initial shock by now. And it takes Emily a second to begin speaking even after that.


    Im Emily Winters. Mother is Astra, and Im eighteen years old, Emily begins her introduction in a stunted manner. Contracted at the same time as my brother. She bows her head slightly towards Scarlet and adds, Hope to be friends.


    Michael frowns before sighing.


    <em>Well, its progress. And its good that she has interest in bing friends with her.</em>


    He turns to look at Scarlet again to find her taking a moment to absorb the new information before she eventually nods her head back and answers the three, I hope we can be friends as well.


    Michael smiles at that.


    <em>And we almost have a full team now! Although</em>


    He nces around at the three girls.


    <em>Why am I the only guy?</em>


    A few seconds pass as he looks between them.


    <em>When we find a fifth, I really hope they''re a guy.</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 81: Possibilities or no Possibilities

    Book 1: Chapter 81: Possibilities or no Possibilities


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The nning session ends up taking nearly four hours, since we continuously move to the arena to try out each n wee up with. Whether that involves Emily and I debuffing and stacking up damage on the enemies with our ranged skills with Michael covering healing and support from his summons and Denise going in as the main attacker, myself and Denise going in for the attack with Emily debuffing and stacking up damage and Michael healing and bringing support with his summons, or even Emily working on distracting the enemies with her speed and what I have to admit are annoying attacks while the rest of us go all out in attacking.


    I personally wouldve preferred some more ns of attack, but in the end, were all limited in our total number of skills at the moment, considering how new we are to being Guardians. And not to mention that our team is only temporary.


    See you again tomorrow? Denise says as I begin heading for the door. And I wave my hand back with a brief, Yep, before walking through the door and letting it shut behind me. Then I head towards the closest exit to the building, because I really feel like moongazing right now.


    I wonder if that particr habit of mine is because Im a blood lycan?


    Either way, its very rxing.


    Im d that we ended up deciding on the n of me and Denise being the frontline attackers with Emily debuffing and stacking damage and Michael healing and supporting rather than the first one. Mostly because it means more EXP for me. After all, itll mean Denise and I are helping the most in the kills. Which also means Ill be able to go solo again sooner.


    It makes sense that theyd have me on the frontline in battle though, seeing as I have the best offensive skills of the group. Even if they dont know that some of my <em>sess </em>in fighting with the instructor guy was purely because of Predator IV.


    I stretch my arms over my head right before reaching one of the exits which has a terminal scan next to it. After I finish stretching, I reach my hand down and insert some mana into the thing while also letting it scan my handprint before the door opens, letting me out. And as soon as I step outside, I head straight onto the roof and over to my little ce atop a tower that I found on the first night here.


    I let out a sigh and copse on the ground, just staring up at the full moon in the sky. One that Im quite grateful is always there, no matter what.


    No ones really sure what happened to the moon after the Demonic Assaults began. Just that it has always been full no matter what ever since.


    The other change the Demonic Assaults brought to the world didnt have such superfluous effects though. After all, it being impossible to leave or enter thes atmosphere whenever a Demonic Assault is currently ongoing kind of made it so humanity couldnt just ditch Earth to go somewhere else when our magi-tech was theoretically capable of space travel.


    Not that anyone could test it, I mutter before finding Tar appearing above me to promptlynd on my chest. Youre rather quiet.


    Tars voice responds in my head instead of out loud despite him being here in person, <strong>Ive been trying to figure out a better way for you to retain your human genes intact.</strong>


    My eyebrows climb at that statement.


    Really? Thank you.


    I look back up at the moon again.


    In all honesty, the only thing I care about in regard to bing a full blooded demon is how they will think about it. Allen, Cynthia, Belle, Arthur, the other orphans, and a few other friends I made back in Rothwell. The idea of losing my human genes themselves doesnt actually bother me for some reason.


    <strong>Thats probably because of your superior blood lycan genes, </strong>Tar says offhandedly, sounding slightly distracted. <strong>Blood lycans are the strongest demon of pride, so itd make sense for their instincts to be very prideful in their own race.</strong>


    Huh. That kind of does make sense.


    Certainly exins why Im not cracked up over this like other people normally would be. And a part of me absolutely despises the idea of staying stagnant in my level just to remain half human.


    <strong>That wouldnt work anyways, since then youd end up aging, and my father would try to force you into leveling up somehow, </strong>Tar says something that has my head shooting up to look at him without even seeming to realize what he said, him being so distracted right now. <strong>Because itd be a disgrace for a prince to be contracted to a forever ss I.</strong>


    I gape at the tanuki as he continues staring ahead, his eyes flickering from left to right as if reading something.


    The hell?


    He finally turns his gaze to me and asks, <strong>What?</strong>


    You just drop that bomb on me and simply ask What?


    The tanuki looks genuinely confused for a moment before he mutters, <strong>Oh.</strong>


    Yeah. Oh.


    <strong>Well, I did say that Id like to be more open with you in the future, </strong>he says, somehow blowing that all off and returning to whatever he was staring at. <strong>Guess that future is now.</strong>


    I snort.


    Yeah. Guess so.


    And in hindsight, it would make sense that a king wouldnt want an embarrassment as a prince. But what would he be able to do? You fae arent very strong in the mortal ne, right?


    <strong>Doesnt mean he cant bribe another Guardian or a demon with an achievement or two to move against you, </strong>Tar says, his eyes still flickering. <strong>Although he wouldnt kill you. Not when I wouldnt be able to form another contract for a very long time after your death. Long enough that it could be a problem for my life span.</strong>


    Oh. Well, thats a relief at least. He would just push me into leveling.


    In all honesty? I dont think I would be able to stop leveling even if I wanted to. Not with how our society is, what with the government being openly against Guardians who dont help society by fighting. Its how the Guardians living in Tier 3 cities end up there after all. And even then, theyre still forced to fight every couple months when a Demonic Assault does actually happen.


    And I dont think my pride would let me stop anyways.


    <strong>I know, </strong>Tar mutters, <strong>thats why Ive been working with his majesty to find a way around you bing fully demon. Or at least trying to find a way to hide it from the humans and demons if you do be a full blooded blood lycan.</strong>


    I blink in surprise.


    Youve been working with the king?


    <strong>Yes.</strong>


    As weve been talking?


    <strong>Yes.</strong>


    About the king and his likely ns to entrap me into leveling?


    <strong>Ye- oh.</strong>


    Yep. Hes been quite distracted.


    <strong>Well, he cant hear us anyways, </strong>he blows it off a momentter.


    I cant help but chuckle. Then I let out a sigh.


    Such a pain this world is. But I guess the saying With poweres responsibility has some applications to it, right?


    Although in this case its With poweresplications.


    Tar just continues whatever hes doing, so I focus on the moon, just letting its soothing light, well, soothe me.

 Book 1: Chapter 82: Another Day, Another Credit

    Book 1: Chapter 82: Another Day, Another Credit


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>A few dayster</em></strong>


    I yawn as I get out of bed, bored from theck of anything really happening over thest few days. Aside from the training, my practically emptying the cafeteria each day, and a ratherrge paycheck from Allen. One spanning the entire first week I was officially working for the Silver Association.


    Its sorge that I cant help but salivate just from opening up my bank ount on my newly acquired terminal and staring at it. What used to be only around a hundred credits at most, what I had thought was a decent sized savings for a trip outside of Rothwell City, is now standing at a firm 2599 credits. 1389 from the daily wages for both my time actively fighting Fractures and from my time not doing that, along with an extra one thousand and something credits for allowing them to use me in sponsorships.


    Which is honestly almost enough for me to happily ignore the horror that going through a photo shoot dealt to me.


    I shiver as I remember that happening the day before yesterday. And that feeling only grows worse when I remember watching a video on GuardianTube about some of the local Guardians to get myself brought up on whos who, only to get an ad. One of me saluting the viewer without saying a word as someone else says some random sponsorship promotion.


    At the very least they didnt have me wear anything embarrassing. Because I dont think my pride couldve taken it. The very idea of wearing a two piece swimsuit for example is frightening.


    I mean, why do people even subject themselves to wearing such skimpy outfits?


    My jacket is so much morefortable. And more importantly, it doesnt show anything.


    <strong>Your thoughts tend to wander a lot, dont they? </strong>Tar suddenly says, floating off of the bed. <strong>Because Ive noticed you tend to think about random things out of nowhere sometimes.</strong>


    I nce at the furball for a second before shrugging and grabbing clothes to change into out of my tank top and shorts that I slept in.


    Meh. I am who I am, my thoughts are as they are. Not my fault you peek at my thoughts all the time. Which is rude.


    He just snorts and doesnt say anything as I enter the bathroom to change and get ready for the day.


    Okay, wait a minute, I stop Denises gushing about shopping, putting my fork down in the bowl of whatever it is Im eating right now. You want me to go shopping. With you. At the mall. Did I hear that right?


    I cant help the disgusted look that shows on my face at the mere thought. Not only do I dislike shopping in general, but I already have all the clothes Id ever need right in my room. So why bother buying more?


    But the main issue is that I really dont want to go out in public and get stared at.


    Denise looks confused as she tilts her head slightly, her golden hair falling a little bit onto the table, barely missing her food, and says, Yeah. Unless youre already busy?


    I open my mouth to answer, only to hear Sylvers voice, No, she has the day off as a rest day before the semester starts up tomorrow.


    My mouth mps shut and I turn to look at the guy, only to find him with an unusual quirk to his lips, simply grinning at me for what must be the first time since I met the guy.


    I mouth Im going to kill you to him before seeing his grin widen ever so slightly as Denise ps her hands together and says, Wonderful! We can head out in half an hour if thats cool with you! And when I turn my head to vehemently reject that idea, I remember the fact that its very possible that a Fracture could end up happening today.


    And it would probably be best if we were all together for it when it does.


    So I sigh and mutter, Fine only to turn to Michael who is grinning like an idiot and say, But then Michael and Emily areing with.


    His grin vanishes in an instant, reced by a look of horror as he gapes at me.


    Great! Denise says, practically squealing out loud before looking at Emily, who actually seems to be looking forward to the trip for some reason that eludes me as the shy girl gives a thumbs up. And after seeing that, Denise shoots straight up and says, I need to go get ready! Then runs out of the cafeteria like a tornado.


    I stare after her for a few seconds, regretting my choices in life, before sighing and returning to my food. All, of course, while ignoring the pitiable look being sent my way by Michael, who I can probably see bing Denises gopher for bags during this trip. At least, considering what Ive learned about her over the past few days, she certainly seems like the type.


    A shopper. Someone who for some reason under the moon and stars above loves to shop. A terrifying thought indeed.


    <strong>So dramatic, </strong>I hear Tars voice and can practically feel him rolling his eyes at my thoughts.


    You think that now, but you try being dragged on a shopping trip by Belle or her mother sometime and learn how it feels to be made into a dress-up doll after being bribed by credits.


    <strong>Wait, </strong>Tar mutters, <strong>wouldnt that be your own fault?</strong>


    No. The power of credits is too great to resist.


    I can just imagine Tar staring at me with judgement on his face as he mutters, <strong>You really are obsessed with money</strong>


    No. Not obsessed.


    Just that when a chance at easy moneyes by, why would I let it slip between my fingers? Although I draw the line at anything that shows too much skin.


    Well, anyways, this trip is to make sure were all together during the Demonic Assault. Because I really dont want to have to deal with finding them if it were to happen in the middle of their shopping trip.


    <strong>Makes sense, </strong>Tar says, and I go back to eating my food.

 Book 1: Chapter 83: Arriving at the Mall Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 83: Arriving at the Mall Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Couldnt you have worn something nicer? Denise continues whining as we sit in the back of a fancy limo floating through the air down the main air-street towards the closest mall. Maybe something more-


    No, I cut her off again as I stare out the window at the passing windows of the high-rise buildings and the other cars  none of which are as fancy as the one were in.


    The limo is quiterge overall. It spans several meters in length and has a literal table in between the front and back halves of it, with refreshments magically grounded to the table. Meanwhile the limo has a veryfortable cushioned seat on one side of the limo, with special ss on each side that allows people inside to look out but no one outside to look in. And the driver area ispletely cut off from our section, with some sort of call button located in various locations around the vehicle.


    Much fancier than anything Ive ever been in before. And also much nicer than that motorcycle that Sylver drives. Since I can sit further away from the others without having to be squeezed in.


    But why noooot!!! Denise whines, Im sure youd look absolutely stunning in a skirt and blouse!


    I finally turn to look at her, taking in her attire of a ck skirt that goes down slightly lower than midway down her thighs, with a white and red blouse, jewel encrusted earrings in both ears, a pair of rather fancy heels albeit not high heels thankfully, and a purse, and say, Sorry, but even if I had the slightest bit of interest in that sort of clothing, its currently winter. What person in their right mind would wear that in winter?


    Denise just looks confused at my words before dropping her fist and hitting her other palm with the fist as her mouth opens to form an o, as if she had some sort of miraculous revtion. Then she just says with a shrug, I dont mind the cold. Never did. And I have a skill that makes me more resistant to the cold now as well.


    She okay. That actually makes her attire make more sense now.


    Still a no, I tell her while turning to look out the window again as she whines in frustration like a kid having a tantrum. Albeit a short one.


    Just whats with everyone trying to dress me up anyways? Its frustrating.


    <strong>Dont humans like seeing other good looking humans wearing clothes that bring out the wearers beauty? </strong>Tar asks, making my eyes widen and my cheeks blush ever so slightly at the offhandedpliment that he clearly didnt mean as apliment.


    Ive personally never cared much about that. I wear what I wear  whatsfortable to me  and no one can say anything otherwise. Except when there is literally a uniform restriction, like at the stupid social gathering tomorrow.


    Im just d the university gives the girls a choice between pants and a skirt.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Michael looking out the window with a dead look in his eyes. One that kind of gives me the feeling that hes done this before.


    I wonder if thats true? Because if it is, then it doesnt bode well for this trip.


    Meanwhile Emily is just ying a game on her terminal by the looks of it.


    Speaking of terminals, I turn my attention to my own. The thing is basically just a magi-tech version of a phone that goes either on your arm or the sleeve of some sort of clothing or armor. And its easily removed and reced somewhere else. But each terminal is only geared to answer to one person based on their mana signature and their fingerprint scan, making it kind of pointless to steal unless someone just wants to deconstruct it.


    The main benefit of the devices though is that they can ess the inte through magic instead of radio waves. Meaning they can ess the inte and connect with the outside world even inside of Fractures.


    Out of nowhere, my terminal buzzes with a call from Belle. So I put my red, wireless earbuds in my ears and ept the call, making the video feed show her standing on the ground street in a much more open area than the main thoroughfare of the city. Likely on her campus grounds. Only for me to grow confused when I dont hear anything she begins saying.


    Or at least, I dont hear anything very well. Like the earbuds arent in my ear or something


    Are my earbuds broken?


    <strong>Switch ears dummy, </strong>Tar says, making my mouth form an o in realization.


    Oops.


    I switch to my human ears before hearing what shes saying midway through much more clearly, -and so Ill be picking him up at the station in an hour.


    Would you mind repeating that? I say quietly into the mic of my terminal.


    She frowns for a second before shrugging and doing just that, Arthur should be arriving in the city any moment now and I thought you might want to know. Ill be picking him up in an hour.


    Oh. Okay.


    Cool, I say in response while inwardly wondering how Arthur might react to seeing a Tier 1 city in person. Since it was a lot to take in when I first got here.


    I think well be heading to the Silver Association base sometime tomorrow to see dad, so you wanna meet up then? she asks with a hopeful look on her face. But right when Im about to answer in the affirmative, I notice her eyes begin ncing towards my ears, so I narrow my eyes and answer, As long as you dont get anywhere near my ears.


    A look of surprise crosses her face, and she casually looks away from the screen while saying, Oh, look! My ride is here! Ill see youter!


    I narrow my eyes even further as she hangs up the call.


    Now that wasnt an obvious admission or anything.


    Attention young misses and young master, a voice echoes from the speakers above us, making me turn my attention away from my terminal to look up as the driver addresses us. We will be arriving at the Dragonfall Mall momentarily.


    Another business named after dragons? I wonder if theres a connection between that hotel and the mall?


    Just secondster, the malles into view. And its really freaking massive. The building is even bigger than Silver Works main building in the city, and that building was one hundred floors. Just that this one seems to span most of its size horizontally and not vertically. Not that it isnt tall, that is. Its still massive in height too. Bigger than any building Ive ever seen in a Tier 3 city just in height alone, not to mention the massive horizontal area it covers.


    And just like with the hotel, there are dragons on the front of the building above the entrance. Just that this time they dont appear to be the eastern ones. These have four legs and shorter tails. More like lizards than snakes. And there are two of them, both statues, standing right in front of the entrance facing each other.


    Very fancy.

 Book 1: Chapter 83.2: Arriving at the Mall Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 83.2: Arriving at the Mall Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Surprisingly, we end up just straight up skipping the front entrance and flying through some entrance that opens up in the side of the building, revealing a secret garage. Likely one meant for rich people.


    The driver finds a ce to drop us off before moving off to go find a parking spot where  if Denise is to be believed  he will sit and wait for us until were done with our business here.


    Man, the rich life sounds very rxing. Maybe I can reach that point some day?


    Just imagining having a personal driver and limo to take me to fancy malls in a tier 1 city sounds like a very nice life.


    Well, if I actually had interest in going to malls outside of buying video games, that is.


    Anyways, some guide takes us and begins guiding us into the mall all while being very, <em>very </em>polite to us. As if walking on eggshells.


    Then again, not just anyone can be the headmaster of a Guardians University. And Denises father is one of them, not to mention the fact that the other two here have Astra  a ss V Guardian  as their mother. A woman who I happen to know is one of the richest people on the.


    We continue walking through the inner areas of the mall until we reach a balcony overlooking what looks to be the main thoroughfare of the ce. A massive room with an enormous water fountain at the center of it, along with an ice rink next to that, and who knows how many stores lining the walls. There are also esctors leading to a second floor which branches off away from the main area and heads towards what looks to be an even fancier looking ce, with fewer but on average more expensively clothed people. Likely some sort of VIP area of the mall.


    Which means were in the VIP of the VIP areas? Or something like that.


    I also cant help but notice the various nces being sent our way by everyone we pass by that isnt working for the store  the workers themselves being disciplined enough to know not to do that. And there are  at this point  more nces towards my ears than I can count, making me feel rather ufortable.


    Can I please go back to the base now?


    Eventually we manage to make it to an array of very expensive looking stores. Each with price ranges far, <em>far </em>beyond anything I couldve ever hoped to afford even with years of savings back at Rothwell. And a lot of these ces are clothing stores, some for men, more for women. But there are also a lot of video game stores, technology stores, and even some weapons stores that Im pretty sure shouldnt be legal.


    Then again, this is the VIP of VIP areas. Which is also the only reason no one has approached us yet despite us being Guardians. Because everyone here must be just as rich as Denise. Not to mention that I see several other Guardians scattered around the ce. Although I dont recognize any of them.


    One thing I do recognize though is that some of them are wearing Lions Hearts uniform, and all of them are around the same age as us, give or take a couple years.


    Are they all students?


    My thoughts are redirected towards our guide when she stops leading us in the center of the stores and begins to talk like a tour guide, giving us a rundown of all the types of stores and their locations before asking us where we would like to go first. To which Denise immediately answers with clothing stores.


    I almost facepalm at that.


    And Im pretty sure I hear Michael groaning, but it mightve just been my imagination.


    Almost immediately after the call I switched back to my blood lycan ears, but I really do regret it in some ways. Considering the conversations Im overhearing, particrly about the new Guardian with wolf ears being here. And how many of them are sharing that bit of information along with pictures of me on social media.


    Denise proceeds to drag us into an expensive looking store which seems to sell both male and female garments of all sorts. Many of which are more expensive than the entire outfit I have on right now. And then she immediately drags us to the womens section, making Michael blush in the process for some reason, before going over to look at blouses.


    Guess she really likes blouses?


    My eyes start to widen when she begins picking out different outfits  yes, outfits, not single pieces of clothing  and asks the guide where the carts are, where the guide then brings Michael to it before he rolls it over, a look of defeat on his face.


    Well, guess he isnt carrying the bags after all. Hes carting them around.


    Better him than me.


    Denise continues dragging us around the store for a while before it bes Emilys turn, and she takes us straight to a video game store where she browses through all the new games. And this time I am actually a little bit interested, since these are all the newer games from the bestpanies. So I begin browsing myself a little bit under Denises amused but conflicted nce.


    Guessing she feels conflicted about me being interested in games but not clothes?


    Doesnt matter.


    In the end I end up buying one game in particr that I had had my eye on a while back but could never even hope to afford. But now I can thanks to the paycheck I just got yesterday.


    After that, we begin to go to a women focused clothing store and Michaels face turns beet red at some of the things inside of it. And he does actually try to leave a couple times to wait outside, but Denise and Emily both snub that idea on ount of not having anyone to push the cart.


    <strong>I think I pity him, </strong>I hear Tar mutter in my mind, apparently paying attention to the guys struggle.


    Ive seen Artoria  shes one of Belles friends that came with her to the orphanage from time to time to visit and became friends with some of us  drag around her boyfriend while shopping with me and Belle once. So this isnt really anything new to me. Although at the time I was just hoping to get home as quickly as possible to study and then y some games.


    <strong>Brutal, </strong>Tar mutters before going silent again.


    Maybe. But its his plight, not mine. And Im gonna leave it at that.


    Eventually both Emily and Denise turn to me with a suspicious look in their eyes that has me stepping back one step with a frown on my face. But just a momentter, a shattering sound echoes all around us, following which the air gains a very faint red tint to it, signifying a Fracture opening up here.


    Wow. Two times in just as many weeks that I end up caught up in a Fracture in this city.


    At least I dont have to deal with whatever theyre plotting.

 Book 1: Chapter 84: Teamwork in the Mall Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 84: Teamwork in the Mall Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find several of the Guardians outside of this store rushing over to the main floor of the mall, which is likely the most popted area and where the core emerged. At the same time, I hear screams echoing practically everywhere, making my ears ache ever so slightly.


    Damnit, this ce is a lot more popted and wide open than any of the other Fractures Ive been to!


    My thoughts are cut off when I see spawn appearing out of a strange red mist that emerges from the ground several meters in front of us, setting off another round of screams. And I cant help but let out a sigh of relief when I see their levels.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Canine  Level 21|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Canine  Level 20|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Canine  Level 24|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Canine  Level 26|</strong>


    Dogs? Much smaller ones than the hounds.


    I immediately activate my partial shift skill, immensely grateful that I decided to wear a short sleeved shirt and pants on this outing as I watch my forearm and hand ripple with a wave of blood until it turns into the wed hand of a werewolf. This seems to startle the guide near us who is already freaking out and hiding behind us, and many of the people and employees nearby take a cue from her and do the same.


    Meanwhile I see the others activating their magi-tech armor pendants, making their armor spread out over their clothes to cover their bodies before they each begin to activate skills. And I cant help but feel a tiny bit jealous since my jackets still not done yet.


    Red energy begins to coat Denise while a thin fog spreads out from Emily and a summoning circle appears in front of Michael. And not wanting to be left out, I start using life drain and blood boil on the four demon spawn. Only for them all to stagger and show a much bigger reaction to it than I was expecting, reminding me that my level is over ten levels above most of them.


    This seems to surprise the others as well, but they dont wait as I already see the small ck particles rising from the spawns skin and fur, which only seem to enhance the effect my blood boil skill has on them.


    I share a surprised nce with Emily before we both grin and turn back to the demons. Then she throws several little needles of necrotic poison at the demons, exacerbating the effect our blood boil and other skills are doing on them at the same time until they all keel over and die before Denise can even reach them.


    The girl turns around with a frown on her face to look at us, but Im still grinning at Emily as I say, Looks like our skills work well together. And she nods, her grin turning slightly less fervent and a little more shy now that that bit of action is over with. Only to turn serious as we move our attention to the other demons appearing across the floor.


    Michael sends his familiars out, the treants, as he calls them, moving to protect him and Emily, with the hawk going up and leaving the room to scout out the rest of the building for us and the fluffball floating up into the air with bolts of green lightning beginning to build up on it.


    I focus my ears on the store were in, finding nearly two dozen spawn scattered throughout it, of which I quickly notify the others about. Then I open my eyes again and rush forwards with Denise following close behind me until we run into one of the spawn thats currently chasing a couple down the aisle. I quickly tear my wed hand straight through its body before using blood ws on my other hand and stabbing the ws straight into its neck before I rush off again, leaving the couple stumbling into the rack of jackets nearby from shock.


    Dont worry, youll be safe, I hear Michaelforting the two people as I continue rushing through the aisles of the store starting from one end and going to the other.


    In a situation where the demons are all on average weaker than us, we nned to have me and Denise run around clearing them out while Michael and Emily handle keeping the people safe. And Im all for this n since it gives me and Denise the most EXP out of the group, Michael not really caring much about EXP and his sister being a softie and wanting to prioritize the peoples safety.


    This process doesnt take too long, and once we all finish, we find ourselves in a store empty of demons with nearly three dozen people gathered up in a group.


    There is a bunker in the mid-section of a store one store down from here, Michael says, his eyes glowing green as he looks through his hawks senses. So we begin to lead the people out of the store into the lobby of the special VIP area, quickly dealing with any monsters that get near us as we do so. But at some point in the trip, a crossbow bolt flies by and strikes me in the arm as Im dealing with another spawn, making me grimace but not doing anywhere near as much damage to me as the one that I was hit with a week ago did.


    Shit, Im sorry! I hear Denise shout, apparently seeing me take the hit. But I just wave her off while ripping the bolt out of my arm. It didnt go very deep, just deep enough for the bolt head to get lodged in my arm.


    Right as Im about to focus on life draining a bunch of the demons without killing them as quickly as usual in order to heal it though, I feel a wave of relief from Michaels magic, reminding me that I have a healer now. So I nod at him in appreciation before continuing to deal with any demons that get close.


    Eventually we reach the bunker, which is still wide open with a dozen or so people inside, many of whom look relieved to see us, along with two Guardians standing at the entrance. The two Guardians look relieved as well. Which makes sense, considering what I overheard of their conversation on the way over here.


    The two were stuck with guard duty until we arrived, with all of the other stores in this block on this side of the VIP section already having been cleared of people and demons. So we quickly stand guard at the entrance with them as the people all flood into the bunker before one of the two Guardians asks the person who he was in a call with on his terminal if there are any more people left, and after getting a negative, he closes the bunker.


    We all turn to look at each other for a moment, and I can tell rather quickly that these two are ss I judging by their mana. Theyre also wearing Lions Heart uniforms, meaning theyll be ssmates starting tomorrow.


    One of them is a girl around the same age as me by the looks of it, with long crimson hair and ck irises. Shes wearing the pants version of the uniform, and is about the same height as myself as well, with an amount of mana near mine too.


    But her personality couldnt be any more different. The girl is practically a lump of joy in how shes literally hopping from one foot to the other, a grin splitting her face as she hums to herself.


    The other one of the two is a guy with long brown hair and a rather thick mustache. He appears to be a little bit older than us, likely in his mid-twenties, and appears rather annoyed by hispanions actions.


    A rather interesting duo to say the least.

 Book 1: Chapter 84.2: Teamwork in the Mall Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 84.2: Teamwork in the Mall Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Scarlet Wolf? the guy says, his tone slightly gritty as he narrows his eyes at my shifted arm, then nces at the blood soaking my clothes that I very quickly remember to clean. Looks like your reputation proceeds you.


    I blush at thatment as I realize hes talking about the people online who are calling me some sort of berserker. Which is a really unttering thing to call a girl, but I mean I guess its not too far off the truth?


    <strong>What do you mean I guess? Its perfectly true, </strong>Tarments, making me frown. <strong>You go around not caring at all about small wounds and just letting them heal up on their own while burning your own blood like a maniac, and youre trying to convince yourself you <em>arent </em>some sort of berserker?</strong>


    Okay, fine. So maybe I am.


    And you are? I ask the guy, my internal conversation with the rude fae over with for now.


    He looks surprised for a second, then turns grumpy the next as he answers, Warden.


    No one says anything for a few seconds.


    Right as the man looks like hes about to speak again, his partner cuts him off by saying, So can we go kill some more demons now? Because this talk is boring. All while still hopping from one foot to the other and repeatedly looking at a couple stores on the other end of the VIP section.


    The man grunts before nodding his head at us and saying, Guess well meet again at the university? Then after seeing me nod my head in confirmation towards his words, he turns around and begins to leave with the girl running far ahead of him in the process.


    And once theyre both out of earshot, Denise mutters, They didnt even seem to notice the rest of us


    I nce at her to find the girl ring at their backs, and even Michael seems to be a little annoyed by their utter disregard for him. Meanwhile Emily just seems d to be away from therge groups of people.


    Why didnt they talk to you? Arent your parents really important? I ask, genuinely curious as we begin to head in the direction of the main area of the mall.


    While we run, Michael answers, Its because we havent really been in any unproctoredbat with the demons till now. Except for our first Fractures, of course. So the other Guardians dont know or care about us much. If they even know who we are in the first ce.


    Doesnt change the fact that its just in rude, Denise grumbles as we begin to near the end of the VIP section.


    She has a point. Although I kind of wonder how that guy wouldve treated me if he knew I was an orphan?


    Orphans are treated rather poorly for multiple reasons. For one, we are a constant reminder of the cities and people lost during Fractures. For two, we cause arge strain on the budgets that the cities have, making most of the Tier 2 cities and all of the Tier 1 cities basically kick all orphans to Tier 3 cities. A rather unfortunate development caused by the emergence of Demonic Assaults in the world.


    People really dont like being reminded that even with their heroes the Guardians, they still arent absolutely safe. Even in a Tier 1 city, no one is absolutely safe.


    But the main reason is of course the changelings, who arepletely undetectable since they dont enter Earth through Fractures and onlye through gates from the ind known by some as old world Japan.


    Its a pretty shitty world we live in nowadays, one where any random Joe could end up dead the next week due to a Fracture. And where orphans are treated as lower ss citizens by arge majority of the popce. But its how things are.


    Depressing.


    I do wonder how the people would take finding out that I was an orphan though, since from my understanding, they either ignore that part entirely for a Guardian, or dislike them even more depending on how popr the Guardian is and how much they fight in the Fractures. Although Im pretty sure the government is also kind of censoring my status as an orphan, so theres that too. Otherwise the popce wouldve already figured it out by now.


    My thoughts return to the present situation once we reach the edge of the balcony we passed by earlier overlooking the main area of the mall and find the ce to be extremely chaotic. Demons everywhere, all fighting over half a dozen Guardians, with a few groups of humans gathered together in a few corners slowly being escorted by one Guardian each to bunkers.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Canine  Level 51|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Canine  Level 54|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Canine  Level 56|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Huntsman  Subspecies: N/A  Level 51|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Huntsman  Subspecies: N/A  Level 61|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Huntsman  Subspecies: N/A  Level 60|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Subspecies: N/A  Level 70|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Subspecies: N/A  Level 74|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Breeder  Subspecies: N/A  Level 56|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Captain  Subspecies: Smander  Level 100|</strong>


    I cant help but shiver slightly from fear as the System ys out messages for each of the demons I look at until I ask Tar to turn the messages off for now, making them stop ying out every time I look at a different demon. But my eyes stay locked onto thest one that I had looked at anyways, making it unnecessary.


    The demon captain has scales simr to armor, just like the demon knights. But the armor it has looks a lot fancier despite the captain being overall smaller than the knights. It has spiked shoulder tes, with no helmet, revealing the creatures scale covered head with slit crimson eyes that are looking across the battlefield with a gleam of intelligence, and a very dark lord type of armor that youd see in a video game.


    And its also the only demon in a ss I Fracture that has sapience.


    This one in particr seems to be a smander, which is a type of demon that can breath fire. But all demon captains have a single weakness known to the people.


    My eyes narrow in on its chest, where it has a random ring of cloth without any scaled armor there, showing a weak point that will lead directly to one of its three hearts that  if destroyed  will half its fighting capacity.


    As if sensing the gaze of me and the others up here who had also started staring at him, the captain turns its head to stare at us, sending shivers down my spine in the process.


    For some reason this creature frightens me even more than that ss II wraith did.


    Is it because its sapient?


    But then it turns its gaze onto a ss II Guardian that is approaching it. One that also happens to be wearing Lions Hearts uniform.

 Book 1: Chapter 84.3: Teamwork in the Mall Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 84.3: Teamwork in the Mall Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Right as Im about to focus on watching the fight between the Guardian and the demon captain, my attention is drawn to the crimson orb floating about half a meter above the ground just a couple meters behind the captain, where both of the knights I saw earlier are standing guard on the ice rink.


    So thats a core. Ive never seen one before as no one ever takes pictures of them. Because apparently they let off a type of radiation that interferes with electric devices for some reason.


    The thing is letting off a very eerie crimson glow, very much simr to the blood moon high in the sky. And that glow is only made even eerier as it reflects off of the ice rink beneath it.


    My thoughts are interrupted when I hear what sounds like a bow string being released and I shout at the others, Get down! And they immediately do so, only for a crossbow bolt to fly straight past where Emilys head was before striking the wall and quite literally digging all the way in down to the fletching.


    We all kneel next to the balcony railing where the demons below cant see us as Emily looks up at the bolt with a frightened look on her face. And at some point I realize shes in shock, so I lightly tap her shoulder, making her turn her gaze to me before a few tears leak out of her eyes. So I cant help but pat her on the head and whisper, Dont worry.


    Then I slowly begin walking away from the balcony while still crouched, just waving at the others indicating for them to do the same. And this seems to snap them all out of the stupor they were just in as they begin to follow after me.


    Once we get far enough away from the balcony that nothing down there can see us anymore, I stand up straight again, stretching my back and arms a little in the process before turning to the others and saying, That was close. Those ones are too strong for us, so we should focus on the demons up here that are still alive. Leave the ones down there for the ss II Guardian to clean up.


    None of them say anything in response. So Im left blinking in confusion, not really sure whats wrong.


    Oh. Wait. Was that their first near-death experience?


    Out of nowhere, Emily just steps up and hugs my arm  the one that isnt partially shifted  leaning her forehead into my shoulder as she starts crying.


    Uh, what do I do? Tar, help me here!


    <strong>Dont ask me, </strong>he answers, <strong>fae dont have the capacity to cry after all.</strong>


    Well, thats less than helpful, even if that bit of information is rather sad in and of itself.


    I turn to look at Michael, but he doesnt help any as he just stares between the two of us, a worried and frightened look on his face as well before he says, Thank you for saving my sisters life.


    Great. Now Im being thanked. I dont like this situation.


    No problem, I tell him while trying very hard to gently remove the crying girl from my arm. Very gently. But eventually she ends up removing herself before looking at me with a light smile despite the tears still staining her cheek.


    Thank you, Scarlet, she says, speaking my name out loud for the first time.


    Up till now shes been too shy to speak much to me, only speaking randomly or when shes distracted. But this really is the first time shes spoken my name if I remember correctly.


    Well, anyways, lets go, I tell them while starting off in the direction that the other Guardians we ran into earlier went. And the others finally snap out of the awkward atmosphere that had built up, heading off after me.


    Although, despite the awkwardness and the me not knowing what to do during that situation, I cant help the faint smile that stretches across my face as I think of the overwhelming gratitude they just shared with me.


    It felt kind of nice. Warm even.


    Not something Im used to as an orphan.


    And I think that might have been the first time where I didnt absolutely despise the physical contact. Although I still wouldve rather not had her do that though.


    It only takes about ten minutes of fighting demons before the rest of them all begin to vanish into the very same red mist they appeared from, signifying that the core has been shattered. So I  along with the rest of my new team  check our System messages to see our gains.


    <strong>{Level 24 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x11</strong>


    <strong>{Level 25 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x14</strong>


    <strong>{Level 23 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x16</strong>


    <strong>{Level 22 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x9</strong>


    <strong>{Level 27 Demon Spawn assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x8</strong>


    <strong>{Level 28 Demon Spawn assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x6</strong>


    <strong>{Level 30 Demon Hound assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x8</strong>


    <strong>{Level 29 Demon Hound assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x10</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for killing over three hundred demons within ten days time.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 36. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 37. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 38. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    Oh, nice! Although I cant help butin a little that I didnt get any SP for any of those kills outside of that one achievement not to mention that I killed over a hundred demons but only got three levels.


    <strong>Well, everyst demon you killed with them was at least five or more levels beneath your own, </strong>Tar exins something I already know.


    Yeah, yeah. Doesnt change how annoying it is.


    But at least I should have enough SP to get Predator V. So thats good.


    <strong>I would also rmend you purchase the recharge skill while youre at it, since you should have enough, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>you will be getting magi-tech armor soon after all.</strong>


    Oh, right. Cant forget about that.

 Book 1: Chapter 85: Emergency

    Book 1: Chapter 85: Emergency


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I quickly open up my status and allocate 4 points to mental, 1 to magical, and 1 to physical before going to the skills store and purchasing both Predator V and Recharge. Then I focus on my status again to take in the changes with a grin.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 38</strong><strong>SP: 5</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 99</strong><strong>Mental: 97</strong><strong>Magical: 98</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 2473/4753</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Now with Predator V, my boost in stats against others at a higher level than myself is ten percent higher than before! At a whole 30%!


    <strong>Its just ridiculous to see so many legendary skills at level <em>38</em>, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like he really isnt sure how to take it. <strong>And theyre all passive skills too</strong>


    That part catches my attention.


    Are passive skills harder to get than active ones or something?


    <strong>Passive skills in general are rarer to unlock since theyre always active and dont require any cost to use them, </strong>Tar exins, still sounding winded from seeing my status even if he already knew about my skills beforehand.


    Interesting. And I have three legendary passive skills. Quite a nice feat there, if I do say so myself.


    <strong>And your pride is showing again, </strong>Tar mutters.


    Hey! Cant help what I am, now can I?


    He just snorts.


    Well, anyways, I close out of my status before focusing on the others. But just secondster, my terminal  along with the terminals of everyone here  immediately begin to buzz, following which Sages face appears on them, her clearly having hacked into the devices just like she did with Allens before.


    Makes me wonder if she also has some sort of technology rted purchased skill, since I dont think a seer should be able to hack magi-tech so quickly.


    Scarlet, Michael, Emily, and Denise, you are all to immediately head to the outer station nearest you where you will dy the ss I Fracture and save as many people there before reinforcements arrive, Sage says immediately upon connecting. Cipher and Frost are both locked up fighting in a ss IV Fracture that has appeared close to the Government Office Building, and the rest of our ss II and ss III Guardians are all locked up right now with the influx of ss II and III Fractures during this particrly nasty Demonic Assault.


    I cant help the frown that emerges on my face as I feel a something nagging at the back of my mind. Like something bad is going to happen, or is happening, and it involves this.


    Why is that


    My eyes widen as I blurt out, Belle and Arthur are supposed to be at one of the stations right now!


    Sage turns to me with a vaguely surprised look on her face before asking, Are you sure? And when I nod she actually swears while turning her head and typing away at something. But she continues to speak nheless, This changes nothing. Allen and Frost arent able to leave the Fracture as them leaving would bring about a catastrophe for the inner city as the ss IV demons break past the shield. Theyre only barely managing to hold them back while waiting for their own reinforcements. She types onest thing on the keyboard, pausing in speaking while doing so before turning back to the screen and finishing, And even if they wanted to abandon the Fracture, they are in the heart of the Fracture right now and wouldnt be able to fight their way through the demons quickly enough to arrive within the next five hours.


    Shit. Damnit, damnit, damnit!


    I feel heat building in my face as I think of Belle or Arthur getting hurt and I immediately respond, Ill head there as soon as possible. Then the others, having seen my reaction, do the exact same thing before the call cuts off.


    Without wasting any time, I turn to Denise and ask, Is your driver still here? And she quickly nods her head, clearly sensing my urgency. Then can he take us to the outer station closest to our position?


    She nods again before typing away at her own terminal as we all begin walking in the direction of the garage.


    <strong>You know they may not be there, right? </strong>Tar asks, prompting me to move my arm in front of me and begin navigating to my contacts where I then call Belles phone. But the thing just rings. And rings. And rings. And no one ever picks up.


    If Belle were actually safe and outside of a Fracture, she wouldve picked up. Shes the type of person who is strict about keeping all manners of contact open during an emergency. So the only reason why she wouldnt be able to pick up is if she were in a Fracture, where a normal phone cant get service through the barrier.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>Tar mutters.


    I continue walking with Denise and the others towards the vehicle, but right when were about to get in, I say, You all dont have to help me if you dont- Emily puts her finger on my lips to shut me up.


    I blink in surprise at her actions, only for her to say, Not only is this our job, but I honestly want to help you help your friends. So shut up and get in the vehicle. She then pushes me inside, leaving me sitting in the limo staring nkly at the wall in shock. And its not just me either, because when the others get in, I find both Denise and Michael looking at Emily as if shed grown a third head. Yes. Third. Because were skipping the second altogether.


    <strong>Well, at least her actions managed to snap you out of that dark attitude you were in at least a little bit, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes narrow slightly, only for me to turn around to look at Denise as she says, Driver, step on it!


    Actually,e to think of it, I wonder where her driver was during the Fracture?


    Dont tell me he was in the limo the entire time?


    The vehicle immediately begins driving, passing through the garage door and into the air-street that currently has very little if any traffic, not caring of my internal question.

 Book 1: Chapter 86: The Outer Station Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 86: The Outer Station Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Throughout the entire drive to the outer station, I find myself both tense and jumpy at the same time as I cant stop my knee from bouncing. And the moment we arrive in front of the massive outer station, which is home to a veryrge magi-tech train spanning miles in length with the width of a freaking house, I practically burst out of the limo, startling the spectators for a moment. They then immediately begin cheering though, likely at the sight of a Guardian arriving.


    I look back at the others to find them leaving the vehicle as well, albeit more calmly, before we all rush into the buildings entrance, which is quiterge while also a little bit in for a train station. Although while the building isnt really much to look at inparison to the mall we were just at  on ount of it being an outer station  its still far grander than anything youd ever see in a Tier 3 city. In fact, its grander than most of the things youd see in a Tier 2 city.


    Mostly in size though.


    Without wasting a second on the people who are now bringing out their cameras, I sprint into the building, past the shield, where I find quite a number of demons. But despite therge number of demons, I dont actually see the core. Nor do I see any other guardians.


    And judging by the average demons levels, I dont think were close to the core. Meaning the core is probably inside of the train itself.


    Although


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Zombie  Level 10|</strong>


    Seriously, these things? Please dont let one of them have bitten Belle or Arthur


    I close my eyes for a second to focus on my hearing, just trying to see if I can pick out Belle or Arthurs voices, and after standing in ce for long enough for the others to catch up to me, my eyes sh open.


    I found them, I dere, surprising them for a second as I immediately begin moving in the direction of them while paying the annoyinglyrge price to shift my arm into that of a werewolf again. Although at least the skill is a one time payment in mana and doesnt continuously cost mana to keep active like blood ws.


    I cut down the demons in my path, most of them being close to level one, as I head in the direction that I hear her and Arthur. But I cant help but frown as I run, quickly noticing the levels of the demons slowly beginning to climb.


    Thats not all though, because the words the two are saying sends a shiver running down my spine.


    <em>Do you think well make it? </em>Arthur asks, sounding slightly nervous  which is unlike him. But Belle just answers with, <em>Im sure itll be fine. Ive got this!</em>


    What do you mean you got this? Wait, did she


    I shake my head at the thought and begin running even faster, making the others have to use their skills just to catch up thanks to my physical capabilities being higher than theirs. And if it werent for me not wanting to leave them behind entirely, I would also use blood sacrifice just for an added boost.


    We continue running through the station alongside the massive train for nearly five whole minutes before getting close to them. But its at this point that I realize theyre inside the damned train.


    Theyre inside, I say while stopping outside of the train and looking on either side of myself to find the closest entrance. Meanwhile on the inside of the train, I can hear some sort of banging sound, mixed with the asional sound of shattering ss. And the sounds only manage to both confuse me and make me even more worried as I break into a sprint towards the closest entrance.


    I run into a pack of demon hounds at the entrance to the train, but I just activate blood sacrifice along with blood boil and life drain to rush up to them and rip them apart, only vaguely noticing the ck particles leaving their bodies during the process before I move further into the train and take a turn immediately towards the car Belles in. Only to find the car before that being filled with regr people, some of whom are currently being eaten by a group of demon spawn.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Zombie  Level 32|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Zombie  Level 31|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Zombie  Level 32|</strong>


    I rush forwards and violently grab the throats of two of the zombies, one using my transformed hand and the other using blood ws, before I tighten my grip, burning a little bit of my blood in the process for the added boost. Then the creatures simply copse after their necks arepletely crushed. And when I turn to the third one, I find it already taken care of by Denise who had managed to fully catch up with me.


    After sharing a nod, we both turn to look at the humans in the car with rtively dark looks on our faces. And I cant help but feel conflicted as I see the ck veins beginning to spread across the bodies of two of the five people in the car from the bites inflicted upon them by the zombies.


    Nasty creatures, zombies. A single bite and itll infect a human into bing a zombie themselves. Albeit an incredibly weak one.


    One of the few infection based demons out there.


    But also a rather weak creature itself, not having a wink of intelligence and running on base instinct alone. Pretty sure they wouldnt react much even if they were bisected. Theyd just continue crawling towards you for a bite.


    Although theyre also quite resilient, and really dont want to die. The only way to stop them in a single move is to destroy their brains or cut off their nervous system from the rest of their body through crushing their throat or cutting off their heads.


    The two infected people look absolutely terrified and are sending fearful nces towards the other people including me and Denise. But everyone but us just backs away from them, terrified of being infected by them themselves.


    And I guess I cant really me them.


    Guardians cant get infected by a zombie thats a lower level than them though, so its safe for me. Assuming a half blood lycan can even get infected in the first ce.


    Right as Im wondering what to do about this, Michael pushes his way through us and holds his hands over both their wounds, making a green energy suffuse their bodies thatpletely wipes away the ck veins and the infection.


    My eyes grow wide in shock as I stare at the guy, but he snaps me out of it by saying, Lets go find your friends.


    I nod and quickly make my way past the people towards the car where Belle and Arthur are.


    Please be okay.

 Book 1: Chapter 86.2: The Outer Station Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 86.2: The Outer Station Part II


    <strong>The Car Belle is in</strong>


    <strong><em>About a minute ago.</em></strong>


    Belle has never considered herself the type to lose herposure. Not when Scarlet pulled those revenge pranks on the bullies and left Arthur with the me, not when she had to watch her mother again and again me herself for her sisters death, and certainly not in front of Arthur. Ever.


    But now?


    Can you please focus on the fight! Belle shouts at the man, or rather, boy in front of her. The guy must be at least four or five years her junior, a high school student at the oldest despite his clear superhuman feats and silver tail and eyes. And yet, hes been fumbling about, seemingly mumbling to himself throughout the entire time hes been fighting the zombie,pletely ignoring how much work shes putting in to shield the brat.


    The kid just shouts back, Im trying to figure out what skill I should buy! Dad said my SP is importa-


    Yeah, I dont care! Belle shouts, using her new Barrier skill that she got after contracting close to the beginning of this Demonic Assault to use in making another barrier appear in front of the level 29 zombieszy attack. But all the barrier manages to do  once again  is hold for less than half a second before shattering, buying the kid only enough time to barely avoid it as Belle and Arthur stand behind the seats on the other end of the car from the two. Deal with thatter!


    Damnit, the kid says, stumbling slightly andnding on his rear before immediately scooting back again and getting up, barely avoiding the zombies follow up attack. I dont have any damned attack rted skills! Cut me a break!


    <em>Oh, for the love of all that is still nice in this damned world!</em>


    Belle, maybe you shouldnt distract him, Arthur whispers to his girlfriend from right next to her. He doesnt look like hes going to stop, so might as well let him get it over with faster without interrupting.


    Belle frowns before begrudgingly nodding her head and focusing solely on setting up barriers to give him extra time. But its very obvious that the kid isnt a high level Guardian, nor does he have much if anybat experience.


    She cant help but nce at Arthur out of the corner of her eye, worried that hell end up hurt just because he decided to visit her to talk about her recent actions. Particrly forcing her father into bringing her to a Fracture. Which everyone was telling her not to do, but she just couldnt think of Scarlet fighting the demons without her being able to do anything to help. But after almost missing a barrier, she focuses solely on the kid again.


    <em>In the end I ended up signing a contract anyways. Just not during that Fracture.</em>


    <strong>Of course, you did, </strong>her fae says with a pompous tone of voice, <strong>the great and powerful prince Artemis has graced you with-</strong>


    <em>Yeah, could you leave that spiel forter please? A little busy right now.</em>


    The fae snorts, showing its utter disdain as it retorts, <strong>This great one wouldnt have bothered contracting with you while you were having your hand held like a little princess in a castle.</strong>


    <em>Says the prince.</em>


    Artemis doesnt retort this time, leaving Belle to focus all of her attention on the kid. But even with her barriers, the kid ends up backed into a corner in one of the booths, having tripped into it and letting the zombie move to block his exit from the thing.


    Shit, Belle mutters before standing up straighter and spreading her hands out, using the one skill that she quickly realized was ast ditch move in danger. And this skill causes a much more solid and physical barrier to appear around the zombie, locking it in ce for a few seconds and allowing the silver eyed and tailed boy to climb over the seat and go back to the aisle again with a terrified look on his face.


    Belle lets out a sigh of relief, only to grimace when she sees the massive amount of mana that skill cost her.


    I wont be able to shield you much anymore! she shouts to the kid, whose name she still doesnt know. And the boy grimaces at that, his tail twitching slightly in the process. But he just gives her a thumbs up while still focusing on his skills store until he eventually says, Screw it, and after a seconds pause focuses on the demon again.


    <em>Did he finally buy something?</em>


    Her question is answered when she sees the boy raise his hands and create a flood of mist from them that then transforms into a copy of himself. The copy then runs up to the demon and begins distracting it as the boy himself runs to Belle and Arthurs location, only to say, I wasnt able to get a singlebat skill, and that thing is at least fifteen levels above me. No way I can fight it.


    Belle and Arthur just stare at him for a few seconds before the kid adds, I vote we run.


    <em>Im gonna strangle him.</em>


    Right as the three begin to leave the booth though, the sound of the automatic door on the other side of the cart opening catches their attention. And when they turn to look, they find two people walking into the cart. One of them being very familiar to all three of them.


    Scarlet? Scarlet! Shes here?


    Belle, Arthur, and the boy all exim at once, only for both Arthur and Belle to nce at him with confused expressions on their faces. But their attention is retaken by the zombie when it shatters the barrier holding it in ce.


    Both Belle and Arthurs eyes widen in fear as the zombie heads towards Scarlet and the other girl and right when theyre about to call out to her in warning, their friend  who Belle only now notices has the arm of a werewolf  rushes forward with a faint red mist leaking from her body before ripping out the throat of the zombie without much trouble. She then rushes over to them with a worried look on her face,pletely ignoring the shock on their own.


    Are you both alright?! she exims beforeing to a stop in front of the three.


    <em>She just</em>


    <strong>Oh, well if this isnt a surprise! </strong>Artemis says, appearing in the air between the group and startling all of them. <strong>To think Id see my little brother here!</strong>


    Belle stares at her contracted fae with a confused expression on her face.


    <em>Little brother?</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 86.3: The Outer Station Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 86.3: The Outer Station Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I blink twice in confusion at everything going on right now. Not only the changes to Belles appearance, but also the fae that showed up, and the kid that Id saved not even a week ago being here.


    What does he mean by little brother? Also, I feel that strange sensation in his voice thats in yours as well


    Wait, is he a royal fae too?!


    As a form of answer, Tar appears in the air between me and the others, next to the floating eagle. Or rather, the floating mini-eagle, since its much, <em>much </em>smaller than an eagle should be. And kind of adorable too. Tar then says, <strong>Tenth Prince Artemis, long time no see. </strong>


    Guess that answers that.


    The prince seems to perk up slightly at Tars words before slumping slightly again when he looks at me and grows surprised. Then he looks at Tar, only to find him nodding his head once with a stern look on his face.


    Wait, does that mean he didnt know about me?


    <strong>No, none of the other fae royalty know about you, </strong>Tar says in my mind, surprising me a little. <strong>His majesty chose to keep it that way as a sort of test for whoever might be able to find and contract with you. And he never shared information about you afterwards as a reward for my efforts.</strong>


    Interesting. Although that also means you found me without your fathers help? How?


    <strong>Ill tell youter, </strong>he says to me before speaking to the eagle fae again, <strong>I wasnt informed that you would be taking on a new partner.</strong>


    The eagle flies over tond on Belles head, making me frown as thepetitiones to mind.


    Shit. Doesnt that mean well be in thepetition together?!


    <strong>You dont necessarily have topete directly against each other, </strong>Tar says to me alone. <strong>Sure your points will bepared at the end, but you can coordinate whichpetitions you arepeting in to avoidpeting in the same one as her. There are also a couple teampetitions thrown in as well, so it wouldnt hurt to get to know another proxy.</strong>


    Oh. Okay. Thats cool then.


    The two princes continue talking as I focus on Belle, just taking in her changes. Her usual golden brown eyes are now just pure gold and glowing too, which while seen sometimes in Guardians isnt thatmon. Meanwhile her ck hair is now streaked with golden highlights.


    So I guess you contracted during this Fracture? I ask while looking over her to make sure I dont see any injuries. Specifically bite marks. And once Im satisfied there arent any, I nce at Arthur to find him free of them as well.


    Yep, Belle answers while adjusting her blouse slightly, which had likely gotten messed up a little while they were dealing with the zombie. Meanwhile Arthur just looks away. The boy is still staring at me though and doesnt even notice her tucking her blouse into her pants. Im d youre here though. I dont have any offensive skills.


    Interesting.


    Im guessing those barriers were yours then? I ask, making her nod her head. But right when Im about to continue, I hear someone clearing their throat behind me, which reminds me of the others who had followed me into the room. So I turn around and begin introducing everyone.


    These two are my best friends, Belle and Arthur, I say while pointing to the two, then I just casually wave at the kid and say, and this is just some random kid I saved before tossing onto a bed in thest Demonic Assault.


    Myment has a rather significant reaction from them that doesnt really make all that much sense to me. For some reason the kid is blushing incredibly hard, finally no longer staring at me anymore, whereas the others seem either surprised or amused.


    You abandoned me to that absolute demon of a woman right after saving my life! the kid whose name I honestly dont rememberins.


    Yeah, yeah, details shmetails, I mutter before adding, oh, and also, he became a Guardian soon before I saved him and left him on a random bed to deal with the knight chasing him.


    Now thisment seems to clear up the surprise on their faces for some reason.


    I wonder why?


    Out of nowhere, I feel Belle patting my shoulder twice and saying, Stay just like this, Scarlet. Just like this. Then she snickers.


    I tilt my head in confusion before going over what Id said several times over.


    Eventually my eyes widen, and I feel a very faint blush crossing my face.


    Oh.


    Yeah, I couldve worded that better.


    I even hear Tar snickering in the back of my head.


    Traitor.


    Aaanyways, I say, changing the subject while waving at the three people in my team, the guy with green hair is Michael, the girl with green hair is his sister, Emily, and the blonde is Denise. Theyre currently a part of my team and helping me in managing this Fracture until backup arrives.


    Belle just raises an eyebrow and asks, You? In a team? She turns to look at the others with her eyes narrowed, I find that hard to believe.


    I cross my arms while defending myself, I can work with others quite well, thank you very much.


    Like when we went camping and were supposed to work together setting up each and every tent, but you just couldnt do that and had to go set up your own by yourself because you didnt want to be in the crowd of orphans? Arthur asks with a brow raised.


    That was because Belle was going through her phase of trying to get me to dress up and model clothes for her, and I wanted to avoid all contact I could with her, I defend myself, stepping up to re at Arthur,pletely ignoring the height difference between us.


    He seems to take it as a challenge and steps forward himself while saying, And the time you decided to abandon me during ss and work on the project by yourself, leaving me with having to find a group to work with?


    Why work with others when I dont have to? Iment before raising a brow and adding, And besides. You didnt have to find a group yourself. You couldve just worked with me or worked on your own.


    The guy scoffs, the heads of everyone around us just bobbing back and forth between us during our spat, And subject myself to you doing all the work on your own because you dont trust others to do it well enough?


    I gasp while putting my hand on my chest and saying, Hurtful! I can trust others! I turn to the team in question as I say, Right? We all trusted each other during our time together so far!


    They hesitate for a second, making Arthurs grin grow wider in the process before Michael speaks up, Well, yes, but you did kind of run off to find these two without a word.


    Before I can retort to that, Belle ps her hands and says, Enough with the drama. Were in the middle of something here.


    Oh. Right. Fracture.

 Book 1: Chapter 86.4: The Outer Station Part IV

    Book 1: Chapter 86.4: The Outer Station Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I clear my throat before turning to the kid and asking, Anyways, why are you here?


    He points at himself, and I cant help but add, Yes, you. So he answers, I was here because of my dad.


    That has me raising a brow.


    This makes two Demonic Assaults in a row that he was caught in a Fracture during.


    You have bad luck, I state with a firm nod of my head, convinced of my words before turning around to face Belle again while saying, Belle, your parents are both currently dealing with a ss IV Fracture, and the rest of the Associations Guardians are all busy at the moment. So well have to deal with this on our own- I pause with a nce towards the kid -and with the help of any other Guardians who got caught up in here. I turn around to look at Michael as I ask, None of them were reported to be above ss I though, right?


    He nods, making me frown.


    Looks like were gonna have to protect the people from the demons until backup can arrive, Michael adds before taking the lead, lets first bring these three to one of the bunkers. Then we can use Scarlets hearing to find any people who arent already in a bunker. He pauses for a second before nodding his head towards me and adding, And you can kill as many as you want along the way, of course.


    My frown turns into a grin despite our situation.


    Damned instincts.


    <strong>No use fighting your instincts, </strong>Tar says into my mind, both him and his brother having vanished at some point during my squabble with Arthur. <strong>Especially since theyre only going to grow stronger the closer you get to being a full blooded blood lycan.</strong>


    My mouth parts slightly at that, but I close it again without making a response.


    Thats true. But I do need to fight them in some situations at least.


    Anyways, we all begin to make a n for dealing with this Fracture. And by we all, I mean my team, leaving the others out. Since a Fracture with zombie spawn in it is <em>not </em>a good Fracture to start out with as a new Guardian. And especially not a good ce for the civilians


    Oh, right. That reminds me.


    I turn to the kid right when were about to head out of the train car before asking, By the way, what was your name again? I kind of forgot.


    His face turns red from anger.


    Hey, not my fault I dont remember the name of the rich kid I saved. I never expected to see you again.


    The others seem curious as well, seeing as no one ever actually introduced the kids name to them.


    He eventually takes a deep breath and answers, Julian Arc.


    His name seems to affect Denise as she tenses up slightly, which makes me curious. And when she sees the look Im sending her, she rxes again and whispers, Hes the son of the CEO of Magic Arc. Thepany that creates and maintains these trains and their stations in every single city.


    Oh. So hes a rich kid amongst the rich kids then?


    I nce at him for a few seconds, seriously pondering over if my treatment of him may or may not have been something I might wanna fix knowing his identity. But then I just shrug, since he really doesnt seem like the type to hold a grudge.


    He blushes too much for that.


    Not to mention that I can tell he seems to feel something towards me  gratitude if I had to guess, or admiration  likely due to my saving his life. So things are fine.


    Right as we begin walking over to the same door that we passed through to get in here though, I feel something just barely graze my ears, sending a wave of goosebumps down my spine and making me physically jump nearly three meters forwards while spinning around and spreading the ws of my shifted hand out to prepare to attack whatever just touched me, only to find Belle grinning while waving her hand at me. Then my eyes narrow.


    No touching the ears, I practically growl at her before ignoring the looks the others are sending my way and hurrying out of the car, then out of the train entirely while passing by the first group of civilians we ran into and waving at them to follow.


    Why the fucking hell are my ears so sensitive?!


    <strong>I already told you- </strong>Tar begins, but I cut him off right away with a short, Zip it.


    Just because I have incredible hearing doesnt mean that a single light touch to my ears should send shivers down my spine like that. Its just way too much.


    I can practically feel the amusement in the tanukis next words as he says, <strong>If you say so.</strong>


    The moment I step out of the train and find a bunch of lower leveled zombies lumbering around, I cant help but follow my instinct to hunt them all out of irritation, just ripping them all to shreds with my ws  both my shifted and blood ones. During this process though, I am snapped out of my bloodlust by the realization that blood boil doesnt do anything to these zombies.


    Then theres also the fact that blood thirst doesnt seem to activate when killing zombies that were turned.


    So I pause and focus on the others, who had left the train as well and are dealing with zombies as well, with Belle actually helping out a little with her barriers. Not that they are doing much. But its probablyting her a lot of EXP nheless, so whatever.


    I also notice that Emily is frowning, so I move back to meet up with them again, surprising them for a moment as I ask, Emily, are they immune to your skills?


    Her frown grows wider at that, and she nods her head, saying, Viral Inducement isnt doing anything to them, and theyre just in shrugging off the necrotic needles.


    Yeah, thought so, I mutter before adding my bit, they seem to be immune to blood boil too. And they dont have any life energy to drain.


    Michael steps back, his treants sending a zombie flying as he says, Looks like thisll be tougher than we thought then. He then nces at me and adds, And you might actually need to stay closer in case I need to heal you.


    I begrudgingly nod my head at that, only to frown when I notice the pleased expression on his face. One that actually seems to be shared by both Denise  who is straight up torching the zombies in a rather putrid smelling battle several meters away despite having likely heard us  and Emily.


    What has you so happy? I ask while narrowing my eyes.


    Oh, nothing, Michael says, trying and failing to smother his grin as his eyes glow green, signifying that hes sharing his vision with his hawk, just that this means youll finally truly be working as a team with us instead of going on a rampage when there arent any stronger demons around.


    I hear snickeringing from the three people were guiding to the bunker.


    Deciding that silence is the best choice here, I dont respond and instead begin joining Denise in killing the demons close to the group. But while being a bit more careful in regards to taking wounds this time, since I cant just life drain them to heal anymore. Even if the blood moon is out and shining through the skylight straight on us.

 Book 1: Intermission 8

    Book 1: Intermission 8


    <strong>Outer Station Bunker #3</strong>


    <em>And today started out so great</em>


    Robert cant help butin in his head as he kneels in the corner of one of the bunkers, the entrance sealed shut as the hundreds of people quietly  or as quietly as is possible in a room with this many people  chat amongst themselves, many of whom are worried about their loved ones or pets  in the case of the person talking with the security guard.


    <em>Why be worried about a pet of all things? I mean,e on!</em>


    The seventeen year old boy leans his head against the wall with a sigh.


    <em>Okay, maybe Id think differently if our apartment building let us have pets in the first ce. But still.</em>


    His thoughts are interrupted by the beeping sound of the screen lowering to show several people clearing their way through the zombie horde towards the bunker. And amongst those people, Robert immediately recognizes one of them as the new wolf eared girl thats currently blowing up on the inte. But surprisingly, there is actually a second one there that he recognizes as well.


    <em>Julian?</em>


    Robert sits up with a frown.


    <em>Didnt he only be a Guardian during thest Demonic Assault? Why is he here in this Fracture then?</em>


    The Guardians and the civilians end up stopping in front of the bunker door before one of the Guardians that Robert doesnt recognize gives a hand signal to the camera. So the security guard quickly rushes into the security post within the bunker before opening the bunker from the inside, letting two of the Guardians along with the civilians to enter inside. Although not until after two of them share a hug with the wolf eared Guardian, to her apparent displeasure.


    <em>Wait, did Julian just happen to get stuck in this Fracture? If so, he really does have bad luck</em>


    Robert gets up from the floor finally and begins walking over to the group as the bunker is closing up again. But before he can make it to them, arge crowd forms around the two Guardians. And the crowd is very clearly split between their feelings on the two Guardians being inside with them.


    Some of the crowd believes they should go out and do their jobs, while others are just excited to be able to talk directly with a Guardian.


    Regardless though, the crowd stops Robert from making his way towards Julian.


    <em>Seriously?</em>


    However, before Robert can begin heading back to his little corner, he manages to catch Julians eye, making the guy wave at his ssmate with a smile before pushing through the crowd. Which doesnt sit well with them.


    <em>Idiot.</em>


    Robert! Julian shouts while navigating his way through the startled people between them until he stops right next to him, reaching his arm out. How ya been?


    Despite all the many things that Julians currently doing wrong as a Guardian, Robert cant help but grin as he reaches forward to cross arms with him as he says, Pretty good. At least until a couple hours ago.


    Julian snorts, Yeah, I was here to learn a little about the station by watching dads inspection. Didnt expect to be caught up in yet another Fracture at the same time.


    Likely due to his obvious personality, or just because the other Guardian seems easier to talk to right now, the crowd around them begin to navigate towards her. But unlike what Robert wouldve expected, the girl takes it in stride and swiftly begins answering questions like a professional.


    <em>A legacy maybe?</em>


    He returns his focus to Julian though when the guy asks, So what were you doing here?


    Robert sighs.


    Was supposed to be going on a field trip, Robert begins only to narrow his eyes and add, which you shouldve been on too, by the way, then nces at the gate, but then all this happened. So, yeah.


    Out of the corner of his eye, Robert notices Julian awkwardly looking away at the casual mention of him skipping school.


    <em>Even if he does have a good reason for it, and the school has allowed it, although only subtly.</em>


    Well anyways, Robert says, a faint grin spreading across his face as he pulls out his phone and opens the video he has saved on it before showing it to Julian, how was it meeting the pretty wolf girl again? Julian turns beet red at his teasing, which only incites Robert even more as he adds, Did your knight in shining wolf ears save the dear princess again?


    This has the immediate effect of Julian reaching to grab the phone, only to end up snatching it just seconds after Robert locks it again, pausing the video of the wolf eared girl saving him from the fall in thest Demonic Assault that had been spread across the inte.


    My father is going to kill whoever let that video go viral! Julianins while trying and failing to unlock the phone. And eventually, after trying so many times that it just straight up locks up the phone, he tosses it back to Robert, who catches it with a grimace. Damnit. Delete that!


    Nope, not happening, Robert says while catching his phone. Especially not after you locked me out of it.


    The two then move over to a less crowded area  the corner Robert had imed for himself earlier  before Robert says, Joking aside, how do you actually feel about that girl?


    Julian blushes at that and looks away, I dont feel anything.


    Robert raises a brow and says, Uh huh, then why are you blushing? Then he sighs and continues, Look, she may be a few years older than us, but that doesnt mean nothings possible. And she really is pretty.


    A voice Robert recognizes as being from the female Guardian who entered with Julian enters their conversation, Yeah, I wouldnt raise my hopes up if I were you.


    They both turn to look at her, finding both the Guardian and one of the civilians standing just a meter behind them, with arge amount of space open around them.


    <em>How did she get away from the crowd? And does she know the wolf eared girl?</em>


    Robert frowns.


    <em>Never mind. They hugged her beforeing in. Of course, they know her.</em>


    Yeah, I dont think I have a chance either Julian mutters, only to cover his mouth and blush a momentter when he realizes what he just said.


    <em>Huh. Didnt expect him to admit it so easily.</em>


    So, Julian, would you mind telling us more about when you met Scarlet? the civilian next to the female Guardian asks, a faint grin stretched across his face. And Julian ends up relenting somehow, just spilling the story nonstop.


    <em>Wonder why hes so talkative now?</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 87: Past

    Book 1: Chapter 87: Past


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but feel awkward as I hear the conversation going on in the bunker between Belle, Arthur, Julian, and the kid who knows Julian. Because whoever wants to hear about some kid having a crush on you?


    Extremely awkward.


    Although at this point, the number of people online whove been rainingpliments on me is kind of numbing me to it  a rather normal thing for celebrities of any kind, I suppose. So I manage to block it out with the equally displeasing sound of groaning zombies.


    Whats with that face youre making? Michael asks as we continue through the train station alongside the train in search of more people.


    Nothing, I answer while focusing on my hearing to sense for others outside of bunkers. There are more people up ahead.


    Gotcha, he says before we all pick up the pace, running alongside the still train till we find a group of people somehow on top of the train with zombies practically climbing over themselves to try to reach them. Which makes them easy targets for us, and we quickly begin to ughter a good chunk of them before they manage to gather themselves together well enough to attack us back.


    I grimace as I watch my mana go down from my usage of blood ws, but at the same time, it does make for good training for my blood regeneration skill. Since it increases my mana regeneration too alongside my physical regeneration.


    We continue to kill the zombies off  most of them being rtively low level despite our closer proximity to the core than before  until theyre all dead. Then we all jump up onto the train to check on the people.


    Thank you so much! one of them  an adult man seemingly in his thirties or so  exims while falling to his knees and crying.


    I frown in confusion.


    Whys he crying?


    <strong>No idea, </strong>Tar answers, suddenly speaking again after quite a while of silence.


    Where were you?


    <strong>Talking to my brother, </strong>he answers, but my attention is quickly taken back to the two kids with the man who for some reason decide to run up and hug us. One hugging my legs and the other hugging Denise.


    Uh


    I look around at the others, my hands held slightly in the air, unsure of what to do with them. But after seeing Denise caressing the back of the girls head in a soothing manner, I decide to just mimic her. And it seems to work? I think? The boy hugging me calms down a little at least.


    Although throughout the process, I continuously have to fight the urge to push the kid away, as this is very ufortable for me. Eventually though, he calms down and disengages himself, making me sigh with relief.


    <strong>At this rate, youre probably just gonna have to get used to physical contact, </strong>Tar says, <strong>considering how many times you force yourself to endure it for whatever circumstances youre in at the time.</strong>


    Ugh. I hate to admit it, but you may be right.


    <strong>Why do you hate it anyways? </strong>Tar asks before rifying, <strong>Physical contact, I mean.</strong>


    I nce at the others to find them talking with the three adults, none of which appear to be these kids parents at a nce. Meaning their parents are either lost somewhere, or they were infected. Neither of which are good results.


    So I turn to watch our surroundings as I focus on Tars question.


    It started as early as I can remember. Because the first memory I can clearly remember is being pushed around by some of the older kids living nearby the orphanage, telling me how orphans should just find a hole to crawl into and die or to get away from them lest I get them sick and other stuff like that.


    And believe it or not, I took it to heart. I avoided touching others entirely for nearly a year before Allen spoke to me about it.


    I nce to the side as I hear the groaning of zombies beginning to approach from a ways down the train, inside of it.


    Keep in mind that I was only about four years old at the time. And at that point, Allen didnt really associate with the orphans very often. So it was a pretty big shock when he pulled me into his office to talk.


    I thought I had done something wrong, and it terrified me. The thought of being kicked out of the orphanage...


    Tar hums, sounding like hes not really sure what to say.


    Allen wasnt as warm to me back then as he is now. And he certainly didnt seem to know that much about kids in general, even though he had a four year old daughter himself back then. So lets just say the conversation didnt end very well, and my avoidance of touching people became more of a fear at that point.


    Of course, over time I realized how stupid it was to be afraid of something like that. But by that point, I was so unused to physical contact that it became ufortable to have any anymore. So I continued avoiding it.


    And here we are.


    Tar stays silent for several seconds as I just keep an ear pinned to the demons  both zombies and not zombies  letting the others take the job offorting the people. And as soon as Michael says that were gonna head out, I turn back and ask, We heading across the trains roof or back on the ground?


    He looks vaguely surprised by that before I add, There are demons in the train, near one of the entrances. And not just zombies this time.


    His surprised expression turns serious as he considers the options.


    If we continue on the ground, theres more of a chance that these zombies wille out and possibly be a threat to the people were gonna be escorting to the nearest bunker. And these demons sound like they have several huntsmen with them. Which will be a problem in regard to protecting the people.


    Just a single bolt making it past us


    Lets travel on top of the train till we reach the next bunker, Michael finally decides, and I nod my head, setting off in the direction of said bunker with the others following after me, making a bit of an oval around the civilians.


    <strong>Scarlet, </strong>Tar says out of nowhere with <em>something </em>in his voice that Ive never heard before, <strong>Im sorry you had to go through all that. If I ever see your parents, Ill give them a good kick for you, okay?</strong>


    I almost stumble from the emotional manner of speaking I just heard the usually robotic fae prince use. And this surprises the others before I raise my hand to motion that Im okay.


    That was a surprise.


    But I cant hold back the smile that stretches across my face at that. A real, true smile. Not just a grin, but a smile as I whisper so that only Tar can hear, Thank you.


    A few seconds pass in silence.


    Although I doubt your kick will do much.


    The tanuki just snorts, making me chuckle.

 Book 1: Chapter 88: Blood Lycans Biology Lesson Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 88: Blood Lycans Biology Lesson Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After dropping off the civilians at the bunker, we continue on through the train station, just clearing out the zombies where we can until we reach the point where they are too high a level for us, where we then change to stalling tactics. Just fighting off the zombies while working together and holding them in ce so that any other civilians we missed wont be in harms way.


    Although if it werent for Michaels being here, wed all be zombies by now. And he also makes it convenient since he can cure the infected zombies that havent crossed the point of no return yet. Which makes me very happy that Im on the same team as him. Since these types of Fractures tend to lead to public hatred of some of the Guardians who killed someone who was infected, even if it isnt very logical.


    Not to mention that it just means we get to save them.


    Even if it does get annoying stopping by so many bunkers on the way.


    We continue fighting for over an hour, just holding off the higher leveled zombies, hounds, and huntsmen until I hear the sound of loud footsteps from far, <em>far </em>behind us. Close to the entrance of the station itself. And the footsteps are clearly human, likely from someone wearing magi-tech armor.


    Then I hear their voice speaking into a terminal and quickly recognize the voice as Sylvers.


    Ive arrived on scene and am currently heading towards the core, he says before getting a response from Sage answering, Affirmative.


    Looks like our backup has arrived! I shout at the others while raising my foot and kicking a zombie a few meters away from me, only to grunt as I feel a crossbow bolt cut open my transformed forearm before flying straight past it, missing the bone, and hitting only the edge of my arm in the process.


    ETA? Michael shouts back, only to say, Nevermind, when all of our terminals buzz, and Sages face appears. She then says, Reinforcements should arrive within the next five minutes.


    As if on cue, I hear more sets of footsteps enter the station from various locations. And at the same time, I hear the sound of lightning shoot out, following which a steady electrical current runs somewhere by the sounds of it.


    Alright, just a little bit longer, I hear Michael calling out as the call with Sage drops.


    Yep. Just a little bit longer and Ill be able to go on a SP spending spree.


    <strong>Of course thats where your minds at, </strong>Tar mutters, seemingly exasperated with me.


    Hey! SP is SP, and skills are skills. I need them to survive if you didnt forget.


    Or at least, to not fully be a demon.


    <strong>True, </strong>he mutters in reply as I barely avoid another crossbow bolt that flies straight over my head after bending backwards slightly. <strong>But you can at least takefort in knowing the blood lycans would never hurt you should you enter Tartarus.</strong>


    Thatment gives me pause, almost making me stop in the middle of the battle from the impact it has one me.


    They what?!


    <strong>You didnt know? </strong>Tar sounds genuinely surprised for a second, only to mutter, <strong>Oh, wait. I guess humans wouldnt know the interactions between the demons, now would they? Especially the nobles</strong>


    My eye twitches as he speaks as if Im not listening. But I continue to fight with the demons all the same, just hoping that the reinforcements will get here faster.


    Please get to the point.


    <strong>Oh, well, blood lycans are like wolves in a lot of ways, </strong>he starts, stating something I already know, <strong>they share quite a few instincts with them, along with a powerful pride, and arge importance on blood ties. Meaning they care a lot about those they see as pack, which always includes their blood rtives unless they were expelled from the n. And even then, they still tend to care about them far more than any other demons.</strong>


    And youre only telling me this now?


    I grunt as I feel a hound charging headfirst into my hips, knocking me forwards, further into our formation, breaking it for the split second before I grab the hound and tear out its throat, quickly climbing back to my feet to refill the gap. But during that time, a couple of level 34 zombies made it through, only to be stopped by Michaels treants before they could do any real damage.


    This really isnt the time to be having this conversation.


    <strong>Guess you have a point, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>after the reinforcements arrive then?</strong>


    I nod my head while spinning around and doing a roundhouse kick to the face of an infected zombie who was already past curing judging by its grayish ck skin, sending its head clean off of its body  the head being attached only by a rather rotted neck, which was obviously where the other zombie had originally infected it.


    The battle then continues for a few minutes, none of us taking any serious injuries thanks to Michaels healing. And right when Im beginning to worry about not only my own mana, but Michaels as well, reinforcements finally arrive in the form of Sylver sting by us while using literal chains of silver lightning as a mode of transportation somehow.


    How does that even work?


    Your work is over here, I hear someone that I dont recognize say, bringing my attention to a man with a familiar face. One of the many Guardians of the Silver Association that Allen had me remember, or at least look over the details of to familiarize myself with them even the slightest bit. Seeing as were coworkers. Fall back and let us handle the rest. Youve done well.


    The voice belongs to a beautiful woman wearing a dress for some reason in the middle of a zombie filled train station during a Fracture. But after a second, I catch some shes of red light from the dress, along with the sensation of mana pulsing in it, marking it as magi-tech.


    Just for some reason in the form of a dress.


    Isnt that hard to fight in?


    The woman practically has the body of a model, being quite a bit taller than me with beautiful blue eyes, blonde hair, and smooth skin. The only thing that stands out on her  aside from the dress of course  are the two strange lines streaking down her arm and up her neck. Kind of like snakes but seeming to be alive.


    Some sort of skill? Or maybe her reality warp?


    The woman just glides past me, her feet somehow not touching the ground. But I can still hear <em>something </em>touching the ground, so I know she isnt floating per se.


    So many unique types of magic I wonder if theres a limit?


    Actually, never mind that.


    Tar, please continue what you were talking about.

 Book 1: Chapter 88.2: Blood Lycans Biology Lesson Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 88.2: Blood Lycans Biology Lesson Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Well, to start things off again, blood lycans are both incredibly prideful, and very protective of their pack, </strong>Tar says, going back into his lecture as I back up along with the others to let the ss II Guardians handle the rest of the demons in the Fracture. <strong>Meaning that unless your blood lycan parent is an outcast, exiled from their n, they would protect you no matter what instead of harm you. And blood lycans generally dont exile their n members unless they really did something terrible. Like betray the entire demon race or harm their own pack in an extreme way, or some other reprehensible crime.</strong>


    Oh? Thats kind of surprising. They are demons, so I just kind of assumed oh, right. I should stop doing that.


    <strong>Yeah, you should, </strong>Tar says before continuing, <strong>anyways. Remember this though. Even if you are the daughter of a n member who wasnt exiled  which I find unlikely, since a n member is not likely to have had a child with a human considering the bad blood between humans and demons  then your status in their pack will matter a lot as well. Assuming your parent is a lower member of their pack, you would be at the bottom of the hierarchy. So even if theyd protect you and care about you from outside matters</strong>


    They would probably treat me like a servant of some sort themselves?


    <strong>Correct, </strong>Tar says as I nce towards the others to find them all chatting amongst themselves while we walk back in the direction weve been pushing for a while. <strong>While were on the subject of blood lycans, I might as well exin the mostmonly known racial traits they have, since you might be getting them yourself one day.</strong>


    I grimace at the hint towards me bing less and less human.


    <strong>Blood lycans have severalmonly known racial traits, such as their extremely powerful regeneration that is locked based on achievements, their incredibly sensitive ears both to sound and touch, and their blood tails, </strong>Tar starts, making me frown slightly at the mention of a blood tail. <strong>The regeneration and ears Ive already talked about before, but a blood lycans blood tail is something rather unique. Blood lycans have the inherent skill to turn their blood into a type of blood metal for a rather steep price of mana. And only when the blood is outside of their body and still close enough for them to reach it with their senses. But for those born as pure blooded blood lycans  which does not include you  they are actually born with a very limited version of it in the form of a tail.</strong>


    I cant help but tense up at the thought of getting a tail. Because my ears are already bad enough. What would a tail be like? Not to mention the hell of having to adjust my clothes to a tail


    The memory of Julians tail ruining his pants shes through my mind before I quickly clear it out.


    <strong>Unless you unlock an advanced skill for it, I doubt youll ever be getting a tail, </strong>Tar says, making me sigh in relief. <strong>Its not a biological part of them after all, nor is their tail a skill. More like a natural magical weapon made out of metallicized blood with the appearance and feeling of a tail. Well, until they shapeshift it.</strong>


    Thats kind of scary.


    <strong>Yeah, but from what Ive heard from my brother who is contracted to a blood lycan, their tails are otherwise quite fluffy when not shapeshifted, </strong>my eyebrow twitches at that. <strong>And they can dispel them whenever they want. In fact, most of the time they dont show their tail in public as its seen as a faux pas.</strong>


    I raise a brow at that.


    Showing their tail is against the social norm for blood lycans? Thats odd.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says, only to add, <strong>well, except inbat of course. Its more that if they have their tail out, they mean to do battle. So its taken as a threat by most people. Or theyre being yful, if you get my meaning.</strong>


    Oh. Yeah, lets move on from that topic.


    Tar chuckles as he notices a very faint blush creeping up my neck before continuing, <strong>I do believe youll get their ability to turn your blood into metal at the very least, even if its only a lower rarity version of the skill. And youll likely get their full beast transformation skill, considering how youve already gotten a minor version of it with partial shift. And that beast transformation will have a tail, so you know. You just wont have one in your  as the blood lycans like to call it  lycan form, which is just your usual form.</strong>


    Oh, now thats some good news.


    Knowing that I wont have to deal with a tail in my huma- err, lycan form is very nice, and the idea of being able to turn my blood into that blood metal thats rather enticing.


    <strong>It will make for a nice way to get yourself reliable weapons should you need them, especially since the metallicized blood is stronger than any metal on Earth, </strong>Tar voices his agreement in my mind as I continue walking with the team. <strong>Although</strong>


    Tar just trails off after that, making me frown.


    Although what?


    <strong>On the off chance that you are born from a higher ranking member of the blood lycans pack, </strong>Tar begins, sounding slightly hesitant to finish, only to quickly say it all at once, <strong>then theyll probably end up capturing you, forcing you to join the pack, and trying to force you into leveling up quickly to get rid of your human genes.</strong>


    I stop walking altogether.


    Oh.


    That would be a problem.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather awkward. And I dont start walking again until the others notice me having stopped and begin to nce at me. <strong>Your best bet is to avoid ss V Fractures at all costs. Because you <em>will</em> be found out if you run into a blood lycan.</strong>


    I nod my head as I quickly catch up with the others again.


    Although at least there are rarely any ss V Fractures. After all, the world would be overrun with demons by now if there were more of those.


    Come to think of it, why are demons stronger than humans anyways?


    <strong>The answer to that is rather simple, honestly, </strong>Tar says, making me raise a brow. <strong>Tartarus is a much harsher world in general, with more mana in it than Earth, and no capacity for electronic technology due to a magical barrier set in ce long ago by the now long dead humans there. So, the demons had to adapt.</strong>


    Huh. That makes sense.


    <strong>That and we fae found the demons long before we found you through the Fractures, </strong>he adds almost as an afterthought.


    Hold up. You found us through the Fractures?

 Book 1: Chapter 89: The Fae, The demons, and The Humans. And Cute Things.

    Book 1: Chapter 89: The Fae, The demons, and The Humans. And Cute Things.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Hmm? </strong>Tar hums, sounding slightly tired for some reason, <strong>Yeah. The Farshore isnt connected to Earth. Its connected to Tartarus. Meaning we have to hitch a ride onto a Fracture to get to Earth, and then establish a contract to have our artificial forms remain here after the Fracture is over.</strong>


    I just listen to him as I walk, not interrupting beyond simply asking Michael if we can stop over at the bunker where Belle and Arthur are and getting an agreement from him.


    <strong>Although not even we know where the Fractures originated from. Just that they seem to be caused most likely by some sort of natural magical phenomenon thats beyond our understanding, </strong>Tar continues, a frown clear in his voice at this subject. But then it disappears as he continues, <strong>Well anyways, this is why we contracted with the demons long before you. Because we didnt even know Earth existed before the Demonic Assaults.</strong>


    That would certainly exin a lot. And let me guess, you gave us that special aid in the form of the original five Knights as a bnce to let humanity settle into the Demonic Assaults so that we would be able to feed the fae with life force as well?


    From what history stated, the original five Knights  not the ones we have now  were magi-tech devices created by the fae and gifted to humanity. Ones on par with ss V Guardians who could instantly wipe out a ss I, II, and III Fracture without even bothering to get near them.


    The only reasons humanity on Earth still exist to this day and werent justpletely wiped out by the demons when they first arrived through the Fractures.


    <strong>Well, </strong>Tar sounds hesitant for only a second before he gives in and admits it. <strong>Yes. We fae were taking advantage of you and the demons war. But we didnt start it! And I wasnt even alive back then!</strong>


    My eyebrows rise as I realize hes trying to convince me of his innocence, as if he cares about how I view him.


    Thats sweet.


    Its fine Tar. I know you werent around back then so couldnt do anything if you wanted, and overall, the fae did save us. Even if it was partially their fault that we needed saving in the first ce.


    I hear the tanuki let out a sigh of relief in the back of my mind, making a small smile stretch across my face.


    Although that certainly exins why the fae only contract people in Fractures. Since thats the only ce you can go when not contracted with someone.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says, his usual robotic tone back albeit with just a tad bit more personality in it. <strong>And a lot of fae tend to be rather picky with their contractor, meaning that most of the time that a fae enters a Fracture, they wont be leaving with a contracted Guardian. Despite the faes desire to head to Earth and contract with someone here.</strong>


    Why is that anyways?


    <strong>Well, human Guardians tend to kill a lot more demons on average than a lower ranking demon, which is generally the best a fae peasant can ever contract with on Tartarus, </strong>Tar exins the sad truth of the fae underss to me in a robotic manner.


    Thats rather depressing, to be honest. But also not much better than what Earth has devolved into, so touch.


    Also, the very idea that demons can kill other demons that arent of the same species as them to level up is still frightening. All we humans can do is kill the demons. Not that we should be hoping to be able to kill humans or anything, since that would just make society even more cruel than it already is. And we dont need that.


    Have you been talking with your fae this whole time? I suddenly hear Emily ask as she walks alongside me.


    Yeah, I answer without bothering to hide it.


    The girls been a lot more open since I saved her life. Which in hindsight makes some sense, but its still a little surprising when she openly walks up to me to start a conversation.


    Neither of us say anything for a few seconds before I decide to bite the bullet and ask a random question that I think she might be interested in talking about, What animal does your fae appear as?


    And just like I thought, this makes a wide smile spread across her face as she immediately begins gushing, A puppy! And shes just so freaking cute!


    I cant help but crack a grin as her excitement feels just the slightest bit contagious. And I notice her brother doing the same.


    But then a floating puppy with ck fur appears in front of her with a stern look on its adorable face and straight up scolds Emily, Emily, that is no way for ady to act.


    My mouth drops open in shock. Both at the sight of a puppy telling an eighteen year old girl to act like ady, and the sheer absurdity of the puppys contrasting appearance and voice.


    Oh, Im sorry, Octavia Emily mutters, but I cant help but notice her eyes constantly flickering from the floor back up to the puppy. As if she wants to pet and hold the fae.


    I turn my head away to cover my mouth as I fake cough to hide myugh. Then I turn back to find the fae bowing her head to the air for some reason, only for Tar to appear where shes bowing, surprising me for a second.


    And out of the corner of my eye, I immediately notice Emilys eyes shoot straight to Tar with the same look she gave her own fae.


    Yeah, she really does like cute things.


    This Countess greets his highness, the puppy says, still sounding quite odd considering her appearance as a, well, puppy.


    <strong>Rise </strong>Tar says out loud, the entire situation seeming rather bizarre. And Im clearly not the only one who is thinking this, considering the looks both Denise and Michael are giving the fae. <strong>Take good care of your contractor as she is a member of my contractors team.</strong>


    I raise an eyebrow at seeing the tanuki actually going out of his way to personally act in my benefit beyond simply exining things and answering questions.


    As you wish, your highness, the puppy says, her head still lowered for a second until she raises it and adds, however, I wouldve done that regardless, so your worries are for naught.


    Okay, this whole conversation is getting ridiculous with their physical appearances.


    So I just begin to walk away, leaving them behind until Tars voice echoes in my mind again, no longer speaking aloud.


    <strong>Sorry about that, </strong>he says before adding, <strong>I wished to show you some of the faes politics.</strong>


    Oh. So thats what that was.


    I hold back my smile.


    And hold it back.


    And continue holding it back as I walk.


    <strong>Why are you making that face? </strong>Tar suddenly asks.


    No reason. Dont mind me.


    Smile sessfully held back.


    <strong>I can hear your thoughts, you know, </strong>the tanuki who Im feeling quite grateful towards right now mutters in an exasperated tone.

 Book 1: Chapter 90: Returning To Base

    Book 1: Chapter 90: Returning To Base


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After we reach the bunker where Arthur and Belle are and pick them up, we head straight towards the entrance we originally arrived at before waiting a few minutes. The Fracture thenes to an abrupt end, someone having shattered the core, and along with it, the shield around the building immediately begins fading away in front of us.


    Not bad timing, I mutter as we all begin to walk through the entrance of the outer station and in the direction of Denises limo, which is still in front of the building. Although I cant help but notice that its parked in a different spot than when we arrived.


    Yeah, Belle says while walking beside me holding Arthurs hand nonchntly. But when she notices us walking straight towards the limo with an elderly gentleman in a ck business suit standing outside with his hands held behind his back, her eyes widen and she asks, Wait, is that our ride?


    I just nod my head.


    Arent you the daughter of the CEO of Silver Works? Michael asks, slightly confused by her reaction as he slows down slightly to walk next to us.


    Belle nods her head and answers, Yeah, but that doesnt mean we go around everywhere in limos


    Oh. Right. I almost forgot that Allen doesnt really go around spending his money for convenience like that.


    And if I remember correctly, he doesnt actually own Silver Works. So he isnt making as much money from thepany as most people would think.


    Its his father that actually owns thepany and decides who will be the CEO.


    Once we reach the limo and driver, the man bows slightly and says, Young miss, the items you four have purchased from the mall are all in the trunk. He then rises to his full height again, which is several inches taller than me, making me feel slightly short just from looking up at him, before he turns around and begins to open the door for us all.


    Oh. Guess thats why the vehicle is parked somewhere besides where it was when we got here.


    He went to go grab everything we  or for the most part Denise  bought at the store. Since all I bought was a single video game.


    We all enter the limo before sitting down as Denise tells the driver to head back to the Silver Associations base.


    Oh, right. Guess I can show Belle my new suite of rooms.


    But first, time to see my gains.


    <strong>{Level 11 Demon Spawn assist. A massive EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon twenty or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x31</strong>


    <strong>{Level 10 Demon Spawn assist. A massive EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon twenty or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x30</strong>


    <strong>{Level 12 Demon Spawn assist. A massive EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon twenty or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x25</strong>


    <strong>{Level 24 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x11</strong>


    <strong>{Level 25 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x14</strong>


    <strong>{Level 23 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x7</strong>


    <strong>{Level 22 Demon Spawn assist. Arge EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon ten or more levels below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x9</strong>


    <strong>{Level 27 Demon Spawn assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x10</strong>


    <strong>{Level 28 Demon Spawn assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x10</strong>


    <strong>{Level 30 Demon Hound assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x12</strong>


    <strong>{Level 29 Demon Hound assist. An EXP Penalty has been extracted for defeating a demon below your own level. An EXP penalty has been extracted for assisting in the kill depending on your degree of assistance} x11</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 39. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 40. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    No SP at all? No achievements either?


    I frown at that before shrugging and allocating my free points.


    The driver takes us straight to the base, where we all separate and head in our own directions from there, with Belle and Arthur following me to my suite. But right when were arriving at my door, my neighbors door opens, revealing a man as he walks out with a mouthful of sharp fangs and pitch ck eyes.


    My mouth drops open at that, and I notice both Belle and Arthur having simr reactions. And theyre only made worse when the Guardian nces at us and puffs out a small amount of smoke through his nostrils and then begins walking in the other direction.


    Oookaaay theen guess thats what Sage meant when she said some of the neighbors bite?


    Id honestly forgotten about that till now


    Most of the Guardians who end up looking borderline inhuman like that dont often get sponsors or even end up on the news much. Mostly because they sometimes look more demon than human, and that doesnt really appeal very well as a source of hope.


    The news likes to talk about the more beautiful, handsome, or cute Guardians. And apparently I number amongst those, considering how much theyve talked about me.


    Some of that is probably due to my extremely dangerous battles though.


    Anyways, I unlock my suite before walking in, leaving the other two to gawk for several more seconds before they join me, the door automatically locking behind them. Then I head straight for the tv while taking out the new game from my bag and simply tossing the bag somewhere without paying attention to where as I kneel down in front of the tv and the game console.


    Whatre you doing? I hear Belle ask, but I just raise the case for the game I bought to show her, making her scoff at it before I grin and open the new box up. I then quickly boot the console up  very thankful that the suite came with thetest video game console on the market  and take the game out of the case, putting it into the console and grabbing the remotes.


    Turning around, I find Arthur with a grin on his face and one hand held out to me, while his girlfriend just has an exasperated look on her face as she walks over to the fridge, which she quickly finds to be rather barren.


    Where the hell are you keeping your food, youngdy?! she practically shouts, and I hum in response before answering as I sit down on the couch with the remote controller for the console in my hand, I eat at the cafeteria because there is no way Ill be able to store all of the food I need here.


    I dont pay attention to her as I hand Arthur the second yer controller and turn around, stretching myself over the couch to grab the tv remote and turn on the tv. Then I sit up straight again, Arthur pushing me over to sit on the couch next to me while the tv boots up.


    Unfortunately, for some reason alien to both me and Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games. She never has, and never likely will. Which always leaves me and Arthur topete against each other.


    But the asshole always ends up winning in the reaction based parts of games, along with any button mashing thats required. And I cant wait to see if I can finally beat him for once!


    <strong>Youre using your enhanced capabilities as a Guardian </strong>Tar begins, sounding rather exasperated himself, <strong>to y a video game?</strong>


    You bet your furry tail I am.


    <strong>I</strong> Tar begins, only to mutter <strong>oh, whatever, </strong>and appear in front of us before floating down andnding on myp, likely to take a nap as we y the game.


    Im guessing its safe to assume you havent yed this yet? I ask Arthur with a faint grin on my face, and he nods his head, answering, I havent.


    And my grin grows wider.


    Then get ready to lose, I tell him rather bluntly, making Belle snort from where she is on the other side of the living area.


    Arthur just rolls his eyes as we navigate to the video game from the main menu of the console.

 Book 1: Chapter 91: Parenting Issues

    Book 1: Chapter 91: Parenting Issues


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After about four hours of beating Arthur at the video game, to his apparent shame and Belles amusement, I begin to hear someone walking down the hall outside my suite, following which we all hear the doorbell to my suite ring. So I put my controller down, still with a wide grin on my face, before I move the tanuki and walk over to the entrance to look at the camera that shows Allen standing outside while tapping his foot in an anxious manner.


    I open the door, and his eyes immediately lock on me as he asks, Is Belle okay?!


    Before I even get the chance to answer, I see Belle out of the corner of my eye sticking her head into the hallway with a drink held in front of her face and a straw in her mouth as she waves. And the sight of it has me struggling not tough.


    Allen immediately rushes forward and practically tackles his daughter in a bearhug, making her repeatedly pat his back in an effort to tell him to let her go since she clearly cant breathe. At which point I immediately burst intoughter while closing the door and walking back into the main room, ignoring her struggle. I then go back to the couch and continue beating- err, gaming with Arthur.


    It isnt until we finish the mini game that were currently on that I hear Belle asking in a rather nonchnt manner, So I can go to Lions Heart now, right?


    My eyes widen in shock at her daring to ask at a time like this, only to narrow again as I remember how shameless she tends to be. So of course shed milk his worry for all its worth to get into the university.


    Not that he wouldnt already get her in there if shes talented enough.


    Before Allen can answer though, she adds, Also, can I join Scarlets team?


    My head spins around in the middle of selecting the next minigame to find Allen just nodding his head and muttering sure to everything shes asking. And I can just barely catch the grin Belle is sending my way while still being crushed beneath Allens arms, the guy still wearing his full magi-tech armor.


    I raise a brow for a second before sighing and turning back to the game.


    Yeah, in hindsight, shes definitely the most qualified to be on my team. Although Allen seems to just be muttering agreements to everything shes saying right now, regardless of if he can actually fulfil her wishes. After all, he cant just decide who is on my team. Even if he is the leader of the Association Im in.


    But still. Id rather have someone I can trust on the team. And were missing a tank or defender anyways, which her barrier type magic  which I dont actually know what is exactly yet  should help a lot in that area.


    Alright Allen, I think shes been suffocating for long enough by now, Arthur suddenly says, seemingly shocking Allen out of the little stupor hed entered upon seeing his daughter safe. So he steps back and fake coughs, while turning his gaze away from his daughter to us as Belle walks up to the couch and sits next to Arthur.


    d to see youre all okay, he eventually says to the three of us before narrowing his gaze on me and then the tv as he adds, but should you really be ying games thiste?


    I frown at that before ncing at the clock.


    1:34AM.


    Oh shit, I mutter before quickly getting up, turning off the game and putting it away and beginning to move towards my room. But Allen stops me just as Im passing by him by stretching his arm out and saying, Hold up, Scarlet. You still have guests.


    Oh, right.


    I turn back around to the two who are both looking at me with clear amusement on their faces, but I choose to ignore it as I say, It was good seeing you two again. Then I turn back around and continue making my way to my bedroom while calling out behind me, If you decide youre gonna yell at her for any reason, please keep it down while in my suite. I need to sleep for tomorrow morning! And try to keep the arguing to a minimum so that she can actually get some sleep! I wont be the only one in the tournament!


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find them all just shaking their heads in amusement, seemingly expecting my sudden departure.


    <strong>You do know that wasnt exactly a polite way to deal with guests, right? </strong>Tar asks, quickly catching up with me from where he was lying on the couch.


    Yeah, maybe not. But I was never really taught the polite way to deal with them in the first ce, since I lived in an orphanage. Meaning we basically never had any guests, and the ones we did have were there mostly for Belle.


    Besides. I can tell they have something they want to talk about.


    Or rather, Allen has something he wants to talk about. And if my guess is correct, its probably got something to do with Arthur and Belles rtionship.


    And I really dont want to be around for that. So better to make a quick exit.


    <strong>Ah, that makes more sense, </strong>Tar says as I close my rooms door and grab a ck tank top and ck and red shorts to change into in the bathroom, leaving the tanuki in my room as I do so. Then when I get back, I find that very tanuki just lying down curled up in a ball on my bed, which looks really adorable.


    As if on cue, I hear someone raising their voice from the other room shouting, You two did what?!


    I nce towards the door before turning my attention back to the bed. Then the door again. Then my outfit.


    Hmm.


    I decide to just ignore it while climbing into bed and grabbing and pulling up the sheets and nket. All while switching to my human ears, which blocks out their conversation.


    Much better I mutter to myself before closing my eyes and beginning to fall asleep.

 Book 1: Chapter 92: The Opening Ceremony Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 92: The Opening Ceremony Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next morning sees me eating a ratherrge breakfast before going back to my room and changing into my uniform for the university. But right when Im about to leave my room to meet up with the others who are attending the opening ceremony, I pause as I notice some sort of amulet on my bed with a note on top of it. An amulet that looks just like the ones the other Guardians have that lets them equip their magi-tech armor.


    A grin spreads across my face as I grab the thing before putting it on over my neck and hiding it underneath my uniforms top. Then I read the note.


    <em>Press the center of the amulet to equip your magi-tech armor. Your armor is consistent of your jacket, along with pants and a shirt. All of which are crafted from thetest material to date, just like Cynthias armor. And the armor is enchanted to adjust to your size no matter what changes may ur, as long as it has the material required.</em>


    Yes!!! Finally!!!


    And he got it right before the opening ceremony too, whichll apparently have a tournament in it?


    Then I notice the added part on the other side of the note.


    <em>PS: The Silver Association has been hired as added security for the event, meaning I wont be able to see you off. So my only advice to you would be to show off what you can do. Itll lead to a better life in the university, along with better sponsors that will be able to make your life even outside of the university much more enjoyable. And please protect Belle while youre there.</em>


    I smile at thatst part before leaving the note on my bed and then walking out of my suite, locking it as I do so.


    Then right when I turn around, I get blinded by the light of a camera, following which I hear Belle saying, There we go. A picture tomemorate your first time in the uniform!


    While blinking the spots from my eyes, I feel Belle put something in my hand. And when the spots are finally gone, I find it to be her phone which I bring to my face just to find a picture of me on it with some sort of filter that takes out the background and makes it look rather odd.


    After looking at the picture I hand it back to her, unsure of why she handed it to me in the first ce.


    Idiot, she says with a frown, take one of me next!


    Oh.


    I do so before handing it back again.


    And now one together, she says with a smile, which makes me frown.


    I really dont like pictures.


    She doesnt seem to care though and takes it anyways before we both go to meet up with the rest of the team.


    Fortunately, they were all quick to allow her to join the team. Mostly because we do need a defensive Guardian, and full teams are made up of five people, meaning we wouldve needed a fifth if we were topete in the interschool tournaments. Which I ended up deciding to go along with in the end.


    Although I really do have to wonder how this opening ceremony will turn out in the end.


    We continue walking.


    And I also hate wearing formal attire, so I want out of this thing as soon as possible.


    So when I first heard that we would be arriving in a limo, I was very worried that the other students would start judging us. Or maybe that theyd think of me as some spoiled rich kid which I very much am not.


    What I wasnt expecting was to find over a dozen other limos here dropping off students amidst the remaining students who are all walking from the parking lot.


    Okay so maybe there are a bit more rich kids here than I expected


    I also cant help but notice a lot of people sending nces my way in particr, likely due to those videos of me online fighting a knight and a wraith. Although Im just d they didnt show the parts of my fight against the wraith where my clothes were damaged badly enough that it wouldve had me blushing pretty badly if I was seen by anyone.


    I cant help but think Allen had something to do with wiping that footage though. Because I doubt the media wouldve censored it, considering that nothing important was actually showing. So it wouldve been perfectly legal to do so.


    Fortunately, the people looking at me dont do so for long, returning their focus to whatever it is they were doing  mostly walking or talking  just seconds afterwards.


    The five of us join the throng of students in the direction of the auditorium, which just at a nce is enormous. Its also very different from any auditorium that Ive ever seen, because the moment we enter it, my eyes are immediately attracted to the sight of the massive screen showing a random battlefield of sorts. One that looks a lot like one of the magical reality battlefields shown on TV for the interschool tournaments.


    After looking up at it as we walk for a couple seconds, I look down again at the auditorium which seems to have thousands of seats in it. The ce doesnt actually have as many seats as one might expect for a university, but in hindsight, it makes sense. Since the university is only open to Guardians, and there arent tens of thousands of Guardians like there are students for most universities. At most Id say there are around three or so thousand Guardians attending this university at a time, if my research is to be believed at least.


    Which isnt very manypared to the twenty to thirty thousand students in other universities that arent meant solely for Guardians.


    Actually, if I remember correctly, there should be around  on average  twenty to thirty new Guardians each year within the republics capital alone, not counting the other cities across the globe. Although since the Demonic Assaults are linked to the poption, the cities just get less and less as their poptions are lower. Like how a tier 3 city generally only gets maybe a few Guardians a year at best.


    And with the university having four years of mandatory study along with whatever graduate degree people want and the many, <em>many </em>transfer students constantly wanting to attend Lions Heart, Id say three or so thousand sounds about right.


    We all make our way to an area closer to the back of the auditorium, which is set up in arge oval, with the stage being at the very opposite end of the oval from the entrance, and a vast number of seats slowly going down the stairs to it with the seats angled inwards toward the stage, a few aisles in between the seats, and another set of seats on a floor above us overlooking the thing. Meanwhile therge screen that I noticed upon entering is directly above the stage. And the auditorium itself is in the colors of the school. Gold and ck.


    Once we decide on a good ce to sit thats in the very back row but not in the corner, we each sit and find an earpiece immediately extending out of the arm of the chair, along with instructions written on a screen build into the armrest.


    <em>Put this device over your ear to enter the magical reality once directed and the light on your earpiece turns green.</em>


    Oh, okay.


    I blink in surprise as another notice shes by the screen.


    <em>If you do not have human ears, you may press this button and an alternative will be given to you.</em>


    Huh. Convenient, but I have human ears still.


    <strong>For now, at least, </strong>Tar suddenly adds, reminding me of the fact that Ill be less and less human every time I reach a new ss.


    I grimace at the thought of losing my human ears, and more importantly, losing my ability to lower the volume when I need to simply by switching to them. Even if I do spend almost all of my time using my blood lycan ears.


    Belle, Michael, and Denise quietly chat amongst themselves, leaving me and Emily to sit in silence as we wait, just watching the students pile into the auditorium.

 Book 1: Chapter 92.2: The Opening Ceremony Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 92.2: The Opening Ceremony Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We end up waiting for over a dozen minutes until its finally noon on the dot when a man just suddenly appears on the stage. One I recognize as the vice-headmaster. The guy who originally had me take my exam.


    All of the chatter in the auditorium quickly begins to go away, leaving nothing but silence in its wake. Then I notice various people suddenly standing in all of the corners of the room, everyst dark ce, everyst shadow, and almost all of them are familiar faces from the news. Each being famous Guardians who teach at this university.


    Then a tapping sound echoes once from the stage, bringing my attention back to the old man who had just tapped his cane  which I didnt realize he had  on the stage.


    Why does he have a cane? Hes a Guardian. Likely a ss IV one at that. I can tell that from his mana alone. So why does he have a cane?


    And he didnt have it on him when I met him before also, is it just me, or is that cane a little too thick?


    <strong>Its probably a weapon of some sort disguised as a cane, </strong>Tar exins to me, making me form an o with my mouth in understanding.


    Students both new and old of Lions Heart, hear me now, the old looking man says, his eyes searching through the crowd of students. Those of you here are of the highest echelon of all new Guardians in the world. Take pride in that fact. But dont let it get to your head. He taps his cane once more, making two lions suddenly jump out of the wall behind him beforeing to a stop next to the man. As you should already know, every Guardians University has an animal figure for it. And here at <em>Lions </em>Heart- the man emphasizes the word Lions -our animal is the lion.


    Yeah, that couldnt have been more obvious.


    We take pride in our strength, in our magic, and in ourselves, the man says,ying it on a little thick with this whole pride shtick. His face suddenly takes a dark turn as he continues, So I warn you now. If you do not uphold the pride of the university, there will be no second chances. He taps his cane on the stage once more, sending a wave of dark mist through the entire auditorium, making everything go dark. Then two glowing green eyes suddenly appear on the stage, faintly lighting up the old mans visage as a rather sinister voice echoes throughout the auditorium, Break the rules even once, and you will be sent to a Tier 2 Guardians University. And there will be noints.


    Then, just as suddenly as the change hade about, all of the mist vanishes and the old man begins smiling an old man smile as he says, Now, onto more pleasant things.


    I find that I was holding my breath during that entire event before letting it out, feeling a powerful surge of shame hurting my pride at being afraid of the man just then. Even if he is  judging by his mana  even stronger than Allen and Cynthia.


    He taps his cane once more, making me narrow my eyes on the thing before the floor of the stage opens up and arge screen emerges from it, showing some sort of pyramid as he starts speaking, Many of you already know of the hierarchy we have here at Lions Heart, one that is stricter than any other universities hierarchy. But here it is.


    Looking at the pyramid, there are three different levels in the hierarchy. The Regr ss students, the Advanced ss students, and the Top ss students. But unlike the name implies, these students arent taking sses together. It is a university after all, so they simply getbeled as such and given better benefits and offered more sses and opportunities than the other students.


    Regr students are the bottom two thousand students in the ranking that you will be earningter today based on your sess in the ranking tournament, the old man says, leaning on his cane with both hands. You are allowed to take all of the regr courses at the university, the courses that are required for every Guardian to take such as Guardian Law and Guardian History, along with the basic theory sses on the Status, Demonology, magic in general, one ss on their own broad magic, and statistics and capabilities. You may not live off campus and must live in the dorms, specifically the Regr ss Dorms. And you may not enter the Advanced or Top ss buildingsbeled with these symbols. The man finishes while raising his cane to tap on the two symbols located on the levels of the hierarchy for the Advanced and Top ss students.


    I grimace at the idea of living on campus. Because it would suck losing my suite in the base, not to mention that I like the quiet the base has. Not to mention that Id probably have to have a roommate.


    Although anythings better than an orphanage.


    Next up, the old man continues, the smile on his face growing slightly as he nces at a couple of students who had begun whispering amongst themselves. The Advanced ss students include the students ranked 101st through 1000 on the rankings. They will be given everything the regr students have, along with various Advanced student only facilities such as a gym, a park, higher ss restaurants, and so on. The Advanced students will also be able to take sses on any type of magic they want, allowing them to study up on possible magics that other Guardians or even the sapient demons may be using. They may take sses over the art of magi-tech, Achievements, and the Fae. Andstly, Advanced students can live off of campus if theyd prefer.


    Which means I need to be an advanced student at the minimum.


    Although Im curious as to what the Top ss students get.


    I know the universities strictly forbid discrimination based on the hierarchy, so it wont be the end of the world if I dont get a good rank or a good ss result. In fact, I think Ive heard of a Top ss student once being knocked down to Regr ss just because they tried holding their position as a Top ss student over a Regr student and forcing them to do something for them.


    Not sure what it was though, since that part wasnt publicized.

 Book 1: Chapter 92.3: The Opening Ceremony Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 92.3: The Opening Ceremony Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The students begin whispering amongst themselves, seemingly excited at the prospect of bing an Advanced student. But the old man just taps his cane on the ground again, silencing everyone as he says, Before I move onto the Top ss students, I would like to make one thing clear. His eyes begin faintly glowing again while at the same time narrowing. Discrimination based on ss is not tolerated on our campus. After youre a student, you are all equal. No matter what ss you are in. And anyone can overtake another persons spot in the ranking simply by partaking in the next ranking tournament held after the midterms for the first semester and earning a higher ranking.


    He slowly moves his gaze across the audience before focusing on us all as a whole again and saying, Any vition seen by a professor or member of the staff here, or reported by a witness and backed up with proof will be transferred to another university. His eyes return to normal, and a faint grin reces the dark look he had. And we have plenty of prospective students from other universities that are always trying to transfer here, now dont we?


    Yeah, Ive definitely heard that the schools themselves dont like the hierarchy system. Just that they have to use it because the government is the one paying for the bonuses the higher sses in the hierarchy get.


    Also, I get the feeling his finishing statement is addressing some of those students who transferred here already from other universities.


    Which are a lot, considering the fact that only around thirty or so new Guardians are contracted a year in the capital, whereas there are hundreds of thousands of cities spread across the world that also get Guardians contracted at the same time during their own Demonic Assaults. Even if most of them dont end up with as many Guardians.


    Although I think I read that there were millions of cities before the Demonic Assaults came around, with a little over 75% of them being devastated, leaving the remaining cities with a rather poor supply of resources which they ended up just deciding to focus on the capitals of each nation, along with various other important cities. The cities now known as Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities respectively.


    <strong>Its a little depressing to see how far Earth has fallen since this all began, </strong>Tar says in response to my thoughts.


    Yeah, it is. And the fiasco with the changelings that happened soon after Satan took control of old world Japan only made things a lot worse.


    <strong>Wait, I remember my previous contractor going through that very event, </strong>Tar says, a slightly mncholy tone in his usually robotic voice. <strong>Satan sent changelings who took the form of orphan refugees and spread themselves across all of old world China and then the entire world before many of them began secretly hunting humans in his attempt to lower the human poption.</strong>


    Yeah and its the main reason everyone hates orphans nowadays. Because they cant tell for sure if were not a changeling, thanks to the demons inherent skill that blocks all identification making it practically impossible to identify them.


    Doesn''t help that the changelings only ever go after orphans because going after the child of a family would be way too difficult with the security measures in ce around the cities to prevent that. Especially around Tier 1 and 2 cities, since the orphan areas of Tier 3 cities aren''t anywhere near as well guarded as the rest of the city.


    Then there''s the fact that changelings are just as smart as humans if not smarter, so why would they go after a much harder target to rece? A target they''d have to act just like in order to fool the target''s family and friends when they can instead just rece a random orphan that no one knows, has no register more often than not, and no one really cares about?


    <strong>And since changelings can grow into adult forms of their target over time, the orphans arent cleared of the spection even after they be adults themselves </strong>Tar mutters, but our conversation is interrupted by the vice headmaster  Alfred Raynsford  raising his voice again after what had be a rather long pause. Most likely to let the warning settle in or something.


    Top ss students have ess to everything on campus grounds excluding the faculty only areas, along with personal dorms without any roommates to bother them should they wish it, and most importantly, he pauses here, the smirk on his face stretching ever so slightly wider, Top ss students are allowed topete for the chance to join our schools primary team for the Interschool Tournaments!


    I raise an eyebrow as the entire auditorium bursts into cheers at that.


    Right. The primary team.


    Every Guardians University student is allowed and often urged to participate in the Interschool Tournaments, but in the end, the most important part of the tournaments are the primaries. The team and solo tournaments between the primary teams of every Guardians University in the world, which generally numbers up to about three hundred or so universities.


    While every tournament in the Interschool Tournaments earns points for the universities from the government that they can use to increase the universitys funding and resources, the main source of points and the position of each Guardians University in the overall university rankings is the primaries. Which means they''re extremely important to every university.


    And the students who arepeting in the primaries basically get fame and fortune for the rest of their lives.


    Lastly, the top ranked student at the time of the Interschool Tournaments gets the choice topete in the solo primaries for their ss, he continues, his grin still growing as he sees and hears all the cheers in the school. And, most likely to take advantage of the current hype, the man taps his cane once more, making fifty people suddenly appear on the stage around them, each of them using a different means through magic, and each of them recognizable to everyone who immediately grows even louder in their cheering. I am the vice-headmaster of this university, Alfred Raynsford, and behind me are most of our wonderful professors, each of whom are at the very least ss IV Guardians. You will soon find that everything in this universitys campus is automated by either magic, magitech robots, or pure magi-tech buildings afforded to us through Silver Works itself and maintained by the government. Leaving the campus grounds without a single non-Guardian so as to give you students absolute privacy here. Something you will struggle to find at any other ce on Earth.


    This  even if its already public knowledge  sends the students into a frenzy, many of them getting up from their seats amidst the cheers. Because who doesnt want privacy? Especially when the government doesnt exactly protect the privacy of its own Guardians.


    The vice-headmaster just raises his voice again, each of the professors standing behind him straightening up in the process as the man speaks, still with the two lions on either side of him, As members of the prestigious Lions Heart GU, represent us with pride! Do so, and you will be treated like kings and queens! Fight for glory, for wealth, or for humanity as a whole, but do it knowing that you have the Lions Heart name on your back! His words echo throughout the auditorium, pausing for a second as he taps his cane again, making both lions stand up before he raises his cane to the sky and concludes the speech, raising his voice to a near shout above the roaring of the students, Once again, I am this GUs vice-headmaster, currently standing in for Headmaster White of the five Knights of Humanity, and I call this Opening Ceremony concluded! Now change into your gear as were about to begin the ranking tournaments!


    I have to cover my ears due to the pain caused by the sheer volume of the crowd, the noise being much worse than anything Ive ever heard before. But despite this, even I cant help but feel my heart racing from the excitement.


    Excitement of having new prey to hunt in a magical reality.

 Book 1: Chapter 93: Magi-Tech Armor

    Book 1: Chapter 93: Magi-Tech Armor


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    All around me, students are activating their magi-tech armor, making every individuals armor cover their uniform before shrinking and fitting their bodies. The majority of them have basic armor that simply looks like a less cool version of Allens, without the core at the center, and with a duller metal for the ting despite everyone having arge variety of colors. But some of them have more unique armor, and others dont even have armor that looks like armor at all, theirs being more like my own.


    Deciding not to wait any longer, I reach under my cor and press on the amulet, making it suddenly burst into a red mist simr to blood that then envelops me, obviously designed with my blood magic aesthetic in mind. The armor then forms into a nice ck and red coat that I can tell was made using my old jacket as the base, even if this coat is much longer and reaches down to my mid thighs in length, which is about the same length as my hair. Meanwhile underneath the coat, my Lions Heart GU uniform has been reced entirely with a rather cool looking ck shirt with some sort of glowing red emblem on the chest, and a slick pair of ck pants that arefortable yet tight enough to be good inbat without messing me up.


    There is also a glowing red star on my right shoulder, with a strange X on my left. And if I remember correctly, one of those symbols is where whatever I was wearing before activating the armor is stored. The armor first covers me before moving my current clothes into the amulet and then fitting the armor to my body.


    A rather delicate process and one that can easily get apany sued if they sell magi-tech armor that messes this up, considering the potential for identally revealing the wearers naked body should it be faulty. And even worse, the couple of products I heard about on the news that evenpletely destroyed their clothing, leaving them naked after canceling their armor without realizing it.


    Despite those thoughts, I cant help the wide grin that spreads across my face at the sight of my outfit. After all, this armor was  if what Allen said was true  made by the creator of magi-tech himself. Meaning its the best of the best.


    Which does show some nepotism there, but at this point, Ill take what I can get. I wont be saying anything about handicaps anymore either, since thatd just make a me a hypocrite. Especially considering how my blood lycan genes are probably what got me contracted in the first ce.


    That aside, I think I remember Allen mentioning that the magi-tech armor should be adjustable as well, letting me make some tweaks to its appearance when I want to. Which is good, because the top part of it under the jacket is tight around the chest. Id say that the top was made for someone with a B cup or something in that range by the feel of it. Not a C.


    But the difort isnt much for now. And Im guessing its like this to make it easier to fight in.


    Now <em>thats </em>cool, I hear Belle say, bringing my attention from my outfit to her, only to find the girl wearing some sort of armor very reminiscent of her mothers. But without the blue coloring, and a muchrger emphasis on white. Which also reminds me that I didnt ever learn what her magic was beyond it involving barriers.


    Yeah, I answer her before looking around and noticing a lot of gazes on our group, me and Belle in particr. But at the same time, I see almost as many if not more in some cases focused on every other student here wearing a custom set of magi-tech armor.


    Okay, I guess we do kind of stand out from these factory model magi-tech armor wearing students.


    Although now that I look at it, there are actually a few people who dont seem to have any magi-tech armor at all. At least, assuming they arent just deciding not to wear it and instead sticking with their uniforms.


    My attention is taken back to the stage again when both of the lions let out a loud roar. I then find the screen having changed to show a list of rules for the tournament. And at the same time, a robotic voice begins to speak everything on the screen out loud.


    <strong><em>Ranking Tournament Rules</em></strong>


    <em>Rankings will be determined on a point based system.</em>


    <em>The first round of the tournament will be purely based on duels between students with the samebat categories and ss.</em>


    <em>Winning a duel will earn you three points. </em>


    <em>Losing a duel will lose you one point.</em>


    <em>Declining a duel will lose you two points.</em>


    <em>Having your challenge declined will earn you one point.</em>


    <em>Every student has already been separated into a separate bracket ording to their ss and theirbat categories chosen based on their magic. These brackets will have different manners of duels. Some of these duels between brackets may not even involve directbat, whereas others could be pure one on one fights.</em>


    <em>Thebat categories of Guardians are as follows:</em>


    <strong><em>Combat Guardians</em></strong><em>  Those Guardians whose magic is generally focused on purebat.</em>


    <em><strong>Defensive Guardians</strong>  Those Guardians whose magic is generally focused on defense, whether for themselves or others.</em>


    <em><strong>Healer Guardians</strong>  Those Guardians whose magic is focused on healing and iscking in thebat department.


    </em>


    <em><strong>Support Guardians</strong>  Those Guardians whose magic is focused on supporting other Guardians through afflictions cast on the enemies, buffs on their allies, summoning skills, and others of the like.</em>


    <em><strong>Mixed Guardians</strong>  Those Guardians whose magic does not fit into any of the previous categories.</em>


    <em>At the start of the tournament, each student will automatically be transported into special rooms meant specifically for those brackets.</em>


    <em>After arriving at those rooms, students may either challenge another student directly through the challenge button on their magical reality earpiece or press the random challenge button on their earpiece to challenge a random opponent within their bracket instead.</em>


    <em>These initial bracket challenges willst for three hours, after which every student will be transported again to the main auditorium. </em>


    <em>The secondary round of the tournament will take ce in a magical reality imitating a forest on Tartarus.</em>


    <em>Every student will be ced in the same forest in the same magical reality, and they will be given points for ying demons.</em>


    <em>The forest will be separated into different parts.</em>


    <em>The outer ring of the forest will have only ss I demons, with their levels increasing as the students get closer to the inner ring.</em>


    <em>The inner ring of the forest will have ss II demons, with their levels increasing as the students get closer to the center, which will have a single ss III demon.</em>


    <em>Demons will give points depending on their levels.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 1-50 will give one point apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 51-100 will give two points apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 101-150 will give three points apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 151-200 will give four points apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>The ss III demon will give a total of twenty points spread across whomever kills it.</em>


    <em>Furthermore, killing another student of the same ss as you or higher will give you a fifth of their points.</em>


    <em>Should a student be killed by another student and not by a demon they will be revived in the magical reality.</em>


    <em>The rankings will be determined through whoever has the most points.</em>


    <em>However, should abat focused Guardian decide to remove other Guardians from y through killing them and are believed to be specifically targeting nonbat focused Guardians during the tournament, or a higher ss Guardian targets a lower ss one, they will receive a severe handicap in the form of a quantity of their points taken away and distributed to every targeted Guardian they killed, with the specific quantity being decided upon by a panel of professors watching the tournament.</em>


    <em>Unrted to the rankings, five Top ss student spots will be added in addition to the top one hundred corresponding to the top five scoring ss I students and 50 Advanced ss spots will be added in addition to the nine hundred current spots corresponding to the next highest ranking ss I students not already in that ss.</em>


    I blink once, then twice as the information feels a tad bit overwhelming. But at the same time, from what I did absorb of it, I think the tournament sounds fair?


    We arent expecting you all to memorize this, Alfreds voice echoes through the now silent auditorium. However, it will be avable to reference during the tournament as we exin things to you ourselves.


    The man taps his cane against the floor once more, making another dark mist spread out from it, albeit more slowly this time as he says, For now, we will be splitting you off into groups based on yourbat category and your ss. A professor will be in your new location once you arrive to exin the proceeding to you.


    Very slowly, the dark, ckish green mist spread throughout the entire auditorium until everything goes dark, leaving only the mans voice once more echoing through it, I wish you all luck during this ranking tournament.

 Book 1: Chapter 94: Pride

    Book 1: Chapter 94: Pride


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I feel myself moving somewhere before the mist fades away, revealing a much smaller room filled with a lot of students. One that is in the shape of arge dome, with fourrge screens located in opposite locations on the ceiling of the dome, each facing inwards towards us and showing a magical reality.


    At the same time, I find a woman quite literally flying in the air above us. And I immediately recognize her as a ss IV Guardian known as Viper, which was coined for her mostly due to her serpentine eyes, pet viper, and poison focused magic.


    The woman is wearing a dark green magi-tech set of armor with a ck and green viper wrapped around her neck like a scarf. The armor itself honestly looks more medieval in its style, with armor ting over all her vital areas with some sort of ck metal highlighted with streaks of dark green.


    The tournament begins in five minutes, the woman immediately begins to speak, her voice echoing throughout the dome and attracting the attention of anyone who wasnt already looking at her. You will all be earning points as you challenge and duel other students, with the specific amount of points per student listed here, she pauses to point above her, where the rules from earlier are listed but with the exact points upscaled to berger than the rest of it, you can read the exact points given for what reason there without me telling you.


    <strong><em>Winning a duel will earn you three points. </em></strong>


    <strong><em>Losing a duel will lose you one point.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Declining a duel will lose you two points.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Having your challenge declined will earn you one points.</em></strong>


    You are allbat focused Guardians, so your duels will be simple one on one battles to the death or unconsciousness, she continues while crossing her arms. The first part of the tournament willst for three hours before all hundred and something of you are sent back to the main auditorium.


    Okay, this exnation is a lot easier to digest than that wall of text up there. And she said there are one hundred and something students in this dome? Interesting.


    To challenge another, simply touch them and press the button closer to your face on the earpiece you put in earlier, she says, making me subconsciously reach up to the earpiece to find two buttons. One closer to my face, and the other further away. The other button will allow you to challenge an individual selected at random within your dome. But I will warn you that just because youre all in the same ss, doesnt mean youre all at the same level. Even if most of you are fresh Guardians who only recently contracted.


    Meaning there are probably quite a few people in here who are at a higher level than me.


    Do you know what the highest level individual in here is? someone shouts from somewhere on the other side of the room, surprising me for a second.


    Thats kind of a dumb question to ask, since the university doesnt know our exact levels. Although I guess they can make a broad estimate based on mana.


    Just as I expected, Viper narrows her eyes in the direction of the individual who asked the question before answering, No, as the university does not know the exact level of its students. But if I had to make a guess, then Id say the highest level is somewhere around level forty to level fifty.


    My eyebrows rise slightly before I feel the corner of my mouth twitching in the start of a smirk.


    Not bad. Not bad at all.


    I wonder who else in this room has a higher rarity Predator skill like me?


    Thanks to my instincts, I cant help but feel excited at the prospect of finding another Guardian to fight to the death with, even if its just in a magical reality where our bodies wont be taking any damage at all. Outside of a headache for the one who loses should they die instead of getting knocked unconscious.


    And whats more, is the prospect of fighting someone around my level in a true deathmatch!


    I cant help but grin at that as I search through the students around me with both my eyes and my senses to find the strongest, only to cover my mouth when I realize how that might look to the others. Just seeing a girl with glowing red eyes grinning like a maniac.


    Although the sight of a couple of the students here still wearing their uniforms quite literally backing away from me with a frightened look on their face kind of changes what I was assuming to be a creepy look to a terrifying one?


    Am I really that scary?


    <strong>Youre a beautiful girl by Earth standards with glowing red eyes and a sinister looking outfit on whos been shown on the inte gutting demons with her bare hands and going berserk, </strong>Tar says, sounding entirely robotic while doing so.


    Wait, is that how Im really portrayed to them?!


    I look around me to find a lot of the students who are wearing the universitys uniform backing away from me and moving to a group together, along with some students that are wearing the standard factory made magi-tech armor who join them.


    Oh,e <em>on</em>! I cant be that frightening, can I?


    <strong>You can, </strong>Tar says in a sage-like voice instead of his usual robotic one, sounding like some old grandpa giving out advice to his granddaughter.


    My eyes narrow at that, which only seems to spur some of the students away faster. But I immediately rx when I notice a dozen or so students looking my way with a fire in their eyes, likely wanting to challenge me to a duel.


    Im not the only one whos being targeted though. There are several other students here that I actually recognize from the news and some of the videos I saw online over the past weeks. Each of which did some rather extraordinary stuff during their first Fractures as well, likely earning them some good Achievements too.


    Although  while this may be my pride talking  I dont think any of them have anything as good as me.


    <strong>No, while you are half pride demon, that isnt just your pride talking, </strong>Tar says, interrupting my thoughts again, <strong>you are probably one of the strongest people in this room, even if about a dozen or so of these students out-level you.</strong>


    That has me smiling.


    And the idea that Ill be facing higher level Guardians too stokes the mes even more.


    Tar suddenly sighs and says to me, <strong>Please keep your instincts in check when its needed, alright? I dont want you getting hurt or  much worse  dying because of your demonic instincts.</strong>


    That wipes the smile off of my face.


    Right. Sorry.


    <strong>Im not saying that feeling prideful and excited is a bad thing, and you usually do keep it contained, but just make sure that you keep an eye on it, </strong>Tar adds, making me nod my head in response.


    Now to wait for the tournament to begin.

 Book 1: Chapter 95: First Round Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 95: First Round Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The remaining of the five minutes goes by in a sh, and soon enough a loud bell echoes throughout the dome with the vice-headmasters voice following right afterwards, The tournament will now begin.


    And almost immediately, I feel someones hand on my shoulder, making me twitch slightly as the loud dome gets even louder. Then a dinging sound echoes from my earpiece, following which a robotic voice says, Will you ept William Browns challenge?


    I quickly turn around to find a ratherrge man of about the same age as me standing next to me with his hand on my shoulder. The man has ck hair and a slightly tanned skin color likely marking his region of origin to be closer to the East  an ethnicity I think used to be called Asian or something  rather than the West that were in. He has on a simple set of silver armor that youd see a diator wearing in one of those Guardian Fighting Rings, with a clear metal making up its base and an obviousck of armor ting around his stomach and legs. And judging by his mana, Id say he should be about the same level as me.


    <strong>I should mention that your mana capacity capability is Tier B, so you will have more mana than most people at your level, </strong>Tar says before I can ept the challenge. <strong>Meaning hes probably a little bit above your level.</strong>


    Oh? Interesting.


    Although it doesnt matter much right now.


    I ept the challenge before immediately feeling my eyes closing, following which I find myself standing in a field of pure stone. Nothing else. Just stone. But only secondster, I find the guy who challenged me appearing on the other side of the battlefield of stone as well.


    After ncing at each other, we both look around for a few seconds. Then arge number 5 appears at the center of the magical reality in between us. And it quickly begins to count down, so I narrow my eyes and widen the gap between my feet and hands slightly to enter abat stance.


    Looks like were jumping right into this then.


    I quickly use partial shift on my right arm, transforming it into one of a werewolf with ck fur streaked with crimson the color of blood, seemingly startling the guy slightly in the process. But he retains his cool and then uses some sort of skill that appears to turn his fist to stone.


    Matching me skill for skill, are you?


    Interesting.


    The countdown reaches 3. Then 2. And finally, 1.


    Then we both sprint towards each other as soon as the ding echoes throughout the magical reality, signaling the start of the match.


    <strong>Back at the Dome</strong>


    Anthony wasnt sure what to think of the other students around the same mana level as he is. Because half of them were either rather private or they were from an entirely different region, while the other half were too well known around here and it was hard to get a good judgement of just how powerful they were.


    So he decided to cloak himself and hide in a corner to watch the first round of duels to find out. And it just so happens that he decided to start out with watching the wolf girl everyones been talking about.


    <em>And it looks like Im not the only one.</em>


    Anthony thinks this while ncing at the many people watching the wolf eared girl  who he believes was titled Scarlet Wolf or something like that? Although there are just as many people watching the other ten or so students at the same level as he is.


    <em>Its still a little astonishing to see this many people around level fifty already, since everyone here has to have only been a Guardian for a couple of months at most.</em>


    The man turns his attention back to the screen again. The screen itself is separated into dozens of smaller video feeds, but its rather obvious that the stronger and more important matches are given priority over the other ones since they haverger feeds. And each feed hasrge numbers counting down to zero on it before the numbers fade and the feed begins to move around, constantly in search of the best angle to view the fight from. Meanwhile, one of the three biggest matches shown on this particr screen amongst the four screens is  of course  that of the Scarlet Wolf and the man he thinks was called Titan  another Guardian that should be around his level.


    <em>Lets see how strong these two really are</em>


    Both the Scarlet Wolf and Titan immediately rush at each other once the timer is gone, one with her forearm transformed into something that looks akin to a werewolf with pitch ck fur streaked with bits of blood red, and the other with his forearm transformed entirely to some type of smooth stone. And neither of them appear to be slowing down as they make their approach with their hands raised, the Titans balled into a fist, and the Wolfs spread out with her ws shining in the light of the chamber theyre in.


    Whispered conversations rise from all around him, abination of the weaker students and a very small number of the stronger ones having stayed back without entering a duel just to size everyone up first.


    Whys she going for brute force? Shouldnt she rely on magic? Titan should clearly be the stronger one physically here


    Anthony just continues watching, knowing better than to judge a persons strength by their size or gender. Even if he still wants to say that Titan should be stronger at a nce, he still knows just how many incredible things the girls done.


    And his thoughts are confirmed the moment the two collide and Titan is pushed back, his feet digging into the ground as a brutally shocked look spreads across his face at the realization that he was overpowered in strength.


    Seeing this alone shuts up everyst whispered conversation about the duel without pause.


    But it gets worse from there, as the girl  who cant be any older than eighteen or neen years old, probably a year younger than Anthony at the least  just tilts her head slightly while still pushing the man back, only to smirk and begin closing her ws, digging them into the mans fist as ws of blood begin to form around her already transformed ws, making blood begin to drip out of Titans fist as the ws pierce into the stone.


    Anthony ignores the people around him who are beginning to bring out their phones to take video of the battle as he simply taps his feet and watches, just waiting for the two to start using more skills against each other.


    And then it happens.


    Titans eyes begin to glow with an orange light before the light begins to spread around the rest of his body, soon enveloping his fist as well as he begins to push the girl back ever so slightly, surprising her for a moment.


    Then something happens that surprises Anthony.


    The girl starts grinning.

 Book 1: Chapter 95.2: First Round Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 95.2: First Round Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    So I was a little disappointed when our strikes collided, since he was weaker than me despite apparently being a higher level. Although I cant tell how he stacks up to the demons in physical strength, since they all vary, and Ive never had much of a direct confrontation with them considering theirck of sapience. For the ones Ive fought that is.


    But after seeing his eyes glowing and his strength soaring with that? Now that makes this more interesting.


    I quickly begin to use blood boil and life drain on him while coating my other hand in blood ws too, which surprises him with the sudden shift. But not enough to make him let down his guard as he quickly transforms his other arm as well and raises it to block my ws.


    And this time, my ws dont manage to pierce into his stone.


    <strong>Whatever skill hes using, its got to be at least Epic rarity, </strong>Tar suddenly tells me in my mind, making my eyes narrow slightly.


    Epic, huh?


    I narrow my eyes before suddenly seeing the guys arms begin to pulsate with an orange light. So I use blood sacrifice to give myself a sudden boost before pushing him back and disengaging. And almost immediately afterwards, some sort of shockwave echoes from his fists, and he brings them both down together to smash the ground, making a wave of spikes begin shooting up out of the ground in the process.


    Now thats a rather basic skill, unlike whatever other skill he was using to harden and strengthen himself.


    Despite that thought, I narrow my eyes further and burn just a bit more of both my blood and the blood in my blood bank to clear my way around the attack before rushing at him while hes recovering from attacking. And when I make it within four meters of him, I jump up off of the ground with one of my ws raised and bring it down straight from his shoulder to his waist, only getting part of it blocked when he manages to raise one of his arms back to around his waist, deflecting the end of my strike and throwing me off bnce.


    I grit my teeth andnd on the ground before regaining my bnce and kicking at him to create some distance. But I quickly find that to be unnecessary, because the man is already beginning to bleed out from my attack.


    And he very clearly doesnt look too happy about it.


    My sense of pride tingles at the back of my head, pleased at having won the duel so thoroughly. So I begin walking towards him while spreading my ws out again, ready to deal the finishing blow. But right when Im about to do it, I pause as I realize thisll be the first time Ive killed a human being. Even if its in a magical reality.


    <strong>Dodge! </strong>Tar shouts in my head, but its toote as I feel something mming into my side, sending me flying for several meters before I crash into the ground. I then cough out a mouthful of blood and try to climb back to my feet, only to find my side less than agreeable with that. <strong>Damned pride and hesitation!</strong>


    Shit. That fucking hurt. Even if about fifty or so percent of the pain is reduced while inside of a magical reality.


    <strong>Well now you know better than to let your guard down due to your pride! </strong>Tar scolds me, but my attention is quickly taken by the sight of my wound slowly knitting itself back together. Much faster than the blood moon would, but still rather slow. <strong>Or hesitation to kill.</strong>


    At the rate its going, itll take about half a minute to a minute to heal fully. So I turn my attention to the other guy to find him still bleeding out over on the ground, but with what looks like arge stone fist frozen where I was standing.


    Some sort ofst resort or something?


    Either way, I hear him saying something rather clearly with my ears, but Im pretty sure I wouldnt be able to hear it if I didnt have my wolf ears.


    Damned fucking ws


    Okay, guess hes not talking to me.


    We both sit in ce for a few seconds until I begrudgingly push through the pain of standing up through pure willpower before staggering over to him again and using blood boil, apparently making his injury much worse in the process considering his coughing.


    <strong>Such a brutal tournament, </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but agree. But from my understanding, the people like the bloodshed in it as it shows that we can defend them when it matters.


    Which is kind of ironic because its also their defenders who are shedding blood, but whatever.


    Anyways, I need to fight that prideful instinct harder the next time ites. Otherwise, it might be the death of me.


    As I make my way over to the man, I find it slowly bing easier to walk purely thanks to my regenerative skill. And by the time I make it to him, I dont feel too much of the wound anymore  most of it likely having been a fractured rib or a broken one or something. Since the stone fist never actually broke the surface of my skin, or even my magi-tech armor.


    I cant help but take a little bit of pride in the shocked way I find the man looking at me, likely having expected me to be down for the count as well or something from his blow. Then I immediately leap towards him and dig my ws straight into his chest to grab his heart.


    No hesitation this time.


    The man  I think his name was William  coughs out a mouthful of blood and smiles lightly, quietly muttering, Good fight, Scarlet Wolf.


    I let out a sigh at the title, finally just deciding to ept it.


    Then the magical reality begins to break apart and I find myself standing exactly where I was before entering it, with the boy standing in front of me with a grimace on his face  likely suffering from a bad headache right now. And the earpiece then ys a slightly different voice in my head. One clearly just stating a fact instead of asking a question.


    [Three points have been awarded for winning a duel. You now have a total of 3 points.]

 Book 1: Chapter 95.3: First Round Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 95.3: First Round Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We both open our mouths to speak, only to instead be flooded with people who are struggling to reach us first to challenge us while Im still hearing the earpiece mention me getting three points. And right before one of them does seed in challenging me, I notice the guy mouthingter to me.


    I nod my head right before epting the challenge and ending up in another magical reality. This one being some sort of dark grassy ins during the night. And the one who challenged me this time is a girl around the same age as me. Although with a lower degree of mana, meaning shes either not a magical stat focused Guardian, or is a lower level than me.


    The girl also looks like shes from the far East as well, seeing as she has slightly sharper facial features and is wearing the factory made magi-tech armor of the people over there known as Samurai. People who are rather stuck in the old ways and <em>very </em>obsessive about defending their people. To the point of sacrificing their own lives just to save a random civilian. And her bowing to me makes it pretty obvious as well that shes a samurai, since theyre quite big on honor.


    Out of respect, I bow back to her before rising back to my full height again, seemingly pleasantly surprising her in the process, considering the thin smile that appears on her face.


    I kind of like their people, to be honest. Because theyre the only people in the world who actually treats their orphans respectfully. Even if there are still bad apples amongst them that dont.


    We wait for the countdown to reach zero before I immediately shift my arm again, the magical reality earlier ending having canceled it as my artificial copy came to an end. Then I take advantage of my mana being reset to quickly begin burning my blood for a boost in strength, having realized just how helpful this might be in a magical reality after thest battle.


    After all, Im fully reset for every battle, so burning my blood is only a temporary issue in the match. As long as I can end it before it drags out too long that is.


    Hot red steam begins to leak from my pores before I get a good grip on the ground with my feet and shoot off straight towards her, startling her in the process as my feet physically tear away parts of the grass and ground from my force. And by the time she brings up a sword to defend herself, Im already directly in front of her with my ws coated in blood and going straight for her side, underneath the sword.


    She swings the de  which I believe is called a katana  at me, only for me to barely avoid it with it passing only inches from my face as my ws dig straight into her side. Then the rest of the force of my blow strikes her, sending her flying for a few meters where she ends up rolling for a couple more meters, still gripping her de tightly enough her fingers are paling.


    I narrow my eyes, blood dripping from my ws as I begin to run up to her again. But by the time I clear half the distance, shes already climbing back to her feet, one hand covering the w wound on her side and the other gripping her sword.


    Now this is a proper hunt!


    I cant help the grin that spreads across my face as I burn even more of my blood,pletely ignoring the pain thates along with it to focus on boiling her blood and draining her life energy to restore my blood loss. Which only serves to make her stagger right when I arrive, giving me the opening to smack the sword straight out of her hand with my non-shifted hand and then grab her throat with my shifted one, raising her slightly into the air as I try to crush her throat.


    And this time, I dont let the act of killing another human get in my way. Since this is just a magical reality after all, and thats that.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find the sword flying straight towards me from where it was knocked out of her hand, making me realize she can apparently manipte it at a range. So I simply move her in the way of the sword, making her impale herself before I burn even more blood to get the strength to crush her throat.


    Then I find myself back in the dome with a lot less people around me now.


    [Three points have been awarded for winning a duel. You now have a total of 6 points.]


    My face returns to my neutral look as I look around, wondering just why no one is trying to challenge me anymore.


    <strong>You just tore a girls throat out for everyone to see, </strong>Tar says as if the answer were obvious. <strong>A girl that shouldnt be that much weaker than you in their eyes.</strong>


    Oh. Well, its not my fault humans are wea-


    I blink in surprise at the thought.


    Huh.


    <strong>Yeah, humans are weaker than demons, </strong>Tar finishes my thoughts, ignoring the fact that I was about to refer to humans as if I wasnt one myself, <strong>especially a type of demon thats practically considered royalty.</strong>


    Yeah, but the fact that Im not entirely associating myself with humans anymore


    <strong>I think thats a good thing, </strong>Tar says, iming my attention as I continue looking around only to fail to find anyone currently in the dome willing to challenge me. So I raise my gaze to the screens to focus on some of therger video feeds. <strong>Because even if we seed in keeping you partially human, you will only be a tiny fraction human, with the rest still being blood lycan.</strong>


    Hmm. Guess youre right.


    <strong>Your instincts are probably helping you adjust as well, </strong>Tar continues, but I ignore him as I put my hands in my jacket pockets and focus on the battle between two guys who both appear to be at least a few years older than me and are wearing unique looking magi-tech armor. One wearing some sort of battle robe with ocean blue and vibrant purple colors all over it and a pair of purple gloves on his hands, and the other wearing what honestly looks like a simple t-shirt and shorts, both glowing with a faint ck and purple light.


    If no one will challenge me now, I might as well watch this battle.


    Then I can try the random challenge out.

 Book 1: Chapter 95.4: First Round Part IV

    Book 1: Chapter 95.4: First Round Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My eyes widen slightly when the one in the simple t-shirt suddenly begins glowing with a ck and purple aura that seems to be eating everything around him.


    <strong>Death magic, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding slightly impressed. <strong>A rather rare magic, just as rare as blood magic is. Although its rathercking in versatility since all it can do is kill.</strong>


    Interesting.


    Whats also interesting is that the one across from the guy in the t-shirt doesnt seem to be afraid at all. In fact, he just ms his palms together, making a golden-purple shockwave spread out from it. Then he keeps his palms together and the shockwave repeats itself over and over again.


    Soon enough, the dark cave the two seem to be in appears to be split between two sides. One illuminated by a deathly glow of ck and purple, the other illuminated by a bright golden light. Something that kind of reminds me of those divine lights shown in video games from the old world, before religions came to an end.


    Although I think there are cults worshipping a couple of Guardians


    I shake my head at the thought as the two students rush at each other, the sound of the death aura sizzling against the golden light echoing in my ear through the earpiece which is apparently able to track which screen and feed Im looking at to y the right audio.


    Surprisingly, both of the students are using their bare hands without any sort of weapons, with the exception of the gloves on the robed guys hands. And theyre both extremely skilled in martial arts by the looks of it  likely having been trained since childhood or something.


    Theyre both good. And strong.


    I can tell that even from here, just watching the cave get torn apart from their battle.


    <strong>The top of the Dome</strong>


    Viper  to bepletely honest  wasnt too excited about being put as monitor for the first years. Because if she were to have had her way, she wouldve chosen to be the monitor for thebat category third or fourth years. Where the battles would be a lot more interesting with the ss II students. Or the graduate students, some of whom were even ss III students.


    But she cant help but change her opinion now as several of the first years catch her eye.


    One of them of course being the wolf girl that everyone on the inte has been talking about. The one with blood magic who had apparently fought and survived against a demon wraith after just about a week of being a Guardian.


    Viper wasnt sure if she really believed those rumors at first, but the recordings were proof enough. So she was pretty sure that the girl would be the only interesting one in the first ss for her. Even if she mightve been ssified as a mixed Guardian, which ismon for blood magic users.


    But now, as Vipers eyes are glued to the battle between the students titled Necro and Sentinel, she cant help but change her opinion. Not to mention the two other battles she noticed during this one that have some pretty interesting fights going on.


    <em>Maybe this isnt as bad a position as Id thought</em>


    In all honesty, Viper believed shed just be watching the Scarlet Wolf ughtering the other students without mercy. At least, if what shes learned through researching the girls recorded battles is anything to go by. And of course, thats still happening. But now there is somepetition as well.


    Viper quickly brings up her terminal and begins to search up news on Necro first. And what she finds makes her raise both her brows.


    <em>An orphan? And one from the south-east border city?</em>


    She raises her head to look at him again, just taking in his attirepared to everyone elses.


    <em>Yeah, I guess that city would have Guardians dressing like that, now wouldnt it?</em>


    The woman focuses on her terminal again to find that the boy  who turns out to be the same age as the Scarlet Wolf despite his appearance saying otherwise  managed to catch the eye of the mayor of the Tier 3 city thanks to his death magic. So the boy got sponsored by him and then managed to get into Lions Heart. Albeit not until after a Demonic Assault that happened on the way here, where he killed a creature at the least over fifty levels above him.


    <em>Interesting. And his name is Anthony Wilson? Although it also says his personality is nevermind. Moving on to Sentinel.</em>


    Viper quickly finds information on the man to find him to be about twenty-four years old.


    <em>A monk? In this time and age?</em>


    Her brows knit together at that thought before she shakes her head and reads on, finding that the man can be a little self-righteous and believes in many of the known beliefs of the old world monks, but doesnt actually worship anything himself. And he uses a magic called Divine Retribution.


    <em>Okay, thats better. Because I dont have any interest in working with a religious fanatic. And that magic isnt amon one either. Not the best, but certainly useful in a lot of ways. Especially against corrosive types of magic like death and poisons.</em>


    Viper raises her head to nce at the Scarlet Wolf  whose name she believes to be, ironically, Scarlet  to find her watching Necro and Sentinel. So she turns to look at the other noteworthy, albeit less so than the other three, students. Which include the students under the titles of Willow, Drake, Crimson Shot, the girl Scarlet Wolf already ughtered called the Katana Maiden, the boy she mauled known as Titan, and a few others.


    <em>None of them are even close to Scarlet Wolf, Necro, or Sentinel, but theyre certainly a step above the rest, who I cant see making it past Regr ss. Even if they would be considered talents in other cities.</em>


    The woman continues watching Sentinel and Necros fight for several seconds before she notices a certain wolf beginning to skulk through the crowd of people like shes looking for someone.


    <em>Is she going to find a target herself this time?</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 95.5: First Round Part V

    Book 1: Chapter 95.5: First Round Part V


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After walking around the dome for a few seconds with a generous distance magically appearing between me and any actual person as I go, I eventually give up on finding her. Only to raise my head and lock eyes immediately onto Denises live footage on one of the screens.


    Oh. There she is.


    The blonde is currently fighting against some random dude wearing factory made magi-tech armor and appears to be winning. So I stand there for a few seconds to watch, only to reach my hand up and press the random challenge button on my earpiece, following which it says in my ear, You have challenged Rachel Garcia.


    I immediately turn my head as I hear someone elses earpiece y out Will you ept Scarlet Asgers challenge? And after a pause, they mutter a confused, Sure? Likely confused in that no one had touched them.


    Then I find myself appearing in some sort of old style arena stadium in a desert with empty bleachers and a girl wearing a regr uniform staring at me with eyes wide open in both shock and fright. Which probably means she didnt link my first name to my title when epting my challenge.


    Oh well. Sucks to be her.


    Guess Ill avoid killing her this time, seeing as her mana level is much lower than mine.


    I use partial shift on my right arm as always before burning arge amount of my blood, using blood boil and life drain, and bursting from my position straight towards her, reaching her right after she quite literally falls onto her butt from fright. But instead of cutting her open, I just grab her throat and raise her up while shes still shocked, then suffocate her just enough to knock her out without killing her.


    Then I find myself back in the dome again.


    <strong>That was boring, </strong>Tarins, making me raise an eyebrow.


    [Three points have been awarded for winning a duel. You now have a total of 9 points.]


    Although I cant help but agree.


    Well, anyways, I repeat that same process again, getting another challenger chosen at random. Although this time I cant quite make out where the sound of the challenge from their earpiece ising from over all the chatter in the dome and the many challenges ying out that Im trying to ignore. Because theres a lot of noise in this dome.


    Guess thats my own fault for switching back to my blood lycan ears during this. But it just feels so ufortable to use my human ears now


    Doesnt matter in the end though as this person apparently declines my challenge as shown by my next message from the earpiece.


    [One point has been awarded for your opponent declining your challenge. You now have a total of 10 points.]


    Kind of annoying, but also free points, so I wontin.


    I press the random challenge button again before this time having the student ept the challenge. And once again regret it the moment they see me.


    So I make this duel short without a vicious death just like thest one. Then I repeat the process over and over again.


    Eventually the people seem to catch on, since by the time I get back to the dome again with a message telling me that I now have a total of 113 points, I find everyone just staring at me with fear in their eyes. Or rather, everyone but around twenty or so people. Then I look up to find that the screens dont actually have many battles going on right now, just a few minor ones, with all the major yers in the dome right now.


    I look down again to find about fifteen people walking up to me  the other five of the ones looking at me without fear having already lost to me  before we end up just in a section all to ourselves thanks to the distance the other students have made.


    Hi? I state, half in greeting and half in query, unsure of whats going on.


    One of them  the death magic user  walks forwards with one of his hands in his shorts pocket and his other waving as he says, Sup! We were wondering if you wanted to start dueling with us instead of the poor people youve been massacring? Since weve already dueled each other, and theres the whole cant duel anyone more than once thing going on.


    I blink once, then twice at his statement.


    We cant duel with anyone more than once? Thats a shame.


    It also means Ill likely run out of people to duel before the three hour mark hits, so I might as well. After all, the duels Ive been being put in at random have all been against lower leveled students, with the exception of a few, so the duelssted less than a minute each. For the most part.


    Meaning theres still over two hours left of this part of the test, but Ive already fought around a fourth of the individuals in this dome.


    Without giving me the chance to give them my agreement, one of them  some guy with glowing red slit eyes and red streaks going through his short ck hair  just says, Who gives a shit if she wants to or not, and quickly walks up to me, touching me on the shoulder and challenging me to a duel. And while it wouldnt have been too hard to avoid him, I honestly dont want to.


    Because this guys an asshole, and I kind of want to beat some sense into his thick skull.


    <strong>Please dont traumatize the guy, </strong>Tar pleads in my head, and I cant help the scowl that slips through onto my face as I say out loud, Challenge epted.


    Then we both find ourselves in some sort of volcano terrain, which is almost ironic considering that the guy  from what I was able to observe in the one battle I watched him fight in  uses some sort of draconic fire magic.


    Without wasting a breath, I tilt my head one way, then the other to pop my neck before stretching my arms out and immediately shifting my arm, following it all up with using blood boil and life drain on the ass.


    Maybe I might be able to teach him a lesson about how to treat others if I only kind of maul him with my ws.


    Just a little bit.

 Book 1: Chapter 96: Challengers Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 96: Challengers Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The guy quickly staggers at my onught of blood boil and life drain, but he holds firm otherwise and activates the skill Ive seen him use on others. One that turns the skin on his arms into crimson scales. The entire reason hes wearing some sort of sleeveless magi-tech armor with a form fitting top and pants.


    Unlike me though, he doesnt get any sort of ws or anything, with the scales not covering his fingernails in a way that looks slightly off.


    We both begin charging straight at each other, with me using blood boil on the way and him using some sort of heat aura skill that makes the area around him grow hotter. Which turns out to be ufortable when I get closer, but nothing beyond that for now.


    If I remember correctly, this guy specializes in defense buffing skills and offensive attacks, with his scales dramatically increasing the amount of force he can take and blunting the damage of sharper attacks. But the guy himself isnt overwhelmingly strong or anything.


    So I quickly clear the rest of the distance between us with my ws balled up in a fist, deciding to forgo the wing for now since he has his guard up and will just block it with his scales. Then I bring my fist down straight on his crossed arms, forcing him back with a grunt as his feet dig into the volcanic ground beneath us. But before I can follow up with a swing of my ws from my other hand, his arms suddenly begin to heat up to the point of burning the hair on my shifted arm and making me grimace. Which is enough of a pause for him to disengage and jump back while sending a wave of mes straight at me that I block by using blood ws on both of my hands and raising them to take the hit.


    I grimace as I feel the heat even through the blood coating my hands, but most of the mes dont manage to make it through thanks to me supplying my ws with blood I had in my blood storage before any of the duels began. Then after about two seconds of mes, I manage to push my hands outwards, making a break in the mes that I use to jump out of the way before rushing straight at the guy as he is still shooting mes at where I was standing from his mouth.


    Some sort of dragons breath skill? Like in the video games?


    Either way, I crank up the blood boil and life draining Im doing along with my own blood sacrifice, scowling in the process thanks to the pain of my blood burning, which can be seen in the red steam leaving my body as I jump straight through the air towards him before drawing a long and bloody line across his side from the shoulder to the hip.


    The guy shouts in pain, identally closing his mouth in the middle of his skill and filling his mouth with mes that very clearly isnt healthy. But I dont stop to watch as I instead spin around him and tear another gash along his other side, this one making him drop to a knee. Then I proceed to do it over and over again while still using blood boil but going a little bit easier on the blood sacrifice now that hes down.


    I tear strip after strip until hes left as a bloody mess lying on the floor and barely breathing. Despite that though, he still manages to at least attempt to stand, all while ring at me with clear hatred and fear in his eyes.


    Deciding that Ive done enough by now, I kneel down next to him, swiftly tilting my head to the side when I see mes building up in his mouth before they shoot straight past where my head was in the form of a small fireball. Then I rest my elbows on my knees and my chin on my hands as I look at him.


    Which only seems to make his face flush from shame. Or at least I think its shame. It could also be the many dozens of wounds across his body.


    Next time be more polite, I tell him with a scowl. One that fades away into a very nice smile showing all of my pearly whites as I add, Okay?


    Then  after onest look of shame-filled hatred towards me  he seems to ck out. That or he dies. Either way, we both find ourselves back in the dome with the earpieces announcing our winnings or losings to each of us.


    [Three points have been awarded for winning a duel. You now have a total of 116 points.]


    Immediately upon seeing him again, I find him ring at me. But the moment I move slightly, I notice a tiny flinch in him before he says, Ill be going to find other opponents now, and leaves without another word.


    I raise an eyebrow before nodding my head, satisfied with my work.


    Now he wont be a problem anymore.


    <strong>Arent you worried hell get his parents to make your life difficult or something? </strong>Tar asks in my head, but I just shrug.


    He can try, but generally the GUs try to keep that sort of crap out of the campus. Especially when it could hurt a talented student that might be of major importance to the schools Interschool Tournaments, just because some other student was upset that they were defeated by them or something.


    Besides. I doubt their parents would want to deal with Frost just because their kid got beaten.


    Tar doesnt say anything in response, but I can practically feel his agreement despite that.


    Anyways, I turn my attention to the others to find them looking rather startled at what just happened. But at the same time, none of them seem mad or anything. So its fine.


    So whos next? I ask while putting my hands in my jacket pockets.

 Book 1: Chapter 96.2: Challengers Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 96.2: Challengers Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    And just like with the other challenges, I fight the students back to back, finally starting to feel just a little mentally tired from the number of battles Ive fought back to back. But I still dont lose to any of them, keeping the win streak that Ive created and quickly be proud of.


    <strong>You shouldnt really be feeling proud of beating a bunch of human students when you are half blood lycan </strong>Tar mutters, and I do the sensible thing of ignoring him as I focus on the remaining four students in front of me. Two of them being the ones I was watching earlier. The monk guy and the death magic user.


    Im a little surprised you waited this long, I honestly tell the guy with death magic. And he just points at himself with a vaguely surprised look after having just yawned. Yes, you.


    The guy is still wearing just his t-shirt and shorts version of magi-tech armor, and he looks to be in his mid-twenties at a nce. Which is a little surprising for new Guardians, since the fae apparently like to pick people who are younger than their mid-twenties on average. Mostly because while leveling does stop your aging, it doesnt revert your age. Not unless you get a skill that does or are treated by someone who has a skill that can do it to others. Which is expensive as hell.


    Oh, yeah, the others looked like they wanted to fight you more, and I wanted to study your fighting, he says rather shamelessly before shrugging. It worked out.


    I blink in surprise.


    Wow. This guy doesnt have a filter, does he?


    Hey Scarlet! I hear a familiar voice shouting, making me look past the four people who are standing in front of me  one of which is a girl and the other three guys  before finding Denise walking over while waving. So I raise my hand in a simple wave back, then turn my attention back to the four. And of the four, I only recognize the guy who I found out was titled Necro and the other one who was titled Sentinel. But the other two, who also happen to be twins judging by appearances? Never seen them before.


    So who wants to fight first? I ask with a frown.


    The four share a nce before Sentinel and Necro step back, leaving the other two to step forward at the same time. And reach for me at the same time. And almost challenge me at the same time when their hands are ced on opposite shoulders.


    I blink in surprise but ept the challenge thates from the one who touched my shoulder first to find myself appearing in a in white room with nothing else in it but me and the girl that appears. She has stark white hair with a single streak of gold, differing from her brother only in that one area, as he has a streak of blue. Well, and in her different figure, considering that shes a girl and all while her brother isnt. Although both of them have long hair.


    And theyre both wearing the exact same magi-tech armor consisting of a rather gender neutral cloak, although one has a golden one while the other has a blue one.


    Theyre also both higher levels than me in regard to mana, which is surprising.


    I get ready as always, but this time I stand back instead of charging in. Because theres just something about her that feels different to me from the others.


    Out of nowhere, bolts of golden electricity begin to spark all around her, then her form straight up blurs and she appears right in front of me, giving me only enough time to raise my arms to block her punch. But even then, I grit my teeth as I feel my arms  which took the hit  beginning to get pumped with some of her electricity.


    Shes fast. Very fast.


    But


    I grin as I ignore the electricity thats burning my arms to push her away, sending her flying a few meters before shends on the ground and rolls for a few more. Then she quickly gets back up and bes a blur again.


    Shes physically weak as hell. Meaning its all speed.


    I quickly hit her with blood boil and life drain after she enters my line of sight again, since those skills need them to be in my line of sight to activate. Although not to keep them activated, fortunately. And she was too fast for me to activate them at the beginning of the match.


    The moment they are activated though, I find her suddenly staggering and no longer being a blur for a second before returning to almost her previous speed but with a trail of red energy following her from life drain, making the corner of my lip quirk upwards.


    Thatll work.


    The girl tries to run circles around me, but my ears manage to keep up with her movements after I realize that I should just use them in more than just a hearing far off things capacity. And the moment I hear a change in her footsteps, I turn around to where theyreing from and raise my ws to strike, tearing a bloody streak straight from her hip to her opposite shoulder.


    I wince for a second, only to remember that the magical reality automatically censors any sort of nudity from damaged gear in the form of the strongly blurred out portion of her front that I can see.


    Never really thought about that since the only ones I went even close to going all out against were guys.


    Anyways, I walk up to her now that shes down before seeing her close her eyes. So I simply kick her head to knock her out quickly, sending us both back to the dome again.


    And I immediately find her twin brother looking rather surprised  the first emotion Ive seen on either of the twins faces thus far  before reaching forwards and challenging me as well.


    Guess Im in for another round then.


    Wonder if the other twin is any better?

 Book 1: Chapter 96.3: Challengers Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 96.3: Challengers Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As it turns out, the other twin isnt stronger than the first, and I deal with him just a tiny bit slower than the first. Although I do find it interesting that one twin uses electricity, while the other uses water.


    An interestingbination.


    Also, why do they still look identical even with their reality warp? Except the different colors.


    <strong>Thats simple, </strong>Tar says, <strong>because theyre siblings.</strong>


    I blink in surprise as I look away from the two remaining students, one of which is approaching me, at the ground.


    So being a blood rtive actually does matter in regards to the reality warp?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers rather quickly.


    Interesting. Although if that girl with the electricity and speed had any good weapons, the match probably wouldve been much, <em>much </em>harder. But weapons are very difficult to get for Guardians, because there arent any materials on Earth that naturally are strong enough to be used in our fights. They wouldnt even break a higher level demons skin, much less do damage. And same with a higher level  me included at this point  Guardian.


    The only ones that actually use weapons are those who can create their own, enhance their weapon, or afford the astronomical price of having a specific magical metal created for them or get some of the parts from the demons in old world Japan or the Arctic and use them in forging their weapon. Which is a price so high that it could buy a damned city. A Tier 2 one at that.


    I look up again as Sentinel reaches me and says, Looks like its my turn. And when I nod my head, he reaches out and for some reason grabs a lock of my hair that was going down over my shoulder, making me flinch in the process as he challenges me.


    Challenge epted, I state while stepping back and automatically pulling my hair out of between his fingers in the process. Then, when were both in the magical reality, I ask, Please dont do something like that again. Just the shoulder.


    He appears surprised for a moment before nodding his head in a stoic manner.


    I blink in surprise at that, only to mentally shrug as I activate my skills for the umpteenth time today.


    Hes either a creep or just has some odd social customs. Id put my money on the second considering how nonchnt he seems to be about me saying not to do that again.


    Because I do know some ces that are very intimate for some bizarre reason. Even withplete strangers.


    ces no one will ever find me getting anywhere near even with a hundred meter long pole.


    <strong>A pole that length isnt really feasible to hold </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him.


    Really wish these damned battles counted for leveling up my skills. But reality and the System apparently doesnt count magical realities and anything that happen within them as viable, so


    Because if it did count then Id probably have leveled up a lot of them by now.


    Sentinel punches his fists together just like he did in the battle I watched him fight against Necro, then I actually feel the pulsating of the golden light pushing against me from where he is. But unlike the twins who specialize in speed, he just stands there with his eyes narrowed on me.


    If I remember correctly, his strength is his defense and countering. He likes to take blows and return them with more force. Some sort of magic called Divine Retribution.


    Even though it has nothing to do with gods or anything.


    I narrow my eyes at him as I slowly begin to circle around him, pondering over how to take this battle.


    If I try tearing him apart like the others, Ill be hit with divine light in response. Then hell go in to attack me like he did any other physical attacker, since he does things a little differently against ranged attackers.


    Which reminds me that my next skill I purchase will be a ranged skill. No doubt about that.


    Blood boil is great and all, but its only good as a passive and slow damage dealing skill. Not a finisher or a single blow ranged hit.


    The man just continues turning in ce as I slowly walk around him, unsure of how to take this. But then I decide to test blood boil on him to see if I get hit with divine light. And I dont.


    My eyebrows rise in pleasant surprise.


    The man grimaces and has a look of fear on his face that shouldnt be there just from blood boil, making me realize that I just found his weakness.


    <strong>Looks like the guy is weak to passive damage like that, </strong>Tar says, a hint of interest in his voice.


    I quickly use life drain on him as well and find the same result as blood boil. The skill works without me taking any damage.


    So I just kind of sit back while using the skills, very slowly draining my mana as I keep my distance from him.


    Are you seriously going to do this? he eventually asks after ten seconds of me just standing in ce and watching him. Eventually he himself tries to go forward, but I just keep backing up, proving that hes much slower than me.


    Why not? I ask with a shrug.


    Thisll teach you to touch my hair.


    <strong>At least it wasnt your ears, </strong>Tar says, making my face soften slightly.


    True. Couldve been worse.


    I lead the guy around for a couple of minutes, just draining him till the point that blood bubbles are popping on his skin and hes breathing heavily, then I finally decide to give him a break and notpletely embarrass him by rushing forwards out of nowhere while activating blood ws on my shifted arm. This startles him, but hes ready for it and pulls his fist back to match my ws with his fist.


    Right when I see him sending the punch forward though, I immediately pull back and twirl in a circle around him to w at his side. Then the divine light shines down from the sky of the ins were in, making me feel a light burning sensation. But its nowhere near as bad as therge w marks that I gouge out of his side, the process being made a lot easier due to blood boil softening his flesh.


    Shit Sentinel mutters with a grunt while falling to one knee. But he still manages to swing his fist out to m into my side, sending me flying from the ray of divine light that shines out of it on the instant of contact. And the divine light torches its way through my jacket and shirt, burning a hole around the right side of my waist.


    I grimace as Ind on the ground a few meters away before ncing at the wound which is pretty badly burned.


    Damn it.


    When I look up again, I find him swiftly climbing to his feet as a golden aura suffuses his entire body.


    The fuck? Hows he standing as if that wound  which is literally pouring blood down his side  is nothing but a scratch?!

 Book 1: Chapter 96.4: Challengers Part IV

    Book 1: Chapter 96.4: Challengers Part IV


    <strong>Back at the Dome</strong>


    Anthony has yet to be disappointed by the girl he found the name of to be Scarlet. Even with hercking skill in actualbat techniques, often opting to go with a more instinctive and brute force manner of attack, she still always goes with the right choice in the battle. And while others mightve believed her staying back and weakening Sentinel over time was a cowards way of fighting, Anthony fully supports it.


    And seeing Sentinels manner of challenging Scarlet almost had Anthony bursting out intoughter. But he had to hide it. After all, that wouldnt make a good impression on the person he wants to impress.


    The reasoning for Sentinels actions are rather obvious when one knows where he is from, since overly familiar actions like that are extremelymon there. Which Scarlet might not know. That or she just doesnt know where hes from.


    <em>Amusing regardless.</em>


    After a second though, the amusement on Anthonys face dies at the sight currently going on in the screen.


    A few seconds after the man was mauled, the glowing golden light grows brighter and brighter, with his eyes being the brightest of all. He then spreads his arms out on either side of him and lets out a roar before charging straight towards Scarlet.


    <em>Some sort of berserk skill? Probably at least epic rarity too if it lets himpletely ignore a wound like that.</em>


    <strong>It might even be legendary, </strong>the voice of Anthonys fae echoes in his head, surprising him for a second.


    <em>So, you finally decided to show up? After most of the first round duels of interest are already over? Just skip the rest of the tournament why dont cha?</em>


    <strong>You dont need assistance from me in a game of petty battles between children, </strong>Artoria answers, used to Anthonys personality after having been contracted with the strange man for months already. Many of those having her wish she had chosen a different person to contract with, even if he is an extraordinary talent.


    <em>If thats so, then why did yae here at all?</em>


    <strong>You know why, </strong>she answers, and Anthonys eyes gravitate towards Scarlet on the video feed. <strong>It would appear as if both of my brothers without contracts decided to contract in the same year. And father wont give any of us details on their contractors.</strong>


    <em>Couldnt you just ask him? Hes your brother after all.</em>


    <strong>While that probably worked for Artemis, I am not on as good terms with Tarankar as he is.</strong>


    Anthony goes silent for a bit as he watches Sentinel rush in to strike at Scarlet, bing a muchrger problem than he was before. Large enough that she is actually going all out from what Anthony has seen of her fighting anyways. Shes even taking several hits from the man in the process, although shrugging most of them off without a care.


    <em>But you do want to work with them, right?</em>


    Artoria stays silent for a second before sighing and answering, <strong>Yes. There are teampetitions during the tournament for the seat of heir, and withoutpeting, my chances are pretty much shot.</strong>


    <em>And what better team than a team that are all at about the same level and age, chosen at about the same time</em>


    <strong>Correct, </strong>she says only for the two to fall silent again. That is, until Anthony cant help but notice the wounds on Scarlet healing far quicker than they should be. <strong>Looks like Tarankars contracted has some sort of legendary regeneration skill.</strong>


    <em>Why do you believe its legendary?</em>


    Without missing a beat, the fae answers, <strong>Because shes regenerating even from wounds caused by divine light, which should drastically stall regeneration. And the only skills that can ignore that effect are legendary ones.</strong>


    Anthonys eyes widen and he continues to watch the battle with even more interest this time.


    <em>Just how did she get a legendary regeneration skill like that within two weeks of contracting?</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Okay, this guy is a much bigger pain than I gave him credit for. No matter how many wounds I inflict on him, he just wont drop dead!


    <strong>The guy most likely has a legendary berserk skill, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather impressed. <strong>He probably wont be dropping until you either destroy his brain or his skills effect wears off.</strong>


    And how long might that-


    Im cut off mid-thought when he charges me again and ms his fist straight towards me with far more strength and speed than he had earlier, making me attempt to dodge it only to still get nicked by it and sent flying by a burst of divine light hitting my shoulder.


    I cant help but grimace as I get back up from the ground, very much pissed off at the state of my jacket. Even if a hell of a lot more of it is intact than if this was before it was turned into magi-tech armor.


    But I dont want to waste a repair on it since thatll cost mana. Which is something I need to spend carefully in this fight. And all of his attacks are hitting my sides, shoulders, arms, and legs anyways, so nothing too important is exposed. Not that that would matter since they censor it anyways.


    Doesnt change that itll feel weird if it happened.


    Damnit, what type of skill does this anyways?! Its absolutely broken!


    <strong>Well, itll most likely have a bacsh as well, not to mention that hell probably die the moment it runs- </strong>Tar pauses mid-sentence when the golden light vanishes in an instant and the man who was currently charging at me just face nts into the ground. Then Tar finishes. <strong>Runs out. Like that.</strong>


    I blink in surprise before finding myself in the dome again.


    The heck?


    <strong>All of the damage you dealt to him while he was berserk shouldve been kept in a sort of stasis, where it didnt affect him until the skill ran out its duration, </strong>Tar exins, making me understand that I probably wouldve been a lot happier if I had just avoided him most of that fight.


    Anyways, I quickly notice the many, <em>many </em>people staring at me and Sentinel in the dome.


    I look up to find that there arent any duels going on right now.


    Guess they all watched our duel?


    Then pping can be heard from above us all, making me raise my head to find Viper looking directly between me and Sentinel. And as if copying her, arge majority of the students join her.


    Okay, whats happening?


    <strong>Dont ask me, </strong>Tar says with the mental equivalent of a shrug as if I wasnt just talking to myself and was asking him.

 Book 1: Chapter 97: Blood and Death Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 97: Blood and Death Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Excellent, the woman says while still pping, her voice echoing throughout the stadium in the process. This is the first time that a single student has done this well in decades. Not since thest generation was attending, at the very least.


    I raise a brow at that.


    Thest generation as she calls it is really just referring to the current youngest ss IV Guardians. Which includes Cynthia and Allen amongst those numbers, along with several of the staff at the university. Since taking a job at a Guardians University tends to give the professors some priority for heading to Fractures both in and out of the city without having them join an Association. Meanwhile the Guardians who arent in an Association or a GU tend to not be notified about the exact whereabouts of most of the Fractures. Just that if they happen across one or have a way to find them themselves  which most do  then theyre wee to enter it and help clear it out, but they will have no backup and no way to call for backup. And they may be stopped by an Association or a GU who already imed the Fracture beforehand should they wish to stop them.


    Some are nice and dont, others arent. Although they can only stop them if the Guardian doing the stopping is a higher ss than the one being stopped.


    Such aplicated mess ofws.


    A little over an hour into the first round and I can already tell there wont be anyone in this room except maybe Necro, she nces at Necro before returning her gaze to me, that can defeat you. So how about this. If you wish, I can simply take one point away from every other student in this room and give it you, with the exception of Necro of course, or you can continue as you have been, fighting the others here. Vipers eyes narrow and she tilts her head ever so slightly as she asks, What do you choose?


    I frown at the offer.


    It would certainly save my time. But at the same time, itd lower the amount of points Id get from defeating everyone. Because even if someone does reject my challenge, Id be getting the same amount of points as what she offered.


    And I need all the points I can manage to get into the Advanced ss. What with about a third to half or so of the university being at ss II, making the second round rather difficult.


    Eventually, I shake my head and answer, No thank you, without raising my voice, knowing that a ss IV Guardian like herself should be able to hear me regardless.


    She actually doesnt look surprised in the least by my answer. In fact, she looks pleased as she nods her head and focuses on the students as a whole to say, Resume the duels.


    But despite her words, no one does so. In fact, everyone instead just stares at me and Necro, making it pretty obvious what theyre waiting for.


    And Viper does the same, so I just turn to him to find him still grinning like an idiot while walking towards me.


    Guess youre finally up? I ask rhetorically, and he just nods before offering a hand to shake. Then, after I ept the handshake, he extends the challenge and I ept it, sending us both to some sort of hellishndscape that honestly resembles a mixture of both our magics. One of blood and death.


    All around the edges of the battlefield are corpses, some with their flesh intact, others only having skeletons remaining. Some absolutely covered in blood, others without any blood, and some even in literal pools of blood.


    A rather <em>unique </em>environment for us to fight in, dont cha think? the man asks, drawing my eyes to him to find the ck and purple aura of death growing around him just like in the one other fight I saw him participate in.


    What was rather surprising to me though is that he only ever fought in one battle. At least, while I was around to watch that is. Its possible he fought while I was fighting, but for him to do that every single time I fought is saying something if its true.


    So, before we start, why have you been studying me? I ask while activating partial shift. And my question makes him pause for a second before answering, Just tell Tarankar that his sister wishes to work together.


    My eyes widen at his usage of Tars first of his five names. But apparently not as surprised as Tar is.


    <strong>Are you fucking kidding me?! <em>Shes </em>here?! </strong>Tar practically shouts in my head, making me wince. <strong>Artemis is one thing, but Artoria!? And she wants to work together?!</strong>


    I frown at his shouting, and Necro seems to understand as his death aura lowers slightly and he just stands there waiting.


    Another royal fae?


    <strong>Yes! But this one is much worse than Artemis, </strong>Tar continues, still surprising me at his loss ofposure. <strong>Artoria is damned frightening, thats what she is. And I really cant figure out what possessed someone like her to contract with a kid like that.</strong>


    So what does he mean about working together?


    <strong>Some of thepetitions in the tournament are team based, remember? </strong>Tar asks rhetorically before continuing, <strong>To have any shot at winning the whole thing, a proxy has topete in the teampetitions as well. And what Artoria is suggesting is for you and Necro to work together on a team during the tournament for the throne.</strong>


    Oh.


    I look at the guy as he just casually walks around for a bit before stopping at the edge of the arena and swinging his feet while looking at a pool of blood.


    Work together. With that guy?


    <strong>My dislike of my sister aside, it wouldnt be a bad idea, </strong>Tar says, surprising me. <strong>From my understanding, this guy is pure offense, and if he works with you and Belle, you will have a decent team. You being able to do most roles including healing and support andbat, Belle being for defense, and him working purely on offense.</strong>


    Yeah, that would be a good team.


    I guess Ill consider it.


    But first, I activate blood ws and call out, Okay, Im ready, drawing his attention back to me.


    First we see just how good he is.

 Book 1: Chapter 97.2: Blood and Death Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 97.2: Blood and Death Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without any hesitation, his death aura res out again, and he begins to step towards me with his eyes slowly turning pitch ck.


    Certainly intimidating, thats for sure.


    I quickly use blood boil and life drain on him, but he doesnt even wince as he continues stepping towards me. Even with tiny little red spots appearing around his body.


    The guy is clearly a higher level than me, which shows in both his magic level being higher and the effect blood boil has on him being lesser than the other students here. And I can even tell already that hes stronger than Sentinel as well.


    Although how I can tell that, Im not sure.


    <strong>Its your instincts, </strong>Tar answers me. <strong>Of course, a predator can feel the presence of another predator. But what Im starting to wonder is if this guy is even a human himself because I feel like I sense something off about him. Nothing demonic, but something inhuman still.</strong>


    Wait, what?


    I activate blood ws on both hands and use blood sacrifice, burning away both my blood and mana at a decent pace before beginning to step towards him as well.


    <strong>I dont think hes fully human either, </strong>Tar says, <strong>theres some sort of technological change in his body. Like he was experimented on or something. Which would exin his usage of death magic.</strong>


    Thats horrible.


    Our conversation ends prematurely though as Necro rushes towards me, and I speed up to match. Then we meet together, w for w.


    My eyes narrow on the ck energy making up his singr w. Something I never saw in any of the other battles.


    The w is like a singlerge talon rather than a w, really. And I can tell its weaker than my shifted ws coated in blood magic, despite the fact that his talon is made up of death magic.


    <strong>Well of course, </strong>Tar says as if its a matter of course, <strong>if he is what I suspect, then he was made by human hands. And humans on Earth still arent able to make anything strong enough to challenge the supremacy of the noble demon ns one on one.</strong>


    I grit my teeth at the thought of that before pushing him back, startling him in the process. Then I continue pushing forwards, knocking aside his other taloned hand, and striking straight across his front torso, tearing bloody streaks in my path.


    Before I can do any more though, his death aura suddenly strengthens, and I can <em>feel </em>my life energy leaving me, which shocks me a great deal. So much so that I jump back out of the range of the aura.


    <strong>Death magic also gets skills like life drain, </strong>Tar says in a bit of ate warning.


    Damn it. At least his has a shorter range.


    I warily find the outer edges of the w marks I left on his now exposed chest slowly sparking with a ck me before focusing on his face to find him having turned serious, no longer seeming to be in a joking mood. In fact, he now has a wary look on his face.


    <strong>He probably expected to overwhelm you like hes surely done others with his inhuman skills, </strong>Tar exins the obvious.


    Right. And now hes actually wary of me.


    I really wish that I could use my blood thirst skill here, but its kind of useless in a one on one duel. Although it should be quite useful for the second round of the tournament.


    After a few seconds, the ck mes on the edges of his wound disappear, leaving it looking about the same as it did before. Meaning he probably wasnt able to take much life energy from me in the limited time I was in his range.


    And now the wound is starting to look worse again thanks to my continued use of life drain and blood boil.


    Despite the danger Im now in, and the seriousness of the air between us, I cant help but notice the corner of his lips quirking up. Even though he must be in quite a bit of pain right now.


    My own follow in response.


    This duel really is the best one Ive had so far today.


    <strong>The other side of the Magical Reality</strong>


    <em>Shes like me! Shes really like me, isnt she?!</em>


    <strong>No, </strong>Artoria mutters, crushing the hope that had risen in Anthonys heart, <strong>not exactly like you. She feels different in some way. More demonic.</strong>


    Anthony frowns as he ignores the pain of the w wounds on his bare chest.


    <em>You think humans experimented on her and imnted something from a demon in her or something? Like they imnted part of that strange creature in me?</em>


    <strong>That shouldnt be possible, </strong>Artoria says, only to pause when Scarlet begins rushing forwards with even more red steam rising from her skin in the process. Anthony then turns slightly to avoid her ws again before doing a round house kick on her. But she just grabs his foot with her other hand and throws him with far more strength than he wouldve expected.


    <em>Shit. Shes just growing stronger and stronger!</em>


    <strong>I think that has more to do with whatever skill shes using, </strong>Artoria says, directing Anthonys eyes to the red steam leaving her skin as she straightens up and turns to look at him again, looking rather menacing with her glowing red eyes and current outfit in the middle of a hellscape. <strong>But there has to be a weakness to it. And considering how shes a blood magic user, it probably has something to do with burning her own blood or something. So just stall her and she should grow weaker with time.</strong>


    <em>Got it.</em>


    Anthony quickly strengthens his use of his inherent skill, Death Aura, before activating another skill, making ck cracks begin to spread across his skin.


    <strong>Be careful using that skill, </strong>Artoria warns him. <strong>If you arent careful, it could lead to a much worse oue for you than her.</strong>


    The man nods his head before sprinting towards her at a much faster speed than before and using another skill that coats his arm with a wave of ck and purple energy that he physically throws at the Scarlet Wolf. And she  after her initial surprise  jumps back and brings her ws in front of her to block it just like she did Drakes me thrower. But it doesnt work as well this time, the death magic eating through her blood magic rather quickly and then into her ws making her cry out loud for the first time during this tournament.


    <strong>The girl cant be part human and demon since the demonic genes would simply try to eat the human ones, unlike with your void spawn genes, </strong>Artoria exins as the girl manages to push the rest of the attack away by recovering her hands with blood, although with a pained look on her face. <strong>Void spawn are creatures found in the gap between the mortal realm and the Farshore. They are inherently instinctive in everything they do,cking any intelligence, and arent too much superior to humans in the end. Meaning their genes can sit in your body at a low amount without attempting to devour your human genes.</strong>


    Scarlet narrows her eyes before rushing forwards, seemingly ignoring the pain of her hands as she tries to close the distance between herself and Anthony. But Anthony repeatedly backs up and tries to make sure that not a single one of her attacksnds on him.


    Because if they do, then things will turn bad.


    <em>If I didnt have to use this self-destructive skill, then I wouldnt take the risk of using it and having something hit me but this fight is different.</em>


    <strong>Demons are inherently superior to the humans of Earth in most ways, especially the naturally stronger species like the noble demons, </strong>Artoria continues with Anthony barely listening to her lecture as he focuses incredibly hard on avoiding everyst one of Scarlets attacks. <strong>So its just impossible for a human to survive a procedure like that. The only possible way I can see it being done is if its through biology and not science. Through a demon and a human mating and then having them seal the demonic genes of the resulting baby. But that isnt possible due to the absolute hatred demons have for humans and vice versa.</strong>


    Artoria finally goes silent as Anthony continues avoiding Scarlets attacks, having said her peace.


    <em>Then what is she?</em>


    <strong>Its possible humans put in some sort of nanomachines in the void spawn genes, but that would be diffi- </strong>before Artoria can finish answering his question, Scarlet suddenly stops mid movement towards Anthony as a much thicker wave of steam leaves her body and she immediately jumps straight over his head andnds right behind him.


    <strong>Watch out! </strong>Artoria shouts in Anthonys head, but its toote as Scarlets ws soon make contact with his back after a long time of neither of them managing tond a blow on the other.

 Book 1: Chapter 97.3: Blood and Death Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 97.3: Blood and Death Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock when the wound I dealt to Necro begins to glow. Specifically, the ck cracks running through the wound. So I draw my other arms ws across his back before jumping backwards myself to avoid whatever skill hes using.


    Only to be shocked when I see the ck cracks begin to explode across his back in tiny explosions, making the wounds <em>much </em>bigger as he drops to one knee.


    The hell?


    <strong>So that was the drawback of whatever skill he was using </strong>Tar mutters in my head, making me frown. <strong>Its likely that he got a massive boost in all of his stats, both magical and physical, in exchange for a powerful penalty for taking any sort of damage. Something you normally only see in void rted </strong>Tar trails off, making me curious about what he was gonna say. But the sight of the man struggling to his feet while stumbling a little distracts me from that.


    You can still stand with those wounds? I ask with a raised brow.


    He coughs out a mouthful of ck blood on the ground, which has me raising my other brow.


    <strong>He really does have void spawn genes </strong>Tar mutters, seemingly at the sight of the blood, shocking me in the process. <strong>Just who decided to experiment with void spawn anyways?</strong>


    Who cares about that. Its pretty clear how the government treats human experimentation. And Its just as clear how obvious it is that a void spawn  a creature that doesnt reproduce  didnt give birth to him.


    I shiver slightly at the thought of those disgusting masses of flesh, ws, talons, and tentacles that enters my mind. Humanity didnt really know what we were dealing with the first time a Fracture core grew corrupted and ended up linking Earth to the void instead of Tartarus. But it didnt take long to find out that the creatures were quite a bit weaker  and stupider  than demons.


    The main issue Guardians took with them though was that they didnt have any life force to take, since they werent from the mortal ne themselves. So Guardians cant gain EXP from killing them.


    Which is a big downside to a lot of the Guardians and a demotivator in regard to dealing with the creatures.


    Anthony drops down to his knees again, only to facent on the ground before were both sent back to reality again.


    And the first thing I see when getting back is Anthony grinning at me as we unlock our hands that were still sped together from before entering the duel.


    Youre interesting, he says, only to wave at me and turn around. Ill catch yater then. Wouldnt want to fall behind in points because of this.


    I cant help but raise a brow at the irony of his words. But he really does start challenging people at random, as can be seen on the screen above, so I just nce up at Viper instead.


    <strong>Looks like she already knew about his void spawn genes, </strong>Tar suddenly says, raising my intrigue enough that he quickly answers the question he knows Im about to ask. <strong>Void spawn are known only by the Guardians who have hunted them before to have ck blood, since the Guardians in general dont care much for the creatures and didnt bother answering any researchers questions about their specifics beyond calling them eldritch masses of flesh, ws, tentacles, and talons.</strong>


    Oh.


    And the Fracture cores bing corrupted is extremely rare from what I read, so I doubt theyve been able to study it themselves, much less hire a Guardian to do it for them. Not when only three cores have ever be corrupted.


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>but a ss IV instructor at a Guardians University should know about that aspect of them, and despite that, she didnt seem to disy any strong reaction.</strong>


    Yeah. So they probably already know about his little secret.


    But what about me? Is there any chance they might know about me as well?


    <strong>No, theres not, </strong>Tar answers without any hesitation. <strong>You know how your genes are. Humans have tried injecting demon genes into another human before  illegally mind you  and it always resulted in the human dead. The only reason youre alive is because you were born half demon with your genes suppressed, and when they were awakened, you were inducted into the System to calm it with the reality warp.</strong>


    Okay, thats good.


    Wait, genes suppressed?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says as I begin to press the random challenge button again, ready to go back to challenging everyone remaining in the room. <strong>Youd have died soon after birth if someone  likely your demon parent  didnt suppress your demon genes.</strong>


    Oh. I guess in hindsight I shouldve already expected something like that to be why I had to be awakened as a demon for it to show or for me to even realize I was half demon, but still


    Doesnt that mean my parents cared about me at least a little?


    Tar doesnt say anything, likely not wanting to get my hopes up.


    The earpiece quickly tells me that my challenge was declined as Im still waiting for an answer. But when no answeres, I just sigh and press the random challenge button again. And again, after that one is declined. And again.


    Damnit, is everyone just going to decline my challenges?! I understand they might not want to die, even if its only a magical reality, but I can go easy on them since the rest of the people here should be weaker! Or I could just avoid using blood boil maybe that would make more of them challenge me?


    Then again, they might not trust my word on that.


    Surprisingly, Tar doesnt say anything in response to my thoughts like he usually would. So I guess hes just left for somewhere and isnt just tantly ignoring me. More like offhandedly ignoring me by leaving and avoiding any questions I might have over the previous subject.


    I look up to see Viper looking at me with a face full of amusement.


    Yeah,ugh it up.


    These challenge declines are all making me lose two points that I couldve gotten by beating them for each decline! Damn it!


    Its just such a disappointing waste


    I continue pressing the random challenge button over and over again until <em>someone </em>finally bothers to ept it. Then Ipletely wipe the floor with them, making sure not to use blood boil and to knock them out instead of killing before returning to the dome to continue my spamming of the button.


    But in the end, most of the students remaining decline my random challenge. Even Denise declines. But there are around seven or so that epted out of the remaining students. And right when I get myst challenge declined, I get another message from my earpiece which I hear through my wolf ears instead of my human ones. Because ended up realizing that it was pointless to use my human ears when I can hear it with my wolf ones as well even with the earpiece in my human ear.


    [One point has been awarded for your opponent declining your challenge. You now have a total of 303 points.]


    But then a second announcement echoes through the loudspeakers in the dome, making everyone hear it, followed by another one in my ear from the earpiece, not being heard by the others.


    [Scarlet Asger has sessfully challenged every student in the dome and either defeated them or had them decline her challenge. As a reward, they are given a bonus of 50 points.]


    [You now have a total of 353 points.]


    Every gaze in the room turns to me.


    Seriously?

 Book 1: Intermission 9

    Book 1: Intermission 9


    <strong>Tournament Observatory Room</strong>


    <strong><em>A few minutes ago</em></strong>


    Cipher wasnt very surprised when he got put in charge of security in the observatory room itself, where over fifty instructors of the GU along with the other important faculty members all watch thepeting students together and pick out the good ones from the bunch. What he was surprised about was being told to guard it from the inside by the vice-headmaster, Alfred, instead of patrolling outside like he wouldve preferred.


    And to make matters worse, the instructors who hed gone to university with were here as well and practically strong-armed him into joining them for a drink. Which wasnt very productive towards his job as a security guard, but is also exactly what he expected would happen, and expected to be the reason Alfred sent him inside away from the rest of his men.


    <em>The bastards leaving me in here for when questions eventually rise about Scarlet so that he doesnt have to deal with the instructors himself, isnt he?!</em>


    Of course, Cipher doesnt just stay and take the fate given to him. He tries to leave the group a few times, with no sess.


    It isnt until he notices a white-haired woman walk into the room inplete silence, not allowing a single person in the room to see her except for Cipher. And Cipher knows very well that no human would ever spot White without her allowing them to.


    <em>Not with her null magic</em>


    Cipher tries to move towards her, only to find his body not moving at all. So he looks down to find a very, <em>very </em>thinyer of almost clear white energy coating his skin.


    <em>Guess she doesnt want to talk to me, but wants me to know shes here? Or she just didnt bother blocking my sight of her.</em>


    When he looks up, he finds the woman  who is wearing a simple outfit of ck and white pants with a ck and red jacket extremely simr in appearance to Scarlets jacket prior to Ciphers father upgrading it over a white shirt  walking over to the screen currently showing the dome that Scarlet is in right as she reappears in the thing from a duel. Then he sees her usually cold face slipping ever so slightly to show a hint of warmth before it fades away again, and she narrows her eyes. But when Cipher looks to see what shes looking at, all he finds is some boy wearing a ridiculous magi-tech armor consisting of a simple t-shirt and shorts fighting on another screen.


    <em>Whats so interesting about him?</em>


    Cipher continues watching him fight for a few seconds before hes distracted by one of his friends patting his shoulder and pointing out a different screen to him. So he begins politely chatting with him for a little bit until the friend from university is satisfied and quiet again. Then he turns back just to find Whitepletely gone, which is also when he realizes that he was moving again.


    <em>Damn it I havent seen her since she gave me Scarlet and signed off on my Association. I really wanted to ask her some questions about the brat.</em>


    And as if being summoned by his thoughts, a loud beeping sound echoes from the dome Scarlet is in, drawing the attention of every Guardian in the room before a robotic voice echoes across the room, Scarlet Asger has sessfully challenged every student in dome #1 and either defeated them or had them decline her challenge.


    Not even five secondster, Cipher can hear whispered conversations breaking out all across the room.


    Scarlet Asger? Whos that? I dont know. Bring up her papers. Lets see her capabilities Who is that?


    Cipher slowly closes his eyes and sighs.


    <em>That girl is going to be the death of me some day, I just know it</em>


    Then the whispered conversations grow much louder as people find her capabilities.


    What the fuck is this?! Are these real? These arent fake, right? They have to be fake!


    And of course, the people begin to notice the part stating her Association affiliation.


    Silver Association? The girls with Cipher? Wait, I think I recognize this girl from the news! Wasnt she the one who fought with a wraith while still only a little over a week post-contract?! If these capabilities are true And she has blood magic as well!


    Then the one Cipher has dreaded finallyes around.


    Ciphers here, so why dont we just ask him?


    Silence fills the room.


    Cipher slowly opens his eyes to find everyone staring at him, and he swears he sees a sh of the old vice-headmaster grinning as he passes by the doorway to the room, the door itself magically opening before closing again as he does so.


    <em>Yep. Definitely more payback. And much worse than giving me paperwork I didnt actually have to sign.</em>


    Yes, the capabilities listed there are true, yes they were confirmed by the government, and yes, she is a part of my Association, Cipher says, deciding to answer their questions without being asked.


    Nearly three fourths of the nearly hundred or so people in the room all rush over to Cipher, crowding around him without giving much room to speak as they pepper him with question after question after question.


    Who is this girl? Where did shee from? Is she rted to you? Why is she in your Association already? Do you know what this means for us?!


    Everyst person continues berating Cipher with questions without giving him a single moment to answer, leaving him unsure of how to feel. Whether he should be annoyed with the old man, or with Scarlet.


    Let the man answer! a loud voice echoes over all of the others, bringing everyones attention over to the man wearing full body armor from a much more medieval era. Then they turn away from Dark to look at Cipher again, but silently this time.


    Cipher lets out a sigh before giving Dark a nod of appreciation and immediately getting into the tedious task of dealing with other dozens of ss III and IV Guardians.

 Book 1: Chapter 98: Back to the Main Auditorium

    Book 1: Chapter 98: Back to the Main Auditorium


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The remaining time left in the first round ends up being really boring, as all Im left to do is sit in the corner and watch other people battle. Which isnt really saying much, considering Ive already fought everyone of significance in terms ofbat prowess in here. Aside from Viper, of course. But I would be defeated in an instant if I tried fighting her right now.


    Eventually I just sit up against the wall and close my eyes, not even watching the fights anymore. I dont go to sleep, since there are way too many people here to do that and I dont trust almost any of them even a hundredth as far as I can throw them. And Im pretty sure I can throw them pretty far. But I do take the time to rest my eyes.


    Because Im pretty sure Im gonna need the rest between the rounds.


    After all, even if we arent being physically affected between duels, it is a pretty big mental strain to continuously battle for dozens and dozens of duels back to back, just constantly being aware of everything needed to fight.


    At some point I begin humming a song I remember Cynthia singing to me back when I was a kid. A luby of sorts, mostly for the times when I was just way too overwhelmed. Both by my own forced overworking myself, and the constant stress of distrusting others and dealing with the treatment orphans receive in general.


    Its a rxing tune. Onepletely at odds with the air of the dome filled with the sounds of people chatting about the duels going on. Some of the people are even chatting about me right now, with a few straight up daring others to go up and talk to me.


    Theres even one group thats trying to pressure some poor shmuck into asking me out on a date.


    And another that Im gonna remember forter because theyre talking about sneaking up on me at one point to touch my ears. Or at least, they were until someone mentioned me biting their fingers off if they tried. Which has me smiling.


    Until I hear someone mention how cute I am when Im smiling with my eyes closed.


    Then I start scowling instead. Still with my eyes closed, of course. And still humming.


    After who knows how long, I finally hear Tars voice in my head again, <strong>You finished the duels?</strong>


    I stop humming.


    Yep. A while ago in fact.


    <strong>Probably for the best that you get some rest before the next round begins, </strong>Tar says, and I just lightly nod my head at that.


    Then an awkward silence ensues.


    Eventually I go back to listening to the other students conversations again. But fortunately, most of them seem to have moved off of the subject that is me and started talking about the second round by now.


    Although why there are people having conversations during this round is beyond me when they clearly havent finished all of the duels they could be doing.


    <strong>Not everyone is a battle maniac like yourself, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes snap open before narrowing.


    How rude. You dont call ady a battle maniac.


    Tar justughs at that and says, <strong>You? Ady? </strong>Then heughs again, his voice echoing in my head in a very annoying way.


    I huff at that before rolling my eyes and closing them again.


    Silence passes  between the two of us in my head at least  for a while.


    Say, do you know just how many fae are currently in this dome?


    <strong>Almost every human here has a fae currently with them, </strong>Tar answers, surprising me slightly. <strong>What, you thought the other fae could travel between realms as often as I do?</strong>


    Wait, they cant?


    <strong>No, they cant, </strong>Tar answers before proudly dering, <strong>that is a power reserved for fae royalty! Everyone else can only return once every week or so.</strong>


    Interesting.


    We fall silent again.


    Eventually the rest of the first round passes without much more happening, with the only event of any note are Denise walking up and joining me against the wall at one point surprisingly without saying a word  likely due to being tired. Since as it turns out none of the other students manage to get anywhere near as many points as me because a lot of them are already exhausted mentally and begin declining duels, or others are too afraid to fight. Then theres the fact that no one else here dominates the other students enough to win all of the duels they do participate in.


    Makes some sense though seeing as all of the people in this room are only between 18 to 22 years old for the most part, and they''re all newly contracted Guardians who were just civilians afraid of the demons a month or two ago.


    As soon as the time runs out, were sent back to the main auditorium through another wave of fog that has me ending up back in the seat I was in before being sent to the first round. And just like when we left, the rules are up on the screen behind the vice-headmaster who is standing on the stage alone. But only secondster, the screen behind him changes to show two different things  one being the rules for the second round, and the other being a massive list of people, their grades, sses, magics, and their point totals.


    The only people who are shown on the list though appear to be the top one thousand. And even amongst those, most of the names are too small to read, so we can only really see the top one hundred which are shown inrger text.


    And I cant help but look through them starting from the top, just searching for my name. And surprisingly, I actually do find my name at #22 on the rankings.


    Holy shit. How did I beat out so many ss II students? And even some ss IIIs!


    <strong>Well, remember that the first round was set up purely between those at the same ss and category, and you got a bonus 50 points for challenging everyone in your dome anding out on top in each challenge, whether through winning the duel or being declined entirely, </strong>Tar says, making me quickly understand before he even finishes talking, <strong>and I doubt many of the ss IIs were able to dominate their groups like you did, much less the ss IIIs. Where they will excel is after this point, in the second round.</strong>


    I cant help but grimace at the thought ofpeting against ss IIs and even a couple dozen ss IIIs.


    Although at least the ss IIs and IIIs get nothing from killing me. In fact, theyd be penalized for it, and Id actually be rewarded and respawned from it.


    Just annoying that my only chance at getting a higher ranking is to go around killing the other students of ss I. But I guess thats not much different from what I did in the first round, and they wont stay dead.


    <strong>Remember that you can just hunt the ss I demons and build up a bunch of stacks before attacking the students as well, </strong>Tar suggests, making me nod my head in agreement.


    I just wish the timer on the stacks would reset when I got new stacks. But you did say that thatll probably be a future benefit to the skill, right?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar answers right away, only for us to both focus on the vice-headmaster when he begins to speak.

 Book 1: Chapter 99: Second Round Rules

    Book 1: Chapter 99: Second Round Rules


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wee you all back from the first round of the tournament! the vice-headmasters voice echoes throughout the auditorium before he continues, Behind me you will see the results of your hard work, and the initial ranking after the first round!


    Most of the students in the room were already reading the names on the list, with many of them voicing surprise at the sight of a ss I first year so high up on them. But the vice-headmaster doesnt give them any time to talk about it as he says, Now we will be moving onto the second round of the tournament! This one is quite different from the first round. He suddenly begins to levitate into the air with a small cloud of greenish ck mist beneath his feet before moving up to the rules and magnifying them to berger for us.


    <strong><em>The secondary round of the tournament will take ce in a magical reality imitating a forest on Tartarus.</em></strong>


    <em>Every student will be ced in the same forest in the same magical reality, and they will be given points for ying demons.</em>


    <em>The forest will be separated into two parts.</em>


    <em>The outer ring of the forest will have only ss I demons, with their levels increasing as the students get closer to the inner ring.</em>


    <em>The inner ring of the forest will have ss II demons, with their levels increasing as the students get closer to the center, which will have a single ss III demon.</em>


    <em>Demons will give points depending on their levels.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 1-50 will give one point apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 51-100 will give two points apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 101-150 will give three points apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>Demons at levels 151-200 will give four points apiece to all students involved in their killing, including nonbat focused Guardians.</em>


    <em>The ss III demon will give a total of fifty points spread across whoever kills it.</em>


    <em>Furthermore, killing another student of the same ss as you or higher will give you a fifth of their points.</em>


    <em>Should a student be killed by another student and not by a demon they will be revived in the magical reality.</em>


    <em>The rankings will be determined through whoever has the most points.</em>


    <em>However, should abat focused Guardian decide to remove other Guardians from y through killing them and are believed to be specifically targeting nonbat focused Guardians during the tournament, or a higher ss Guardian targets a lower ss one, they will receive a severe handicap in the form of a quantity of their points taken away and distributed to every targeted Guardian they killed, with the specific quantity being decided upon by a panel of professors watching the tournament.</em>


    <em>Unrted to the rankings, five Top ss student spots will be added in addition to the top one hundred corresponding to the top five scoring ss I students and 50 Advanced ss spots will be added in addition to the nine hundred current spots corresponding to the next highest ranking ss I students not already in that ss.</em>


    Now, you can all read this for the exact rules should you choose to do so, but be warned that not reading them does not mean you will be exempt from them, Alfred says, clearly warning everyone while also giving people a chance to show off theirzy side should they choose to be stupid. Youll all be ced in a magical reality that is meant to imitate a forest on Tartarus. One ruled by a ss III Taracht demon. He pauses as the image of a massive spider with ck hair streaked with red, which seems to be amon color scheme amongst demons, sitting in the middle of arge nest of webs in the middle of arge forest on the magical reality screen. The screen then zooms out to show arge forest surrounding the demon with thicker trees spread less sparsely in the inner ring of it and thinner trees spread more sparsely in the outer ring. The ss II and III students amongst you will all be spawned in the inner ring of the forest, which will be infested with various ss II demons of different types. Meanwhile the ss I students will be spawned in the outer ring, which is filled with various ss I demons instead.


    Whispers grow amongst the gathered students, most of which are rather excited, but some are quite frightened instead.


    Killing a demon gives points corresponding to the level of the demon to everyone who participated in its death, with every fifty levels giving an additional point starting at level 1 giving a single point to each person who participated in its hunt, and the ss III demon giving fifty total points spread across whoever kills it instead of each participant getting the same reward, the vice-headmaster continues while floating up to the very center of the auditorium in the air. You may kill other students to steal a fifth of their points but be warned that you can only do this if that student is of the same ss as you or higher. He nces at several people who Im assuming are ss III judging by their mana. And there are punishments for a student killing students of a lower ss than themselves. He returns his gaze to everyone again. Last but not least, if you are killed by a fellow student, you will be respawned somewhere at random in the same ring of the forest you spawned in. But if youre killed by a demon then youre out for good.


    Nothing that isnt already said in the rules posted on the screen. Although I guess some people just have the attention spans of a gnat and dont want to read, having to be told bluntly by someone instead. Which is a little sad, but true, nheless.


    Even I felt a little annoyed at the idea of reading through a couple of the contracts I had to sign for joining the Silver Association. Because those things were really long.


    The chatter in the auditorium raises slightly in volume for a few seconds before the vice-headmaster finishes, You will all be sent to the magical reality in ten minutes. Take this small break as a time to mentally prepare yourselves for the second round. He then vanishes as arge amount of ck and dark green mist begin to swallow him up before disappearing into the ground.


    At his exit, the chatter bes a low roar as full blown conversations break out everywhere. Many of which are talking about the top one hundred, including people talking about myself. But I ignore them to focus on the others as Belle asks, How did you manage to make it into the top one hundred?


    I answer rather bluntly, By challenging everyone in my dome.


    Her eyes practically bug out at that, but I continue before she can say anything, Although around half or so of them declined, which was disappointing.


    That doesnt seem to help her surprise.


    I just give a mental shrug at that before turning to Michael to find him not surprised. And neither are Emily or Denise. Although Denise was there, so this isnt any news for her.


    Anyways, Emily and Michael begin talking about their own domes, leaving me to just sit back and listen to them for a while. Until Belle gets over her shock that is and joins in.

 Book 1: Chapter 100: Second Round Begins Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 100: Second Round Begins Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As it turns out, Michaels duels werent all battle. They were put into a magical reality where they had to deal with different situations such as being shown and told to heal a certain number of people while still being aware that the other student could attack at any time. And if their patient or a certain number of patients died? They would lose.


    Meanwhile Emilys duels were more varied as both of the fighters in a duel were ced in a ce filled with obstacles and terrain, and the fighters had to kill the other one using any means possible. Which is a better way of showing the skills of her category of Guardian, which was apparentlybeled as Mixed Guardians.


    And Belles was a matter of endurance. Since her duel was for defensive Guardians, they both had to defend against an onught of attacks made at them from various different directions but were allowed to attack the other student to throw them off in the process.


    I kind of like how the university did the various different types of duels, to be honest. After all, why on Earth would they have two healers fight to show which was a better healer?


    It just doesnt make sense.


    The others werent very surprised that our duels were straight upbat though, for obvious reasons. And while Michael and Emily were a tiny bit surprised by just <em>how </em>well I did, they werent surprised that I did well. Unlike Belle, who was shell-shocked for a little while into Michaels exnation of his duels.


    Eventually the ten minutes runs out and I hear a robotic voice echoing from my earpiece.


    [The second round of the tournament is nowmencing. All students will be randomly teleported to their ss delegated rings of the thirty thousand square kilometer forest in three. Two. One.]


    The moment after the thing says one, I find myself instantly appearing inside of the magical reality in the middle of a forest. Then the earpiece finishes.


    [The second round of the tournament has begun. Good luck students.]


    I look around before the earpiece even finishes, simply listening with my wolf ears for the many demons I can hear roaming the woods in the hundreds of meters around me, along with the few humans I can hear as well. The main difference between the two being that most of the demons are quite clearly not bipedal. Many of them being spiders, others being hounds or huntsmen, and even more being something else that I dont recognize the movements of. Some sort of springy, liquidy sound. Not sure what.


    After checking out the sounds for a few more seconds, I begin sprinting off in the direction of the closest demons to me that arent near any other students. Since it would be better to wait a little bit to start targeting other students for their points. Just to let them build up a bit.


    Im quite d they allow stealing points in the first ce, to be honest. Since it makes it so that we ss I students have a chance at the Advanced and Top sses as long as we rob the other students. What with the ss II students not being able to hunt ss I students, and ss III students not being able to hunt ss I or II students.


    It also makes sense in an evaluation sense. Since the instructors ranking us shouldve been evaluating us throughout this tournament, and theyve already seen what the higher ss students can do on ount of almost all of them having been here in previous years. So letting them go through and ughter lower ss Guardians is pointless and a waste of time. Instead they can let them show them how they deal with demons both at their ss, and in the case of the Taracht, above their ss, in the wild. Whereas the ss I students are showing how they will act in a Fracture. Whether theyll work as a team or by themselves, what strategies they may use, and so on.


    And while many of the students may opt to work as a team as it would work better for some of them, a lot will probably opt to work alone as well. Since many of these demons are very weak meaning the lowest level demons can be killed with ease by a single person like me, and theres a lower number of healer and support Guardians on average than there arebat and mixed ones. Meaning they arent as likely to even find a good group to work together with.


    I frown as I continue running straight towards a demon that I hear the earpiece telling me is level 4.


    Just too bad that they stuck us in random starting spots, far away from each other. And it looks like Ill have to run through the weaker demons to get closer in to the stronger ones.


    <strong>Why would you do that? </strong>Tar asks, making me frown as I run up and tear the spider demons head off. <strong>Just ughter the lower level demons here while you can and build up as many stacks as you can. It wont change the number of points youre getting, since itll take a lot longer to kill the demons strong enough to get two points for them anyways. So isnt it just better to ughter all the lower level demons?</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that suggestion.


    <strong>Then you can go hunt the students instead after clearing out the lower level demons around here, </strong>Tar adds, making a very nice n for me.


    After a second, a grin finds its way across my face.


    Yeah. Thatll work.


    Thatll work very nicely.


    Without any hesitation, I immediately rush off, just ughtering every single demon I hear with ease thanks to their lower level. Which also makes me realize just how important my senses will be for this round, since I can basically tell where almost every single demon  and student  is around me.


    Something the other students cant do. Or most of them at least.


    At some point though, I start making a line instead of killing absolutely everything around me. After all, I still want the students around here to get points. And if I kill everything around here, they wont be doing that.


    The grin on my face grows even wider as I continue my killing spree, briefly making me wonder if Im enjoying this too much.


    <strong>For a human? Absolutely, </strong>Tar answers before continuing, <strong>For a blood lycan? No. They might even enjoy this hunt of yours even more than you are.</strong>


    Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.

 Book 1: Chapter 100.2: Second Round Begins Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 100.2: Second Round Begins Part II


    <strong>The Observation Room</strong>


    <em>Yeah, this is basically what I was expecting to happen.</em>


    Cipher cant help but think this as he, along with a dozen or so other professors in the room  the professors teaching primarily first year courses  watch Scarlet simply rush through the forest ughtering the low level demons with ease, noticeably growing stronger with each kill. Likely due to some sort of skill she gained at some point from her reckless actions.


    What type of skill do you think that is? Maybe a stacking skill? One that grows with every kill? But arent those only legendary skills? How could she already have a legendary skill?! Shes only been contracted for a few weeks!


    The man sighs.


    <em>Maybe I should just give up on trying to keep her from doing what she wants because even with all of the close calls shese too, she </em>has<em> at leaste out on top every single time.</em>


    As if proving the mans thoughts, he hears more of the conversations from the nearby tables.


    Do you think shed be willing to sign an apprenticeship? Maybe but dont you think thered be too many people gunning for her if she was willing to do that? Well, Im certainly going to try. Same here.


    A chorus of agreements from other professors, all ss IV Guardians, echo around the tables. That is, until one voice silences them all.


    Shes mine.


    Ciphers eyes widen in shock as he sees the source of the voice standing in the corner behind all of the tables.


    <em>Even Viper?! Damn, I didnt think that woman liked anyone enough to consider something like that</em>


    The woman, unlike the other first year professors speaking about Scarlet, is one of the few Guardians currentlymonly considered to have the highest chances of reaching ss V, along with a few others such as Frost, Reaper, and Archon to name a few. And many of the Guardians of the capital city and elsewhere wonder why she bothers teaching the first years.


    Unlike the Guardian Universities in Tier 2 cities, the Guardian Universities in Tier 1 grant their professors a ratherrge ie, along with prestige, the opportunity to make connections with all of the students they teach, stronger priority for Fractures, and for some Guardians, achievements rted to teaching other Guardians. But these benefits decrease when teaching the first years, some of whom will likely be dead before they be second or third years.


    Silence spreads amongst the professors  including both the ones involved in the conversation and those not  before everyones attention is brought to one of the screens in particr that shows a ss II Guardian finding and shing with another ss II Guardian.


    Cipher cant help but raise a brow at how easily they were all distracted. But at the same time, Viper isnt known to be a very friendly person, and many people dont tend to like her because of it.


    He nces at Viper to find her looking back at him before nodding. After he nods back, he turns his gaze back to the screen showing Scarlet.


    <em>An unexpected but not entirely unwee development. Because if Scarlet can form a connection to her, it would be for the best.</em>


    Out of the corner of his eye though, he cant help but notice another woman still staring at Scarlets screen. This one being an older one who also happens to be considered to be close to ss V. Archangel. But unlike Viper, this one is a teacher for the graduate students.


    <em>Whys she taken an interest in her?</em>


    <strong>Somewhere in the Outer Ring of the Forest</strong>


    <strong><em>Half an hourter</em></strong>


    Caleb was ecstatic the moment he was epted to Lions Heart. He had studied, asked his parents for help with their connections, and gone into several Fractures  while under watch from a hired guard, of course  to prepare, and the moment the letter came in the mail telling of his eptance, he couldnt hide his excitement anymore. He let out the biggest whoop possible, startling all of his family members and even the delivery man.


    But he didnt care. Nor did he care when the ranking tournament was announced, beyond being a little upset that the school was ranking them in the first ce. Even if he did know that it was the governments fault, since they were the ones funding most of the bonuses thate along with the higher sses in the universities.


    Its the same with every GU.


    And if theres one thing Caleb hates the most about how the world has turned out since the Demonic Assaults? Its their focus onpetition. How the humans decided to put the Guardians on a pedestal beforeparing them to each other just to get something else to drown out their depressing and frightful lives with.


    Caleb lets out a sigh after mming his fist into the level six spider demon, squashing it with ease.


    <em>Now that I have the power of a Guardian and the backing of the top Guardian University, I might be able to change this crappy world for the better</em>


    The twenty-year-old raises his fist, which is still covered in blood, to his face before swinging it to the side and beginning to walk through the forest again.


    <em>To get rid of the Tier based society and thepetitions once and for all and focus humanitys Guardians on the demons like they shouldve been focused on in the-</em>


    Calebs thoughts are interrupted when he feels a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, his danger sense skill activating before he turns around to find a beautiful girl with ck hair streaked in red, two wolf ears, glowing red eyes that shine in the darkness of the night, and an arm shapeshifted into that of a werewolf coated with bloodlike ws on both hands as she leaps through the air at him with her shapeshifted arm raised to strike.


    He quickly tries to raise both of his arms to block her, but shes too fast, and soon he finds himself lying on the floor bleeding from a massive string of w marks that go all the way down the side of his neck, across the major artery there and down his chest towards his gut. And not long after, everything in his vision begins to fade to ck.


    Then he finds himself respawning somewhere else in the forest with a message from the earpiece stating that he had lost a fifth of his points.


    Silence reigns after that for several seconds.


    <em>What just happened?</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 100.3: Second Round Begins Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 100.3: Second Round Begins Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    [You have killed the student known as Caleb Gold. One fifth of his points have now been transferred to you. Your total points now equal 713 points.]


    Okay. That was a pretty good number of points. Looks like he gave me 64 points total.


    <strong>Yourst one gave more though, </strong>Tar suddenly chimes in, and I cant help but nod my head in agreement.


    Thest one gave almost a hundred points.


    I continue running through the forest until I get closer to my next target, which, judging by the way theyre talking to themselves, is very clearly a student. And after getting close enough to see them, confirming that, I find it to be a girl about my age wearing some sort of magi-tech armor in the form of a dress ending in a skirt at about mid thighs. Which has me frowning, since it really isnt something a girl should be fighting in.


    But instead of questioning it or waiting around to judge her, I just run up and jump straight through the air, startling her in the process before I shatter whatever flimsy shield she makes in the process, showing that shes a lower level than me as I tear my ws straight across her throat. Of course, I avoid her dress because thatd just be rude.


    <strong>Youre talking about it being rude to expose her even when there are censors in ce to censor the exposure while youre killing her? </strong>Tar mutters, apparently baffled by my line of thought.


    Yeah, of course. I know that Belle would absolutely verbally y me if I destroyed any of her dresses, even if they would just be repaired. Especially if it was being recorded as I know these tournaments often are.


    The girl in question dies while I answer Tar before I continue rushing forwards.


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before muttering, <strong>Females are strange</strong>


    I raise an eyebrow at that as I run.


    You do realize youre talking to one, right?


    <strong>Yeah, but you arent obsessed with clothes or fashion, </strong>he says, making a very good point even if it doesnt change the fact that I am still female. <strong>Not to mention that you do have a rather demonic choice in colors.</strong>


    That almost has me stopping mid-run, but I continue running despite it.


    By the way, thats been eating at me for a while. Is there a reason so many demons are ck and red in color?


    <strong>That is a question for the ages, </strong>Tar answers after a brief pause, making me raise an eyebrow again. <strong>No one actually knows why. So I really cant answer that.</strong>


    Oh. Odd, but I dont really mind it in the end. They are my favorite colors after all.


    Just kind of expected a real reason for it.


    Anyways, I continue rushing through the forest, killing any student Ie across until I finally find one who is worth a challenge.


    A very familiar one at that.


    Ya know, we seem to be meeting a lottely, dont ya think? Necro says, making me frown in the process as he stands next to the corpse of a demon that is quite literally dissolving into dust.


    Weve met twice now, I bluntly retort before rushing at him with my ws raised, not wanting to waste the stacks I currently have built up. Which surprises him to the point of suddenly using that very same skill he used before then quite literally running away.


    My mouth drops open in surprise before I shout, Are you seriously running?!


    The bastard just raises his hand and waves without pausing in his run. And if Im being honest, I can tell that even with my stacks, I cant catch up to him. Not sure why, since Im pretty sure I wouldve before.


    <strong>He probably has some other skill active right now to raise his speed so that he can escape, </strong>Tar says, making sense.


    Damnit. That guy probably wouldve given me a lot of points too


    Whatever.


    I turn around and begin running off in another direction, towards the next person I hear.


    But when I actually reach that other person, I realize that theyre not someone I recognize despite obviously being abat category student. Meaning theyre most likely not a first year.


    I cant help the grin that finds its way onto my face as I speed up towards them right as they drop a demon to the ground with some sort of skill that had it floating in the air for a moment.


    <strong>Be careful, </strong>Tar suddenly says, <strong>this one looks like they may be a mental stat user.</strong>


    My eyes narrow at that.


    Thats not good.


    <strong>Yes, but itll be good practice, </strong>Tar says, <strong>and I think  judging by what we just saw  theyre probably a telekinesis user. Which doesnt directly attack the mind of others.</strong>


    Okay, so I should be safe then. Or, safer than if they had a skill to attack my mind or something.


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar says as I burst out into the clearing the guy is in. <strong>But be careful still. Theyve been a Guardian for longer than you have by at least a year, so they probably have a lot more skills.</strong>


    The student looks up in surprise before frowning and raising his hand, making the corpse of the demon along with several downed branches float up into the air. And right when he throws them all at me with his telekinesis, I notice him drawing several strange needles from his pocket, which immediately send chills down my spine as I try to dodge all of the stuff he threw.


    He has personalized magi-tech weapons?! That has to have cost a damned fortune!! Even if they are only needles.


    After dodging the branches and corpse, I lock my eyes on the needles, sure to keep them in sight as I slow down my approach out of caution.


    This will be a challenge, thats for sure.

 Book 1: Chapter 100.4: Second Round Begins Part IV

    Book 1: Chapter 100.4: Second Round Begins Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I alternate my gaze between the student and his needles for several seconds before opening my status in the corner of my vision and checking out my mana.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 40</strong><strong>SP: 5</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 103</strong><strong>Mental: 103</strong><strong>Magical: 102</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 2103/5253</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Below half capacity thats not good. Although its better than I expected, so I guess blood regeneration really is speeding up my mana regeneration.


    I burn both my blood and the blood in my blood bank at a rapid pace in order to rush up closer to the student, only to barely avoid the needles that end up flying straight past my head. And a cold shiver runs down my spine as I realize that the only reason I was able to dodge them in the first ce was because of Predator V.


    But I dont let that stall my progress as I quickly regain my bnce and use both blood boil and life drain on them, making them stumble with their eyes going slightly wide in surprise. And right as Im getting close enough to them, my shifted hand raised to strike, I feel several sharp pains explode from my back while at the same time, the student begins grinning.


    Their grin doesntst long though, as I use the momentum added from the needles that are no doubt in my back, having stabbed through my jacket and shirt, as a boost as I proceed to drag my ws across their front. Then I cough out a mouthful of blood and fall to my knees.


    Shit, this isnt good.


    I wearily raise my head to look at the student right next to me, only to find them stepping back while staring at the w wounds running down their chest with a look of pure shock on their face. As if they werent expecting to get hurt at all or something.


    The hell? Is this the first time theyve been injured in a fight?


    No, that cant be possible after all, theyre a second year. Most likely. So unless theyre just perfect in every way, which I just proved they werent-


    <strong>Your ws pierced through a mental barrier that they had covering themselves, </strong>Tar answers my questions, interrupting my thoughts in the process of doing so.


    Oh.


    I cough out blood again before slowly climbing to my feet while feeling a warm sensation flow through my back the moment the dark and dreary clouds in the sky part for a second, revealing the blood moon of Tartarus high in the sky of the magical reality.


    A smirk creeps its way onto my face.


    Now thats good timing.


    The student raises their head from the wound to find me walking up to them, albeit with a little difficulty since the wounds on my back havent healed yet. And all they do is ask, How?


    I raise a brow at that before shrugging, raising my shifted arm again, and cutting straight across their neck, making them reach up to it with even more horror in their eyes as they slowly drop to their knees and then fade away.


    [You have killed the student known as Nathan Smith. One fifth of his points have now been transferred to you. Your total points now equal 1324 points.]


    My eyes widen in shock.


    That guy had about a thousand points? How? Were they also hunting other students, or what?


    <strong>Well, while thats a possibility, it may also just be because his level was high enough that the level 51-100 demons werent too tedious to kill. And they give more points, </strong>Tar says, answering my question.


    Right. Almost forgot about that.


    Id be hunting those demons too, but I didnt bother since I thought theyd be too slow.


    Maybe I should start hunting some of them now?


    <strong>Maybe, but I think hunting students is giving more points at this point, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but agree with him.


    Anyways, why was that student so surprised earlier that I broke his barrier?


    <strong>Because that was a barrier made of mental energy and not mana, </strong>Tar says as if that would exin everything.


    And whats mental energy?


    <strong>Oh, right, </strong>Tar says, realizing his blunder. <strong>Not everyone has mana. Some people have mental energy instead, and that is dependent on a different pair of capabilities than mana is. But lets just say that there are three ways to destroy mental energy. </strong>He pauses as I start walking forward again, this time heading in the direction of the inner ring for higher leveled demons and students, even if I wont actually be entering the inner ring. Or even getting close to it. <strong>First, you simply have to have an equal or higher willpower capability than the one who the mental energy belongs to and you can shatter their mental energy with a simple attack. Or you need to have a much purer mana than they have. But thest one is the mostmonly used one, but also the hardest. Simple brute force of mming your own magical attack into it and having a lot more mana than the mental energy.</strong>


    Oh. I guess I qualify for both the first and second then? Or at least the second?


    <strong>Most likely, </strong>Tar answers as I continue walking. <strong>The second one at the very least, since you have the highest capability possible for the human systems to test for your manas pure power capability.</strong>


    True. Anyways, time to try hunting a few higher level demons.


    Then I can use the stacks from them to try hunting some higher level students.

 Book 1: Chapter 101: Worry and Relaxation

    Book 1: Chapter 101: Worry and Rxation


    <strong>Somewhere in the Eastern Part of the Outer Ring</strong>


    <strong><em>About an hourter</em></strong>


    So have you had any luck yet? Belle asks for the third time as Michael stands there with his eyes glowing green, simply looking through the eyes of his hawk as it flies above the outer ring of the forest searching for Scarlet. And this time  unlike thest two times he answered politely  he grumbles, Could you stop asking please? The answer hasnt changed.


    Belle lets out a groan before walking up to a random tree and punching it. Then immediately regretting it as she holds her fist to her chest due to the pain of mming it into whatever material that tree is made out of.


    <em>Because it certainly wasnt bark.</em>


    She turns back to him whileining, But Im worried about her! I know she did well in the first round, but wont that make her a target for the otherbat category students? Wont she need help? The neen-year-old girl lowers her head to look at the ground for a second before raising it again as she finishes, Im just worried that shell end up being ganged up on by the other students or something you cant just go doing that well and embarrassing everyone in the first round and expecting to get out of that Scott free!


    Michaels eyes eventually return to normal as he nces at Denise, who was in the same dome as Scarlet before asking, Do you think she needs help?


    Denise shakes her head immediately and says, In all honesty, she scared <em>me </em>just from watching her duel with the other students. So how do you think they feel? She tore them all apart without a shred of guilt after the first one! She turns to look at Belle who appears to be building up an argument, only to add, Look, I know youre worried about her, but you should be more worried about yourself. Belles eyes widen in shock. Scarlet is abat focused Guardian with blood magic and can work alone and fulfil all of the parts of a team by herself. But you dont have any offensive skills, right? And youre still a brand new Guardian who only squeaked into the university right before the signup period closed.


    <em>Damnit. Shes right. The only reason I got in was because dad had already prepared all the documentation needed and gotten everything ready in case I did contract when he took me to that Fracture before</em>


    Belle lets out a sigh and nods her head, looking down at the ground in the process.


    Dont forget we need to find my sister as well, Michael suddenly says as he begins walking through the trees again, the two girls following after him a secondter.


    No one says anything for nearly an entire minute.


    Then Belle suddenly whispers to Denise loudly enough that Michael is able to hear her through his hawks ears, By the way, why is our team full of nothing but girls and only one guy?


    Michael almost stumbles at that.


    Denise just shrugs and answers without lowering her voice, Not sure. Michaels the one who started the team, so maybe you should ask him?


    Oh, Belle mutters before frowning at Michael.


    <em>Is he </em>that <em>type of person? No, I dont think so he seems nice at least.</em>


    Belle continues staring at the mans back as he tries very hard to ignore her.


    <em>Well, whatever. Doesnt matter. Our team is set up quite well, so he did a good job in that area at least.</em>


    She finally turns her gaze away from him to look around the forest again. But after a few seconds, she mutters, I wonder what youre doing right now, Scarlet?


    A few more seconds pass before she shakes her head.


    <em>If what dad says is true, its probably something reckless</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>On the Opposite Side of the Outer Ring</em></strong>


    I let out another sigh as I simply lie on my back on the branch of one of therge trees of the forest with both of my hands resting behind my head in between it and the trees bark that isnt bark. Just enjoying the nice chilly breeze as it passes through, rustling the leaves and smaller branches in its wake.


    Although I cant help but wonder just what these trees are made of, because despite looking like trees, they really do feel more like the hide of a creature instead of bark. Which is kind of creepy, but after who knows how much testing, they really are trees. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if these trees may be where the huntsmen make their armor from.


    <strong>I still cant believe youre getting away with this, </strong>Tar mutters as he no doubt watches me from that in between ce of his. Which Im surprised extends to a magical reality.


    At some point I basically ran out of most of my mana, so I decided to take a break. Moved to a less conspicuous location closer to the outer edge of the outer ring and found a nice spot to rx while I let my mana regen.


    I also realized that my mana is regenerating by about 1.5 times the speed it was regenerating before getting Blood Regeneration. Which automatically makes that skill wonderful in my eyes, even at level 1.


    Just too bad that this tournament wont count for leveling the skill.


    Because then Id have leveled it quite a few times by now. Hopefully.


    <strong>Probably not, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me frown. <strong>Inherent skills, even if theyre purchase unlocked, are harder to level up, remember?</strong>


    Oh. Right. Thats annoying.


    Anyways, I mutter out loud, Tell me my current points.


    [Your total points currently equal 2652 points.]


    Preeetty good, if I do say so myself. Although the ranking tournaments change every year, so I dont really know how much the higher ss students have at this point. But Id at least like to think Im in the top hundred.


    <strong>Theres a good chance you are, since the others dont likely have a mana regeneration boosting skill, </strong>Tar says, inting my pride ever so slightly in the process. Until he adds, <strong>Although theyre also dying and having their mana reset at fifty percent of their capacity. Even if theyre losing a fifth of their points in doing so.</strong>


    Yeah, but I doubt the older students at higher sses are dying much if at all. Especially the ss IIIs. Meaning theyll likely be running out of mana eventually.


    Hopefully.


    <strong>How long do you n toze around here anyways? </strong>Tar asks, and I just yawn in response before answering him in my head.


    After I regenerate back to about sixty percent of my mana, since thats likely about the amount Ill need for the remaining couple hours of the tournament.


    Then I just shift around slightly to get a good view of the blood moon, which sends a very calming feeling through me just at the sight of it.


    Very rxing.

 Book 1: Chapter 102: Wrapping Up the Tournament Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 102: Wrapping Up the Tournament Part I


    <strong>The Observation Room</strong>


    <strong><em>A little over two hourster</em></strong>


    All of the professors stay silent as they watch the group of four ss III graduate students fight it out at the center of the forest, the leader of the demons infesting the forest having already long since been killed, along with the majority of the demons in the forest overall. Even with the demons periodically respawning throughout the round.


    But Cipher just ignores them for the moment as he, along with some other first year professors, focus their sole attention on the current rankings for the tournament.


    <em>Shes really doing it barely.</em>


    Cipher cant help but think this as he stares at Scarlets name currently taking the ny-first spot in the top one hundred students, her ranking having severely dropped since the start of the tournament thanks to the ss II and ss III students having gone around massacring the higher level demons without a care before turning on each other.


    <em>Although if they didnt turn on each other, I dont know if she would still be in the top one hundred or not.</em>


    The man lets out a sigh. When she first started just taking a nap on a tree, he felt like the stares of the other professors would burn a hole straight through him. And that was only made worse by the silence in the room, since not a single one of them had said a word about it. Just stared.


    <em>I mean, how does that even happen? Its a room full of nearly a hundred people</em>


    He lets out another sigh as he begins to wonder if Scarlet just enjoys putting him into these situations, knowingly or not.


    After a few seconds, he turns his attention back to the current main screen, which takes up arge portion of therge room. And he quickly begins to watch the battle going on there between the ss III students.


    One of them  a girl who goes by the title of Rift  is wearing a simple set of high-tech looking magi-tech armor with purple ting covering all of her important areas and cloth covering the rest, with a few items thrown into the mix such as a sword that mustve cost them a fortune, along with a hairband to tie the girls hair back out of her face as she twirls the de around, blocking fireball after fireball after fireball.


    <em>Astras eldest daughter is still doing well, by the looks of it.</em>


    Another of the ss IIIs has glowing red eyes that asionally leak embers as he continuously chases Rift with dozens of fireballs constantly appearing around him, along with two red horns sticking out of his head, looking a little like the antlers of a deer. Although just a little shorter. And hes wearing a set of magi-tech armor that appears to be made out of some sort of scales.


    <em>Eruption. Just as wild tempered as always.</em>


    Cipher turns his attention to the other two ss IIIs who are battling on the other side of the forests center which used to be filled with cobwebs. Cobwebs that are now burnt to a crisp by Eruptions rampage.


    Tell me who Im looking at, he whispers out loud, and the earpiece in his ear immediately answers.


    [Star Breaker. ss III graduate student at Lions Heart. Has participated in the Interschool Tournaments every year and made it to the quarter finals in the ss III solopetitions during their fourth year. Has never participated in the primary tournaments.]


    The student in question has ck hair glittering with what look like stars and is wearing magi-tech armor made from a simr material as Scarlets and Frosts, but in a neon blue color. Meanwhile theyre currently spreading their arms out and creating arge wave of what appear to be tiny stars that are quickly sent towards the person opposite him.


    [Hardlight. ss III graduate student at Lions Heart. Has participated in the Interschool Tournaments every year and made it to the semifinals in the ss III solopetitions during their fourth year. Has never participated in the primary tournaments.]


    Hardlight raises his hand and clenches it into a fist, making half of the stars suddenly fall to the ground as he increases the gravity by several fold around him. Then he waves that very arm, the ckish purple cloak hes wearing sweeping open to reveal leather armor beneath in the process as he sends a purple arc in the direction of Star Breaker that has everything around it moving inwards towards the arc as it flies through the air.


    <em>Not bad. Not bad at all.</em>


    The four students continue fighting for nearly fifteen minutes straight, turning the center of the forest into a hellscape that has any other student staying far away from it. And by the time each of them are finally closing in on their breaking points, one of them finally take a hit that leaves him killed and teleported somewhere on the edge of the inner ring, close to the outer ring.


    Looks like Star Breaker is out, Cipher hears one of his friends mutter, and he absentmindedly nods his head in response.


    Then more time continues to pass by until the end of the tournament itself is almost upon them. And during this time, the three remaining students end up in a deadlock, without a single one of them giving an inch. Meanwhile, Star Breaker can be seen on the outer portion of the inner ring simply killing the remaining monsters there, already knowing that he has no chance of making it back to the center in time.


    Looks like things are finishing up, Cipher mutters before briefly ncing at the leaderboard and noticing that Scarlet is no longer in the top one hundred. And Star Breaker moved down from fourth ce to sixty-first as well.


    <em>Thats not too surprising. </em>


    He turns his gaze back to the screen again, only to hear whispered conversations begin to rise from around the room. So, when he finds what everyone is looking at, his jaw drops open in shock as he stands up from the seat he was on next to the wall, mming his palm into the table next to him in the process and startling those around him.


    Because what greets him is the sight of Scarlet slowly but surely making her way through a tunnel directly towards where the three are fighting.


    <em>What the fuck is she doing now?!</em>

 Book 1: Chapter 102.2: Wrapping Up the Tournament Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 102.2: Wrapping Up the Tournament Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Is it still toote to voice how against this n I am? </strong>Tar says for the third time as I continue crawling through the little tunnel that I found some sort of mole demon having made and realized led straight to the center through my ears and the sounds ofbat.


    I ignore the tanuki.


    This n is great, and you know it. Because unless I attack them, theyll get a penalty for attacking me, and Ill be awarded free points. And if I do attack them, itll be when I have a chance to kill stea- I mean, defeat one of them fairly in battle.


    Tar just sighs and doesnt say anything else, not evenmenting on my minor slipup.


    I continue crawling my way through the tunnel until I finally find a sudden bend in it that goes upwards, leading to the surface where I see a few fireballs flying by overhead.


    Yeah, thats not a weing sight. But I have to remember. Even if I get killed by a stray fireball, Ill be fine since Ill be gettingpensation points due to being killed by someone of a higher ss.


    I take in a deep breath before letting it out and slowly climbing my way to the top before just poking the top of my head and ears out enough to look around, finding the three Guardians standing at three opposing ces in the center of the forest, which while used to be a nest for a giant spider is now just charred ck and full of holes. Meanwhile, of the three students, I find the closest one to me actually being the one seeming to be on the worst terms at the moment.


    Hes wearing a set of red armor that appears to be made up of scales and is very obviously the one throwing the fireballs. And thats a lot of fireballs.


    All three of the students look exhausted and are likely almost out of mana by now. Considering how long theyve been going at it.


    Especially the fireball guy, since he is just chucking those like theyre baseballs from one of those baseball throwing machines Ive seen on tv shows in batting cages. Those things used for practice for one of the old world sports that some museums like to keep around and let people try. Some sport where you throw a ball around and try to hit it with a stick.


    Not really sure why people wanna watch that much less do it though.


    That aside, none of them seem to be making any progress in their fight, and it doesnt look like they will finish each other off before the timer hits zero. Meaning it should be fine for me to interrupt.


    I watch the guy go at it for a few more seconds, with most of his fireballs being cut in half by the girl on the other side of the centers katana  a girl who, by the way, looks very simr to Michael and Emily. Meanwhile the other dude in the center is just kind of once in a while throwing out purple arcs that just straight up mess with everything around it by pulling them in. Including some stray fireballs.


    Obviously some sort of gravity magic.


    Now then how to sneak up on them


    I purse my lips while still taking in the battlefield, only to nce at the timer that is high in the sky stating only a few minutes left.


    Then I just nod my head and go down a little bit into the tunnel before shifting my right arm and activating blood ws, then using my ear to guide me as I dig a little more tunnel in the direction of the fireball guy. Which takes about a minute from where I was at until I get to the point where I think hes almost directly above me.


    I make sure to not be directly, directly below him though, since that would make it hard to jump out and kill him if hes, well, falling feet first into my hole that is only about a couple feet tall. Tall enough to fit me crawling through it.


    Actually, in hindsight, I should make it taller.


    So I do that. Then I take a deep breath, listening for right after he throws a fireball before bursting out of the ground right behind him. But the guy isnt so easily taken by surprise as he almost immediately turns around to face me despite me having broken through the ground behind him, reacting far faster than anything Ive seen before even with his clear exhaustion.


    Just seconds after bursting out of the ground, I find myself almost directly face to face with him as I bring my ws up to rip through the holes in his armor directly into the wounds he already has beneath it on his front. At the same time, he moves his fist around while coating it in a very weak looking me considering that hes ss III and mming it into my side right when I reach his neck.


    His punch sends me flying with a burning wound in my side and a massive hole in my jacket, but I soon hear the message Im hoping for from the earpiece before I evennd.


    [You have killed the student known as Jake Argol. One fifth of his points have now been transferred to you. Your total points now equal 5231 points.]


    Even with the massive amount of pain burning through my side and practically everywhere else as I continue skipping across the ground, destroying parts of it in the process until I m into a tree, I cant help the grin that spreads across my face.


    But then the actual pain reaches me, and I cough out a mouthful of blood.


    My vision begins to fade as I find myself looking up at the blood moon in the sky and the floating countdown that is now at ten seconds.


    You, I hear a girls voice, making me slowly  with a lot of effort  turn my head to find the girl with the katana looking at me from the other side of the charred center of the forest with a rather calm look on her face. Youre Michael and Emilys teammate, arent you?


    I cant help but blink at her in surprise through the pain, but I dont manage to make a response beyond a rather wheezy one that ispletely inaudible now that the burns of that wound managed to spread all the way across almost a third of my body.


    Guess the punch was much stronger than it looked. Im just lucky the guy was already close to dead.


    Slowly my vision begins to fade away, but before it does, I hear the girl say, No need to answer. She pauses for a second as the sound of metal sliding against metal as she sheathes her sword echoes from there into my ears. On ount of not seeing a way to finish him off myself in the time we had remaining, I will let this slide.


    I look up at the sky again to see the countdown at three seconds left.


    Take care of my siblings.


    Then right when my vision is about to go fully ck, the countdown strikes zero and I suddenly find myself back in the auditorium feeling perfectly fine as if I wasnt just dying.

 Book 1: Chapter 102.3: Wrapping Up the Tournament Part III

    Book 1: Chapter 102.3: Wrapping Up the Tournament Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Almost immediately, the room is filled with noise from the many students talking about the tournament. But when I look up at the screen, I dont find the tournament rankings currently there. In fact, I dont find anyone on the stage at all.


    Then the vice-headmaster suddenly appears on the stage in a puff of mist, making almost everyone go silent in an instant. And as soon as he does, he slowly begins pping, which spreads to all of the professors who also appear in every corner of the room except for the stage.


    After a few seconds of this, the vice-headmaster begins speaking, his voice echoing across the auditorium, Congrattions to every single one of you! You have made it through the ranking tournament! And now that you have, youve all seen the strength of your fellow students, and all of the professors havee to a better understanding of each and every one of you! He pauses for a second as whispers begin to spread through the room, only to stomp them out by saying, Now we will see how you all ranked, starting from rank one thousand!


    I raise a brow at that.


    Is he nning on unveiling the results slowly?


    Thats certainly one way to build suspense.


    A massive list appears on the screen, starting from rank one thousand and slowly going down the ranks, making me realize that they just straight up skipped ranks three thousand to one thousand and one. Probably so as to not embarrass them or make them feel down for not doing as good, I guess.


    Interesting way of doing things I guess.


    While the screen is slowly scrolling through the rankings, the vice-headmaster continues speaking, Now, everyone will be able to find their ranking through their ount on the schools website. It will not be public, and no one will be able to see your ranking unless you are in the top one thousand. So if you didnt manage to make it to the top one thousand rankings, no one will know your exact ranking on ount of your privacy.


    Yep. Thats a pretty cool way of doing things.


    I know bullying and discrimination between rankings is forbidden in the university, but I also know some people just cant help it. So hiding the Regr students exact rankings is a good way to take away what might be used to discriminate while still following the governments regtions on separating the students into sses for benefits.


    Anyways, the rankings continue to scroll along, but I dont see anyone I recognize anywhere on it. Well, until rank two hundred and nine, where I find Sylver  who I didnt even remember was gonna be here.


    Kind of surprised I never saw him while going through the forest though. But then again, hes ss II, so I guess its not all that surprising that Id never find him.


    And I never found the others due to probably bad luck and the fact that I went to the inner ring.


    Eventually the list stops at rank 101 before vanishing, my name still not having been listed yet, leaving the students confused until the vice-headmaster says, Anyone who had their name listed so far is an Advanced student until the next ranking tournament where this will be decided again! The next tournament will be at the start of the next semester, so make sure youe prepared if you want to reach Top ss! And that goes double for anyone in the Regr ss that wants to advance! He then steps back and swings out his arms to the side while saying, Now then! On to what many of you have been waiting for!


    I suddenly notice Belle getting way too close to me before she whispers into my wolf ear, Dont worry about getting stuck in Regr ss with us. Im sure well be able to move up. Which sends a shiver down my spine when I feel her breath on my ear, making me jerk away from her, almost hitting my head on Michael in the process since he was sitting next to me.


    Belle giggles quietly as she turns her attention to the screen, only to suddenly go into shock with her mouth gaping open the second she does so.


    I turn my own head to look, and immediately upon doing so, I find my name, year, ss, and magic all listed under rank seventy-nine.


    And the moment the other students notice it as well, everything turns silent for a few seconds. Then everyone bursts out into conversation, not even talking about the other people who are at that top rankings, most of which were generally expected due to being third or fourth years, or graduate students.


    I even notice several nces straight towards me from those in my dome that recognize me. nces that are rather shocked.


    Guess thats to be expected since ss I students never get into the top one hundred rankings, much less first years.


    Although I have no idea where that annoying guy with Tars sister as his fae is.


    <strong>Hes on the other side of the auditorium from you, </strong>Tar suddenly says, surprising me with this knowledge. <strong>Now that I know hes contracted to my sister, its not hard to find him through her.</strong>


    Oh. Wait, does that mean she can find me through you? And how far does that ability work for?


    <strong>Yes, she can find you. But we can only sense each other if we know were nearby, and only for half a kilometers distance, </strong>Tar answers my question, making me sigh in relief.


    Thats not bad then.


    I focus on the screen again, ignoring the looks sent my way as I do so. And unlike thest nine hundred shown before the top one hundred, this one is moving much slower, as its now showing the ranks in the forties or so. But I dont recognize most of these names, making me wish a tiny bit that I had bothered researching more of the Guardians going to this school.


    Then again, thats three thousand people Id have to look into. And thats not really worth the trouble.


    Maybe the top one hundred then.


    The rankings continue scrolling up and up until it finally reaches the top ten, then focuses solely on the top five ranks.


    And I cant help but raise an eyebrow when I see the top ranked student.


    Carolyne Winters. A graduate student with the samest name as the siblings next to me.


    Then I think about thest words the girl in the second round said to me about taking care of her siblings.


    Coincidence?


    I think not.

 Book 1: Chapter 103: Closing the Event Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 103: Closing the Event Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Now then, the vice-headmaster says before tapping his cane that magically appears in his hand on the ground and making a wave of mist st out from him. And the moment it reaches me, I find myself moving ces, somehow magically standing up on stage with the mist vanishing an instantter. But its not just me, as what must be a hundred people are here alongside me. Time to introduce you all to the top one hundred ranks amongst you.


    I look around, a startled expression on my face that actually isnt mirrored on anyone else here. As if everyone but me in the top one hundred already expected this.


    All of us are arrayed out in fiverge arcs, with each arc having more than the one in front of it, and the very front arc having ten students. Meanwhile, I recognize the girl with the katana directly in the center of the front row.


    Of course, this isnt counting the five slotted positions for Top ss students, and only includes the top one hundred ranking individuals, he adds as if as an afterthought before tapping his cane again, prompting the girl with the katana to step forward. This is the top ranked student in the entire university for this year. Given the title by the people of Rift thanks to her use of a rare magic that is also called Rift, let me introduce to you, Carolyne Winters. Daughter of Astra, and a graduate student of the university on herst year here before she moves out to the front lines next year.


    A round of apuse echoes from the audience, but some people dont seem as enthusiastic. Likely not happy at the idea of sitting through one hundred different introductions.


    Dont worry, I am only introducing the ones who made an important achievement during this tournament, along with what their achievement was, the vice-headmaster says, understanding their reaction. And this immediately has the apuse increasing drastically in volume. Enough that it has my ears twitching slightly from pain.


    After letting the apuse continue for several seconds, the vice-headmaster taps his cane on the ground again, and Carolyne steps back into the group. Then a wave of mist suddenly envelops another student  one standing at the edge of the first row  before they appear next to the old man.


    Up next we have the top ranking ss II student in the school, who also managed to make it into the top ten students despite still being ss II, Alfred says, his voice sweeping out over the apuse, cutting it off rather abruptly. Known by many as Chrono, Ryan Johnson is one of the very few time magic users in the world, and the pure power of that magic can be shown in his ability to pass several ss IIIs in the rankings as a ss II!


    As soon as he finishes, the apuse returns with a vengeance. Although there isnt as much apuse as there was for Carolyne, most likely because her rift magic is a type of spatial magic, which can be used to destroy gates  the term used to refer to the gateways that Fractures turn into after their core remains on Earth without being destroyed for too long, making them stable in the process. Stable enough for both demons and humans to pass through from both sides of the gate. And stable enough that the only way to destroy the gateways is for a spatial magic skill to be used on it. Probably one of the reasons shes heading to the front lines in the first ce.


    After the apuse goes away, he taps his cane again, really making me wonder if thats necessary for him to do or if hes just doing it for dramatics. The student next to him then vanishes in mist before appearing again in the line of students.


    Now, the third student Ill be introducing to you is a little special, he starts, making me frown slightly from my ce in the back row of students on stage. Not only are they just a first year ss I student- my eyes widen as I understand whos next -but she also uses blood magic and has only been contracted for a little bit over a single week!


    This gets a wave of murmured conversations to run throughout the auditorium, and I already see a lot of eyes from the students on stage directed towards me  or rather, at my ears, which are my most identifiable feature now. But the students in the auditorium cant see me as clearly as the others. Especially since Im one of the shortest ones of the group, and the ordering of where were standing is clearly by rank and not height.


    But thats not all. This exceptional student has reached rank seventy-nine as a ss I student! Something only one person has ever done before, with that being the current headmaster of our wonderful university, White! The strongest of the five Knights of Humanity! he continues, but this doesnt have as much of an effect on the students since they had already seen that in the rankings earlier. Andst, but certainly not least. Scarlet Asger- he pauses to hit his cane against the floor again, teleporting me out in the open, in front of the other students -has the highest recorded capabilities in all of human history, even breaking past the proposed theoretical limit!


    Now <em>that </em>gets a reaction out of the students, many of whom shoot out of their seats. Although I notice that none of the professors seem surprised, even if I do see quite a few predatory looks from them that sends shivers down my spine.


    Okay, so maybe I shouldnt have done so well in the tournament after all.


    <strong>Gee, are you just realizing this? </strong>Tar says before continuing with as much sarcasm as possible, <strong>You hate attention. So why did you go so far to get it?</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that.


    Because of the rewards itll get me? And because Allen told me to do as well as I could? To go all out.


    <strong>And the real reason? </strong>Tar asks, almost making me frown, but I hold back on ount of the thousands of people staring at me in shock and the massive amount of noise beating away at my head from them.


    Uh.


    Because not giving it my all would wound my pride?


    <strong>Exactly, </strong>Tar says before sighing. <strong>I guess youll probably have better luck just trying to grow stronger as fast as you can than fighting your instincts at this point. </strong>He pauses then adds, <strong>They are called demonic instincts after all, but I just kind of thought youd be able to fight them thanks to you being part human.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that, confused as to what he means, but the vice-headmaster begins speaking, taking my attention away for now.

 Book 1: Chapter 103.2: Closing the Event Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 103.2: Closing the Event Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The first human in history to have <em>eight </em>Tier B capabilities, the crowd grows noticeably louder in volume, <em>two </em>Tier A capabilities, they grow even louder now, and the looks I see in some of their eyes is rather interesting. As if the students are looking at a monster or something. And not a single capability below Tier C! All with blood magic to tie it together!


    I really wish he wasnt ying this up so much, but I understand that he just wants to show me off to the school.


    Then the vice-headmaster does something surprising.


    He walks up to me, grabs my forearm, which makes me feel ufortable, then raises it into the air and says, And the Knight, our headmaster, and the most renowned alumni to ever graduate from this university, White, has chosen her to participate in the ss I Primary Solo Competition for this year!


    My mouth drops open in shock, while at the same time, the crowd of students gopletely silent. Even the professors show visible surprise before hiding it, showing that they didnt even know about this bit of news.


    No one says anything for several seconds before I hear pping echoing from one corner of the auditorium, bringing my eyes to Belle and the rest of my team. Then more pping from the other corner, where I see Necro smirking at me with that annoying smirk of his. And as if a bomb was set off, the pping quickly spreads throughout the auditorium and turns into loud apuse.


    The vice-headmaster lets go of my arm and actually whispers, My apologies, young miss, too quietly for anyone else to hear over the apuse. In fact, it was so quiet I dont think even Id be able to hear it if it werent for my ears. And I suspect he knows that and is why he did it.


    I frown in confusion at that term of address before he steps back to his original spot and taps his cane on the stage again, sending a wave of mist to envelop me and send me back to the other students on stage, where I was before. And I almost immediately notice the gazes towards me are filled with both fear and respect from the other top one hundred students.


    Although I cant help but notice that the vice-headmasterpletely skipped over the fact that I killed a weakened ss III student to swipe his points. Even if it wasnt really considered kill stealing when they themselves even said they wouldnt be able to kill him in the time remaining. After all, if no one was gonna be able to kill him in the time left, then why would it be considered kill stealing?


    More like using their hard work and finishing him off myself.


    <strong>And you think that makes it better? </strong>Tar asks seemingly rhetorically.


    Of course it does.


    Anyways, the vice-headmaster moves on to the next student who has some sort of aplishment, but this one was just purely about him killing the ss III demon in the magical reality. And then the next one was for the student who got the most ss III student kills and the one that got the most ss II student kills.


    They skip whoever got the most ss I student kills because Im the only ss I student up here, and normally they dont have ss I students in the top 100 rankings. Meaning none of the ss IIs or IIIs should be able to kill ss Is in the first ce. Not without a penalty. Unless the ss Is attacked them that is, but who would be stupid enough to do that?


    <strong>You did, </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him.


    Because I did it with a n. Theres a difference.


    A very good n.


    He snorts.


    After a few more achievement students, the vice-headmaster taps his cane on the ground, sending arge surge of mist all around the stadium before floating into the air as the mist stays at our feet. He then spreads his arms out, cane in one hand and deres, Congrattions to everyst one of you in here! Whether you made it to the Advanced ss, the Top ss, or just the Regr ss, you are all students of the top school in the world! And you should take pride in that!


    The students begin cheering at that, and the professors simply pping.


    sses will start tomorrow, and they will all be core sses that are mandatory for the students to take, the vice-headmaster continues before various professors start appearing in the air around him, these are the first year professors for this year. Remember them, first years, as you will be seeing them on a regr basis for the duration of your time as first years. The professors then vanish to reappear in their corners as he continues, The rest of you should already know your professors, and if you dont then you will when you take their sses. You will have two mandatory core sses tomorrow, along with another mandatory ss on Tuesday, and you may pick up to three elective sses to take throughout the rest of the week. But remember that the deadline for registering for these sses is tomorrow night, at midnight.


    No one says a word in response, kept silent by the eerie mist filling the room.


    If you have any questions at all, you may ask your advisor, whom you may find through our universitys website, he says something that just feels so normal in contrary to the sinister feeling his magic is giving me as the ckish-green mist just snakes across the room.


    His voice raises with an heir of authority to fill the entire hall, noticeably causing everyone  including myself  to flinch in the process, <strong>This event is now over!</strong> Then he just vanishes along with all of the mist and the professors.


    Silence fills the auditorium for who knows how long before chatter starts to rece it. And despite a lot of people looking towards me from the auditorium proper, almost no one actually tries to climb the stage to get to me, instead simply heading towards the exit.


    For good reason too, considering that Im still awkwardly surrounded by ss II and III senior students.


    Many of whom are looking my way right now.


    This isnt going to be fun.

 Book 1: Chapter 104: A Guide

    Book 1: Chapter 104: A Guide


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Fortunately for me, everyone clears out when three particr students approach me. Carolyne, otherwise known as Rift, the guy I killed before who ended up still in the top one hundred but at a much lower rank due to that, and the other one who I saw fighting the two.


    Honestly, I could probably try to leave. But then Id be at the mercy of the dozens of people who just left due to these three. And Id rather face three people than all of them, soooo, Im just gonna see what they want.


    <strong>Good idea, </strong>Tar says, agreeing with me.


    Oddly enough, Carolyne doesnt actually look at me even though shes approaching. Shes actually just looking at the guy who I killed with her hand on the hilt of her sword.


    And the guy in question? He surprisingly doesnt look mad at me. In fact, he looks rather amused as he walks up before saying, So youre the one who finished me off? After seeing me nod he continues with a wide grin on his face. Good job! I wonder just how fun itll be to fight you after youve grown a little?


    My mouth parts open in surprise, only for me to be even more surprised by the sight of the girl  Michael and Emilys sister  smacking the guy across the head and saying, Please dont say things like that to people when you meet them. She then turns to me and says, Dont mind him. Hes a battle junky.


    Oh. So he doesnt mind me killing him then?


    I nce at the third of the group to find him not saying a word. But he does nod his head in greeting at me. So, I guess he isnt mad either.


    Thats good.


    I open my mouth to speak, only to be stopped when the guy in question  whose name I believe is Nichs Wright  rubs the back of his head and says, Nah, shes just like me. I saw it in her eyes when we fought! Then he looks directly at me, meeting my eyes as he says, Right, Scarlet Wolf?


    Please just call me Scarlet, I say right away before anyone can interrupt me again. And surprisingly, none of them seem to find the irony of my name and title even remotely amusing. Which I find to be very nice.


    Alright, call me Carol, the girl says in response with a nod and a faint smile, not introducing her name since the vice-headmaster had already done so to the whole school. And Nichs quickly joins her saying, Im Nichs Wright, but just call me Nick.


    The two then look over at the third member of the group, and he just looks between the three of us before quietly answering, Alexander Kusov. Call me Alex.


    Oh? Someone from the northeast? Or at least, judging by his ent andst name that is.


    Pleasure to meet you three, I tell them with a nod, only to notice the members of my team climbing the stairs to the stage after all of the other top hundred students finish leaving. So I turn to Carol and ask, When you said to take care of your siblings, did you mean Michael and Emily?


    She nods her head and says, Yeah, before ncing behind her to find the two walking up to us with Belle and Denise along with them.


    Michael and Emily both look a little surprised at mypany  likely due to their sister being here  before Emily shouts, Sis! and runs up to hug Carol, making me raise a brow in amusement. Meanwhile Michael just nods his head and says, Hey Carol. So youve already met Scarlet?


    Yeah, she says while still hugging Emily, making me take a closer look at their older sister in the process just due to the armor their wearing. Mostly because Carols armor really does look like a vastly upgraded version of Emilys and Michaels, which makes me wonder if their armor has something to do with their family. Carol also has her hair tied up in a single ponytail with her sword sheathed at her waist on her left side, likely signifying that shes right handed. She killed Nick right under my nose.


    That seems to shock every one of my teammates, except for Belle who has no idea who Nick is. But it proceeds to shock her when Denise points out who he is to her.


    I just shrug in response.


    I saw an opportunity and I took it, I answer rather bluntly before ncing at the guy, and he doesnt seem to mind. So its fine.


    He gives me a thumbs up and I cant help but smirk and return it.


    That guys not half bad. I was kind of expecting my sneak attack to put us on the wrong foot or something, but nope, hes a cool guy. And he understands the draw of battle too!


    <strong>You just like him because hes a battle junky like you, </strong>Tar mutters sarcastically.


    I have no idea what youre talking about. Im not a battle junky.


    <strong>You literally just said- </strong>Tar starts but I interrupt him.


    I said that hes a cool guy.


    Tar goes silent for several seconds before eventually muttering, <strong>Battle junkies </strong>and somehow sending me a visual of a tanuki shaking its head in disgust.


    How rude.


    I nce at Alex, who seems to be rather ufortable in this growing group of people before I turn to the others and ask, Hey, could we talk somewhere thats not, ya know, in the middle of the stage of arge auditorium?


    The siblings who had all started chatting away along with Nick, leaving Belle and Denise awkwardly standing to one side and me and Alex to the other all turn to look at me before showing slightly embarrassed expressions when they look around the stage.


    Yeah, thatd probably be for the best, Carol says, having let go of Emily at some point while I wasnt paying attention. Lets head to my suite to chat. And I can tell you of the benefits you get as a Top ss student on the way.


    I nod my head in agreement before we all begin to head towards her suite? Wait, she did just say suite, right?


    <strong>Yep. </strong>Tar answers rather shortly.


    Huh.


    Must be a Top ss student thing.

 Book 1: Chapter 105: A Shock Part I

    Book 1: Chapter 105: A Shock Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Carol ends up giving us a bit of a mini tour of the campus on the way to her suite, which happens to be on the other end of it. So as we pass by important buildings, she points them out. Such as the three different cafeterias  one for Regr students, one for Advanced, and one for Top ss students  the main dorm area for the Regr students, which still looks quite nice, the main dorm area for the Advanced students, which looks even nicer, and several buildings along the way including the main buildings for Magic sses, core sses,bat sses, and so on.


    I also swear that Nick somehow fell asleep while walking considering how hes had his eyes closed and has been dead silent this whole way.


    A real mystery, that. How does someone even manage to do that?


    <strong>Probably some sort of skill, </strong>Tar says, sounding a little bewildered at the fact that someone would have a skill like that.


    Maybe its some sort of meditation skill or something?


    <strong>Who knows, </strong>Tar answers, but before I can say anything back, we all turn a corner to find arge open za directly in front of a massive gate blocking off nearly a dozen mansions, and my mouth drops open from the shocking sight.


    And here we are, Carol says while waving her hands at the grandiose sight, the dorms for the Top ss students! And the faculty, of course,


    I stand in ce, frozen stiff out of shock. But the others continue walking as if expecting it, snapping me out of my stupor rather quickly as I continue walking to catch up.


    Okay. Living here would be nice.


    Very nice.


    Maybe I should just live in the Top ss dorms instead of at the base after all.


    Carol quickly brings us to the gate, where we find four security guards standing. And the moment they set their eyes on us, I feel a shiver run down my spine.


    Each one of them is a Guardian, and theyre all at least ss III.


    After scanning over each one of us, they solely focus on me, Carol, Nick, and Alex before one of them says, Carolyne Winters, Scarlet Asger, Nichs Wright, and Alexander Kusov. Weve been notified that you have been added to this years Top students. The gate begins to silently open. He then nces at me and says, Im responsible for showing you to your suite, Scarlet Wolf. However, if you wish to make a detour, then simply say so and I will instead send you the location through email. He turns to look at Carol as he finishes, Im sure miss Winters would be happy to help you find your way?


    Carol nods her head, so he turns back to me again. And I nod while answering, Ill be going with Carol then, if you dont mind.


    Very well, the man says with another nod before stepping back into position with the other Guardian security guards  which I really wonder how much that job pays him to get a Guardian to do it  and saying, I hope you enjoy your stay at the university.


    We proceed through the gate then straight towards one of the mansions, the gate having shut behind us upon entry. And as we walk, I cant help but notice the magi-tech enhanced robots moving around automating the maintenance of the mansions courtyards.


    The things must cost an absolute fortune to make and keep maintained, since if I remember, even with my current sry I wouldnt be able to afford one for months. And thats just a single one, since it takes far more than just one to maintain this whole ce.


    Then theres the maintenance of the robots in having to recharge them with mana to keep them running, since they use mana as a power source instead of electricity.


    And from what Ive heard, they take a lot of mana to recharge. More than I have in the first ce.


    Even if they dost for at least a week between each recharge, thatd be a whole days worth of mana for one week of charge.


    After we get inside of the mansion Carol leads us to though, I cant help but notice that everything is squeaky clean despite theck of any robots inside. But before I can ask why, Carol answers it without me even having to do so, The mansions themselves are crafted by skilled magi-tech craftsmen from the Sylvester household, and they have various different enchantments on them, including self-cleaning, security, and other features that you can customize for your own room.


    As if suddenly remembering something, Carol nces at Belle and asks, Oh right, youre a Sylvester too, arent you?


    Belle looks up from her terminal where she was texting Arthur before answering, Yeah.


    Does the Silver Association base have any of these enchantments? Carol asks, seemingly out of curiosity as we continue walking down the hall. And I cant help but wonder the same thing myself.


    I know there are robots there, ande to think of it, I never actually cleaned my suite myself. Not in the time Ive been living there at least.


    Yeah, there should be, Belle answers while putting her terminal into sleep mode. Dad wasted no expense on his personal Alliances base. One thing that the family <em>cant </em>take away no matter what.


    I almost wince at that part. At the reminder of what almost happened multiple times when Allen was personally acting at the orphanage.


    But then I realize what she just said.


    And Carolments on that as well, So he really does fully own the Association on his own? With no help or connections between it and the Sylvester family?


    Belle nods her head, surprising me since I honestly didnt know that.


    Wow, Carol mutters as we continue walking. That mustve been hard for him to get permission from the council. What did he have to do to get it?


    Oh, he didnt get permission from the council, Belle suddenly says, surprising us all into stopping mid-step, leaving her to walk a tiny bit ahead of us before stopping as well as she finishes, he got permission from White.


    My jaw drops open in shock.

 Book 1: Chapter 105.2: A Shock Part II

    Book 1: Chapter 105.2: A Shock Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    White? <em>The </em>White? The Knight with null magic that has supposedly never lost a fight before, and almost never appears in public?


    How on Earth did your father manage to get <em>her</em> permission to start an Association of his own?! How did you manage that?! Both Carol and Michael practically shout at the same time, Michael apparently not having heard anything about it either.


    Belle just shrugs and says, No idea. I just know that he apparently struck a deal with her. Then the next thing I know, he started the Association and went on a business trip and eventually came back to bring me to an orphanage he had created in a Tier 3 city.


    I blink in surprise, not having known that the Association was started at the same time as the orphanage.


    It also seems to confuse the others, but fortunately I dont see any discrimination on their faces against orphans. Because that wouldve made things awkward beyond belief.


    Although Im pretty sure Michael, Denise, and Emily already know.


    Nick seems to be ignoring the conversation after his initial surprise, and Alex is just as quiet as ever, kind of just spectating things like Emily and Denise are.


    Actually, on that note, why is Denise being so quiet? In fact, she looks a little numbed for some reason. Like shes just going through the motions.


    I walk up to her before poking her shoulder, seemingly snapping her out of it before quietly asking, Whats wrong?


    She nces at me and seems to grow excited at my talking to her, noticeably twitching with the desire to hug me or something which has me stepping back. But she holds it and answers, Im fine. Theres just someone going here that I really dont want to run into.


    Oh. Okay.


    I nod my head to her and pat her shoulder once in what Im hoping looks like support before focusing on the others again as Carol asks Belle, Does your father have any connections to White? I thought she was the most illusive member of the Knights purely because her null magic lets her nullify other peoples sight, information, and memory of her.


    Not that I know of, Belle answers, and we all begin to head towards Carols suite again, albeit at a slower pace now. Ive personally never met her though, so


    Right.


    Im still stuck on the fact that he made the Association right at the same time as he made the orphanage.


    <strong>Do you think theres any corrtion between the two? </strong>Tar asks, making me frown.


    If it were before today, then Id say no. But after hearing how White apparently chose me topete in the prime maybe.


    But its too early to say anything, so Ill just try to learn more if I can, and if not? Then move on.


    <strong>Come to think of it, you never did say how exactly Allen found you, </strong>Tar prods without directly asking as the others continue to chat about White, not saying anything interesting anymore beyond what the news says about her all the time. Which isnt much since they dont even know what she looks like anymore. Not after White went through and erased all of the footage of her recorded on Earth through some sort of null magic skill, leaving only her telltale signature features and obvious power as ways to recognize her. And of course, the people who still recognize her that didnt have their minds wiped for one reason or another.


    Yeah, thats yeah.


    I can practically feel the tanuki staring at me from the Farshore despite not actually knowing where he is.


    Allen never actually told me how he found me. All he said was that I had my jacket wrapped around me and that was it.


    The tanuki doesnt say anything in response.


    My thoughts go back to White and that skill of hers that lets her manipte data, both physical and in minds.


    The skill must''ve cost a massive amount of mana to use on everyone in the world, even for someone at her level. In fact, I wouldn''t be surprised if she was incapacitated for weeks after using it on so many people.


    Although nowadays she only wipes the recorded footage on Earth and not any physical copies or memories, for obvious reasons as that would be way too much for even her to do, ording to the websites where she''s a famous topic.


    <strong>"All skills have their limits, even if someone is as high a level as a Knight," </strong>Tar says, making me nod.


    I look at Carol who suddenly stops in the hallway and says, And here we are! My beloved suite! right in front of arge purple set of double doors that has me staring in silence.


    Isnt this a little too grand?


    She opens the door, revealing arge entryway on the other side  both spacious and luxurious  as she says, Every Top ss student has their own suite of about a couple dozen rooms in one of the mansions, and they can invite anyone over that theyd like. The girl starts walking into the suite. Each mansion has its own cafeteria that the students living in the mansion can go to should they not wish to go to the other Top ss student cafeteria outside of the walled off portion of the campus for us, and there are alsomon areas, along with a garden, and entertainment section. We also have onerge za where the Top ss students from all mansions can congregate. But make sure you stay away from the faculty mansions, as there are some professors who dont like students getting anywhere near their home.


    Thats I mutter before hearing Belle finish, A lot, bringing my attention to her just to find the girl giving me a look that says, you better invite me over on a regr basis.


    I raise a brow at that, only to ignore her and focus on the room around us.


    Shes already rich. I dont care that she doesnt technically live in a ce as luxurious as this. Shes still rich.


    Although I guess Ill probably end up being rich too, since any and all Guardians who dont kick the bucket end up being rich.


    Even the ones in Tier 3 cities. Although whats considered rich down there isnt rich in a Tier 1 city. Or a Tier 2 city for that matter.


    Anyways, the entry room to her suite has a freaking fountain in the center of it. A fountain.


    Thats really all that matters in showing how extravagant the ce is.


    Is the color scheme on purpose? I hear Denise ask, finally speaking up without being spoken to during this little tour. And Carol nods her head to her after turning around and sitting at the edge of therge fountain which has a statue of a sword in the center stabbed into the ground, Yeah. All of the suites are automatically adjusted to their owners by a member of the faculty adjusting the mansions magi-tech core.


    Oh. Wait, doesnt that mean my suite will be all red and ck?


    Cool!


    I cant help but smile at the thought of seeing my own suite here. One that should be even better than the one I have at the base.


    Yeah, Ill absolutely be living on campus now.


    I could definitely get used to living in luxury.

 Book 1: Chapter 106: Top Class Advantages

    Book 1: Chapter 106: Top ss Advantages


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We walk over to a lounge area in the entry room before sitting down as Carol begins exining to me the Top ss student benefits.


    Of course, theres the living quarters and better treatment, but we also get the ability to take any sses we wish regardless of the year theyre meant for as long as we have the prerequisite sses already passed for them, she says while holding up a single finger and leaning over the ss table were sitting around before holding up a second finger as she continues, We can attempt to test out of any core ss we take, which will let you take more sses over the years youre here.


    The girl nces at the others who are paying attention as well only to turn her attention back to me again. At the end of the semester, all of the current Top ss students willpete for the prime spots avable in the Interschool Tournaments held during the Winter break. There are various different spots, including the ss I team, the ss II team, and the ss III team, the solo prime participant for each ss, and a backup for each position. Although, she pauses as she narrows her eyes on me and says with no little amount of envy, <em>someone </em>already has a spot in the solo prime.


    I purse my lips at that and awkwardly start staring at the ceiling, which I suddenly find very interesting until she continues.


    Since theres normally only five ss I Top ss students, there normally isnt any sort of method to decide the team participants, she says, and I look back down at her to find her frowning. So Im not sure what-


    No need to worry about that, since I wont be participating in the team primaries, I answer without any hesitation, apparently not surprising any of my teammates but very much surprising Carol, Nick, and Alex. So I rify my reasoning for them before they can even ask, Im already in a team, so I wont just be ditching them to join a prime team instead. And besides. I dont want to bother with any other team tournaments.


    Carol opens her mouth to speak, only for Nick to give me a thumbs-up and exim, Nice! We really are a like!


    I lightly smile at that and return his thumbs-up before Carol finally recovers.


    I guess that makes things easier for the university, she mutters then straightens up and continues her little lecture. Generally, the top ranking student is an automatic pick for the ss III solo primaries, but the other positions often have a lot of fighting over them. But thats enough about the primaries for now. Top ss students also get alerts about all Fractures that open up in the city and are delegated to the university within thirty seconds of a Demonic Assault starting.


    My eyebrows both lift in surprise, but she just turns her head to look at Michael, Emily, and Denise who mentioned being Advanced students keeps talking, Advanced students get an alert about all the Fractures after five minutes of a Demonic Assault beginning. Then her gazends on Belle who looks rather embarrassed at being the only one here whos a Regr student and finishes, And Regr students get the alert at about ten minutes after a Demonic Assault starts.


    Carol doesnt keep our attention on Belle for long though and quickly diverts the subject, understanding her embarrassment, The university generally has a policy for only allowing about ten students at each Fracture at a time. But Top ss students can generally ignore that limit as long as its a Fracture of the same ss as them. She then nces at Michael and adds, Although youll have to get your own transportation since the university doesnt do that for you.


    Michael just nods his head in understanding.


    Free transportation to Fractures certainly is a very useful benefit to having rich people in my team, thats for sure.


    I frown as I feel a very light tickling sensation in the back of my neck. But even after patting my neck, it still remains.


    Thats annoying.


    Thats about it for the benefits you should be aware of now, Carol says before standing up and stretching her arms out slightly. All in all, the Top ss student spots are very coveted by the students. So you will have to fight to keep that rank in the next semester.


    I nod my head in agreement before patting my neck again at that tickling sensation thats still there.


    Now then, Carol says, a bit of a grin growing on her face as she looks between me, Belle, Emily, and Denise and says, any of you want to check out the rest of the suite? It only gets better as you go further in! And when she sees Belle, Emily, and Denise all showing clear interest, she continues, showing off a bit more excitement herself as she adds, And the closet! You should see the closets! Not to mention the bedroom!


    The other girls grow excited for some reason, but then Carol just nces at the three guys and says, Oh, and no guys. So you can leave.


    I almost snort in amusement at that. And again, when I see the slightly disappointed looks on their faces.


    Im gonna be heading out too, I tell them, seemingly disappointing all of the girls in the process. I want to check out my own suite. So would you mind telling me where to find it on the website?


    Carol  still looking disappointed  opens her mouth to speak, only for Belle to raise a hand and stop her with an evil look on her face that has me narrowing my eyes before she says, How about you join us and then she helps you after were finished?


    The other three girls just give me looks that are practically just begging without any words, so I just sigh and mutter, Fine.


    I know they wouldnt push if I insisted, but Carol <em>is </em>helping me this much already despite how we first met, and she really seems to want to show off her suite. So might as well if itll let me pay back that debt in a way.


    That said what the fuck is with this tickling sensation? Its so annoying!


    <strong>Um, Scarlet </strong>Tar begins as I scratch at my neck to see if thatll get rid of the sensation. <strong>I think someone powerful is watching you.</strong>


    His words has me stopping in my tracks.


    What? Who? How? And why dont I feel any oh.


    <strong>It looks like whoever they are is somehow managing to hide most of their intent, which shouldnt be possible unless someones ss V, </strong>Tar says, sounding honestly frightened.


    ss V?


    The only ss V person who should be anywhere near the campus  anywhere near this city for that matter  is White.


    But why would she be watching me?

 Book 1: Chapter 107: The Strongest Human

    Book 1: Chapter 107: The Strongest Human


    <strong>The Headmasters Office</strong>


    When are you nning on telling her? Alfred asks as he watches from the reclining chair in the middle of the vast office as Whites eyes glow white while she watches Scarlet from her ce sitting in the chair behind her desk. Its a bit ridiculous at this point, not having talked to or met the girl even once in her entire life. Dont you think?


    The woman  who is still wearing her outfit of a ck and white pair of pants, a ck shirt, and a ck and red jacket  simply stays silent as she continues watching the wolf girl.


    Alfred sighs.


    <em>As stubborn and unable to share your problems as ever or is it just unwilling? Never could tell with her.</em>


    Shes a lot like you, he eventually says, making her flinch ever so slightly. Not enough for a normal human to see it, but plenty enough for the ss IV vice-headmaster to do so. Although she seems to get her looks more from both you and <em>him</em>.


    White begins to frown slightly, but her eyes continue to glow. So Alfred tries once more, Isnt she old enough now to know the tru-


    <strong>Enough.</strong> Whites voice clearly echoes through the room with a hint of power, immediately making his voice vanish even when hes still mouthing the words.


    Alfred stops after just a few more words before sighing, having mostly expected that.


    The man has known White for almost an entire century by now, and not once has she ever been the type to share her problems with others. She simply does what she feels she needs to without informing others of why. And its still absolutely infuriating to him to this day, even if he knows shed never do something for no reason.


    And <em>that man </em>Alfred really doesnt like him.


    After several minutes of silence with White simply watching Scarlet as she is given a tour with her friends of the top ranked students suite, Alfred finally tries talking again and finds that hes able to. So he asks, Why did you seed her for the position of the ss I solo primaries?


    White doesnt say anything for several seconds before eventually answering, If shes to survive and win the Fae Competitions, she will have to get used to more intense tournaments than some universitys ranking tournament.


    Alfreds eyebrows rise out of his surprise.


    <em>She actually answered?!</em>


    Why did you order Cipher to create an orphanage and treat her like an orphan? Alfred asks, hoping to get more information out of the woman. But she just ignores the question this time.


    <em>That didntst long.</em>


    The elderly man leans back in the chair to stare up at the ceiling, then sighs once more and gets up to leave the room. Right when he is about to grab the doorknob though, Whites voice echoes from her seat.


    A ss V Fracture will ur next summer. Be ready for it.


    Alfred freezes in ce before instantly turning around, but by the time he manages that, White is already gone. Either having moved so quickly out of the room that he couldnt even begin toprehend it, or having nullified his sight of her.


    Hes willing to bet its the second one, so he asks, Is this news from <em>him</em>?


    But no answer everes. And he really didnt expect it to.


    Alfred turns around again before leaving the office, mming the door behind him in his irritation and anxiety over the news.


    <em>Damnit, this changes everything!</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Huh. That feeling is gone.


    So I guess Whites done spying on me?


    <strong>Most likely, </strong>Tar says as I continue looking around my suite long after dealing with Carols gruesome tour of her very girly and veryrge room.


    Thats good.


    I sigh before entering my own room and finding a massive king sized bed, which has Tar immediately appearing in my room and flopping onto, in the middle of a massive and wide open room with a balcony covered by open curtains and a walk-in closet just like the massive one Carol has.


    A shiver runs down my spine as I remember the massive amount of shoes that girl has.


    Who the fuck needs that many shoes in the first ce?! Its just way too many!


    That girl has more shoes in that one closet than every single orphan in the orphanage has ever owned in their entire livesbined together!


    It also exins what she wanted to show us and why the boys werent allowed toe with. That and it was her closet. Which should be reason enough.


    Out of curiosity, I check out my own closet to find it filled already with my favorite types of clothes.


    <strong>Thats a lot of ck, white, and red </strong>Tar mutters as he sees the many pants, jackets, shirts, tank tops, shorts and so on in there  all of that same color scheme. And not a single skirt or dress.


    Just to my liking.


    I still dont know why White wouldve been watching me, but I do have a sneaking suspicion now that she might have something to do with how Allen found me. Even if I know thats incredibly unlikely.


    After all, why would I have anything to do with the most powerful human in existence? And why would she have anything to do with a noble demon if she did have something to do with hiding me on Earth?


    Its pretty obvious she isnt my mother. After all, one of the five Knights would never have a kid with a noble demon. Ever. Not to mention the very idea just sounds ludicrous. Especially since White herself personally despises the demons with a passion for some reason.


    But I feel like she does have <em>something </em>to do with me.


    Just dont know what.


    Out of nowhere, my terminal lets out a beep, bringing my attention to it to find a message from Allen telling me to head to the front gate of the Top ss student section to meet with him and head back to the base to deal with a fewst minute details about my move here.


    I look around my suite for a second before beginning to leave my room, only ncing at the bed once to find the tanuki already having vanished from sight.


    Whatever the answers are to my questions, I can deal with themter. I already have enough on my hands with the move here and stuff, so its best not to add more to my te to worry about.

 Book 1: Chapter 108: To A New Life

    Book 1: Chapter 108: To A New Life


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Turned out that hed already called for Belle as well, so when I reach the gate, theyre both there. Then we quickly make our way back to the base where we spend over an hour going over documentation and paperwork.


    Eventually we finish it all before he sends us away to go sign up for our sses.


    I decide to go to the cafeteria to eat onest time here before I fully move into my new suite, and it looks like the others had the same idea.


    Scarlet, Belle, Michael says with a smile as I walk over to their table with Belle after ordering food. Nice of you two toe join us!


    Kind of surprising that everyone from our team is here.


    I sit down next to Emily with Belle sitting on the other side of me before asking, Did we all just decide to eat here instead of on campus today?


    Well, actually, I sent out an email to them to invite them, he says, sounding slightly sheepish, but I didnt have either of your contacts, so I couldnt get in touch with you. Not without contacting Sage to ask, and I wasnt going to do that.


    Oh. Right.


    I open my terminal before sharing with the three my contact ID, and Belle quickly does the same. We all then simply chat as we wait for our food to arrive. And once it does, I immediately start digging into it.


    So how do you think campus life will go? Michael asks, and Belle is the one to answer him as she says, It should be fine. How different can it be from a regr university?


    Even without lifting my head from my food, I can tell the others are giving her a strange look just from the silence that ensues before Denise says, Theres a lot different between the two. Specifically the sses you take.


    I raise my head at this before Michael takes up the exining from her, There are quite a few sses you can take, and all of the required courses  not all of the electives, mind you  involve your status as a Guardian. Whether theyre magic sses, sses over the System, sses over Guardianws, how society treats Guardianspared to normal people,bat sses, demonology, and so on.


    Huh. Thats interesting.


    <strong>Itll certainly help you be less reckless if you know more about what youre doing, </strong>Tar says with a huff in my head.


    I ignore him to continue eating.


    Huh, Belle mutters, repeating what I had thought in my head in response to it, thats very different from the curriculum at a regr university.


    Yep, Michael says before grabbing a fork and skewering some spaghetti. Its because Guardians arent expected to go into the workforce. Were expected to go fight demons and be celebrities. So why would they teach us things like math, science, sports, or other stuff like that unless we specifically want to learn that stuff through elective courses?


    Good point, I mutter after finishing chewing the spaghetti Im eating. Then grabbing more and chewing again.


    Belle seems to feel conflicted about that for a bit, only to suddenly make a one-eighty and start grinning like an insane person.


    What is it? Denise asks, clearly having noticed the shift as well. And I see Emily scooting forward in her chair slightly at the question, seemingly interested herself.


    Weeelll, Belle says, drawing it out, I think it just settled in that Ill never have to go into electrical engineering like I was nning to do. Never have to go into the corporate world in general since I can just work as a Guardian now. And that made me very happy. She nces at me and adds, Also, I wont have to worry about this one asking to look at my textbooks anymore now that were going to the same university.


    I blush a little at that, and the others beginughing, only making it worse.


    After I finish chewing and swallow my food, I mutter amidst theughing, Yeah, yeah,ugh it up Which only makes themugh harder.


    But for some reason, despite my embarrassment, I feel myself smiling ever so slightly.


    Not sure why.


    And a warmth enters my chest.


    <strong>Youre having fun with your friends, dummy, </strong>I hear Tar say, making my smile grow wider.


    Yeah. I am.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find Belle wiping a tear from her own eye as she smiles a ratherrge smile at me, likely having seen my smile.


    Ohe on, its not that rare to see me smile, Iin, and she just raises a brow. Okay, maybe it is a little rare.


    The others just break out into even louderughter at this. Then for some reason, the waiteres by with what looks like wine.


    I raise a brow at Michael who quickly motions towards each of us before the waiter proceeds to ce sses in front of us. The man then pours the red wine into the sses, bows once, and walks away again.


    So why exactly did you order wine? Denise asks, sounding vaguely amused.


    Michael just stands up and grabs his ss with a chuckle before saying, To have a group toast with my team!


    I share a nce with Emily and Denise, then Belle, only to shrug and stand up as well, along with the others.


    Honestly, Ive always avoided medication and anything that can mentally inhibit me. Not to mention that the legal drinking age is twenty, and Im not that old yet, so I wasnt legally allowed to drink.


    But as a Guardian, there is no legal drinking age. Meaning all Guardians are allowed to drink.


    Mostly since the poison in the alcohol doesnt affect us as much. And at the higher levels, at all.


    This is a special moment though, and since it wont really affect me much, I might as well.


    Besides. Its just a single shot.


    I grab the drink along with the others before raising it up.


    To our team, and our time at Lions Heart, Michael says. And to an amazing semester!


    To an amazing semester! we all repeat before clinking our sses and taking a drink.


    This year is bound to be the most interesting year of my life, thats for sure.


    Right Tar?


    <strong>Right, Scar, </strong>Tar says, calling me by a nickname or something.


    Scar, huh? Alright.


    Lets see just how tough these Guardian University sses really are then.

 Book 1: Epilogue

    Book 1: Epilogue


    <strong>The Demon Kings Pce</strong>


    The area around the Demon Kings pce is filled with battle-ridden wastnds for as far as the eye can see as Leonidas Val Art de Archeron  one of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and the son of the Demon King  charges through the wastnds in his full beast form without stopping for anything. The man has the appearance of a massive werewolf standing at two and a half meters in height, with ck fur streaked with the asional bit of red as crimson as the blood running through his veins, glowing red eyes, and ws as sharp as des wearing a set of red and ck blood metal and leather armor. He has a tail that at first nce looks and even feels soft to the touch, but from time to time whips out and solidifies into a sharp, silvery red metal, destroying any weaker demons in his path without the man even ncing their way.


    After Leonidas reaches the pce located on a hill in the middle of the wastnds, he simply jumps straight up beforending on a balcony overlooking the wastnds with a man standing at the edge of the balcony. Leonidas then immediately transforms back into his lycan form, revealing a mostly human form but with two wolf-like ears on his head, short ck hair streaked with red highlights, and glowing red eyes with the same tail he had in his beast form, only for the tail to be absorbed into his body a momentter as his armor adjusts to his new, smaller size and the loss of his tail.


    The Demon Lord then kneels down before the man, who looks very simr to him, and says, Your majesty.


    Leon dont call me that in private, the Demon King says with a frown, not taking his eyes off of the spawn in the wastnds who are fighting amongst themselves and anything that passes through.


    Leonidas raises his head and climbs to his feet before nodding once, Yes, father.


    Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron  the Demon King and absolute ruler of every demon in existence  continues looking out over the wastnd for several more seconds until he finally turns to face his son. He then takes in his appearance for a second, sniffs once, and asks with a frown, You saw her again, didnt you?


    His son stays silent, opting to not answer. Since he knows all that will do is piss his father off.


    <em>If only hed tell me why he hates humans so much, then I might be able to understand it better.</em>


    Arkaz eventually just sighs and focuses on the wastnd again as he asks, Am I to understand that you told her of the ss V Fracture the Witches foresaw opening up? Then he shakes his head. Never mind. Of course, you did.


    Several seconds pass between the two, neither of them saying anything as the screams and howls of the demons around the pce fill the air.


    At least tell me how the pup is progressing, Arkaz asks, sending a slightly worried look towards his son. A look that very few people have ever seen on the tyrant. One that the man only shows when talking about his beloved granddaughter.


    A granddaughter Leon brought to Earth without his permission.


    Leonidas rxes ever so slightly upon seeing it and thinking of the girl as he answers, Very well. Better than wed hoped.


    A smile emerges on the Demon Kings face at that before he turns back to the wastnd and says, Good news. Very good news.


    After a short hesitation, Leonidas walks up to and joins his father at the edge of the balcony. The two then just stand there without speaking for several minutes.


    Eventually the king asks, At least tell me why you did it. You know very well that I could easily protect her.


    Thats the point, Leonidas answers, not exining any further to his father.


    <em>If shes to grow into what the seers saw, she will need to do so on her own.</em>


    The king sighs again, and Leonidas can understand how hes feeling. But he knows he cant say anything more.


    So he doesnt.


    Very well, if thats your wish, Arkaz eventually says before growing stiff and moving onto business. Satan of the Oni n informs me that he is ready to go on the assault in one years time, the moment the ss V Fracture opens up. He then turns to face his son, who is quickly lowering down onto one knee again as he understands what his father is about to say. I hereby order you to pick a mid-ranked blood lycan of the family and send them to Earth through the ss V Fracture.


    <em>Looks like its finally time then.</em>


    Yes, your majesty, Leonidas says with his eyes closed and his head lowered to the ground. He then stands up a secondter and transforms back into his beast form before jumping into the wastnds again.


    <em>Send one of the mid-ranks I think shell do.</em>


    Leonidas immediately changes his direction and begins heading South of the pce.

 Book 2: Chapter 1: Demonology and Scheduling

    Book 2: Chapter 1: Demonology and Scheduling


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    Now, many of you should have noticed by now that demons often follow certain patterns in the Fractures. Thats because of their instincts, or what we demonologists often refer to as their demonic instincts, the professor for my Demonology ss  one of the core sses for first years for obvious reasons  exins while walking up and down the various aisles of the half-circle shaped ssroom, her heels clicking on the tile floor every time she goes down a step. We dont know why demons have these instincts, since theyre a clear obstruction for their own survival more often than not. Almost as if they were artificially put into them somehow, outside of natural evolution. But some people believe it to be some sort of curse. Others just think its a bnce for their advantages in power over us humans. She reaches the front of the room again and pauses for a second while turning around. But no matter how many theories there are, none of them have ever been proven.


    I continue writing down my notes on my terminals screen syed out in front of me on the device used in each ssroom  one that connects to a students terminal and allows them to stream their screen to the muchrger screen on the device here.


    Yes, Katana Maiden, the professor calls out a student by their title  which seems to be amon thing since the other ss I took today had the professor doing it as well. So I look up from my notes to find the very same girl that I had defeated at one point in the ranking tournament duels. The one whos wearing samurai magi-tech armor from one of the countries to the East before the nations all merged into the Republic.


    Actually, I think it may have originated from the country of the old world that had fallen to the demons and is now their home. The ind now known as the Demon Ind.


    The girl stands up rather stiffly for some reason as she answers, Havent the researchers from the government been able to gather demon corpses from the Demon Ind? Did they not find anything out from them?


    Good question, Professor Loris  otherwise known as Sharpshooter  says with a nod before answering, yes, the government has plenty of demon corpses from the ind. But even with those, they werent able to find out anything about the demons instincts beyond that it is not a chemical process in their body like human hormones.


    I frown at that before tapping my stylus against my chin a few times in thought.


    If the instincts arent through chemicals, then some sort of curse or just a magical process sounds most likely.


    What do you think Tar? Do you know the reason behind it?


    <strong>No, </strong>Tar answers, but then he adds, <strong>we fae do suspect that it may have had something to do with the humans that used to live on Tartarus though. Likely some sort of curse. But even we havent been able to confirm it, and father wont say anything on the matter either.</strong>


    Hmm. A curse does sound most likely to be the cause, but who wait, your father might know but isnt telling anyone?


    Tar doesnt respond to that.


    Guess thats something he cant tell me.


    The professor looks at her terminal on her forearm before saying, Looks like thats all the time we have for today. She raises her head. Make sure you look over the sybus once more beforeing into ss again next week.


    I blink in surprise at that before remembering that we only have core sses on Mondays of each week. So I wont be having Demonology or the Guardian Law ss that I had earlier again until next Monday.


    Everyone begins gathering their stuff and I do the same, disconnecting my terminal from the device and shutting it off before getting up from my seat and beginning to walk towards the door.


    I dont actually personally know many of the people in this ss, outside of when I beat half of them up in the tournament, so its a rather peaceful ss in general. The university seems to have five sets of sses for each ss on Monday, with five professors teaching each of the two sses. And it looks like I just didnt end up in the same ss as any of the others for Demonology.


    Although Guardian Law is different, since I have it with both Belle and Emily. Not that it matters much since we all stay silent during the professors boring lecture.


    Sincews are indeed very boring to learn about in a ss.


    <strong>Have you decided on which electives youre gonna take yet? </strong>Tar asks as I leave the ssroom, thankful that I dont have any bags or anything to carry like I wouldve back in high school.


    Mostly.


    I know Ill be taking the ss over Blood magic and the one for indoorbat, since battling in the middle of a cramped hallway is annoying. But as for the other elective


    <strong>Id rmend taking the ss over Achievements, </strong>Tar suggests, making me a raise a brow for a moment before shrugging and mentally adding it to the list.


    That makes my scheduleplete.


    <strong>There was another required ss tomorrow, right? </strong>Tar asks, sounding curious as he shows just how little attention he was paying when I went over everything earlier.


    Then again, I dont really me him.


    Yeah, there was. This one is System Basics. A mandatory ss for all first year students to make sure they understand the basics of how the System works.


    <strong>Oh, right, </strong>Tar mutters before suddenly appearing in the air in front of me and then moving tond on my head, but the moment he touches my ears I duck, almost yelping in the process. He pauses for a second only to go to my shoulder instead and sit down.


    I frown as I nce at him.


    Why are you sitting on me?


    He nces back and asks, <strong>Why not?</strong>


    We stare at each other for several seconds until I shrug and mutter, Touch. Then continue walking towards the Top ss gated area.

 Book 2: Chapter 2: A Run-in

    Book 2: Chapter 2: A Run-in


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    After making it past the guards at the gate  who all send confused looks towards Tar for being out in broad daylight sitting on my shoulder  I head straight towards my suite. And after entering it, I go to my room and then closet to change into gym clothes to train in. Only for Tar to offhandedly mention how pointless that was when Im literally walking around in my magi-tech armor, not having bothered ever deactivating it except for when I went to bedst night.


    Oops.


    I turn back around and leave my suite before going to the training hall located within the mansion. But when I get there, I find someone else already inside of it. Someone I recognize.


    Anthony Wilson  otherwise known as Necro  turns from where hes currently training in the center of one of the vast training fields to look in my direction, likely having heard the door shutting behind me. The guy is wearing just a simple pair of shorts as he fights against a bunch of robotic dolls, immediately returning his attention to the fight after seeing me.


    Why is a magic focused Guardian training so hard  judging by the amount of sweat I see on him  in hand to handbat?


    <strong>Well, its always good to have all your bases handled, </strong>Tar says, and on second thought, I cant help but agree. Just never really thought Id run into him here.


    I had heard that he was one of the five seeded ss I students in the Top ss, but I didnt know he was in the same mansion as my suite.


    Anyways, I ignore the guy to head towards one of the other training fields  one far away from him  before messing with the controls to activate the dolls.


    I should really work on my own hand to hand and w to handbat. Since it could use a lot of work.


    After a couple hours of training, I stop the dolls with an audiomand, Stop session. Then I use the clean skill on myself to wipe off any sweat that had built up before turning around and beginning to make my way towards the exit, only to find Anthony standing there leaning against the wall while watching me.


    Do you want something? I ask while putting my hands into my jacket pocket, stopping a few meters away from him.


    As if on cue, a fae in the form of a miniature swan appears in the air. The fae then says with the same sensation of power that Tar has in his voice, <strong>Greetings, young one. My name is Artoria.</strong>


    I frown for a second before my face goes neutral again when Tar appears in front of me and immediately says, <strong>Sister.</strong>


    <strong>So you finally decided to meet with me?</strong> the princess of the fae asks with a frown somehow appearing on her face  which I wonder how is possible since swans have beaks. <strong>Or is it just because we met on Earth?</strong>


    Tar sighs, although I dont think he does it out loud. Just in my head.


    <strong>Get on with it, Artoria, </strong>Tar says, not bothering to answer her questions.


    Hes been avoiding her since the tournament? Thats kind of surprising.


    Although considering how he initially reacted towards her, I guess it isnt. Not really.


    <strong>You already know that I want to work with you and Artemis for the Fae Competitions, so what is your answer? </strong>she asks rather bluntly.


    Tar sighs again before floating onto my shoulder and answering, <strong>Its too early to decide on that. Lets leave that for when thepetition is closer at hand.</strong> He then speaks directly to me through telepathy or whatever mind link our contract gives us, <strong>Lets go.</strong>


    I dont need to be told twice as I immediately begin to leave, only giving Necro a single nod to which he returns, already having changed back into his magi-tech gear at some point. Which isnt saying much considering how its still just a shirt and shorts, basically meaning that the only difference is that hes now wearing a shirt as well.


    My armor at least has a shirt, <em>pants</em>, <em>and </em>a jacket. Much better.


    <strong>His armor is rather pointless if you really think about it, </strong>Tar suddenly says, jumping into my line of thought as I enter the hallway outside of the training room and begin making my way towards the cafeteria in the mansion. <strong>It barely offers any protection at all. Only around his torso, shoulders, and thighs. The areas covered by the shirt and shorts.</strong>


    Yeah. There isnt much point to it.


    My armor  even if it looks like regr clothes  covers everything. So its much more useful. But his? His doesnt cover enough to really be considered armor.


    Its bizarre.


    I do kind of wonder if Ill have Anthony in one of my sses though. Its possible he could be in tomorrows System Basics course, or in the interiorbat or Achievements courses.


    If I had to guess, Id say the Achievements course. Because I think that one was limited to either Advanced and Top ss students only, or Top ss students only. I cant remember which.


    I continue making my way towards the diner before walking into it to find a few people already seated, eating their meals in peace. Meanwhile the chef can be seen standing in the kitchen with an open counter between the dining area  which is very high ss and not some run of the mill cafeteria  and the kitchen.


    Huh.


    I stop in the middle of the dining area  since calling it a cafeteria really just sounds wrong for something this high-ss. Especially since I see the chef using mana in his cooking.


    <strong>This should be your first time seeing a pure support and creation Guardian. </strong>Tar states. <strong>These Guardians have nobat rted skills unless they specifically purchase them but are able to infuse their magic into different things. Some of them can create magical food that will have beneficial effects on your body, others can infuse their magic into items and technology, which is where your magi-tech came from.</strong>


    Interesting.


    Guess Ill be trying magic food for the first time.

 Book 2: Chapter 3: Unabashed Opinions Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 3: Unabashed Opinions Part I


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    The moment I walk into the System Basics course, I find a few familiar faces there. For one, Belle is sitting in the back, and she waves at me the moment she sees me. And for two, several of the stronger people that I fought during the tournament are in the ss. Such as that Drake guy who was breathing fire and could cover his arms with scales, along with that Sentinel guy with his Divine Retribution magic.


    I cant help but raise an amused brow when I see Drake visibly flinch at the sight of me before acting like he never saw me. Then I return the nod Sentinel sends my way.


    Also, as it turns out, Sentinel isnt as creepy as Id first thought. Apparently one of my guesses was right and people are just very touchy and openly intimate where hes from, so he starts out that way with everyone he interacts directly with until told not to. Which I find to be a rather odd order of things, but at least hes not gonna do anything like that again.


    After making my way up to the back where Belles sitting, I sit down next to her and start connecting my terminal as she talks.


    Hows your sses been so far?


    I answer without looking at her, focusing my attention on the device as I type in the code to connect it, Not bad. Guardian Law was boring though.


    She chuckles at that and responds with an agreement. Then she goes on about a couple of the students in her ss asking her to join their team because of her barrier type magic. Which I did eventually find out was a mental type barrier, meaning its made from mental energy. One of the best types that it can be made from. Also one of the reasons she was epted so quickly to the university after contracting.


    Although she doesnt have any skills right now that use mental energy, unfortunately.


    Eventually  long after I had already finished setting things up  the professor arrives in a burst of steam from the front of the ssroom, immediately stopping the chatter in their manner of entrance. The steam then flies out throughout the room and shuts each and every door.


    Hello, first years, my name is Lawrence Night, the professor  who is still cloaked in steam to a degree that makes it hard to make him out  says, a deep voice echoing through the room, but many of you might know me as Nautical.


    Oh. That guy.


    If I remember correctly, hes a ss IV Guardian that a lot of ces prefer to do without purely because of his magic being very heavily reliant on steam. So every ce he fights in or uses his magic in tends to be incredibly humid and kind of wet by the time hes done.


    There are much worse Guardians in terms of inconvenience post battle though, so no one everins about him.


    After all, if the people wouldin about any one Guardian, itd be Blue. But no one is going toin about one of the five strongest humans in existence. Especially when they know hes unhinged.


    Unless, of course, theyre stupid.


    Let me begin with a few things first, the man says, the steam around him finally clearing up enough for us to see the man who is wearing some sort of blue mask with a ck and blue suit on, I do not tolerate tardiness. If you arete, you will not be able to attend the ss. And if you are absent, there will be no way to get the materials for the ss you missed. His eyes narrow, the steam around the room starting to clear up. Do you understand me?


    Yes sir, everyone, myself included, answers in response.


    He snaps his finger out of nowhere, making the rest of the steam clear away, relieving my eyes in the process since it was really bothering them. Then he taps his hand against the screen in the back of the room, turning it on before tapping away at his terminal and linking the two.


    This ss is meant to teach new Guardians like you everything you need to know about the System, he says, an empty status appearing on the screen as he does so. Now. To start things off, can someone tell me one thing you should never do in terms of the System?


    Several people immediately raise their hands, but the man just looks through the room before ncing at the highest ranking people here and eventually narrowing his eyes on me. Then he calls out, Scarlet Wolf, what about you?


    I hold back a groan.


    So hes going to be one of <em>those </em>teachers the type who calls on random people or just those he doesnt like? Regardless of who is volunteering to answer.


    I answer the question rather quickly though, Unbncing your stats when distributing your free points.


    Correct, he says before moving on, unbncing your stats is the single most stupidest thing any Guardian can do. Besides simply jumping into a horde of demon berserkers while still at ss I. That has me raising a brow, but he simply taps on his terminal again and continues as the status changes to show what Im assuming is a fake status of someone at level 5 with the name Bob, Now, many of you all know  and if you dont I have to wonder what rock youre living under  that we humans live congregated inrge cities. He raises his head again to look at us with his eyes narrowed as he asks, Why is that?


    Not even giving anyone a chance to raise their hands this time, he points directly at Sentinel, who answers, Because there arent enough Guardians to cover an extended space, so the casualties became decreased when the people were more congregated where the Guardians could actually reach them. Even if it led to more Demonic Assaults in the process.


    Also correct, he says with a satisfied nod before adding, but there is another reason. Its because of Guardian greed. This gets a few people whispering, but he simply taps his foot once, making a wave of steam re out from him, shutting them up. Guardians from the early days of the Demonic Assaults, after the artificial Knights given to us by the fae had already handled a great deal of the issues created by the demons, suggested the cities congregate more and keep their walls more closely guarded from entry and exit for security purposes. But they really wanted to be closer to the Fractures themselves in order to have a closer supply of EXP.


    Wow. This guy is very blunt and harsh in everything he does, isnt he?


    <strong>That he is </strong>Tar mutters in response, clearly listening as well. Which is odd since he didnt really listen to the other professors.


    Now, tell me why higher ss Guardians dont simply rush to lower ss Fractures and wipe out all of the demons there, he says while pointing at Drake, making it pointedly clear that he is calling out the highest ranking people in the ss in terms of the school rankings. And unlike me and Sentinel, Drake  the asshole whom I taught a lesson during the tournament  doesnt answer right away. In fact, he stutters a bit before beginning a sloppy answer that Nautical simply cuts off. Enough. Make sure that you study the textbook as that is most assuredly going to be on the exam.


    Drake grimaces, but the professor ignores him and answers his own question, Higher ss Guardians dont simply go through the lower Fractures to clear out the weaker demons there for EXP because the penalty for EXP growsrger andrger the greater the level gap is. And once youre an entire fifty levels above whatever youre killing? You do not get EXP anymore. Period. You will instead have to go fight stronger demons. So the higher ss Guardians dont simply clear out the weaker Fractures since they not only believe itd be a waste of time for them, but a lost opportunity for the lower ss Guardians to train themselves against the demons. He pauses as his eyes narrow. Even if this does mean more human casualties.


    Whispers break out amongst the students again at this. And this time he doesnt stop them and instead continues, Now I know a lot of you dont like that answer, but its the full truth. We do not live in a utopia. We live in a world more akin to the hell of the old world mythologies whenpared to the old world itself. Life is not fair, nor is it equal between Guardians and regr humans.


    Oh. Wow. This guy is


    <strong>Not afraid to state his opinion? </strong>Tar finishes for me, and I cant help but lightly nod my head in agreement.


    Yeah. Not afraid at all.

 Book 2: Chapter 3.2: Unabashed Opinions Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 3.2: Unabashed Opinions Part II


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    Now, moving onto the System itself, or rather the automatic management of the System, Nautical continues as if he hadnt just said any of that. Many of you already know of the Systems voice that echoes in your head when you kill a demon or level a skill. What you dont know is just how this automatic management system works. And that is arge part of what you will be learning in this ss.


    Someone raises their hand after he finishes that statement, surprising me for a moment. But not as much as the sight of the professor actually pointing at them and saying, Speak, Ripple.


    The student  whose title is apparently Ripple  quickly asks, Sir, what exactly is it that stops higher ss Guardians from simply babysitting and power leveling their lower level and lower ss Association members?


    Good question, Nautilus says, once again surprising me. To answer that, Ill have to get a bit into how the automatic system works, but to keep it simple for now, I will just say that the System does appear to be able to read our minds. It can tell apart everyones intent and factors it in whenever dishing out EXP and achievements to any involved individuals in a demons  or humans in the case of the demons  death. And never has a single person ever been able to fool the System. Not forck of trying though.


    He pauses for a second as if waiting for other questions before continuing, Over the years, weve been able to learn more and more about the System both through personal experience and what weve managed to get out of the fae, and its clear it was designed to not have any freewill or ability to make decisions outside of its, lets say, programming, meaning it will always make the fairest decision at the time. Even if that decision may not seem morally correct to some of you.


    Yeah, that I can tell already. Just from the System rewarding me for almost dying over and over again while also warning me about risk. Rather two-faced, if you ask me.


    <strong>Well, no System is perfect, </strong>Tar says, a hint of amusement in his voice at his own joke.


    I dontugh though. Partially because it wasnt that funny, and partially so that I dont get stabbed by a re from this rather intimidating man standing at the front of the ss.


    Moving on, Ill be going through our vocabry for the semester, and then Ill be walking you through a brief rundown of the various penalties that the System applies, he says before tapping on his terminal. So I do the same to expand my notes and prepare to start taking them.


    This is going to be a long ss.


    -and moving on we have the penalty for killing a demon fifteen levels below you, he says, and I cant help but smother a yawn. Because this really is one of the most boring sses Ive ever seen, beaten out only by Guardian Law.


    Right as Im about to nce at Belle though, the sound of ss shattering echoes across the entire campus as the air bes tinted with red. And I immediately see Nautilus frowning as he stops talking. He then begins emitting steam again and says, The rest of the ss will be pushed back to next week, added onto the end of the next ss. Make sure you read the first chapter of the textbook and remember the terms that were discussed so far. Thatll be all. Now go out to the Fractures.


    The man vanishes in a bout of steam as all of the students get up from their seats, myself doing the same.


    I look down at the device only to find that apparently it had automatically disconnected my terminal from it, likely some sort of protocol built in at the start of a Demonic Assault. Then I focus on Belle to find her typing away at her terminal, likely calling for the others.


    We both quickly leave the lecture hall before leaving the building entirely and immediately finding a limo sitting there waiting for us with the others there. And everyone quickly looks at me for directions, so I show them the alert that I got while we were walking over here, and they pick the closest ss I Fracture for us to head to.


    As we drive though, I cant help but think of the professorsst words. About the ss being tacked onto the end of next weeks ss.


    I was really wondering how theyd handle Demonic Assaults here, but I guess they just move the remainder of any ss interrupted by a Fracture to the next week. Which also exins why each day only has a single ss except for Mondays. And even Mondays only have two sses, each only two hours long.


    It was rather confusing, since from what Belle had told me, the sses for her old university were much more frequent through the week and also a lot longer. But this system makes perfect sense when you factor in the Demonic Assaults.


    Although it was a big deal back in Rothwell if a Demonic Assault ever urred, since they were rather infrequent. And they also appeared most often in the orphans district since we had the most people there. Even if it only happened like once every couple months or so.


    The only reason I had never been caught in one beforeing to a Tier 1 city.


    That aside, I focus on the window of the limo for a moment, only to nce at my terminal to look at the map around the ce were headed to. Which this time is not a mall or a hotel.


    Its a park.


    A wide open park with a massive, shielded dome around it and quite a bit of wildlife and greenery inside, along with ponds and paths through a small mini-forest.


    This is going to be interesting. And the first time I wont be fighting in an enclosed space, the tournament not withstanding on ount of it not being in reality.


    I quickly feel adrenaline fill me at the thought of fighting again and earning more EXP.


    Maybe now Ill finally be able to get some of those Epic skills that have been sitting in my Skill Store for days now?

 Book 2: Chapter 4: Variant

    Book 2: Chapter 4: Variant


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    As it turns out, the process of killing demons in the park is very simr to how it was in the ranking tournament. What with it being a forest filled with ss I demons in the middle of the night with a blood moon high in the sky. The only difference being that the trees are trees. Not whatever the trees on Tartarus are. And there are people to save.


    Theres another group of people a little ways in that direction, I say while pointing East, and Michael quickly nods before we begin making our way through the trees.


    Good thing we have your ears, he says as we jog through the woods, and I notice the others nodding their heads at that.


    I dont say anything in response, simply flexing my ws  both the transformed one and the non-transformed one  as I think of hunting another demon. Since it really feels like its been forever since Ist hunted demons and got EXP from them, even if its only been a few days.


    And that thought alone is a tad worrying, since most people arent exactly anxious to go about hunting things.


    <strong>Well, youre half blood lycan, </strong>Tar says as if its obvious, <strong>hunting runs in your blood.</strong>


    The human part of me says otherwise, but at the same time, my instincts agree.


    When we make it to the humans, we find them being slowly surrounded by a pack of a dozen demon hounds, so we all rush into action to deal with the hounds, quickly breaking their formation. The hounds then put up a decent fight, but the things are only around level twenty nine on average, which is eleven levels below me.


    Its annoying that were only hunting weaker demons though.


    <strong>What, would you rather go back to almost dying in each Fracture you enter? </strong>Tar asks, and when I dont respond right away he says, <strong>You wouldnt, right?</strong>


    I finish off thest demon hound and drain it of blood, storing it in my blood storage.


    Honestly? It did give me a bit of a thrill fighting for my life. But no. When I go back to fighting solo again, it will be when Im at a higher level, with higher level skills.


    Tar just sighs at that.


    Sorry.


    <strong>You shouldnt apologize when you arent actually feeling sorry, </strong>Tar mutters as I watch Michael treat the wounded civilians. <strong>Bad things tend to happen when youre in a Fracture and alone. So try not to get separated.</strong>


    I cant help but raise a brow at that.


    You just jinxed it, didnt you? Im gonna end up separated now.


    <strong>Ha, ha, ha, </strong>Tar says sarcastically, and I can practically <em>feel </em>him rolling his eyes. <strong>Very funny. That was for myment on karma before, wasnt it?</strong>


    I have no idea what youre talking about.


    He snorts at that.


    I proceed to ignore the snort, only to frown as I hear something strange. A noise that Id been hearing multiple times back to back the further East we went. Kind of like the sound of arge egg cracking and liquiding out of it.


    Not really sure what it is, but its really odd.


    At first I thought I was hearing things. But then it continued getting very slowly louder.


    <strong>Damnit, here too?! </strong>Tar practically shouts in my head, making me wince slightly before he suddenly mutters, <strong>Shit.</strong>


    My frown grows deeper.


    What did you mean by here too?


    Tar goes silent.


    My frown turns into a scowl.


    What are you hiding from me this time?


    <strong>Im sorry, Scar, but I really cant tell you, </strong>Tars strained voicees, sounding quieter than normal, <strong>even if I really wish I could</strong>


    Then his voice disappears again.


    Tar?


    No answeres.


    Well, thats not foreboding or anything.


    I walk over to the others before kneeling down next to Michael and whispering to him, We might have trouble soon.


    He nces at me with a frown, only to nod and quickly finish healing the civilians. He then points them towards the closest underground bunker, to which they repeatedly thank us before rushing off.


    What is it? he asks, and I quickly describe the noise, making his frown grow deeper. Im not sure what it is, but if I had to guess, its probably some sort of breeder. But maybe a variant one?


    My eyes widen in shock at that, and the others tense up as well.


    A variant demon. One who is different from the others of its same species in some way. Sometimes even intelligent and sapient. Other times simply going by different instincts. But always more powerful.


    Far more powerful.


    Shit, I mutter, and the others nod at that, agreeing with the sentiment.


    And a variant of a breeder of all things? This is going to be a disaster.


    Breeders are demons that give birth torge numbers of spawn, all at the same level as the breeder. Theyre always protected by two knights but are weak themselves with little in the way to defend themselves. Kind of like the queen of an anthill.


    Meant for breeding new spawn and are defended by others while doing their job.


    But normally breeders simply give birth to the spawn directly. They donty eggs, like this one seems to be doing. If those hatching sounds are anything to go by.


    How often are they hatching? Michael asks, frowning all the while. Which isnt a face Im used to seeing him make often.


    About a dozen or so have hatched in between now and the time we started heading over here, I answer right away, ncing in the direction of the noises. But when I turn back to Michael, I find a conflicted look on his face. And that surprises me.


    If the spawn continue to hatch at the pace its going now, we could end up with a massive amount of variant spawn depending on what type of variant the breeder is, Michael slowly says, making looks of horror spread through the others at that thought. So it would be best to deal with it now. But there are those knights to deal with


    We should scout out the situation first before making a decision, Emily suddenly interjects, speaking up for the first time in a strategy meeting.


    I raise both my brows at her, only for her words to register in my mind.


    Wait. Im the best scout here, arent I?


    The others recognize this fact as well and turn to look at me, Belle with a look of horror on her face that is much worse than when she heard about the variant spawn.


    Well, this could be interesting, I mutter, a faint grin beginning to spread across my face again.


    Looks like its back to solo work for a little bit after all. Just like Tar said.

 Book 2: Chapter 5: The Plan Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 5: The n Part I


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    After more than a little argument from Belle, I manage to make it away from the group and begin heading in the direction of the variant. While, of course, killing any demons I run into along the way. And throughout this process, I still dont hear from Tar again. Which makes me wonder what happened.


    Hisst words sounded strained. Like he was barely able to say them. And when his voice faded away? It felt almost as if he was leaving against his will.


    I hope he didnt break a rule or something. Because while I would <em>very </em>much like to know what he was talking about, I would also rather not lose the furball. Because his fur is nice to pet, and he makes a good hug pillow.


    Maybe some other reasons too, but mostly those.


    Yep. Mostly those.


    As I get closer to the variant, I stop killing demons so as to remain quiet and instead begin jumping from tree to tree instead. And as soon as I catch sight of the creature, I immediately tense up and want to turn back around.


    <strong>|Demon Breeder  <em>Variant</em> Subspecies: Arachnid Queen  Level 43|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Subspecies: N/A  Level 50|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Knight  Subspecies: N/A  Level 50|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  <em>Variant</em> Subspecies: Arachnid  Level 43|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  <em>Variant</em> Subspecies: Arachnid  Level 43|</strong>


    Holy shit.


    I tap on my terminal, not moving from my spot no matter how much I want to before sending a message with the silent feature, blocking out any noise from my terminal in the process. The message includes a picture of the demons along with detailed descriptions of their levels and numbers.


    Now, their levels arent that strong. In fact, the queen itself should be rather easy to take down since its a higher level than me only by a few levels. Which means Predator V will give me a nice boost far past its strength.


    But the knights are a problem. Not to mention the fifteen or so giant spiders around it.


    The breeder itself really does just look like a giant, fat spider that is sitting in a web covering several trees, with a clearing around the covered trees. It has ck and red hair on its body  not fur, like the spiders that I saw in my first Fracture had and only realizedter on is not a normal thing for a spider to have  and eight total legs with eight eyes to match.


    Meanwhile the arachnids just look like mini breeders but without the extra fat in their bodies and less pronounced red streaks in their hair.


    The knights are just regr old knights though, which is a relief.


    My eyes narrow as I watch the spiders all skitter about around the web while the queen seeminglyys another egg. Meanwhile the two knights simply patrol around in circles on opposite sides of the little nest.


    Actually it might be possible to deal with them.


    If I do it carefully.


    I wait a few seconds to see if Tar is back and ready to say something about me being reckless, but he doesnt. And honestly, he would probably agree that I can handle them as long as I dont take them all on at once. Since Im level 40 right now, and the spiders are only 43. Which with the predator skill is more like theyre a lower level than me.


    My terminal screen turns on again with a very dark light, taking my attention back to it to find Michael suddenly sending a very short message leaves me rather surprised.


    [Be careful and dont mess up.]


    Wait, what? How did he actually, never mind. He has Belle with him. And he probably knows by now about how much of a trouble ma I seem to be in Fractures.


    Assuming he watches the news or videos on the web that is.


    Anyways, I <em>could </em>try to go back and get their help, but honestly, I think that would make things harder. Not easier. Since these demons are all higher leveled than me, and Im pretty sure based on mana level that Im a higher level than the others in the team. And it would make drawing them away one at a time even harder if the others were here with me.


    Although I could see Emilying in handy here.


    In fact, I raise my terminal and send her a message, asking if she wants to help me clear out the demons. Since our skills really do mesh very well together. And if we both use our skills in hiding against one of the knights, its very likely to bring it to us.


    While I wait for a response from her, I study the breeder in detail.


    Fortunately, the creature doesnt seem to have sapience. So I dont think it should pose a problem. Just that it is a lot higher level than the average breeder at the start of a Fracture and has a different appearance and hatches higher level spawn. Variant spawn.


    Probably the only reason my n has a shot at working in the first ce.


    I feel my arm vibrate from the terminal, so I look down at it to find Emily having responded.


    [Im on my way.]


    Good.


    I send her my current location before focusing on the breeder again.


    Alright, so to start things off, Ill begin using blood boil and life drain on the closest knight to see if it gets its attention enough to bring it over here. Then Ill have Emily start using the skill she has that makes mdies build up in her target when it begins walking over here. And once it gets within the trees, out of sight of the spiders who are unlikely to notice the knights absence, Emily can use her needles on it, which Ill follow up by jumping down from the tree and onto its back to tear out its throat.


    I nce down as I hear the set of footstepsing from the others growing louder and louder.


    Looks like shes getting close.

 Book 2: Chapter 5.2: The Plan Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 5.2: The n Part II


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    After Emily gets here, I pick her up and carry her into the tree myself  to her apparent embarrassment  before telling her the n. Then, on the knights next round trip around the nest, we begin.


    I start by using life drain at a very small degree, but the knight doesnt seem to notice. So I up it up more and more before eventually adding blood boil to the works. Which does finally manage to get its attention as it suddenly stops in its patrol route. Then it looks down and eventually follows the trail of red energy leaving its body from life drain.


    Good boy. Come to me.


    The knight slowly makes his way over here, the soil absorbing the force of its weight in the process, making me really d that were not in an office building or something that has tile or cement floors that would make for loud footsteps. And after the creature makes it seventy five percent of the way here, I tap Emily on the shoulder, signaling for her to start the mdies.


    Tiny ck particles begin to build up around the knight as it begins walking faster while raising its sword and looking directly in the direction of the stream of life energy. But I suddenly cut off the skill and grab Emily before jumping to another tree. Meanwhile the knight continues looking at the one we were just on, it being too dark and the foliage too thick for it to clearly see us from down there without having been shown our exact positions.


    I wait several seconds for it to enter the tree line before ncing at the nest again to see the other knight beginning to make its way back around, only to focus on this one again.


    Just a few more steps and there!


    I quickly tap on Emilys shoulder again, and she takes it as a cue to toss several necrotic needles at the thing. Then I immediately use life drain again and arge dose of blood sacrifice while pumping more blood into my blood ws before I jump from the tree straight down onto the knight, who is currently staggering to his knees.


    A grin emerges on my face as Ind on the knights back, my shifted hand reaching around for the front of its throat and my other one digging into the scales on its shoulders. My grin grows even wider at the feeling of my ws digging into its armor of scales, since I never wouldve been able to do that before I had Predator V, and before I was at this level.


    The knight raises its sword arm back, but instead just loses its bnce and the sword falls to the ground since the creature is still being drained, blood boiled, and affected by both of Emilys skills with me on its back. So it fails to do anything as I tighten my grip on its throat, digging my ws into it in the process very slowly.


    Our struggle  which isnt much of a struggle for me at this point  continues for several seconds rather quietly, since all the knights doing is making grunting sounds while barely moving in the process. And eventually it goes silent, face nting into the ground with me almost being tossed off in the process. But I stay on before quickly ncing back to find the other knight beginning to walk over here as well.


    Shit.


    I quickly rush over to another tree before climbing up it, reaching a higher branch the moment the other knight makes it to the tree line and sees the corpse of the first knight.


    My terminal vibrates very lightly, bringing my eyes to it to see a message from Emily.


    [Fight or run?]


    I grin at that before answering with the obvious.


    [Fight.]


    Then we both focus our skills at about the same time on the knight, instantly making it stagger.


    After what is basically a repeat of the battle with the first knight, the second one falls to the ground, dead as well.


    I climb off of the second knight after tearing out its throat as well before turning to find Emily climbing down from the tree she was in.


    Not sure why she isnt just jumping, but whatever.


    Emily stares at the corpses with a slightly stunned look on her face, likely surprised about how we actually managed to kill them. But that also has me wondering why she so quickly agreed to help.


    So I ask her.


    Because you saved my life before, she answers as if it should be obvious. Which has me blinking twice in confusion.


    Thats it?


    I trust your instincts, and if you think we can do this, we can, she says, making me openly gape at her for a few seconds, only to eventually shut my mouth again.


    We stare at each other for a few seconds before I eventually nod slowly.


    I should warn you, I tell her, making her stiffen up ever so slightly, the next part of the n is even more dangerous for you, but less dangerous to me. In all honesty, I dont think you should be here for it.


    Her eyes widen at that before a slightly disappointed look slips onto her face. But at the same time, a relieved one shows itself as well after that.


    Interesting.


    Looks like she was scared in the end.


    You should head back to Michael and tell them how Im doing, I tell her before smiling at her, borderline shocking her and adding, thank you for the help!


    Then I jump back into the trees to get to a vantage point over the nest.


    Cant have her getting hurt from my ns after all. Its my life that I can put in jeopardy. Not my friends.


    And while the first part of the n didnt feel like it had too much risk, since I knew the way the knights were spread out had them far enough that they wouldnt notice the others absence, and the spiders in the nest itself dont give a damn about the knights, just protecting their breeder, the second part of the n is more dangerous. For her, at least. For me, the knights are probably a tougher challenge, but they would also only be a challenge that Id have to deal with. The spiders on the other hand wont be much of a problem for me, but their numbers might let them slip past me to hurt Emily.


    And I cant have that happen because of my n.


    <strong>Good to see youre thinking logically even when hunting, </strong>I hear Tars voice return again, making my eyes quickly narrow.


    Tell me what happened.

 Book 2: Chapter 6: Punished

    Book 2: Chapter 6: Punished


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    Tar doesnt say anything for several seconds. But then, out of nowhere, he appears in the air in front of me looking rather weary.


    I frown.


    Are you okay? Seriously. Tell me what happened!


    <strong>I said something I shouldnt have, </strong>Tar says in my mind. <strong>So I was punished.</strong>


    Punished how? You look ragged.


    <strong>Lets just say it wasnt pleasant, </strong>he says with a visible shiver. <strong>And I cant exin anything about what I said before. If I break the rules again, telling you more than youre allowed to know right now, then I may very well be locked in the pce for months.</strong>


    Oh.


    I stare at him for several seconds, just taking in his ragged appearance for a bit before eventually sighing.


    Okay.


    But you better tell me what you were talking about as soon as youre allowed to, do you understand?


    The tanuki nods his head before vanishing from Earth as he asks, <strong>So whats your n for dealing with these variants?</strong>


    I focus on the nest again.


    This one shouldnt be as dangerous as dealing with the knights was. Mostly because these spawn are all weaker than me, and I highly doubt theyll leave their little queen unattended to. Meaning not all of them will be heading towards me at the same time.


    Then theres the fact that the only one Ive seen spin any thread so far is the queen, with none of the arachnids even seeming to have the ability to.


    So my n is to bring several of them out into the open in the clearing where Ill fight them, relying on my blood regeneration to keep me afloat. And hopefully getting a level in it in the process.


    Then Ill repeat that until all of the little ones are dead before going after their queen.


    Tar stays silent for a few seconds until eventually asking, <strong>And if the spiders have skills you arent expecting?</strong>


    Ill deal with them as theye.


    Its what Ive always done after all.


    <strong>True, </strong>Tar mutters, only to sigh a few secondster and say, <strong>okay, fine. I actually think this n has a lot of merit to it without too much risk.</strong>


    My face lights up into a brilliant smile at that one sentence that I will remember for the rest of my life. And more importantly, whenever Tar is calling me reckless or tries to say that everything I do is risky.


    Tar snorts at that in my head.


    I narrow my eyes on the nest for a few seconds before trying to use blood boil on one of the spiders in it. But it looks like theyre out of my range, which seems to barely extend just to the edge of the nest, about two dozen or so meters in front of me.


    Which is unfortunate.


    <strong>You werent nning on fighting in the trees anyways, </strong>Tar says, pointing out the obvious.


    Yeah, fighting those things in the trees would be a pain. They clearly have a lot more maneuverability than me, even if I should be more physically stronger than them.


    Anyways, if I cant get them toe out here while still in this tree, then Ill just have to go out and meet them.


    I jump down from the tree into the clearing before walking a little bit deeper into it, with the spiders instantly taking note of me the moment I cross the halfway point of the clearing. Then about half of the current 15  a few more were hatched in the time that I fought the knight apparently  begin to leave the web in my direction.


    Seven of them? I think I can handle that.


    <strong>Back With the Others</strong>


    Belle constantly paces back and forth out of worry over her idiotic  and quite possibly suicidal  best friend. Meanwhile Michael repeatedly looks between his terminal and the direction that Scarlet and his sister went, worried about Emily.


    After several minutes of excruciating silence, they hear sounding from the East before each of them looks up to find Emily jogging over to them while waving.


    Belle notices Michael letting out a pent up breath in relief, but she simply walks over to Emily and asks, Wheres Scarlet? Is she okay? Did she get hurt?


    Emily quickly grows both surprised and a little flustered at the repeated questions before Michaeles to her rescue, saying, Calm down, Belle. Let Emily have some time to answer in between the questions.


    <em>She</em>


    Scarlets best friend takes in a deep breath before letting it out again.


    Then, after being given a few seconds to catch her own breath, Emily finally answers, Scarlets fine. She is nning on dealing with the rest of the demons on her own, but I helped her kill the two knights over there. A smile blooms on her face. Even got a couple levels from it too.


    Michael pats her on the head, but Emily just pushes his hand away.


    <em>So shes still there, fighting?! Should I go to help? Would that make things worse?</em>


    <strong>Yes, it would, </strong>Artemis answers in her mind before mentally grumbling, <strong>and that stiff wouldnt let me hear the end of it if you did.</strong>


    Belle blinks in surprise.


    <em>Why not?</em>


    <strong>I dont know, </strong>he grumbles again. <strong>he wasining one day to me about reckless girls, so I <em>know </em>I would get an earful for letting you do something reckless like that. Something that will not only get you into unnecessary danger while youre at such a low level against those much higher leveled enemies, but something that could get his contractor in trouble too.</strong>


    <em>Reckless girls hes talking about Scar, isnt he?</em>


    <strong>Scar? If you mean his contractor, then its very possible, </strong>Artemis says, not sounding as arrogant as he usually does when talking to other people. Something Belle still doesnt really understand and gave up trying days ago.


    Belle looks down with a sad expression on her face before lightly kicking at the ground, only to look up at the green trees  trees that would otherwise bepletely bare of leaves if it werent for the adjusted temperature caused by the dome making the winter not harsh enough for the leaves to fall.


    Eventually she looks down again with a look of determination having reced the sadness on her face.


    <em>If Im a liability for her right now, then I just need to get stronger till I can help her. And not only just her, but Arthur, mom, and dad too!</em>


    <strong>Whatever motivates you to fight more is fine with me, </strong>Artemis says while sending her the feeling of a thumbs up through their bond, which makes Belles lips quirk up slightly in amusement.


    We shouldnt just sit here while shes dealing with the variant, Belle says to Michael, briefly surprising him before he eventually nods his head and says, Youre right. Lets go deal with the other demons while she handles the variant.

 Book 2: Chapter 7: The Queen Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 7: The Queen Part I


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    Thest surviving arachnid outside of the nest lets out a loud cry as I tear my hand into its abdomen before ripping it off of its body entirely, leaving the creatures cry to go up an octave in pitch before vanishingpletely as it dies.


    I let out a sigh of relief before using clean on myself as I jump off of the things corpse.


    That wasnt too bad.


    I wince slightly as my feet hit the ground, sending a tremor through my body, making therge hole in my side thats currently healing hurt worse in the process.


    <strong>Most people dont say that while they have a huge gaping hole in their waist, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding exasperated. But I ignore him to retreat back to the tree line outside of the clearing. During the battle, another egg was hatched by the queen, so the remaining creatures currently number nine. And I dont think I can take them before healing.


    I frown at the creatures in the nest who are still regarding me with clear wariness in their eyes. Even their queen is focusing on me from the center of the nest of webbing attached to trees.


    After seeing that the things arent approaching I walk out of the tree line again before taking my arm out of one sleeve of my jacket, then lifting my shirt a little to expose the wound on my lower right waist to the moonlight. And then I lie down on the grass on my side while keeping an eye on the spiders to let the moonlight assist my regeneration skill in healing it.


    The things look too wary of me now to actually leave their nest, which gives me plenty of time to heal. And while I <em>would</em> try just life draining them, that could also provoke them enough to have them head over here. So probably should just let blood regen and the moon do the work for me.


    A few minutes pass as I awkwardly lie on the grass, just healing my wound ever so slowly. Although much faster than it wouldve been before. And throughout the process, the spiders just continue to stare at me from their nest.


    I look at my wound again to find that its about halfway closed by now before looking down at the grass and getting an idea.


    Would that work?


    Deciding that it wouldnt hurt to try, I use life drain on the grass next to me. And it actually does work.


    For a second. Then the de of grass just turns grey and dies.


    I stare at it for a second before hearing Tar say, <strong>Use it on a tree instead. Small nts like grass have incredibly little life energy.</strong>


    So they do have life energy then.


    <strong>Of course, nts do, </strong>Tar says as if it should be obvious. <strong>nts are living too, arent they?</strong>


    Yeah, guess thats true.


    I use life drain on a tree instead, and it ends upsting a lot longer than the de of grass. So I continue draining the trees for a second, only to switch my focus onto the trees in the nest, a grin stretching across my face in the process. The trees there then begin to wither, no longer able to hold up the weight of the nest and the spiders, making half of the nest copse inwards right about the time my wound finishes healing. So I quickly pull my shirt down the rest of the way and slip my arm back into the sleeve of my jacket while standing up again.


    After climbing to my feet, I find that the spiders are all in chaos right now, and whatever breeding the queen was currently doing  hatching another egg by the looks of it fails miserably in the process when she quite literally crushes the egg shes hatching due to falling from the nest. Which seems to piss off the other spiders even more.


    I take advantage of the distraction by using life drain on five of the creatures at once along with blood boil. Then I rush up to them jumping, onto one of the trees and then off of it onto the closest spider, which I stab my ws straight into the head of and rip out its brain with little difficulty.


    Since theres already so much noise going on, I manage to jump over to a nearby spider and do the same to it. But then the queen does something totally unexpected.


    With a loud screech, the creature somehow rips off its own abdomen before the wound left behind is sealed up and the rest of it starts transforming slightly, making my jaw drop open in shock.


    <strong>Yep, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding just as surprised as me. <strong>Definitely a variant.</strong>


    Fucking duh.


    I jump out of the fallen nest when I find the spiders  including the queen  gazes turning towards me.


    The queen now has two legs with ded endings instead of ws positioned on the upper part of its body, with six legs left like normal on the lower part for walking, although adjusted to its new smaller size. But now its just the front part of the creature. No abdomen at all. And it looks really freaking weird.


    As if on cue, the queen begins screeching incredibly loudly, making the other spiders eyes all sh from ck to glowing red in the process, startling me even more.


    Oh. Guess it <em>really </em>didnt like being interrupted while breeding.


    Then something happens that borderline shocks me.


    The other spiders all begin eating each other as they move in front of their queen, who joins in. This continues as I gape at them for several seconds, the creatures somehow eating faster than should be possible a muchrger volume of mass than they seem to have themselves. All the way until eventually, the only one remaining is the queen, with her eyes glowing a scarlet red, just like my own.


    So, do you have any idea what just happened?


    <strong>Probably just ate the others to absorb their power or something, </strong>Tar says, sounding almost as surprised as me.


    Well, this is going to be a pain.

 Book 2: Chapter 7.2: The Queen Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 7.2: The Queen Part II


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    The queen begins stepping outside of the nest, which wouldnt be possible for a regr breeder, before I get a new message from the System that pushes straight past the hold I have on messages right now.


    <strong>|Demon Breeder  <em>Variant</em> Subspecies: Arachnid Queen Combat Form  Level 60|</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that.


    Its level just jumped. By seventeen levels. From eating its offspring. Although now that I think about it, they werent technically the same species despite being demons and being born of the queen, so it makes sense that the queen would level from killing them.


    Still. It ate its offspring. Thats just disgusting.


    <strong>Spiders do that all the time, dont they? </strong>Tar asks. <strong>Eat their offspring, I mean.</strong>


    No, from what Ive learned, they dont. There are some spiders that eat their siblings upon hatching though. And a lot of different types where the female eats the male after reproduction. Even one or two that has the male eating the female. But none that straight up eat their offspring after hatching them.


    <strong>You seem to know a lot about spiders, </strong>Tar mutters with a suspicious tone of voice as I slowly back away from the spider queen in front of me.


    Well, spiders are cool creatures. One of my favorites to be honest. Aside from wolves that is. And snakes.


    I hear Tar quietly chuckle to himself, likely at the irony of me liking wolves.


    Ignoring the tanuki for the moment, I slowly back away from the queen spider  who is now nowhere near asrge as she was before. But at the same time, her level is a lot higher than before.


    If my math is correct, predator should give me about a dozen or so levels worth of stats. Which would put my stats on par with something around level 52 ish. Not including any levels I mightve gained since the start of this hunt. Then theres the fact that my capabilities are likely higher as a blood lycan than a regr demon like this one. Even if it is a variant.


    Speaking of those levels, nows a good a time as any to use my free points.


    I quickly let the System messages flow free.


    <strong>{Level 26 Demon Hound defeated. Arge EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon ten or more levels below you.} x5</strong>


    <strong>{Level 22 Demon Spawn defeated. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon fifteen or more levels below you.} x8</strong>


    <strong>{Level 20 Demon Spawn defeated. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon twenty or more levels below you.} x10</strong>


    <strong>{Level 21 Demon Spawn defeated. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon fifteen or more levels below you.} x11</strong>


    <strong>{Level 25 Demon Spawn defeated. An extreme EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon fifteen or more levels below you.} x6</strong>


    <strong>{Level 13 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon twenty five or more levels below you. No EXP is awarded.} x31</strong>


    <strong>{Level 15 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon twenty five or more levels below you. No EXP is awarded.} x28</strong>


    <strong>{Level 10 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon twenty five or more levels below you. No EXP is awarded.} x21</strong>


    <strong>{Level 30 Demon Huntsmen defeated. A medium EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon ten or more levels below you.} x11</strong>


    <strong>{Level 50 Demon Knight defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting a small amount of assistance in killing the demon.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Level 43 Demon Spawn Variant defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.} x9</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 41. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 44. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty five Skill Points are awarded for killing over five hundred demons total.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon knight ten or more levels above you.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x11</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Siphon has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 7.]</strong>


    Ooookay, thats a lot to take in. And by the time the System finishes speaking, the spider queen is already leaping out of the nest straight towards me. So I dont quite catch some of it, but I do know that there are a lot of things there. And Im pretty sure I remember hearing level up four times.


    So I quickly dodge out of the way, letting the queen m into the ground where I was at before I run around the nest while opening my status and allocating my free points, wincing slightly when I almost lose my bnce from the adjustment. But I manage to keep it, and I quickly close out of my status again without checking anything new.


    After turning back around, I find the spider queen hot in pursuit, the things legs repeatedly stabbing into the ground as it runs at an incredible pace.


    Well this thing is going to be a massive pain.


    As if on cue, the creature lets out a very loud screech that has me instinctively reaching for and grabbing my ears rather roughly to cover them, making me wince in pain. And after a few seconds, I begin to feel liquiding out of them.


    Once the spider stops screeching, I raise my head again while removing my hands from my ears, only to immediately jump out of the way of one of the queens ws.


    Then I realize  after climbing back to my feet again  that my hands are covered in blood.


    I raise my gaze back up from my hand to the demon again who is currently ripping its ded limb from the soil.


    Well that certainly makes one of my weaknesses rather apparent.

 Book 2: Chapter 7.3: The Queen Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 7.3: The Queen Part III


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    I ignore the ringing in my ears as I finally jump up towards the demon while using blood boil and life drain on it at the same time. Though it doesnt give much reaction to the two. Instead it raises both of its ded legs to strike at me, but I roll out of the way before climbing back to my feet and running around it as the legs dig their way into the soil where I was at. Then I rake my ws across its lower legs and grimace as I feel the resistance meeting me. But its not too much resistance that my ws dont do any damage at all. So I continue doing so to all of its legs that I pass by before jumping out of range of it the moment its limbs break free from the soil again.


    Okay, this thing doesnt actually appear to be as much trouble as I was expecting. It looks like its maneuverability is drastically lower than the other spiders, likely due to its change in form. And it only barely seems to be able to support its weight while standing on all six legs, so it shouldnt be able to use those legs as weapons very well either. Just the two ded ones in the air.


    The main issue is the-


    I wince, the ringing in my ears growing much more pronounced as the spider lets out another screech, almost making me stagger in the process. But midway through this time, I straight up switch to my human ears and let out a sigh of relief. Because while it still hurts, it doesnt hurt anywhere near as badly as before.


    <strong>You wont be able to do that in the future, so you should learn how to control your ears better, </strong>Tar suddenly states, making my eyes narrow.


    Not really sure what he means by that exactly, but I dont have the time to ask. Because the spider queen is already rushing towards me again, taking advantage of my stunned state by swinging its ded arms straight at me. And I only barely move out of the way enough that instead of bisecting me, they go straight under my arm and cut through my jacket and into my side. The very same side that was stabbed earlier.


    Damnit, whats with that spot getting injured so much today?!


    Although in hindsight there are definitely worse ces I could be injured. And I also can''t help but be d that I have my armor now, since that would''ve been a lot worse without it.


    I grimace as the wound throbs with pain, and I feel blood seeping from the wound and going down my side, fortunately not soaking into the water, or in this case blood-proof armor. But I push through the pain as I reach for the de before it can even make it half a meter from me where I tighten my grip on the dull part of the limb. Only for that to end up making me fly with it instead.


    Shit.


    The limb ends up going upwards, bringing me with it before stopping. And right when Im wondering how Im gonna get down from here, I look down to find myself right over the queens body.


    Oh. Thatll work.


    The limb suddenly begins spasming, throwing itself around trying to knock me off, and when that doesnt work, the spider brings its other ded limb up to me. But before it can reach me, I simply let go of the limb and fall onto the spiders back where I pull my fist back and m it into the back of the spiders head, burning massive amounts of my own blood in the process to strengthen me as much as possible. And with the strength boost, I manage to knock its head into the ground, sending the limbs that were starting to move in my direction off course instead as its entire body stumbles.


    I push even harder, burning more blood as I repeatedly m my linked hands together into the back of its head, my legs wrapped around its neck to stay on top of it. Then, after cracks start opening up on its carapace, I pull my shifted arm back before digging it inside of the crack, slowly widening it until I can fit my hand inside where I reach around to find its brain. But by the time I manage that, I hear the ding sounding in my head marking the creatures death as it copses to the ground.


    Without wasting any time, I rip my hand out of its head before climbing off of its corpse. Then I simply copse to the ground t on my back while breathing heavily in exhaustion.


    After several seconds, I try to get up, only to find that to be a veryrge struggle. Likely due to blood loss, both from burning my blood too much, and from the open wound on my side. So I repeat what I did earlier, exposing the wound to the moon, although not lying on my side this time since thatd be too difficult to manage at the moment. Then I let the System messages from the queen flow since I have nothing better to do while lying here.


    <strong>{Level 60 Demon Breeder Original Variant defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature over fifteen levels above you. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing an original variant demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five skill points are awarded for killing an original variant.}</strong>


    <strong>{One skill point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 45. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 46. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    Two levels from that? Really? Just a single demon?


    <strong>Its because it was an original variant, </strong>Tar says, acting as if that would exin everything. <strong>An original variant is the term the System uses for the origin of a variant in a Fracture. Meaning the variant spawn you killed before werent original variants, but this breeder was.</strong>


    Oh. That makes more sense.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>its mostly just a term used for the variants that are able to spawn more variants, like this breeder.</strong>


    Yeah.


    I painfully move my arm in front of my face before texting the others to tell them that Im fine. Then I open my status and allocate my free points from these two levels.


    And then proceed to just stare at my status with a smile on my face.

 Book 2: Chapter 8: New Skills

    Book 2: Chapter 8: New Skills


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 46</strong><strong>SP: 72</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 117</strong><strong>Mental: 116</strong><strong>Magical: 117</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 1101/6786</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Without wasting any time, I open the descriptions for Blood ws, Blood Siphon, Life Drain, and Blood Regeneration. But then Im faced with disappointment when I find that all of their descriptions are still the same.


    <strong>The actual descriptions for the skills tend to change less and less the higher the level of the skill, </strong>Tar says, appearing in front of me and lying on the grass next to me. <strong>At some point the descriptions might even only change at every fifth level.</strong>


    Well thats annoying.


    Well, anyways, time to check out the skills store.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon wraith while below level twenty-five, through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>This skill can be used to create a clone made out of shadows and blood. It uses the users own blood and their shadow in the process of the skills use, and when the clone is destroyed, the user loses the blood and takes mental damage as bacsh.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Poisoning</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing various demons whose levels far surpass your own with indirect means, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>The user may corrupt a very small portion of their blood before separating it from their body and using it to infect other living beings.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing an original variant demon, by killing a demon at a higher level than you while almost burning all of your blood in the process, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>Any damage dealt to the user while this skill is active is returned to the one who dealt the damage in the form of blood burning.</strong>


    <strong>Activation of this skill costs a 20% of the users total mana.</strong><strong>Each activationsts for ten seconds.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at a higher level than you by at least ten levels, by killing at least 500 demons, by having manipted the blood of over fifty creatures including your own, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>The user may summon weapons of blood that they may control through their will.</strong><strong>These weapons will stay summoned for one minute and will cost ten mana per weapon.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    <strong>Another epic skill? </strong>Tar grumbles, sounding put off by how many high rarity skills Im getting.


    I raise an eyebrow at the tanuki without actually looking at him before focusing on the new skills. Which include the one new epic, and several new rares that I find after expanding the list a bit.


    Okay, there are some holes I can see in these skill descriptions that make me unsure of which ones to buy.


    <strong>I see what you mean, </strong>Tar says as I switch back to using my wolf ears now that the pain from them is mostly gone, having healed long before my side wound.


    For one, the shadow clone doesnt specify if I can directly control it or not, just implies that I should be able to. And I dont like that uncertainty. Even if Im pretty sure I will probably be able to control it.


    For two, blood poisoning is ratherx in its description overall. Will I be able to manipte the poisoned blood? Will I be able to control it with my mind or use it in other skills like blood ws? Or will the blood just drip down onto the floor and be useless until I level the skill more?


    And thest problem is with blood manifestation and the other two or so rare skills that basically give me ranged blood attacks  which I need if Im being honest. Will I be able to use my own blood to create the weapons? Use demon blood? The corrupted blood from blood poisoning? Or will it just summon the blood for the weapons?


    All of it is rather unclear, and it really bothers me.


    That aside though, Ill definitely be getting Blood Manifestation, if for no other reason than me needing a ranged attack that isnt an overtime effect like blood boil or life drain. So without any hesitation, I spend 20 SP on the rare skill. Then I focus my gaze on the three epics.


    But which of these three should I choose? And should I only buy one and spend the rest of my SP on leveling my current skills, or should I buy one and then wait to get five more points to buy a second epic?


    <strong>Id buy one epic and spend the points to level up whichever skills you believe need leveling the most, </strong>Tar suggests. And right before Im about to focus on the skills store again, notice the sound of approaching human footsteps.


    Guess the others are getting closer.


    Focusing on the store again, I think Blood Shadow is probably the most useful to me right now. Because Blood Poisoning isnt very useful outside ofbining the poisoned blood with summoned weapons, if thats even possible, and blood retribution is something I have to activate. So Id have to n on getting hurt.


    Not a pleasant idea right now.


    Blood Shadow would give me a great decoy to use in ns along with a second hand to help me in battles, assuming the shadow can move and fight without me actively directing it of course. But even if it cant, the decoy part still works.


    And its not like I cant purchase the otherster.


    So I purchase Blood Shadow. Then I move on to my status again to focus on my skills and begin debating on which one or ones to level up. Only to get interrupted when I hear the footsteps reach the other side of the clearing, following which I hear someone shout, Scarlet!


    Guess I can decide on which skills to level upter.

 Book 2: Intermission 1

    Book 2: Intermission 1


    <strong>Ciphers Office at the Silver Association Base</strong>


    <strong><em>Later that night, after the Demonic Assault ends</em></strong>


    Cipher lets out a loud groan as his head rests against his desk.


    How? he asks Sage in front of him before lifting his head and meeting her cold, dead eyes. Just how is it that every single time she goes out during a Demonic Assault, she ends up in some situation that would <em>normally </em>not happen?


    The woman just stares without saying anything, knowing that Cipher is just venting.


    First it was a demon knight on a floor without anything important on it. Nothing to guard at all. Which just doesnt happen. Cipher continues, uncaring of her silence. Then it was a wraith going down the stairs and leaving the territory of the ss II Fracture to hunt her specifically. He slouches back in his office chair, making it creak slightly from having too much force put on it at once. And now she finds an original variant? The only Demonic Assault that nothing out of the ordinary happened was her third one! And even that one still had a ss IV Fracture open up!


    A few seconds pass in silence before Cipher just rests his forehead on his hands, leaning his elbows on the desk.


    <em>Just what is going on with that girl? Its like she has both the worst luck in the world and the best since she keeps surviving and benefiting from it!</em>


    Eventually Sage finally speaks up, Could it be possible that Lady White may be assisting her?


    Ciphers head shoots up at that as his eyes widen, only for the look of realization to crash a secondter as he lowers his head again and says, No, that wouldnt be possible. The System would know if White was helping her and wouldnt give Scarlet any rewards.


    Then what do you suggest is the reason for this? Sage asks, making Cipher raise his head again with a frown and ask, You think theres something manipting the Fractures shes in? But


    Ciphers frown grows deeper.


    <em>If Sage is mentioning this, shes probably gotten a vision or a prophecy of some sort. Meaning this is probably true. But how?</em>


    The only way the System wouldnt decrease Scarlets rewards for her aplishments is if whoever is intervening isnt helping her or even so much as weakening the demons at all, Cipher mutters before narrowing his eyes. So whoever is manipting the Fractures is just directing the demons towards her without helping her at all.


    You mean to say theyre trying to kill her? Sage asks, a very faint frown emerging on her usually emotionless face.


    Cipher purses his lips before shaking his head. No. If theyre strong enough to manipte a Fracture like that without being caught, then theyre strong enough to kill her with ease, also without getting caught. The frown on Sages face grows, and her eyes widen as he finishes. This is just a theory, mind you, but the only reason I can think of is that whoever it is believes that Scarlet can handle whatever theyre throwing her way and are just risking her death because of that belief.


    So theyre trying to help her? Sage asks, her face clearing up again rather quickly.


    In their own way, Cipher says while leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair, showcasing his stress to his uncaring subordinate. You yourself mentioned before that us being dyed was beneficial towards her, right? Sage nods. Then thats gonna be the theory Ill be running with now. But that then leaves the question of who could be doing this?


    Lady White? Sage asks, but Cipher shakes his head and outright denies that. White wouldnt be able to do something like that. Its just not in her skills.


    <em>Sure, shed be able to wipe the demons off the face of the Fracture, along with the building itself, but she wouldnt be able to direct the demons straight towards Scarlet. Not with any certainty of it working as nned. Not to mention that its not something shed do. Just not something I can see her ever doing.</em>


    Then who? Sage once again asks, showing a hint of interest.


    <em>If not White, then who? Who could order demons around in a Fracture? Who could make a demon spawn as a variant? Theyd have to be able to control the demons themselves and what demons manage to make it through into the Fracture from Tartarus</em>


    Ciphers eyes widen at that thought. But then he narrows them again and shakes his head.


    <em>No, that cant be possible</em>


    Sage shifts the documents in her arms before cing them on Ciphers desk, attracting his attention as she asks, What is it?


    <em>Could Scarlet have some connection to the demons? Wait, what about her ears? And her eyes?</em>


    Cipher frowns, ignoring the woman for the moment.


    <em>I dont think Ive ever heard of a Guardian having four ears after their reality warp. Ande to think of it, she looks a little bit like no, thats not possible.</em>


    What is it? Sage repeats her question, sounding less patient this time despite talking to her boss.


    Its just a possibility, Cipher starts, speaking rather slowly. But what do you think would happen if a human and a demon had a child? Before Sage can immediately deny the possibility, Cipher raises his hand and stops her from voicing her denial. Hear me out. What if a noble demon and a human had a child but sealed away the childs demonic genes before they got the chance to begin devouring the human ones?


    Sage frowns at that.


    The brief image of a memory long since buried in Ciphers mindes to the forefront. One of thest ss V Fracture that happened on Earth, where a Blood Lycan was seen fighting with White.


    <em>Assuming my memory isnt failing me, Scarlet looks a lot like him especially in the face. And her scowl. The same one he had the entire fight. Not as much as she looks like White though</em>


    If that happened, then I think it would be possible for the baby to survive, but it would certainly leave them with problems in their development, Sage says rather clinically, having been a doctor herself before she became a Guardian.


    And what would happen if the baby were to grow up and then enter a Fracture when theyre an adult? Cipher proceeds with his questioning while starting to get a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. And are then offered a contract?


    Sages eyes widen and she slowly answers, The Fracture would awaken the baby-now-adults demons side, while the contract may just save their life from the demonic genes dominance during the process of making them a Guardian. But then she shakes her head and adds, But this is mere theoretical hypothesis. There isnt any actual proof that this could happen. Furthermore, the chances of a human and a noble demon breeding is extremely low, even <em>if </em>theyd even bother considering it.


    Right, Cipher says with a sigh before shaking his head as well. It cant be true.


    <em>White hates the demons more than most after all. There would be no way that she would ever have a child of all things with one. Not to mention that a blood lycan of all things would never deign to lower itself to breeding with a mere human being. Especially when the Demon King is currently a blood lycan.</em>


    Cipher leans forward over his desk again, having thrown out the possibility of Scarlet being half demon with those thoughts alone.


    <em>But what if they did? Especially because if thats not it, then who is manipting the Fractures? And how?</em>


    After several seconds pass in silence, Cipher finally sighs and says, Look into this for me.


    Sage nods her head and turns around to leave.


    <em>I just hope that we can find the culprit before they try anything too serious and get her hurt because I dont think Ill be able to handle losing another one. Even if that far-fetched theory does turn out to be true. Shell still be my little girl.</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 9: Blood Magic

    Book 2: Chapter 9: Blood Magic


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    <strong><em>The next day</em></strong>


    I nervously look around the ssroom at the dozens upon dozens of empty seats, wondering to myself if I should just leave the ss or not, only to let out a sigh when someone finally does walk into the ss. When I first stepped into this ssroom  the one meant for my Blood Magic ss  I felt a little offput by theck of anyone here. No students. No professor. No anyone.


    Now I cant help but smile a little at the sight of another student entering the ss. And the student themself also looks rather surprised at the sight of me here, possibly having not expected anyone to be in this ss either.


    Which is a usible expectation now that I think about it, what with how rare blood magic is.


    Although it also makes me wonder if they ignore the news or something, considering how often Ive seen my damned face on it.


    Wait.


    I frown.


    Why dont I recognize this person? Are they just not abat focused blood magic user? Or did they miss the ranking tournament?


    The student is a guy wearing a ck pair of sweatpants and a grey hoodie with a cats image pasted on the chest of it, with a double ended pocket at the bottom of the hoodie. He has both of his hands in the pocket and is looking straight at me with his eyes wide open and his long ck hair reaching down to around his shoulders partially covering his face. And from what I can see behind his hair, he seems to haveplete heterochromia. One seemingly ck eye and one crimson colored eye. Neither of which are glowing.


    <strong>Check his mana level, </strong>Tar suddenly says, and I do so only to realize that hes ss II. Not ss I.


    Whats up with that? Isnt this supposed to be a freshmen level ss? Or is it not?


    Out of nowhere, a flood of blood suddenly spouts from the front of the room, following which a woman appears with crimson eyes, albeit not glowing ones like my own. The woman is wearing a set of red and ck leather armor, with two swords sheathed at her waist that must be made from magi-tech or possibly even demon parts from high level demons originating from Demon Isle.


    The woman looks between the two of us before pointing at the guy and then at the seat one seat over from me and says, Sit. And he immediately does so, seeming slightly stiff when he gets close to me.


    Not a people person? I can totally understand that.


    Both of you are special in some way, the woman says while crossing her arms. She turns to look at me and says, Scarlet Asger, the Scarlet Wolf. The only student to match our headmaster in reaching the top eighty students while in your first year after only a little over a week since contracting, even if you still ced a dozen ranks beneath her when she did it. She turns to look at the guy and continues, Leo Foster, the Blood Wraith. A year one student who had contracted when he was only thirteen years old and is already a ss II Guardian at eighteen years old.


    Both the guy and I share surprised looks, but the professor continues speaking, drawing our attention back to her rather quickly, Both of you are blood magic users, which makes you inherently more desirable to any team that you may join. One of the few magics that is capable of fulfilling nearly every single role in a team. And in the hands of some Guardians? One of the most powerful magics.


    Guess her stance on blood magicpared to other magics is rather clear.


    The two of you will be studying everything there is to know about blood magic while youre in my ss, and neither of you will ck off even the slightest bit, she says, a stern look crossing her face as she uncrosses her arms. I have very little patience, and even less tolerance for the typical shenanigans that students your age with magic and supernatural powers tend to get up to. If you have any interest in those sorts of activities, then there is the door. She finishes while pointing at the door.


    After seeing neither of us moving or even so much as flinching, the corner of her lip quirks up and she continues, Good. Now, since there are only two of you, tell me the areas your current blood magic skills cover and well begin there.


    My eyebrows lift in surprise, but the guy is already answering, Manifestation and ailments skills are what I have right now.


    Not bad. Common for blood magic users, but not bad still. The professor states before turning to me and asking, And you?


    If I remember correctly, the skills branch off into various different types, manifestation and ailments like Leo said being two of them.


    Mine though


    Transformation, ailments, and berserk skills, I answer after a second. And a recently obtained manifestation skill.


    Leo looks surprised at my answer, but the professor looks like she was expecting it. Since she probably was. After all, shes most likely looked into us considering how she knew our names, titles, and one of the biggest notable details about us.


    All good skills, the professor says, nodding her head once in the process before narrowing her eyes on me. But you also have regeneration skills too, dont you?


    My eyebrows rise for a second, but I nod my head in response despite my surprise.


    Good, she says, a smile almost breaking through onto her face. All you need is to level up that manifestation skill and youll have a great lineup of skills. She turns to Leo and adds, And you should focus on getting some physical enhancement skills, since if all you have are manifestation and ailments skills, you wont do very well in closebat.


    And I cant help but agree with her judgement there. Ailments skills are like my blood boil and life drain skills, or Emilys mdy inducement one. And manifestation skills are things like the blood manifestation I just got from the store yesterday.


    Berserk skills are like blood sacrifice, where you get a boost for a price, transformation skills is obvious as to what they do, and so are regeneration skills.


    Leo nods his head and begins writing down notes on his terminal.


    Wee to my Blood Magic ss, I am Ruby Hunter, otherwise known as the Huntress, and I will be your professor for the foreseeable future, she says while tapping her fingers on the pommel of her swords. Itll be nice getting to know you better.

 Book 2: Chapter 10: Skills Test Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 10: Skills Test Part I


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    <strong>So when are you nning on going solo again for Fractures?</strong> Tar asks, making me frown slightly as I toy around with the sword made of blood floating in the air in front of me in the middle of the training room at the manor hosting my suite.


    Honestly? Not sure. Maybe after I reach level fifty-five or level sixty. So not much longer. But I will still go ahead and join them for the first Fracture of each Assault, just to continue working on our teamwork.


    <strong>That means you decided to help them for the Interschool Tournament this Winter? </strong>Tar asks, sounding not the least bit surprised.


    Yeah. Theyve helped me a lot, and Im a little curious as to the rewards for winning the Interschool Tournament.


    <strong>Rewards? </strong>Tar asks, sounding confused. <strong>What are the rewards?</strong>


    I raise a brow in surprise before refocusing on controlling the sword as I answer, One of the rewards for getting first ce in one of the non-primepetitions during a tournament is a free pass to enter any city and fight in any Fracture you wish to fight in, regardless of who is already in it.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>Tar mutters, making my lips quirk up in a smirk at the sound of his surprised tone. <strong>Thats good.</strong>


    Yep.


    I control the sword in front of me to move slightly away before creating another weapon  a spear this time  and sending it around towards the sword with a frown on my face at the mental stress building up in my head.


    Looks like controlling more than one weapon at once is difficult for me right now.


    <strong>Well, that is using your mental stat, which is a lot worse in terms of capabilities than your magical or physical stats, </strong>Tar exins while appearing in the room. He then continues speaking in my head despite being on Earth, <strong>Blood lycans arent the greatest at maniption or manifestation skills, since they tend to be a lot more mentally taxing than the other ones youve been using up till now.</strong>


    Hmm. Makes sense.


    I turn around and focus on the force measuring machine. Something a lot of Guardians use to measure the strength of their physical body and their skills in general. Then I raise a hand and send the sword flying straight at the machine, where it then turns into a stter of blood after hitting it due to the hardness of the machine itself. Something that is made out of demon materials from Demon Isle and is strong enough to take the punch of a ss III Guardian with its 500,000 arc durability.


    The machine takes a second before a number appears on the screen above the device, making my eyes widen slightly.


    <strong>[1125 arc]</strong>


    Wow. Did I read that correctly?


    <strong>Yes, you did, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>if you think thats a lot, you should try testing your own strength right now. Itll most likely surprise you.</strong>


    Oh. Right. I didnt do that.


    I wonder how strong I am anyways? I know the average arc of raw punching force a human has  not including the use of skills or techniques, such as System skills or regr martial arts  is about 100 or so arc give or take. A measurement that humanity developed specifically because of the Guardians.


    <strong>Punch the machine and find out, </strong>Tar says, sounding like hes ordering around a child, which has me scowling at him for a second before turning around and walking straight to the machine.


    Then I punch it.


    And immediately find my jaw dropping open in shock at the sight of the numbers that show up a few secondster.


    <strong>[3660 arc]</strong>


    What the fuck?! I shout out loud, just staring at the number until it disappears.


    Tar just sighs before saying, <strong>Might as well tell you now since I know youll just askter. The form for calcting the amount of arc an individual has in raw punching force is calcted through adding together the multipliers for their Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiplying the result by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch without System skills or any other aids.</strong>


    I quickly do some mental math before finding that the result for a regr human is about 100 arc, just like I already knew. Since all creatures start out with a stat of 10 in each stat until their reality warp upon contracting, changing their stats and even their capabilities depending on their magic.


    Wow. Thats unexpected.


    <strong>I dont know why, because it shouldve been pretty obvious that you were getting stronger just by the stronger demons youve been killing, </strong>Tar says while floating over andnding on my shoulder.


    Yeah, but all I knew from that was that demons that I wouldve previously been unable to hurt are now getting hurt from me doing the same thing to them. I didnt have an exactparison, since leveling up and raising my stats has my body automatically adjusting to the change.


    And its not like Ive tried punching through a wall or something to test it.


    So cut me some ck, okay?


    I hear the tanuki sigh, but he doesnt say anything else, indicating that hes dropping the subject.


    Anyways, 3660 arc Im over twenty times as strong as the average regr human being now? Thats incredible.


    And its only been about a week and a half since I contracted.


    <strong>Remember that youre only advancing so quickly because of how reckless you are, </strong>Tar mutters before adding, <strong>and your strength and agility capabilities are far higher than the average human on ount of being a blood lycan.</strong>


    Oh. Right.


    That aside, the blood weapon still dealt a good chunk of damage. Especially for reusable ranged weapons.


    Something that I didnt have before.


    Its just too bad that the blood manifestation skill doesnt let me make ranged weapons like guns or bows and arrows. Only des.


    But using it to make daggers, knives, swords, spears, and all other manners of ded weapon before sending them flying at the enemy works just as well.


    I wasnt really able to test the blood manifestation while out in the demonic assaults yesterday since I used up arge portion of my mana in the first Fracture, and it kept giving me a headache since I kept trying to make more des than I shouldve. So I just left testing the skills till now.


    And up next is Blood Shadow.

 Book 2: Chapter 10.2: Skills Test Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 10.2: Skills Test Part II


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong>


    The moment I activate the skill, I feel a faint stabbing pain spread throughout all of my body before blood literally drains from every single pore I have and flies to the ground next to me, building a faint copy of me, albeit covered in shadows and made up of blood so you cant see any of my bodys features clearly.


    I barely manage to keep on my feet as the stabbing pain slowly fades, leaving me feeling weakened quite a bit from blood loss.


    <strong>Looks like that skill took a lot more of your blood than we both expected, </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but nod rather weakly.


    After a few seconds of wobbling, I decide to just sit down for the moment as I watch the shadow clone, who is simply staring at me without moving an inch. And somehow I get the instinctive feeling that I can order it to do stuff with my mind and itll just somehow understand exactly what I want it to do.


    So I do just that, and the thing immediately reaches for the remaining blood spear I have that had fallen to the ground after I activated blood clone. It then starts to spin it around rather clumsily, obviously showing that its using my skills to do so seeing as I have no skill with a spear. Never even touched one before. But then it eventually moves over to the machine and stabs the spear of blood straight at it, making the spear dissipate just like the sword did.


    Then my eyes are drawn to the number that appears, pleasantly surprising me in the process.


    <strong>[2003 arc]</strong>


    Ooh, thats pretty good! Better than the blood weapon alone, but still worse than my own strength by arge chunk.


    Now then. I close my eyes and focus on the blood shadow for a few seconds, trying to see if I can use its senses or something like Michael can his summons, but nothing ever happens, leaving me disappointed.


    I open my eyes again.


    Well, it was worth a shot, I guess.


    <strong>I wouldnt be surprised if you get that ability in ater level of the skill, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but nod at that.


    That would certainly be nice. For now, the blood shadow just works as a decoy though. Because unless I summon it at the start of a Fracture, then it wont be much help, since itll end up draining what must be almost half of my blood just from summoning.


    <strong>Thatll probably end up improving as well when you level the skill, </strong>Tar adds, making me purse my lips for a second before deciding to level the skill one time. Which costs me 4 SP to do.


    <strong>[Skill Blood Shadow has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    Then I focus on the description and find a pleasant surprise there.


    <strong>{Blood Shadow - This skill can be used to create a clone made out of shadows and blood. It uses the users own blood and their shadow in the process of the skills use, and when the clone is destroyed, the user loses the blood and takes mental damage as bacsh. 1% of the blood used can be substituted through skills or mana.}</strong>


    Nice! Thatst part wasnt there before!


    Tar gets off of me, likely noticing that his weight isnt helping with my current feeling of weakness. Even if I am starting to feel a bit better thanks to Blood Regeneration, which doesnt just regenerate wounds, but also, like the name says, regenerates blood.


    In fact, I feel like it might regenerate my blood faster than my wounds, if the other day was anything to judge by.


    <strong>Wouldnt be surprised, </strong>Tarments, his voice ringing in my head while hes flying around my blood shadow and seemingly inspecting it. <strong>Blood is one of the most important parts of a blood lycan, seeing as theyre so often metallicizing it and using it in battle. So being able to regenerate it faster than normal wounds sounds like a must.</strong>


    True.


    I order the blood shadow to do various things including bare handedbat drills that were taught to me by Sylver and Allen, sparring with a dummy, testing its aim when throwing a blood weapon, and of course testing the strength behind when it throws a blood weapon as opposed to when I do it myself with the actual skill  the blood shadow being stronger  andstly, testing what happens when the thing leaves my sight. Which isnt really anything. It just continues following my orders, only with me not being able to see where it is or what its doing.


    Good enough for me. At least, for now it is.


    Would be better if I could share its senses, but Ill be patient.


    I climb back to my feet, feeling good enough to stand and even fight again before ncing down and noticing my shadow. Or rather, myck of a shadow.


    Huh. So the Blood Shadow skill really did take my shadow.


    Hows that even possible? Is a shadow really something that can just be taken?


    <strong>Its magic, </strong>Tar says as if that solves every question in the world.


    And I guess it does?


    I test a few things with the two skills, such as if I can use my own blood or other types of blood such as the blood in the blood shadow in the creation of blood manifestation  which I cant yet apparently  and if I can use the blood in the blood manifestation for other things as well. Then I test using the blood manifestation myself, and while they are stronger when held by me than my regr punch, I also try punching the device with my arm shifted without using blood ws and find a rather startling result.


    <strong>[3815 arc]</strong>


    And when I do it again after activating blood ws on that hand, I find an even more startling result, one that is higher than grabbing a blood weapon and using it myself.


    <strong>[4001 arc]</strong>


    Very nice results overall.


    Although it does delegate the blood manifestation to a pure ranged focused skill. Or one for my blood shadow to use.


    Anyways, I unsummon my blood shadow, making an incredibly ufortable sensation run through me as the blood begins reentering me through my pores. But then a sizable chunk is left behind  nearly half of what was making the blood shadow  so I just store it in my blood storage, seeing as its likely the excess blood that was already regenerated in the time I was using blood shadow.


    I adjust my magi-tech jacket and shirt that had been a tad disced by the blood before turning around, using the clean skill, and leaving the training room.


    Time to head to bed.

 Book 2: Chapter 11: The Viper Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 11: The Viper Part I


    <strong>Inside of the Electives Tower</strong>


    Viper narrows her eyes on the students walking into the ssroom from her spot hidden just in the back corner of the lecture hall as she waits for one particr student to enter the ss. Because no matter how much she tried, she could never catch Scarlet after she made it back to the campus grounds from her visit to the front lines. The girl was always either training, studying, or in ss. Never free to speak.


    In the end, the ss IV Guardian ended up resorting to just waiting till the ss she teaches to find her and make contact with her after the ss.


    <em>So where is she? Why hasnt she entered the ss yet? All of the other Top ss and Advanced ss students taking Achievements are here already, so where is she?</em>


    Viper nces at her terminal to find that the ss starts in just another two minutes before she looks up, only to find the girl in question finally walking into the ss with her hands in the coat pockets of her rather unusually styled magi-tech gear. Gear thats basically just regr clothing including a shirt, pants, and a coat, and apparently the only thing she ever wears around campus.


    <em>Then again, it looks mostly like casual clothes and gives the protection of magi-tech gear, so I understand why she does it, given that everything Ive heard about her paints the girl as extremely practical and a bit of a battle junkie with a dislike for most things girly.</em>


    Suddenly the girl stops moving and begins looking around the ss for a second with a frown, as if searching for something.


    <em>Does she have a friend in the ss shes looking for? But I thought most of the students here were ones she ripped to shreds in the tournament actually, some of her teammates should be in this ss now that I think about it.</em>


    Vipers eyes widen when the girls gaze finally stops on her.


    <em>Wait, she was looking for </em>me<em>?!</em>


    After her brief surprise, Viper starts grinning like a madwoman, only wanting to make the girl her apprentice even more now than before.


    Meanwhile Scarlet just frowns as she stares at the spot where Viper is at, seemingly unsure of something  as if shes not actually seeing Viper but knows something is there.


    <em>Very powerful instincts by the looks of it. Or just some sort of detection skill?</em>


    Either way, Viper wasnt going to let the girl be taken by one of those other nimrods.


    Her grin vanishes as she takes a step forward, a pale violet fog appearing beneath her footstep the moment she does so. But none of the students manage to see her despite this, and she simply walks towards the front of the room, no longer looking at Scarlet, who now seems to be even more confused and unsure of what just happened.


    Then  once she makes it to the front of the room  Viper blinks once, her violet serpentine eyes shing once with a violet glow before a wave of violet fog suddenly bursts out of her and then vanishes just an instantter, following which the eyes of all of the students in the room instantly turn to her.


    Wee to my ss, Top and Advanced ss students.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Not long after that incredibly annoying prickling sensation of someone powerful watching me disappears, the professor appears in the center of the room amongst a small amount of violet fog. And her gaze immediately locks onto mine when she says, Wee to my ss, Top and Advanced ss students.


    <strong>Did all of the professors here just decide that theyd make a shy entrance to their sses, or is it a requirement? </strong>Tar sarcasticallyments, and I cant help but agree with him. Because even my professor on Thursday for indoorbat had a shy entrance of quite literally breaking through the wall and having it repair itself again while they walked towards the center of the room.


    A very, <em>very </em>shy entrance. And very unnecessary as well.


    Then again, these professors are probably just doing it to show off to the next generation of Guardians.


    If you dont already know me, my name is Lily Wright, but most people just call me by my title, Viper, Viper says, putting her hands on her hips as she speaks and finally taking her gaze off of me to look at the others. Its good to see that almost all of the Advanced and all of the Top ss students decided to attend this ss, because it is  as you can probably guess by it being locked to the Advanced ss students and above  something every Guardian is gonna want to take if they want to be able to work the System into giving them better achievements.


    Viper nces at me again as I finish making my way to a seat in the back, away from any other students, choosing not to sit next to Michael, Emily, and Denise to focus on the ss. Only for a certain annoying death magic user to get up and walk over to me, sitting down right next to me without a care in the world.


    I frown at him, but he just nods, so I sigh and focus on the professor again.


    I will say this now though, Viper continues, turning her gaze away from me and scanning the ss instead. There is no way to fool the System. It has been tried by thousands of people, all older and more experienced than you, and not a single person has seeded. The only things we can do are learn the possible Achievements that can be gained from the System, a list of skills and their requirements, and a few things that do manage to skirt around the rules a little bit. Such as a parent trying to limit the danger of a Fracture for their childs benefit by bringing them into it and forcing them to fight the demon without any assistance. This would give the child rewards depending on how much higher a level the demon was as long as the parent truly has no intentions of helping the child should something go wrong. She pauses here, her eyes narrowing. Even if the child were to die.


    Thats a rather brutal way of raising a kid.


    Tar  who had been speaking a lot more during these lectures  doesnt say anything. Which makes my frown grow deeper for a second, only for it to fade awaypletely when the professor continues speaking.


    Now, there are plenty of idental methods that can give someone powerful achievements but still allow them to survive, Viper says, her gaze going straight towards me again as she raises a single brow. But she quickly moves her gaze away without singling me out, But those cant be nned, otherwise the System would know about it and reduce the reward depending on what the ns were. It may even refuse to give a reward entirely if the entire thing was nned and there was no risk involved at all.


    Exactly the reason why most Guardians dont just power level their kids or something.


    Because the System would know.


    <strong>The System is probably the closest thing to omnipotent in existence, even if it cant actually do anything outside of its programming, </strong>Tar suddenly says, speaking up again.


    Yeah.


    Now, Viper says before tapping away on her terminal and making a long list appear on the screen as she smirks. To show you the list of skills and their requirements that youll be memorizing.


    And  as if on cue  a bunch of groans echo through the room.


    Well, this wont be fun.

 Book 2: Chapter 11.2: The Viper Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 11.2: The Viper Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After an hour of Viper just describing each and every skill on the list  skills that are apparentlymonce for new Guardians and arent magic locked  she eventually moves onto a much more interesting topics.


    Skill etching.


    Skill etching is doable only when a Guardian or contracted demon aplishes an achievement so great in the eyes of the System that it deserves a skill etching slot, allowing the Guardian or demon to etch a skill into their very genes. Their DNA. Viper says, describing one of the many reasons why demons are so much stronger than humans on average. Because theyve had ess to the System for a lot longer than us, and are both much higher leveled on average, mostly all contracted even if its just to much lower ranked fae than most human Guardians, and have had a much longer amount of time to etch skills into their DNA, making the various species what they are to this day. Very few people actually get the ability to etch a skill though. In fact, most of the time its only the ss V Guardians and demons who end up etching a skill or two, and then those etched skills continue down their bloodline until someone else ends up etching another skill, adding to it. Viper pauses to frown. Or at least, thats how it is with demons, since the humans on Earth havent been given the time to do that yet.


    A round of whispers run through the lecture hall for a bit before going quiet again when Viper narrows her eyes.


    Most demons dont have any etched skills though, or they only have a single etched skill, she continues. Generally its only the descendants of a noble demon  a ss V demon  who are gifted with an etched skill. Which is also one of the many reasons why the seven demon ns still reign supreme over Tartarus, even with other demons reaching level 1000 and bing Noble Demons themselves through that. Because each species in the ns have several etched skills, and since its impossible to breed outside of your own species, they often have some rather suspect rtionships.


    I grimace at the thought.


    The noble n demons sound like the old, <em>old </em>world  I think it was called medieval world?  nobility that would have two cousins marry each other just for pointless bloodline garbage that doesnt actually do anything besides hurt them from incest. Although in the demons case, it does actually lead to improvements through the new etched skills always being spread through their ranks.


    <strong>You may think of it as disgusting, but its a normal thing for demons to breed amongst vaguely close family, </strong>Tar says, sounding almost like a teacher himself. <strong>Demons dont think of it as disgusting, and theyre often breeding amongst cousins, with a few species  not including blood lycans  breeding between siblings. Although most dont know any better since arge majority of the various demon species dont have sapience.</strong>


    Yeah, I can see that stopping any reservations theyd have.


    <strong>Its generally only done for the etched skills though, since if they dont have any of those, then theres no point, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but nod my head in agreement with that.


    Right.


    I cant help but envy the people like Michael and Emily who do have very powerful Guardian parents that may have had an etched skill though.


    Tar coughs in my mind, making me frown before he says, <strong>You do realize that you have a lot of etched skills too, right?</strong>


    I blink at that.


    Wait, really?


    <strong>Of course, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly exasperated with my response. <strong>Youre part of one of the seven demon ns. So even if some of them are sealed by your gics being messed up, you have them.</strong>


    Huh.


    Could you give us an example of an aplishment that would reward a skill etching slot? one of the students that I remember ripping the throat out of early on in the second round of the tournament  I think his name was Caleb or something  asks while raising his hand. But I ignore him to focus on Tar.


    If thats the case, then why dont I have them on my skills list?


    <strong>Because etching a skill into your DNA turns it into a biological part of your body, making it no longer a skill for any descendants you pass it onto, </strong>Tar answers, making my eyes widen slightly as my hands almost instinctively reach for my ears. <strong>The skill will just be a part of their body that many people assume has always been there. Like the incredible hearing blood lycans have.</strong>


    One of my ears twitch at that.


    <strong>Blood lycans have always had great hearing, but they didnt have hearing anywhere near as good as they do now in the beginning, when the System first arrived, </strong>Tar says before pausing as Viper answers the students question, I personally have only ever etched one skill, and that was for surviving against Satan on the front lines of the war while being backed up by over a dozen other ss IV Guardians. So the requirements are pretty harsh.


    Oh. Wow. To both of those bits of information.


    The professor suddenly nces at the clock at the back of the room before saying, That will be all for todays ss. Then she begins tapping away at her terminal as the students quickly begin to get up.


    <strong>I dont know the exact etched skills blood lycans should have, but I do know that you have their hearing and their regeneration, and will likely get their eyes at ss II, </strong>Tar continues as I begin disconnecting my terminal from the device in front of me.


    My regeneration? Isnt that an achievement locked skill?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar agrees quickly before adding, <strong>but a lot of those achievement locked skills are etched skills that were just too powerful for the System to allow to be passed down simply by bloodline alone, so the System initially gives the descendant a lower rarity version of it as simply part of their body while making the higher rarity versions of it up to the one the original skill holder had achievement locked skills instead. Higher rarity versions meaning Legendary and Mythic rarity skills.</strong>


    Oh. So its not entirely based on bloodline then.


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar says, once again agreeing.


    As I get up from my seat, I notice my terminal buzzing. So I nce at it to find an email from Viper? What?


    I raise my head to look at her, just to find her staring at me with her arms crossed before she vanishes in a plume of violet fog.


    What does she want?


    I look down at the email and begin reading it, my eyes widening almost right away.


    Huh.

 Book 2: Chapter 11.3: The Viper Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 11.3: The Viper Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After making it to the vast faculty tower close to the center of the campus grounds, I navigate my way through the building hallways, asionally nodding my head at people who pass by when they do the same to me until I eventually find myself standing in front of Vipers office. And before I can even knock, the door opens for me and her voice echoes out of it, Come in.


    I walk inside, only to find myself in a room that I would never in a million years call an office. Because while it does have a desk and office chair in it with arge window behind them, it also has a freaking water fountain at the center of the vast room. Now, if that were just all then I could still call it an office. But what office has a t screen tv and a bed in it?


    <strong>Maybe she just likes to sleep where she works? </strong>Tar mutters, sounding unsure himself.


    Uh, huh. Sure. So youre saying if you had an office then youd have a water fountain in it?


    He doesnt respond.


    Of course, he doesnt.


    I find the woman herself leaning against her desk, half sitting on it while standing in front of it and staring at me. She then gestures over to a small sitting area in the vast room near the water fountain before walking over to it herself. And I join her just a secondter, sitting down on the fancy little chair next to the small table and the water fountain.


    This is just so bizarre. And not what I pictured when I got her email.


    After a few seconds of us just sitting and listening to the gentle sounds of the water fountain, Viper finally asks, not taking her eyes off of the fountain which is in the shape of arge viper spewing the water out of its mouth, Thank you foring to visit. She turns to look at me. There are two reasons for my request, the first of which you shouldve already seen in the email.


    Right. Her request to be my private instructor and take me in as an apprentice.


    Should you ept that offer, I would be instructing you on all forms of your System interaction and in your training itself. Id act as an advisor for choosing your sses, sponsor you when you need it with funds, and act on your behalf should you ever get into any legal problems, she says, packing on benefit after benefit after benefit. All I would ask from you is that you listen to my instructions and help provide me assistance in the future, once youre strong enough.


    All good benefits with very few downsides.


    But. That doesnt change the deal breaker.


    So what do you say? she asks, directly meeting my eyes for the first time since I walked in. Will you ept my offer?


    <strong>Remember, </strong>Tar says, reminding me.


    Yeah, yeah, I know.


    Im sorry, but I cant ept, I reject her offer.


    For the first time since Ive met her, the woman freezes up in shock. So I take the opportunity to exin, I will not be sharing my status with anyone, nor would I befortable relying so much on aplete stranger. But I do thank you for giving me the opportunity. I add thatst part with a light nod of my head in appreciation.


    While the second reason is technically true, I just really cant let her see my status. For obvious reasons.


    <strong>Showing her your status would be the easiest way to be exposed as a demon that I could possibly think of, </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but agree.


    Not a good idea to enter an apprenticeship. Since the apprentice is expected to show their status to their instructor, with their instructor keeping everything quiet.


    Its not negotiable either. The apprentice <em>has </em>to share their status. Its the most important part of their apprenticeship and is basically what marks it as an apprenticeship in the first ce. Meaning that if it doesnt happen, then there is no apprenticeship.


    And theres nothing saying the instructor cant just kill the student and keep it quiet or something after finding out that theyre a half demon. For obvious reasons.


    So best to not do that.


    Out of nowhere, I hear a bout ofughtering from the entrance where I find a very familiar woman standing there, somehow having managed to get there without my ears picking her up. My eyes then narrow as I find the woman  the very same one I saved in the Ancient Dragon Hotel that gave me those potions  standing there in a magi-tech set of armor despite obviously not being a Guardian.


    The hell? Thats wow. She can afford buying that and having a Guardian periodically recharge it too?


    My apologies, Scarlet, the woman says, using my name as she walks further into the room, Viper finally snapping out of her own daze in the process. I know Allen said you were against being given handouts, but this is more than I was expecting.


    Allen? So this is the woman he told me about in the email he sent just before I came here.


    Who are you anyways? I bluntly ask, my curiosity winning over me.


    Sheughs again, theugh itself being rather melodic in tone before she just warmly smiles at me and answers while giving a sudden curtsy of the dress-like magi-tech gear shes wearing, My name is Fredricka von Feld Rose, and I am one of the Council Seats of the Republic.


    My jaw drops open.


    I take another look at her face before narrowing my eyes, then opening my terminal and looking up her name. Because while I dont recognize her face, I do recognize her name. But what I find on the inte is the face of a younger looking woman, which has me frowning.


    I look back up at her, only to find her moving her hand to her ear where she takes something off, making her physical features morph into that of the picture.


    My apologies, but I cant very well go out in public without a disguise, now can I? she says, an amused smile touching her lips.


    A few seconds pass in silence as I stare at her.


    Then I manage to pick my jaw back up and ask, So what did you want to see me for?


    And the smile on thedys face widens.

 Book 2: Chapter 12: The Deal

    Book 2: Chapter 12: The Deal


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I know youre going to say no to me just like you did miss Wright, but I wanted to offer you my support in any situation where you may need it, she says, not beating around the bush. And this isnt just because you saved both my life and the life of my daughter. Its also because my daughter has taken quite the shine to you and will not stop talking about you. The councilwoman nces at my ears as she says this, sending a shiver down my spine as I wrap my arms around myself, feeling actual fear for once.


    She chuckles again before meeting my eyes again and adding, And I cant say I disagree with her, as you are a very interesting person. Very interesting indeed.


    Something about the way she says that twice feels slightly off to me, but I overlook that when Viper finally speaks up, standing up from her seat while doing so, Now wait a minute- Only to get cut off by a nce from Councilwoman Rose. Viper then turns to me after taking a deep breath and asks, Are you sure? No ones forcing you into this decision, right? She adds this with a nce towards the councilwoman, who I can tell right away is not on good terms with her.


    Yes, Im sure, I tell her with a nod of my head and a serious look on my face.


    I would very much prefer to live, and dying at the hands of your poison after you find out Im half demon is not on my n of things to do today. Or, rather, ever, for that matter.


    Just doesnt sound fun.


    Tar snorts at that.


    She frowns for a second before sighing with a defeated look on her face. She then nces once at Councilwoman Rose before focusing on me again and saying, If you ever change your mind, just shoot me an email, and Ill be happy to be your instructor, alright?


    I nod without saying anything in agreement nor denial.


    Viper then frowns at the councilwoman before saying, You have ten minutes with her here. Anymore and itll have to be on both your and her own time <em>off </em>of campus grounds.


    The councilwoman just waves her off while saying, Yeah, yeah, I know the university doesnt like having government officials on its grounds, much less non-Guardians. Now please leave us be.


    Viper very clearly does not like that, but she doesnt say anything and instead just gives me a polite nod and walks out of her office, closing the door behind her and leaving me in the room with the councilwoman. Alone.


    And the very first thing I ask once shes gone is, Are you the one suppressing my status as an orphan from reaching the public and other students?


    She just smiles without saying anything.


    Guess thats answer enough, I mutter before asking, Im guessing you have business you want to discuss?


    Her smile grows as she says, Yes! Now, while I am a councilwoman, I am also the owner of a couple of private cities, and the major shareholder of several differentpanies, and I would like to sponsor you. I open my mouth to reject it, but shes too fast and raises a hand while saying, And dont worry, this will be give and take, as you would be allowing us to use sponsorship videos of you in any building of ours you fight in, you would model for us in some of our outfits  all outfits to your particr style of course she says this part while looking at my magi-tech armor and you could wear a simple keychain or maybe a hair tie made by one of ourpanies with our logo on it to help sponsor us when youre just out and about.


    I close my mouth, my eyes narrowing in the process.


    She really knows me well.


    We would even pay you a portion of the royalties you earn outside of our initial sponsorship of paying your entry fees in the Interschool Tournaments normalpetitions, any tuition you have at this university, <em>and</em> I will act as a legal advisor for you should you need it, she continues, hitting me where it hurts.


    She knows me <em>very</em> well.


    Did Allen put her up to this? He did suggest that she was trustworthy.


    What do you think, Tar?


    <strong>Its up to you, </strong>he answers, meaning that he isnt against it.


    I sigh.


    Even if the woman has ulterior motives, there is absolutely nothing for me to lose from this. So there''s no reason to deny it.


    Not like she can find out what I am or use me in some horrifying way by having me model in some regr street clothes or use some footage of me fighting.


    As long as you keep the outfits simple without any skirts, dresses, or anything that exposes too much skin, I specify, and to make it not very often either, since I have to train and study, not to mention fight in the Fractures too. Then we have a deal.


    I was wondering how I would pay for my tuition here. Because while the government does pay for all of your room and board, along with your required sses, and food, and all of that stuff, they dont pay for the electives we take. Meaning I wouldve had to scrounge up the money for three sses each semester as I am not wasting the opportunity to learn stuff that could save my life.


    Which wouldnt have been the end of the world. Just wouldve required me to do some more promoting under Allen and wouldve had to be careful about making my payments on time.


    Now I wont have to do that, and I wont have to owe Allen either.


    Not to mention the fees for joining the tournament. Because while the primaries is paid for fully by the school, since Ill be representing the ss I students there, the regr tournaments arent. And while I could probably ask Michael, Emily, Denise, or even Belle for the money, Id feel like crap doing so.


    The councilwoman just continues smiling before reaching her arm out. We then shake on the agreement and let go of each other. But before we do, I cant help but catch a whiff of her scent. A scent that smells very metallic? And leathery.


    Odd.


    Shall we work on signing a contract for this now? she asks, and I nod my head, putting aside the odd smell as I think about the credits Ill be earning from this deal.


    <strong>Always with the credits </strong>I hear Tar mutter, and I cant help but perk up with pride a little bit at that. <strong>That wasnt apliment.</strong>

 Book 2: Chapter 13: Meetup Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 13: Meetup Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I walk through the regr cafeteria full of a lot of unfamiliar faces, along with some that I vaguely recognize from the tournament  each of whom seem to be staring at me whenever I walk past them. Which makes me even more ufortable about going to this cafeteria than I had originally expected Id be. But Belle is a Regr student and wanted to introduce us to her new friends over a meal, so there wasnt much I could do bute.


    It takes me several minutes of wandering around the cafeteria while being gawked at by all manner of students before I finally find Belle, Michael, Emily, and three other people that I have no idea who are sitting at a table next to a window. And it looks like theyve already seen me and are just watching with amusement as I walk through the crowded cafeteria in their direction, ignoring the stares pointed my way.


    Or rather, all of them are watching in amusement but the three strangers, who are also gawking, just like the other students here.


    Damnit, this is making me way too ufortable


    And theck of Tars voice echoing in my head isnt helping, since he left at some point a few hours ago  not long after I finished signing the contract with the woman that Allen had endorsed to me in an email prior to the meeting with Viper  and he hasnte back yet.


    I cant help but re at Belle once I get close before whisper shouting, Why couldnt we have had this lunch somewhere more private?!


    She just giggles, making my re grow colder. And the sight of Michael calmly covering his mouth while Emily openly giggles isnt helping my growing irritation.


    Eventually Belle points to the open seat next to her and says, Go ahead and sit before we order.


    I blink at that, then nce at the seat next to her, then at her, and then at the seat again. Then I simply walk over and sit next to Emily instead, leaving Belle to openly pout at me like a child.


    Kind of surprising that this cafeteria has an ordering system, but from what I understand, thats normal, with each public cafeteria here having both a meal ordering service and a buffet that people can go up to in order to grab their own food.


    Are you going to continue pouting, or are you going to introduce these three before their jaws catch flies? I coldly ask Belle, a scowl permeating my face, only fading a little when I look at the three people in question, each of whom immediately closes their mouth after being called out on it.


    Right, these three are my suitemates! she says while waving at them. The one on the far left is Bridget Colson, while the one on the right is Angel Warner, with the one in the center being Jessica Crow.


    I look between the three for a few seconds. Bridget seems to be a girl at the same age as me and Belle, about 19, with medium length ck hair that goes down to her shoulders and a single streak of white running through it. Angel actually looks a little younger, more like 17 or 18, but considering that Guardians Universities only allow adults or those who graduated from high school already  the age of adulthood in the Republic being 18  its more likely that shes 18 but just looks young.


    The girl is quite shortpared to the other two, with long hair that goes all the way down to her midback and sleek, metallic silver highlights in her otherwise ck hair.


    And thest of the three actually looks older, likely in the range of 21 or 22 years old, with just in brown hair styled in a braid that goes over her shoulder, reaching down to her corbone. But unlike the other two, who have very soft facial features, with Bridget having quite a bit of makeup on, Jessica has sharper ones, and appears to work out considering the pseudo-body-builder level of muscles she has.


    All three of them also stiffen up the moment their names are called, and theyre waved at.


    Suitemates? I ask, unsure of what exactly she means by that term.


    Emily leans in and whispers in my ear, She means the students that share the same suite as her in her dormitory.


    Oh. Yeah, in hindsight, I guess that was probably rather self-exnatory.


    Oh right, and girls? Belle says, turning her attention to the three and seemingly snapping them out of their stupor as she points her hand towards me, This is my best friend, Scarlet Asger!


    None of them seem surprised. Instead, they all just turn their wide eyes back to me again, with Angels annoyingly going to my ears instead of my eyes.


    My eyes are down here, I mutter incredibly quietly, my voice being drowned out by the cafeteria. But surprisingly, the girl actually seems to hear me as she immediately starts blushing and averts her gaze while pointing her head downwards.


    Huh. Good hearing? Or maybe she read my lips?


    Probably the hearing, considered how glued her eyes were to my ears.


    Hello, I tell the three with a light nod of my head, my scowl no longer on my face, instead reced with a polite smile that basically just equates to me lifting the corners of my lips a little. If Belle ever decides that shes going shopping, please be sure to warn me so that I can go somewhere far away from her, alright?


    The three look confused for a second before Jessica lets out a single chuckle, following which the three all burst out intoughter at Belles expense.


    That seemed to do the trick.


    Although


    Im serious, please do, I tell them with a light nod, which only seem to make it worse.


    Damnit, now I dont know if they think Im joking or not because Im not.


    Sorry Imte! I hear Denises voice over the crowd, making me turn my head to find her hurriedly making her way through the crowd towards us while waving, wearing a nice looking white and pink blouse with an equally nice skirt.


    I nod my head in her direction in greeting as the others state their own before she sits down and joins us, asking, Did I miss anything?


    Just Scarlet teasing Belle, Michael says with a hint of a smirk on his face that has me frowning again.


    But I wasnt- I begin, only for Belle to cut me off as sheins, I didnt do anything to deserve it either!


    I narrow my eyes at the two, only for Denise to join in and say, Oh, well thats fine then. Tease her all you want. Which of course has Belle scoffing and throwing a retort right back.


    But I wasnt teasing her I really meant that.

 Book 2: Chapter 13.2: Meetup Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 13.2: Meetup Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It takes five whole minutes for them to stop bantering. Five. Whole. Minutes.


    I groan to myself  internally, of course  before immediately perking up the moment they move on.


    So how was your first week? Belle asks everyone, having already introduced Denise to her suitemates during the bantering. And Denise, Emily, Michael, Bridget, Jessica, and Angel all answer back to back.


    It was okay. Fine. Noints here. Kind of exciting! Surprising. Okay


    They then look at me and I answer with a shrug, Nothing unexpected.


    Actually, Michael says while leaning forwards onto the table and looking at me, Im a little curious what the blood magic ss was like.


    All of the others turn to me at that, making me sigh. So I tell them all about the ss, surprising them slightly by the unique professor for it, and especially by the fact that our year actually does have a second blood magic student in it.


    Id honestly expected that you were the only blood magic user this year to contract, Michael says with a frown.


    Actually, I start, they didnt contract this year. Theyre a ss II Guardian who contracted years ago but is only now entering the university after graduating from high school.


    Really? he asks, and the others appear surprised as well, with Belle mentioning, Thats not something you see a lot.


    Right. Mostly because the majority of the fae seem to pick young adults between seventeen to twenty-five years of age to form a contract with. Both due to them having more time, and just inly because theyre more likely to go off fighting than older or younger people.


    Not to mention the rare magic he has.


    The others bring up their own sses as well, and the conversations split off, more than one forming at once before I finally remember to press the order button, not directly participating in much of the conversations going on and focusing on my stomach which is growling like crazy.


    Good thing people cant hear because of how loud the cafeteria is. Otherwise, I might be embarrassed.


    A screen appears soon after on the center of the table, and I quickly put in my order, the others following suit immediately afterwards. Then the screen shes a thank you message followed by a timer for our wait.


    Um, S-Scarlet? one of Belles friends  each of whom have been rather quiet during the conversations  finally asks with a bit of a stutter. This one being the one sitting closest to me, Angel.


    I look over at her and ask, Whats up?


    Her eyes nce at my ears for a second at my question before immediately returning to my eyes again to find them slightly narrowed as she asks, Could you sign my autograph.


    My jaw drops open.


    What?


    I stare at her for several seconds, Belle eventually noticing and smirking at me with a knowing look on her face before returning to her conversation with Denise  who took the seat next to her.


    Uh, sure? I eventually answer after sending Belle a brief re and turning my focus back to the girl with a slightly confused expression on my face. Do you have something to write on? And to write with?


    She hurriedly fumbles around in her purse before pulling out a paper and pen and handing them to me. So I quickly sign both my first andst name before handing them back to her.


    The girl looks at the paper with what looks like awe before hugging it to her chest in a rather adorable manner for a few seconds and then safely storing it in her purse.


    I cant help but smile a little at how adorable the girl is being before ncing at the others.


    <strong>By the way, if youre an orphan, where did yourst namee from? </strong>Tar suddenly asks, having returned from the Farshore at some point.


    From what Allen tells me, my first andst name were both on a note in my crib when he found me. But he wont tell me anything else about the event at all. Which is still infuriating to this day, but in the end doesnt really matter much.


    <strong>Hmm, </strong>Tar hums, not saying any more.


    I dont think Ive ever actually run into any family with the surname Asger before though, as its not exactly a verymon name. I also dont know any Guardians who have that name, so its quite possible that my Guardian parent  assuming it was a Guardian that was my parent  didnt even give me theirst name.


    <strong>Your human parent had to have been a Guardian, </strong>Tar says, rifying a bit more on the subject, <strong>otherwise it wouldnt have even been possible for you to be born in the first ce. Not with a weak regr humans genes mixed with a blood lycans.</strong>


    Oh? Thats interesting.


    <strong>The blood lycan genes wouldve devoured the human genes in an instant, much less let the two parents conceive a child, </strong>Tar finishes as the others around the table continue chatting.


    Hmm. Kind of depressing just how strong a blood lycans genes arepared to a humans.


    So Scarlet, Michael suddenly asks, bringing my attention to him from my thoughts and inner conversation with Tar. Have you decided on whether youll be helping us for the Interschool Tournaments or not?


    My eyebrows rise for a second before returning to normal as I look through the others, taking in their reactions.


    Emily and Denise both look hopeful, whereas Belle just looks confused  likely not having realized that my position in the team was still a little tentative.


    And Michael isnt showing any inclination whatsoever.


    Yeah, Ill be helping you, I answer before looking up as our food gets here, a robotic cart of some sort rolling over with it on before the thing puts all of our tes around the table in no specific order, making each of us grab our tes and move it towards us. But I will be splitting off and going solo in a week or two during Fractures.


    The first part of my answer made them all release a pent up breath I hadnt realized they were holding. But the second part? That makes them tense up again.


    Ill still be sticking with you for the first Fracture of each Demonic Assault, dont get me wrong. But Ill be splitting off and going solo after that in each Fracture we go to, I rify. In the same Fractures that youre in, of course. Just to make sure were nearby in case something happens.


    My rification seems to make them all rx a little again.


    Well, Im d to have you on the team for the tournament, Michael says with a light smile, and I nod in response.


    Itll certainly be interesting, thats for sure.

 Book 2: Chapter 14: Fractured Interview Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 14: Fractured Interview Part I


    <strong>Terra New Station #1  TNS1</strong>


    <strong><em>Over two weekster</em></strong>


    Now miss Asger, how do you feel about your time as a Guardian so far now that youve been one for almost a month now? Jeff asks from his ce seated on afortable reclining chair across a ss table from the wolf eared Guardian, arge window to his left and a set of cameras to his right.


    Busy, Scarlet answers with a single word, painting a picture of her personality much clearer than the forums and videos Jeff has seen over her on the inte.


    When he was first told that hed be interviewing her at the request of the Silver Associations leader, Cipher, he was over the moon. The very idea of being the very first newspany to interview an up anding star of a Guardian was a dreame true for anyone. But after just a little bit of research, that excitement quickly dampened as he began to realize just how difficult the interview might turn out to be.


    <em>She really is just like I thought. Stoic and quiet, with very little care for social media or interacting with the public.</em>


    The corner of Jeffs mouth twitches slightly upwards.


    <em>I can work with that.</em>


    Jeff makes a hand signal with his left hand away from the view of the camera, making the room go dark as the window suddenly turns into a video showing one of the girls fights, this one being against a demon knight in her most recent Fracture just the day before today. Very understandable, considering your track record of Fractures youve fought in in just your first month as a Guardian. And youre doing it as a student at Lions Heart as well! An incredible achievement! One that not many Guardians are able to im to have!


    The reporter watches as the girl looks at the screen without saying anything, the video just ying to show her avoiding a knights sword swing and moving around it while sending a de of blood flying straight into its chest as she goes in to tear out its throat. She then quickly turns around, her jacket  which is more like a coat  ring around her in the process before she walks over to a family in the middle of the office building and checks on a child.


    I for one would love to express my appreciation for all the work youve done for us, Scarlet Wolf, Jeff says as the recording moves on from showing her leading the family to a bunker to instead show another video of her fighting a demon breeder this time. During every single Demonic Assault weve had over thest month, youve participated in <em>at least </em>two Fractures along with your team. And that is as a brand new Guardian. So please ept my thank you. He finishes with a light bow of his head, making Scarlets eyes widen slightly.


    After he raises his head again, a light smile touches his lips and he makes another hand signal, which leads to the video changing once again to this time show her fighting the wraith before her clothing got too damaged.


    Now, I would also ask, if you dont mind, do you n on sticking with your team, or are you going to change teams at some point? Because youre clearly growing much faster than the other members of your group, Jeff asks, quickly finding the girls brows to furrow for a second. But he doesnt panic and instead patiently waits for her response.


    A second passes before the girl answers, My n is to stay with them as a team but move off on my own when we arrive at new Fractures from now on.


    Jeffs smile widens slightly.


    <em>Good. The people clearly seem to like her a lot more than Inferno or Druid, so having her split up from them will likely positively affect the views on her videos.</em>


    That sounds like a good n, Jeff says as the screen pauses on the video before it gets to a part where too much of Scarlets clothing is destroyed by the wraith. It then once again changes to show several other significant battles that the girl has fought in over the past weeks, such as the one against a group of knights defending a breeder that happened during thest week, or even her fight against the pack of twenty hounds where she ughtered them like cattle. But what do you n on doing for the Interschool Tournament? Im sure weve all heard the news about you being selected as the prime participant for the ss I Primaries from Lions Heart. So how are you going to deal with that?


    The girl answers right away this time, seemingly getting a little bit more used to the questions by now, I will bepeting in the teams ss I tournament with them in addition to my participation in the Solo ss I Primaries.


    <em>Good, shes getting used to it. So now I just need to close out with one more question and we can take amercial break.</em>


    So your team doesnt have any reservations about you branching off and going partially solo? Jeff asks, but before she can answer, he adds, What about the leader of your team? The Druid, Michael Winters?


    Scarlet blinks seemingly in surprise and answers, They were expecting it the moment I joined their team, so it didnte as much of a surprise for them.


    <em>Good. Very good. Thisll y into her image as a lone wolf very well.</em>


    Ah, thats good to hear. Ive heard of a lot of teams breaking up when just a single person left, so I couldnt help but worry, Jeff says, showing a relieved smile. He then closes out the session with a short cliffhanger ending, leaving the viewers hopefully wanting more before starting themercial break.


    Nice work, miss Asger, he says, the relieved smile on his face vanishing, reced solely by a normal one. You did splendidly for your first time in front of a camera.


    The girl just shrugs.


    <em>To be expected.</em>


    Themercial break willst for about five or so minutes, so go ahead and grab some refreshments if youd like, he says while getting up himself and walking off the set, soon hearing her doing the same behind him.


    <em>So far so good. I just hope everything continues as nned.</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 14.2: Fractured Interview Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 14.2: Fractured Interview Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I really want to get out of here.


    <strong>You promised Allen that youd at least do a single interview, so suck it up and finish. Youve been going strong so far, so just keep that up, </strong>Tar says, not showing a single ounce of pity.


    Curse my greed. Why did I have to be lured into this by the thought of more credits?


    I grab a bottle of water from a member of the staff on set, only for that member  a man in his mid tote twenties by the looks of him  to whisper to me, Theres an online stream of this going on right now. I could give you the link if you want.


    My eyes widen slightly, but I just shrug and raise my arm to take my terminal off sleep mode.


    What is it? I ask him, and he pulls it up on his phone, showing it to me. So I copy it into the magic web browser on my terminal before entering the stream and seeing the ads currently being shown on it. But I ignore that to instead focus on the live chat.


    <strong>[TravelingTurtle  Her eaaaaarrrrss!!!!]</strong>


    <strong>[DreamWeaver777  Dont you just want to touch those ears?]</strong>


    <strong>[FoodieFiesta  No! You cant! I wont let you!]</strong>


    <strong>[ArtisticSoul77  Does anyone find it weird that shes going solo? Besides me of course. Because most Guardians dont do that.]</strong>


    <strong>[FitnessFanatic22  No, there are some that do it. Going solo actually gives the Guardian a lot of benefits, including but not limited to a greater amount of achievements and EXP from the System. Not to mention it gives them more freedom, so the Guardians who are actually able to go solo often do so.]</strong>


    <strong>[ArtisticSoul77  Really? Are you sure about that?]</strong>


    <strong>[MusicMaker101  Who cares about that! I just want her to go on her own again, because its always when shes alone that she ends up in the best battles to watch!]</strong>


    <strong>[NatureNinja44  Im with MusicMaker on this one. Who cares if its normal or not?]</strong>


    <strong>[FashionFrenzy99  Right? Its almost as if the stronger demons only appear when shes by herself or something.]</strong>


    <strong>[GamingNerd777  I just want to touch her ears!!!]</strong>


    <strong>[UrbanExplorer55  Im personally quite happy that shes gonna be splitting off from the team, because that Druid guy gives me the creeps. I mean, who creates a team of all girls leaving him as the only guy? Its just creepy.]</strong>


    <strong>[ArtisticSoul77  I doubt that was on purpose. The team is really well bnced after all.]</strong>


    <strong>[PixtedDreams  No, Im with Urban on this one. It really is weird.]</strong>


    <strong>[StarGazer23  Ditto here. I vote that hes a perv.]</strong>


    <strong>[JazzManiac  He really is.]</strong>


    <strong>[MountainHiker99  No, he seems like a nice guy. And besides, isnt the Little Reaper his sister?]</strong>


    <strong>[PixtedDreams  Oh, you have a point there.]</strong>


    <strong>[PixelPenguin  Am I the only one thinking about this, or is it strange for a wolf girl to have wolf ears but no tail?]</strong>


    <strong>[GamingNerd777  TAAAIIILL!! She should totally have one!]</strong>


    <strong>[StarGazer23  A wolf girl? Is that a term people use?]</strong>


    <strong>[ArtisticSoul77  I think its an anime thing.]</strong>


    I grimace as I see some of the chat branching off into a direction that makes me feel extremely ufortable. So I quickly close out of the thing with a sigh.


    Also, I noticed it before but didnt really think about it too much, but Michael really is the only guy in a group of four girls


    <strong>Not exactly the best situation for him in a team of what are in some peoples eyes superheroes, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding kind of like he feels pity for the guy.


    It isnt a problem in our team, but I can see it bing an issue with the public. In fact, its already something there, considering the people talking in that live chat.


    Not exactly the best PR for his image.


    <strong>You wouldnt know the pain of being the only guy in a group of who knows how many girls, </strong>Tar says, sounding like hes speaking from experience, which has me raising a brow.


    Of course, I wouldnt know how that feels. Im a girl after all.


    <strong>Just try having a family built up of eight brothers and about thirty-five sisters and you will understand exactly how I feel, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes widen in shock.


    What the fuck? Why do you have so many sisterspared to brothers?!


    <strong>Itsplicated, </strong>Tar answers, not saying any more on the subject.


    Hmm.


    I open my status as Im waiting for thest one or so minute of themercial break.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 60</strong><strong>SP: 10</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 150</strong><strong>Mental: 149</strong><strong>Magical: 149</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 11100.5/11100.5</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 4</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Ive made a lot of progress over thest couple weeks, but unfortunately, my leveling speed drastically slowed down after I reached the point where the weaker demons in the Fractures started to not even give me EXP anymore in a group. And even if I go solo, the weakest demons still dont give any EXP.


    A major problem which isnt even counting the SP problem.


    One of the reasons Im gonna start going solo from the next Fracture onwards.


    I also realized a major issue with my skills over this time due to myck of SP to spend, since I havent been able to advance many of my purchased skills past level 5. Which is a much lower level than most of my inherent skills. Except for Blood Regeneration, which was the newest inherent skill, even if it was an achievement locked one.


    Kind of surprised that I havent gotten another inherent skill since partial shift though.


    Either way, Im done purchasing new skills for a little while, since I already have a good setup of skills for now, and I need to focus more on leveling my skills.


    No use getting a high rarity purchased skill if Im stuck with it at level one where it isnt much better than another skill of a lower rarity.


    Unless its legendary or mythic of course. Then Ill jump for it right away.


    <strong>I tried to warn you before, but you didnt listen, </strong>Tar says, doing his version of I told you so.


    Yeah, yeah. I still needed some more skills to handle other areas. But now I should be mostly handled in all fields, since life drain is able to heal others aside from just myself, I have blood regen for natural healing and mana regen, blood manifestation for ranged attacks, blood boil for debuffing, blood ws, blood sacrifice, and partial shift for straight up attack, blood retribution  which I bought a week ago  and blood thirst to help with my berserker method of fighting, and blood siphon and blood bank for utility, along with the regr clean, repair, and recharge.


    <strong>Yeah, you should be good for now, </strong>Tar agrees before sneaking in, <strong>and Im d you finally came around to being called a berserker.</strong>


    Shut up.


    A loud shattering sound echoes in the air, making me immediately look out the window where the window is still a window and not a screen to find the moon turning red as the air itself is tainted red.


    At least the Demonic Assault this time has good timing. It stopped my interview after all.

 Book 2: Chapter 14.3: Fractured Interview Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 14.3: Fractured Interview Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I quickly rush all of the people in the room to the bunker which quite fortunately is in this very room. Probably because its one of the most worked in rooms in the floor, seeing as its the set.


    After doing that and locking the door, I quickly make my way to the door leading to the hallway. Only to stiffen up when I see a demon on the other side of the slightly cracked open door.


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 102|</strong>


    Oh shit.


    I spin around, cing my back to the wall while hoping against hope that the demon didnt see me.


    Are you fucking kidding me? This is a ss II Fracture?!


    The demons footsteps stop right outside the door, leaving me just hearing its heavy breathing. Demon fomorians are kind of like the spawn of a ss I Fracture in a way but are also just a tiny bit more intelligent than them, even if they arent full on sapient or able to speak still. So they arent just rabid beasts running around killing everything they see. More like a hunter going around its territory instead.


    Theyre also bipedal creatures, and they wear simr yet different armor to the huntsmen in ss I Fractures, what with the armor being made from that hide like substance that looks like leather. But they also have some sort of sword made out of bones as well a metal not found on Earth. One that is strong enough to cut through a ss II Guardian, much less a ss I like me.


    I hold in my breath as I begin to hear sniffing sounds, kind of like a dog sniffing out an interesting smell. And the sounds slowlye closer to the door before I see a hand reaching inside through the crack, only totch onto the door itself and begin opening it.


    Shit.


    Without wasting a second, I turn on my terminal and point it towards the door thats opening while stepping out from behind it, then pressing the sh button on my terminal thats meant for this exact situation. An incredibly bright light then shines out of it,pletely blinding the creature on the other side of the partially opened door before I shift my arm and raise it, summoning four swords of blood  the amount I can summon having gone up since leveling the skill  and sending them straight at the creature while charging it myself with my arm raised to strike.


    The creature wildly fumbles around, iling its arms with its eyes closed, and I try very hard to avoid those as I charge. But that only grows more difficult after my swords of blood all strike its armor, not actually doing much of anything beyond piercing like half an inch in and knocking it onto the ground where it then ils around a little bit, identally kicking me in the process and sending me into the wall with a grunt.


    Shit, this is harder than I thought.


    I wipe a little bit of blood off of my mouth with my jacket sleeve before stepping forward and raising my terminal again as the fomorian slowly blinks open its slit eyes. The moment it sees me raising my terminal though, it lets out a hiss and rushes at me with incredible speed, bowling me over and sending us both rolling down the hall for a bit until the creature ends up mming into the wall with me on top of it.


    I blink for a second, surprised at the result, before immediately reaching for its neck and grabbing it with both of my hands. But the fomorian doesnt just sit still, even after the impact with the wall that is now severely cracked, and it reaches for my wed hand around its neck while letting out sounds akin to something in between a hiss and a growl.


    A wave of pain floods me from my hand, light cracking sounds beginning toe from it as the fomorian tries to squeeze my wed hands and pull them away, but I ignore the pain to continue squeezing its own throat, my ws ever so slowly sinking in deeper and deeper thanks to blood sacrifice fueling my strength. And right when it begins to sit up, pushing me partially off of it in the process with me only barely holding onto its throat still, I use both blood boil and life drain on the creature, making it stagger again and fall back down. Then I manifest four blood knives right above my head and send them flying straight into the slits in the creatures armored helmet, going right into its eyes.


    The creature convulses on the ground for a few seconds, and right when I begin to think its finished, the creatures tail  which I had forgotten all about  whips around and slices straight into my side, cutting a massive gash in it that sends me flying off of its body.


    I cough out a mouthful of blood afternding, the pain in both my side and hands too much to get up. But I still try anyways, not wanting to let it finish me off. Only for a message to appear in my vision.


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 1]</strong>


    And immediately after seeing that, I slump back down onto the ground, my efforts abandoned.


    Fuuuuuck this hurts.


    I continue lying on the ground, trying very hard to ignore the pain in my side as I listen for other sounds on the floor. And I do hear what sounds like two other fomorians on the floor, each far away, fortunately.


    Good thing they have such loud footsteps. Oh, and tails that drag on the ground. Those help too.


    <strong>I would suggest you crawl to a room to hide in, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but agree with him. So I begin dragging myself with my wed arm until I reach the set room I was in before where I close the door and just copse fully onto the ground, lying t on my back as blood flows down my side.


    Damn, this really does hurt.


    Then the emergency lights go out, making me gape at them for a few seconds before barely managing to mutter, Oh shit.

 Book 2: Chapter 14.4: Fractured Interview Part IV

    Book 2: Chapter 14.4: Fractured Interview Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I hurriedly turn my head to look at the bunker, just to find that the red light from the camera above it is off, leaving only the faint blue light from the shield itself, along with the red light from the blood moon outside.


    Well, could this possibly-


    <strong>Stop, dont ask that question, </strong>Tar suddenly says while appearing in front of me in a panic.


    I blink in surprise at that, but before I can retort, I make the terrible mistake of trying to move closer to the bunker, which sends a wave of pain throughout my body that has me instantly losing the strength I had left.


    Why is my luck so bad? First I get caught in a ss II Fracture. But no, that wouldve been fine since I wouldve been able to hide in a bunker like the civilians here.


    Then the emergency power shuts off, making it impossible for people inside of the bunkers to look outside of it. Meaning I have no way to signal them that I need in. And even if I did have a way, it wouldnt matter because the emergency power is what powers the doors. Not the shields power generators.


    All they would be doing is turning off the shield and leaving the door shut if they did that. And while I would be able to tear my way through the door, that would kind of defeat the purpose entirely since the shields are anchored to the doors and wont activate without them being closed.


    Damnit, why the fuck couldnt those politicians make a decision faster on this! Theyve been debating for months over fixing this exact issue in case this exact predicament came up, but noooo, they had to continue postponing the issue instead. All because they dont want to spend the massive fortune it would cost to change the design of every bunker in the city.


    <strong>Scarlet, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly wary, snapping me out of my inner rant.


    What?


    <strong>Sorry, you just seemed to be </strong>he doesnt finish, but I understand what he is trying to say.


    No, its my fault. I kind of almost lost my temper there. And this pain isnt helping, even if it is getting better.


    On that note, I use blood sacrifice just a little bit. Enough to gain the strength to drag myself over to the window before lifting my shirt a little and lying on my back with the wound facing the window.


    Then I wait.


    And wait.


    And after five whole minutes of waiting, the wound manages to heal enough that I can start moving again. So I raise my arm and open my terminal to find quite the number of messages there. The first of which being from Michael.


    [Where are you? Were meeting in front of the advanced ss students dorms.]


    Then another one from Michael a couple minutester.


    [Scarlet?]


    Followed by a flood of several panicked messages from Belle, and a few worried ones from Denise and Emily.


    But thest message is what catches my eye the most and turns my mood even worse. Because its a mass emergency message sent out by Sage.


    [This is an alert sent out to all Guardians who missed my call. Two ss IV Fractures have opened up at once and all ss IV Guardians in the city are being sent to the first one while White deals with the second. During this time, all other Guardians will be expected to hold out until the ss IV Fractures are dealt with as there will be no reinforcements until then. Good luck, and stay alive.]


    I stare at the message for several seconds, hoping against hope that I just misread it or something. But no matter how long I stare at the thing, it doesnt change. Nor does my current circumstances.


    Neither Tar nor I say anything for nearly half an entire minute, just letting the blood moons light heal my wound in conjunction with my own blood regeneration skill.


    Eventually, the tanuki finally says, <strong>I told you not to ask that question</strong>


    This time I dont even argue.


    I just continue lying in ce, focusing very hard on the sounds of fomorians wandering through the floor, one of them starting to slowly make its way over here.


    As long as theyre just fomorians, and its only one on one, then I can take the things. Especially with the help of the sh feature on my terminal, which is designed specifically with the fomorians weakness to bright lights in mind. Something built into normal phones as well, along with some other default features meant to stall certain demons long enough for regr civilians to get away and make it to a bunker. Things that take advantage of the demons weaknesses.


    Also why they actually have demonology sses throughout high school and junior high in the first ce.


    But if its not just fomorians, or not one on one


    I shake my head at the thought.


    It looks like the core spawned on a floor very far away from me, judging by the fomorians level being only level 102. Which means I have a chance of surviving outside of bunkers.


    On that note, now that the pain from my wound isnt so severe as to hurt my thought process, I let the System messages go through from my having killed the fomorian before.


    <strong>{Level 102 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 61. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 63. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Thirty Skill Points are awarded for killing a being at a higher ss than yourself without any assistance.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing a Demon Fomorian for the first time.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    Three levels from a single demon? I understand that it was forty-two levels above me, but really? It was taking me hundreds of demon kills to get that same amount of levels when I was working with the others and even still dozens when I was going solo against demons at my own level.


    <strong>The System rewards risk, </strong>Tar says, repeating that same phrase again.


    I sigh.


    Yeah, that it does.

 Book 2: Chapter 15: Leveling Skills

    Book 2: Chapter 15: Leveling Skills


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After a few seconds of silence, I open my status and allocate my free points. Then I focus on my skills, trying to decide which ones I should level while Im stuck healing.


    While Im staring at the skills, my eyes are drawn to blood retribution. This skill could absolutelye in handy on this floor, but at the same time, its rather costly to use. So Ill have to keep it as a trump card.


    On that subject, it wouldnt be useful to level it up right now. Not if Ill only be using it as a trump card.


    I need to level something that-


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    -will help me.


    Like that.


    Very nice timing there. Guess it leveled from my current healing.


    Without any hesitation, I bring up the skills description to find a very wee change to it.


    <strong>{Blood Regeneration  The second most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. This skill significantly increases the natural regeneration of the user, both in terms of life energy and mana. It also allows the user to regenerate lost limbs over a long period of time.}</strong>


    A smile blooms on my face as I hear the words of the System.


    Yes! Some good news!


    The description changed to add the word significantly before increases, not to mention the part about regenerating lost limbs. Which is extremely good, since the healers who are actually able to regrow or reattach lost limbs number very few and are he expensive to hire.


    Although the thought that this is an achievement locked skill for blood lycans, meaning arge number of them have this is slightly terrifying. Since this is only the level five version of the skill, and theres apparently a mythical rarity regeneration skill that they have as well.


    Just how many of the blood lycans have that? And just how powerful is that mythical skill if the legendary one is this good?


    <strong>You dont have to worry about that, </strong>Tar suddenly says, interrupting my thoughts. <strong>From my understanding, the mythical skill was originally etched by the current Demon King himself. Meaning only those in his direct family has it, and the royal family doesnt number many.</strong>


    Wait, royal family? Dont the demons work on a simple demon king, demon lord, and noble demons basis?


    <strong>Technically they do, but anyone that is part of the Demon Kings direct family is also considered royalty amongst the demons, </strong>Tar says before floating around in the air a bit looking ratherical doing so. <strong>And unlike the other blood lycans who are perfectly happy with spreading their genes  and more importantly, etched skills  around, the king and his family have to be more careful, since the Demon King and the Demon Lords etched skills are much more powerful than any other demons.</strong>


    Huh. Thats interesting.


    How many members are in the royal family anyways?


    Tar stops flying around directly above me, briefly ncing at my wound that is healing at a faster pace than before thanks to the level-up to level 5, before answering, <strong>There is the Demon King himself and his son, one of the Demon Lords.</strong>


    He goes silent after that, leaving me staring at him for a few seconds until I realize hes done.


    I blink in surprise.


    Thats it? Also, one of the Demon Lords is his son? Thats news to me.


    <strong>Yes, he is his son. And as far as the public is aware, the Demon King has no other children, and neither does his son. </strong>Tar says while flying over to look at my wound now. <strong>The Demon King also isnt likely to keep secrets, since all he has to do is order the demons to keep quiet and they wont have a choice. So it isnt likely that he would hide a member of the royal familys existence from the public.</strong>


    You have a point there but


    I narrow my eyes on the tanuki.


    He looks up at me with a nk expression on his face.


    Why do I get the feeling you arent telling me the full truth?


    Tar doesnt answer.


    Guess this is something hes not allowed to say then. Its good that Ive learned to read him better now and can actually tell when hes holding back though.


    Probably some sort of hidden child of the Demon King or Demon Lord or something like that. Not my problem, though. Because the Demon King is the one who hates the humans the most out of anyone. And he cant even get to Earth in the first ce. Not to mention that generally contractors can only even possibly have kids with someone within a hundred or so levels of themselves. And the Demon King is several hundred levels above the second strongest mortal in existence.


    So there isnt a human alive that <em>could </em>have a child with him.


    Anyways, I turn my attention back to my skills again, the distraction over with now as I focus on which one to level up.


    All of them are useful in their own ways, but I honestly think the best one in this situation would be blood sacrifice. Because itll be the only one that can give me a boost strong enough to get close to matching these low level ss II demons.


    So I pour all of my current SP  except one  into leveling the skill straight to level ten. Then I look at its description.


    <strong>{Blood Sacrifice  A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities. This boost willst for fifteen seconds after the blood was burned. The more blood burned, the stronger the boost will be.}</strong>


    My eyes widen with pleasant surprise.


    Yes! Freaking yes!!!


    So instead of the process of burning my blood being an active thing, having to constantly be doing it for the effect, now the effect willst for an entire fifteen seconds afterwards!


    Although its not exactly what I was looking for, since what I was hoping to get was a direct boost in the effectiveness of blood sacrifice.


    <strong>You probably got that too just from the other four levels you raised it, </strong>Tar offhandedly mutters without taking his eyes off of my wound that is actually close to sealing itself by now. With good timing too, since I can hear the approaching fomorian getting closer. So I stand up while pulling down my shirt and fixing my jacket, not bothering to finish letting the wound heal since by now its mostly just a scratch thats scabbing over and will heal just fine with blood regeneration.


    If thats the case, then I should be able to put up a better fight against these fomorians now.


    Lets see if I cant clear this floor and make a bit of a safe zone for myself here.


    There are only two more fomorians on the floor after all, and with my new skills, I should fare better against them than the other one. Especially since Ill actually be able to prepare this time.


    Kind of wish I didnt have to risk it against them right now, but these demons senses are far better than the ss I demons senses. Meaning that all they have to do is pass by in the hallway and theyd be able to smell me. So I cant exactly hide.


    With that in mind, itd be best to clear the floor while I can fight them one on one.

 Book 2: Chapter 16: Clearing the Floor Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 16: Clearing the Floor Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Before I leave to deal with the first fomorian, I quickly open my terminal and send a short message to everyone who has tried contacting me since the start of this Fracture. A list that has only grown since thest time I checked to include Allen, Cynthia, Sylver, and Sage.


    [Im alive. Stuck in a ss II Fracture without any emergency power. Backup would be appreciated.]


    After clicking send, I begin walking over to the door, being extra careful in the process not to make too much noise since the fomorian is getting closer. By the sounds of it, the creature should just be down the hall from this door.


    Seconds pass in silence, with the only noise being that of the creatures footsteps and its tail dragging across the hall floor until it suddenly stops outside and begins sniffing. I frown at that before the creature suddenly turns around and begins walking away out of nowhere at a much faster pace.


    What caught its attention?


    I focus on my ears, just listening for everything on the floor until I notice some very light footstepsing from the stairs, which are in the same direction as the one the fomorian just ran off towards.


    Did it smell them? But if that were the case, then why didnt it smell me?


    <strong>Because youre half blood lycan, so your human scent is far weaker than the other humans in this building, </strong>Tar answers, making me frown.


    You didnt say that when I first contracted though.


    <strong>It was different back then, </strong>Tar answers inly, having disappeared at some point. <strong>Not only had you just contracted and were releasing the aura of a blood lycan, but you had only just awakened, so you still smelled very much like a human. But now you smell more like the half demon you are.</strong>


    Oh. Guess thats not bad then.


    I wait for the demon to turn the corner in the hall before opening the door and slowly following after it, deciding to use whatever distraction its been dealt to my advantage to kill the thing. And maybe save whatever human its chasing in the process.


    After tailing the reptilian demon for a while, I eventually end up at the stairs to find it slowly approaching a little kid who for some reason isnt crying.


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 104|</strong>


    The kid  a young girl  looks to only be about ten or so years old and is wearing a nice red and pink dress. One that pretty much paints the picture that shes probably here to work, seeing as this is a studio after all.


    Some sort of child actress or something?


    Either way, I quickly manifest two daggers of blood above me before sending them flying over the demons head and out of its sight as I begin rushing over towards it while using the newly leveled blood sacrifice and almost staggering from the difference. Because it is a muchrger boost in strength.


    I grin slightly at that and quickly catch my footing before sprinting straight at the demons back, it having clearly noticed my smell without me even getting halfway to it yet. At which point it begins to turn around, only for me to send the two daggers hovering in the air straight towards its unguarded neck, both of them digging only a quarter of an inch in.


    The creature staggers slightly forward, losing its guard a little, and I take advantage of that further by using both blood boil and life drain on it at the same time while burning even more of my blood and shooting across the ground towards it, cracking the tile floor a little in my rush. And in the middle of my charge, I activate blood ws on both my shifted and non-shifted hands before mming my shifted fist into their chest, sending them flying to the ground. Then I jump on top of them and reach for their throat with both my wed hands, tearing into it in an easier manner than thest time by a decent amount, yet still rather difficult. But with the creature being stunned from everything thats happened, it doesnt manage to do much as I simply burn more and more blood to gain the strength needed to finally rip out its throat.


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 1]</strong>


    I immediately roll over, off of the demon and onto the ground before letting out a pent up breath in exhaustion.


    These fomorians are so annoying to handlepared to the lower leveled demons.


    I let the System messages flow through.


    <strong>{Level 104 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 64. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 65. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    Hmm. But the nuisance certainly is worth it in the end at least.


    I smile at that thought before allocating my free points and ncing at the child, who is calmly alternating her gaze between me and the corpse. Then she just walks over to me before sitting down on her heels and hugging her legs right next to my head.


    You look okay, I state out loud, and the child nods her head at that. She has raven ck hair going down her back, contrasting well with her pretty dress that reaches down to about mid calves and res outwards slightly, with long sleeves covering her arms, and a pretty ribbon tying up her long hair in a ponytail.


    This is going to be annoying, isnt it?


    Please tell me I wont be stuck with a kid while trying to clear this Fracture


    <strong>Its not too big a problem, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me frown up at the girl in his ce. <strong>Werent you just nning on camping on this floor and killing any demons that came up or down the stairs here? Just leave the girl somewhere on the floor on her own after you deal with thest fomorian.</strong>


    Oh. True. That should work.


    Assuming the kid cooperates.

 Book 2: Chapter 16.2: Clearing the Floor Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 16.2: Clearing the Floor Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I continue waiting on the ground for several more seconds as the kid just continues sitting on her heels while hugging her legs and staring at me. And right when Im about to finally get up, she reaches down out of nowhere and pokes me in the forehead, giving me pause.


    Youre the Scarlet Wolf, right? she finally speaks, asking me a question. And when I hesitantly nod my head, she nods back and says, Thought so.


    Then she pokes my ear, making me immediately jump to my feet, barely avoiding hitting her with my head in the process.


    Please dont do that, I warn her with a scowl, somehow feeling that I dont have to treat this kid like a kid despite her being one.


    She just shrugs and stands up straight, brushing off her dress, Im sorry, but Liz dared me to touch the tail or ears of a Guardian if I ever met one that had them. The devil of a girl then raises her head to look at me, still without an ounce of fear in her eyes from the fact that were stranded outside in the middle of a ss II Fracture. I wont be doing it again.


    What the hell is up with this kid?


    <strong>She reminds me of a mini you, </strong>Tar says, making my right eye twitch in irritation. <strong>She has that neutral face and asional scowl down to a T.</strong>


    Damnit, is she a human or a changeling? Because Im pretty sure most kids would be crying right now. Or at least, thats been my experience so far..


    <strong>You know I cant answer that, </strong>Tar says, only to add, <strong>but you can figure it out for yourself. Just sniff her.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that.


    Sniff her? Like a dog?


    <strong>Yes. Like a dog. </strong>He answers in a very serious tone of voice. <strong>But you dont have to get any closer. You wouldve noticed an odd smell already if she were a changeling. One that they cant possibly cover up from a half blood lycan even if they tried and smells a little leathery.</strong>


    Which is basically his way of saying she isnt. Okay.


    Wait a second.


    Odd smell? Leathery?


    My thoughts go back to every single time I see that councilwoman and smell that odd leathery smelling from her.


    Is that what you meant by an odd smell?


    <strong>You know I cant answer that, </strong>Tar repeats the phrase every single fae uses when asked if someone else is a human or a demon.


    My eyes narrow as I straighten up and pat my back, cleaning off any dust that may have gotten on my jacket from the ground.


    Well, putting the possibility that Councilwoman Rose is a changeling aside for the moment, that means this girl is clean at least. Shes human.


    Just a little odd. Thats all.


    <strong>Youre one to talk, </strong>Tar says, but I proceed to ignore him as I ask the kid, So would you mind waiting back there, I pause to point back where I came at the room down the hall, for me to deal with thest demon on this floor?


    The kid stares at me for several seconds before nodding and proceeding to walk down the hall without a word.


    Huh. That turned out to be much easier than I thought.


    <strong>She probably saw you as a fellow- </strong>Tar begins another attack against my pride, but I mutter rather quietly, Shut it, before he can, stopping him cold without the girl being able to hear me.


    Now then. On to the next fomorian!


    It doesnt take me long to find the thing thanks to my hearing, and what I find certainly isnt what I was expecting. Because the demon is just standing outside of a bunker door without doing anything besides staring at the door, leaving its back wide open.


    Huh. I wonder


    With a mental shrug, I raise my hand and create a massive hammer from the other end of the room, making sure to stay far enough away that the thing doesnt hear me. Then I move the hammer slowly over to the demon before spinning it a few times until it picks up speed, seemingly catching the demons attention in the process as it starts to turn around. But before it can fully turn to face me and the hammer, I let the hammer fly, smacking the demon in the back, and sending it straight into the barrier that proceeds to fry the thing alive.


    At this point I sprint forwards while raising my hand and creating a few swords that I then throw straight at the thing before mming the hammer into it again when it tries and fails miserably to get its back off of the barrier shield. And after several loud seconds of the sounds of electricity running through it, the thing finally gives me the stack of bloodthirst I was waiting for.


    So I let my blood manifestation dissipate before nodding my head in satisfaction.


    That worked wonderfully.


    I turn around and begin walking back again while letting my System messages flow through.


    <strong>{Level 104 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 66. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 67. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    Im starting to think this ss II Fracture isnt all that bad after all.


    <strong>Dont let your pride and ego cloud your thoughts, </strong>Tar warns me. <strong>Remember that youre only dealing with the weakest possible demons in the Fracture one at a time right now.</strong>


    I know, I know. I wont leave this floor.


    Dont worry so much, my little furry tailed friend.


    Tar doesnt respond to that, but I swear I feel a wave of actual fearing from him at thattest nickname. And that has me grinning.


    Gotta love getting some new ammunition to use against him!

 Book 2: Chapter 17: Death and Children

    Book 2: Chapter 17: Death and Children


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Along the way, I cant help but think about the girl, the councilwoman, and changelings in general.


    The creatures are brutally powerful, to put it in simple terms. The weakest changeling is at least ss III, and there is no way to tell them apart from other humans as their disguise is almost always perfect. In acting I mean. Their shapeshifting is perfect.


    Thanks to this very, few changelings are caught until its toote, after theyve already killed who knows how many people and leveled up quite a bit from it.


    I knew there was one way to identify a changeling, but until now, I didnt know what. But if what Tar said is true, then their scent is probably the way people manage to do it.


    How does that work though? Because most Guardians have senses far stronger than the average human if what youve told me is true.


    <strong>Changelings have a special skill that hides their scent from regr senses, making it so most humans  Guardian or not  cant smell them, </strong>Tar says, sounding kind of like hes picking his words incredibly carefully with how slowly hes speaking. <strong>Demons most of the time do not have mundane senses because one of the mostmon etched skills in the beginning are perception based skills, leading to most demons having magic enhanced senses.</strong>


    Interesting. Although why would perception based skills be so often etched?


    Tar answers this rather quickly, clearly no longer being careful about his words, <strong>There are a lot of demons on Tartarus, and there are little to nows beyond the treatment of the royal family and whatever the Demon King says. So if you think Earth is a scary ce to live these days, you should try living in Tartarus as a regr demon.</strong>


    My eyebrows climb at that.


    Really?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>he quickly answers. <strong>Far more demons die on Tartarus on a yearly basis than on Earth. Several times as many, in fact.</strong>


    Holy shit.


    I continue walking through the hall, soon reaching the stairs where I first met the girl and beginning to make my way into the hall leading to where she is.


    Thats brutal. But also, how can there be so many demons? From my understanding, the medication and healthcare on average for Earth has drastically increased thanks to magic, and a lot of the diseases were removed. But at the same time, far more people started dying since the Demonic Assaults due to demons. So if what I remember from ss in high school is correct, over eighty million people die per year, with most of them being from Fractures.


    Although this is with a birth rate of about ny or so million people a year, meaning the poption is still growing. Although only because the government is requiring non-Guardians to have at least one child each. Whether through artificial birth simply taking the genes from the parents or actually having a child. A rather unfairw, but one that is probably necessary for the human race to not start declining in poption again like it did at the start of the Demonic Assaults.


    But if several times as many demons die on Tartarus a year, just how


    My thoughts are interrupted when I reach the room where the kid is, only to find her just sitting next to the window staring out of it.


    <strong>Youll probably learn this in ss at some point, but Tartarus as a is nearly a dozen timesrger than Earth, and its poption is over a hundred times asrge, with even more births per year, </strong>Tarments as I look at the girl. <strong>Although around sixty or seventy percent of that poption is made up of non-sapient demons. Mostly spawn.</strong>


    Thats kind of frightening.


    I frown as I look at the girl. She really does seem human if not for her very strange attitude and actions. And the only demon that can shapeshift into a human and hide its identify is a changeling, and apparently  if Im to take Tars hints the way I think theyre meant  shes not a changeling.


    So I guess shes just a kid with some emotional trauma? Or just some sort of emotional mental disorder?


    I could also just be entirely off the mark here and shes just like me.


    After a few seconds, the girl turns to look at me before seemingly brightening up a tiny bit.


    <strong>How can you tell? </strong>Tar asks, seemingly confused.


    Her face rxed ever so slightly, and her eyes widened a tiny bit as well.


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds as the girl begins walking over to me before he eventually asks, <strong>You can tell because she makes the same expressions as you, right?</strong>


    My eyebrow twitches slightly.


    Shut up.


    The girl tilts her head a little and frowns slightly as she asks, Is something wrong?


    This makes the tanuki actually break out intoughter for what must be the first time since Ive met him as he practically shouts in my head, <strong>And she can read you too! This is perfect! Absolutely perfect!</strong>


    And now I cant tell if I should be mad at him or shocked by this development of an emotional outburst from him.


    In the end though I decide on being mad at him.


    Shut up.


    Which just makes himugh harder. So I ignore him to answer the girl, No. Then I walk further into the room, closing the door behind me and finding a chair to sit in for the moment.


    The girl looks between me and the door before walking up to me and sitting on myp? Wait, what?


    Tar stopsughing as he says, <strong>Looks like she really is still like a kid in some ways.</strong>


    Uh, what are you doing? I decide to ask out loud, but the girl just stares at me before lying down against me and seemingly trying to fall asleep. No, no, no, please dont do that. I cant exactly fight if youre like this, and I <em>am </em>going to have to fight whenever demonse around.


    She cracks her eyes  which werezily closing  open for a second and mutters, You can hear them from here and wake me up when you do Then she closes them again and somehow falls asleep in an instant while sitting on myp and leaning against me.


    What the fuck is going on? And she knows about my hearing too. I know its rathermon knowledge by now on the inte that I can hear well, seeing as Ive never really bothered hiding it, but to use that against me just to let her sleep on myp?


    <strong>Youre dealing with a kid that doesnt apparently give a shit about how you feel. Thats whats going on. </strong>Tar answers my question rather bluntly. <strong>Justfort her. You noticed that she rxed when you came in, so she was probably frightened and just doesnt show it, or really any emotions well, judging by what we''ve seen of her so far. Kind of like a certain wolf eared girl I know.</strong>


    I narrow my eyes at the air in front of me, hoping that the tanuki is there in the in between ce he goes to.


    Shut up.


    But I put my hand on her back in what Im hoping is aforting manner, just rubbing it back and forth as gently as I can.


    I hope more demons reach this floor soon so I can wake her up without feeling bad

 Book 2: Chapter 18: Child Guardian

    Book 2: Chapter 18: Child Guardian


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My wishes true in just a few minutes when I hear a fomorian entering the floor. So I scoop the girl up into my arms before getting up carefully so as to not wake her and ce her onto the nice sofa that I was using during the interview and sitting on just now, only to realize that shes already awake.


    Huh. That didnt take much to wake her.


    She looks at me with a sleepy scowl on her face that looks vaguely familiar to the one I have when waking up before the scowl turns slightly sad. But she just curls up on the sofa by herself instead of saying anything.


    Guess she doesnt want me to leave?


    Sorry, but Im not babysitting you. Got some demons to kill.


    Or <em>a</em> demon at the moment. Not more than one.


    I leave the room and head for the other side of the building, where the demon started going itself.


    Lets hope this fomorian wont be too high a level either.


    I limp my way back to the room after dealing with the level 108 fomorian while trailing blood down my leg. The demon this time wasnt near any bunkers, so I couldnt do what I did with thest one before it, and was instead simply wandering through a hallway. So I couldnt really sneak up on it either.


    In the end I had to resort to a brute force method of just attacking it and hoping things went well, since the thing could smell me as soon as I turned the corner and spotted it.


    I grit my teeth as I drag my leg, my pant leg having already repaired itself thanks to it being made from magi-tech armor. But the wound underneath that cut halfway across my thigh isnt healed and is kind of just soaking my pant leg.


    Not exactly pleasant, but there isnt much I can do about it but wait for it to heal. Not unless I wanted to waste mana constantly using clean. Which is an inefficient use of mana. Especially in this situation.


    Despite the pain, I cant help but smile as I walk through the hall. Because that battle gave me another two levels.


    <strong>Youre probably going to be getting another inherent skill at level 75, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making my smile grow even wider.


    Now that is something I can definitely get behind!


    I start humming the old luby Cynthia would sing for me as I walk, using the wall as a bit of a crutch.


    If I didnt know any better, then Id say Im starting to grow much more used to pain. Is that a bad thing?


    <strong>No, </strong>Tar answers without any hesitation. <strong>Although part of the reason youre not copsed right now from pain like a normal human probably would be is because your body still has a few defects from your demon side having been sealed away for so long. Like your sense of pain being a little messed up.</strong>


    Ah. Right. That.


    <strong>Its not really a problem though, </strong>Tar continues, making me raise a brow as I start nearing the broadcast set room again. <strong>Your regeneration will only improve, and you can still feel the pain enough to know somethings wrong. So I would honestly think of that little defect as a bonus in a way.</strong>


    Yeah, guess thats true. Well, outside of the fact that its not just my pain that is dulled.


    <strong>Oh, right, </strong>Tar mutters as I enter the set room again to find the girl immediately sitting up at my entry. Her eyes then go straight to my leg when she notices me limping before her lips twitch ever so slightly downwards in sadness.


    Its cute that she cares about me already.


    <strong>Well, youre the only adult around right now in the middle of a ss II Fracture, </strong>he says, stating the obvious. <strong>And no matter how odd she may be, shes still only around nine or ten years old by the looks of it. </strong>He pauses as I close the door before beginning to walk over to her again, only to add, <strong>Also, look at her with your magic sense.</strong>


    I frown at that, stopping in ce for a second. Then I do just what he says to find a ratherrge surprise.


    Youre a Guardian? I exim, so taken aback by the information that I identally state it out loud instead of just in my head. But the girl just nods her head without a word.


    The fuck? How? Why? Why would a fae choose a nine or ten year old <em>child </em>as a Guardian?!


    <strong>I cant tell you what the fae was thinking as that would be a breach of privacy, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>I can tell you that the only times a fae ever contracts with a child younger than thirteen is if that child is a powerful legacy. The child of a ss V that has at least one etched skill, most of the time more.</strong>


    Oh. So her mother or father is a ss V Guardian then?


    Im a little surprised that the news isnt all over her considering her age. But then again, the news tends to only focus on those Guardians who are often in the limelight, fighting in Fractures on a regr basis. And considering how weak her mana signature is, shes probably only somewhere between level 3 to level 7ish.


    <strong>Well, shes at a news station, </strong>Tarments as I continue walking over to her.


    Oh. Right. Guess I just never bothered to look into possible child Guardians?


    <strong>You dont exactly look into the news much at all, unless youre looking at and getting embarrassed by videos of yourself, </strong>Tar mutters, making my eyes narrow a little.


    Hey! I also look into other Guardians who I might need to know about!


    He doesnt say anything in response. So I just huff before sitting next to the girl on the sofa, just for her to then hug my arm and lean up against me, fortunately not sitting on myp this time.


    At least I can be absolutely sure she isnt a Changeling with this news. Because a changeling cant copy an etched skill. Or any skills, for that matter. Just that the etched skills serve as proof of identity for those born to a ss V Guardian who has one. Assuming the Guardian in question publicly uses those etched skills, that is. Then its only a proof of identity if the parent is there to prove it.


    I watch her for a few seconds.


    Ya know, I think Im starting to like this kid. Or at least, more than most kids.


    Shes quiet and doesnt throw a fit. And she looks to be avoiding aggravating my injury too.


    I do wonder why she is like she is though

 Book 2: Chapter 19: New Inherent Skill

    Book 2: Chapter 19: New Inherent Skill


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The kid actually doesnt go to sleep this time and just keeps her eyes cracked open slightly, so I offhandedly ask, Do you know where your parents are?


    Which turns out to be a bad idea judging by her stiffening up ever so slightly. So little that if she werent hugging onto my arm I wouldnt have even noticed.


    She doesnt say anything for several seconds, so I just add, You dont have to talk about them if you-


    The girl cuts me off by answering, Father is far away from here like always. Just fighting.


    I blink in surprise.


    Oh. I mutter.


    She continues while squeezing my arm tighter between hers, I dont have a mother.


    That cuts me deep. So deep that I cant help but reach over and hug her with my left arm despite my distaste of physical contact.


    I blink at that thought.


    Wait a second.


    Shes been touching me for who knows how long and it hasnt felt ufortable? What?


    <strong>Youre only just noticing this? </strong>Tar asks, apparently having noticed it himself a while ago.


    But why?


    <strong>My guess is that you see yourself in the girl somehow and are subconsciously not putting your guard up around her or something, </strong>Tar answers in a very unclear and uncertain way. <strong>If our guesses are correct, then she is likely the daughter of a ss V Guardian who doesnt seem to take good care of her. Possibly even abandoned her. Just like you in a way.</strong>


    I open my mouth, but nothinges out. So I close it again.


    Hes right.


    We are simr.


    Although now that Im thinking about the physical contact, I am starting to feel a tiny bit ufortable, so I slowly remove my arm from around her. Only for the girl to stiffen up at that, so I return it to its previous position.


    Damnit.


    Im willing to bet that I know whats up with the girls family situation. At least partially.


    Most likely her father is a ss V Guardian who has an etched skill and was politely asked by the military and the government to have a child, but probably didnt actually want one. So he likely just had one artificially or through a donor to get them off his back but doesnt actually bother caring for his daughter, instead leaving her here while he fights on the front lines.


    Thats my guess at least.


    A cruel way to be brought up. Although still probably better than being an orphan, considering the clothes shes wearing and that shes in a Tier 1 city.


    Might be best to avoid that subject now though.


    I am kind of curious what her etched skill is though.


    Nearly an entire half an hour passes with me continuously going out to fight fomorians every time they enter the floor every three to seven minutes or so. And every time I level up from the kills.


    But now, after killing the fifth fomorian and beginning to walk back while letting my messages y out, I stop mid step at the sight of a new message included amongst the bunch.


    <strong>{Level 110 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 75. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the inherent skill, Blood Diffusion.}</strong>


    Finally! Another inherent skill!


    Although whats blood diffusion?


    I quickly open my status and then focus on the description.


    <strong>{Blood Diffusion  Allows the user to set up a faint magical barrier around their own body. This barrier will cause any attack below a certain level to burn the blood of the user instead of causing direct damage to them. The amount of blood burned is dependent on the level of the user and the power behind the attack dealt. The barrier does not work against affliction-based attacks.}</strong>


    Oh? A defensive skill. Thats something I hadnt thought about before.


    Maybe I should also try getting an actual shielding skill to go along with this one?


    <strong>With the Skill Points youre earning in this Fracture, you very well can, </strong>Tar answers, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Just gotta stick with a rare skill for the shield, since another epic would be too expensive. Not to mention that I dont actually have any defensive epic skills. Or other epic skills at all in my store avable to me right now, for that matter. Except the one that poisons my blood. But that would burn a lot of skill points for an unknown, so I wont be getting it for a while at least.


    I was kind of hoping for another blood lycan skill though, if Im being honest.


    <strong>Youll probably get one after reaching ss II, so dont worry, </strong>Tar says, reminding me that Im actually getting close to ss II already. Only twenty-five levels away at this point.


    A frown emerges on my face at the thought.


    And I still havent managed to get a skill that can help me remain human


    <strong>Honestly, I think you should give up on getting that skill at ss I and just ept that youll be losing some more of your human genes upon advancing to ss II, </strong>Tar states as I walk through the hall, making me grimace at the thought. <strong>In fact, Im pretty sure a skill like the one you need is most likely a mythical one. So even if you do eventually get it, youll likely be somewhere around ss IV by that point.</strong>


    Well, shit. That thats not good.


    <strong>Youre right, </strong>Tar says, appearing in the air as I walk but still speaking directly to my mind and not out loud. <strong>Losing your human ears  which I can very much see happening at ss II  very well might raise questions about your strange reality warp. Since everyone knows you to have straight up blood magic, despite you showing skills and a reality warp rted to wolves.</strong>


    Yeah itll definitely be a problem.


    Although, it wont be serious enough to worry about someone figuring it out yet. The grudge between humans and demons is just too strong for someone to ever reach the conclusion that Im half demon. Especially half blood lycan. Not to mention the fact that humans know it to be physically impossible for a human and a demon to have a child. At least, from the knowledge they have at the moment.


    Only royal fae like Tar know otherwise.


    So itll probably be at ss III that Ill have to worry about. What do you think will happen then?


    <strong>I cant be sure, </strong>Tar answers while flying over andnding on my shoulder. <strong>Its possible that the ss III changes might just be internal and nothing too obvious to the naked eye, like how you have two hearts right now thanks to your first reality warp.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that.


    Huh. Actually forgot about having two hearts.


    <strong>How do you forget about something like that? </strong>Tar mutters, sounding honestly shocked by my statement.


    I shrug.


    Our conversation cuts off again when I make it back to the set room just to find the girl standing up next to the window, looking out over the city.


    Kind of surprised shes not sleeping.

 Book 2: Chapter 20: Update

    Book 2: Chapter 20: Update


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I walk over to join her at the window before looking up at the blood moon high in the sky. The thing is incredibly beautiful despite all the horror thates with it. And I cant help but feel even more attracted to it than the regr full moon, likely because Im a blood lycan.


    Scar? the girl asks, surprising me with her use of the nickname Tar gave me before. And I think Belle has called me that a few times as well, but not often.


    Whats up? I ask, not taking my eyes away from the moon.


    She doesnt say anything for a few seconds, making me nce at her to find her fidgeting a little with her hands before eventually asking, Why do you do it?


    Hmm? I ask, not really understanding what she means.


    The girl looks up at me, her incredibly blue eyes  which Im only now realizing look a little bit unrealistically blue  directly meeting my own crimson ones as she asks, Why do you fight?


    My first instinct upon hearing that question is to immediately answer it with To hunt, but I snuff that instinct and instead answer with my second biggest reason for fighting the demons, To get stronger. I look out the window again as I continue, Strong enough that I will never have to worry about someone else looking down on me again. Never have to worry about being forced into situations I dont want to be in.


    I clench my fist and look down at it, finishing my answer with, To be able to control my own future.


    The girl looks at my fist as well for a few seconds before a light smile appears on her face and she turns to look out the window.


    I smile as well, focusing on the moon myself.


    A few minutes pass by in silence with neither of us saying a word. But eventually, I break it by muttering, Oh, right. Then turning to the girl and asking, By the way, whats your name?


    I kind of forgot to ask.


    She turns to look at me, her eyes widening slightly before she actually giggles rather quietly once and answers, Its Aria Knight.


    I blink at that name.


    Knight Knight where do I remember that name from? Because I swear I remember that name from somewhere


    <strong>Maybe its just because the name is from a famous ss V Guardian? </strong>Tar suggests.


    Hmm, yeah, I guess so. Its just that the name is for some reason ringing rm bells in my head. But I have no idea why.


    Well, anyways.


    Pleasure to meet you, miss Knight, I say with a smile, and she lightly smiles back while saying rather politely, You too, miss Asger.


    My terminal suddenly buzzes, making me look down at it to find a message from Sage.


    [The first ss IV Fracture has been cleared by Lady White. She is now heading towards the other one to support the ss IV Guardians there, but as it is on the other side of the city from the first, it will take a while for her to reach it. Expect backup to arrive for your location in approximately two hours. Please hold out till then.]


    I just show Aria the message instead of repeating it to her, since the girl is clearly smart enough to understand for herself. And right after she reads it, I see her begin shivering slightly, so I pat her on the head and say, Dont worry. As long as the only demons who enter this floor are fomorians, then I can handle them, okay?


    She stiffly nods her head, but I get the feeling that she doesnt truly believe that only fomorians will enter this floor within the next two hours.


    And I cant help but agree with her on that.


    Then, as if in response to our current conversation, I hear something entering the floor. Something that isnt a fomorian considering theck of any tail dragging on the ground. But as if meant to make things worse, four more sets of footsteps echo from the stairs behind the first. And these are fomorians.


    Shit I mutter, making Aria jerk her head up to stare at me with her eyes wide open.


    Double shit. I said that out loud!


    Looks like we have somepany, so stay here, alright? I tell Aria with a pat on the girls head, and she just stares at me with the slightest bit of sadness and fear in her eyes. So I begin walking away without another word with her eyes drilling a hole in my back.


    Well, this isnt good.


    Sounds like a demon acolyte entered the floor, and I have no idea how to deal with that.


    Demon acolytes are the weakest demon that is capable of using magic skills. They have a very basic and limited amount of intelligence, but intelligence, nheless. Which means this will likely be the very first demon I ever meet that has enough intelligence and sapience to actually speak. Even if they can only speak in like two or three word sentences.


    The creatures arent very strong physicallypared to other demons of their own level, but they make up for it in their leadership of the four fomorians they drag around with them, along with their use of magic. Meaning that unless I can separate it from the fomorians, I wont be able to stand even the slightest chance against it. Not unless I want to pit myself against four fomorians and an acolyte who is at the very least fifty levels above me.


    I nce at Aria again from the door to find her still staring at me.


    But what am I going to do about her? I cant split them up unless I want one of them running into and killing Aria


    Of course, I could try bringing Aria up or down the stairs, but judging by what Im hearing, both floors have even more demons on them than this floor has. Meaning Id only be leading her into more danger doing that.


    And if we just stay here, the fomorians will eventually just sniff us out, not even mentioning the acolyte who will probably be able to sense my mana from the hallway.


    So the only solution is to fight them, since running will just bring us to something even stronger, and staying here will just leave us as sitting ducks.


    <strong>Youre going to go with that solution again, arent you? </strong>Tar asks. And I nod my head, because why not? If it isnt broken, dont fix it.


    And the bunker shields have worked splendidly for me so far after all.

 Book 2: Chapter 21: A Battle of Wills and Magic Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 21: A Battle of Wills and Magic Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I listen for several seconds as the demons begin walking through the entryway and into the opposite hallway as the one were in. Which makes me immediately feel grateful that this floor in particr is split up between two different hallways branching from the entryway, and that neither of these hallways connect at any point outside of the entryway. Furthermore, I know for a fact from having gone into some of the recording studios on the other side of the floor that they also have bunkers in the middle of them.


    So the only viable n I can see working is to get the demons attention and then lead them into one of the recording studios, which will force them into breaking whatever formation they may have  assuming they have any  to enter the room. I can then ambush the first one to enter, hopefully dealing a crippling blow to it in the process before going back and guiding them to the bunker.


    A decent enough n if I do say so myself.


    I nce back at Aria again before nodding and leaving the room, shutting the door as quietly as possible and heading off towards the entryway.


    As I walk, making sure to do it without letting my shoes make any noise on the floor in the process, I focus on listening to the fomorians and the acolyte. And all I hear is them slowly making their way down the other hallway, passing right by the recording studio over there that Id entered which has the bunker.


    Good. Theyre near it.


    I pick up my pace a little bit, still making sure to stay quiet as I do so before entering the other hallway and picking it up even more.


    By the time I reach the corner of the hallway, the demons almost entering my direct line of sight, I have my arm shifted into that of a beast with both of my ws covered the blood that I had stored in my blood storage. I then nce at the door to the recording studio as I pass by it before fully turning the corner and focusing on the demons who are now beginning to notice me.


    I cant help but let out a sigh of relief when I see the demons levels.


    <strong>|Demon Acolyte  Subspecies: N/A  Level 126|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 106|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 105|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 105|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 107|</strong>


    Theyre all on the lower end of their level spectrums. Thats great. I can probably yeah, probably work with that.


    <strong>Probably? </strong>Tar asks, sounding not so sure.


    Probably.


    Attack, the acolyte deres, its voice sounding scratchy as the creature  who has the appearance of a humanoid spider wearing simple ck leather armor  waves its staff in my direction, arge fireball beginning to build up in front of it. Then the demon fomorians all begin charging towards me.


    Shit, that thing is casting faster than I thought.


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tar repeats, making me shout out loud, Shut up! as I continue running.


    And he does shut up.


    The demons on the other hand ignore my shout as they charge forth all at once with their swords held out to their sides. Meanwhile I have to push the limits of blood sacrifice just to be able to dodge the fireball thates mming right into where I was before dodging, burning a hole in the ground that enters the piping below. Thankfully not a gas pipe for that matter.


    I look up to find one of the fomorians already reaching me while swinging its sword, but I duck under it, letting the de pass by above my head. Then I stretch forward to kick its leg out from under it, fortunately having enough strength to do so thanks to predator V and blood sacrifice.


    The demon topples down to the ground,nding on its back and dropping its sword with a ng, but I dont have the time to bother with it as another two swords swing straight towards me. One of which I manage to dodge by moving my torso back, the de barely passing straight by where my stomach was, but the other sword is flying straight towards my lower leg, where I cant dodge it. So I just grit my teeth and activate both blood diffusion and blood retribution, making a glowing red barrier appear above my clothing that is then immediately hit by the sword, making a strong wave of pain and difort move through my body as thick amounts of red steam lift off both my and the demons skin.


    And in addition to the damage from blood retribution, the demon clearly wasnt prepared for the attack going like that, the recoil from the de simply stopping at the shield having him staggering a little, so I take advantage of this to push through my own difort to use blood boil and life drain on all five demons at once, feeling a powerful surge of life energy begin entering me. Then I rush to my feet, ignoring the lightheadedness thates with blood loss to jump backwards a little, just barely avoiding another fireball that strikes the ground, lightly scorching some of the demon fomorians in the process.


    Another bright side about them only having a bare minimum of intelligence. Friendly fire.


    I turn around and begin running straight towards the recording studio right around the corner where I had my blood shadow enter beforehand. One I had summoned at some point around halfway through killing the other six fomorians Ive done in so far today. And just secondster, I hear the fomorians beginning to regather themselves and begin chasing with the acolyte right behind them.


    But I just open the door and m it shut, hiding on the left side of the door with my blood shadow on the right holding a sword of blood.


    Now to see if this works, or if Im gonna die.

 Book 2: Chapter 21.2: A Battle of Wills and Magic Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 21.2: A Battle of Wills and Magic Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My n goes awry almost immediately when the door is sted off its hinges by a fireball, sending a wave of heat towards me and my blood shadow. But fortunately neither of us were close enough to the door for it to hurt us, me having at least considered this to be a possibility, even if not a veryrge one. The n then goes back on track afterwards when a single fomorian enters and my blood shadow immediatelyunches an attack at it, stabbing its sword straight at a gap in the armor on its arm, piercing partially into its elbow.


    The fomorian lets out a loud growl before swinging its left fist straight towards my blood shadow,nding a blow to its torso. But I jump straight at the back of the fomorian and reach for its throat with my ws, grabbing onto it and trying to crush it with all I have, making the creature topple over in the process,nding on its front and identally cutting itself with its sword while doing so. This makes it easier for me to finish it off via distracting it as I burn more blood to finally rip its throat out before immediately jumping off of the creature.


    And not a moment toote either, because a sword swings right past where I was after that, barely missing me in the process.


    I alternate my gaze between the fomorian standing at the door now and the two behind him, the only noise that I can hear being that of my own heavy breathing from exhaustion and blood loss, along with the growling of the fomorians.


    Attack! the acolyte shouts again, just like earlier, adding onto the noise.


    My blood shadow recovers enough to stand up again, and I wave my hand over to it, creating another sword of blood that it quickly grabs as I watch the remaining fomorians enter the recording studio. But surprisingly, the acolyte stays back outside of the room.


    After a second though, the reasones to me in the form of a memory about acolytes.


    Specifically, the fact that theyre bloody cowards and like to force their team of guards into the narrow and dangerous ces for battle while staying at a safe distance.


    So its going to stay out there instead ofing inside, meaning I wont have to worry about fireballs.


    If thats the case, then the acolyte can be considered out of the battle for now, unless it starts buffing the other demons. Which I doubt since this acolyte seems to use fire magic. And one of the fomorians is down too, and even gave me a couple of levels along with its brave sacrifice.


    My only issue right now


    I open my status.


    (I added a line of red between the inherent/achievement-locked skills and the purchased skills. The top are inherent/achievement-locked for both passive and active while the bottom are purchased.)


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 77</strong><strong>SP: 8</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 190</strong><strong>Mental: 186</strong><strong>Magical: 185</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 4</strong><strong>Mana: 7186/17205</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Using blood retribution took out an entire fifth of my remaining mana. And while I do have a lot more mana now that Im at a higher level and can still cope, another couple uses of that will be the end of my mana pool for this fight.


    I nce at my blood shadow before focusing on the fomorians again as I have it begin strengthening the shadows around it, making it harder to see in the dark of the room that currently has no lights nor windows. A nice benefit that the skill got from reaching level 5.


    Two of the fomorians look around for a second, confused as to where the blood shadow went, but I take advantage of that to rush forwards and attack the closest one to me, burning more of my blood while using blood boil and life drain on all of them  including the acolyte outside of the room  and blood retribution on myself just in case I end up getting hit.


    Unlike my first ambush though, these fomorians are ready for it and the one closest to me immediately swings its sword the moment it feels the pain of blood boil, very nearly cutting me in half if it werent for my blood shadow suddenly throwing the sword at me, hitting me in the side with the hilt and knocking me out of the way enough that the de only cuts open my left side with a gash that must be at least a few inches deep and has me crying out as I crash into a sofa just a few meters away.


    I grit my teeth while trying to push myself up off the sofa through the pain, only to see one of the other fomorians  other than the one that is falling to its knees from red steam floating off of its skin  stepping towards me with its sword raised above its head to strike.


    Damnit, is this how Im gonna die?


    Suddenly Tar appears in front of me and full on tackles the fomorians arm holding the sword, making it wobble a little right before it goes to bring it down, ending up with the sword digging into the ground right next to me instead.


    <strong>Go! </strong>he shouts, and I dont need to be told twice as I climb to my feet, blood gushing out of my stomach and side, then begin rushing over as fast as I can to the bunker while my blood shadow begins distracting them.


    Just a little more.


    Once I reach the bunker shield and turn around, I focus on the fomorians again.


    One of them is still kneeling on the ground withrge amounts of red steam leaking from its skin, whereas another is ripping its sword out of the floor that it got partially stuck in, and thest is fighting with the blood shadow in a rather one sided match.


    My eyes narrow as I hold my wounded side with one hand and raise the other to begin manifesting blood manifestation.


    Almost there.

 Book 2: Chapter 21.3: A Battle of Wills and Magic Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 21.3: A Battle of Wills and Magic Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I make a mental call to my blood shadow to return, making it immediately back away before another blow can reach it, parts of the blood making up its body dripping away past the shadows. It then begins rushing over towards me as I lower my hand, sending nearly a dozen daggers of blood each a third of a meter in length towards the fomorians. And after one initially sticks itself into the steam emitting fomorians shoulder making it raise its head, another stabs straight into its eye, killing the thing in an instant and giving me another stack of blood thirst as it topples over backwards and makes a thud on the ground.


    The extra stack of blood thirst increases my regeneration speed, although not by much as I watch one of the fomorians finally rip its de out of the ground and swing it, knocking aside my blood daggers. Meanwhile the one that was previously fighting my blood shadow simply raises its rather wide sword to block the daggers without much trouble.


    My eyes narrow, but right when I begin to summon more daggers of blood to keep them upied for the moment, a message ys in my head.


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    Then the healing speed of my stomach wound begins to pick up the pace a bit, making me grin a little through the pain.


    I nce up to find Tar flying high in the air, taking one of the remaining two fomorians attention off of me as it tries to raise its sword to swat at him like a fly, only to fail miserably every time.


    Didnt you say the king forbid fae from harming demons or humans? Wont you get in trouble for fighting the demons personally?


    <strong>I never said the king forbid it! I said the royal family did! </strong>he shouts while flying around to dodge a sword strike. <strong>And the royal family doesnt have any power on me as its my <em>own </em>family!</strong>


    Oh, yeah, that makes sense.


    <strong>Focus on thest one! </strong>he shouts, and I nod while turning my attention to the other fomorian who is now beginning to walk towards me and the blood shadow. But its walk slowly picks up the pace and turns into a charge. Then it raises its sword to strike right when its near me, only for me to duck and roll out of the way, making its strike directly hit the barrier that lets off a loud shrieking sound that hurts my ears and seemingly stuns the other fomorian as well. And for some reason, it seems to motivate the acolyte past its fear into entering the room finally, startling me when it raises its staff and sends another fireball straight at me. But fortunately, it doesnt directly hit me. Instead exploding nearly a meter away and making me take part of the st in my back when I try to dodge out of the way too slowly.


    I let out a cry of pain as I feel the burn rip throughrge parts of my jacket and shirt, burning into my upper left back and shoulder, but I continue to push through the pain and climb back to my feet albeit on wobbly legs, tears leaking down my eyes in the process.


    <strong>Are you okay?! </strong>Tar asks, his voice thundering in my head thats already feeling shitty from the barrier being struck.


    No. Im not okay.


    Another message about a blood thirst stack echoes in my head.


    Okay, maybe Im a bit more okay than I thought.


    While holding both my stomach wound and my head, I nce at the shield to find the fomorian lying there dead. So I order my blood shadow to rush over and distract the acolyte who seems to be backing up a bit while it waits for whatever cooldown its fireball skill has.


    My blood shadow rushes over in the direction of the acolyte and the remaining fomorian who seems to have finally gotten sick of swinging its sword around at Tar and is focusing on me again.


    The fomorian begins slowly walking over to me with its sword rising up into the air, meanwhile the blood shadow begins tearing into the acolyte who is practically helpless without its magic or fomorians to guard it. Then the acolyte shouts, Help!


    A wave of relief floods through me as I see the fomorian halt in ce with its sword still raised, me not able to move as I fall to one knee, the pain growing too severe and the blood loss making me extremely lightheaded  too much so to remain standing. The fomorian then lowers its sword and turns around to charge straight at my blood shadow.


    I create several more blood daggers and send them flying at both the fomorian  who seems to have written me off as dead or unable to fight  and the acolyte. Two of the daggers immediately get jammed into the fomorians neck, whereas the other four daggers fly straight towards the acolyte, digging into various parts of its body and making it copse as well, letting my blood shadow quickly finish it off.


    And one to go


    The remaining fomorian lets out a loud roar while rearing back both of its shoulders and spreading its arms out before the creature suddenly turns around and charges right at me, my eyes going wide open in the process.


    Shit.


    Right as I see the de swinging down towards me, I use blood retribution and blood diffusion as ast resort. But the de continues flying straight towards my neck in a horizontal sweep, so even if retribution does kill the thing, Ill probably still die from the blow. Not to mention blood diffusion which isnt a shield. All it does is disperse the attack to my blood <em>if </em>the attack isnt too powerful. Like this one most likely will be.


    Damnit, after all that hard work Im just gonna die to a lowly fomorian?


    I almost close my eyes, but I decide to instead harden myself against it and keep them open, ring at the fomorian until the blownds.


    However, at thest moment before the de hits me, a tanuki flies through the air and ms into the things arm, sending the de off course to instead enter my side, digging all the way to the center of my chest after tantly ignoring the blood diffusion barrier.


    Straight through one of my hearts instead of my neck.


    I cough out a mouthful of blood, losing any grip I had on sitting upright as I see a massive amount of red steam floating off of the fomorian amidst its own death cry. But everything begins to go fuzzy as I find myself falling over onto my side, massive amounts of my remaining blood pouring out from the wound.


    It is the end after all.


    S-orry- I try to say out loud to Tar, only to cough out more blood instead. So I just continue it in my head.


    Sorry pal, but it looks like this is it.


    <strong>This again?! </strong>Tar shouts whilending on the ground in front of me and lightly pping me with his paw. <strong>Dont you dare close your eyes! We just need you to get over to a window! Now!</strong>


    I feel the little ball of fur trying to drag me by my wolf ear, which tickles a little at his touch but otherwise doesnt really register much through the pain. And he doesnt exactly have the strength to pull me either, so


    Ya know? Even if you hide secrets from me all the time Im still d you were my partner.


    Thank you, Tar.


    Then everything goes dark.

 Book 2: Intermission 2

    Book 2: Intermission 2


    <strong>The recording studio where Aria is minutes prior to Scarlet falling unconscious.</strong>


    Aria wasnt sure what she would do after she found herself in a ss II Fracture all alone. Shed simply decided to go out and take a short break from the filming of the advertisement, and head to the bathroom. But while she was in there, the Fracture had begun. So she panicked.


    By the time she managed to find a bunker though  not being used to the building and all  the emergency power had already shut off, and no matter how loudly she shouted at the door, no one would open it. Because no one could hear her.


    She wasnt sure what she wouldve done if she hadnt run into Scarlet Asger.


    And now? Now she just wishes she woulde back again.


    Aria continuously nces at the door before focusing on the window again. Over and over again.


    <em>Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.</em>


    Scar  a nickname she promptly decided to start calling Scarlet on a whim  was the first adult to ever treat her normally. To not coddle her for being the daughter of the psychopathic Knight. To not fear her. To not be put off by her difficulty in expressing emotion.


    She treated her like a normal human being.


    After several more seconds of repeatedly looking at the door and jumping from fright and worry every single time even the slightest noise sounds in the otherwise silent room, she eventually feels a few tears leaking from the corner of her eye.


    <em>I dont want to be alone</em>


    Aria purses her lips, the tears slowly dripping down her cheek before shaking her head and running towards the door, not caring anymore about the possibility of danger. She just throws the door open and runs down the hall, soon hearing a loud roaring from the other side of the floor. So she runs down it in the hopes of finding the source.


    After running down the hall for a bit, Aria thinks she starts to hear a voice from further down the hall. And when she gets closer, she can begin to make it out as she finds what used to be a doorway with the doorpletely blown off of its hinges by some sort of explosion.


    <strong>Dont you dare close your eyes! We just need you to get over to a window! Now! </strong>Aria hears someone with a strange and powerful sounding voice shout in a panic as she gets closer to the door. But everything goes silent by the time she reaches the doorway and finds whats inside, gasping almost immediately upon doing so.


    Inside of the room she finds a tanuki pulling a badly injured Scar by the ears towards a curtain covered window on the other side of the room. And just from a brief nce alone, Aria can tell that Scarlet has a bad burn on her back, her jacket and shirtrgely burnt on her back left side, with arge cut across her stomach and a much, <em>much </em>worse wound cutting straight from her left side through her chest directly to where her heart would be.


    <em>No, no, no, nonononono!!!!</em>


    Eventually Aria begins shouting, No!!! You cant die! as she quickly runs over to Scar, ignoring the demon corpses along the way and instead raising her hand, using multiple skills at once to make a light blue orb of water radiating a golden light manifest in front of her. She then moves the glowing water to Scars biggest wound, the wound slowly beginning to seal itself in the process. And at the same time, one of her eyes takes on a purple hue as a glowing light radiates from it and some of the strands of her hair turn into blueish purple tentacles reminiscent of her father.


    Aria just ignores her fathers etched skill acting up again as she uses her skills on her.


    <em>Water Heal, Holy Rejuvenation, Waters Blessing!!!</em>


    Various different glowing lights begin shining from Scars body, including different shades of blue and gold as her wounds very slowly begin to heal.


    Out of the corner of Arias eye, she can see the tanuki rushing over to the window for some reason before opening it and letting the crimson light of the blood moon flow in. But, not giving her a chance to question the actions of what is obviously Scars fae, Aria quickly notices the wounds on Scars body beginning to heal at an even faster pace than her healing skills usually heal. Even faster than the quick regeneration she had already noticed her savior having earlier on when she would get back from fighting the fomorians on the floor.


    Please dont die, Aria cant help but mumble to herself as tears continue falling down her face, over and over again, the girl not wasting a single ounce of mana as she spams her skills on Scar.


    <strong>If you die, Im never going to let you hear the end of it, </strong>the tanuki suddenly speaks, but Aria is too busy spamming her healing skills on Scar to care.


    <em>Please dont let the wound actually have hit her heart please, oh please, oh pleeeaase!!!</em>


    Aria continues chanting that in her mind as she mutters to the unconscious girl in front of her and repeatedly uses healing skills until eventually, the wounds appear to be closed enough that they arent life threatening.


    But she continues using the skills all the way till she runs out of mana entirely, even after the wound is closed up entirely. It isnt until she hears the tanuki saying <strong>Thats enough, </strong>that she even notices that shed run out of mana in the first ce.


    Aria looks at the tanuki and blinks in confusion for a second, only to crawl down next to Scar and put her hand on the Guardians face, lightly tapping it a few times as she asks, Please wake up, Scar


    Seconds pass. Then the seconds turn into minutes. And eventually, five minutester, Scars eyes finally begin to flutter open, showing a confused expression on them that only grows even more confused when she sees Aria there.


    But Aria doesnt care. She just immediately rushes forward and pulls Scar into a hug, squeezing her tighter than a regr human girl her age should be able to thanks to her status as a Guardian.


    Youre awake! she just continues muttering over and over again, tears leaking down her eyes as she sobs once in a while.


    <em>Shes alive!</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 22: Flash From The Past

    Book 2: Chapter 22: sh From The Past


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>Three years ago at the orphanage</em></strong>


    <em>I slowly make my way through the orphanage halls while yawning and still wearing my tank top and shorts that I tend to wear when sleeping.</em>


    <em>Who is talking so loudly thiste at night anyways?</em>


    <em>Whoever it is that woke me up, Im gonna yell at them and then go back to bed. Because seriously. The one time I decide to get a full nights rest, someone decides they want to make a bunch of racket.</em>


    <em>And somehow the kids managed to just casually sleep through it.</em>


    <em>Not sure how they managed that.</em>


    <em>I know Arthur sleeps with earplugs in, and Belle isnt here today. Which is for the best, since theyd get a lot more pissed than me. Especially Belle.</em>


    <em>But that also means its not Belle making the racket. So who is it?</em>


    <em>I groggily walk through the hall of the orphanage towards the origin of the voices, my body practically demanding that I go to sleep, and the winter air biting at my mostly bare legs and arms despite us being inside the orphanage building.</em>


    <em>Maybe I should consider wearing pants instead of shorts when sleeping during the winter</em>


    <em>Are you reneging on our contract? I hear a woman ask when I get close enough to Allens office, making me stiffen up for some reason. Then I hide up against the wall before slowly inching over to the door that is currently cracked open a little bit.</em>


    <em>Of course not, Allen answers whoever the woman is. By the time it happens, shell have already left the orphanage, so you wont have to worry about that.</em>


    <em>Contract? Left the orphanage?</em>


    <em>What are they talking about?</em>


    <em>I frown, some of my grogginess leaving my mind as I slowly move closer to the door before poking my head far enough out to see through the crack. And what I find immediately makes me realize that whoever hes talking to has some really nice choice in outfit.</em>


    <em>Its a beautiful woman with white hair wearing a jacket that looks a lot like my own, with a white shirt and ck pants.</em>


    <em>Of course, if she were just to add a bit more red, then it would be perfect. But thats beside the point.</em>


    <em>And what is this about adoption? the woman bluntly asks, not really expressing much emotion despite the sternness of her words.</em>


    <em>Allen rubs the back of his neck while pointedly looking away from the woman and saying, Well, it should be alright after Scarlet grows up, he looks at her again as he awkwardly adds, right?</em>


    <em>My eyes widen in shock.</em>


    <em>Adoption? Me? What? How?</em>


    <em>The woman doesnt say anything, instead only narrowing her eyes slightly  the first sign of emotion shes shown since I started eavesdrop- err, I mean passing by and casually hearing their conversation. While stopping in front of the door.</em>


    <em>Allen grows more confident as he looks around for a few seconds before crossing his arms and saying, Do you even have the ability to say that I cant adopt her? That wont be going against our contract as long as we do it after shes an adult. Who is she to you anyways?</em>


    <em>Theres that contract think again. And who is this woman anyways? I dont recognize her.</em>


    <em>That is not something you need to know, the woman coldly states as her eyes narrow even further, meanwhile a strange white fog begins to leak from her skin. Just know that you are not allowed to adopt her. She then turns to look directly at me before raising her hand and sending a wave of white mist straight at me, making everything immediately go dark.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>The present</em></strong>


    I wake up with a start, finding myself staring at Aria who is currently crying rather harshly.


    Uh huh?


    The girl tackles me with a hug and squeezes a lot harder than a girl her age should, and surprisingly it doesnt hurt any of my wounds wait, wounds? Didnt I have wounds?


    <strong>Aria arrived soon after you fell unconscious and healed you with her magic, </strong>Tar answers my question as I begin to sit up, dragging the young girl along with me into myp as she refuses to let go.


    Huh.


    I pat Arias back before asking, So you saved me?


    She furiously nods her head over and over again, despite me only asking a single question. Then a squid? A squid appears in the middle of the air


    How is a squid so cute? I mean, its a squid. How is this thing so cute?


    <strong>Well, fae are meant to look cute, even if the animal they take the form of isnt necessarily normally cute, </strong>Tar answers in my head. But before I can think much on that, the squid begins talking, with that very same authoritative and powerful tone that Tar has.


    <strong>I would like to ask you not to get into that much danger again, youngdy, </strong>a female voicees from the squid, sounding like an elderly grandma sternly scolding me. Which makes me blink in surprise.


    Huh?


    <strong>Greetings, fourth princess Rowena, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes widen slightly.


    Holy shit, another royal fae?! Also, Ive been meaning to ask, but what sort of system are you using to call them? You mentioned before that you only had eight brothers, but youre the eighteenth prince. Does that just mean youre eighteenth in line for the throne?


    <strong>Correct, </strong>Tar answers in my mind and not out loud, looking rather tense as he nces between me and his sister. <strong>Our line of session pays no heed to gender. So when we use our titles, it is solely based on your current ranking in the line of session. Meaning shes the fourth in line for the throne, and Im currently the eighteenth. Although I should be moving up in session ranking soon.</strong>


    Oh? Congrattions.


    How does that even work though, with the tournament and all?


    <strong>Shouldnt we talk about this at another time?</strong> Tar asks, reminding me that were not alone.


    Oh, right.


    Hmm, it makes sense that someone with an etched skill would contract with a royal fae now that I think about it.


    And theres still that dream as well actually I can think about thatter.


    For now


    Why do you have tentacle hair, Aria? I ask rather gently while staring at the few strands of the girls hair that had turned into tentacles.

 Book 2: Chapter 23: Unsealed Memory

    Book 2: Chapter 23: Unsealed Memory


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The girl doesnt answer me, instead just continuing to sob. So the fae answers for her, <strong>She says that theyre from her father.</strong>


    Oh.


    An etched skill then? But who would etch-


    <strong>Now youngdy do <em>not</em> ignore me, </strong>the elderly woman squid fae princess  a rather long mental title to call her  says, sounding stern in a way that has me stiffening slightly. <strong>Do you realize how worried young Aria was about you?</strong>


    The squids eyes narrow until I shake my head in answer, the girl still clinging onto me while sobbing.


    <strong>Well, young Aria was- </strong>she suddenly stops talking, only to shake her head? Shake her head back and forth while stating. <strong>Never mind. Just know that it isnt just you who feels it when you get hurt, but those who care about you as well.</strong>


    Wait, what was she going to say about Aria? And why am I being lectured on recklessness by a talking squid?


    <strong>Sorry about my sister, </strong>Tar mutters in my mind. <strong>She can be a bit much. Definitely the most motherly of all my siblings. And one of the oldest.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    Come to think of it, how old are you?


    Tar doesnt answer for a second before eventually saying, <strong>I am two hundred and fifteen years old.</strong>


    Huh. Not as old as I was expecting.


    Anyways, I should give the squid a response, because shes clearly not enjoying our private conversation were having in my head while shes talking to me.


    Yes, I understand, I tell her, not really saying I wont do it again if I feel I have to. Which she surprisingly either doesnt pick up on or doesnt say anything about, just nodding once more and then vanishing.


    I still cant tell whether I can call that a head when a squid doesnt really have much of a head in the first ce.


    Would you call that a head?


    <strong>I would rather abstain from talking about this subject, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding slightly ufortable.


    Huh. Odd.


    But whatever.


    Do you know what that dream I had was about?


    <strong>What dream? </strong>Tar asks with a frown as Aria finally stops sobbing, seemingly having cried herself to sleep.


    Well, I had a strange dream while I was uh dying? While I was sort of dying. And it had a woman with white hair wearing a rather nice and stylish outfit talking to Allen about some contract and adoption, and her telling him that he couldnt adopt me and stuff.


    Tar stiffens up at that.


    I blink in surprise.


    We stare at each other for a few seconds, neither of us saying anything until Tar eventually says, <strong>Your memory of the incident in your dream was erased and it was restored during this near death experience.</strong>


    I cant help but smile at the sight of him telling the truth instead of skirting around the answer like a typical fae.


    But wait.


    My smile vanishes.


    Doesnt that mean that Allen had some sort of contract with this woman involving me? Also, whats this about him not being allowed to adopt me? Was that decision changed? Or is he going against whoever that woman is?


    Tar doesnt say anything for several seconds before sighing again and dering, <strong>Im sorry, but I cant answer any of those questions except for one.</strong>


    Well, shit.


    Which one can you answer?


    <strong>Allen does not have permission to adopt you, </strong>Tar states rather simply, making me frown slightly.


    Who exactly could tell him that he doesnt have the permission to adopt me? That isnt something that should be possible.


    Now someone threatening him into not adopting me I can see as being possible, but for Tar to say he straight up doesnt have permission? That means that whoever she is, she has to be important.


    Maybe a councilwoman? Or perhaps a past chairman or something? Some sort of high up official of the government?


    Its also possible she might be my real mother, but I have my doubts about that. Because shed have to be aplete asshole to dump me at an orphanage and block anyone from adopting me while knowing very well how I was doing there considering the fact that she herself was there. And then erasing my memories of seeing her when she was caught. Which would take a powerful Guardian to do.


    If my parents had a reason for dumping me in an orphanage, then Id be willing to hear them out even if I dont forgive them. Because no reason is a good enough reason for leaving a child at an orphanage.


    But if she is my mother, and she is able to visit the orphanage like that to yell at Allen? Then I dont think I want to associate with her.


    Although I do still want to know who she is and what this contract is about.


    Also, considering that youve been silent since I started theorizing, one of my theories is probably true. Since you seem to go silent whenever Im right.


    Tar doesnt say anything in response.


    Yep. Like that.


    He snorts.


    Well, Ill just ask Allen about all this over the weekend.


    I look down at the girl, only to notice that the tentacle hairs are now back to pure raven ck hair again.


    Interesting.


    Actually, you said she healed me? Does that mean she has healing magic?


    <strong>By the looks of it, she most likely has a mixture of water and holy magic, </strong>Tar answers while floating down andnding on my shoulder. Which is when I notice my clothes and rather terrible state of disarray that has me blushing.


    Why isnt the armor repairing oh, its out of mana.


    Before I recharge my armor though, I notice that there isnt a scar anywhere on me. Not a single one. Not even in the wound that went straight through my heart.


    Huh.


    I recharge my armor, letting it fully repair itself before ncing at Tar.


    Is the no scars thing because Im at a higher level? Or because Im half blood lycan with blood regeneration?


    <strong>Blood regeneration, </strong>Tar answers right away while yawning. <strong>The skill can regenerate lost limbs after all. Why would it leave scars?</strong>


    Oh. Right.


    Youve got a point there.


    Anyways, I turn my focus to my hearing, just listening to the demons on this floor and the surrounding floors to make sure none of them enter.


    Kind of surprised none have already done so, to be honest. Weve been sitting here for several minutes now at least.


    Maybe the acolyte did something that made the other demons avoid the floor?


    Oh, and I should check my System messages.


    Cant forget those.


    <strong>Youre grinning like a maniac again, </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him.

 Book 2: Chapter 24: Risk and Reward

    Book 2: Chapter 24: Risk and Reward


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Is it possible to get the System to show all of my messages since the start of that battle?


    <strong>Uh, yes, </strong>Tar answers, sounding a little confused. <strong>Why?</strong>


    Because I want to see it all at once.


    You wouldnt understand.


    Tar grumbles something in my mind that I cant quite make out, but whatever hes doing while grumbling seems to do the trick as the System messages flood in before he even finishes grumbling.


    <strong>{Level 106 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 105 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 105 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 107 Demon Fomorian defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 126 Demon Acolyte defeated. A vast EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 76. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 85. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Thirty Skill Points are awarded for killing a being at a higher ss than yourself without any assistance ten or more times.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for surviving having your heart cut in two.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing a Demon Acolyte for the first time.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x5</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 11.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Diffusion has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Diffusion has leveled up to level 3.]</strong>


    I smile at the results before quickly opening my status and distributing my free points.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 85</strong><strong>SP: 56</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 209</strong><strong>Mental: 206</strong><strong>Magical: 206</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 1001/21218</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 11</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 11</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 3</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Alright. Very good progress in my skills and levels. A lot more than I was expecting.


    Maybeing to this interview wasnt such a terrible thing after all?


    Not that the ss II Fracture happening here was a good thing or anything like that. Just that I happened to be here during it. Most of the Fractures that happen around the city are ss I, so even if theres a pretty decent chance for someone to end up caught in a Fracture at least like twice or three times a month when theyre living in the capital, its not as likely to end up in a ss II one.


    Kind of a depressing thought though, to be honest. If it werent for how sparely spread out the demons are in a Fracture and how almost all of the demons in themon Fractures are not intelligent, then there would be a hell of a lot more casualties. Not to mention the vast number of bunkers and the specialized phones here with apps made to counter certain demons weaknesses.


    Honestly dont want to imagine how bad it would be without all of that.


    Anyways, I quickly bring up the descriptions for the leveled skills, only to find nothing new in any of them.


    Well, thats unfortunate.


    Also, judging by my remaining mana, I think I wouldnt have survived that battle if I hadnt leveled up blood retribution since its level 5 upgrade reduced its price from twenty percent of my total mana to about seventeen point five percent.


    Overall, it looks like the acolyte gave me a lot more EXP than the others, since the fomorians at that level had at some point started only giving me about a level to a level and a halfs worth of EXP after bringing my level high enough.


    <strong>You say only, but </strong>Tar mutters, but my eyes quickly focus on my SP as I begin trying to figure out what skill I should spend it on.


    Right now, Im getting close to the amount of SP I need to bring blood thirst to level ten where it should get a nice upgrade, but at the same time, whats the point right now? Im barely even using blood thirst in a ss II Fracture


    Blood bank on the other hand isnt really being of too much use outside of prolonged battle as well, since only half of my skills even let me use the blood in it for them, and even then, it only lets me supplement my mana or blood by about half using the blood in there.


    <strong>I will admit that its a much better skill for higher levels, where you already have your other skills at a high enough level to be able to benefit more off blood bank, </strong>Tar agrees with my line of thought.


    And I just brought blood sacrifice to level ten, so thats out too. After all, I dont want to push any of my skills <em>too </em>far ahead of the others.


    Well, unless its just a really useful high rarity skill, that is.


    Hmm the decision goes down to blood boil, blood shadow, blood manifestation, and blood retribution. But since blood retribution is ast ditch skill that Id rather avoid using if I dont have to, whereas the others are activebat skills that I use quite frequently, Ill take retribution out of that list.


    Which leaves boil, shadow, and manifestation.


    Of course, I could also go and buy a rare defensive skill like some sort of blood shield. Although Im pretty sure that would be taking the blood directly from me, so is it really much of a shield if it drains me of blood?


    <strong>It doesnt hurt to take a look, </strong>Tar says, and I shrug in response before opening up and then browsing the skills store, pointedly ignoring the two new epic skills that show up on the list from my new achievements since they dont add anything to my current skill set.


    After a few minutes of searching, I find a rare defensive skill that is good enough for me to purchase. So I do so before opening up the description again just to soothe my nerves about spending my SP on another new skill. Because it took a lot of willpower to not just blow all my SP on leveling skills instead.


    <strong>{Blood Armor  Allows the user to create an armor purely out of congealed and hardened blood with mana. This skill may only create two tes of armor at one time. Each te of armor created removes a small portion of the users mana pool until the skill is dispelled or the armor ting is shattered.}</strong>


    You are sure this armor ting is going to be hard enough to actually stop an attack, right?


    <strong>You worry too much, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>Its not as hard as congealed blood is. Its much harder, more akin to the durability of stone amplified by your own level instead at level 1.</strong>


    And youre telling me you learned about it from a past blood magic user your previous contractor met?


    Tar nods his head without saying anything.


    Well, alright then. I still have 36 more SP to spend.


    But before that, why arent any more demons entering the floor? Its been <em>at least </em>ten minutes since the fight, but nothing has entered.


    Thats just not normal.


    And I dont hear anything guarding the stairs.


    Tar doesnt say anything.


    I let out a huff before ncing at the kid still sleeping on myp and then going through my skills to see which to level.

 Book 2: Chapter 25: Suspicions

    Book 2: Chapter 25: Suspicions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    First I go ahead and bring blood armor to level 5, since all it takes is 18 SP to do so. Then I focus on the others before eventually deciding to raise blood boil a couple of levels to level 8, just because it was one of my very first purchased skills, and it really doese in handy.


    Which leaves me with a single Skill Point remaining. Not something I can do anything with.


    So I close my status and focus on listening to the neighboring floors, checking to see what the demons are doing.


    Just from a brief listen, I dont hear anything <em>too </em>dangerous on the several floors above and below me. Mostly just fomorians and acolytes, with the asional wraith. Although I do hear what sounds like a berserker about five floors down.


    A ce I am very d is far away.


    Berserkers are also one of the few demons that attack other demons in Fractures, since they dont listen to the orders of theirmander. Which generally leads to a demon ranging between levels like 160 all the way to 200 or so rampaging about killing everything that moves.


    Not a ce I want to be anywhere near.


    My ears suddenly pick up on what sounds like some sort of portal opening and closing, making me realize that theres a summoner on the floor about four floors beneath me as well that Id missed.


    Yeah, rather avoid that ce too.


    The summoners are even higher leveled than the berserkers on average. Just that they arent as strong as them physically or magically and need a bunch of defenders  ss II versions of knights  to cover them, which basically makes them the ss II versions of breeders. Just much more pleasant to look at and with a different method of getting reinforcements.


    And, well, intelligent.


    But why arent any demons entering this floor? I hear some asionally stepping in the direction of this floor, only to turn around rather abruptly. Kind of like somethings frightening them off.


    What though? There arent any demons on this floor


    Tar? Do you know whats going on?


    He doesnt respond.


    I wait for several more seconds, only to sigh.


    At least I know that when he doesnt respond, its generally a yes. Meaning something fishy is going on here.


    I was kind of wondering why something always happens in the Fractures that Im in that is generally umon. Like variants showing up, knights appearing in random locations, wraiths ignoring prey to target me, and so on.


    Is there a Guardian targeting me through demons? But why? I havent done anything, unless they know about me being a demon?


    Actually, if they knew about that and were strong enough to manipte the demons in the Fractures, why wouldnt they just kill me? And why would they protect this floor from the demons if they wanted to kill me?


    Are they just trying to get me to grow stronger or something?


    I let out a groan as I slowly lower myself to lie on the floor with the girl still on top of me.


    Everythings kind of been crazy ever since I contracted though. Right Tar?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he answers. <strong>You may just be one of the fastest leveling Guardians on Earth.</strong>


    Yep.


    <strong>Mostly because you keep putting yourself at risk, </strong>he adds while floating down and lying with his head on my arm. <strong>Although you will probably slow down in leveling after reaching ss II or III.</strong>


    Right. Ignoring that part about me putting myself at risk, there are fewer and fewer Fractures for each ss. So it gets a lot harder to get EXP. Especially when Guardians reach ss III and ss IV, where most Demonic Assaults dont have ss IV Fractures, and a lot of them dont have ss III Fractures.


    Kind of a depressing thought to know that my leveling speed will slow down.


    But at the same time, for my leveling speed to continue as it is, the world would have to have a lot more ss III and IV Fractures. Which would probably mean the end of the world.


    So its for the best.


    I look down as Aria shifts slightly, resting her head on my chest as a faint smile appears on her face and she mumbles a little bit in her sleep.


    Shes adorable.


    And shes also a lot less heavy than I wouldve expected, considering how long shes been lying there. But I think its been long enough, so I gently pick her up and begin walking back to the recording studio we were in before. Because this one doesnt have any nice chairs to sit on.


    As Im walking past the stairs though, I cant help but stop and stare at them.


    Maybe


    I know youre there. So juste out, I call out with a stern tone of voice, hoping that <em>maybe </em>something will just pop out like they do in the movies. But nothing ever happens, leaving me just standing there talking to myself like an idiot.


    So I shrug and continue walking down the hall towards the recording studio.


    Was worth a shot.


    Once I reach the recording studio again, I gently ce the girl on the chair, slightly surprised that I didnt wake her up at all during this entire trip. Considering how she woke up just from me moving earlier, the first time she fell asleep on me.


    <strong>She used a lot of mana to save you, </strong>Tar says, supplying me with the answer.


    Oh.


    I cant help but smile as I reach out and brush a lock of hair from the girls face, still slightly surprised by how open to physical contact I am with her.


    Maybe she can get me used to it?


    Actually, why am I so open to physical contact with the kid? Physical contact usually makes me feel kind of like worms are crawling underneath my skin or something whenever someone touches me.


    A very unpleasant feeling.


    But with her I just kind of forget about that entirely until the contact extends for too long and I have to push her away.


    Tar doesnt say anything in response, making my eyes narrow.


    Do you know the answer? Or are you just staying quiet because you dont know what to say?


    <strong>Ill just say that theres a reason for it and leave it at that, </strong>Tar answers, practically shocking me in the process.


    You can actually answer that?!


    <strong>In a roundabout way, </strong>Tar says, once againnding on my shoulder. <strong>I cant directly answer you, but I can say that now that youre close to ss II. Actually, a lot more will be revealed once you reach ss II.</strong>


    ss II, huh?


    Ill be waiting then.

 Book 2: Chapter 26: An End to an Odd Day Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 26: An End to an Odd Day Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Hours pass in silence with Aria just casually sleeping throughout the entire thing. And several times throughout this period Ive felt the urge to just go downstairs and fight something. But mymon sense holds me back. Just barely.


    I sigh at that thought.


    Then the building starts shaking.


    Thats not a good sign.


    My terminal buzzes, making me look down at it from the blood moon I was just staring at in front of the window.


    [Reinforcements have arrived. Cipher, Sylver, and Infernal Predator are at the base of the building now. Hold out till then.]


    Okay, guess it is a good sign then.


    I smile, only to look over and see Aria having woken up as she begins stretching on the chair. But just secondster, she gets a panicked look in her eye and starts looking around in a hurry.


    The look fades away again though after she sees me, following which she jumps from the chair and runs over to me, grabbing my sleeve once she reaches me.


    I raise a brow at that.


    Aria doesnt say anything. Just keeps holding onto my sleeve.


    So I dont say anything either, returning my gaze to the blood moon outside.


    This was a rather good day after all for me. At least in terms of advancement.


    I feel a little conflicted about reaching ss II in the near-ish future. Because despite knowing that Ill be losing more of my human genes by doing it, I still cant wait. Theres just a constant feeling of excitement running through me. A feeling of pride at reaching the first advancement.


    <strong>Those are your instincts as a blood lycan, </strong>Tar exins what I already know, having vanished at some point.


    Thats not really what bothers me. What bothers me is that its not what bothers me.


    <strong>Huh? </strong>Tar asks, his voice in my mind expressing just how confused my statement made him.


    Its that my instincts are making it so it doesnt bother me that is bothering me.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>he mutters, then offhandedly mentions, <strong>you know, these instincts arent exactly a new thing. They were only drawn out after you awakened. You wouldve still been against losing your humanity if you wouldve actually cared about something like that at some point before awakening.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that.


    Really?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar states with absolute certainty. <strong>Your instincts are part of who you are. Theyre literally in your blood. Doesnt matter if they were enhanced after you awakened or not. And even without your instincts, Im pretty sure a lot of this pride is just from you as well. </strong>He pauses for a second and adds, <strong>Its really not like you to fret over things like this anyways.</strong>


    Hmm. Guess he has a point.


    Im not really the type to stress over small little psychological dilemmas like that. So why did I in the first ce?


    I feel myself rxing slightly, which Aria seems to notice but doesnt say anything about.


    Next up on my to do n. Once the Fracture is cleared, grill Allen about who that woman was.


    It doesnt take long before the poweres back and the bunker door opens, the core finally having been shattered. And at that point, Im just sitting down on the chair with Aria sitting next to me, sleeping on myp. So I get a ratherrge surprise when the director in charge of the station that was interviewing me sees us and immediately rushes over with absolute shock and fright on his face, his eyes never leaving Aria.


    Miss Knight! You were out here all this time?! director Schwartz practically shouts as the small man rushes over, stopping to bow towards the girl in myp who is currently starting to wake up due to his very shouting. I so very deeply apologize for any trouble it may have caused you!! He then looks up at me as if only just now realizing Im here as he adds, And you as well, miss Asger.


    My mouth parts open slightly, but I dont get the chance to say anything as the director immediately shouts at someone, Go find Gerald! I need to talk to him immediately about the emergency power issue in the building! He then turns back to Aria and bows his head once more, saying, We cant express how deeply sorry we are about this. Allow us topensate you for your trouble!


    Holy fucking shit, this guy is going way overboard in cating a child who is currently just rubbing the sleep from her eyes after sleeping on myp


    He does remember that shes just a nine or ten year old kid, right?


    Actually,e to think of it, I never really tried to figure out who she was. Was too busy fighting and worrying about the demons on the other floors all this time to think about it.


    After several seconds of silence that had built up, the various people behind the director staying silent and stiff, Aria finally mutters, I doubt father would care about this, so please stop bothering me. Then she just grabs my sleeve rather tightly, drawing almost everyones eyes to it in the process.


    Then what about you miss Asger? the director for some reason switches his manner of treating me after seeing Arias treatment of me. But before he can continue, the door to the room opens and the man I was very much hoping would hurry up as he leisurely walked through the hall of the floor walks in wearing his full magi-tech armor, startling everyone here.


    Well, everyone except Aria, who just starts leaning on me, seemingly almost nodding off again.


    Poor girl really is tired.


    Cipher! the director and several others exim in shock, the man shooting to his feet in the process. But Allen just ignores him and walks over to me before ncing at Aria with a raised brow.


    I just shrug.


    I dont know what I shouldment on first, Allen mutters, sounding rather tired. The fact that you ended up in another ridiculous situation in a Fracture. The fact that youre actually letting someone touch you without appearing very ufortable. He pauses while crossing his arms and looking at Aria. Or the fact that you have the Blue Knight of Humanity''s daughter  who is also known for disliking physical contact  practically clinging to you while falling asleep.


    My jaw drops open. Then I turn to look at Aria, only to be greeted by the sight of her eyes closing as her head falls down to my chest and then back to myp again.


    <em>Blues</em> daughter?

 Book 2: Chapter 26.2: An End to an Odd Day Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 26.2: An End to an Odd Day Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I guess that exins why I recognized thest name Knight. Because Blues real name  if I remember correctly from my history lessons  is Alexander Knight. And he is a psychopath through and through who wont hesitate to break thew or kill a random person if he feels its necessary.


    Which would certainly exin why Aria has issues with her father, since I really cant see that psycho raising a child. And it would also exin why the director and the others in here reacted the way they did to her. Because even if theres only the slightest chance that Blue may take offense to this  which I highly doubt, and Aria even said so herself that he wouldnt  they would try to curry favor with her to stop it.


    Cipher looks at Aria again and sighs before focusing on the others and says while Sylver enters the room, Clear out. This building is closed until the police discover the cause of the malfunction in the emergency power.


    Everyone immediately clears out without a singleint. Although I do notice the director sending some rather obvious pleading looks my way.


    Sorry dude, but your imaginary problem has nothing to do with me.


    Plus, you made me sit through an interview.


    Tar snorts. In my mind, of course.


    Oh, right. I need to grill Allen.


    I raise my head to narrow my eyes on him, which seems to make him stiffen up slightly, as if he knows whats about to happen when he really doesnt. Then I open my mouth to speak, just for Sylver to start talking instead, The rest of the building is clearing out as we speak. It should only be another ten minutes before the building is cleared.


    Leave that to the police, Allen says, taking his eyes off of me and the girl to focus on Sylver. We still have several more ss II Fractures to deal with tonight.


    Sylver nods his head before ncing at Aria and me and raising a brow, just like Allen did.


    Got a nice little mini-you there, dont you Scarlet? he says, sounding slightly amused. But then he immediately turns around and begins leaving the room when he sees me ring at him.


    I turn my re back to Allen again as I ask, Whats this about a contract, and who is the woman with white hair?


    His eyes go wider than Ive ever seen before, and his jaw literally drops open from shock.


    Which is rather amusing.


    H-howd- he begins, but I cut him off as I answer, My memory was unsealed. I remember running into you and her talking years ago at the orphanage.


    He opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again. Then repeat the process twice more before eventually saying, Oh.


    I raise a brow, showing that Oh is not an eptable answer.


    Cipher lets out a sigh while covering his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes slightly before eventually moving over to the seat across from me and putting his face in both his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.


    Several seconds pass as I just re at him, neither of us saying a word.


    Eventually he finally lets out another sigh and raises his head to say, That was White.


    This time its my turn to freeze.


    I really shouldve told you this before, he says after another short pause, not giving me time to recover as he looks me directly in the eyes and says, I didnt find you on the street. You were given to me by her.


    A ripping soundes from the sofa as my fingers dig inside of it without my ws even activated.


    I take a deep breath after that though before looking at Aria to find her still asleep. Then I raise my head to find Allen with a single tear running down his cheek.


    She appeared one day and offered me the ability to make my own Association in exchange for creating an orphanage in a Tier 3 city at a certain spot and raising you as an orphan there without any special treatment, he continues, making me stiffen up even further. Then, more tears begin to flow as if the dam holding back his emotions broke and he looks down. Over time though I began to think of you as my own daughter. And when White learned that I had ns to adopt you, and that I was being forced to close down the orphanage that was being paid for by thepany, she bluntly told me  as you heard  that Im not allowed to adopt you.


    Silence stretches the room for a little bit.


    Then he raises his head again with a tearful smile and says, But I dont care about that anymore. Screw what she says. Screw her. My eyes widen in shock even more so than before, and I feel a light pinching in my chest, followed by a slight wetness on my own cheeks. Cynthia and I want to adopt you. Youre like a daughter to us, and a sister to Belle already, so all this would be doing is making it official.


    I reach up to feel actual tears falling down my face, surprising me again before I look at Allen to find him standing up from his chair and actually going up to me, kneeling on the ground as he asks, Would you-


    Arias eyes open as she yawns, only for the girl to be startled by how close Allen is, seemingly shrinking closer to me in the process. Thispletely shatters the mood that had been building up, making both me and Allen stare at the girl for who knows how long. And she doesnt exactly seem to be veryfortable with being the center of attention as she begins fidgeting and ying with my hair of all things.


    Then, to make matters worse, Allens terminal buzzes, following which Sages face appears as she says, Allen, youre needed in the ss III Fracture located at the Arena. Her face then vanishes again, leaving us in silence for a few seconds.


    Allen takes a deep breath and wipes away the tears that were just flowing, showing a stern face again as he says, We can continue this talkter, okay?


    I nod.


    He nods back.


    We stare at each other for a few seconds until the brief stare down is shattered again by Aria asking, Do you know where mister Roger is?


    Allen looks at the girl, squinting his eyes ever so slightly while answering, I believe he is waiting for you at the entrance to the building. He then looks at me and nods once more before turning around and heading out.


    I watch him go for a few seconds, only to focus on Aria and mutter, You have scary timing.


    She just tilts her head in confusion.

 Book 2: Chapter 27: Answer

    Book 2: Chapter 27: Answer


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After Allen leaves, I walk Aria down to the entrance where mister Roger  who is apparently her fathers butler  is waiting. And the moment he sees Aria holding onto my sleeve as we walk, his eyebrows rise ever so slightly. So little that I dont think I wouldve noticed it if I was still human.


    Guess this really is an odd sight.


    I personally have never heard of Blue having a daughter, but maybe thats justmon knowledge in some circles? Could also be because I avoid social media.


    <strong>Its probably that, </strong>Tar dryly retorts to my thoughts.


    Young miss, the butler says, not missing a beat as he bows slightly and reaches his hand for Aria. But Aria just goes around me and hides on my other side before nodding her head towards him. Which clearly surprises him further, even if he doesnt show it beyond a simple pause.


    This guys a professional. Then again though, hes Blues butler. He kind of has to be if hes gonna work for a psychopath like him. Otherwise he might be killed by Blue while on the job.


    The butler looks between me and Aria for a few seconds before focusing on me and asking, Young miss Asger, would you like a ride back to Lions Heart campus?


    My eyes widen in shock at the fact that he can recognize me at a nce and even knows exactly where Im going. Only for me to calm down a secondter after thinking about how that isnt exactly difficult to figure out. Not with all the information online.


    And I guess it makes sense for a good butler to be up to date on everything going on in the city hes in.


    Whats with the young miss part though?


    I feel Aria pulling on my sleeve, making me nce down to find her looking up at me with a very faint expression of hope on her face.


    Guess she wants me to go. Wouldnt be surprised if thats why the butler asked in the first ce too.


    So I look up at him and answer, Sure. If you dont mind.


    Aria quickly turns her head to look at the butler, who bows slightly and then leads us to arge limo, stopping to open the door for us.


    Fancy. Even fancier than Michael and Emilys.


    The drive ends up going just about as expected, with Aria clinging onto my sleeve the whole time  which was really starting to feel awkward  and not a single person saying a word, just letting the music fill the vehicle instead. And once we arrive at the front gates of Lions heart, the butler gives me the number for Arias terminal without even being asked to do so before he drives away with the girl, who was rather reluctant to part ways with me.


    Maybe I might have to rethink my opinion on kids, since I''ve always kind of hated being anywhere near them. Ive never really dealt with them before, and never really could.


    Of course, I''ll never have my own. That''s for damned sure. Governmentw or no governmentw.


    I know that ck and Purple don''t have any kids thanks to looking it up after learning about Aria being Blue''s daughter, so there''s no reason I can''t follow their example there.


    Blue just decided to capitte to their request to get them to shut up and stop bothering him. The other Knights and some of the ss Vs never bothered doing that, so all I have to do is reach ss V and I should be fine.


    But Aria seems different. And I can handle her too.


    So maybe not all kids are intolerable.


    A very interesting turn of events that I was <em>not </em>expecting when I woke up this morning. Or when I went to the stupid interview, which  yay  was canceled.


    As I walk back towards the top ss residences, I cant help but think back on all that Allen told me.


    There are several things that are bothering me. For one, why would a Knight block my adoption? Actually, why would a Knight hand me over to a ss IV Guardian and tell him to put me in an orphanage of his own creation?


    Then theres the fact that I just noticed something while thinking back to the dream.


    White actually looks simr to me. Kind of like she could be rted to me.


    Is that possible? <em>Could </em>she be rted to me?


    She did slot me in for the primaries without ever meeting me, even if it was obvious by my ranking and how well I did that Id end up with the spot anyways. And why else wouldnt she want anyone to adopt me?


    I frown, only to groan as I continue walking down the street, possibility after possibility passing through my head at a hundred miles per hour.


    Eventually I make it to the gate, but I dont really pay much attention, simply waiting a second for the guards to open them before passing through and heading towards the manor containing my suite. I even ignore thement I hear from one of them afterwards about how I seemed distracted.


    It isnt until I reach my suite and head straight towards my room that I decide to figure it out another way.


    Once I get to my room, I sit on my bed and ask out loud, Tar, is White my birth mother?


    Tar doesnt say anything.


    Thats a sign that she might be my birth mother in and of itself.


    I let out a pent up breath of air before falling t on my back on the bed.


    Ya know, when I was thinking a while back about how Id react to knowing my biological mother, I always thought Id be angry. Or in pissed off.


    But I kind of feel apathetic towards her, in a way. Of course, shes an asshole for what she did  assuming my guess is right that shes my mother by birth  but I just couldnt care less about her now that I know.


    <strong>Its an understandable reaction, </strong>Tar finally speaks, appearing in the air beforending on my chest and continuing, <strong>considering how you grew up, and how you already have parental figures in your life. And you never wouldve met them without your mother doing what she did.</strong>


    Was that an admission? I think he just admitted that White was my mother you did, didnt you?


    He doesnt respond. Of course, he doesnt.


    Guess it wasnt a direct admission, so he cant be punished? Or something like that?


    Either way, it does kind of take a load off my mind knowing who my mother is.


    Although very, <em>very </em>little is known about her thanks to her straight up wiping all recorded data of her out of existence beyond the basics. Such as her title and position as one of the Knights of Humanity, White, her magic being Null magic, and that she is female. But everything else, including her name and appearance, were wiped from all recorded locations whether electronic or paper.


    Which makes me incredibly curious.


    Who exactly is my biological father, and how did one of the Knights of Humanity end up getting together with noble demon?

 Book 2: Story Art 2

    Book 2: Story Art 2


    <strong>This next one was actually generated by Kana, one of the admins of Royal Road. And it is the only non-anime style art of Scarlet I have, not including a couple of other images he decided to gen of her having a tail. Which I''m not showing.</strong>


    And here are some new ads:

 Book 2: Chapter 28: The Question of Adoption

    Book 2: Chapter 28: The Question of Adoption


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The office is dead silent as I sit on one sofa facing three other sofas, where Belle, Allen, and Cynthia are sitting. And none of us say a word as we stare at each other for who knows how long.


    As soon as the Demonic Assault ended, I got a message from Allen  a group message at that, one with all four of us in it  telling us to go to his office in the Silver Association. So I quickly called a cab and headed straight here.


    Although the cab driver wouldnt stop peeking at me through the rearview mirror, likely surprised at seeing a Guardian taking a cab.


    Which reminds me that I should save up credits to buy a car. Preferably a magi-tech car to drive through the air-streets, which have a lot less annoyingws and danger to them as long as you use the navigation system in the vehicle.


    First Id have to get a license though.


    <strong>Should you really be letting your mind wander at a time like this? </strong>Tar asks, making me stiffen up slightly.


    Yeah, probably not.


    The conversation in the room met an immediate standstill after we all sat down, and Allen broached the subject of adoption for the first time with all four of us in the room. And while all three of them were clearly all for it, they also showed hesitation as they looked at me, likely wondering what I would say.


    So in the end, no one said a word.


    Scarlet? Allen asks, a pleading note to his voice, breaking the silence. Please. I understand that youre wanting to wait till youre a ss III Guardian to be cleared absolutely by the public of being a changeling, but youre already popr enough with the public that I dont think it would hurt to adopt you even when youre ss II.


    I purse my lips at the thought.


    He does have a point. No matter how distasteful I find a lot of the attention directed at me, it does help me a lot in this regard.


    After all, the more popr Guardians are often treated better by both the people in general and the government. Until they do something the people dont like that is and their poprity crashes.


    But that normally only happens with those people who are actually trying to get poprity in the first ce. The Guardians like me who arent bothering with the media or the popce at all are almost always liked. After all, theres nothing to really slip up and identally say or do when Im not putting up a front in the first ce and am just being myself. Assuming the popce liked us in the first ce that is.


    So at the rate things are going, I kind of doubt people would care even if my status as an orphan were toe to light after Im already ss II. In fact, I can see a lot of them not believing it, mostly because there isnt really much of a paper trail regarding orphans status as orphans in the first ce.


    Cant remember how all the paperwork for elementary through high school worked for an orphan, but thats for obvious reasons, seeing as I wasnt the one who filled them out.


    At some point during my line of thought, I ended up pulling my legs into the chair with me and hugging them to my chest. A bad habit that I always have when anxious and unsure, which the others clearly know about because I see them sharing nces with each other after seeing me do it.


    If youre ufortable, we could always still wait till you reach ss III, Cynthia says, pausing for a second before adding, or even ss IV if thats still too-


    No, I whisper, cutting her off with a light shake of my head. ss II is fine.


    All three of them have drastically different reactions. Allen, who had been clenching and unclenching his fist  a habit of his own kind of like my hugging my legs  suddenly freezes in ce, his jaw hanging open. Meanwhile Cynthia smiles brightly with a few tears beginning to leak down her face.


    Belle just jumps up from her seat with a loud whoop.


    After regaining hisposure, Allen clears his throat and says, In that case, well have the adoption during the summer between your first and second years of university. Is that alright with you?


    I blink once at that before tilting my head, lowering my legs back to the ground. Why then? Ill probably reach ss II during the winter break, or at least during next semester.


    Belles eyes bulge out at that, and Cynthia frowns without saying anything  clearly not liking the implication that Ive leveled almost a hundred levels within a semester and the danger thates with it  but Allen just coughs and says, Well, I shouldnt be telling you this, but-


    Cynthia cuts him off by saying, Ill be heading back to the front lines soon and wont be able toe back till the Spring at the very least. Allen also wants to get it done after the ss V Fracture that has been predicted to be happening by Purple at the start of the Summer, so that the higher ups would be more willing to take his contribution to it in mind when deciding on whether or not to let this adoption go through. Belle opens her mouth to object, but Cynthia just raises her hand and adds, You know very well why we will be having issues with getting this adoption to go through, but those issues arent the worst of it.


    Belle goes silent.


    Right. Because of White.


    This will be a bit of an uphill battle.


    Putting that aside for the moment, I really hope there isnt a blood lycan in this uing ss V Fracture.


    Im pretty sure there was one in thest one though, so there shouldnt be another in this one, right?


    There has never been two ss V Fractures with repeat noble n demons in them before, so why start now?


    <strong>You need to learn to stop jinxing things, </strong>Tar mutters rather darkly.


    Too bad. It helps me feel less stressed when I try to convince myself something I dont like wont happen.


    Then theres the fact that Im going to have to tell them about me being half blood lycan before this adoption happens because I dont want there to be any deception or anything when we be a family.

 Book 2: Chapter 29: Evaluating The Team Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 29: Evaluating The Team Part I


    <strong>The hallway right outside of the training hall in the manor Scarlets suite is in</strong>


    Anthony cant help but wonder when thest time he had a date was as he walks through the hall of the manor with his hands in his pockets, wanting to get some training done in the training hall before he heads off to the club with the others. But when he gets inside of the training hall, he pauses at the sight of Scarlets team standing there with four of them  the girls  all inside of a magical reality set up specifically for the training hall. Leaving the one guy  the Druid, if Anthony remembers correctly  standing alone in the training hall just watching them fight each other on the main screen.


    Or rather, watching Scarlet fight the three girls one on three while clearly winning without much trouble.


    The Druid turns to look at Anthony after hearing his entry before nodding.


    Anthony nods back while walking up to him and stopping to watch the girls fight.


    On the screen, Scarlet can be seen tantly ignoring the shields made by Arabellia  whose title he believes was Mystic Guardian  as she cuts the poor girl down, tearing her ws without mercy straight from her neck down to her hip, making the censor go off, blocking anything important before the girl grits her teeth and is sent flying. But she doesnt die, instead seeming to set up a barrier around her wounds to stop the blood from leaving.


    <em>Good use of her barrier magic. And the Scarlet Wolf is just as vicious as ever. Doesnt even go easy on her friends.</em>


    <strong>Actually, I believe she is taking it easy on them, </strong>Artoria  Anthonys fae and the sister to Tarankar  suddenly interjects, making Anthony narrow his eyes.


    <em>Really?</em>


    <strong>Look closer, </strong>Artoria says, and Anthony does so. <strong>See how she isnt using that skill of her that boils a persons blood? You yourself know how painful that was, and you were at around the same level as her at the time judging by mana levels. How do you think they would feel having it used on them since she so clearly overpowers them?</strong>


    Anthony winces at the thought.


    <em>Yeah, guess she is going easy on them. Which just makes things even more bizarre.</em>


    Just how strong is that girl? Anthony mutters out loud, only for the Druid to answer, A lot stronger than the rest of our team, thats for sure.


    Anthony nces over at the man who hasnt taken his eyes off the screen as he continues, At this point were only holding her back, since going to the more dangerous areas in the Fractures would put our lives at risk. And having her fight at our level would just stunt her growth.


    So thats why shes leaving the team? Anthony asks, remembering the interview he had seen a couple days ago. The one that was cut off by the Demonic Assault.


    The Druid shakes his head and turns to look at Anthony as he answers, That was part of it, but its mostly just her wanting to go solo. He makes a strange face. Because that girl really doesnt like working with others, even if shes still pretty decent at it.


    <em>Huh. She really is a strange one.</em>


    <strong>Youre one to talk, </strong>Artoria says with a tone that makes it hard to tell if shes joking or not.


    Anthony just decides to ignore her as he smirks in the Druids direction and asks, So how is it?


    The Druid frowns at that and responds with his own question, Hows what?


    You know, Anthony says, jabbing him with his elbow. Hows being the only guy in a team of four girls?


    Anthony immediately bursts out intoughter after seeing the sour look that appears on the Druids face.


    Please stop the Druid mutters, sounding slightly despondent has he covers his face. I already get enough grief about it from my ssmates and the inte, I dont need another person he trails off when he realizes Anthony hasnt stoppedughing. Youre not gonna stopughing, are you?


    Nope! Anthony shouts, stillughing. And he continuesughing for several more seconds before calming down and reaching his hand out while saying, Call me Anthony. I dont think Ive had augh that good in well a month?


    The Druid snorts at that but epts the handshake and says, Call me Michael.


    Both Guardians return their attention to the screen as Scarlet begins finishing it up, basically throwing around the other three and acting the part of a powerful demon in this training exercise without even realizing it.


    Makes me wonder if I could ask her to help my team by acting like a strong demon Anthony mutters, to which Michael just snorts again without saying anything.


    But seriously, Anthony suddenly says, turning back to Michael again. <em>Have </em>you gotten together with any of the girls in your team? There has to be <em>plenty </em>of opportunities for that. Id be disappointed if you didnt.


    Michael makes a face before sighing.


    Seriously? None of them? Anthony asks, his eyes widening before he puts his arm on Michaels shoulder and says, Come on! All of them are beauties! Just look at Scarlet, not to mention Inferno or Mystic Guardian!


    Anthony notices a shiver run through Michael from his contact on his shoulder, which makes his lip quirk up in amusement.


    Michael turns to look at Anthony as he asks, Do you know any of them? and without giving him the time to answer, he continues, Scarlet couldnt care less about romance. All she cares about is fighting. And besides, he gives Anthony a deadpanned look, she scares the crap out of me sometimes when were inbat.


    <em>So she even scares her own teammates? I just thought that was the popce being frightened by her merciless nature not that it affects how much they seem to adore her. She does have the beauty and cute points for that, especially with those ears.</em>


    <strong>A passing note Tarankar mentioned to me is that if you ever try touching her ears, you will probably lose your hand, </strong>Artoria interjects into his thoughts, making his eyes widen at the clear threat.


    <em>Note to self. Dont mess with her ears.</em>


    And Belle is already in a rtionship, so even if I had any interest in her, shed be a no from square one, Michael continues, sparking a tiny bit of Anthonys interest with the mention of the Mystic Guardian in a rtionship. But Denise? I dont know


    Oh, so there is one you like? Anthony prods, his grin immediately growing wider, only for it to freeze stiff when he hears Scarlets voice asking, One of what?


    Anthony immediately feels Michael turning even stiffer than himself, the Druids face paling slightly as they both turn to find the girls now back in reality, seemingly not having heard the rest of the conversation judging by their mere curiosity andck of any embarrassment or other stronger reactions. In fact, most of them  except Scarlet who has her usual neutral expression, albeit with a bit of suspicion painting it  look rather worn out, even if they were only fighting in a magical reality.


    Nothing, dont worry, Michael immediately says before swiftly changing the topic. So how are you feeling about our team now?


    Scarlet narrows her eyes and looks between the two, briefly ncing at Anthonys arm that quickly leaves Michaels shoulder before she answers.

 Book 2: Chapter 29.2: Evaluating The Team Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 29.2: Evaluating The Team Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>A few seconds ago</em></strong>


    I narrow my eyes at the two guys who have suddenly be close friends judging by Necros arm on Michaels shoulder despite me never having seen them together before.


    What were they talking about before we came? And why the sudden change in subject?


    I stare at the two for a few seconds before giving a mental shrug.


    Guess it doesnt matter.


    To start with, I turn my gaze to Michael, you were pitifully weak. So you really should put more effort into defending yourself.


    Michael blushes at that but doesnt say anything.


    Sure, his martial arts were good, but its almost as if he just stopped learning to fight after getting a healing magic or something. Absolutely not a good idea, even if he does have his summons there to help him. And he is getting more and more summons as he gets stronger.


    Particrly some sort of hound summon and an elemental.


    I turn to look at Denise as I continue, You were too reliant on Michaels healing and lost a lot of your momentum the moment he died. Then to Emily, You were just like Michael but even worse in that you dont seem to have put much effort into training to fight hand to hand at all. So the moment I got close to you, you were dead. Andstly, Belle. You werent bad.


    Belle jumps up with a whoop of excitement.


    I snort at that but otherwise dont say anything.


    In all honesty, they should be getting their instructor to help them and not me. I only started fighting a little over a month ago. So Im not exactly an expert.


    But those issues were rather obvious, and Im shocked they didnt notice and fix them themselves.


    That aside, I turn back to Michael and Anthony. When did you two be such close friends?


    They awkwardlyugh at that, making me narrow my eyes in suspicion.


    Okay, just what were they talking about before we got here?


    <strong>Artoria said it was something about Michael being the only guy in the team, </strong>Tar answers, selling them out in an instant.


    Oh. That again.


    I look at Michael before walking up and patting him once on the shoulder to his confusion, ignoring the difort it gives me as I say, Dont worry. Im sure the public will stop saying things like that about you eventually. Then I nod once at his furiously blushing face before turning around and walking away.


    Hope that helped.


    But if not, I dont really care.


    I leave the training room, ignoring the other girls teasing Michael about his blushing as I begin walking down the hall towards my suite.


    One benefit of using the magical reality is that I dont have to hold back from killing them on ident. And I also dont actually sweat in real life when using it, even if I wouldve just been able to use clean anyways.


    Such a wonderful skill.


    Right before I enter my suite though, I pause as I remember that I have a quiz tomorrow for Achievements.


    Yeah, thats gonna suck. The entire thing is about the memorized skills on that list.


    I sigh at the thought before entering my suite and going straight to my room to lie down on my bed and begin studying the notes I have on my terminal.


    Thisll be a long night.


    Youre already done? Viper asks as I hand in my quiz that Id finished in just twenty minutes of the hour and a half we had to take it with dark circles underneath my eyes.


    I nod my head and begin leaving the room without a word.


    That was absolutely worth the studying. Even if I only got a few hours of sleep


    Why exactly does this have to be a morning ss today?


    <strong>Because there was a Fracturest week and you forgot that the ss started early because of that, </strong>Tar answers, making me wince.


    The ss itself was a struggle to make it through without falling asleep. Especially before the quiz, which was in thest hour and twenty minutes of the ss.


    But it was worth it in the end, since there wasnt a single question on there that I found difficult.


    I nce at the other students, some of whom are staring at me in shock as I leave, only to turn away the moment I leave through the door.


    Well then. Time to head to the cafeteria in the manor.


    Because Im hungry after dealing with a five or so hour long ss.


    Of course, I attract plenty of attention both in my walk to the top ss residential area, and when I get to the cafeteria itself. Because apparently Im the talk of the school or something, as Belle likes to put it.


    Not exactly something Imfortable with, but when you end up fighting in a ss II Fracture and killing various ss II demons while at ss I, word tends to get around.


    Or at least, thats what Belle says. The girls been rather incessantly bothering me ever since we had the adoption talk. And she ispletely obsessed with the idea of taking me shopping to treat me like a dress up doll.


    I shiver at the thought.


    Id rather be dead than wear a maid outfit, thank you very much. And whoevers idea it was to put that in her thick skull should be knocked out and tossed in the dirtiest dumpster theyve ever seen.


    <strong>A rather descriptive image, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding amused.


    Well, they deserve it. And for some odd reason, I feel as if it may have been either Denises or Artorias doing.


    <strong>Artoria? Why would my sister- </strong>he pauses as he seems to remember something. <strong>Oh. Right. You mentioned Belle had her own friend named Artoria?</strong>


    I nod my head right as I reach the table in the cafeteria and begin ordering food.


    Both of those two are big on that anime stuff, and old world Japanese stuff in general. Which seemed to be rather big on maid outfits for some reason absolutely unknown to me.


    Why would someone want to see a girl dressed up as a servant from older times anyways? It doesnt make sense to me.


    <strong>Some people just have odd taste is all, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but agree.


    Then my food begins to arrive, making me absolutely love the fast speed of these chefs. Even if theyre kind of cheating by using magic. If you can call that cheating.

 Book 2: Intermission 3

    Book 2: Intermission 3


    <strong>Allens Office in the Silver Association Base</strong>


    Allen ms his fist down on his desk, causing a crack to form on it as he shouts at Sage, What the hell do you mean theyre missing?!


    The woman in front of him simply looks him in the eye and answers calmly, They just vanished one day from our trackers. You know what this means.


    Damnit!! he shouts, barely holding himself back from mming his fist into the desk again. How? Just how could this happen? And how did they hide from me for <em>years</em>?! Before Sage can answer, he asks, Which of the orphans were they?


    Sage rattles off three names without any hesitation, making Allen frown.


    <em>I remember them Jamie, Jarod, and Jennifer. A set of triplets. And if I remember correctly, they were found together in a dumpster by Scarlet of all people. Then they followed her home and wouldnt leave until I got back and weed them to the orphanage</em>


    So stupid he mutters, clenching his fist. How could I not have noticed? Changelings shouldnt be able to hide from me for that long. Not unless did they have a magic item?


    Sage just watches as her boss begins pacing back and forth, trying to figure out how the three changelings managed to sneak into the orphanage without him being able to figure out what they were.


    After a few seconds, he stops and looks at Sage while asking, And you say they left surveince soon after thest Demonic Assault began?


    Sage nods her head, Correct. They werest seen by the drones transforming into their original forms before breaking through the citys barrier and rushing into the wilds.


    <em>Damnit at least they cant be traced back to me since I disbanded the orphanage, regardless of how cruel that may sound I still wish I didnt have to disband it though. I was hoping to at least keep an eye on the kids in case they needed help, but this wasnt what I was expecting to find instead.</em>


    Allen eventually sits back down with a sigh.


    Tell me of their actions throughout the days prior to the Demonic Assault, he asks, looking up at Sage in the process. Did they show any strange behavior? Meet anyone strange?


    Sage shakes her head and answers, Negative. There were no deviations from their normal behavior.


    <em>Then they mustve gotten intel from their fae somehow, or through a telepathy skill of some sort but what suddenly made them break their cover? And why didnt they ever kill anyone? Most changelings hunt as many humans in the upper districts as possible, moving around faster than the regr human eye can even see them but they were under surveince this whole time, so they never did any of that.</em>


    He narrows his eyes for a second and asks, Do you know if there was any tampering on the footage in the drones?


    There was none, sir, she answers, her hands held together behind her back like always. That was the first thing that we did after learning of their identities and sending a squad of Tier III Guardians to take care of them.


    And the squad? Allen asks, a frown beginning to form on his face.


    They came back empty handed, Sage replies, mirroring Allens frown with one of her own. Said they couldnt find hide nor hair of the changelings.


    Allen groans while leaning back in his chair.


    <em>Which means we have three changelings roaming around the wild near Rothwell City damnit. Why would they choose now to escape the city anyways? They had plenty of opportunities before. In fact, why would they even bother escaping the city in the first ce? And why go to an orphanage run by a ss IV Guardian? And the fact that it was Scarlet who originally found them</em>


    Why cant anything go as expected nowadays? Allen mutters while staring up at the ceiling.


    <em>It would make things so much easier if the System didnt automatically trante everynguage into a single one regardless of the world youre on because then the changelings would at least have to learn thenguage on Earth first before infiltrating.</em>


    Several seconds pass in silence before he mutters, I think I need a drink


    Sage wisely doesnt say anything in response.


    <strong>Somewhere in the Wilderness</strong>


    Morax the Deceiver rushes through the trees with both Vap the Tinkerer and Nebiros the gue Bearer behind him, each of the three changelings moving far faster than any regr human eye could ever hope to spot.


    I didnt think this day would evere, Vap says through her telepathy skill, the she-demons leathery wings pping behind her every time she rushes from tree to tree. And Morax cant help but agree. This has been a long timeing.


    The day they were finally freed from that city by the Princes directmand. Or at least, freed to head to a different city. One known as Terra by the filthy humans of this world.


    Morax still cant help but shiver at just how long he had to imitate those terrible creatures.


    <em>Except the Princess of course, because shes royalty. And she will eventually shed her filthy human genes for the superior blood lycan genes of the royal family.</em>


    Morax believes this with all his heart as he rushes through the trees, for once feeling the wind passing through his leathery red and ck scales and his humanoid face covered in lighter scales than the rest of his body. Just feeling his ears extended to their full, sharp length rather than stuck in the form of a <em>human child</em>.


    And the feeling of his tail out and whipping around again!


    <em>It feels so good to be back in my original form again!</em>


    Remember that we still have a job to do, Nebiros states, his voice sounding gruff and scratchy in the other twos minds. If anything happens to Her Highness, both the Demon King and His Highness will have our hides over a dozen times over.


    That snaps Morax out of his moment of bliss as he and the other ss III changeling demons pick up the pace towards the capital of the human world.

 Book 2: Chapter 30: Shopping and Magical Realities

    Book 2: Chapter 30: Shopping and Magical Realities


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I hate my life right now.


    <strong>Its your own fault for letting yourself give into her bribe, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather amused as he no doubt watches me fidget in the skirt and blouse Belle, Denise, and Emily are having me wear, the three simply enjoying themselves by taking pictures of me. Meanwhile Arthur can be seen smugly smirking off to the side.


    Doesnt change that I hate this. And its not my fault Belle decided to bribe me with the exclusive beta test slot for thetest Hunter XI MMORPG that was only just announced.


    How the hell did she even get that oh, wait. Pretty sure I heard that Silver Works had a hand in supplying them with the magical reality technology to make the game fully artificial through magical realities. An incredibly expensive project, and the first time its ever been utilized in a video game before.


    Her only request was for me to try on clothes with her, Denise, and Emily at the mall. And Arthur was just kind of dragged here by Belle to watch the show.


    And carry the bags, since as it turns out, the girls hate the idea of bringing a hired hand to do it for them. Something about not liking the idea of having a random stranger following them around all day and hearing everything they say.


    Especially when Belle gets to have an excuse to drag Arthur around. Although he didnt seem too against it. Not like Michael, who Emily enjoyed dragging around the mall that one time.


    I get the feeling Arthur is enjoying watching my torment though.


    As soon as the girls give the go ahead, I immediately rush back into the changing room and change out of these horrid clothes into my regr ones. Then I activate my magi-tech armor over them and leave the changing room with a scowl on my face.


    You better not forget your part of the deal, I say to Belle, the scowl not softening on my face in the slightest.


    She just giggles and says, Dont worry. Ive already had the beta test spot switched over to your name.


    I let out a sigh of relief at that thought.


    Only to tense up again when she says, Now we just have one more store to check out!


    Oh, stars fucking damnit, will this ever end?!


    <strong>Once again, you could always-</strong> Tar begins only for me to narrow my eyes and tell him in my mind, Not another word.


    I try very hard not to punch Arthur in the face when I see and hear him chuckling while carrying who knows how many bags.


    Just have to think about the game.


    After the next store where Belle had me trying on some sort of whiteish grey winter coat with a ck skirt  which makes absolutely no sense to me, but apparently its fashion ording to her  we finally begin heading towards the entrance.


    At least they didnt make me buy any of the outfits. Not that I wouldve if they tried.


    They just had me trying them on. And even some of the store clerks there were more than happy to just let me try them on as long as they got a picture of me  a famous Guardian  wearing their garments.


    A couple stores even tried to give me the garments for free in return for the advertisement.


    I shiver at the thought of those pictures going around. But its all for that beta test slot.


    <strong>Whats so important about this slot of yours anyways? </strong>Tar asks out of curiosity.


    Well, its the very first video game ever in production to use magical reality technology. A technology made through the skill of a very powerful ss IV Guardian using his particr magic to create an entire reality unto one selves. That skill is then put into an item through the use of various other Guardians specialized in crafting magi-tech and is extremely expensive, seeing as only one person has the skill to actually make the magical realities.


    Even though everyone kind of glossed over the dude at first since his power didnt exactly seem very useful beyond training himself forbat and stuff. Not until magi-tech became a thing that is, and they could have other people use it, and even get more than one person in the same magical reality.


    This is the very first attempt at a global scale magical reality project. One that is essible no matter where you are. Which is something that even the Interschool Tournaments dont do since they just have a single magical reality for all of the tournaments themselves with various different stadiums and seating that is based on various different locations. A single building in each Tier 1 city where people can enter the magical reality and attend the tournaments live.


    Everyone else has always been stuck watching them through live broadcasts being streamed around the world.


    <strong>Guess I can see why itd be such a big deal then, </strong>Tar mutters. <strong>And if it works, theyll likely be able to expand the number of people watching the Interschool Tournaments live, wont they?</strong>


    Huh? Yeah, they would.


    I dont care about that though.


    I just care about the game.


    <strong>Right, of course </strong>Tar mutters, sounding rather exasperated with my priorities.


    Hey! Dont judge me! Video games have always been an incredibly important part of my sanity!


    I nce at Arthur who no longer looks happy being here, likely due to the fact that Im not being tortured by the girls anymore and he is still lugging around bags, before I face where were going again. Only to find a group of people standing at a water fountain in a za of the mall  one that, unlike the other mall, doesnt have any sort of VIP area for us to shop in.


    The group is consistent of just guys, some high school age and some college age. And they look like they might start something with us considering the way theyre looking at us. One of them even starts whistling while not bothering to hide how hes looking at us.


    I scowl at them, but right when they look like theyre about to head towards us, a loud shattering sound echoes in the mall, following which everything gains a red tint, and several demons begin appearing. Meanwhile the group of hooligans immediately runs away while screaming as arge demon knight suddenly appears in front of them, showing just how close we are to the core of this Fracture already.


    Huh. That was actually pretty good timing.

 Book 2: Chapter 31: Core Assault Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 31: Core Assault Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without wasting a second, I rush straight at the knight before mming my fist right in its armored face, sending it crashing to the ground a few meters away thanks to the level gap of forty levels between us. I thennd on the ground myself and immediately jump again, bringing both my fists down on the creatures chest, making it cough out a massive amount of blood before dying.


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 1]</strong>


    I stand up again while grinning, only to turn to the others to find them looking rather amused. Well, except Arthur who looks kind of shocked.


    Well, Ill be heading out then, I say with a wave at them before running off just secondster in the direction of the center of the mall, where I suspect the core is at.


    Because this time Im going core hunting.


    <strong>And youre sure about this? </strong>Tar asks as I run through the wide open malls, ughtering any demons I find in my path with ease and saving the civilians theyre attacking without stopping to ept their thanks.


    Yes. I am.


    Its been an entire month since the ss II Fracture, but throughout all that time, with all those Fractures we fought in, I only leveled up a grand total of <em>five </em>times. Which is absolutely disgustingpared to my previous leveling speed.


    And to make matters worse? I havent gotten a single Skill Point outside of when I hit the kill 1000 total demons achievement and got a free thirty from it.


    <strong>Well, it makes sense considering that youre level 90, and there are generally only three or four demons at most at that level or above in a ss I Fracture, </strong>Tar exins as I continue running, having shifted my arm into that of a beast at some point and split my blood shadow off of me, letting blood regeneration take care of the blood I lose from it.


    I understand that. But its still frustrating.


    So Im going to take this mall as a chance to finally go after a core for the first time.


    <strong>If youre sure, </strong>Tar says, and I nod my head at that while rushing by a level forty spawn and ripping its heart out before throwing it away without even giving it the chance to react or stopping my run in the process.


    Besides. The strongest demon in a ss I Fracture is only level 100, and Ive fought and killed a level 126 demon on my own before, along with several others above level one hundred.


    <strong>You may be right about that, but a demon captain is far smarter than a demon acolyte is. Just about as smart as a human is, and you should know that, </strong>Tar says, warning me as I get closer and closer to the center of the mall. So on that note, I begin to slow down a little bit before jumping up onto the wall and climbing to the second floor bridge I find where I then continue heading towards the center of the mall. Which happens to be a skating rink of ice, just like the mall we were at the first time the team and I ever worked together in a Fracture.


    But this time Im a much higher level.


    Actually,e to think of it, a lot of the malls weve fought at during Fractures  malls being a rathermon ce for Fractures to appear thanks to therge number of people there  have the ice skating rink at the center of the building. Or at least at the main open area.


    <strong>It makes sense when you think about it, </strong>Tarments as I search around the main area for the core, which doesnt take long to find as its just sitting next to a fountain with the captain standing next to it alongside about five knights and dozens of spawn who are currently spreading out throughout the area. <strong>The ce holding the court of ice needs to be ratherrge, meaning them being in</strong>


    Tar trails off as he realizes Im focusing on checking out the demons numbers and not his estimate on why malls are designed the way they are.


    The captain shouldnt be much of a problem outside of his directing the other demons. After all, even if hes level 100, hes still just ss I, unlike the ss IIs Ive killed before. Meaning he only has a ss I multiplier from his capabilities and not a ss II multiplier, which should be a few hundredths of a point higher than the ss I multipliers used when calcting your mana, physical strength, and other things like that. So my main issue here is dealing with their numbers.


    Looks like most of the people in the main area of the hall have already gathered into several areas and are being protected by Guardians. Although I cant help but notice that there arent any ss II Guardians here. Which, if I had to guess, is likely due to this being a smaller and lower scale mall than the other ones Ive been to.


    And it doesnt have a VIP area, which is a big must have for more famous Guardians who dont like just walking around in public as they go about their daily lives.


    The Guardians who are here appear to be mostly between level fifty to level eighty or so in terms of mana level, and while some of them are clearly struggling, most are able to at least defend the civilians while they push their way back to bunkers.


    I narrow my eyes at the demons before an ideaes to me and I raise my hand into the air, summoning seven different daggers made of blood.


    None of these demons are terribly powerful, meaning I can probably kill a lot of them simply from here using my ranged skills.


    So with that thought in mind, I immediately begin sending daggers of blood flying downwards at the demons while also using blood boil and life drain on each and every one nearby. And my level ten blood boil skill has the level forty to level sixty or so demons practically writhing on the ground in agony, the skill allowing me to use it on up to fifteen or so targets at once now.


    My actions quickly draw a lot of attention towards me  both from demons, civilians, and Guardians alike.


    Including the captain.


    Looks like its time to take on my first fully intelligent demon.

 Book 2: Chapter 31.2: Core Assault Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 31.2: Core Assault Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I frown as I kill demon after demon from up on the second floor without even getting down there, getting stack after stack of blood thirst as I asionally move out of the way of crossbow bolts being fired by huntsmen who are far too low leveled for me to care about. But very few of the demons are actually giving me much if anything in terms of EXP. Because the demons who are level forty and below dont give me any EXP at all, whereas the ones between forty-one to sixty  which make up the majority of the demons down there  give me so little that it barely matters at all.


    A real dilemma, but at the same time, probably is for the best considering itd mean a lot more casualties if there were more stronger ones.


    Anyways, after quickly taking care of the weakest ones that dont even bother giving me EXP, I find the higher level huntsmen beginning to shoot bolts at me. And along with them, various higher leveled spawn are beginning to climb up the stairs to the second floor in order to reach me. But what catches my attention the most is the sight of the captain raising his sword, with the de beginning to glow a fiery red.


    Right. The demons who arent sapient tend to get rather garbage magics in their contracts and have everything in their System decided on by their contracted fae. But the ones who are sapient get magic more along the lines of what we humans get.


    <strong>You learned that in System Basics, right? </strong>Tar asks, and I nod my head as I tense up slightly, watching the ming sword extend a little. The demon captain then pulls his arm horizontally across his chest before swinging the de in a horizontal arc straight towards me, sending arge arc of mes flying my way.


    I jump down from the second floor, making various cracks in the ground when Ind. And when I look up again, I find the arc smashing into the part of the second floor balcony that I was standing on, setting it aze and also cutting it almost in half at the same time.


    Huh. Yeah, that wouldve hurt.


    I look down around me at the demons that are all starting to ignore most of the civilians and lower leveled Guardians to head towards me, giving them a much needed break. And many of them are sending me appreciative looks. But I just focus on the demons, first using blood boil and life drain on the ones closest while also sending my blood shadow  who had continued walking across the ground with their shadow enhanced to hide from sight when I jumped to the second floor  after the higher leveled demons during the charge.


    Maybe now I can get some more EXP.


    My mana has increased exponentially as Ive leveled up, so I shouldnt have to worry about running out even amidst this horde.


    A grin makes its way onto my face as I spread my hands out, blood ws activating on both my shifted and non-shifted hands.


    Lets hunt, I mutter before immediately sprinting into the throng of demons, nning on cutting my way through them towards the core.


    <strong>At The Core</strong>


    Phenex Sombra was ecstatic the moment he was chosen by the lord of thends he lived in  a quiet volcano region known as Xasaract  to lead the Fracture that had just appeared during this Assault next to the small vige Phenex lived in. A vige teeming with hundreds of other level one hundred demon trihearts  a term the humans simply ignore to call demon captains. As if they were all nothing more than their broad species.


    He was excited at the chance of proving himself. At the chance of advancing to ss II through surviving a Fracture and getting rewarded by the lord himself with a core fragment  one of the many possible resources a contractor may devour in order to advance past the fragile chains of ss I.


    But now? Now he cant help but feel his blood boiling at the sight of a <em>human </em>with an appearance akin to the royal family in almost every way possible.


    <em>Why? Why does this female human look so much like His Majesty and the Blood Lord?</em>


    At first he was absolutely convinced she was a blood lycan child who had snuck into the Fracture when he first saw her. But then he saw the identification the System registered her as.


    <strong>|Hu-ma


    Contractor  Level 90|</strong>


    His surprise was so great that he didnt even bother attacking her for so long that the female human managed to kill a massive number of his forces without much trouble.


    <em>I dont think Ive ever heard the System sound so strange when identifying something before. But it doesnt change the fact that shes a human.</em>


    Phenexs eyes narrow as he focuses on the girl who is currently rushing straight towards him, tearing a bloody path straight through his forces in the process.


    <em>And the order is absolute.</em>


    Be careful, Phenexs fae states, his voice echoing in the demons mind. This one is dangerous.


    <em>I know.</em>


    The trihearts demon nces at the core behind him, only to focus on the girl again to find her attention entirely on him, seemingly not giving a damn about the core.


    <em>A berserker then.</em>


    Despite knowing that this human is indeed a human, he cant help but feel unnerved at the many simrities in her appearance and skills, and even her magic towards the royal family and blood lycans in general. But he pushes past those feelings as he raises his de and begins charging directly at her while shouting at his knights, Forward!


    <em>Simrities in appearance and magic aside, the girl is still a human. And humans are biologically inferior to demons. So she shouldnt be able to match me in strength. Especially not while ten levels below me.</em>


    Phenex and the knights charge straight towards the girl, absolutely confident in his chance to win.


    But his confidence is shattered the moment his de meets her shapeshifted hands ws, only to be pushed backwards.


    Phenex stumbles slightly in surprise, giving her an opening to bring her other w straight up through his armor, cutting through it as if she were a higher level than him in the same ss instead of the other way around.


    The mans eyes widen as he backs up.


    <em>High rarity Predator Skill! No, something even more! Is this girl really just a human?!</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 31.3: Core Assault Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 31.3: Core Assault Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    So youre absolutely sure he doesnt recognize me as a blood lycan? Because those are some pretty wide eyes behind his helmet.


    <strong>|Demon Captain  Subspecies: Triheart  Level 100|</strong>


    <strong>Yes, hes most likely just shocked by how powerful you are, </strong>Tar answers as I weave around the knights, taking advantage of the captains sudden wariness to slowly tear strips out of each one of them.


    Well, if you say so. And this captain is a triheart, eh?


    Not a very powerful subspecies of captain. I also believe I remember hearing at some point that this subspecies hates the term demon captain as well for some odd reason.


    No idea why.


    Trihearts are an odd demon, to say the least. They  just like every other demon captain  have three hearts. But unlike the rest, they have an etched skill linked to their hearts. Meaning that if they lose one of them, they lose the ability to use one of the three variable elements in that etched skill.


    Or at least, thats what the demonology textbooks Ive been reading say.


    The demon knights that Im fighting arent too big a problem for me, considering that theyre almost twenty levels below me, but the captain could be an issue if he uses that etched skill of his.


    I continuebating the knights, soon killing one of the five off and apparently pushing the captain back into action as he immediately rushes back in, his sword zing a fiery red in the process. And this time I dont simply take his sword strike with my ws. Instead, I summon a sword of blood and block it with that, only for the fiery sword to end up cutting through my own sword after just a second. But I dont let the blow hit me, simply jumping backwards after feeling the difference between our weapons.


    Yeah, didnt really think thatd work. But it was worth a shot. Blood manifestation isnt a high enough level by far topare to a sword from Tartarus after all.


    Are you really human? the captain asks, making me cock my head a little to the side and answer, Yep, before giving the order to my blood shadow, who appears right next to one of the knights and stabs it straight through the back, very nearly impaling its heart before it just barely stumbles out of the way.


    One other thing I find rather amusing about this triheart is that trihearts apparently have the ability to tell apart lies from truth. So the look on his face right now is priceless since from his perspective, his skill shouldve told him that Im telling the truth. Which I technically am.


    <strong>He also probably wasnt expecting your blunt and short response, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding amused himself.


    The other demons around us attempt to join in our fight, but theyre so weak its rather pitiful to watch.


    <strong>You wouldnt have been saying that just a couple months ago, </strong>Tarments, but I, of course, ignore him.


    My blood shadow just runs around killing the other demons before they can even get close, meanwhile I flex my ws slightly as I alternate my gaze between the three remaining knights, each of whom are covered inrge scratches from said ws all over their body, and the captain, who is just staring at me with his eyes widened in shock. Eventually though, he finally gets his act together and steps back, pulling the cloth away from the ring at his chest, making me understand very well what hes about to do.


    So I immediately rush for the closest knight and tear out its throat, the creature not having expected my sudden move before I continue past it as a bright light begins shining from the captains chest. One showing red, green, and blue lights that have rm bells ringing in my head.


    Both of the remaining knights turn in my direction, seemingly forgetting my blood shadow who rushes in and tears out their throats, capable of doing that without too much trouble thanks to both knights being almost two dozen levels below me. My blood shadow then rushes over to the captain as I rush around a pir, the light shining from his chest reaching its crescendo.


    I narrow my eyes from behind my cover, only for them to widen when I see three conjoined beams of energy  one of mes, one of wind, and one of water  heading straight for me. So I jump out of the way, making two of them branch off before the fire one strikes my cover. Then I run for a few seconds, only to jump again, once again making the beams branch off with the water one being thest one heading towards me.


    This one is too close to dodge, so I instead turn around and create seven swords of blood in the air that I sh together as a sort of shield before pouring in massive amounts of blood into my blood ws skill and bring both of my wed hands to cover my face in a cross formation. And the moment the st hits my des of blood, a loud noise akin to that of a waterfall echoes in my ears, giving me a headache. But soon enough, the swords shatter and the torrent of water moves on to hit my arms, pushing me back, my feet digging into the ground a little in the process. All the way until my back hits the wall and cracks begin to form in the wall as a result.


    Eventually the bloodyered in my blood ws begins to run low, so Iyer a couple of tes of armor on my hands while pumping more and more in from my body this time, having run out of blood in my blood bank at some point. And that seems to do the trick as soon enough, the pulse of water finally trickles down to a stop, leaving me heaving breaths of exhaustion with my back against the wall. But that doesntst long before I raise my head to re at the demon captain again.


    I reach up and wipe my forehead of sweat before stepping out of the small crater I made in the wall  very thankful that the wall wasnt thin  and heading towards the demon, who is looking rather tired from that attack, not to mention shocked at how well I defended against it.


    Time to finish this.

 Book 2: Chapter 31.4: Core Assault Part IV

    Book 2: Chapter 31.4: Core Assault Part IV


    <strong>Near the Core</strong>


    How Phenex mutters as he sees the girl wiping sweat from her brow with hot steam lifting off of her hands from his attack. An attack the filthy human actually managed to block without getting severely wounded.


    <em>I dont am I so weak as to fall prey to a disgusting human? One of the creatures responsible for His Majestys rage?</em>


    Even Phenex doesnt know what exactly it was that set the Demon King off on the humans. None of the demons do. Not even the Demon Lords, if rumor is to be believed.


    But what he does know is that, ording to the history passed down by his father, his fathers father, and various generations before that, the Demon King one day snapped, turning all of demon kind against the humans,mitting what they believed to be genocide against the race until the Assaults appeared one day. And for something like that to have happened, the filthy humans  weak creatures that most lower ss demons are taught to despise with all their hearts  must have done something unforgivable to the royal family.


    Or even to demon kind themselves.


    <em>And now Im going to fall prey to one of those monsters</em>


    Phenex stares wide eyed at the human girl as she continues walking towards him, all of the other Guardians in the main area of the building having already escorted the humans away and are beginning to return. Which seems to actually make the girl begin rushing as she starts sprinting towards him.


    As if shes a hunter who doesnt want her prey stolen from her.


    <em>Prey is that really what I am to this thing?</em>


    The demon watches her as she gets closer and closer only to eventually narrow his eyes and let out a growl, tightening his grip on his sword.


    <em>No. I will </em>not <em>let myself be defeated by a lowly human being! Never in a million years!</em>


    He then charges forwards straight at the human, only for her to tilt her head and her eyes to re slightly as a diforting burning sensation spreads throughout his body, almost making him lose his bnce. Then a stabbing pain resonates from his chest, following which a stream of red mist leaves it going straight towards the girl.


    <em>Life drain and blood boil</em>


    The girl continues stepping forwards, no longer with a grin on her face as she nces at the other Guardians beginning to head closer to them before she focuses on him, her eyes narrowing. And right when theyre almost about to reach each other, Phenex raising his de to strike, he feels a sudden stabbing sensation radiate from his chest, making him look down to find that damnable blood shadow standing there with a de made out of blood stabbed straight through the bare opening in his armor.


    Wow, that really is a useful skill, the girl mutters, making his attention go back to her, just to find her already halfway crossing the distance towards him with her ws raised andrge amounts of red steam rising off of her pores. Then the next thing he knows, hes lying on his back with a massive gash going up his torso.


    <em>This</em>


    The girl turns around and looks down at him before tilting her head and speaking to him, Ya know, this was an interesting hunt. Absolutely the best Ive had in the past month.


    Phenexs eyes widen at the humans tone of voice and mannerisms towards him. One treating him with actual respect and not the usual loathing and disdain the humans have for the demons. A loathing even greater than that of what the demons have towards the humans.


    The girl then kneels down and stabs her hand straight into the armor on his chest, making him cough out a mouthful of blood in the process before she reaches back with one of his hearts in her shapeshifted arm.


    Now its time to sleep, she says, and for some reason unknown to Phenex, he finds a small amount offort in her words.


    And in her scent.


    Phenex frowns.


    <em>Thats now that shes so close to me, isnt that smell simr to Lord Valruth, of the Blood Lycan n? The one who just visited but she ah. I see.</em>


    The demons eyes close as he takes in the girls scent, enjoying theforting feeling it gives him. One reminding him of home much more than the filthy scents belonging to the forces he brought with him.


    A much purer scent.


    It was a pleasure working with you, Phenex, his fae says, appearing in the air and bowing once towards him, then once towards the girl before vanishing for thest time without even waiting for Phenex to say goodbye in return.


    But that doesnt bother Phenex.


    <em>Even if she was my enemy. Even if she was human. This human gave me an honorable death in a way, despite all of the terrible things Ive done to get to my level. All of the demons Ive ughtered like pigs.</em>


    He then hears the shouting cheers of the other filthy humans aside from this one honorable one, but he doesnt let it cloud his thoughts. For these are hisst thoughts.


    The light begins fading from the demons sight before everything goes dark and his eyes close. Never to open again as onest thought rings out in his mind.


    <em>Thank you, strange human.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but feel a tiny bit conflicted after killing the demon, because this was the very first actually fully sapient demon Ive ever killed, the acolyte not counting considering its strongck of intellect and its clear instinctual drive to kill humans. But for some reason, the sight of the demon smiling ever so slightly in the end has me taken aback, no longer feeling conflicted.


    Strange.


    Very strange.


    <strong>It would appear as if your scent made the demon feel nostalgic, </strong>Tar says, answering my pondering thoughts. <strong>And by the looks of it, this demon wasnt as ill-mannered towards humans as many of the demons in their world ording to his fae. Just one of the many cruelties of war, I suppose. Because even if he wasnt a cruel bastard, he still wouldve ughtered every human in this Fracture if given the chance.</strong>


    Right, war wait, my scent?


    Actually, never mind. Well talk about thatter.


    Right now, I need to deal with the core.


    Before someone else takes it out from under me.

 Book 2: Chapter 31.5: Core Assault Part V

    Book 2: Chapter 31.5: Core Assault Part V


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I dont waste any time in reaching the core and grabbing the thing with my shifted hand before raising it to my face to get a better look. The thing is absolutely gorgeous, with a gemstone like quality to it and a radiant red glow simr to the blood moon above the building. It is as smooth as ss. One of the smoothest things Ive ever felt. And the thing is even smooth in the corners it has as a three dimensional octagonal shape.


    Also, the thing gives me an odd feeling. A familiar one. Along with a scent akin to that of which I smelt in the magical reality during the second round of the tournament. A nice woodsy scent mixed with some embers, smoke, and ash.


    After I finish admiring the thing causing this Fracture, I put pressure on my ws, eventually shattering the thing into pieces. But my eyes quickly widen in shock when one of the shards suddenly vanishes into my hand while the others simply vanish from existence, making me fling my hand slightly to get it out to no avail.


    <strong>Dont freak out, its normal, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me freeze in ce, only to notice looks of amusement on the faces of the few Guardians still approaching me. <strong>This isnt taught to the public or to brand new Guardians from what I understand, but all beings need something of a catalyst in order to ascend to the next ss. And a Fracture core is one example of a catalyst out of many.</strong>


    Oh. Wait, so I wouldve had to defeat a ss I Fracture and get the core to advance to ss II eventually?


    <strong>Not necessarily, </strong>Tar answers, but our conversation is driven to a halt when the three Guardians reach me and the centermost one asks, Are you alright, Scarlet Wolf? I dont think Ive ever seen a ss I Guardian handle a demon captain so easily as you just did. You didnt use some sort of self-sacrificial skill, did you?


    No, Im fine, I answer right away, examining the three Guardians. One of them  the one who just spoke to me  has blond hair surprisingly streaked with ck, which isnt a verymon color. He has on a rather simple set of magi-tech gear, with it being just simple armor looking kind of like regr military ker from the old world. Back when there were wars between the nations.


    The one to his left has crimson hair without any other colors in it and pitch ck eyes, which are kind of off putting, along with slightly sharp teeth, marking him as one of the inhuman looking Guardians that could very easily be mistaken for a demon.


    And the one on the first guys right has no hair at all, with glowing white eyes that for some reason make me think hes blind. But can a Guardian really be blind?


    <strong>Through their eyes, yes, </strong>Tar answers me, surprising me in the process. <strong>But they should always be able to heal it if they find a skill capable of it or find another Guardian who can. This one I suspect has a sort of magic that prohibits the natural use of his eyes. Maybe some sort of magic eyes?</strong>


    Interesting.


    If youre sure, the first one says, not seeming to actually believe me despite it being the truth. Remember that you can always use the help of other saviors of humanity, like us!


    I blink at that.


    Did this guy just call himself a savior of humanity?


    <strong>Hes </strong>Tar begins, only to trail off looking for a word to describe him as.


    As vain as a prince from medieval times?


    Tar snorts.


    Well, if thats all you needed, Im gonna leave, I tell them, surprising Mister Prince  which is what Im gonna call him from now on. Then, before he can stop me, I nod to the other two who nod back and immediately sprint away, much faster than Mister Prince can possibly keep up with considering his mana level that feels closer to halfway through ss I.


    That captain was quite a bit easier to kill, probably because of all the stacks of blood thirst I had up when fighting him. Which goes to show that the skill is definitely bing useful in plenty of circumstances.


    Now I just have to find the others


    My thoughts trail off as I see a familiar face leaving one of the bunkers.


    Carl! I exim with a smile on my face as I see the very mute security guard from my first ever Fracture walking out of the bunker with several other people. I then ignore the other people, some of whom are taking pictures of me to walk up to the guy who is now smiling at me and giving me a nod. How ya been?


    He shrugs and nods. Then nods and shrugs.


    Thats good, Ive been doing okay myself as well, I respond, somehow understanding the big fe way better than I understand most people.


    <strong>Did you huh? </strong>Tar mutters, sounding very confused. And his confusion only grows deeper when Carl and I continue our one sided conversation, seemingly confusing the crowd around us as well.


    Eventually I begin stepping away while waving at the guy and saying, Well, I have to go now, so see you when I see you!


    He waves back with a smile before I turn around and make my way in the direction of where the others messaged me saying they were waiting.


    It was nice seeing him again. I was honestly wondering what happened to him, since I never saw him again after that. Even when I went back to the building one time with Allen so he could grab something.


    Turns out he was on a business trip.


    <strong>I have no idea how youre able to understand him </strong>Tar mutters, still just as confused as before.


    Dont worry about it.


    My attention goes back to my terminal again when I see a message from Aria asking if Im okay, and if Im fighting in Fractures right now.


    Ever since we met a month ago and her butler gave me her contacts, shes beening over to the campus every weekend to hang out at my suite. And she kind of just snubs everyone else whoes in, not paying them any attention at all.


    Unless they feed her that is. Because the girl seems to really like food.


    Which is one area we very much differ in.

 Book 2: Chapter 32: Catalyst

    Book 2: Chapter 32: Catalyst


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The others  after their initial surprise to learning that I was the one who cleared the Fracture, and Belles initial scolding of my being reckless before she realized that I wasnt  quickly move on to bringing the results of our shopping spree back to the limo. And during this process, I cant help but notice that Arthur was still holding the bags when I got back.


    Guess he held onto them in the bunker he hid in while the others fought.


    And now hes carrying them again.


    I would feel pity for him, buuuut he was enjoying my suffering earlier. So he absolutely deserves to be the carrier boy.


    My thoughtse to a halt when I feel a warm sensation flow through my body, followed by a flood of System messages echoing in my head from the battles I just went through, but without any of the ones that gave me little to no EXP. Despite me not summoning them.


    Then a new message appears after the others.


    <strong>{Level 38 Demon Hound defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you.} x25</strong>


    <strong>{Level 37 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you.} x38</strong>


    <strong>{Level 36 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you.} x16</strong>


    <strong>{Level 40 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you.} x13</strong>


    <strong>{Level 42 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you.} x14</strong>


    <strong>{Level 41 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you. } x15</strong>


    <strong>{Level 45 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you.} x18</strong>


    <strong>{Level 39 Demon Spawn defeated. An enormous EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon forty or more levels below you.} x17</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 50 Demon Knight defeated. Arge EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon twenty-five or more levels below you.} x5</strong>


    <strong>{Level 70 Demon Knight defeated. A medium EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon fifteen or more levels below you.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Level 71 Demon Knight defeated. A medium EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon fifteen or more levels below you.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Level 72 Demon Knight defeated. A medium EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a demon fifteen or more levels below you.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 100 Demon Captain defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 91. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 93. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty five Skill Points are awarded for killing the leader of a Fracture and destroying the core all by yourself.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon captain ten or more levels above you without assistance.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon captain for the first time.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 13.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 7.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Siphon has leveled up to level 12.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 13.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have devoured the core of a Spatial Fragment and therefore meet the first of the two qualifications for breaking through to ss II: The absorption of a ss I Catalyst. To break through to ss II, the following requirements must be met: Gain the EXP needed to reach level 101.]</strong>


    I stop walking as I wince from the massive amount of information that was just kind of dumped into my mind instead of the System saying it in my head this time. Likely due to it being too much information for the System to spend who knows how long stating. So it just dumped it in my head, which Id heard it could do but never experienced before.


    The others stop after a few seconds, noticing my own stop, only to start talking with each other, likely understanding what Im doing.


    Wait a second. How are there so many ss V Guardians in the world if there have only been several dozen ss IV Fractures since the start of the Demonic Assaults?


    I have thest message rey through my head for a second before finding my answer.


    It says a ss I Catalyst. It doesnt say a Spatial Fragment specifically.


    And I think Tar mentioned it was one of the possible things you could use, right?


    Tar responds after a few seconds, making me wonder if hes doing something right now, <strong>Thats right.</strong>


    Cool.


    Outside of the achievements though, I only got a single Skill Point from everyst one of those kills thats depressing.


    I did get forty-one from the achievements though. And adding that to the ten I had left over from the achievement I got in thest month makes fifty-one Skill Points to spend.


    But what to spend them on I already brought blood boil to level ten with the other SP I got from the achievement from killing over a thousand demons total, but what should I get next?


    I open my status and allocate my free points first before staring at my skills list. Then, after much deliberation, I end up leveling Blood Thirst once, Blood Shadow once, Blood Manifestation twice, and Blood Armor once to use up all of the Skill Points without a single one to spare.


    That should do it.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 93</strong><strong>SP: 0</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 227</strong><strong>Mental: 225</strong><strong>Magical: 225</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 11023/25312.5</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 13</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 13</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    I nod my head in satisfaction.


    It wouldve been nice if I leveled up blood diffusion a bit more, but the problem is that that skill needs me to get hit and defend against the hit using the skill. Which I havent exactly been able to train.


    Maybe I should ask Allen or Sylver to help me with it? Same with blood regeneration too, now that I think about it.


    I am kind of curious how good blood regeneration will be when it hits level ten, to be honest.


    <strong>It is one of the strongest skills a blood lycan can have, </strong>Tar answers, sounding like his mind is only half here.


    What are you up to?


    <strong>There are some procedures a fae has to go through after their contracted partner gets their catalyst, </strong>Tar answers right away this time, <strong>nothing you need to worry about. Just paperwork for my promotion in the current line of ascension.</strong>


    I stare straight ahead for a few seconds before muttering, What? bringing the others attention back to me.


    <strong>Remember that my ce in the line of ascension to the throne and my current authority is dependent on your level and ss? </strong>Tar asks before continuing without my answer. <strong>Well, were required to submit a document to the King whenever our contracted partner gets a catalyst for ascension.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    I wave to the others as I catch up with them, all of us continuing our way back to the limo again.


    Now then. What were you talking about earlier in regard to the demon feeling nostalgic about my scent?

 Book 2: Chapter 33: Questions and Answers Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 33: Questions and Answers Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Some of the demons that have strong senses of smell  such as the triheart demons  will likely be able to smell the blood lycan scent on you, </strong>Tar says as we walk out of the mall and rather quickly make it to the limo. <strong>But only a very limited amount of demons will actually be able to recognize the scent. The majority of them will likely never have met a blood lycan in their lives, only having seen the royal family through gemstone broadcasts.</strong>


    Okay, thats not as bad as I was wait, gemstone broadcasts? What are those?


    <strong>Theyre like the demons version of TV, I guess you could say,</strong> Tar answers as the vehicle begins moving towards the next closest Fracture without wasting any time. <strong>Since demons have limited technology thanks to the barrier ced on the as a whole, they had to resort purely to magic for certain things, such asmunication between the royal family and the people for instance.</strong>


    Yeah, that makes sense.


    Actually, do you know why the humans from their world put a barrier up in the first ce? Ande to think of it, I feel like we talked about this subject before. But you also mentioned something about not finding me with the help of your father back then, and we never actually discussed it. Whats with that?


    How did you find me?


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before answering my first question, <strong>Were not entirely sure what led to the human races extinction on Tartarus, but we do at least know that the barrier was ast ditch move the humans did, knowing full well that it wouldnt stop the demons in any way.</strong>


    So they basically did it just as revenge? Like a final curse on the demons after their death?


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar answers before goingpletely silent.


    I wait for nearly two minutes, but he doesnt say anything else. And right when were about to arrive at the next closest Fracture, he finally says, <strong>I will answer your other questionter tonight. When you arent in the middle of a Demonic Assault.</strong>


    My eyes narrow at that for a second, only for me to eventually shrug my shoulders.


    Guess it doesnt matter if he answers now orter today.


    Time to deal with more Fractures, and hopefully get more cores in the process.


    As it turns out, I dont manage to get a single core beyond the first one for the rest of the day. Which really sucks.


    Who wouldve guessed that the Guardians would be sopetitive on who gets the cores?


    <strong>Well, it makes sense when you think about it, </strong>Tar says as I walk through the halls of the mansion towards my suite with a frown on my face. <strong>The cores are the only freely avable catalyst for ascension that Guardians can get. Of course theyd be racing to grab them, along with the EXP it gives to kill the captain.</strong>


    I sigh at his perfectly reasonable exnation.


    Doesnt mean I have to like it.


    But at least I managed to get my catalyst without even trying.


    Just kind of annoying that it feels like the only way to really get a core is to be the first Guardian at a Fracture. Or be a higher ss Guardian at a lower ss Fracture, which kind of defeats the purpose since people cant actually collect the cores, only absorb them. If what Tar said is true at least.


    <strong>The cores represent fractures in reality itself, </strong>Tar says, making me perk up slightly at a possible exnation for the Fractures. <strong>No one knows where the Fractures came from, or if someone is responsible for them. Many people just believe that theyre natural. But of the people whove researched them, they tend to believe that theyre a mixture of natural and artificial. Since they seem to run on rules too strict for it to be purely natures doing. I personally believe theyre naturally urring. Or at least that no one purposefully tried to make the Fractures.</strong>


    Guess that makes sense in a way.


    Actually, Im curious. Has the Demon King ever tried crossing over into Earth before?


    Tar appears in the hallway next to me beforending on my shoulder as he answers, <strong>Yes, actually. First through a Fracture, and then through a Gate. But the Fracture simply shattered the moment he tried, badly damaging the surroundings of the Fracture in both Tartarus and Earth, whereas the Gate wouldnt let him through at all. No matter how hard he forced it. Hes just too powerful.</strong>


    Its a pity that the Gate didnt shatter too. Then we would only have one open Gate in the world.


    Good thing the Fractures dont appear near demons on Earth, otherwise there would probably be a lot more Gates in old world Japan. They only appear near humans on Earth, and near demons on Tartarus.


    <strong>Another reason the researchers believe theres an artificial aspect to the cores, </strong>Tar provides as I get close to my suite, only to notice a certain young girl standing outside of it swinging her foot back and forth in an impatient manner. With  of course  a few people standing around her practically beckoning to her every whim.


    Well, every whim aside from leaving her alone.


    The girl looks up at the sound of my footsteps echoing through the hall before a smile lights up her face  something thats started happening in the past couple weeks every time she sees me. And, ording to her butler, <em>only </em>when she sees me.


    Scar! Aria shouts as she immediately ditches the three officials who Im pretty sure work for the academy, leaving them rather bbergasted at the sight of her sudden shift in mannerisms. Youre here!


    I ignore the officials as well when she quite literally jumps at me, making me catch her in my arms as I continue walking towards my suite.


    What are you doing here? I ask her out of curiosity before giving a cursory nod to the three officials who are staring at us and then entering my suite, letting the door shut behind me, leaving them outside.


    Mister Roger said I could have the rest of the day off on ount of a Fracture happening at our next shoot, Aria says, her voice losing some of her initial excitement at seeing me again. So I had him bring me here.


    Did you now? I ask, sounding slightly amused at the girl. Although more amused by the officials we kind of ditched in the hallway than that, to be honest.


    Being around her is always rather entertaining because of how everyone treats her despite her treatment of them in return.


    I set her on the ground, which she doesnt mind, before walking over to my TV and turning it along with my game console on. Then handing her the spare remote I have and asking, Wanna y?


    She takes the remote without a word and sits down along with me on the couch as the console boots up.


    Always rather rxing to just sit here and y games.


    I honestly cant wait for that beta test to start up though.

 Book 2: Chapter 33.2: Questions and Answers Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 33.2: Questions and Answers Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Aria and I y games for a little while before she gets a message from her butler and manager and has to go. So after seeing her out the door, I head back to my room and lie down on the bed, letting out a sigh as soon as I do so.


    Such a long day. Fought in four Fractures, one of which I cleared out personally, and the others I was beaten to the punch. Overall, only gained three levels.


    Not a single one of them from the three Fractures after the first, unfortunately.


    <strong>Its probably for the best, </strong>Tar says, making me raise a brow as I rest my forearm on my forehead, just staring up at the ceiling. <strong>You wouldnt want to be disqualified from participating in the primaries, right?</strong>


    Oh. Yeah. Forgot about that.


    At the rate Im gaining levels, unless I go around clearing every Fracture I can find  which shouldnt be possible considering what Ive seen today  Ill be fine on that front.


    I close my eyes, flopping my arm back onto the bed as I begin to go to sleep. Only for my eyes to suddenly burst open again as I remember the question from earlier.


    So how did you find me if your father wasnt the one who told you?


    Tar doesnt say anything, simply appearing again  having vanished after Aria and I started ying video games  andnding on my chest. The, after a few seconds of silence with me staring at him with my head raised from my position lying down, he finally answers, <strong>I cant tell you the exact answer just yet, but I can tell you that I had a contact with the fae of someone who did know where you would be and when. I signed a legally binding contract with the two not to say anymore on this subject though. Not until a certain event passes.</strong>


    My eyes narrow and I just continue to stare at the fae on my chest.


    Seriously? I ask, my irritation clear in my tone. Couldnt you have just told me that earlier? Why did you wait till now?


    <strong>Because I knew you would have questions about it, </strong>Tar answers, making me sigh and drop my head down to the mattress.


    Yeah, I guess you have a point.


    I <em>do </em>have a lot of questions. But what can I really ask when you cant say anything else?


    Wait.


    I blink as a realizationes to me.


    A smile spreads across my face.


    I understand.


    Is this person who is contracted with the fae you know affiliated with my father?


    <strong>Why do you like video games so much anyways? </strong>Tar says in response, making me frown slightly before I understand what hes doing.


    Silence is yes, a question is no.


    For one, at first it was solely as an escape from reality, but they just became fun to y and I could never stop over time. For two, is this person who is contracted with the fae you know my father himself?


    Tar doesnt say anything in response.


    So my biological father knew exactly where I would be when the Fracture happened does that mean the demons controlled the Fractures to appeared there? But thats not right, youve said that the demons cant control the Fractures


    <strong>That is correct. Neither demons nor fae are able to control the Fractures, and obviously humans arent able to either, </strong>Tar answers this one, likely because its not anything new.


    Then how did my father know where Id be? Did he have some sort of spell on me to track me?


    <strong>How did you afford to buy the games you yed when you were a kid? </strong>Tar asks, continuing his line of questioning from before.


    I frown at that  both the implication of him asking the question and the question itself  before answering out loud, By working short jobs for Allen helping him with some of his projects by being both an assistant for him and a second opinion, because apparently my thoughts on his work tended to help him figure things out sometimes.


    His only regtion on that was that if I bought games then Id let the other kids y them too, as long as they treated the games well and followed my instructions of course.


    Actually, now that I think about it, him being forced through a contract to treat us all as he did certainly exins a lot. Since he couldve made our lives a hell of a lot easier with some more money, but he didnt. At least I now know its because of that contract he had.


    Anyways, if my biological father didnt have a spell on me did he have something keeping track of me on Earth?


    Tar doesnt say anything, making my eyes widen at the implications of that.


    But wait, does that mean he has a changeling following me around or something?


    Tar doesnt say anything again.


    Shit. Are you serious?!


    Thats


    A shiver runs down my spine and I cant help but sit up, knocking the tanuki down from my chest to myp in the process as I look around my room.


    Are there any on campus?


    <strong>You seem to treat that young girl, Aria, like a younger sister, did you notice that? </strong>Tar asks, making me breath a sigh of relief. Only to pause as I nce down at him, his actual question registering in my mind.


    Do I treat her like a younger sister?


    <strong>You do, </strong>Tar answers, looking up at me and sounding slightly happy? <strong>And Im d youre opening up to someone more. Since even if you do care about the others, you seem to find it hard to open up to them. </strong>Well, hes right there. I find it hard to open up to anyo- <strong>But that girl seems to be different. Its like you automatically let your guard down around her a little bit. And its nice to see.</strong>


    My jaw drops open for a few seconds before I close it.


    Huh.

 Book 2: Chapter 33.3: Questions and Answers Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 33.3: Questions and Answers Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I think back to my interactions with her before realizing that I do kind of treat her like a little sister.


    Huh.


    Good thing its impossible for her to be a changeling in disguise or something, since shes the daughter of Blue and clearly has his inherent skills. And changelings cant have inherent skills.


    Even Tar confirmed it almost right away after meeting her when he mentioned the smell changelings have that she clearly doesnt have. A smell that cant be covered up.


    Which reminds me that I still havent seen the councilwoman since that day despite how long its been makes me wonder if shes avoiding me or something.


    You wouldnt have anything to do with that, would you Tar?


    He doesnt say anything.


    Yep. That councilwoman is absolutely a changeling.


    Which is terrifying considering that shes a councilwoman.


    Oh, right. Back to the topic of the conversation.


    I hear Tar snort in amusement.


    Its good that there arent any changelings on campus. Although I dont know how theyd even get on campus in the first ce.


    But what about the orphans that went missing from Rothwell City? I remember Belle mentioning hearing Sage talk to Allen about that at some point.


    I wasnt sure why he wouldnt tell me about it, since I <em>was </em>the one who found them in the first ce, but if they really were changelings


    So were they?


    Tar doesnt answer.


    Well, shit. Now Im beginning to wonder just who my biological father really is if he can get so many ss III changelings toe to Earth just to protect me.


    Or maybe one of the Demon Lords just owes him a favor? Because generally only the Demon Lords or the Demon King from what Ive learned in ss can actually order around the changelings who are on Earth.


    Something they learned from a changeling theyd captured before.


    I really cant see a Knight of Humanity having a kid with a Demon Lord, so hes out automatically. Plus, from what Tar has told me, and what Ive learned in ss about the demon nobility, it would be a massive faux pas for a demon noble to have a child with a human. And that would go doubly for the Demon Lord. Especially since the blood lycan Demon Lord is the Demon Kings son, and the Demon King hates humans enough to want them to go extinct.


    Then theres the fact that Ive heard that White in particr hated demons, so why on Earth would she get together with a Demon Lord? That also makes it strange that she had a kid with a demon in the first ce, but I guess its possible that she just fell in love with a single demon of the n and that was that.


    And the option that she didnt have me willingly is off the table as well, since White is almost as powerful as a Demon Lord, and even if they tried taking her genes by force through science or something, she would be able to erase them from existence even from another world if what Ive heard of her is urate. So no matter what, itd be impossible for her to have a child unless she wanted too.


    <strong>Actually, contractors find it very difficult to have a child in the first ce, and they can only have one if they want one as well, </strong>Tar answers, further ruling out that possibility entirely.


    Which is very much a relief for me.


    Then theres the ss V Fracture Allen said wasing next year


    I shake my head at the thought.


    No use worrying about that now. Its not going to happen for almost half a year at least.


    I let out a sigh.


    That whole conversation was mentally exhausting.


    <strong>Youre tellin me </strong>Tar mutters, making the corner of my lips quirk up slightly.


    Come to think of it, I should ask Allen where myst name actually came from. Since he never said if that part of what hed told me all those years ago was actually true or not.


    I wonder if Asger is actually my biological mother or fathers name?


    Then again, if I remember correctly, the blood lycans have a ratherplex naming system ording to the demonology ss. Something about having five names, with the fifth being their ranking in the pack, the fourth being a separator name, the third being their mothersst name, and the second being their fathersst name.


    Way tooplicated.


    But I guess its probably safe to say that I dont have my fathersst name. Which makes me wonder just what Whitesst name is?


    The Knight herself  the most likely person to be my biological mother  is too mysterious. No one knows her actual name, since that along with most of the other identifying information people knew about her since shepletely removed them from every recorded document and video and basically anything else in the world. Even everyones minds.


    So theres no real way for me to know right now.


    The woman is practically the definition of the word mysterious on the inte.


    Which leads me to wondering why exactly she had me with a demon, and why she dumped me at an orphanage. Not to mention why she purposefully made my life even worse by making that exact contract with Allen.


    It all just makes no sense to me in the slightest.


    I let out a loud groan, making Tar shift for a few seconds on myp before I flop down on the bed again, the tanuki not moving from myp surprisingly. Not that it really matters.


    A few minutes pass in silence with the only noise being that of the music I can hear a couple suites over and the casual conversation I can hear in a suite across from the mansion. Oh, and another conversation from the cafeteria. And some more-


    <strong>So its not silent, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding drowsy.


    Okay, maybe not. But its silent in this room at least.


    I lie down on my bed for a few more minutes, pondering over the subject of White and getting absolutely nowhere before pausing as I think about the catalyst.


    Could the thing possibly have unlocked some new skills? I didnt check before because I absolutely need to focus on upgrading my skills, but if Ive gotten any more legendary skills then maybe I can take those when I get the Skill Points.


    I open my skills store with a faint smile on my face, only to freeze at the first thing I see.


    What?

 Book 2: Chapter 34: A Second Achievement Locked Skill

    Book 2: Chapter 34: A Second Achievement Locked Skill


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Unlocked by very nearly dying several times within a three month time period, by having pushed through your pain numerous times, by killing a demon over a hundred levels above you, by absorbing your first catalyst, and by being the child of the White Knight of Humanity, Amelia Asger.</strong>


    <strong>This skill allows the user to temporarily nullify up to 25% of the pain felt by the user.</strong>


    <strong>However, any pain nullified must be felt at some point within the next three days, and the user may diffuse that pain over a set length of time or feel it all at once at ater time.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Achievement-Locked</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>Blood Poisoning</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing various demons whose levels far surpass your own with indirect means, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>The user may corrupt a very small portion of their blood before separating it from their body and using it to infect other living beings.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Frenzy</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing an original variant demon, by killing a demon at a higher level than you while almost burning all of your blood in the process, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>Allows the user to drive their opponents into a frenzy, making them go berserk with anger on a level determined by the difference in power between the user and the target.</strong><strong>Warning: While this skill makes the target incredibly reckless and lose their situational awareness, it also makes the target stronger.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Summoning</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing a demon captain of the Sin of Wrath, by killing a demon at a higher level than you while almost burning all of your blood in the process, by having absorbed your first catalyst, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>The user may summon blood of any type on a conversion rate of 10 points of mana per Liter of blood.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    I stare in silence, eventually noticing that Tar had left myp and is staring at it as well.


    Neither of us say anything for a while.


    <strong>I guess that answers your question about what her name is, </strong>Tar eventually says, and I just nod my head in response.


    The great Whites name is Amelia Asger. Which means myst name dide from my mother after all.


    I knew it might happen at some point, but I wasnt expecting to get one so soon. An achievement locked etched skill from White.


    Although this will be a pain to level up. I really wish you could just level up achievement locked skills like this one and blood regeneration through spending SP, but nope. The System has to be stingy and make the skills inherent ones as soon as we purchase them.


    <strong>Its not really being stingy </strong>Tar trails off as he realizes Im just saying it to keep my mind off of the absolute confirmation that White is indeed my mother.


    Before now, I had no absolute confirmations since the only one who knew  Tar  couldnt confirm it with one hundred percent certainty, only go around his rules to imply it. But now? Now I have irond proof that she is my biological mother.


    In all honestly, its a lot to take in.


    <strong>Will you be okay? </strong>Tar asks, but I quickly nod.


    Yeah, Ill be fine. At the end of the day, shes just the one who gave birth to me. Nothing more.


    If anything, Cynthia is my mother. Shes the one who sat by my bed and sang me lubies when I was a kid having trouble to sleep. And she was also the one who I know protected me more than once from thugs  along with Allen  when we were just walking through the orphan district of Rothwell City. Even if they assure me it wasnt them.


    I let out a sigh, just staring up at the ceiling from my ce on the bed.


    Its just surprising.


    Thats all.


    Tar hums in response, not saying anything else as we just lie in silence.


    The remaining month of the semester passes by rather slowly, with me participating in every single Demonic Assault throughout the time frame and eventually  through achievements, of course  getting the Skill Points necessary to purchase the Pain Diffusion skill. Which shows itself as immensely useful inbat by helping keep me from bing caught up in pain.


    How do you think you did on that final? Belle asks as we walk down the snow-covered street of the campus grounds not long after taking the final exam for System Basics. I felt pretty bad about it.


    Youre going to pass just fine, I tell her, brushing her worries aside since shes always been like this. Fretting over her grade for who knows how long and then ending up with an A in the end.


    Well, Im not miss 100 like you, she says with a harrumph, making me a raise a brow. Yes, I know you get perfect scores because of your obsessive studying, but just let mein, okay?


    I snort at that.


    Someones feeling prickly about how Arthur said he wouldnt be able to see her live during the Interschool Tournaments. Of course, I dont say this out loud.


    I very much like her not trying to touch my ears in a screwed up form of revenge.


    In all honesty, the exams were rather easy for the sses Ive taken so far. Although Ive only had the exams for Demonology, Guardian Law, and System Basics. So I havent had any of my elective sses exams yet.


    Judging by how the midterms were for them though, the only one Ill have to worry about is Blood Magic.


    Because miss Hunter is extremely harsh in her grading. I was absolutely sure that I got a perfect score, just like I got in most of my other sses, but nope. I got a ny-one out of a hundred points instead.


    Absurd.


    Although Leo Foster  the other guy who has blood magic in my year  did worse, despite having been a Guardian for a decent chunk of time longer than me. But from what Ive learned of the guy, he doesnt really like studying.


    Actually, if he didnt have to be here, Im pretty sure he wouldnt have gone to university at all and wouldve instead stayed as a shut-in somewhere.


    The guy seems to be even more into video games than me. To an extreme extent bordering on obsession.


    Not healthy.


    Belle  whod been quiet for a while as we walk through the lightly falling snow, letting me brew in my thoughts  suddenly noticeably shivers in her rather bundled up clothes consisting of a heavy coat and thick pants and boots before saying, Its a cold winter this year, isnt it?


    I nce at her before looking down at my clothes which consist of my magi-tech armor. Then I look up again with a shrug as I answer, Kind of. But I like the cold, and Im reaching the point where my level is high enough that it doesnt affect me much.


    She scoffs at that.


    Right, I almost forgot you will probably be breaking into ss II not long after the tournaments finish, she mutters, sounding a little despondent. Which makes me unsure of what to do or say.


    Belle hasnt really taken my leveling speed all that well. She for some reason wants to keep up with me at all costs, but that isnt going to happen for obvious reasons. And I kind of wish she would just understand that and move on.


    But emotions are a confusing thing that doesnt follow logic as I so very wish it did.


    The exams aside though, this will be a very interesting weekend.


    Because its the weekend that marks the start of the Interschool Tournaments for the year. Or at least the opening ceremony, which is on Sunday.


    A very interesting weekend indeed.

 Book 2: Intermission 4

    Book 2: Intermission 4


    <strong>Terran Worldwide News Station #1</strong>


    Henry Cooper looks around nervously at the five chairs seated in a semicircle in front of him, with a ss table between him and the tables. He doesnt show his nerves though, as that would be unprofessional and  in the case of these four individuals, one of the five seats being empty  career suicide.


    Of the four individuals, Blue can be seen wearing a blue and ck suit and tie as he stares at Henry without a single hint of emotion on his face, making him look almost dead inside. Meanwhile Red has a bored expression on his face showcasing just how little the two care about being here.


    <em>Red probably just wants to go back to the front lines and fight, doesnt he?</em>


    Looking at ck, Henry cant help but feel nervous. Mostly because the man keeps fading in and out of existence with a mischievous grin on his face. One that makes him look very much like hes up to something. And Purple is the opposite, her eyes glowing purple without any sorts of pupil, iris, or sclera to tell where she is looking, simply making her impossible to read as she sits perfectly still.


    <em>Ever the seer</em>


    Henry looksst at the empty chair and sighs.


    <em>No White again. Just like thest year. And the year before that. And basically every year before that the woman just refuses to go out in public.</em>


    After seeing the light sh on, Henry immediately begins his spiel, keeping his eye on the camera and not on the Knights watching him, And the time has finally arrived! The time for this years Interschool Tournaments! A time that everyone on the entire can never get enough of!


    As for the four sitting across from me, Im sure you dont need an introduction to humanities greatest heroes of all time, he says, indicating the four Knights. Now this year is going to be just like the others in a lot of ways, but Im sure youre all very interested in some of the new up anding Guardians! The screen next to the five people turns on, bringing the attention of the four Knights to it as it immediately shows a man with long hair wearing striking red armor akin to what one would see on a diator from the old world. And to start things off, lets introduce Thomas Carter!


    On the screen, the man can be seen rushing through hordes of ss III demons with cat-like ws made out of shadows coating his arms.


    Thomas has a special magic called Shadow Beast, which lets him control shadows and create animal-like vestiges of shadow that can either attach to his own body or be used separately, Henry exins, very few of the Knights actually paying attention, Blue simply staring at him with that dead expression on his face, ck still ying around, Purple being just as unreadable as before, and Red beginning to re at Henry out of his likely desire for him to finish this quickly. So Henry hurries up a little, moving on to the next Guardian as the screen changes to show a woman wearing a simple set of high-tech looking magi-tech armor with purple ting covering all of her important areas and cloth covering the rest. She also has a few noticeable items thrown into the mix such as a sword and a hairband to tie the girls hair back out of her face as she twirls the de around, cutting apart demon after demon in a ss III Fracture at a park. Next up is Caroline Winters! The number one ranked student at the also number one ranked Guardians University, Lions Heart! This beauty has the power to cut space itself! Which includes even Gates!


    Thisment finally gets a reaction out of some of the Knights, particrly Red and ck, who stop what they were doing to look at the screen finally. And Henry takes that as his cue to continue speaking, She is the current number one student suspected to win the entire ss III Solo Primary Tournament this year, and the daughter to Astra, the Guardian of the Stars!


    Henry takes a moment to nce at thements on the livestream thats running concurrently with the tv broadcast, only to let out a mental sigh of relief at seeing them all positive. So he moves onto the ss II Guardians that are suspected toe out on top. But since the current generation of ss II Guardians arent as impressive as the new generation of ss Is, or the current ss III generation, he moves on rather quickly, only introducing a single name  that of a student from Lions Heart, of course.


    Now, this year weve had plenty of new ss I Guardians who have been making quiiite the name for themselves, Henry continues, smiling slightly despite the looks hes getting from the Knights while wishing he didnt have to take this job. But someone had to, since its an annual thing, and hes proven himself to be able to deal with the Knights  all of whom have psychological conditions that built up over the centuries theyve lived along with their time on Tartarus.


    <em>One of the many reasons I never ask the Knights any questions until the very end. Because all the people really want to see is their heroes in the flesh and not on the battlefield for once. They dont want to hear them talk. Especially not Blue. Although I think some might want to see ck talk, but only one of his personalities.</em>


    The screen changes to show a young man seemingly in his early twenties wearing a simple set of magi-tech armor that looks like a regr old T-shirt and shorts as he clearly uses death magic to fight a horde of demons inside of a park.


    First up for the ss Is most likely to make it ces in the tournaments is the frightening Necro! A user of death magic and <em>something </em>else, Henry says, smirking slightly as he sees the Knights turning to look at the screen, only for their eyes to widen at the sight of the man using void rted powers. This young man is currently being sponsored by the city lord of a Tier 3 city on the outskirts of the North-Eastern Continent of Ter called Non, and Im sure he has some very interesting tricks to show you all. The screen then changes again to show another student from Lions Heart that Henry quickly introduces as Sentinel. Following which he goes through a few more students from other universities before dering, Okay, we have two more students remaining on our list. Both of these two are the current top runners for the betting rings on the victors of the entire ss I Solo Primaries, one being the candidate from Lions Heart and a character Im sure many of you recognize, and the other a student from Aquatic Pride, the number two Guardians University.


    The Knights  including Blue, who seems to show a modicum of interest at the mention of Lions Hearts Solo Primary Candidate  nce over at the screen right when it changes to show a man in a set of full ck leather armor with glowing red eyes and various markings streaking across his skin as he charges forward, shapeshifting his arm into that of a ck bears paw to sh straight into a demon captain, killing it after what looks to have been a long battle.


    This is Lucas Walsh, the ss I Primary candidate from the Aquatic Pride Guardians University designated the number two Guardians University and located in the Middle-East continent of Uras! Henry exims, the interest of the Knights slowly beginning to lower after seeing him, but not enough for them to look away. He has Shapeshifting magic that lets him turn into different animals and beasts, other people, and even demons!


    Thatment peaks the interest of the Knights a little bit more. But despite that, Red begins to turn away.


    Henry briefly nces at the chat only to almost do a double take at the realization that the Scarlet Wolfs fans have basically taken it over and are rushing him to finish talking about Lucas and move on to her.


    <em>Poor Lucas.</em>


    But he does what they desire, making the screen change to show a beautiful girl with ck hair streaked with crimson, glowing red eyes, and  most importantly, ording to the viewers  wolf ears, before he immediately states, And here we have the ss I Solo Primary candidate from <em>the </em>Lions Heart Guardians University for this year, Scarlet Asger!


    Out of the corner of his eye, Henry notices each and every one of the Knights stiffen up slightly at both the sight of the girl and the mention of her name. And one of them  Blue  even stands up from his chair while staring at the screen with his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.


    Henry stiffens up, not knowing what hes going to do. But all he does is walk up to the screen to the bewilderment of both Henry, the set crew in the room, and the viewers, before staring at it for a few seconds and then going back to his seat without saying a word.


    No one says anything for a few seconds with even the chat pausing for a moment before immediately blowing up with debate over what that was about. But then Blue focuses his dead eyes directly on Henry, prompting him to continue, Scarlet Asger has shown herself time and time again to be a Guardian who enjoys battling the demons, fighting over and over again in every single Fracture she can find and alwaysing out on top, even in the most ridiculous situations that would normally never happen!


    Henry continues throwing praise on the girl for a bit, making sure to keep an eye on the Knights only to find all of them seemingly focused solely on the girl while listening to his words.


    <em>Just what is it about her that has them so entranced?</em>


    However, after taking a nce at Blue, Henry blinks in surprise, suddenly stopping his spiel for a moment. But he picks it up again soon enough.


    <em>Is it just me or does Scarlet share a few simrities to Blue in appearance? Not many, and not enough to be his daughter or something, but some, thats for sure</em>


    He shakes his head at the thought while ying it off as a nod instead to go along with his words.


    <em>This session is going so much differently than I expected it to</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 35: Pod Docks

    Book 2: Chapter 35: Pod Docks


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The rest of my exams go by quickly as well, with Blood Magics exam being particrly cruel. But I do manage to get through it, with an even higher grade thanst time on the Blood Magic exam as well.


    Also, the rtively small ss size for many of my sses definitely makes things nice when the exams are graded extremely quickly. Like, by the end of the day quickly.


    A speed that I can very much appreciate.


    I cant help but grimace though as I step out of my room wearing my stupid Lions Heart uniform. Because were apparently supposed to wear it for the opening ceremony in a few hours.


    At least it isnt a dress


    My thoughts are interrupted when I hear someone running down the hall before turning around to find Aria running straight at me with a faint smile on her face. So I catch her when she jumps into my arms and then proceeds to whisper into my ear, Good luck! I know youll win!


    The little one then wiggles her way out of my arms and continues running, leaving me slightly confused as to what happens.


    Or at least, confused until I hear another set of running footsteps only to turn around and find her butler and manager chasing after her while heaving heavy breaths, the man just being a regr human at the end of the day and not able to chase a Guardian even if shes only 9 years old.


    Eventually the man stops next to me, heaving as he tries to say, Greetings young miss did you perhaps see the youngdy?


    I have to hold myself back from quirking an amused brow at that before pointing in the direction she ran off in and saying, She went that way after wishing me luck.


    The old man nods to me in appreciation and wishes me good luck as well before taking a deep breath and slowly beginning to run after her again.


    Good luck, old man. Still not sure why youre calling me young miss though.


    From what Aria told me, the butler isnt actually her fathers. He apparently works for her grandfather and has taken care of the family for as long as hes been alive. Which, with the help of magic, has been a very long time.


    But magical supplements like that onlyst for so long before the regr non-contractor will die, unlike contractors who can live as long  in their prime no less  as they keep killing demons and stealing their life force. And it looks like hes starting to get on in years even with those supplements.


    A rather sad thing to see, which Aria seems to agree with.


    Well, anyways, I continue walking through the hall in the direction of the manors entrance.


    Time to get this over with. And get out of this uniform as quickly as possible afterwards.


    It doesnt take long for me to reach the pod dock hall, where the various pod docks are for entering the Interschool Tournaments Official Magical Reality. Or ITOMR for short.


    The only magical reality that is always in existence.


    And after a brief inspection by the ss III Guardians stationed there for security  some of which I actually recognize from the Silver Association, meaning they likely outsourced personnel for this as well  I enter therge room filled with thousands of pod docks before going to the very center of the room.


    The pod docks are all located based on both ranking and participation for the tournaments, with the top one hundred rankings being in arge ring around the bottom floor of the vast room filled with several floors each going down a little from the ones above it and having pod docks lining the entire wall of the floor. Meanwhile the eighteen pod docks at the very center of the room assorted in a fancy looking ring looking outwards at the other docks around them are meant for the students chosen to participate in the Primaries.


    Including me.


    As I walk down the stairs, I unfortunately  and expectedly  draw attention to myself from the other students who are at their pod docks preparing the things for them to enter. And a lot of them begin whispering.


    At this point, Im pretty sure there isnt anyone going to this university who doesnt know about me. Which is a disturbing thought, since Im not exactly the most social butterfly.


    <strong>Youre neither social nor anything like a butterfly, </strong>Tarments, making my eyes narrow slightly before I ignore him.


    Anyways, I ignore the attention sent my way along with the quiet and few not so quiet conversations thatvee about from the students regarding me as I make my way down the stairs, eventually reaching the bottom floor of the vast room where I then walk up to the center pod docks.


    If I remember correctly, I should be pod dock number three.


    Number one goes to the participant for the ss III Solo Primary, with number two and three going to the participants for the ss II and I Solo Primaries respectively. Then the team participants for primaries are after that, starting with the ss III team, then II, and then I.


    I walk over to the pod in question before remembering the emailed instructions sent to us for how to work it. Which basically came down to press the start button, wait a minute, follow the authorization instructions that include checking your mana and palmprint, then simply touch the pod to open it, with it closing again after you step inside.


    Not veryplicated, thankfully.


    The process doesnt take very long, and soon enough the pod dock opens for me. Then I nce around the room to find most of the conversations about me having moved on at this point.


    Fortunately.


    I turn back to the pod dock before getting inside and lying on my back, the thing closing again soon after.


    Good thing these pod docks use magic to keep you clean and safe should you stay in them for a long period of time. And theyre not like the original pod docks where you had to go in naked.


    Otherwise, we wouldnt exactly be having them all in one room for obvious reasons.


    After a few seconds of the machine humming in my ears, everything begins to go dark until I suddenly find myself standing in arge za.


    And almost immediately, I hear a familiar voice shout, Yo Scarlet! bringing my attention to Anthony, who is using the same informalnguage he was using when we first met. Something hed stopped using at some point for some reason.


    Wonder why that was?


    I shrug at that thought after a second before noticing that hes not alone and is actually with Michael and Emilys sister.


    Thisll be interesting. Probably.

 Book 2: Chapter 36: The Waiting Room

    Book 2: Chapter 36: The Waiting Room


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Carol and Anthony both approach me with the girl simply giving me a nod and the guy grinning from ear to ear as he asks, So did you see the annual broadcast with the Knights? I nkly stare at him, which seems to be answer enough for him since his grin widens and he continues while bringing up his terminal with a video on it, Well watch this then!


    The video he shoves in my face shows four of the five Knights  with my mother missing as always  sitting across from a newsman as the man introduces some random dude from another university. But then the moment the screen changes to show me, Blue does something shocking.


    He shoots to his feet and walks straight up to the image of me, only to stare at it.


    A shiver runs down my spine at the sight.


    And to make matters worse? He just turns around again after a few seconds of staring and sits back down without a word.


    But its not just him. All of the Knights had a reaction to seeing me. And I cant help but notice that Blue looks a bit like the White I saw in my memory.


    Coincidence? I sure hope so.


    Why do you think they had that reaction? Anthony asks, sounding very interested in this turn of events. And even Carol shows some interest as she shrugs and answers, Maybe its because theyd heard something about her before? Or because she was seeded a slot in the primaries by White, who never shows her face?


    I keep my face neutral as the two talk.


    If I had to guess, the reason they reacted the way they did is probably because I look a lot like White. But it could also be because they recognize my blood lycan appearance.


    I really hope its the former though.


    Then again, they probably know Whites real name. So they could already know that Im her daughter biologically speaking.


    The three of us begin walking down the road as I take the moment to look around. Ive seen the ITOMR on livestreams before, but it feels very different to see it in real life. The ce has five enormous stadiums with the centermost one being thergest by far. But I know that the stadiums shift during the actual tournaments to apany whatever currentpetition is going on in it, since some of the tournaments arent simple duels and are on varying types of terrain.


    Of the five stadiums, the centermost one uses the colors of Lions Heart, those being ck and gold, with arge image of a lions head over the various entrances whereas the other four have the colors and animals of the other four top five Guardians Universities.


    A darker ocean blue for the stadium to our left, which is South-West of the center stadium, with the image of arge squid whose tentacles are spread out representing the Aquatic Pride Guardians University over the various entrances.


    A deep red and violet for the stadium to our right, which is South-East of the center stadium, with the image of arge komodo dragon with its tail curled up around it representing the Scorched Halls Guardians University over the various entrances.


    A vivid green and brown, giving off a nature-like vibe for the stadium to the far back left, which is North-West of the center stadium, with the image of arge deers head representing the Yggdrasil Guardians University over the various entrances.


    And a pure ck, mixed in with some eerily moving shadows making a very dark and ominous vibe for the stadium to the far back right, which is North-East of the center stadium, with an image of a wolfs head representing the Hunters Peak Guardians University over the various entrances.


    Now, the universities in question have nothing to do with the stadiums that represent them. Its more so just a way to represent and show off the top five ranking Guardians Universities. Simply a manner of pride.


    Meanwhile the roads connecting the stadiums are all a staple ck and gold with ck and gold streetlights that really arent necessary but add to the ambiance in a way that makes them look nice.


    We all continue walking down the road until we reach the main entrance for the stadium which is packed with people already. But Anthony and Carol just go around them to enter a side entrance, and I decide to follow them, very much not wanting to get stuck in a crowd of civilians like that.


    And I quickly find myself thankful that I did, because the side entrance  which turns out is only open to participants as staff check our Guardian Identification Card more than once while we walk through  leads us directly to one of the many waiting areas for participants. A nicerge room filled with thousands of people, all Guardians, and all chatting away without noticing any new entries to the room since its just so big.


    Overall I believe there should be about two hundred and ny-one Guardians Universities in the world, with Lions Heart having three thousand students and each of the others only having around one or two thousand at most. Some going as low as not even reaching a thousand students.


    But even with that, it makes a massive amount of Guardians all stuffed in waiting rooms around the stadium.


    Of course, not all of the students are going to be participating, since participation is expensive in the non-primary tournaments, the Primaries being the only free ones to participate in. And not all students have the funds necessary to participate in the regr tournaments.


    Most do though, strictly from the ie theyve made from fighting in Fractures.


    Even Ive started building up a decent chunk of credits myself at this point.


    I look around the room for a bit, briefly noting the dozens of people who do look my way out of the thousands. And those dozens end up staring and seemingly sizing me up for a moment before returning to whatever conversations they were having beforehand.


    The waiting rooms will be a lot more empty when the tournaments actually begin, I hear Carol mention as we go find a ce to rest in the room. Its only full right now since everyone participating in the Interschool Tournaments is here for the opening ceremony. But after this, only the participants directlypeting in whatever round of whatever tournament is going on will be in here at a time. In fact, most people wont even be using the waiting rooms. Youll likely just be using a private booth in the stadium instead.


    Thats good to know.


    Because there are way too many people here.

 Book 2: Chapter 37: The Opening Ceremony Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 37: The Opening Ceremony Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Time passes by with the other two chatting and me ying a game on my terminal until the officials hosting the tournament finally corral us and give us instructions as to what were supposed to do. Which basicallyes down to line up in a massive grid throughout the room where we will then march onto the field, with the students all situated based either at random or on whether or not they are participating in the primaries.


    And after that hassle is done with, we march straight out onto a massive field made of pitch ck stone where my ears are immediately assaulted by the roaring noise of the crowd beginning to cheer. A crowd made out of millions of people, making my eyes widen in shock. But I continue marching without stopping like some of the people I saw in other entrances to the field.


    A loud and intense song starts to y throughout the stadium as we march. One that I instantly recognize as both the Terran Republics national anthem, and our march song against the demons.


    We all slowly line up in a massive grid with an additional, smaller grid in front of the massive one for the ss I through III Primaries teams, and arge threeyer pedestal in front of everyone, with me standing on the bottomyer of the pedestal at the very center, marking me as the ss I Solo Primary candidate for the current number one Guardians University and making me very ufortable with the attention it brings. Meanwhile the twoyers behind us are for the ss II and III Solo Primary candidates respectively, with eachyer having the feet of the students above us being around our shoulders as we all face the rest of the students in arge arc.


    The music ys out for a bit longer until the songes to a close, leading to a moment of silence as the majority of the people in the room give a salute in response to the ending like is taught at school. But I notice arge portion of the Guardians not doing it.


    Not that the civilians seem to care, since its generally meant as a sign of support <em>for </em>the Guardians in the first ce.


    After the moment of silence ends, I can hear the voice of the current Chairman of the Republic, leader of the Council Seats and an old man long in his hundredscking any sort of magic beyond the suppletive he obviously takes to stay alive, echoing throughout the stadium as his appearance shows itself on a massive screen above all our heads.


    Wee to the ny-eighth annual Interschool Tournaments!


    Despite how short his statement was, the crowd goes wild, the majority of the people here in person and not watching on the livestream being Tier 1 civilians and some Guardians not participating in the tournaments from all across the worlds few dozen Tier 1 cities.


    The man wearing the ceremonial magi-tech armor of the Chairman  an armor that looks half like a business suit and half like ceremonial armor from medieval times with an all-ck coloring across it  on the screen raises one arm, quickly silencing the audience before he continues, Ever since the founding of our great Republic, the Interschool Tournaments have been a symbol of both peace between the nations and of our protectors strength against the demons, and it also marks an asion of great celebration for the people as it means another sessful year of standing strong against the demons! And it is my most beloved honor to introduce you all to this years Knight Steward watching over the games! A man I recognize as ck steps into the camera next to the Chairman with a wide grin on his face and a long ck cloak that appears to be made out of shadows. Wee the ck Knight of Humanity!


    A loud roar sweeps through the stadium from the audience, with many of the Guardians joining them in both apuse in cheers. Because while ck certainly cant be considered a good character, he is probably around the middle of the Knights in terms of character.


    Mostly because, while he isnt a bad guy, per se  if that term really exists  he is absolutely a prankster. But a lot of people also find that side of him amusing, as long as they arent the one being pranked.


    And as expected, right when the Chairman is about to speak again, ck politely boots him out of the way and takes his ce as he waves at the audience and says, Hey, everyone! How about we skip all this fancy talk and go straight for the tournaments, yeah? A massive number of yeahs respond to him from the audience. Great! He nces at the Chairman who quickly hides his frown and asks, What say you gramps?


    I try very hard not to crack a smile. Very hard indeed.


    This is kind of what they get for having a Knight oversee every Interschool Tournament as a Knight Steward. Because out of the two Knights who are actually willing to attend, ck always somehow messes with the order of things by skipping long and boring speeches like this, whereas Purple just stays mute the entire time without saying a word.


    People like it more when ck is the Steward though, since it adds more than a little amusement to the ceremony. Which I suspect is the only reason they continue having him be the Steward half the time when they could choose to go solely with Purple instead.


    Very well, the Chairmans grandfatherly voice echoes throughout the stadium before he focuses on the audience once again, we shall dispense with the usual formalities and get straight to the point this year!


    The Guardians go wild at that, briefly startling the Chairman for a second to my amusement.


    Im very d that the people setting up the magical reality can fix it so that loud noises like the roar of an audience dont actually hurt someones ears. Otherwise Id probably be on the ground right now in pain.


    Right after we go over the usual rules and regtions of the tournament! the Chairman adds as if as an afterthought, cutting off arge portion of the cheers, but not all of them. Which makes sense since there are probably some people who dont know the rules.


    I personally would like to be reminded of them, so Im fine with this myself.

 Book 2: Chapter 37.2: The Opening Ceremony Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 37.2: The Opening Ceremony Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    A massive screen appears above the one showing the Chairman and ck with the rules clearly depicted on it. A very, <em>very </em>long list.


    Just like always, Ill only go over the most important things, the Chairman adds, making the people in the audience calm down a bit. To start off, all of the primaries will be held in this very stadium, and there will not be any other tournaments going on during them. Each primary willst for three days, with two days of secondary tournaments in between them. There will be a total of six primary tournaments, three for solos and three for teams, and the exact specifics and rules will be announced on the first day of each primary tournament.


    Thats nothing new.


    Cheating is not allowed during any of the tournaments and will be harshly punished. Foul y outside of the tournament is not allowed either, and anymitting it will be arrested on the spot and given a decade long sentence in prison, the Chairman continues, whispers running throughout the stadium at these words. All participants are scanned uponing into the magical reality for any sorts of illegal magical items that are not allowed in the tournaments, and should the participant be caught with it, they will be marked by the staff and the item will not appear with them in the magical reality.


    Then the Chairman proceeds to drone on and on about more rules like that until he finally gets to the more interesting stuff, The secondary tournaments of the Interschool Tournaments will all be conducted on the two off days between primaries, and they will each have a ss V guest speaker attending thementators booth. These secondary tournaments can include various different formats such as team Death Match, Fortress Siege, Demon Hunt, and Healers Gambit. He pauses for a second before ncing off the screen then focusing on us again. Getting first ce in a secondary tournament will grant the university that the victor or victorious team goes to a total of five points, while second ce will give three and third ce will give one. And as always, getting first ce in a primary will grant the university attended by the participant or participants a total of thirty points, with second ce getting twenty, and third ce ten.


    By the looks of the bored faces on the field, my own included, none of us really care about the rewards for the universities. What we all want to hear


    Moving onto the individual rewards for the winning students, the Chairman continues with great timing. As many of you already know, we use a point based system for the winners along with a t mary prize. Each of the winning students will be able to trade their points for items they wouldnt normally be able to purchase such as favors from the government and various other things that I believe you might be interested in as young Guardians.


    This time the massive number of Guardians gathered on the field go wild at his words, everyone here being rather excited over the prospect of rewards.


    Now, outside of the primaries, the set prizes for the secondary tournaments will be decided upon on the day of each secondary tournament, the Chairman adds, making the excitement die down ever so slightly before rising again as he finishes, but as always, the prizes for the primaries are shown on the screen above!


    The rules and regtions screen changes to show a different one.


    <strong>First ce</strong>


    <strong>ss I</strong>


    <strong>ss II</strong>


    <strong>ss III</strong>


    Credits


    Points


    Credits


    Points


    Credits


    Points


    <strong>Solo</strong>


    10,000,000


    100


    100,000,000


    250


    1,000,000,000


    500


    <strong>Team</strong>


    5,000,000


    50


    50,000,000


    125


    500,000,000


    250


    <strong>Second ce</strong>


    ss I


    ss II


    ss III


    Credits


    Points


    Credits


    Points


    Credits


    Points


    <strong>Solo</strong>


    5,000,000


    50


    50,000,000


    125


    500,000,000


    250


    <strong>Team</strong>


    2,500,000


    25


    25,000,000


    63


    250,000,000


    125


    <strong>Third ce</strong>


    ss I


    ss II


    ss III


    Credits


    Points


    Credits


    Points


    Credits


    Points


    <strong>Solo</strong>


    1,000,000


    10


    10,000,000


    25


    100,000,000


    50


    <strong>Team</strong>


    500,000


    5


    5,000,000


    13


    50,000,000


    25


    Even though I expected it, the sight of the massive amount of credits given as a reward still has my eyes bugging out. Although while Im not exactly sure how much each point is worth, Im guessing its a lot.


    The rewards listed here for teams are per person in the team, ck suddenly speaks up again before tapping his head and adding, just wanted to mention that since a lot of folks tend to ask that first thing. He then shrugs as he finishes, Ive tried asking them to fix the darned thing, buuuut no luck there. Sorry bout that!


    A wave ofughter tears through the audience as the Chairman very skillfully avoids showing any of the irritation Im sure hes feeling at the Knights callous words.


    But cks exnation did help, so Im siding with him on this. That really should be changed.


    If I had to guess, the reason they arent changing it probably has something to do with tradition.


    The Chairman clears his throat, making theughter die down before he says, If you wish to know some of the benefits you may trade your points for, you can find it on the governments official website. He then spreads his arms out and says, Now, to the beginning of another year, we mark it with a bang! Guardians! Raise your hands into the air and let loose!


    Almost all at once, tens of thousands of Guardian in the stadium  both those on the field and those in the bleachers  raise a single arm, myself included, and use a ranged skill that shoots upwards into the air before hitting something and exploding in a form of celebration. The skill that I use being blood manifestation.


    The Interschool Tournaments for the year 2223 has officially begun! the Chairman shouts, raising a fist into the air.


    The crowd goes absolutely wild as the skills continue hitting some sort of magical point in the stadium where they disappear and turn into mini-fireworks instead.


    Well, this will certainly be an interesting month. Thats for sure.


    One with plenty of interesting battles for me.


    <strong>Always with the battles with you </strong>Tar mutters, sounding both amused and exasperated at the same time.


    I crack a smile at that as I watch the fireworks.


    Maybe.

 Book 2: Chapter 38: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Tentacle?

    Book 2: Chapter 38: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Tentacle?


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>The next day</em></strong>


    Youre heading out? Michael asks, and I nod my head as I begin leaving the group to go up the stairs of the building, nning on heading directly towards the core of the Fracture. Be careful.


    Dont worry, I call back as I jump straight up each flight of stairs, not bothering to take them one or two at a time.


    There isnt much I have to worry about anymore. Not in a ss I Fracture. And not when Im already at level 99.


    It wont be long before I reach level 101, and fortunately, I wont have to worry about being disqualified. Because the ss I Solo Primaries are the very first primaries hosted in the tournament, starting on day three of the Interschool Tournaments. Right after the team tournament that Michael and the others signed us up for on the second day.


    But today  the first day  none of us have anything. And then the Demonic Assault hit, so the tournament was paused for the time being.


    Fortunately, the tournaments are all built with the Demonic Assaults in mind, leaving plenty of spare time an entire two weekster, after the originalst day of the Interschool Tournaments, for dys like this. And thats with each tournament having extra time added to it to amodate dys.


    I cant help but smile as I climb the stairs until reaching the point where I hear what Im pretty sure is the captain. Only to frown when I hear someone else already fighting him.


    Damnit. Looks like were toote.


    In that case, I listen to the surrounding floors for any powerful demons to hunt instead before finding what sounds like a breeder with some knights a couple floors above me. So I continue up the stairs until I reach that floor and immediately enter it, searching the floor for the demons.


    And it doesnt take me long to find the demons in question and to quickly clean them up, the things only being level thirty for the breeder and level fifties for the knights. Meaning they didnt give me any EXP.


    Damn. That was a waste.


    I begin to turn around, only to pause as the building suddenly shakes and the emergency lights begin to flicker.


    The heck? I mutter with a frown while looking around.


    Then the emergency lights turn off entirely, indicating that the building has lost its emergency power.


    Not a major problem this time since its a ss I Fracture, but it might increase casualties. So I should go help whoever is fighting the captain now.


    My frown grows deeper though as I hear loud crashing soundsing from below. Sounds that are not like anything Ive really heard before in a Fracture. Well, outside of floors copsing, but would there really be so many floors copsing at once?


    As if answering my question, the noise continues getting closer and closer until it gets practically right beneath me, making me jump backwards in therge room Im in right now, the red moonlight illuminating what I am assuming is some sort of lobby. Then the floor copses at the corner of the room next to the entrance, following which a man jumps straight through andnds crouched in the lobby.


    Oh shit.


    Before he even stands up straight, I easily recognize this man from the wantedbels on who knows how many websites and posters Ive seen around the city. Hes one of the ss III Rogues currently loose in the city  a term used for Guardians whove turned to crime  and he is incredibly dangerous.


    Just the fact that hes ss III already has me on edge, much less his radiation magic.


    The man is wearing some sort of gold and ck magi-tech suit with a reactor core in the center of the chest and various armor tings scattered throughout his body, with two des extended from both hands that are covered in an orange glow as he slowly stands up from his crouch, focusing his eyes on me. And the warning bells going off in my head immediately upgrade to sirens as I feel my inherent danger sense going crazy.


    Target is confirmed, he says, a light grin spreading across his face. Now, we can either do this the hard way, sweetheart, or we can do this the easy way. With you offering your head to me on a silver tter.


    I fight the urge to roll my eyes that hed even say that before I look around the room, trying desperately to find a way out.


    Fucking damnit, why didnt I just listen to the university staff and let them give me bodyguards?


    <strong>Because it hurt your pride, </strong>Tar answers, sounding afraid himself.


    Damn my fucking pride.


    If I survive this, remember to p me in the face if I reject bodyguards again. I just honestly didnt expect people to <em>actually </em>hire high ss Rogues to assassinate me just because of my candidacy in the Primaries.


    Its literally just day one of the tournament for crying out loud!


    So whats your answer, sweet cheeks? the man asks again, sounding like hes getting a little bit impatient as he waves his des around in circles, drawing figures in the air with the radiation flowing off of the des. Radiation that has chills running down my spine even from here.


    I continue to look around for a few seconds, but I dont find a single way out. So I sigh and immediately activate basically everything I can activate just in the hopes that itll startle him into giving me a running start, but it doesnt work. The man just shakes everything off and sends out a de of radiation that strikes the ground right next to me where I tried running into a wall to break through it. And to make matters worse, the de immediately turns into a ze of radiation, blocking off my escape.


    The man clicks his tongue as he begins walking towards me while saying, You couldnt have just chosen the easy way? Youthful pride these days. Wouldve saved you from a lot of-


    He cuts off as another crash echoes through the building, bringing both my and his attention to the window to find a man straight up floating through it with blue eyes made seemingly out of some sort of vicious watery slime. A man I very much recognize from television.


    What the fuck is <em>he </em>doing here?!


    The man practically glues his terrifying eyes to me the moment he sees me, water beginning to rise into the air all around him before he steps over here. And right when the ss III Rogue that was about to kill me begins to open his mouth to speak, the new guest swings his arm straight towards him, transforming it into a giant tentacle that quite literally turns the <em>ss III </em>Rogue into a freaking <em>paste </em>on the wall with ease as he continues walking towards me without a word.


    I alternate my gaze between him and the now dead and very clearly unrecognizable ss III Rogue, only to focus on him again when he gets within a few meters of me.


    Then I blink as I realize that he really does look a lot like White.


    Before I can say anything or ask why hes here though, Blue stops right in front of me and grabs me by the throat with his once again human arm, lifting me into the air while looking directly into my eyes.


    Shit. Im not entirely sure, but I think I mightve preferred the other guy.

 Book 2: Chapter 39: A Meeting of Siblings

    Book 2: Chapter 39: A Meeting of Siblings


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The man looks into my eyes and nces at my ears for a few seconds before looking into my eyes again as he applies pressure on my throat. And it quickly begins to hurt like hell. As if hes actually trying to take my head off.


    Right before it can get to that point though, I see a strange white light shine from underneath his hand, and the pressure vanishes in an instant.


    Blue looks up and to the right as he finally speaks, So you are protecting her after all, sister.


    My eyes widen at that, because its clear what just happened. After all, the only humans on Earth who can fight toe to toe with Blue are Red and White, the other two Knights being a stealth assassination focused Guardian and a seer.


    And Reds magic is very obviously not white.


    But sister? Blue is Whites brother?!


    Wait, doesnt that make him my uncle? And he just tried killing his niece oh, hey! That means Aria is my-


    My thoughts cut off when the man simply tosses me aside like trash and then turns around to leave. But right when he reaches the window, he pauses and nces back at me, still with that dead look in his eye as he says, Youre the one who has been spending time with Aria.


    I rub my throat as I climb to my feet, havingnded against a wall, denting it in the process several meters away from where we were just seconds ago. And with a frown on my face, I silently nod my head.


    He stares at me for a second before turning around again and leaving without another word.


    Several seconds pass and I find myself looking between the shattered window and the flesh paste that was once a ss III Rogue, only to eventually realize that he left the shield after entering it.


    I rush over to it, only to sigh as I realize that somehow  without me noticing  the Fractures core was shattered, and the Fracture was ended. Likely after he entered in the first ce.


    Actually, I wonder if he did it himself? Its possible.


    Anyways, Im still not sure what just happened.


    Was Blue looking for White or something?


    I walk up to the window before standing there for a few seconds, only to shake my head as I get a message from the others.


    Guess its time to meet up again.


    I turn around and begin heading back down the building.


    <strong>The Balcony of a Skyscraper Not Far Away</strong>


    Its been a long time since Amelia was able to hold her daughter. So long that she can barely even remember how it felt, despite that being the one feeling shes been clinging to ever since this whole seer nonsense began.


    <em>A prophecy is always bad news but why did it have to be about my daughter?</em>


    Amelia shakes her head at the thought, simply turning around to face the doorway of the balcony she is on. The woman known by many around the world as the White Knight of Humanity sees her reflection in the ss next to the open door where she is wearing a simple ck outfit consistent of a jacket, a shirt, pants, and a belt, with her long white hair flowing straight in the wind.


    She lets out a sigh before turning around again and grabbing a baby picture of Scarlet from her pocket, sometimes sincerely wishing that she could turn back time and redo everything thats happened since her birth. But her sense of duty to the universe stops that thought from fully forming every time she feels this way.


    And this time is no different.


    Amelia hears a thump behind her, followed by the voice of her brother, So this is where youve been hiding all these years?


    Sometimes, Amelia answers while turning around to find her brother staring at her with no emotion in his once beautiful eyes. Im guessing you were trying to find me?


    Alexander, otherwise known by many as the Blue Knight of Humanity, nods his head and steps forward, reaching the railing next to her as he asks, Father has been ordering me to find you nonstop and its long since be annoying. Visit him.


    And why would I do that? Amelia asks, raising a brow as she looks out over the city, her eyes straying towards the building where Scarlet can now be seen walking out of.


    Because I will owe you a favor in return, Alexander answers without any hesitation, startling Amelia for a second. But she doesnt show it and simply continues watching Scarlet until her daughter rides away in thatrge limo of her teammates.


    <em>A favor from him that could work.</em>


    Amelia looks up at him and answers, Very well. But I would like my favor now.


    Her brother doesnt say anything, simply staring at her as he no doubt waits to hear what she has to say.


    I want you to protect my daughter during the ss V Fracture, she asks a rather selfish request of one of the five Knights of Humanity. And her brother knows that, despite having lost the ability to feel true emotions long ago.


    He stares at her for a second before holding up one finger and answering, I will protect her life one time. No more. Alexander lowers his hand again. Do we have a deal?


    Amelia purses her lips slightly, but she eventually nods her head and looks out at the city again. We do.


    In that case- Alexander begins, only to be cut off by Amelia saying, Wait.


    He narrows his eyes as she finally turns to face him fully, not just turning her head this time. And what he sees in her eyes is pure anger that has him tensing up, at which point he realizes that she already has her null magic coating him from head to toe without him having even noticed her doing it.


    Alexander tries to break it, but soon realizes that even for him it would take too much force to do that. Not without causing a scene and getting him into even more trouble with the government.


    If you ever touch my daughter again, I will erase you from existence, Amelia says, her cold gray eyes ring daggers directly into Alexanders own. Do you understand?


    She waits a few seconds to let the intimidation sink in before letting his head move, to which he nods and answers, If we had a way to contact you, there wouldnt be a need for such things. Amelia clenches her fist slightly in front of her while still leaning on the railing a little, making the white shimmer over his body begin moving slightly inwards, erasing some of his armor in the process to his displeasure. Fine. I will not harm a hair on your daughters head.


    Good, Amelia says, letting go of her magic and freeing her brother as she looks out over the city again.


    Right before Alexander leaves though, he stops and looks at her onest time to ask, Is her father still alive?


    Amelia doesnt say anything for a few seconds.


    Yes, he is. And he is back on Tartarus.


    Her brother nods at that before vanishing in a ssh of water, leaving the ground beneath where he was standing wet to the touch.


    <em>This is all I can do for you, Scar. Please stay safe.</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 40: Demon Hunt

    Book 2: Chapter 40: Demon Hunt


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    For those of you who werent here during the first part of this tournament, look up at the sky for a list of the rules, the MC of the current tournament shouts as I sit in the bleachers with the rest of my team, quite pointedly ignoring the gazes Im gathering from other spectators around us. But now letsmence the second half of the annual starting secondary tournament, Demon Hunt!


    I nce up at the sky as the crowd starts going wild, taking a look at the rules.


    <strong>Demon Hunt</strong>


    <strong><em>ss Restriction: ss III</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Year Restriction: None</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Age Restriction: None</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description: Demon Hunt is the annual first tournament of every Interschool Tournaments. In it, the students are all scattered around an artificially created set of four environments from the world of Tartarus. These environments include a forest, a volcano, a desert, and an ocean, and each of them is filled with ss II and III demons, none of which are intelligent.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Each kill of a ss II demon grants the student who does thest hit a single point, whereas each kill of a ss III demon grants the student who does thest hit five points.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Goal: The results will be decided upon by whoever has the most points.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Rules: Attacking other Guardians is not allowed. Stealing the kills of other Guardians is allowed. Guardians may work together, but the points at the end of each kill will only go to the one who makes thest hit.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Reward: First ce gets three points and one million credits, second ce gets two points and five hundred thousand credits, and third ce gets one point and two hundred and fifty thousand credits.</em></strong>


    Oh. Right. This one.


    <strong>Why do they start with this one every year? </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely curious as he suddenly appears in front of me, borderline shocking me as hends in myp despite the gazes of who knows how many people on us.


    It shocks me so much that I dont answer until he looks up at me and repeats the question in my head.


    <strong></strong>From what weve been taught, Demon Hunt was the very first tournament during the first Interschool Tournaments. And since then theyve always kept it as the first one for both a traditional standpoint, and because its a ss III only tournament, which a lot of people tend to believe are the most interesting. So it raises the hype for the tournaments by starting off big before going to the ss Is right after.


    <strong>Huh, </strong>Tar mutters, lowering his attention to the field of the center stadium, which usually isnt used for secondary tournaments, but Demon Hunt is an exception to that rule. And unlike before where the field was just pitch-ck stone, it now has the appearance of an amorphous mist. One showing arge view of the tournament arena, which consists of four different biomes, the ones stated in the rules, with a ck stone pathway between each going to the center where some sort of shrine is standing.


    It doesnt take long before the mist shifts to instead focus on a single ss III student, one with brown hair and a dark brown shade of eyes as the man rushes through killing demons through earth magic.


    Looks like Gargoyle has already started the hunt! the MC begins, only for the mist to immediately shift to a girl I very much recognize as Rift as she simply swings her sword before a purple rift in space itself appears in the center of a demon, making the top and bottom half of the creature slowly separate before hitting the ground. And Lions Hearts number one isnt far behind, showing an even more impressive attack than Gargoyle!


    Hmm, guess it makes sense that shed participate in Demon Hunt.


    I reach for the little tablet I was given upon entering the stadium before scrolling through the screen on the little tablet and tapping on a random student, making my eyes cloud over slightly as another screen appears in my vision floating in front of me like a status screen. Something that only I can see.


    The name Id pressed was that of Nichs Wright, the guy that I killed back in the ranking tournament. And the moment it shows him on the screen, I find the guy wearing the same scaled armor he was wearing before. He has glowing red eyes that asionally leak embers from them, with two red deerlike antlers on his head, and he is quite literally burning down the forest hes in.


    Yeah, he doesnt know how to hold back.


    Its kind of amusing to watch though.


    I watch him go on a burning spree that makes him look kind of like a pyromaniac for a few seconds before swiping my hand in front of my face to break the screen as I focus on the main screen on the field again as the MC shouts, And thats the first ss III demon killed during the tournament!


    The guest speaker  who I believe for this tournament is some Guardian known as Archangel, a Guardian who is very invested in the Guardian Research Team  finally speaks up, her clinical sounding voice echoing throughout the stadium over the audience, Considering that Rift is in this tournament, I dont think it will be much of apetition.


    I raise an eyebrow at that obvious bias.


    Now, now, Archangel, we cant just write off the other Guardians, the MC whose name I am struggling rather hard to remember says, clicking his tongue thrice. The others are all incredibly qualified in their own right after all.


    Archangel doesnt say anything in response to that, simply staying quiet on the screen of mist at the side of the stadium high up in the air above any actual people showing her stiffly sitting next to the man as she stares out at the main screen. A screen which seems to focus a lot on Carol and a few other top tier potential winners. People who I remember seeing in the few betting sites I checked out in a brief bout of curiosity as the people who are most expected to win.


    Its a little surprising just how many betting sites are set up for the tournaments, if Im being honest. But then again, that is a major ce for the poor people of lower Tier cities to make money. Or, of course, go broke.


    Im pretty sure they never got rid of it though because its many of the Tier 3 citys residents only hope for making the money to move to a Tier 2 city. And they were all vehemently against getting rid of it.


    Rather sad in my opinion. But I have money now, so not my problem either.


    Thats the governments problem.


    I continue watching the tournament in silence for a little bit before some people walk up to me asking me for my autograph, startling me for a moment. Only a moment though, as I quickly sign it, wondering why theyd be willing to pay the price to have something from the magical reality 3d printed just because I signed it. A shirt no less.


    But my thoughtse to a halt as more and more people start approaching me, making me decide in an instant that the next time Ie to watch the tournament Im buying a private booth. Assuming I can as I think theyre normally allocated to the higher ss Guardians.

 Book 2: Chapter 41: Fears and Tower Siege

    Book 2: Chapter 41: Fears and Tower Siege


    <strong>A Private Booth of the Tournament</strong>


    Allen cant help but feel conflicted as he looks out of his and his wifes private booth at his daughters team standing on the pitch ck stone field in the center of the North-East stadium representing Hunters Peak. His daughter is wearing the magi-tech armor Cynthia had ordered for her, which is quite simr to her own and also made by his father, and Scarlet can be seen staring forward with a neutral expression on her face. One not expressing how shes feeling right now.


    Are you still worried? Cynthia asks as she enters the booth again, the door behind her magically vanishing while she walks over to him.


    Yeah Allen mutters, not taking his eyes off of Scarlet, trying to figure out what shes thinking.


    Ever since she told him and Cynthia about the etched skill she got achievement locked from White that confirmed her rtionship to her, he has begun questioning everything thats happened. Not only why the Knight would abandon her own daughter to a random ss IV Guardian and tell him to raise her in an orphanage of all ces, but why she wouldnt ever even bother visiting.


    But no matter what hees up with for possible reasons, none of them make any real sense. None beyond a possible prophecy, because he knows that White isnt the type to do something so cruel. Especially to her own daughter.


    And even if it was a prophecy, Allen still cant condone what she did. After all, if it was his own daughter that hed be forced to do that with, hed rather lose his own life than force her to be raised as an orphan.


    Are you worrying about why White did what she did? Cynthia asks, sounding slightly suspicious as she looks down at the girl thats like a daughter and soon enough will be to both of them. Or are you worried about what this means for the adoption?


    Allen flinches at that.


    I just I dont know Allen mutters in a slightly despondent voice before turning to face his wife as he continues, how are we going to be able to convince the government to let us adopt her if she already has a mother and isnt really an orphan? Even if she did abandon her, she has herst name, and she has proof from the System that White  one of the five <em>Knights</em> and the strongest one to boot  is her biological mother! How-


    Cynthia cuts him off by simply covering his mouth and shaking her head.


    Allen takes a deep breath to calm down after that as his wife says, Well deal with it as ites. Just know that you have both my support along with your father''s.


    That startles Allen.


    <em>Father? Why would he support my adoption of Scarlet?</em>


    He stares at Cynthia for a few seconds before shaking his head and turning to look at Scarlet again, only to find her still with apletely neutral look on her face despite the MC beginning to speak.


    <em>Im just d she decided to open up about this and tell us, even if I know shes keeping other secrets. Like whatever gave her ears that look frighteningly simr to those of a blood lycan. Which, if I had to guess, is probably some sort of anomaly in her magic. Or shes just not being fully truthful about her magic.</em>


    And here we are with the first team tournament of the Interschool Tournaments, the Tower Siege! the MC shouts, the excitement in his voice seemingly oozing out into the audience as the rules for the tournament appear above the participants. This will be our first ss I tournament of the year, and it will be in a siege and defend format, where one team of Guardians will be defending their tower, and more importantly, their core at the top of the tower, while the other team will be sieging the tower with their end goal being to destroy the opposing teams core!


    <em>Tower Siege? Interesting format for their team tournament</em>


    At the same time, the defending team must either wipe out the entire offensive team, or they must survive till the end of the five minute long time limit with their core intact to win, the MC  Allen believes their name was Scott or something  deres. He then goes on about the rules of the tournament, which arent very many beyond the general rules of the Interschool Tournaments.


    <em>Looks like they can do anything they wish to get to the core, including going up the tower or even climbing the outside if they wanted to.</em>


    Now, for this tournament, we have a total of four hundred and eighty participating teams, so for times sake, we will be splitting this tournament up between the four stadiums, with each stadium having more than one battle of each round going on at a time, Scott continues before a screen appears in front of everyone asking them which stadium they would like to go to along with a list of each team participating and which stadium they will be fighting in.


    Thats convenient, Allen mutters after finding that his daughters team will be fighting in the Hunters Peak stadium that hes currently in, looks like we wont have to move stadiums after all.


    After he says this, three fourths of the students in the stadium all vanish, leaving the remaining fourth to be teleported around the field as the MC says, And now we willmence with the deciding of the brackets for this round!


    As if the brackets werent already decided, a massive bracket showing just the first three rounds of the tournament appears above the heads of the students.


    The teams in each stadium will be separated into four brackets, with each bracket having thirty teams in them, with the main screen being split between the four brackets going on at once, the MC continues. After that, the remaining fifteen teams of each of the four brackets will merge into two brackets instead, each once again of thirty teams until they narrow down for the third round to be a single bracket of thirty teams. The winning fifteen teams of each of the four stadiums will then be moved back to the Hunters Peak stadium  this one  topete in the second half of the tournament.


    A rather long process, Cynthia mutters, and Allen cant help but nod.


    This is the most sought after tournament for the first years who wish to participate and have a team to do so with, Allen says, justifying the process a little.


    <em>Still, its a good thing each actual battle is only five minutes max. Otherwise the tournament would take far longer than a day toplete. And with there being sixteen battles going on at once spread across the stadiums, the tournament should onlyst for several hours, finishing before dark.</em>


    Allens eyes narrow.


    <em>But I wonder how Scarlet will really do in a team based tournament like this one?</em>


    The thought both terrifies and thrills him at the same time.


    He stares at Scarlet, a faint grin forming on his face as he wonders just what shes thinking about right now.


    <em>Maybe shes looking forward to the battle? Or even trying to figure out strategies for the tournament to work through with her team? Either way, I cant wait to see!</em>

 Book 2: Glossary

    Book 2: Glossary


    <strong>World:</strong>


    <strong>There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.</strong>


    <strong>The Terran Republic: Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.</strong>


    <strong>Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.</strong>


    <strong>Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.</strong>


    <strong>Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.</strong>


    <strong>The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    <strong>Currency:</strong> Credits and Skill Points.


    6 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    2 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    50 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to night''s stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to night''s stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a night''s stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to night''s stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>System:</strong>


    <strong>There are two types of skills. Inherent skills and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.</strong>


    <strong>Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.</strong>


    <strong>The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.</strong>


    <strong>Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users skills and capabilities take. Especially in their inherent skills.</strong>


    <strong>At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9.</strong>


    <strong>Total Mana: Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.</strong>


    <strong>Total Mana Regen: Average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat.</strong>


    <strong><em>Note: Scarlets mana regen does not follow this due to Blood Regeneration!!!</em></strong>


    <strong>Strength in arc: Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch. </strong>


    <strong>The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 arc on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.</strong>


    <strong>(Scarlets multipliersbined is 1.2x)</strong>


    <strong>The stats everyone starts out with is 10 but their starting stats vary after contracting depending on both their reality warp, their magic, and their physical fitness at the time of contracting.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>ss I Demons  1-100</strong>


    <strong>Demon Spawn</strong>


    <strong>Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Hound</strong>


    <strong>Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Huntsman</strong>


    <strong>Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Knight</strong>


    <strong>Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Breeder</strong>


    <strong>Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Captain</strong>


    <strong>Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100</strong>


    <strong>Known Captain Species so far: Smanders and Trihearts.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>ss II Demons  Levels 101-250</strong>


    <strong>Demon Fomorians</strong>


    <strong>Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Acolytes</strong>


    <strong>Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Wraiths</strong>


    <strong>Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Berserkers</strong>


    <strong>Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Defenders</strong>


    <strong>Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Summoners</strong>


    <strong>Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Commander</strong>


    <strong>Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>ss III Demons  Levels 251-500</strong>


    <strong>Changelings</strong>


    <strong>Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves after eating the children and taking their form then spreading throughout parts of old world China. They have a skill that blocks other humans from identifying them.</strong>


    <strong>Weakness:</strong>


    <strong>Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture:</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>ss IV Demons  Levels 501-1000</strong>


    <strong>ss V Demons  Noble Demons  Above level 1000</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.</strong>


    <strong>A new glossary will be postedter on with updated demons for the remaining sses.</strong>


    <strong>Note: Noble demons only include Blood Lycans, Oni, Arachnae, Subae, Ghouls, Mindeaters, Kitsune, and any demon above level one thousand.</strong>


    <strong>Meaning that there are no noble demons outside of those seven species who are not ss V already.</strong>


    <strong>No exceptions.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Characters:</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, had ck hair and grey eyes before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.</strong>


    <strong>The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Allen Silvester</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.</strong>


    <strong>He was contracted by White to create the orphanage in the first ce and raise Scarlet as an orphan.</strong>


    <strong>Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Cynthia Silvester</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.</strong>


    <strong>Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Arthur Barnes</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.</strong>


    <strong>Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.</strong>


    <strong>But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Arabellia Silvester</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.</strong>


    <strong>She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.</strong>


    <strong>Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.</strong>


    <strong>Title: Mystic Guardian</strong>


    <strong> Pre-Contract</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Michael Winters</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet at twenty years old and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.</strong>


    <strong>Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.</strong>


    <strong>Title: Druid</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Denise Harley</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet at twenty one years old and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.</strong>


    <strong>Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.</strong>


    <strong>Title: Inferno</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Emily Winters</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet at eighteen years old and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.</strong>


    <strong>Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.</strong>


    <strong>Title: Little Reaper</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Leonidas Val Art de Archeron</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Demon Lord of Tartarus, Scarlets father, and the son of the current Demon King. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan who had a child with White, the current most powerful human being, and his father was not happy about it. He cares about Scarlet a lot despite how White chose to go about fulfilling the prophecy.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Amelia Asger</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>White, the most powerful amongst the Knights of Humanity, and Scarlets mother. She is also the sister to Blue and aunt to Aria. Not much else is known about her outside of the fact that she cares about Scarlet and sometimes regrets how she has treated her, and how she hasnt been able to hold her own daughter for years.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Demon King of Tartarus, Scarlets grandfather, and the father of one of the current Demon Lords. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan and does not approve of his son having had a child with a human. However, he doesnt hold this against the child and cares about Scarlet very much. Even if he has only met her once when she was a baby. He also didnt approve of Leonidass n to bring Scarlet to Earth but had no way to go against it since hismand as Demon King doesnt work on a Demon Lord and his son conducted his n without telling him first. The man has constantly been searching for Scarlet and anything that may lead him to her so that he can bring her home and protect her as his only granddaughter.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Aria Knight</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Aria is Scarlets cousin and the daughter of Blue. She is one of the youngest Guardians in recorded history, a famous child actress, and is emotionally stunted in her development just like Scarlet. However, she is fine with physical contact as long as its with Scarlet, who she quickly grew to like after meeting her and begins to think of as an older sister.</strong>


    <strong>Aria has long ck hair with unnatural blue eyes and two wings that she can summon whenever she pleases. The wings look like those of an angels.</strong>


    <strong>Aquatic Divine: Arias magic that lets her use both water and holy magic in tandem.</strong>


    <strong>Aria also has a few etched skills from Alexander but doesnt know what all of them are or how to use most of them except for a single one. One that allows her to shapeshift a part of her body into a tentacle tipped with a w. And this one she only knows about due to identally using it.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Alexander Knight</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>One of the five Knights of Humanity, Blue. He is a psychopath without the ability to feel true emotions with water rted magic that can also transform him into a kraken. He is Scarlets uncle and White brother. He is Arias father despite practically abandoning her to the government immediately after having her through artificial means just to get the government off his back.</strong>


    <strong>Sage</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.</strong>


    <strong>Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Alfred Raynsford</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.</strong>


    <strong>He is one of the few people who remembers what White looks like and still meets with her regrly.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Jacob R. Ashton</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart. However, not much else is known about him beyond his being familiar with White.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Julian:</strong><strong></strong>


    <strong>Son of the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city. He was the new Guardian Scarlet saved in a Fracture. He has silver hair to match the tail that pokes a hole through his pants along with two silver eyes, the same glossy shade of silver as his tail. </strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Anthony Wilson</strong><strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Contracted partner of Artoria  Tars sister  and a user of death magic. Part void spawn due to human experimentation. Can use a powerful legendary skill that drastically increases all of his stats for the price of taking an explosive amount of damage if hurt while using the skill.</strong>


    <strong>Sylver</strong><strong>:</strong>


    <strong>A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.</strong>

 Book 2: Chapter 42: First Round Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 42: First Round Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but stare at the beautiful prize money. A grand total of a hundred thousand credits and a single point for everyone on the first ce team for this tournament. And it takes all I have in me not to let my awe and desire at it show. To keep my face perfectly neutral.


    Tar just sighs and doesnt say a word about my current thoughts.


    Good on him.


    My attention is brought back to reality though when the brackets stop alternating above us, showing the team matchups. And after some brief searching, I find our team  which Michael named Last Stand on ount of this being the only time Ill be working with them in an Interschool Tournament  matched up against a team called Sunshine.


    Honestly, Im not feeling all that excited about this battle. Specifically because I know how itll go. After all, the tournament organizers are all about keeping the most entertaining battles closer to the end of each tournament. So they arent going to pair us up with a hard team to beat at the very start.


    And now that the brackets are in, letsmence with the tournament!!! the MC whose name I still cant remember despite promising to myself that I would look it up shouts, his voice echoing throughout the stadium before mist begins to rise from the pitch ck stone, enveloping everyone. Then I find myself with the others standing in a white room with arge ss wall in between us and another team of five who I can only assume is Sunshine.


    My eyes are drawn to the top of the wall where it has a countdown along with fourrge screens showing the current four livestreams of the other battles. And the countdown itself seems to be going down from fifteen minutes, which I guess means were going fourth in our bracket.


    I turn my attention back to our opponents again to find them trying to talk to us for a second before realizing that the ss ispletely soundproof. So they give up and begin studying us, a couple of them giving me wary nces that make me think they recognize me.


    This round should be pretty easy, I hear Michael say, and I cant help but nod. Because judging by their mana level, which I <em>can </em>sense from here, they are only around level sixty or seventy. Meaning I should be able to tear them apart with ease.


    Which just goes to show how much easier the majority of the secondary tournaments arepared to the Primaries where everyone is at the max level for their sses. Otherwise their universities wouldnt bother sending them as the predator skill is a little confusing sometimes on whether or not itll actually give you the full bonus listed depending on the level difference between you and your target.


    I turn to Michael and ask, Should I go in and kill them right away, or do you want to work on our teamwork and make some strategies for theter rounds?


    Michael frowns for a few seconds as he thinks before eventually answering, Lets work on our teamwork for the first two minutes, and if we havent already won by then, you can go all out.


    Cool, I answer with a nod, turning to face the enemy team.


    Thisll be fun.


    The enemy team consists of five girls, each wearing a matching set of dress styled magi-tech armor, making me understand their team name just a little bit better. Because what team named Sunshine would have any guys on it?


    It also kind of puts Michael in the awkward position of being the only guy in this entire battle, but we ignore that fact.


    <strong>Brutal, </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him too.


    Overall, their team seems to be around the same level as the others on my own team, Belle excluded. But since theyre still a few dozen levels beneath me, it wont be a problem to deal with them. Not a problem at all.


    And if were the defending team, I could probably finish the game within the first minute or so, simply jumping off the tower and hunting each one of them down. Much less if were the offensive team, where I could climb the side of the tower straight to the top.


    I am a little bit wary of their magic though, but considering their team name, they likely have at least one magic involving nature somehow.


    The wait doesnt feel too long considering that we just end up watching the other battles during it while strategizing, and soon enough we find ourselves suddenly appearing at the base of a tower  one that appears to be about three or sorge stories tall.


    Not too tall, nor too short.


    Alright, you know the n, Michael says, and we all nod before sprinting forward into the tower.


    Our n is rather simple, since Michael spent the first few minutes of our wait studying our opponents through online sources, finding out that they all have some sort of earth or nature based magic. And none of them tend to like fighting in close range.


    Not a very good setup for a team, but from what he could find, theyre just a group of friends working together that didnt really have team setup in mind when making their team.


    So the n basically involves having Emily, Belle, and Michael stall them while Denise and I rush forward to attack.


    We sprint our way through the empty tower towards the stairs before climbing them to the second floor and almost immediately finding four of the five girls on the balconies of the third floor overlooking the second floor with attacks readied next to them. Attacks that they release towards us in the forms of spears made out of earth, some sort of green bolt of lightning, some pollen, and some powdered poison.


    But were ready for it as Denise immediately jumps forward and ms her fist into the ground, making half a dozen geysers of mes shoot out of the walls, incinerating the poison and pollen  pollen that ording to Michael is supposed to put you to sleep. Then after that, I raise my hand, summoning two spears of blood that I send flying straight at the spear and bolt of lightning heading towards us, destroying the spear in the process and making the bolt of green lightning absorb into the blood, evaporating it in the process.


    I dont stop there though, following it up with blood boil and life drain on the girls that I can see, making them all stagger forward while clutching their chests as red bubbles begin to pop on their skin, sttering blood on them and their clothes.


    Guess this was inevitable with you on the team, Michael sighs, realizing were not really gonna get much actual training here working as a team when my skills kind of overpower them. He then waves his hand at me and says, Go ahead and do what you do best.


    I cant help the grin that stretches across my face at those words.


    Then let the hunt begin, I mutter, raising my head to look at the students again who are struggling to climb back to their feet amidst the burning of their blood and draining of their life force.

 Book 2: Chapter 42.2: First Round Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 42.2: First Round Part II


    <strong>The Commentators Booth in the Hunters Peak Stadium</strong>


    And it looks like the Scarlet Wolf is finally going to take things seriously, folks!!! Ethan Foster  often called by the people as the Aquatic Ace and a very poprmentator despite his day job as a ss IV Guardian  shouts, raising the hype for the girl in question as he watches the bracket he was assigned tomentate. All while the other threementators, including the MC, focus on their own brackets with their voices inaudible to him unless he wishes to hear them.


    On the screen, Ethan and the various spectators focusing on her screen  which Ethan notices are quite a bitrger in number than the other screens  watch as the girl steps ahead of her team, breaking their formation with one of her forearms transforming into her trademark werewolfs arm after ayer of blood conceals it from sight. Then her equally trademark ws of blood coat both of her hands and she kneels slightly, lowering her center of gravity as a slight mist of blood leaves her pores.


    Aaaandd Ethan drags it out, only to shout the moment she jumps straight off the ground, here she goes! The hunter has set her sights on her prey and is pouncing!


    Ethan feels a strong surge of excitement he gets as he watches the neen year old wolf eared girl jump straight through the air before jumping again off the wall, and then again until shends on one of the balconies right in front of one of the four girls, startling her into falling onto her rear. And the Scarlet Wolf wastes no time in grinning at her and rushing forwards, quickly tearing out the throat of the girl who has absolutely no closebat skills before moving on to the rest of the floor, where she immediately darts straight towards the next girl.


    Even though Ive been in who knows how many battles of my own, I cant help but feel a thrill watching the Scarlet Wolf fight, Ethanments before asking the audience, anyone else feel that? Like youre watching an apex predator hunting her prey?


    Shouts echo all the way across the stadium voicing the agreement of thousands of people all at once, and Ethan chuckles at that.


    Thought so, he says as Scarlet tears the throat out of another one, seemingly being careful not to do anything that would actually damage their armor or expose anything despite the censor being in ce. And it looks like our little hunter is being quite courteous as well, despite her rampage. Because if you didnt notice, shes avoiding attacking any areas that might expose her opponents despite the censor being in ce.


    <em>We all know that there are some sickos online that like to edit the footage and try to remove the censoring by recing it with realistic looking images after all. Even if those are immediately removed by either the government as its crossing a line even they wont allow, or the Guardians themselves. And the offender punished. Severely.</em>


    Ethan doesnt say that part out loud though and simply continues watching Scarlet tear her way from Sunshine team member to Sunshine team member.


    In the end, it doesnt even take her a full minute to clear out team Sunshines students, making the round end within a minute and a half of it starting. And arge majority of the crowd that werent already watching her bracket quickly begin focusing on it as soon as they hear of it, even if most of them are toote by then.


    And thats all she wrote for team Sunshine! They have been hunted by the Apex Predator of the Guardian world! he shouts, getting a little too into it as he exins, For the Scarlet Wolf is the single Guardian in the world with the highest capabilities that far surpass any other Guardian, including the five Knights!! And she is very much the hunter and not afraid to use that power!


    The crowd goes crazy at Ethans remarks, and even the othermentators finally focus on him, sending him startled looks after having unmuted his audio upon the request of viewers.


    Soon enough, chants begin resounding throughout the stadium, bringing more and more peoples awareness to her bracket.


    Scarlet Wolf! Scarlet Wolf! Scarlet Wolf!


    But eventually, the chants begin to shift to the secondary title Ethan had carelessly given Scarlet. Another title on top of her original one. Albeit one that wont likely be official in the government records.


    Apex Predator! Apex Predator! Apex Predator!


    Ethan grins as he nods, satisfied with his work before turning his attention to the screen right when its about to change to show the next round of the bracket, the screen currently focused on Scarlet standing above the corpse of the leader of team Sunshine.


    What have you done?! Archangel sends him a telepathic message through the device in her hand, a furious look on her face. But Ethan just sends her a smug grin and responds with his own device, Made her untouchable by your little Researcher fan club.


    His words send the woman into a rage, but he just mutes her and turns his attention back to the stadium with a smile.


    Ethan had gotten word from Cipher and Frost that the Guardian Research Team was preparing to make a move on Scarlet in an attempt to force her through the governments authority to agree to their examinations. Merely for research that may very well benefit the human race, when in reality they just want to find out if theres anything they can replicate to increase their own capabilities or the capabilities of their children.


    Or possibly just find a cause for it and condemn her using it as justification out of pure spite and jealousy. Spite for disproving their unshakeable theory, and jealousy for not being able to have that power themselves.


    <em>But with her capabilities known to the public instead of just the few who bothered to look into her personally on the governments public database, and her poprity with the people, the government would never give her away to the researchers. Not in a million years.</em>


    The man cant help but feel proud of his work, and for having finally pulled one over on that irritating woman.


    Then the next round of the tournament starts, and the chanting begins to die down, everyone focusing again on the tournament now that Scarlet is nowhere to be seen.


    Ethan pops his neck and goes back to work as amentator, his true objectiveplete.

 Book 2: Chapter 43: The Guardian Research Team and the Government

    Book 2: Chapter 43: The Guardian Research Team and the Government


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After our match finishes, were sent to a private booth to watch the rest of the first round. And I immediately begin frowning as I hear people chanting the words Apex Predator for some reason.


    Whos that?


    I look out over the audience from this private booth  one where no one can see inside  before eventually shrugging.


    If its important then Ill find out soon enough. If not? Then I dont really care.


    The chanting begins to die down after not too long as everyone starts to focus on the next set of battles for the round. But I cant really focus on the battles as I contemte thest battle. And more importantly, how disappointing it felt as a hunter.


    The girls on the other team didnt really put up much of a fight. It was to the point that I felt it perfectly safe to avoid attacking any potentially exposing areas to help them avoid the nasty criminals on the inte.


    Although if I were in an actual fight against someone who could match me, then I wouldnt be worried about that.


    I sigh as I take a seat in one of the incredibly overly luxurious seats they have in this equally luxurious booth. A booth fit for a king in many ways.


    Honestly was hoping to find some interesting opponents to fight during this tournament, but it looks like Ill have to wait till theter rounds. Or possibly even till the solo primary. Because I know there will be plenty of them there.


    I watch a couple siege battles without participating in the others conversations that have arisen, only to nce down at my terminal as I remember the email I got not too long before the tournament. One that Ive been pointedly avoiding having to respond to, because its from the Guardian Research Team, along with another email from the government asking me to listen to their request.


    But when I open up my email ount linked to my Guardian ID, I find both of the emails just gone. And in its ce, theres another email from the government that was sent only seconds ago.


    Huh?


    I blink in surprise before opening it to find some sort of flowery apology letter telling me that the original email was a mistake in their system and that I do not have to do anything I dont wish to do.


    The fuck? I mutter out loud, not really sure whats happening.


    The conversation next to me stops as Belle asks, Whats wrong?


    I nce at her before showing her the email, making her eyes widen, only for her to frown a secondter and mutter, What the


    Exactly, I answer while focusing on the email again.


    Why would the government suddenly retract their ruling on that? Because it was clear they were trying to force me into epting the Guardian Research Teams prodding. Even if they didnt directly state it.


    It was why I was avoiding looking at my emails for thest few days until I had the time to bring it up with Allen. But now I guess theres nothing wrong anymore?


    Kind of surprised that the Guardian Research Teams email was deleted as well though.


    The only thing thates to mind is that the governmentpletely wiped their email after changing their mind, somehowing around to side with me instead. Which is a rather shocking development, because while the government does have a lot of backing in regards to its top brass being directly backed by a couple Knights and various powerful Associations of Guardians, they dont really have anywhere near as much power as they used to.


    And the Guardian Research Team has several ss V Guardians leading them. Not a force to look down upon in the slightest.


    Theyre a group whos only goal is the study of Guardians and figuring out how the System works. They dont even care about the demons, only helping as little as they can to satisfy the government and the popce.


    Which basically means fighting in ss IV and V Fractures and nothing more. Outside of when it conveniences them to level up or something.


    <strong>They dont sound like the kind of people we want to meet, </strong>Tar mutters, surprising me slightly.


    You dont already know about them?


    Tar appears in front of me and sits on myp again as he answers, <strong>No. Myst contractor before you died over a century ago. Before they were established. In fact, before these Interschool Tournaments of yours began as well.</strong>


    Oh.


    Sorry to ask.


    <strong>Its fine, </strong>he answers. So I take the pause to return the topic back to what it was originally on.


    The research team is rather uncaring when ites to achieving their goals, and Im pretty sure theyre doing a lot of illegal stuff to do that. And the government tends to look the other way more often than not because not only are they not strong enough to deal with the team without crying to the Knights to do it for them, but the end results tend to justify the means in their eyes. At least enough not to cry to the Knights for help in dealing with them.


    As long as they keep it out of the public eye, which they almost always do.


    It was just one time that it managed to slip out and the people heard about a cruel experiment they conducted on a fae and their contracted partner.


    I shiver at the thought.


    The contracted partner was a very minor criminal, not someone who deserved a lifetime in prison or anything like that. But when they were being sent to the Rogue prison, they were being kidnapped by the team.


    <strong>They sound </strong>Tar begins, seemingly trying to think of something topare them to, <strong>like the cult back in the Farshore.</strong>


    I blink in surprise.


    A cult? Theres a cult in the faes dimension?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers, <strong>one worshipping Titania, the long since dead creator of the System.</strong>


    Of course, theres a cult worshipping the Systems creator.


    Well, research team or not, doesnt look like Ill have to deal with them for the time being. Or hopefully ever, but I doubt theyll just give up simply because they lost the governments approval.


    I raise my head to focus on the tournament again and quickly find that a few more tower sieges have already passed since I started looking for the emails.


    Guess I might as well check out the other teams that we might be up against.


    So I open the inte on my terminal and begin doing some research.

 Book 2: Intermission 5

    Book 2: Intermission 5


    <strong>Dark Web Rogue Chat Room</strong>


    <strong>[E1  Update. The bounty on the Guardian known as both the Scarlet Wolf and now the Apex Predator has increased from five million credits to twenty million credits.]</strong>


    <strong>[R1  Really? Maybe I should give it a go then.]</strong>


    <strong>[R2  Not before me you wont. Im already heading over there now.]</strong>


    <strong>[R5  Guess that leaves me out of it. Not going to travel halfway across the world just to find the target already dead.]</strong>


    <strong>[R8  Didnt R4 already go after this target?]</strong>


    <strong>[R9  I think so. Has anyone heard from him?]</strong>


    <strong>[R10  Well, the bounty is still up, and the target is very clearly still participating in the tournament. So Im willing to wager that he decided against doing the job.]</strong>


    <strong>[R11  What happened to all that bravado of his, talking about how the target was only a teenage girl? Its rather sickening.]</strong>


    <strong>[R12  No. What was sickening was his magic.]</strong>


    <strong>[R2  Regardless of R4s actions, it doesnt matter. I should have the job done soon.]</strong>


    <strong>[R1  Damnit, youre too fast.]</strong>


    <strong>[R8  Guess that means no job for us then.]</strong>


    <strong>[R9  Yeah]</strong>


    <strong>[E1  Update. Should the Scarlet Wolf be exterminated before the ss I Primariesmence, the bounty will be doubled.]</strong>


    <strong>[R2  Fuck yeah!]</strong>


    <strong>[R1  Seriously? Now thats just rubbing salt in the wound]</strong>


    <strong>[R8  Damn it, Im out. Im not gonna deal with this shit until theres another bounty that I can go for.]</strong>


    <strong>[R8 has left the chat.]</strong>


    <strong>[R9  Yeah, me too.]</strong>


    <strong>[R9 has left the chat.]</strong>


    <strong>[R1  R2, at least make sure to tell us the details afterwards, aight?]</strong>


    <strong>[R5  Agreed. Details would be helpful. Especially if you have anything that the Guardians Research Team can benefit from. Particrly her corpse.]</strong>


    <strong>[R11  Yeah, thats just sick. Im out.]</strong>


    <strong>[R11 has left the chat.]</strong>


    <strong>[R5 has left the chat.]</strong>


    <strong>[R12  Theres always the chance R2 might fail, ya know.]</strong>


    <strong>[R1  I doubt it. Hes one of the strongest ones we have here, myself excluded, of course.]</strong>


    <strong>[R12  Just as prideful as always, huh?]</strong>


    <strong>[R2 has left the chat.]</strong>


    <strong>[R1  Oh, looks like the job will be starting soon. Guess well be seeing the results soon enough.]</strong>


    <strong>[R10  Looks like it. I still find it rather despicable to attack a target while theyre in their pod for the Interschool Tournaments though.]</strong>


    <strong>[R10 has left the chat.]</strong>


    <strong>[R1 has left the chat.] </strong>


    <strong>[R12 has left the chat.]</strong>


    <strong>Outside of the Pod Dock Hall at Lions Heart</strong>


    The Ripper cant help but lick his lips as he kneels on the roof of a nearby building, simply looking down at the Pod Dock Hall of the Lions Heart Guardians University. He can already sense his target close by, his blood hunt skill active through the drop of blood given to him by the client for the job. And the ss III Guardians down there wont be able to do shit to stop him  a ss IV  from doing whatever the fuck he wants.


    And if that means he gets to have a little fun with the target before killing her? All the better.


    Jack licks his lips again at the thought of draining the girl of all her blood before killing her right in front of the guards in the building as he forces them to watch.


    <em>This is going to be fun!</em>


    He watches the guards move for a few seconds before tensing up to prepare to jump off of the building, but the moment he tries to do so, he finds his entire body frozen, unable to move.


    The Ripper blinks in surprise, barely managing to move his eyes when he spots a sh of white light near him. And what he finds sends his mind into overdrive.


    <em>White?! What the fuck is she doing here!?! She was supposed to be off in Uras to deal with the swarm of ss IV harpies that flew around the frontline to attack!! So why the fucking hell is this bitch here?!</em>


    White just stares at him before raising her hand and gesturing towards herself, making the white energy covering The Ripper sh slightly as it forces him to stand up straight and face her. She then steps forward, her eyes ring white in the process, making several orbs of white appear around his body, erasing the devices on him from existence including the one that was recording his mission for the sake of the bounty.


    The Ripper tries to speak, but he still cant move his body in the slightest. So the silence between the two stretches for a few seconds before White nces at the Pod Dock Hall and then back at him. She then reaches out with her finger and touches his forehead, making his eyes widen in fright as he understands exactly what she is doing.


    Pain immediately res throughout his body.


    <em>No, get out of my fucking head! No!! Get. Out!!!</em>


    White light begins to shine from The Rippers eyes, making the pain throughout his body grow even worse before it all vanishes in an instant, giving him relief. But that relief doesntst long as when he regains his sight, he finds White  who everyone knows to always remain calm and neutral, never growing angry, never losing her cool  scowling at him. A look filled with absolute hatred.


    Jack cant help but feel fear at that look


    <em>What what did I do to deserve a look like that?</em>


    You nned on murdering my daughter, she says, answering his thoughts with a voice sharp enough that it could cut straight through ice. Cold enough that it could freeze him alive.


    Jack the Rippers eyes widen in shock as he realizes just who the Scarlet Wolf is. Which only solidifies as hepares the image he has of her in his head with the woman in front of him.


    <em>If I get out of this alive, Im going to fucking skin that client alive and drain their blood-</em>


    Before Jack can even finish that thought, he sees Whites eyes re once more, and then a wave of white light envelops him.


    Amelia coldly stares at the empty space in front of her that used to be where the ss IV Rogue was standing. And all she can feel as she does so is hatred towards the man. Hatred that quickly dies down as she turns to look at the building where her daughter currently resides.


    <em>Theres less than half a year before the time ted by the witches arrives. Before her guided training begins.</em>


    Amelia cant help but feel a pit form in her chest as she thinks of who her daughter will end up with.


    <em>Will she be taken to Tartarus and guided by him? Or will she remain here on Earth, trained by my hands?</em>


    She stares at the building for a few seconds before a thoughtes to mind. One she doesnt want to even consider.


    <em>Will she even want to be helped by parents who abandoned her?</em>


    Amelia stares at the building for nearly two entire minutes before shaking her head.


    <em>Now is not the time to worry about that. Now is the time to clean up a certain bunch of rogues and an organization that doesnt know its ce.</em>


    A sh of white light shines from around her body, following which the woman vanishes.

 Book 2: Chapter 44: A Traumatized Drake

    Book 2: Chapter 44: A Traumatized Drake


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next couple of rounds go by rather quickly, with me simply eliminating the opposing team almost right away. It isnt until the second part of the tournament begins, where the four stadiums are merged back into two instead, that our team actually has to work together to take on the opposing team.


    Although I still end up overwhelming whoever Im fighting myself.


    I nce at the corpse at my feet before stepping over them and grabbing the core for our fourth round battle.


    Just like that dude.


    I tighten my grip on the core  which looks almost exactly like the core of a Fracture  to shatter it, making us all appear in our private booth again. And at that point, I hear the people shouting the second title they gave me.


    Apex Predator.


    It wasnt until I heard them shouting it after the third round that I finally looked it up and realized that thementator for our bracket decided to give me another title that the people immediatelytched onto. Not that Imining though.


    Apex Predator is much more intimidating and cool than Scarlet Wolf.


    <strong>It fits you to a T as well </strong>Tar mutters, almost making me stick out my chest in pride.


    Almost.


    I was honestly expecting to be stuck with the Scarlet Wolf title forever. So this makes things a lot nicer.


    <strong>Well, you still have the Scarlet Wolf title, </strong>Tarments, but I ignore him as I focus on the battle going on in our bracket of the tournament.


    Originally the battles were rather boring. But now theyre starting to get rather interesting.


    One of the teams in particr. A team called ze, which has a rather good setup. Even if I dont particrly care for one of the people in the team.


    The guy I may or may not have traumatized just a little in the ranking tournament after he straight up said my opinion didnt matter and then challenged me.


    <strong>Is he still traumatized? </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely curious. And I have to hold myself back from chuckling at the question.


    I almost forgot. One of the times you went off on a little trip to the Farshore, I ran into him while walking across the campus. And he immediately turned around and started walking  rather quickly I might add  in the opposite direction of me.


    It was hrious. Pureedy gold.


    And what was even better? Seeing Belles reaction to watching the entire thing ur.


    Tar snorts in amusement at the image I no doubt just painted in his mind.


    Anyways, the team hes in has a healer, a summoner, a ranged attacker, and two closebat attacker. They dont have any debuffer like Emily, but they do have a rather well built team.


    Although theyre all only around level eighty or so. Which still isnt very strongpared to me, and I could probably still take them all five versus one.


    <strong>Especially if that Drake guy starts running when you approach him, </strong>Tar says, sounding extremely amused at the thought.


    Although Im vaguely surprised Tar remembers his title, I cant help but snort in amusement at the picture he just painted in my own head.


    The rest of the round doesnt take long to finish, and we quickly find ourselves as the very first battle of the fifth round of the tournament. And as it turns out, were up against ze. Which I find rather amusing.


    He apparently does not, considering the look I find him giving me as I look down the tower  our team having been put on defense this time  at him to find the guy literally shaking in ce outside of the tower, seemingly too afraid to step inside.


    Girls, I think Scarlet may have broken him, Michael mutters as he and the others look down the balcony of the tower at him as well, finding the rest of team ze trying and failing to push him inside.


    I watch for a few seconds before casually nodding my head and saying, I regret nothing.


    The others just snort as we begin moving around in the tower to find better positions to defend the climb at, leaving Michaels falcon to fly around the tower and keep an eye on them to make sure they dont try climbing the outside of the tower. But before we can even get to our positions, Michael shouts, Back to the balcony!


    My eyes widen in surprise, since weve never had a team try climbing the tower while were on defense before.


    I rush over to the balcony before sticking my head over the edge. And immediately pulling my head back before a spear of fire passes by where my head just was. Then my ears twitch as I focus on them to listen for the exact positions of the enemies instead of looking down.


    Looks like one of them is on the ground still  likely Drake  while the others are either climbing the walls, or straight up flying.


    I raise my hand and create several des of blood that I send flying straight towards the one flying with what sounds like wings. And while they sound like they dodge the first two des, the remaining five strike true judging by the sounds of flesh being parted and a woman screaming.


    Then after a few seconds, I hear a thump as something hits the floor. A corpse most likely.


    Holy shit I hear Michael mutter to the side as his eyes finally stop glowing green and he turns to look at me. You can locate them just from your hearing? Or is it another skill?


    Its my hearing, I answer while raising my hand again and summoning more des of blood that I send directly towards the three people climbing the wall, impaling them into the wall by the sounds of it. Then I wait a second to make sure before sticking my head over the side to find that they are indeed very much dead.


    And that leaves the traumatized guy down there who freezes up the moment he looks up and sees me.


    <strong>Ya know, Im starting to pity the guy a little, </strong>Tar mutters, but I just shake my head.


    Do you not remember what he did when we first met? He totally deserves this.


    Although Ill just leave him be for this round. Let the timer run out instead.


    Well, I say while looking at the others, looks like we won.


    Michael snorts at that, and Belle just raises a brow at me.


    I shrug.


    Lets hope the next round, thest part of the tournament, will be more fun.

 Book 2: Chapter 45: The Black Hand

    Book 2: Chapter 45: The ck Hand


    <strong>A Private Booth of the Tournament</strong>


    Allen cant help but question what he just watched.


    <em>Did did Scarlet do something to that poor kid? Or what</em>


    He nces over to his wife to ask, only to find a wide smile on her face as she herself turns to him and says, Im d the kids learned his lesson.


    <em>Oh. Oooh, its that kid. I remember now. And Im still d that she hadnt attracted the other instructors attention yet at that point.</em>


    Allen frowns at that thought.


    <em>Then again, she probably traumatized some of the students during the second round too, and I dont think the instructors particrly cared.</em>


    He stares at the screen for a bit, just watching as Scarlet simply walks over and finds a nice spot to lie down for a short nap. And after watching her for a few more seconds, he makes a brief note to remind himselfter to talk to her about traumatizing other Guardians.


    <em>Not something I ever expected to have to talk to someone about</em>


    His thoughts are interrupted by the buzzing of his terminal, making him quickly focus on it before finding a call from Sage. And the moment he epts the call, she immediately starts it off by saying, The ck Hand has been wiped out.


    Allens eyes shoot wide open, and he notices Cynthia stiffening and looking at the screen upon hearing those words as well.


    How?! Allen shouts, unsure of if he should even be believing his ears right now.


    <em>An entire group of ss IV Rogue bounty hunters were eliminated in a single day?! How is that even possible?!</em>


    All we know is that all of them have suddenly vanished off the face of the Earth, and all of their secrets have been exposed to the government at the same time, Sage continues, shocking Allen further. But she doesnt stop there. In addition to The ck Hand, a single section of the Guardian Research Team has gone missing as well, with their own secrets having suddenly found their way in the hands of the local Guardian authorities as well.


    What the fuck?! Allen shouts, his voice echoing through the room. How?! I know for damned sure that they were perfectly fine yesterday since I personally have at least half a dozen of The ck Hand members under watch!


    Those six were also eliminated at the same time, Sage says, adding fuel to the fire without a care in the world. Right after the bounty on the young misss head was increased.


    Allen slumps into his seat before staring straight ahead in a daze.


    <em>How is this even possible</em>


    Several seconds pass and eventually Sage nods her head to be polite before hanging up the call, leaving Allen and Cynthia in silence.


    Do you think Cynthia starts, drawing Allens attention to her. Could this be Whites doing?


    Allens eyes widen at that.


    Its certainly possible, Allen answers while sitting up and looking down again as he contemtes it. I can definitely see her using her mindreading skills to get straight to each and every member before wiping them from existence.


    <em>If what she told me before about her level was true, then she should be around level 1871 by now. And that is far more than enough to read the minds of some Rogues between levels 500 to 700. Much less wipe them all out in a single day. Although I suspect the only reason she told me her level was that shes the highest leveled human on Earth, meaning it doesnt matter if people know. Since no human is stronger than her.</em>


    He raises his head again to look at his wife. The question we should really be asking is if shes doing this for her daughter, or for some other reason.


    Cynthia grits her teeth a little as she nods in agreement.


    <em>I dont know how I feel about any of those possibilities. If shes helping Scarlet, thats good, but it also likely means shes going to be even more unlikely to allow the adoption to go through. If shes not helping Scarlet, that means shes attacking them for unknown reasons. Which means shes on the move again for the first time in decades.</em>


    I need a drink, Allen mutters, and Cynthia just mutters an agreement.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Sometime during my nice and very rxing nap, the timer runs out and I find myself back in the private booth again. But I dont bother opening my eyes, because the luxurious chair Im on now is even morefortable than the spot Id found in the tower.


    Scarlet Wolf! Scarlet Wolf! Scarlet Wolf


    That has me opening my eyes though with a slight frown.


    I know that Scarlet Wolf is still my official title, with the other one actually being Apex Predator of the Guardian World or some really long title like that, and not the Apex Predator that they were originally saying. And it isnt an official title either. Just one that a lot of people refer to me by.


    With that saddening thought in mind, I close my eyes again as the chanting of my official title begins to die down finally, the next battle beginning on the screen.


    This whole tournament has been a bore so far.


    I really wish thest set of rounds woulde here sooner.


    From what I understand, theyll be splitting thest fifteen teams up into a slightly different manner of brackets. In this one, each team will fight other teams chosen at random back to back. And whichever five teams reach two victories first gets to move onto the next round. Then thest round itself is a bit of a free-for-all, with there being five teams, five towers, and one core for each tower, the winner being decided by thest team to remain standing with their core intact, and with no time limit.


    A much more interesting setup than this.


    But at least weve finished with the more boring rounds. So well be moving onto the more interesting ones soon.


    The sixth round. The back-to-back gauntlet of siege tower battles.


    And a round I am very much looking forward to as I know for a fact that there are other Primary tournamentpetitors in this round, and Ill likely end up fighting at least one.

 Book 2: Chapter 46: Interviews

    Book 2: Chapter 46: Interviews


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As soon as thest battle of the fifth roundes to a close, I find myself, along with the rest of the team and all of the other teams still in the tournament, getting sent back to the field of ck stone that is the stadium floor. And not even a secondter, the MC for this stadium immediately begins shouting, And were now moving onto the semifinals for the Tower Siege ss I Team Tournament!!!


    The crowd instantly goes wild at that, but he doesnt stop there as the lighting within the stadium suddenly dims down before he shouts, Lets introduce the extraordinary teams thatve made it this far! A p of thunder echoes through the stadium before I find myself along with the others at the top of some sort of tower being shown off to everyst person in the stadium. To start things off, we have the team that have zed their way straight through this tournament with ease! A team that includes one of this years ss I Solo Primarypetitors, and the one who newly holds the title of the Guardian with the highest capabilities in the world; Let me introduce you to Last Stand!!!


    Almost instantly, the volume in the stadium grows so loud that Im pretty sure my ears would be bleeding if it werent for the protection that the magical reality gives stopping it.


    Scott suddenly appears on the tform next to us with a microphone and walks up to Michael, although I cant help but notice that like a third of his attention seems to be focused on me despite that.


    Now, as the leader of Last Stand, how do you feel about your progress, Druid? Scott asks, and immediately the volume of the crowd plummets as if their interest suddenly dropped, making me raise a brow.


    Michael grabs the microphone and deres with absolute confidence, I am humbled to be here before you all! But hear me now! This will be Last Stands final time working together as a group in a tournament, so we <em>will </em>win this! There is no doubt about that!


    I have to catch myself to stop my jaw from dropping at that as the crowd picks up again in volume.


    That was a much more enthusiastic and bluntment than I was expecting him to say. But then again, the crowd seems to love it, so


    Scott looks surprised as well, but he quickly recovers and takes the microphone back with a grin, Yourst time working together, eh? Is there a reason for that? Or is it because your wonderful wolf will be leaving its pack?


    Well youll just have to ask the little wolf herself, Michael answers, making my head instantly jerk towards him with a re stered on my face.


    Who are you calling little wolf?


    The man shivers at my gaze but continues grinning nheless, and Scott seems to find the interaction amusing as heughs out loud, his voice echoing across the stadium with who knows how many otherughs from the audience.


    So what say you, Scarlet Wolf? he asks, making me slowly turn my attention back to him again. Are you going full lone wolf after this? If so, I can see why. Youll very clearly be reaching ss II after the Interschool Tournaments. He pauses as he looks me over for a second and nods. Actually, I can see you reaching ss II even before the tournaments finish, as long as you start working towards it after your primary tournament finishes.


    I nod my head in answer to that.


    Thats certainly one reason why Im going solo, but not really the main one.


    It works as an excuse to not have to exin myself though. Because in all honesty, I really cant keep working with them when I reach ss II. It would justpletely stall my leveling unless I took them to ss II Fractures. Which isnt happening.


    He grins at seeing me nod, the screen high above us showing all of our faces in ratherrge images as he asks, Then do you have anyst words for your team before the tournament? Or would you like to say them after Tower Siege is over?


    And it looks like he expects an actual answer this time since he moves his mic out towards me. So I give a mental sigh before taking it and answering, They dont need me to hold their hands, and it wont be thest time we see each other by a longshot. So theres no need forst words. My eyes narrow as I take in my team and smirk, Our winning this thing should be enough of a statement for anyone.


    The crowd immediately goes wild as they hear me talk, my voice still drowning them out thanks to the microphone and magical reality. But even after I finish and hand the mic back to the MC, the crowd continues going absolutely crazy.


    And that was Last Stand, a team consisting of the Scarlet Wolf, the Druid, the Mystic Guardian, the Little Reaper, and Inferno! Give it up for the team! Scott shouts, the volume in the stadium growing louder and louder by the moment somehow. Then we all find ourselves back on the ground with another team having reced us on the tower and in the screen.


    I blink in a slight daze at the sudden teleportation before the daze clears up and I watch the other teams being interviewed. But none of them get anywhere near as big of a reaction as our team did.


    Although that isnt to say they arent getting a lot of attention. After all, there are still several teams left in the top five with other participants in the Primaries. Specifically the ss I Solo Primary Tournament that Ill bepeting in tomorrow.


    There are even some people who are probably at my level, despite their mana levels being far lower than mine. Except a single student who actually has a higher mana level than me, likely having a magic that focuses solely on mana and their magical stat.


    I look through the students, noting down each of their faces, along with the way many of the other teams are looking at us after our derations.


    Since we did basically just dere war on them after all.


    So we better live up to that and win.

 Book 2: Chapter 47: The Real Tournament Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 47: The Real Tournament Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After all of the interviews finish up, Scott finally sends us to the white rooms, where we find another team looking at us. And I immediately recognize one of the students in the team as one of the other participants in the ss I Solo Primary.


    The student in question seems to recognize me as well, considering that they nod their head in greeting. So I nod back before focusing on the screen in the white room to see five screens, each nk in the fog at the bottom of the stadium. Then, after just a few seconds of waiting, we all find ourselves once again being teleported before ending up at the base of a tower. And without wasting a single second, I leap straight up, burning my blood in the process as Ind on the wall of the tower, my hands already covered in my blood ws with one of them shifted and them both digging into the stone. Meanwhile out of the corner of my eye, I find Michael beginning to float into the air thanks to the wind elemental he summoned manipting the wind and Belle is creating steps out of her barriers that shes just starting to run up on.


    I let out a light grunt when I feel Emily jumping onto my back, but I ignore her  along with the sight of Denise shooting mes out of her hands to act as a propent to send her into the air  as I face upwards and begin jumping from one spot on the wall to another. And almost immediately, I hear Emily let out a very short yelp as her grip on me tightens, her hands wrapped around my neck like shell die if she lets go. Which might just happen considering how high up were going.


    Yeah, we havent exactly been able to practice this yet. But the girl is just so light that it really doesnt matter.


    Well, for me at least. She seems to be having a great ol time back there.


    I burn more blood after seeing Michael begin to pass me, speeding up my pace in climbing the tower and freaking Emily out even more. But she keeps her grip despite that, and eventually I fling myself above the balcony tond on all fours, my ws on both hands digging into the ground while my feet leave small craters underneath them. Then I lift my head to find myself staring at one of the other teams students who is staring back at me with their mouth gaping open like a fish.


    Emily quickly gets off my back before I see ck particles rise from the mans skin, the student himself grimacing at the same time. And I follow it up with blood boil and life drain right as he shouts, Theyre already here! Get ready!


    Footsteps immediately begin echoing from inside of the tower, but at the same time, I hear the sounds of the othersnding on the balcony next to us, following which the student from the other team begins backing up.


    I dont let him.


    Shit, he mutters as soon as he sees me cracking the ground as I leap straight for him with my shifted hand raised and several daggers of blood flying in his direction. And he tries to jump back out of the way, but before he can do that, roots grow out of the stone beneath him and constrict his legs, making his eyes grow even wider.


    My ws dig furrows straight from his throat down his chest all the way to his hip slicing straight into his armor in the process, making him scream out in pain. The armor not being strong enough due to its wearer to take my attacks. And right as his teammates finally round the corner in the tower, I reach up, havingnded right in front of him, and grab his throat before he can start falling backwards towards the ground.


    Shit, Marvin! I hear the voice of the Primary student shout from down the hallway of the tower, but its toote as I burn more of my blood to crush his throat. Then I toss him behind me and off the tower just in case they have a healer before I focus on the others.


    One down, four to go, I mutter, a grin ever present on my face that seems to frighten them ever so slightly.


    The Primary student  whose name I believe was Adrian Felt, otherwise known as Zero  grimaces at me and shouts to his remaining teammates, Dont let the wolf get close to you! Keep her at a distance while I deal with the others!


    I raise an eyebrow at that.


    The wolf? Are people just straight up calling me a wolf now?


    <strong>Well, if the shoe fits, </strong>Tar mutters, making me snort before my eyes widen at the sight of a wave of ice shooting towards us from Zero. I jump back away from the ice, only for it to continue past my original position towards me until its wiped out by a st of mes from Denise.


    I send her a nod of thanks before focusing on the enemy team again.


    Out of the four of them, Zero uses a type of ice magic called absolute zero, which doesnt really create ice. It just messes with the temperature of things, unlike Cynthias ice magic which does straight up create ice. So while theyre both very dangerous, his <em>technically </em>has more potential.


    My eyes focus on the second of the four as they wave their hands in front of them with strange letters beginning to appear where their fingers leave off.


    Rune magic. A magic that is probably one of the strangest magics out there. It has inherent skills that allow the user to learn a certain set of runes but doesnt teach them right away about how to use most of those runes.


    The magic is considered one of the top magics, but also one of the hardest to reach ss V with. Specifically since it doesnt teach you any runes except for a single rune from each set of runes they get ess to using, leaving the rest in that set for them to figure out how to do themselves. And its not just a simple matter of make the symbol and use the magic but a lot moreplicated somehow.


    No idea how though, since everyone who gets rune magic kind of fails to exin it well.


    Either way, I use blood boil and life drain on all four of them, stopping the girl from using her rune magic as she messes up in it, making the thing blow up in her face and send her flying backwards.


    And theres the survivability and instability of the magic itself. Not many people survive. Especially when being interrupted can do that.


    Both of our teams end up in a bit of a standstill after that, me standing at the edge of the balcony with the others just a couple steps to my side, while the other four are all at the entrance to the balcony with the girl only beginning to get up with a light burn mark on her hand that is quickly healed by the third member of their team who is also a nature magic user like Michael.


    I narrow my attention on Zero again to find him watching me with wary eyes.


    Definitely a much more enjoyable battle than the others.

 Book 2: Chapter 47.2: The Real Tournament Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 47.2: The Real Tournament Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    From what I can remember, the one I already killed was the teams debuffer, kind of like Emily is for our team. Which makes things easier for us in that we wont have to worry about the curse magic he uses.


    Zero might be a challenge though. Currently our n is going well, since weve managed to catch them off guard and take out one of their team, lowering the number of students they have. Which was a necessity, since theyre on average higher leveled than our team, with the only exception being me. And Im still at about the same level as Zero. Just that Im stronger on ount of being half blood lycan.


    Doesnt mean his magic wont be a problem for both me and the others though.


    Even Denises fire skill wasntpletely able to counter whatever skill he used to send that icy wave at me, only block enough of it that when it passed through, it didnt have enough power in the attack to reach me.


    After a few more seconds of silent stare down, we all burst into movement. Michael summons both his treants and the hound to help while using a skill to raise all of our natural regens while Emily begins using a bunch of debuffs on the enemies and Belle gives us each a small personal barrier. I on the other hand immediately sprint towards Zero with Denise sending geysers of mes from the walls at the other three next to him.


    They dont stay still either though, the rune magic girl  too far away for the geysers to reach her  begins writing her runes again while the healer summons his own treants along with an evenrger creature that Michael certainly doesnt have. A giant wolf spanning nearly two meters in length.


    Almost immediately upon being summoned though, the wolf turns its gaze to me and begins whimpering while backing away, seemingly confusing the nature magic user.


    I snort in amusement as I focus on Zero, letting the others handle them for now.


    The man also looks a little bit confused at therge wolfs actions, but he keeps his attention on me now that Ive got mine on him.


    That was a pretty good n, he says with a ratheridback tone of voice. As if were not in a battle right now. You interested in meeting up after this tournament?


    I raise an eyebrow at that.


    Is he hitting on me? During a tournament? And with a neutral expression on his face?


    <strong>It looks like he is, </strong>Tar answers, and amusingly enough, everyone else just stops fighting for a split second, any skills they were preparing just pausing next to them as they stare at us for a second, only to return to their battle again when Denise suddenly refocuses and sends another geyser their way.


    Not interested, I answer before rushing forward, using both blood boil and blood armor at the same time as I clear the distance between us in seconds. But the moment my ws strike his arm, which he raises to block me, they begin to freeze, even with my ws of blood digging slightly into his armor  which just looks like a pale blue leather armor.


    He grimaces, and I jump back, the freezing of the blood on my ws stopping the moment we break contact. Zero on the other hand begins cradling his arm a little bit, blood showing as the arm itself appears slightly bent the wrong way.


    Looks like I broke his arm at least.


    Impressive, the man says, tilting his head a little as a slight smirk stretches across his face, you sure you arent interested?


    This guy is annoying.


    Yes, Im sure, I answer him, not having any interest in starting a romance with anyone.


    Personally, Ive never fallen in love before. Nor have I developed feelings for anyone before. Always been way too focused on moving forward to even consider the notion of love or romance.


    And Im too self-oriented for rtionships anyways.


    So theres no way Id say yes to that.


    <strong>Really? Thats interesting to know, </strong>Tar mutters.


    Unfortunate, Zero answers with a neutral face that makes it very difficult to tell what hes thinking, but not unpredictable.


    I raise a brow at that, only to jump forward again, putting more and more blood into my ws to inste them from whatever skill he has defending him. But right when Im about to hit, a bright sh of blue light shines from him, following which a wave of ice and snow shoots outwards, quickly striking me and sending me flying. Right when Im about to fly over the side of the balcony though, I feel something break my fall before pushing me back onto it.


    I turn back to find Michaels falcon flying away again, so I give him a nod of appreciation before turning back to face Zero again.


    Damn, the time limit is down to just three minutes now.


    Fortunately whatever attack he just did didnt actually do much damage to me beyond knocking me back. Which he seems to be a little surprised by, considering his mouth being wide open right now, only for him to shut it when he sees me looking.


    Well, since time isnt on my side, I can only brute force it. I activate pain diffusion, the soreness I was feeling from being sent flying and having my fingers ever so slightly frosted over fading in an instant. Then I push blood boil and life drain to the max on him while also using blood sacrifice so much that steam rises from my pores as I break into a sprint towards him, arge crater forming beneath my feet in the stone at the same time.


    Out of nowhere,rge gauntlets made out of pure ice appear on the mans hands, following which he ms his fists together and jumps straight towards me, the ground beneath him immediately freezing as he does so. And the others all pause in their battles as they look up to find us about to sh, des of dripping blood around me heading towards him as well, along with icicles forming out of the frozen moisture in the air around him.


    But despite the situation, I cant help the grin that stretches across my face. And neither can he, apparently. Since he has one as well, the grinpletely recing the usual neutral expression he has.


    Now this is the type of fight I wanteding here!

 Book 2: Chapter 47.3: The Real Tournament Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 47.3: The Real Tournament Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My shifted arms ws directly sh against his fist, sending a burst of blood and ice out around us, but in the end my blow along with gravity itself helping me sends him back. Before we hit the ground though, I see my arm slowly freezing from the ws up, leaving it as a solid block.


    I manage dealing with the pain much better than I wouldve just a month ago thanks to pain diffusion, which Ive leveled up a few times to level 4 through some rather questionable training methods thought up by a certain tanuki, raising the pain diffusion percentage from 25% to 32.5%. So all I do is grit my teeth before focusing on the cloud of dust that marks where Zeronded from our trade of attacks. And once the dust clears up enough for me to see, I cant help but let my jaw drop in shock at the sight of him standing with only a single arm and massive amounts of blood draining from his wound.


    The shock at seeing his massive pain tolerance doesntst long though, as I quickly raise my hand that isnt frozen and use blood siphon on the blood pouring out of his wound, directing it towards me making it all vanish into either my blood bank or the blood ws on my remaining arm. But he just raises a brow at this.


    <strong>This guy is a lot like you in some ways, </strong>Tar says, making my mouth open slightly before he adds, <strong>although very unlike you in others.</strong>


    I was about to say


    My gaze doesnt leave Zero as I step forward while unshifting my frozen arm, making weird scraping soundse from it before my arm is back to normal again. Then I shift my left arm instead, transforming it into that of a beast.


    Zero just snorts and shakes his head, only to look up at me again as a small amount of snow and ice around him begin to swirl in the air. Then the snow and ice grow greater in mass the closer I get, making me narrow my eyes.


    I nce at the timer to find that there are two minutes left, then I look at the others to find them actually starting to lose, with Belle struggling to hold back the rune magic.


    Shit.


    I look at my arm to find the ice beginning to melt on the edges of the wound with the flesh very, <em>very </em>slowly knitting itself back together after it melts. But its not fast enough to be of use, so I ignore it to focus on Zero again and hisrge storm of ice and snow.


    Damnit.


    The storm continues growing worse and worse, almost reaching the point where it interrupts the others fight.


    How am I going to deal with something like that with my skills?!


    <strong>The Commentators Booth</strong>


    And it looks like team Last Stand is in trouble!! Scott shouts, his voice echoing across the stadium as the entire audience goes wild at the sight of the massive storm, the wounded Scarlet Wolf, and the even more badly wounded Zero in the center of the storm. How are they- wait, it looks like our little wolf is up to something!


    Scott  along with everyone else in the stadium  watches as Scarlet raises both of her hands upwards and starts creating two dozen massive maces of blood.


    <em>Whats she going to-</em>


    His thoughts are cut off when she ps her hands together, making all of the mallets suddenly smash into each other, forming one giant glob of blood that she then begins to control by mming her hands down, sending the orb straight towards the man and his unfinished skill.


    Holy bleepin heck! Did you all just see that? Scott shouts, only to backtrack, Of course you did! It looks like either she used a skill none of us have seen her use before, or the Scarlet Wolf just figured out a new way to use one of her skills!! And its an incredibly useful way in this particr situation!


    Scott cant hold back his excitement anymore, standing up with arge grin on his face as the giant orb of blood smashes into the storm of ice and snow with all the momentum the girl can muster, sending stters of blood, ice, and snow all over the balcony, hurting all of the other students there regardless of what team theyre on. All except for the source of the incident herself, who is just standing in ce panting heavily from the exhaustion of whatever she just did.


    Did the Scarlet Wolf beat Zero? Scott asks the question everyone in the crowd is thinking right now. But before the answeres, all of the other students are revealed to have been injured badly enough by the sh of skills that theyre unable to stand. It looks like whoever came out on top in their sh will be the winning team. But who will it be?!


    Seconds tick away, everyones attention solely focused on the screen until, finally, the blood that had turned into a frosty mist mixed with dust finally begins to clear up, revealing Zero lying on the ground, seemingly unable to move.


    And it looks like the winner is the Scarlet Wolf!!! Scott shouts, his voice once again echoing throughout the stadium as everyone joins in by apuding the girl and her efforts. Meanwhile the girl herself simply staggers over to him before kneeling down and whispering, It was a good fight, to him, making his eyes widen, only for a light smile to stretch across his pain wreaked face as she tears his throat out with her remaining arm. She then climbs back to her feet and sprints over to their core, which is located a few rooms away, and destroys it without any hesitation.


    Scotts grin widens even further as he sees the screen beginning to fade to ck now that the battle is over.


    <em>Another excellent battle. Just what I expected from her.</em>


    He then beginsmentating to the crowd for a few seconds, exining exactly what she just did as they wait the minute or so for the next randomized teams to be chosen forbat.

 Book 2: Chapter 48: Family Bonding

    Book 2: Chapter 48: Family Bonding


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I feel immediate relief from my pain the moment we reappear in another white room with another team standing across from us. And its also right now that I am very thankful that the magical reality doesnt extend to reality, because, as Ive already learned, any pain I diffused while in a magical reality doesnt need to be felt outside of it.


    A very convenient loophole.


    <strong>Id say unfair, but to each their own, </strong>Tar grumbles, but he doesnt sound displeased or anything. Which makes sense considering hes my contracted partner and it therefore benefits him. <strong>Im still surprised you managed to get that to work. Especially without any practice.</strong>


    Yeah, it was a bit of an on the fly decision. Since the only ranged attacking skill I have is blood manifestation, and technically all it says is that I can <em>manifest weapons of blood </em>and <em>control them</em>, but it never said that they had to stay as weapons of blood. And it turns out that I was right in thinking that, since the moment the weapons hit something and lost their form, I was able to control them with the weakened control blood manifestation still had on them, along with blood siphon itself.


    Of course, I quickly began to lose control and really was only able to direct the attack towards him.


    <strong>Lucky for you that was all it took, </strong>Tar says, making me nod my head as I study the team across from us.


    Yep.


    And now I just need to practice that during the hour or so break well have between the sixth and seventh rounds. After we win this next battle, that is.


    As it turns out, the next battle isnt as hard as the first. Mostly because we ended up paired with a team that didnt have any primary tournament students in it.


    Although I wouldnt be surprised if thats because of how well we did in the first battle of the round.


    I watch the other battles from my spot sitting in a booth before ncing over at the door when a bell tolls from it, signaling that someone is wanting in.


    Ive got it, Belle says, getting up from her seat next to me and heading over to the door. So I turn my focus back to the battles currently going on in the stadium, some of which are actually quite interesting to watch.


    Particrly the ones with primary tournament participants in them.


    I honestly cant wait to fight with more of those. Just fighting Zero alone was the most excitement Ive had since I was at that ss II Fracture a month or so ago. Which in hindsight is probably not something I shouldve felt excited about.


    <strong>You almost died, so I <em>know </em>its not something you shouldve felt excited about, </strong>Tar grumbles.


    Yeah, yeah, I know. Not my fault I enjoy a good hunt.


    My thoughts are interrupted when I hear the door to the booth open, bringing my attention back to it just to find Allen and Cynthia entering the room. And the moment they do, Michael, Denise, and Emily all stand up with a quick and very polite greeting.


    Afternoon, I tell them both with a nod before slightly tilting my head out of curiosity.


    Wonder why theyre here?


    Why do you look confused? Allen asks, managing to confuse me even more. Is it that strange that we would go see our daughters before the final round?


    My mouth parts open for a second before closing again.


    Guess not.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I notice practically everyone in the room show some semnce of a reaction towards how I didnt immediately deny is calling me his daughter. Even Allen smiles slightly at it, but I just turn to face the stadium again, deciding to ignore their reactions.


    At this rate he will be my dad in just around half a year or so, so why would I be upset?


    Tar snorts but doesnt say anything.


    Belle sits back down next to me again, meanwhile Allen and Cynthia both use their devices to summon two more seats on either side of us before sitting down as well. Then we start chatting about random stuff that dont really have much to do with the tournament.


    Eventually the others in the team begin to rx as well and even contribute to the conversation from time to time.


    I still cant believe you used your enhanced physical prowess to beat Arthur at a video game Allen mutters while rubbing his temples as if he had a headache.


    I just shrug.


    It worked, didnt it? I answer without a shred of guilt or shame.


    Now its his turn to feel the pain of losing every single time we y a reaction based game.


    <strong>Werent you already beating him in most of the other games you yed together? So Im pretty sure he already knows how it feels to lose </strong>Tar mutters, but I, as the dignifieddy that I am, ignore him.


    Tar snorts at that,menting, <strong>Dignifieddy my furry tail more like berserk animal.</strong>


    I ignore that too.


    Allen doesnt respond to my answer, just shaking his head with a light smile touching his lips as he looks at the battles going on in the stadium.


    So how about that guy you shot down during the battle? Belle asks while nudging my shoulder in a way that has my lips twitch slightly in the urge to frown. That was pretty funny. But he looked pretty nice  sort of  and was clearly strong. So I kind of hoped he wouldve been your type.


    I nce at her with a raised brow.


    Okay, maybe not your type, she backtracks, having actually realized what shed just said. But still. You couldve at least tried going out with him! You spend all of your time training or studying, and almost never spend any actually socializing! Or rxing for that matter!


    Shes right, sweetheart, Cynthia says from the other side of Belle as Michael purposefully avoids looking anywhere near us and Denise and Emily watch on with too much interest. Maybe going out on a date might even let you rx a little bit for a first?


    I continue looking at them with a raised brow.


    Belle and Cynthia exchange a nce before Belle mutters, Guess that didnt work. And Cynthia nods, Yeah, kind of hoped wed be able to get her to dress up and go out on a date for a first.


    You know I can hear you, right? I ask, finally speaking. But they both just turn to me and answer, Yes, before conversing between themselves again.


    I cross my arms and re at the two, seemingly with little sess at making them stop.


    Then I hear Allen mutter, I dont see anything wrong with her rejecting him


    Both Belle and Cynthia turn to him to say, Well who asked you?


    At this point I just glue my eyes to the fights in front of us, acting like nothing is happening around me.

 Book 2: Chapter 49: Planning

    Book 2: Chapter 49: nning


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Some time passes and eventually Belle and Cynthia stop talking about annoying things. And I am very grateful of this.


    So are there any other students youre worried aboutpeting? Allen asks, sounding curious as we both watch the battles going on right now. And as if drawn by his words, my eyes gravitate towards one particr screen where I find a girl with stark white hair and white irises walking through a room, leaving behind the corpse of the student she had just quite literally blown the mind of on the ground.


    Lost is most likely the biggest threat to me, I answer while watching the girl no older than myself whose seemingly lost gaze gave her the namesake as she walks straight to the core and holds her finger out to it, sending some sort of needle of white liquid through it. Then my gaze turns to another screen where a guy seemingly a little older than me with blood red hair and a maniacal smileughs in a rather disturbed manner as he rushes from one ce to the next seemingly with no pattern or n for his actions. He has crimson irises, along with random parts of his body turning into a very thick blood. And then theres Crim.


    The current most powerful mental magic user out of all the new Guardians this year and the supposedly insane berserker who uses blood magic just like you, Allen mutters before nodding his head and adding, also both Primary tournamentpetitors, so its good to be worried about them. He nces at me. There anyone else?


    I nod while turning my gaze to another screen where I find a ratherrge man seemingly in his mid-twenties, but probably younger standing in ce while taking all of the hits sent towards his team with a golden red glow surrounding his body. And despite everyst attack hitting him, none of them seem to do any damage at all. In fact, his eyes seem to be glowing brighter and brighter with each hit.


    The Molten Angel, I answer right before the man, whose feet seemed to have been merged into the ground, suddenly grows in size with tworge angelic wings made out of pure magma growing out of his back as he stares down at the other team.


    Then the bright light shining from his body grows even brighter and shes out in a single direction towards the other team, sending a wave of magma along with it that engulfs half their team, burning parts of them.


    I turn my attention to thest of the four Im feeling wary of. Or, rather, it was five, but one of them actually ended up losing due to their team. So now its four.


    And the Shifter, I finish as I turn to find the man whose name I learned from Denise to be Lucas Walsh. A student from the university her father is the headmaster of, and another Primarypetitor, just like the other three.


    The man in question is wearing a set of full ck leather armor and has glowing red eyes with various markings streaking across his skin as he charges forward, shapeshifting his arm into that of a ck bears paw before using it to straight up grab the fist of another student and then slowly crushing it if the sounds of snapping bones echoing in my ear are anything to go by.


    Im pretty sure this guy was one of the ones mentioned in that interview with the Knights that had Blue originally finding out about me. The main choice for the betting sites aside from myself to be the winner of the entire Primary tournament. Some people are actually saying that hes stronger than I am. And for good reason, considering his Tier A physical strength.


    Good, Allen says with a nod. Make sure you study how they fight, because I would be surprised if they dont make it to the finals.


    Dont worry, I tell him as I watch the screens. Although Lost already finished her second battle right when Allen asked, so theres not much left to study there beyond recordings.


    Not that I could study much in the first ce since I dont know how exactly her mental skills affect the mind, nor do I know how to defend against them.


    A pity that I wont be getting any achievements for fighting a mental magic user during this tournament though.


    Stupid magical reality.


    <strong>That stupid magical reality is the only reason all of your fellow students are still alive, </strong>Tarments. <strong>And the magical reality not counting towards the System is also the only thing keeping the other people from eventually figuring out that you gain EXP from killing humans.</strong>


    Yeah, I know. Just annoyed that the hard work I put in during the tournaments doesnt actually matter beyond the rewards Ill win at the end of it, along with getting my name out there.


    I already have a n for dealing with the Molten Angel, since I have some experience with a simr magic thanks to Sentinel from the ranking tournament for Lions Heart. But I have no idea what to do about Lost. The only things thate to mind are letting Belle defend me, using blood boil and life drain in conjunction with Emilys skills to cause her a lot of pain and break her focus, or just to leave her to the other teams. Since mental attacks are my weakest area, even if theyre technically still above average.


    The other two will just be a matter ofbat. Just another battle.


    Although Crim could be annoying depending on what blood skills he has, since I dont want him to somehow wrestle control of my skills or something. But his form of magic seems to be transformation focused. Specifically, transforming parts of his body into pure blood in exchange for strength. Kind of like my blood sacrifice, but in a different direction.


    So I dont think he will be too much of a nuisance.


    And Shifter is a straightforward brawler using his transformation abilities to attack with animal assets, like he did with that bear w earlier. A bear w that appears to be his go-to transformation.


    I smile a little as I watch the three fight, just studying their skills and fighting styles.


    Thisll be fun.

 Book 2: Chapter 50: The Final Round Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 50: The Final Round Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After another hour and ten or so minutes, enough time for a break and the rest of the sixth round battles, we all find ourselves sent back to the center of the stadium again, but this time were on arge tower sticking out of the mist. And were not alone as there are four other towers, each with the other teams all sticking out of the mist what must be three kilometers away from each other, with the five towers standing in a pentagon formation.


    Almost immediately, the crowd begins to shout, their voices echoing out over the entire field as Scott begins to float down from thementators booth to half midair at the center of the stadium.


    The man raises a fist into the air and the crowd grows even louder in volume, only for his voice to overshadow them as he shouts, Is everyone ready for the finals!!! and is met by an incredible roar from the audience before he can even finish speaking. Then let. Us. Begin!!!!


    The towers were on all suddenly expand a bit to resemble the towers weve been fighting in during the tournament, then the mist beneath us clears to reveal arge forest with a massive clearing in between each of the towers, making a wide open area for us to fight and go between towers. Meanwhile the outer edges where the stage is filled with forests is a perfect ce to sneak attack others.


    This round will have different rules! Scott shouts, his voice echoing through the arena despite the slowly fading view of the stadium itself and the dimming sounds of the crowd. Unlike the other rounds, all you have to do for this one is survive. You do not have to destroy the other tower cores or even kill any other students. Thest team with even a single member surviving at the end will be the winner. And before you go thinking you can just abandon your tower, your core counts as an instant loss if it is broken, just like the other rounds!


    So its not really much different at all. Just slightly adjusted to fit five teams instead of one.


    Now, begin!! he shouts again, making a pressure that I didnt even realize was here vanish as I stumble slightly in surprise.


    Looks like they were keeping us locked in ce as he exined that.


    Scarlet, Michael says, bringing my attention to him, keep us updated on anyone who may be approaching the tower, alright? Then after seeing me nod my head, he turns to Belle and says, Belle, would it be possible to put a ward on each of the entryways? A simple one to block entry. It doesnt have to be that powerful. Just strong enough to hold the enemies for, say, ten seconds?


    Belle nods as well, and I quickly realize that Michael has a n.


    Whats the n? I ask, but he just says, Wait a minute, I need to prepare things first. Then Ill exin.


    I raise a brow, only to shrug.


    Lets see how this n works.


    <strong>The Forest in the Arena</strong>


    Jordan was never very good at making friends. The only thing he felt he was good at was staying out of sight. And while his team disagreed with that line of thinking, they did at least agree that he was great at staying out of sight.


    But now he cant help but wonder if he will actually be able to stay out of sight during this particr mission.


    <em>Or out of earshot</em>


    Jordan shakes his head at the thought, continuing through the forest with his shadow magic covering his tracks, his sounds, his smells, and anything else that could be used to find him. Nothing short of a ss II Guardian or demon should be able to hear him, much less see him now.


    Or at least, thats what Jordan hopes as he sprints through the trees in the direction of the tower belonging to the Lions Heart team.


    The only reason Jordan is even here is because Ace  the captain of his team  cant seem to bring himself to believe that the Scarlet Wolf really has two Tier A capabilities. And that even if she did, hes still certain that she wont be able to find Jordan until hes already in their tower.


    <em>If hes wrong, I swear Im going to wring his neck in his sleep.</em>


    After Jordan reaches the tower, he frowns slightly at the ward covering the entrance. He then goes around the tower, only to find a simr ward at every other entrance before looking up at a window that isnt warded but is also sitting over a dozen meters above the ground.


    <em>Looks like Ace was at least right in that they werent able to prepare any detection traps. This team just isnt set up to deal with a stealth focused adversary when their wolf isnt able to detect them.</em>


    Jordan jumps onto the wall, shadows still covering his movements in the dead of night that the final round is set ce in as he climbs up to the window and jumps through, barely avoiding being caught by one of the Last Stand team members  a girl he believed went by the title of Inferno.


    The man manages to keep his cool and sprint up the stairs of the tower while narrowing his eyes slightly, wondering why its slightly hard to see here. But he puts that to the back of his mind as he runs. And eventually he reaches the fourth floor of the tower, which isid out in arge circr room.


    There he finds the Druid summoning several creatures with his magic, and for a single instant, Jordan considers assassinating the man here and now. But he eventually decides against it on ount of being caught by the wolf if he were to try.


    He slowly makes his way around the room, gradually feeling a little bit tired while doing so.


    <em>Why do I feel so sluggish</em>


    Jordan shakes his head at the thought, pushing through anyways with the thought of not wanting to be caught driving him onwards.


    Until he makes it to the top of the stairs at the fifth floor and finds his head beginning to droop with strange tingling sensations running across his skin, making him finally realize that somethings wrong. And right after he realizes it, he hears a snapping sound  like someone had just snapped their fingers  following which a burning sensation runs across his skin, many parts of it currently starting to ke off and turn ck. But to make matters worse, the blood revealed beneath starts to visibly bubble, and he cant help but let out a blood curdling scream of pain as he falls onto his knees, his magic no longer covering him.


    And only secondster, without even looking up, he senses a presence stop right in front of him.


    <em>Damned Ace</em>


    Then everything goes ck, thest thing he manages to see being the sight of a familiar wolf eared girl as she raises him by the neck before crushing his neck.

 Announcement

    Announcement


    <strong>Hello everyone! I haven''t made an announcement chapter like this in a while, to be honest.</strong>


    <strong>Anyways, on to the point of this.</strong>


    <strong>I will be taking a ss this Summer, and that ss starts up on the 5th. And while I don''t see this affecting my schedule much if at all due to the ss being a random fine arts elective I''m only taking because for some odd reason my university requires Computer Science majors (and every other major) to take a fine arts elective, I thought I should mention this anyways just in case I do end up missing a chapter or two. This is, after all, my first five week long Summer course. Despite it being myst year of college now.</strong>


    <strong>Although in all honesty, I have 72 advanced chapters on my Patreon, so I don''t think it would cause a problem even if I stopped writing due to the backlog I have there. You''d all still get three chapters a day.</strong>


    <strong>But I thought I should mention this, because who knows what''ll happen?</strong>


    <strong>That aside, I will also be heading out of state on July 13th to visit family, soon after my Summer ss finishes up.</strong>


    <strong>That should be all.</strong>


    <strong>Have a nice day everyone! Or, rather, night? Since I''m posting this announcement at 2am.</strong>


    <strong>Well, anyways, have a good whatever time it is for you!</strong>

 Book 2: Chapter 50.2: The Final Round Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 50.2: The Final Round Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Looks like you were right, Emily says as we all see the man whose title I believe was the Shadow de vanish after dying with his neck still held in my hand. Aquatic Pride really did send their stealth Guardian straight to us at the start.


    I nce at Denise after that to find her letting out a sigh and saying, It was inevitable. Their team leader, Ace, is a childhood friend of mine, and he was rather upset that I didnt go to Aquatic Pride. Even though he was the entire reason I didnt go in the first ce.


    Wait, I mutter, bringing everyones attention to me, was he the one you were looking for on day one of the first semester?


    She nods her head.


    Even though you knew he went to a different university? I prod with a brow raised.


    Well, I wouldnt put it past him  or father for that matter  to get into Lions Heart and try to convince me to go to Aquatic Pride, she says, sounding rather displeased with that fact.


    Huh. Guess Im not the only one with parent issues.


    None of us say anything for a few seconds before I turn to Michael, saying, That was a pretty good n by the way.


    He smiles and says, Why, thank you! I knew Emilys AOE skill woulde in handy for this particr round because its different from the others. Different in that the round  while we technically dont <em>have </em>to attack  is set up in a way that encourages the teams to attack other teams towers and destroy their cores. He looks around at the others who are all listening to him as we walk over to the balcony to look outside. And when Denise mentioned her past with Ace, I thought it was a perfect opportunity.


    Yeah, certainly worked well alright.


    Who knew Emily had a skill that let her diffuse various different illnesses and even acids into the air that she somehow indirectly controls to not attack allies. A very useful skill when fighting against an enemy that will be in onerge location for a decent length of time, just building up sickness during all of that.


    Then she has that Corruptive Sacrifice skill of hers that lets her immediately burn all of the mdies created by herself in other people to exacerbate their effects for a length of time.


    Both work very well for traps.


    I know our n revolved around Scar finding him when he came, but Im still a little surprised you found him so easily, Denise suddenly says, bringing my attention to her before I shrug.


    His footsteps were pretty hard to miss, Iment. And Im beingpletely honest.


    His footsteps were echoing across the hallway. Not sure how the others didnt hear.


    <strong>Thats another benefit of the ears of a blood lycan, not to mention Tier A perception in general, </strong>Tar says, his voice echoing in my head. <strong>There isnt much that can hide things from your ears. Only things I can think of are skills that are either legendary or mythical in rarity, or at the very least lower rarity skills used by people who are much higher leveled than you. Like entire sses above you.</strong>


    I couldnt see or hear a thing, Belle says with a shrug, and Emily and Michael both nod their heads in agreement. Then Denise makes eye contact with me and exins, No one at Aquatic Pride has ever managed to find Jordan when he was honestly trying to hide. At least, ording to father that is.


    Well, I have Tier A perception, so I state as if that answers everything. And it really does. So I turn back to Michael as I ask, So whats next on the n?


    Michael blinks at the shift in topic before getting right down to it, The final round is different from the other rounds, as you all know. So unlike how we all went in when assaulting another tower, and all stayed at the tower when defending it for the other rounds, this one well be splitting up. And the ideal number of people to defend and attack should be about three people on the defense, and two on the offense. He quickly focuses on me as he adds to no ones surprise, Scar will, of course, be leading the offense. But what does surprise me is when he turns to his sister and says, And Emily will be joining her.


    Before anyone can say anything to that, he raises a hand and exins, Dont worry, we already got rid of the only stealth Guardian, and Emily can keep her defenses up even at a distance. He lowers his hand and looks between all of us. Not to mention that we need both me and Belle here for defense and healing, and Denise is needed as the only otherbat Guardian aside from Scar. Meaning the only person other than Scar that we <em>can</em> send is Emily.


    Good points.


    Not to mention, he adds while turning his attention between me and his sister, didnt you two have pretty good chemistry between some of your skills?


    I grin at that.


    Yep, I answer with a nod before turning to Emily to find her smiling as well.


    This will be fun!


    <strong>I feel bad for the other students already </strong>Tar mutters, likely referring to how theyre gonna be feeling the pain of having their blood burned, life drained, and having various mdies forced into them, all at the same time.


    Well, too bad for them. The pain in a magical reality is only set to fifty percent of the actual pain they would be feeling in the real world, not to mention that they have to get used to pain since the demons arent going to just let them go when theyre hurt.


    <strong>True, </strong>Tar says, agreeing with that. <strong>Its still not something Id ever want to go through myself.</strong>


    Before you go, Michael says, bringing both my and Emilys attention towards him again. Would you mind helping with some more traps first?


    Emily quickly nods at that and begins following after him, following his instructions.


    And while they do that, I walk over to the edge of the balcony before trying to decide which of the towers I should target first.


    This is going to be so much fun!

 Book 2: Story Art

    Book 2: Story Art


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


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    <strong>An image generated by one of the admins of Royal Road, Kana:</strong>


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    <strong>The cover images for books 3 and 4 of Wolf of the Blood Moon:</strong>


    <strong>Before you say anything, yes, ascensions to ss II have a reality warp of their own that perfects the Guardian''s body both in appearance and in physical ability, finding a bnce.</strong>


    <strong>So yes, her chest did get slightlyrger after it. So don''t go pointing that out in thements.</strong>


    <strong>Here is the cover image for book 3:</strong>


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    <strong>Here is the cover image for book 4:</strong>


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    <strong>Leonidas (One of the four Demon Lords)</strong>


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    <strong>White(Amelia Asger)</strong>


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    <strong>Aria</strong>


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    <strong>Arabellia (Belle prior to contracting)</strong>


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    <strong>Arthur</strong>


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    <strong>Michael</strong>


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    <strong>Emily</strong>


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    <strong>Denise</strong>


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    <strong>Allen</strong>


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    <strong>Cynthia</strong>


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 Book 2: Chapter 51: Payback Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 51: Payback Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Both Emily and I decide to avoid Losts team, which is the only team with us representing Yggdrasil here. Because dealing with a mental magic user is not something I wanna have to do.


    So were just gonna leave her to the other teams to deal with. Or I guess hope that shees to our tower and finds Belles lovely mental barriers.


    Most likely shes going to avoid our tower though, since Belle is basically her natural enemy. Which works out considering that Lost is probably the most dangerous Guardian here for me.


    Ipletely ignore Emilys flushed face as I sprint through the forest while holding her in a princess carry because the girl is too slowpared to me. Our current destination is actually the tower belonging to Aquatic Pride, mostly because we know theyre down a member thanks to us, and for a little payback.


    And in Denises case, some in satisfaction.


    We, or rather I keep running through the forest jumping from tree to tree while making as little noise as I can until the base of their tower  one styled with their schools animal, arge squid, above the doorway  enters my line of sight at which point I lower Emily to the ground. Then we both move closer to the edge of the trees without leaving the tree line.


    I close my eyes for a second, focusing on the soundsing from the tower. And when I open them again, I type on my terminal for Emily to see, Sounds like there are three of them here.


    She nods and we both focus on the tower again.


    If I had to guess, Shifter probably left on his own to find some lone students to take out in the forest. And the other missing one is obviously the dead Shadow de.


    Which leaves their leader and supporter, Ace, whose name also happens to be Ace, their healer known as the Songstress, and their second hitter, Falling Sun, who are all still in the tower.


    I quickly tell Emily that through my terminal before narrowing my eyes on the tower.


    None of them are very good at perception, that job having been delegated to their stealth focused team member. So there shouldnt be any issues with getting in.


    Actually, I think their worst decision during this round, and the one that probably knocked them out of the running overall was sending their stealth Guardian off to shatter another core right away. A very risky move, that if it had seeded, wouldve been worth it.


    But it didnt seed.


    I pull Emily back behind the tree when I hear one of them stepping out onto the balcony overlooking the forest from the tower, holding the poor girl whos even shorter than I am to me to better hide us behind this rather narrow tree until they go back into the tower and I let go of her. And once again, I ignore her flustered appearance as I tell her through my terminal, Get ready to go. We wont be climbing the tower through the outside this time.


    She visibly rxes at that, apparently not having enjoyed our little trip up the tower before or the training we did afterwards. But it was too little time to get it to a point where we could reliably do it in a stealthy manner, so its best to just sneak in through a window and charge through.


    The teams leader, Ace, has a strange card-based power that lets him randomly draw cards from a deck. Its one of the most bizarre magics in the world since all getting new inherent skills does for him is basically let him do things like separating the deck into different types of decks for different purposes, giving him new cards in the deck, letting him reshuffle, and various other oddities like that. But in exchange for the unreliability that it gives, the cards are often quite powerful. Just like rune magic.


    So in the end, dealing with him will be a matter of surprise, speed, and luck.


    The Songstress on the other hand will be annoying to say the least. Since her magic is, of course, music based. Literally called song magic. And she is able to use some rather powerful skills as long as she sings. Although the songs just automaticallyes to her when she uses her skills, so she doesnt have to memorize them or anything like the rune magic users.


    Falling Sun shouldnt be an issue though. Hes basically just Denise but focusing solely on enhancement magic with his inferno magic instead of splitting between ranged and enhancement.


    And judging by what I hear, Ace and Songstress are both up top, leaving Falling Sun at the second floor. Second instead of first likely due to the windows on the second floor which are exactly where that Shadow de guy entered our tower from.


    Falling Sun should be at the stairs to the third floor on the second floor. Which means well have to deal with him.


    I smile slightly before looking at Emily to find that shes finally calmed down, no longer beet red.


    Is she going to get embarrassed over every little thing I do that requires contact? Because that would be a little bit annoying in abat situation.


    Although in hindsight, its not that bad since itll likely mean she wont try to touch me. Becausebat is one thing. Outside ofbat is another.


    <strong>Was wondering why you seemed perfectly fine with physical contact with that kid in the other Fracture you saved a while back, and with Emily when you help her, </strong>Tar mutter, and I nod, confusing Emily in the process. <strong>It looks like you just dont actively think about the physical contact in those situations, so it doesnt bother you.</strong>


    Hmm, guess you can think of it like that. Probably.


    Anyways, I open my terminal to tell Emily, Ace and Songstress on core floor, Falling Sun on second floor stairs. n is to go through window. You ready?


    She immediately gulps at that but nods with a confident look recing the very brief sh of fear.


    d shes finally getting over that near death experience she had in our first Fracture. It seemed to have made her a bit squeamish for a while and afraid to get into the more dangerous situations.


    Now then.


    Time to take this tower!

 Book 2: Chapter 51.2: Payback Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 51.2: Payback Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After making a rather short and simple n, we get right to it. Emily begins using her Viral Diffusion skill, sending a mist of viruses and illnesses that quickly goes through the window and begins to lightly coat the second floor of the tower.


    We start with this because none of them  including Falling Sun  should be able to sense her magic usage out here, making it safe to use.


    Then after she finishes diffusing it through the floor, I pick her up and quickly jump straight into the air and through the window of the second floor beforending on the ground in a room close to the stairs but not directly visible by them. I put Emily down and activate a myriad of skills, including blood sacrifice, pain diffusion, blood ws, and partial shift before having my blood shadow jump through the window as well,nding directly behind us. And to top it all off, I use blood armor to create five tes of hardened magical blood around my body, the limit to the skill having raised after it reached level five to five. The tes are located on my chest, stomach, neck, upper back, and lower back to cover all of my most important vitals that it is able to cover.


    Unfortunately it cant make a helmet yet, but apparently itll be able to do that at level ten. So I just have to be patient.


    Oneint I have about the blood armor skill though is that its rather ufortable. My magi-tech gear already is a bit tight even after I changed out the top just so that it doesnt shift at all, which is especially ufortable around the chest area. And the blood armor skill just makes that even worse.


    Good thing difort is apparently included in pain nullification though.


    I should remember that if Im ever forced to wear a dress or something.


    <strong>Youd look nice in a dress though, </strong>Tar suddenly says,plimenting me, but just the thought of wearing a dress has me shivering.


    No thank you.


    Anyways, I listen for Falling Suns exact position again to find him not having moved an inch before I nod to Emily and begin slowly making my way around the curved hallway were in towards the stairs. And right when I feel were about to get within sight of him, I jump at the wall opposite me, entering his sight in the process. Then Ind on the wall and jump off of it straight towards him while using blood boil and life drain.


    Emily also rushes forwards and uses her mdies skill along with the necrotic des, a new skill shed gotten called Mental Corruption, which basically just floods the targets system with a type of poison that is very much like alcohol, just much, <em>much </em>stronger, making their responses sluggish for a period of time. And when Ind in front of him, Emily uses Corruptive Sacrifice, causing all of the various illnesses that are in him to burn at once, which in conjunction with my blood boil and life drain have him dropping to his knees, his jaw tensed despite some amount of foam building up in his mouth and leaking. But before he can do anything, I reach forward and swipe my ws straight across his face and down his neck.


    Right as Im about to grin from how great that went, I see a shadow go up into the air and turn my head to find arge ball of magma having shot up from the ground into the air behind us.


    Shit, no! I whisper shout, only for the ball of magma to suddenly explode, making me wince at just how loud the noise is. But pain diffusion makes it so I can tolerate the noise as I focus on Emily and nod my head. She quickly nods back, and I turn around to find Falling sun already vanishing, having died while I was looking at the firework of a ball of magma.


    There goes any hope of surprising the other two as well.


    I ignore the stream of blood I have flowing from the ground into my ws thanks to blood siphon as I run up the stairs with Emily behind me. And once we pass through the third floor and enter the fourth, we both quickly find Songstress and Ace standing in the room waiting for us.


    Ace has short ck hair with a set of stripes going down the side of his head, each stripe only being about half an inch in width and alternating between yellow, blue, and ck, and is wearing a magi-tech set of armor made to look just like a tuxedo. Meanwhile, Songstress has long flowing navy blue hair and is wearing armor that looks like a long flowing ck dress with a slit down one side of it to allow for movement. Although I have to question that since the slit is rather revealing. But its her choice what she wears, so not my ce to say anything.


    Both of them are also on the balconies overlooking the fourth floor from the fifth, the two not being directlybat rted Guardians and therefore likely wanting to keep their distance.


    Looks like I really did underestimate you, Ace says with a light shake of his head. He then looks at Songstress, the girl giving him a bit of a death stare as he does so. Yeah, yeah, I get it. I shouldve done better as the leader.


    The girl just nods at that without saying a word before they both focus on me and Emily again.


    I know we cant win this, Ace says with a shrug. Not against the ss I Solo Prime student from Lions Heart.


    Then why dont you just give up? Emily calls out to him, making himugh in the process.


    Give up? he eventually asks before shaking his head. No, I dont think so.


    Good. Wouldve made this a lot more boring.


    And we should have plenty of time before Shifter can get here, so I can take the time to hunt these two before destroying their core.


    Almost dont want to destroy it though just to get the satisfaction of fighting Shifter.


    Ace suddenly raises his hand, making a small deck of ten cards appear in front of him with mist covering the undersides of the cards as he says, How about we get this game underway then, shall we?

 Book 2: Chapter 51.3: Payback Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 51.3: Payback Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without wasting a second, I use both blood boil and life drain on the two while also manifesting several weapons of blood above my head that I send flying towards them. And out of the corner of my eye, I find Emily assaulting them with all of her skills and sending a wave of the viral mist towards them, disregarding stealth for pure force and speed. Which isnt saying much since its still not moving too fast.


    Meanwhile Ace reaches for a card and draws it, a smile immediately brightening his face the moment he sees it. Then he starts outrightughing while his teammate begins singing a rather beautiful song that I cant understand a single word of, several fireballs beginning to appear around her as she does so. The fireballs then go flying to sh with my des of blood, making my eyes narrow for a second.


    Maybe we might win this one after all, eh Sof? Ace shouts, sounding rather hysterical as he raises the card up, a volcano beneath some sort of grim reaper appearing on the card making it look rather foreboding.


    I told you not to call me that, Sof, also known as Songstress says in a tired but not unhappy voice right when she pauses in her song, making the fireballs stop for moment. She then smiles slightly at the sight of the card and focuses on him instead, simply letting the des of blood approach as she starts singing again, changing her tone this time to be a much softer melody instead of the more intense but beautiful one she had before. And right when she does, a glowing green light shoots from her hand to envelop Ace as the card begins to leak magma, the magma burning the card in the process.


    That cant be good, I mutter before ncing at Emily to find her looking at me and nodding. So I begin jumping up the wall straight towards the Songstress, deciding to keep a little distance between myself and Ace for the moment.


    And judging by the slight frown he makes at that as the card continues transforming into a literal volcano with some sort of skeleton wearing a cloak and holding a scythe very much reminding me of the grim reaper on the card that is from the old world mythology appearing above the volcano. Ace then points down at Emily, making my eyes widen as the skeleton focuses on her.


    Shit.


    Without wasting a second, I change my trajectory by jumping off the wall straight towards Ace, ignoring his skill entirely in the hopes that killing him will dispel it. And considering that his eyes widen into saucers when he sees what Im doing, I think its safe to assume it will.


    He quickly swipes his hand in front of him, making another deck appear before he draws another card and raises it in front of me. The card then shoots out a fireball right at me, but I simply cut straight through it with my shapeshifted arm, not bothering with dodging it as I continue towards him.


    Redirect!!! he shouts, making the skeleton, who had been raising its scythe to strike in the direction of Emily suddenly teleport before reappearing in ce but facing me instead. It then swings its scythe straight at me, which I move slightly to avoid, only for it to still dig into my shoulder, almost bisecting my left arm off of my body entirely in the process. Then I hear what sounds like electricitying from Songstress, only for coughing sounds to rece the electricity entirely, signaling that Emily took care of her somehow.


    Ace quickly grins as he sees my wound, only for that grin to shift into horror when he sees me continuing towards him and ignoring it thanks to pain diffusion. Although it probably doesnt help that hes likely seeing the wound beginning to close up ever so slowly. Not extremely quickly, but quickly enough that its visible to the human eye.


    Sof! he shouts, only to look over and find something that has his jaw dropping open. I dont bother looking to see what he is looking at though, as I quickly reach him before drawing my ws straight across his chest and down to his waist and around to his hip whilending on the balcony next to him in a kneel. Then I lose my footing despite being kneeling, one of my knees hitting the ground due to the weakness spreading through my body from the blood Ive been burning along with the blood I lost in almost getting my arm cut off.


    Despite that I manage to turn around to find him vanishing in a sh of light along with his grim reaper and volcano skill. But thats not what draws my eye. What draws my eye is the sight of Songstress on her knees while seemingly dehydrated so badly that her bones are showing with ck veins crawling across her skin that has me wincing.


    Ouch. And people say <em>Im </em>painful to fight


    Fortunately she vanishes just secondster, no longer having to deal with what mustve been <em>very </em>painful.


    I look down at Emily to find her sweating buckets down there, only to see her weakly smile at me and give me a thumbs up with her left hand on her knee as she leans over a little.


    Frightening girl.


    <strong>Youre one to talk, </strong>Tar mutters, to which I ignore.


    I also ignore my arm which is quite painful, even with 32.5% of the pain not being there. Although theres also the 50% removed from the magical reality itself, so really its just about 67.5% of the remaining 50%. So about 33.75% of the actual pain Id feel if this happened.


    Which is still fucking painful, but tolerable at least.


    Well, looks like we have their core now. A pity I wont be able to fight Shifter, but in hindsight, it may be best that I dont fight until this wound heals.


    Stupid card skill. Stupid dumb luck.


    I climb to my feet before beginning to walk over towards the room housing their core, Emily quickly making her way towards the stairs as I do so judging by the sound of her footsteps. But right when Im almost at the doorway of therge balcony, I stop as I hear footsteps from outside of the tower rushing over here.


    No he cant be I mutter while turning around and still holding my arm so that its still perfectly in ce for the healing.


    The sound of the footsteps suddenly stop as I hear a whoosh outside.


    Then the wall of therge room bursts inwards and a man with glowing red eyes and markings spread across his skin flies into the room straight onto the balcony Im on before mming his shapeshifted bear paw into the ground and cracking the balcony, destroying the thing, and sending us both falling down to the fourth floor below.

 Book 2: Chapter 51.4: Payback Part IV

    Book 2: Chapter 51.4: Payback Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Fuckin hell I mutter afternding on the ground before quickly climbing to my feet, wincing as my arm moves in ways it isnt supposed to. And when I reach my full height, I find Shifter staring at me from several meters away, a very faint frown on his face as he sniffs at the air.


    We then just stare at each other for a few seconds, his gaze just running over me from head to toe before focusing on my injured arm, andstly, my face.


    You smell, he says, making my mouth drop open in shock.


    Excuse me? I ask, hoping that I heard him wrong.


    He takes a step forward while sniffing once and then repeating himself, You smell strange.


    I hold myself back from sniffing myself. Barely.


    Thankfully the man finally rifies himself when he takes another step forward and says, You smell like trees and ash with a hint of metallic blood.


    Oh.


    <strong>What the fuck? Does this guy have Tier A perception or something?! </strong>Tar asks, sounding shocked.


    Whats so wrong with smelling like blood? I use blood magic after all. So it makes sense.


    <strong>Thats not what hes smelling, </strong>Tar says, sounding rushed, <strong>this guy is smelling the natural scent you give off as a half blood lycan!</strong>


    Oh. Shit. Thats not good.


    <strong>I dont think he will be able to link the two though, since hes never seen a blood lycan or smelled one before, </strong>Tar says, sounding like hes calming down again.


    Thats good whats this about a scent again though? I think you mentioned it before.


    <strong>Right, well every demon has a scent, just like a human has a scent, </strong>he says, which does make sense. <strong>But a demons scent is more of a magical thing tied to their, so only someone with incredibly high perception and a skill based on perception should be able to even notice it.</strong>


    Interesting.


    I smelled your scent almost the moment the tournament began, and its been the only thing on my mind for the entire tournament, he says in a rather creepy manner, simply staring at me without really expressing any emotion on his face. Not that Im one to talk about not expressing emotions. Its unique. And I like it.


    He says thisst bit while stepping forward again.


    Okay, this is getting creepy.


    <strong>Yeah, not really the type of reaction I was expecting when someone noticed it </strong>Tar mutters.


    Well, the bright side is that him being creepy is saving me time for my arm to heal. Because it is starting to close up the worst of the wound. The parts where its quite literally detached from my torso.


    Wait, arent we being broadcast for basically the whole world to hear? Wont people who have met blood lycans have heard his description of my scent?


    Tar doesnt say anything for several seconds as the man in front of me just continues sniffing like a dog.


    Then he mutters, <strong>Well, shit.</strong>


    Thats not a good sign.


    <strong>It shouldnt be too big a problem because the only ones who would know what a blood lycan smells like are those with a magical perception based skill that have fought against blood lycans, and Im pretty sure those only number amongst the Knights, </strong>Tar says, sounding only a little bit worried despite his initial reaction. <strong>And the Knights already know who and what you are thanks to your mother, so it <em>shouldnt </em>be a problem.</strong>


    You dont sound very certain. Also, it makes sense that the other Knights would know about me since White is my mother and Blue my uncle. Not that Id ever call that psychopath that.


    He almost killed me after all.


    Suddenly Shifters eyes clear up and he narrows them at me as he says, Meet up with me outside of the tournament.


    I raise a brow at that and ask, Why?


    He doesnt say anything.


    Ooookaaay I do remember hearing that Shifter was a very quiet and stoic guy who barely ever speaks, but this wow.


    Judging by his mannerisms and rather emotionless voice, I dont think this is him having romantic interest in me  thankfully. I honestly think he just likes my scent.


    Which is kind of creepy.


    Neither of us say anything for a few seconds before he suddenly flexes his bear ws and says, I will contact you after the tournament. Now get ready to fight.


    Then he jumps towards me with his bear w raised, making me almost stumble backwards from surprise. But I dont let the suddenness get to me and instead jump forwards after a very brief moment of pause, my own shifted right arm raised to strike back.


    Good thing it was my non-dominant arm that was almost cut off.


    The moment our ws sh though has me gritting my teeth as Im sent backwards, having lost the exchange by a little. He then grips onto my hand and sends a punch with his non-shifted fist straight at my face, knocking me back about a meter as blood begins to drip down my nose.


    My eyes narrow as I look at his hand which is still gripping my own. But I quickly use blood sacrifice, feeling my exhaustion growing worse in the process thanks to myck of blood from my wound. It gives me the push I need though and lets me tear my hand out of his before his follow-up punch arrives.


    I jump back a couple of meters, wondering how the heck Im gonna beat him with my arm still this badly wounded and massive blood loss making fighting hard.


    <strong>Looks like you might actually die for a first </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like its not the end of the world. Which kind of grates on my nerves, but I get hes just trying to break any arrogance I may have gotten. <strong>No, not really. You arent actually arrogant. Youre calm and analytical. What Im not fine with is how you came to ept your death those few times when you almost died when you shouldve continued fighting even if it was impossible. Because the System may just reward that. And Im hoping dying once here might remedy that a bit.</strong>


    Huh. I didnt know the System might reward fighting to the bitter end thats rather interesting.


    Shifter suddenly rushes towards me, his bear w raised to strike again, and right when Im about to meet it with my own shifted w, not sure what else to do with my other arm so badly injured, he vanishes without a trace. Then I hear an announcement echoing across the magical reality.


    <strong>[The core belonging to team Ace and Spades from Aquatic Pride Guardians University has been shattered, thereby disqualifying the one remaining member of the team.]</strong>


    My fist ends up hitting nothing as I stagger forward, all the force in my attack bing useless in the process.


    I stare in front of me at where the man was just standing, blinking once, then twice in confusion.


    Huh.


    I kind of forgot Emily was climbing the stairs to the fifth floor when Shifter arrived. Looks like she broke their core in our fight.


    <strong>Now you just have to deal with him trying to contact youter, </strong>Tar says, reminding me of the problem Ive just gained.


    Well, whatever. Its a problem for future me to deal with.


    I copse onto the ground t on my back.


    Now I can rest for a short while.


    Just till Emily gets back down here.

 Book 2: Intermission 6

    Book 2: Intermission 6


    <strong>Back in Allens Private Booth</strong>


    In the several decades that Allen has lived on this Earth, he has never once been as frightened as he is right now.


    Dear? Cynthia asks, lightly grabbing Allens hand that had been crushing the arm rest. Whats wrong?


    It takes Allen several seconds to answer, and when he does, he does it through his terminal, not daring to speak out loud about this in a magical reality that could very well be tapped. And the moment Cynthia sees the text on his terminals screen, her face pales and her eyes widen in fright.


    <strong>[It looks like the least likely theory has been proven. The scent the boy smelled is just like the one my nanomachines detecteding off of the blood lycan in thest ss V Fracture.]</strong>


    A-are you sure? Cynthia asks, stuttering and showing real fear for the first time ever since their daughter died.


    Allen nods his head before typing on his terminal again.


    <strong>[I didnt even consider it before, that she might share their scent. So I never bothered trying to have my nanomachines check into it. But now]</strong>


    Cynthia shakes her head and says, It doesnt matter. Shes our daughter and nothing will change that.


    In her eyes, Allen can see the unspoken words she has left out in case of any eavesdroppers.


    A look that says, Even if she is half demon.


    Allen grips his wifes hand for a few seconds before looking at the screen again to find his soon-to-be daughter lying on the ground with her arm still partially cut off and healing at a rate visible to the eye.


    <em>I knew she shared a lot of simrities to the man I saw back then, and that she had a couple traits of blood lycans, but this was still only the least likely theory we came up with to have it proven like this is but why would White have a child with a demon? A noble one at that? It just doesnt make any sense</em>


    Unknown to him, Allens grip on his wifes hand continuously grew tighter and tighter throughout his thoughts until she says, Its okay, snapping him out of the fog he had found himself in.


    Allen lets out a sigh before nodding his head and saying, Yeah, no matter what, shes still our daughter. Nothing will change that.


    Should we bring it up with her? Cynthia asks with a worried frown on her face, but Allen shakes his head and answers, No, we should leave it to her to bring up when she trusts us enough. Its not our ce to interject ourselves into her private affairs.


    Hmm, Cynthia hums with a light nod as they both watch the screen, thementer still going crazy about thest battles between Scarlet and team Ace and Spades. Not to mention the battle currently going on between Lost and Crim.


    <em>Scarlet being half blood lycan certainly exins why she has the capabilities that she does though, because blood lycans are far superior to humans. But what does it mean? Will her demon genes eventually devour her human ones entirely? Are they stable?</em>


    Most likely they will slowly devour her human genes every time she advances in ss, Allens fae, Aurora, answers for him. But thats something that would be better asked of a royal fae. Like her partner.


    Allen nods his head at that, still deep in thought.


    <em>So shell be even less human when she advances to ss II</em>


    He shakes his head, dislodging the thought from it.


    <em>No. Her species doesnt matter. Scarlet is Scarlet no matter what. But</em>


    Allen nces at Cynthia, only to surprisingly find her with a warm smile on her face as she watches Scarlet finally get up from the ground after Emily returns from the core. And that sight has Allen smiling as well.


    <em>Good to see that knowing Scarlets heritage hasnt changed Cynthias feelings on her at all, despite our past with demons.</em>


    Its the same for you though, isnt it? Aurora asks, and Allen nods his head.


    <em>Scarlet is Scarlet and nothing will change that.</em>


    Allens smile growsrger when he sees Scarlet looking back at where Shifter was with a conflicted look on her face.


    <em>Actually, she definitely shows a lot of traits of being a blood lycan. And it certainly exins why shes so damned prideful all the time. But at the same time, Im pretty sure a lot of that is just her own pride. Because noble demons arent as affected by their demonic instincts as the other demons are.</em>


    He raises a brow for a moment as a thoughtes to mind.


    <em>I wonder, do you think her fae is convincing her that all of that pride is from her demonic instincts?</em>


    Its quite possible, Aurora answers, sounding slightly amused at the prospect. Her fae is His Highness Tarankar, and hes known to have pushed his previous contracted partner to grow sometimes by telling half-truths and manipting their thinking on things that might hinder their growth. Although Ive also heard that he isnt doing that much with his new partner. That hes grown to truly care for her like family.


    <em>Thats good. As long as the only thing hes doing is exaggerating the effect of her demonic instincts. </em>


    That should be all hes doing, Aurora confirms.


    <em>Good. If I had to guess, since shes a half blood lycan, only around a third or so of her pride is from her instincts. Meaning most of its still just her. Although I cant help but feel like Scarlet wouldnt really care if it were her instincts driving her or not. </em>


    Allens eyes suddenly widen.


    <em>That crazy look she gets when fighting finally makes sense to me!</em>


    Blood lycans do love their hunts, Aurora says with an amused giggle.


    Allen snorts at that.


    <em>It also means Ill have a lot more trouble to deal with down the road, doesnt it? Especially since the Knights are bound to have recognized the scent that boy described assuming theyre watching.</em>


    If shes truly Whites daughter, then they likely already knew about her anyways, Aurora says, making Allen sigh.


    <em>Starting to think Im the only one who didnt know at this point even if thats far from the truth.</em>


    Allen suddenly feels Cynthia lightly tightening her grip on his hand, bringing his gaze to his wife as she says, Shell tell us eventually. Count on it.


    A few seconds pass before Allen nods and says, Yeah, Im sure she will.

 Book 2: Chapter 52: Rest and Questions

    Book 2: Chapter 52: Rest and Questions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After we get back to our tower, we find it to actually be rather peaceful. Which is a nice surprise.


    Turns out one group of two Guardians did arrive, but they also retreated before the battle could get very intense for no apparent reason.


    Although Michael believes their tower was being attacked and they were called back or something.


    The n from here on out though is simply for us to camp at our tower since weve already dealt with one team and therefore cleared any hidden rules the round mightve had. So theres no reason to go out hunting another team down.


    Better to let them fight amongst themselves for the time being while we fully protect our own core.


    Not to mention that it lets me finish my healing in peace.


    At that thought, I look out the window Im leaning up against, just enjoying the view as my left arm continues healing. By now the thing is mostly attached again, even if its still not even close to finished healing. But thats enough to fight at least.


    And for the pain to not be enough to really bother me thanks to pain diffusion.


    I love that skill.


    <strong>A lot of people would kill for a skill like that, so it makes sense, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but nod with a smile.


    It is a very nice skill. Also makes me wonder if there is an even higher rarity version of it.


    <strong>There is, </strong>Tar says, surprising me. <strong>A lot of the mythic skills are rather well known amongst the fae, Knights, and noble demons. So I know most of Whites mythic skills as well. But Im not allowed to tell you any of them except for the mythic skill version of the one you have.</strong>


    Wait, youre actually allowed to tell me something?!


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before apparently deciding to ignore my remark as he says, <strong>The mythic version of Pain Diffusion is Sense Nullification. And it lets youpletely nullify any amount of any sense in both you and others. And it doesnt require the sensation to be felt at ater point. In fact, its the skill she often uses to eliminate other peoples ability to see her when she doesnt want to be seen.</strong>


    Interesting.


    I want that skill.


    Tar just snorts.


    A few seconds pass in silence as I look out the window, simply listening to the sounds of battle that I can faintly hearing from the other towers  specifically the one belonging to Losts team, Lost in the Fog. Because from what I can tell, it sounds like Lost and Crim are currently fighting each other. And Lost is winning. Mostly because Crim is on the offense, meaning Lost has the homefield advantage along with greater numbers.


    Crim also doesnt seem to be the greatest at dealing with mental attacks too. Just like me.


    I am pleasantly surprised that I can hear far enough to actually be able to hear their battle though. Even if its only faintly.


    <strong>Your hearing has grown quite strong at this point, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but nod. Only to then frown as I remember something he mentioned a while back that I hadpletely forgotten about.


    Didnt you say that Id have to learn how to control my ears better a while back?


    <strong>I did, and I still believe you should, </strong>Tar says as if it was some obvious fact that I should know as well. <strong>Oh, right. You dont know.</strong>


    Duh.


    <strong>Blood lycans are able to adjust their own hearing almost instinctively, but you dont really have that instinct right now, </strong>Tar says, making my frown growrger. <strong>What I meant by learning to control your ears better is that you should try to learn how to adjust your hearing like they do. It would make things a lot easier on you and cover up one of your weaknesses.</strong>


    Huh. Didnt even realize that was possible.


    Wait, will I get those instincts as well when I most likely lose my human ears?


    <strong>Probably, yes, </strong>Tar answers, only to add, <strong>but you should try learning how to control them without the instincts since we dont know for sure. And if you do lose your human ears and dont gain the instincts, you will have a rather ring weakness.</strong>


    Right. Because I wont be able to switch over to my human ears anymore.


    And I certainly wouldnt want to be known as the ss II Guardian at that point who can be taken down by a dog whistle.


    Tar straight upughs at that.


    Its not funny.


    He startsughing even harder, so I cross my arms, ignoring the pain of my still hurt arm that were having Michael dy the healing of to save mana as it regenerates, and scowl at the air in front of me as if that would make him stop.


    It, of course, does not.


    Come to think of it, do you think I got any mythic skills from my fathers side?


    Tar doesnt say anything, making my eyes widen at the implication.


    So I did inherit a mythic skill from my father?


    Tar still doesnt say anything, clearly showing that he isnt allowed to speak about it.


    Wow. Looks like dear ol dad is more important than I thought


    What blood lycans have etched mythic skills anyways? You should be able to answer this, right?


    <strong>Correct, </strong>Tar answers right away. <strong>There are currently seven demons who have earned mythic skills. These include the Demon King, the four Demon Lords, the leader of the Argus branch of blood lycans, and the leader of the leader of the Morningstar branch of the Oni.</strong>


    So there are other blood lycans outside of the royal family that have mythic skills.


    Maybe my father was an outcast of the Argus branch?


    Actually, what are these branches anyways? Just powerful families in their ns?


    <strong>Basically, </strong>Tar answers as I continue staring out the window. <strong>Theyre kind of like the royal family in that they limit their bloodline from spreading, but they dont do it to anywhere near the extreme the royal family does it. So there are plenty of people not officially in their branch that have their mythic skill etched in their genes as an achievement locked skill that no one has unlocked as of today.</strong>


    Interesting.


    I cant help but wonder who my father is now. Because he has to be more important than I thought if he is connected to one of those branch things, right?


    Tar doesnt answer.


    I let out a sigh before ncing at the others to find them all standing guard at the stairs and balconies, trusting that my hearing will find anyone who approaches long before they get here. Which it will.


    After a few seconds, I turn back to look out the window again.


    I wish my wound would hurry up and heal.

 Book 2: Chapter 53: Two Left

    Book 2: Chapter 53: Two Left


    <strong>The Commentators Booth</strong>


    And Crim once again is pushed back by thebination of Lost, Orchid, and Rubys attacks! Will he be able to break through and finally finish off Lost?! Scott shouts with more than a little enthusiasm, making the already roaring crowd grow even louder in volume. Or will Lost in the Fog win this bout and finish off Crim once and for all?!


    Above the massive arena located at the center of the stadium, arge screen floating hundreds of meters in the air shows Crim as he grins at the three girls in front of him with a maniacal look on his face. One that has Scott questioning the mans sanity. But he doesnt say anything about it out loud.


    Ruby, please make sure to keep him in ce for a moment, Lost says, her clear voice echoing throughout the stadium, her white hair and long flowing ck and white cloak pping in the wind created by Orchids tempest magic as she speaks.


    Oh? It looks like Lost has a n! Scott shouts, not taking his eyes off of the twenty-year-old girl with ruby-red eyes and medieval styled metal armor with a color matching her eyes as she moves in front of the other two girls. She then raises her hand in front of her and creates a sword made out of a red metal along with a shield with her gemstone magic before wielding them both against Crim.


    Crim lets out a crazyugh before jumping straight towards Ruby, raising his hands and creating various des of blood that stick out of his flesh, which is also partially turned into blood. But Ruby just grits her teeth as she blocks the strike, letting Lost begin to raise her hands with a bright white light beginning to shine from them.


    Lost is using her signature skill!!! Scott shouts again, his voice almost cracking from his excitement. If you didnt know, Lost is best known for her skill that directly assaults the mind <em>and </em>nervous system of its target! Its a masterpiece of a skill that <em>has </em>to be a legendary skill! The only known drawback is that it takes several seconds for it to activate and it has a short cooldown where shes defenseless afterwards!


    The white light continues to shine brighter and brighter as Crim nces between Ruby and Lost for a second, his des very slowly trying to dig into the shield in front of him, only for his maniacal grin to suddenly vanish with him along with it. But Lost somehow still manages to track him as her eyes immediately widen and she turns around to direct her attack straight at their own core, where Crim suddenly appears with his entire arm turned into a single sword of blood.


    Bloody heck! It looks like Crim has changed his target to their core, bypassing them entirely!! Scott shouts as he and the millions of people watching in the audience watch Crims arm of blood cut straight through the core, slicing the thing in two. But just secondster, arge white beam shoots out from Losts hand right before she and her team vanish, the beam tearing straight into Crim and making his eyes lose all signs of intelligence in them. What <em>is</em> this turn of events! Both Crim and Lost in the Fog have eliminated themselves from the tournament at the same time!!!!


    Everyone watches Crims body begin letting off small amounts of smoke from all of his veins with his eyes zed over as he drops to his knees, and then falls face first onto the floor, only to vanish momentster when the System recognizes his death.


    And now we only have <em>three </em>teams left, with one of them having lost their strongest member!!! Scott shouts as he makes the screen above the arena change to show Scarlets team as they all vigntly stand guard at their tower. Theres Last Stand, which is the <em>only </em>team that still has all five of its members, even if their own strongest is still injured and the others have a small gap in levels from the other teams. Not that Scarletll be injured for long if attacked, since Im pretty sure their healer will take care of the wound the moment she senses anyone approaching.


    After that, theres Crimson Gourd, the team ourte Crim was from, Scott says, changing the screen to show a team of three members all stationed at their tower while fighting against one member of the third team. This team has been fighting with Molten Angel for a while now, neither side gaining any ground after Molten Angels teammate was killed.


    Scott along with the rest of the audience watch as Molten Angel continuously tanks all of the hits dealt to him while ignoring them and slowly glowing brighter and brighter.


    Molten Angel  as Im sure many of you are aware  has a legendary skill that allows him to store up a certain amount of damage and send it right back at his enemies. But theres a catch! He isnt able to move while using the skill, nor can he absorb too much damage, Scott exins what is currently happening on the screen. Of course, if he does go over the amount of damage he can absorb, he ends up taking extra damage as the damage he has stored up overflows into him. And the skill itself has a rather long cooldown between uses, along with an entire ten second period of time where he isnt able to do anything after using this skill. Which must mean he saw no other means of victory before using it now!


    The attacks continue striking him over and over again, but all of the remaining members of the team are support and healers. So none of them manage to do very powerful attacks, eventually leading to Molten Angel letting out a loud roar as molten angelic wings appear on his back and stretch outwards.


    And it looks like Molten Angel might just win this one on three anyways! Scott shouts, sounding thoroughly excited. Does this mean the tournament is about to be Last Stand versus the Angels?!


    A bright red light shes from Molten Angel, following which a wave of moltenva shoots out of him, enveloping all of team Crimson Gourd and making them shout from pain.


    But it doesnt kill them.


    Scotts eyes widen at that realization, but before he canmentate on it, the moltenva reaches Crimson Gourds core and burns it alive, sending the team away.


    <em>Oh, wow. Almost forgot about the core.</em>


    And thats it! Team Crimson Gourd is disqualified! Scott shouts before pping his hands, making the screens alternate between Last Stand, the rest of the Angels, and Molten Angel as he drops to his knees and stays there. Leaving us with two teams remaining! Who wille out on top?! Lets wait and see!

 Book 2: Chapter 54: Strategy and Counter Strategy

    Book 2: Chapter 54: Strategy and Counter Strategy


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Looks like teams Crimson Gourd and Lost in the Fog are both eliminated now, I interrupt the others conversation to mention, having heard the cores shattering from here.


    Denise and Belle both grin at that before giving each other a fist bump, meanwhile Michael pauses in his conversation with Emily before nodding at me with a smile.


    This just leaves one team remaining aside from us, Michael says, only for all of our attention to be brought to the sky where that exact information is being disyed. That there are only two teams remaining.


    Do you know where the enemy teams are? Michael asks me, but I shake my head and answer, Not all of their team members. The Angels tower is too far away for me to hear. But I can tell that Molten Angel himself is still at Crimson Gourds tower, likely getting through his cooldown right now.


    Too bad his cooldown wontst anywhere near long enough for us to reach him.


    Michael hums for a second before rubbing the stubble growing on his chin and looking down.


    I nce out the window as he thinks. From my understanding, one of the Angels team is already dead. But at the same time, their team has higher level Guardians on it than ours. In fact, our team had the lowest level Guardians in this entire final round despite having the most survive thus far. Albeit not by <em>too </em>much, and levels dont really matter much in the grand scheme of things as long as its not more then like twenty levels or so. At ss I that is.


    Inter sses, twenty levels may not be all that much either. Just a brute force boost in power for the higher leveled individual. But skills are still what matters.


    You said that Molten Angel is still at Crimson Gourds tower, right? Michael asks, bringing my attention back to him again as I finally get up from the windowsill I was sitting on, wincing slightly as my wound shifts. And when I nod, he continues, Then how would you feel about going out to deal with him while we stay here and defend the tower?


    My brows lift for a moment before I nod again, following which the man walks up to me and ces his hand above my wound, healing it the rest of the way.


    One of the other reasons he didnt heal my wound earlier was because the wound was too bad. So we needed to wait for my regeneration to heal the worst of it.


    My arm was almost severed after all. And his healing cant reattach limbs yet.


    I let out a slight sigh of relief after he finishes healing the wound before backing up again. He then says, Go ahead and do what you do best then.


    That has me grinning in a way that shows all of my teeth.


    This will be fun.


    I pop off a salute for no reason before jumping out the window, grabbing onto the sill as I go down and jumping down again, asionally digging my hand into the tower wall to slow my fall until I reach the ground where I immediately head off towards Crimson Gourds tower. Or more specifically, towards Molten Angel.


    Its too bad Emily cante with me, but we need everyone at the tower in case the Angels remaining team members attack. They should have three of them still aside from Molten Angel himself, and I cant see them leaving their tower. Not while Molten Angel is gone.


    But just in case they do, we need Emily with the others at the tower to defend. Pushes to shove, even with their lower level, they should be able to take on three of the opposing team members without me.


    Its Molten Angel that we need to worry about. And Im pretty sure I can handle his particr skills just like how I dealt with Sentinel in the ranking tournament at Lions Heart.


    <strong>Crimson Gourds Tower</strong>


    Ethan wasnt entirely confident about taking on the remnants of the Crimson Gourd team all by himself, but his teammate was already killed, and their strongest member was dealing with Lost. So not only did he not have a choice, but he felt like he had a chance.


    But when the magma didnt kill them all right away, he couldnt help but feel extremely nervous.


    <em>Im just d that we were near their core</em>


    Ethan shakes his head at the thought, his cooldown finally ending, allowing him to climb to his feet as he stretches out the kinks he always gets from using that skill and getting stuck in ce for a while. After he finishes that, he checks his current mana before frowning at the sight of it below half capacity.


    <em>Thats not good. Im pretty sure I still need to deal with that wolf and Lost</em>


    Ethan nces out the window of the tower to find the words disying at the top of the arena.


    <em>Or just the wolf then. Either way, I dont like my chances there. Especially not with her passive attacks.</em>


    He frowns at the thought before shaking his head and beginning to make his way down the stairs. But he doesnt get far before his terminal buzzes, prompting him to look at it and find a message from his teams diviner that has his eyes widening.


    <strong>[The wolf in red is out on the hunt.]</strong>


    Even with the diviners typical cryptic prophesy, Ethan can still tell without a doubt what the message means.


    <em>Shes after me. Already.</em>


    Ethan hesitates for a moment before shaking his head and heading back to the top of the tower.


    <em>The wolf would have a much greater advantage in the woods than Id have. So itll be best to stay in the tower and wait for her.</em>


    The man continues running up the tower again until he reaches the top and looks out over the forest, trying in vain to find the girl who should be heading his way. After failing to catch even a glimpse of the girl for over an entire minute, Ethan feels his terminal buzzing again. And when he opens the new message from Rachel, a faint grin stretches across his face.


    <strong>[Opposing team has walled up, fight the wolf with magma, water, and life.]</strong>


    <em>Last Stand is staying at their tower to defend it, leaving the Scarlet Wolf to go on the assault lone.</em>


    He raises his head, any fear that was on his face having vanished.


    <em>Its a good thing we have a diviner on our team, otherwise we wouldnt have known that it was safe for Madison and David to head over here as backup.</em>


    Ethan actually starts to grin as he keeps his eyes on the trees in the forest, eager to see the wolfs face when she finds three opponents to deal with instead of one. And as if on cue with his thoughts, a sh of light shines, following which a man and woman appear right next to him. The man then nods his head towards Ethan before cloaking the two of them with a green energy.


    <em>Thisll be good.</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 55: Turnaround Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 55: Turnaround Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but frown once I reach Crimson Gourds tower and find too many scents lingering in the area. Or at least I think its too many scents? My hearing is a lot better than my sense of smell as a blood lycan, so I cant tell for sure. But I think I smell more scents than I hear people.


    Maybe its just my imagination?


    <strong>I wouldnt let my guard down just in case, </strong>Tar warns me, and I cant help but nod in agreement.


    After a quick check to make sure my mana is filled to max capacity, I begin climbing the tower.


    The mere fact that Molten Angel is still here despite his cooldown long having since worn out means he likely knows Im here. Probably due to their diviner of a teammate. But from what Ive heard, that diviner shouldnt be able to tell important details like our actual n yet. So we should be safe from them learning that Im heading here alone. Or at least that the others arent nning on attacking.


    Honestly, I hate the entire idea of diviners. I hate prophecies, I hate any and all of that garbage. Not only is it just bullshit, but the whole prophecy thing where half of the stupid things are all self-fulfilling? I just hate them.


    I frown for a moment as I climb before shaking my head.


    Diviner aside, theres only the sound of a single person up there, unless the others are just stiffly standing in ce and not making a single sound somehow. So it should be fine.


    Although its moments like these that I kind of wish I had a better sense of smell to go along with my hearing.


    I continue rushing up the tower, getting closer and closer to the top. But right before I start climbing the final staircase to the roof, I pause. Then I have my blood shadow  which has been following me around for a while now  go up as I instead jump out of a balcony on the fifth floor and climb straight to the top, soon hearing amotion sounding from the roof.


    A grin makes its way onto my face when I jump over the battlements of the towers top to find my blood shadow having blocked a spear of water with a spear of blood that Id armed it with a while ago. The spear of water clearly having been sent towards it by Aqua, their teamsbat focused water magic user.


    The hell?! she shouts, the Life Weaver  their teams healer who has one of if not the absolute best healing magics in existence, life magic  grimaces as he stands next to her with his hand on her shoulder, whatever cloaking magic the man was using having broken the moment she attacked. Because he had to have been using his life magic to cloak them both otherwise Id have heard them before now.


    I cant help butpliment his cloaking magic in my head though, but at the same time, its life magic. A magic that theoretically might be able to cloak someones life energy entirely, much less any sounds theyd make. And they werent moving at all, simply waiting at the top of the tower for me unlike the stealth focused Guardian from before who was moving around.


    Something I shouldve considered, but its toote now. Good thing I prepared.


    Without a moment of hesitation, as the Molten Angel and Aqua push forwards closer to my blood shadow, I break into a sprint straight towards Life Weaver, my arm shifting mid leap and blood ws forming around both of my hands. And before any of them even notice me, I tear my ws straight across Life Weavers back, making him let out a cry that attracts the others attention to me. They then turn around and begin rushing towards me, but to no avail as I follow my strike up with half a dozen des of blood that directly tear into Life Weaver from various different directions. And to finish things off, after my feet touch the ground, I straighten up again and grab the healer by the neck before snapping it like a twig, the mans physical capabilities likely having been rather abysmal as a life magic user.


    David!!!! Aqua practically shrieks, her voice irritating my ears into twitching as she rushes towards me with a look of hatred on her face.


    Oh, right. Im pretty sure those two were dating. If the research I did into their team was anything to be believed that is.


    Kind of surprised I remembered that fact to be honest. Probably only remembered it because of how rare it is for two Guardians in the same team to date though. A lot of teams dont like that sort of thing because of the high fatality rate of Guardians.


    Which I dont really understand considering that if theyre gonna die while on the job it wont really matter if theyre on the same team or not, but whatever.


    Either way, the girl  who should only be a single year older than me  rushes forward rather recklessly while sending des of water at me. des that I quickly counter with des of blood before using blood boil and life drain on both her and Molten Angel, making the girl stagger.


    Surprisingly though, Molten Angel only flinches slightly as he ignores me and attacks my blood shadow that was going for Aquas exposed back.


    Oh, I guess thats why a lot of people dont like dating in teams.


    Aquas current reaction to her boyfriend being killed in the magical reality setting a good example of it.


    I step past the healers corpse right as it vanishes before burning my blood and jumping straight towards Aqua, clearing the distance in seconds while bringing my ws straight down on her while shes still regaining her bnce. But somehow she still manages to bring up her arms and make arge shield of water that actually manages to block my ws. Until, that is, I m into the shield with my entire body, knocking her over onto her back. She then sends waves after waves of water des from all angles around us towards me, most of which I manage to counter with des of blood. But some of them break through anyways.


    Ignoring the pain of the water des that only barely manage to pierce into my armor, I push down on her shield with my left arm while reaching over towards her throat around the shield with my shifted arm. And the moment my ws are about to reach her throat, I hear Molten Angel shout, No you dont! following which I feel an impact hit my side. But against his ns, the impact manages to send my ws straight through her throat as Im knocked off of her and sent spinning into the battlements of the tower with a grunt of pain.


    Fortunately the battlements themselves manage to hold me without breaking and sending me off the tower, but only barely as parts of it do crumble in mynding. I quickly climb to my feet again, just to grimace slightly as I feel pain blossoming in my waist, likely from a broken rib or two. Then I focus once more on Aqua and Molten Angel, finding Aqua currently vanishing into nothing, my idental attack apparently having been enough to rip out her throat. Meanwhile Molten Angel looks pissed.


    Very pissed.

 Book 2: Chapter 55.2: Turnaround Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 55.2: Turnaround Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Fucking damnit, he mutters, but surprisingly doesnt say anything else as he holds his hand out and summons some sort of fancy looking spear made out of magma along with a pair of magma gauntlets. And the man himself is wearing a fancy set of red and ck medieval styled armor that seems to fit quite well with these gauntlets and the spear.


    Guess he isnt the type to lose his cool?


    The man sprints towards me with his spear raised, clearly not using that skill again which he most likely still has on cooldown. Something I am rather thankful for, because it means I wont have to skirt around him by attacking him only with blood boil and life drain.


    I rush forwards to meet him, my blood shadow joining me from the other side of him. Both of us strike him at the same time, the blood shadow tearing a chunk out of his arm as his spear directly blocks my ws. We both then grimace, me from my broken ribs and him from the small chunk that the blood shadow managed to take out of his arm through his armor with its own ws. But I dont let my pain stop me as I summon various weapons of blood and send them all flying towards him, all while also giving my blood shadow a sword  which is one of the two weapons alongside spears that I have gotten a <em>little </em>bit of training with during the first semester of university.


    I continue trying to strike him with my ws along with my blood shadow who has switched to the sword, leaving him various small wounds that he simply ignores as he trades wounds with us. Eventually though, the wounds prove to be too great for my blood shadow, who suddenly begins to inte before exploding and sending a wave of my own blood and some shadows outwards, my shadows slowly converging on me again along with a headache that I ignore.


    Ack, he mutters as hespletely covered in my blood, which cant be very pleasant. Especially considering the blood in his eyes currently blinding him. I dont waste any time, taking this chance to rush in and tear arge string of five gashes across his gut. Then I send various weapons of blood as Im turning around to tear into his back. But despite his current blindness, he still manages to summon molten angelic wings to p half of the weapons away, leaving the remaining half to pierce through his armor and barely into his flesh underneath.


    By now Ive managed to turn around fully again so I perform an uppercut with my ws wide open, only for the man to finally seed in clearing his eyes of blood and twirl his spear around to knock my arm away before spinning in a circle and stabbing the thing de first straight through both my magi-tech armor and blood armor into my gut, making me cough out a mouthful of blood. And at this point, were just staring face to face with each other, our faces just inches apart where I find him grinning at getting such arge hit in.


    His grin goes away when he feels me gripping the spear with my ws, ignoring the searing pain thates along with grabbing the molten rock, along with the molten rock that is burning my insides. And it turns into a look of fear when I pull the spear further inside of me, tugging him closer to me while I send blood weapon after blood weapon after blood weapon into him from all angles.


    The pain I feel continues growing worse and worse, only exacerbated by the man trying and failing to overpower me with strength to take his spear back. But I ignore it all thanks to pain diffusion along with the magical realitys fifty percent pain limiter as I pull him even closer so that were face to face.


    Then I activate blood retribution and he immediately starts screaming as literal waves of bloody steam rise off of his body.


    He tries very hard to pull the spear out, but I keep it in my gut as more and more steam lifts off of his body. And soon enough, the man drops to his knees, the fight in him mostly going away at this point, leaving him wide open for all of my blood weapons to tear into him. Meanwhile my own regeneration and life draining of him is keeping me alive.


    Eventually though, I tear the spear out of myself and drop to my knees in front of him as well. But by now, hes already long since dying and without any strength left to struggle.


    So I do the most sensible thing in this situation.


    I continue life draining him until he finally croaks right after I hear him muttering something about bullshit diviners.


    Yeah, thought so. Their diviner warned them of my approach.


    And it looks like they were good enough to know about our n after all.


    Not good enough to predict if theyd win this fight though.


    With that thought in mind, I copse onto my back with my arms spread out on either side of me as I try very hard to ignore the pain. But just a few secondster, I remember to send a message to the others about having killed off three of their four remaining team members, leaving just the diviner left.


    And with that, my job here is done.


    <strong>You really should stop doing these tactics </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant even muster up the strength to shrug.


    Fortunately my healing seems to be doing the work and regenerating the massive hole in my gut that spans from one side to the other. Or rather, it was a massive hole until I life drained him as much as I did, healing a lot of the wound simply through that. Enough of it at least for the wound to not outright kill me.


    One benefit Ive found to blood regeneration and life drain is that the only real way to kill me is to get my hearts or brain, or some irreparable part like my neck. Because anything that theyd just expect me to die from blood loss wont likely kill me from blood loss. Not with blood regeneration.


    Well, unless Im literally starving and out of mana. Because the blood regeneration very slowly uses up nutrients to heal at a pace much too quick for those nutrients to normally work.


    Because magic.


    And if I dont have any nutrients, it uses mana instead.


    A very nice perk indeed. Even if the recovery process is painful as hell.


    <strong>Just be thankful you wont have to experience the diffused pain, </strong>Tar says, sounding both exasperated and worried at the same time.


    Yeah. Although I get the feeling this battle didnt do much for my image, considering I basically mutted myself to kill him.


    <strong>I dont think thisll change your image much, </strong>Tar says.


    Really?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he answers. <strong>Im pretty sure they already think of you as a berserker, so what would this change?</strong>


    Asshole.

 Book 2: Chapter 56: End of the Tower Siege Tournament

    Book 2: Chapter 56: End of the Tower Siege Tournament


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It only takes about half an hour of painfully lying on the floor for the others to either kill the diviner, or shatter their core, sending me back to standing on top of our tower in the middle of an incredibly loud stadium. And it takes quite a bit of willpower not toin to the others about taking too long.


    Because that hurt. Not to mention the bacsh from losing my blood shadow, which wouldve been much worse if I hadnt already had the thing summoned for quite a long time and hadnt leveled the skill to level six. Fortunately it just manifested in a massive headache. One that wasnt actually that big inparison to the hole that was in my gut.


    Pain aside though, our tower suddenly begins to shift, moving towards the center of the once again ck field of stone beneath us before expanding as Scotts voice echoes throughout the stadium, And we have our winners! May I personally congratte team Last Stand for sessfully winning the Tower Siege ss I Team tournament! The very first tournament of the year!!!


    A loud roar of apuse fills the stadium, making me look around for a moment before my eyes lock on Scotts.


    I want to go rest please.


    Now why dont we hear a word from each of our wonderful winners!! he continues with just as much enthusiasm.


    No, please just let me rest.


    How about you, Michael? he asks while approaching the druid who is fidgeting slightly from my eyes that are drilling holes in the back of his head. You managed to fulfill the promise you made! How do you feel about that? Your first tournament and you won!!!


    Michael manages to ignore my eyes as he grabs the mic and turns around, showing me his back in an act of turning towards the audience. He then begins enthusiastically speaking  way too enthusiastically if you ask me  as he says, The tournament was hard fought, and we almost lost more than once throughout it, my eyes narrow at that, but we pulled through! And we owe it all to our amazing teammate, Scarlet Asger! He then turns the mic over to me with a grin on his face that makes me want to p him. Twice. Why dont you say a few words, eh Scarlet?


    Make that three times.


    I take the mic from him before saying, It was fun, and handing it back to Scott again amidst a roaring apuse, taking some joy in the shocked face Michael is giving me.


    <strong>You couldve said more, ya know, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding amused.


    He said to say a few words. So I gave a few words. Just three.


    Tar snorts.


    Besides. The audience seems to like it.


    Ah, a woman of few words! Or should I say a wolf of few words? Scott tries to make a joke that has me raising a brow, but the audienceughs anyways. He then turns to the others and gets interviews from each of them before floating up into the air while shouting, And thats it for the very first tournament of the year! But dont worry! Tomorrow will start with our very first Prime tournament! The ss I Solo Primaries, where you will see this wonderful girl again! he says thatst part while indicating me. But, of course, if a Demonic Assault <em>were </em>to happen during the middle of the tournament, then the tournament will be pushed back a day! Please be aware of this!


    Scott stops floating several dozen meters above us before raising a single hand to the sky and then pointing down at a random point in the audience, the massive screen floating above him showing him as he does so with various smaller screens around the stadium moving around to show us on the tower from various different perspectives. He then shouts, Thats all for today! Well see you next time! his voice echoing throughout the entire stadium for several seconds, the audience not calming down for even a single instant. Not even after the team and I are sent back to our private booth.


    The moment I realize were in the booth, I slump down in the closest chair with a groan as I mutter, Im going to kill you Michael.


    He chuckles at that and says, PR helps. Youll be thanking meter for it.


    Im still going to kill you, I say while closing my eyes with my head lying on the headrest.


    The others all move about doing their own things, some of them sitting down to chat while others leave the room entirely after saying brief goodbyes for the night now that todays tournaments are over. But I just continue lying on thefortable chair, too mentally exhausted from thest few battles to want to move.


    <strong>You should probably leave the magical reality and go to bed if youre so tired, </strong>Tar suggests. <strong>Especially since the Primaries will be tomorrow.</strong>


    Yeah maybe. Although theres a decent chance that the Primaries wont start tomorrow, considering that thest Demonic Assault was on opening day of the Interschool Tournaments, and this will be the third day of the tournaments.


    I continue lying in ce for several seconds, not wanting to go to the trouble of getting up.


    Eventually I manage to open my eyes and reach for the device before exiting from the magical reality and finding myself in my pod dock again. And I almost immediately find a few dozen students packed in front of my pod dock while whispering amongst themselves.


    The fuck?


    As soon as one of them sees me, they shout, Shes awake! and they all begin crowding around the pod dock like a wave of fans.


    Oh,e <em>on</em>! Are you freaking kidding me right now?!


    <strong>Well, youre bing more and more famous as time goes on, so </strong>Tar says sounding quite amused by my situation. A situation that has me kind of wanting to just stay in the pod dock to sleep instead of leaving it. But that would be too loud with their unending chatter.


    Ugh. This is going to be a pain.


    Please just let me go home to sleep.

 Book 2: Chapter 57: Peak of Class I

    Book 2: Chapter 57: Peak of ss I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>You have to admit, that was pretty amusing, </strong>Tar says as I tear through the low level demons on the way to the core of the Fracture Im in, the tanuki still sounding amused by how the Demonic Assault started the moment ck started speaking to open the ss I Solo Primaries. Right after we had all finished gathering in the ck stone field of the stadium before millions of people. Just the moment he opened his mouth and started speaking, everyone was instantly kicked out of the magical reality due to the Demonic Assault.


    The timing was rather unfortunate for the poor guy.


    I dont particrly mind the timing though, since it gives me the chance to maybe reach the cap level of ss I. Since I can just reach the border between level 100 and level 101 and choose to dy my ascension to ss II till after the Primary tournament.


    I let out a sigh as I ughter the zombies around another group of people before opening my terminal and directing them through the map of therge gaming arcade were in located on my terminal to where Michael is for healing of their infected. Then I continue straight towards the core because that is more important right now than directly escorting them. After all, if I get rid of the core, the other demons will be kicked out of the Fracture and any infected humans that have been infected for less than an hour will be cured.


    A rather convenient method to cure people.


    Its unfortunate that its not possible for anyone to cure an infected zombie if its been over an hour since they were infected though.


    I continue running straight through the halls until I find arge open room with dozens of broken arcade machines scattered around it and four knights located closer to the center of the room, along with a captain near them.


    First time Ive gotten to a core before anyone else since my first core. Probably because it was at the start of the first Primary tournament.


    Without an ounce of hesitation, I rush through the room while using blood boil and life drain on every demon that gets near me, along with blood manifestation to create blood weapons all around me that I use to cut apart the demons. And throughout the process, my stacks of blood thirst continue growing more and more until I arrive at the captain who turns to me with a frightened look on his face. One that doesntst long before his eyes narrow and the smander tries to blow fire from its mouth directly at me. Fire that I block by raising my shifted arm in front of my face, letting it go through some of the blood in my blood ws.


    Such a weak and inferior demon


    I blink at the thought only to shake my head and push on, eventually taking the demon captain down after trading several blows with it. Then I move on to the core, which is surrounded by four knights. Knights that are all thirty or so levels beneath me, making them easy targets.


    After dealing with them, I grab and crush the core, ending the Fracture and making the red tint in the air vanish without a trace along with all of the many demon corpses around me.


    Whew, I mutter while wiping some sweat from my brow, only to remember my clean skill and use it before letting my System messages flow. And fortunately the System just straight up speeds through all of my kills, with only the actual levels and achievements being mentioned at a regr pace.


    Because that would be way too many kills for me to want to read.


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 100. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to- Level up canceled due to you being at the cap of ss I. Please ascend to ss II. To do so you must find and absorb a ss I catalyst.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty five Skill Points are awarded for reaching the max level for ss I.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood ws has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have reached the peak of ss I and have absorbed a ss I catalyst. Do you wish to ascend to ss II now orter?}</strong>


    Later, I answer out loud.


    <strong>{Simply tell the System whenever you are ready to climb further up the passage of ascension.}</strong>


    Oh, right. I almost forgot that the system calls the ss-based system it uses the Passage of Ascension.


    Anyways, it looks like I leveled both blood ws and life drain as well. Which is a very nice plus for this trip.


    I quickly open my status before allocating my free points to see what it looks like at level 100.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 100</strong><strong>SP: 29</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 243</strong><strong>Mental: 242</strong><strong>Magical: 241</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 26012/29161</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 4</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Siphon</strong><strong>Skill Level: 14</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 9</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Nice.


    I focus on the descriptions for Blood ws and Life Drain now that theyre at level 15.


    <strong>{Blood ws - Allows the user to coat their hands and feet with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana, drained from the body of whatever the user has their ws in, or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana.}</strong>


    <strong>{Life Drain - Allows the user to drain the life energy of nearby creatures into themselves and others, healing them in the process. Costs mana to use. Life energy drained can be directed to a particr area of the users body to speed up healing there.}</strong>


    My eyes widen at seeing the differences in both skills.


    Heck yeah! I can finally use blood ws on my feet! That was really bothering me that I was limited to using it with my hands!


    And the whole directing life energy to a certain area on my body thing is basically just giving me a healing power. Especially since I can use it on others too.


    So now Im not just limited to absorbing the life energy and having it go throughout my whole body and slowly healing everything. Can just skip that and heal a certain area instead.


    These are some very nice upgrades to have right before starting the Primary tournament!


    I cant help the smile that covers my face as I happily hum Cynthias luby while heading back to go meet up with the others again.

 Book 2: Chapter 58: Pre-Tournament Party Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 58: Pre-Tournament Party Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I still say you shouldve worn a dress, Belleins for the umpteenth time as we both stand at the edge of the little party that was originally meant to celebrate the end of the first day of the Primaries but has since been shifted to celebrate the start of the Primaries instead thanks to the Demonic Assault earlier today.


    Yeah, no, I bluntly answer while wearing my regr magi-tech armor and swirling around the ss of punch in my hand. Thats not happening. Ever.


    But Scarleeeet!!! Belle whines reaching out to grab my hand only to miss when I back up slightly before she almost trips on her high heels. The girl is wearing a rather beautiful blue dress that goes about down to her knees and is rather simr to the one she tried to get me to wear. Meanwhile Emily on the other side of the table from us  who is currently chowing down on the food at the table and not paying an ounce of attention to us in the process  is wearing a nice outfit as well, but this one not being a dress. Hers is more of a cross between a dress and a suit.


    If I ever had to dress up, then thats probably more along the lines of what Id wear. Something with pants at least.


    Come on Arabellia, theres no reason to try forcing her into something she obviously doesnt want to wear, the voice of reason  Carol, Michael and Emilys older sister  says as the girl walks over wearing a purple dress that goes all the way down to her calves, her heels clicking on the floor as she walks. And behind her is Michael, who is currently wearing a ck tuxedo and slightly flushed with a drink in his hand.


    They seriously serve magical alcohol here? Right on the night before the Primaries? I wonder who thought that was a good idea


    Then again, people can always have a healer clear them of the alcohol poisoning


    No judgement towards Michael though. Hes done with his tournaments since Im the only one in our teampeting in the Primaries.


    Actually, the only reason everyone else is here is because I was allowed to invite my whole team to the party along with me. And while I was originally gonna skip out, Belle kind of voided that option with her begging.


    The girl really loves parties and getting dressed up. Two of my banes.


    And Tar vanished at some point as well, not saying a word in the process.


    Come on, Carol! Dont you think Scarlet would look <em>amazing </em>in a dress?! Belle asks, turning her attention to the girl in the process. And Carol nces at me while looking me over for a second before answering, She would look absolutely stunning in a dress. But then she turns to Belle and adds, That doesnt change the fact that its her choice.


    Belle pouts like a child until she realizes that isnt gonna work. Then she goes to join Emily in stuffing her face.


    I give an exhausted smile while shaking my head and focusing on Carol as I say, Thank you for the help.


    She just shrugs and walks over to grab some wine from a passing waiter, answering back, No worries.


    I nce at Michael to find him downing his ss and grabbing another from that very same waiter with a grin on his face.


    Who knew he liked alcohol so much.


    Probably not as much as his sister likes food though.


    I look around the room for a moment to find various other people that I recognize from the news, most of which are the participants for the various Primary tournaments. Meanwhile the ones who arent participants are either ss V Guardians who didnt need an invite or teammates of the participants who arent part of the Primary tournaments.


    My thoughts are interrupted when I see a group across therge hall that looks to be beckoning me toe over. So I point at myself, and Lost just nods her head. So I excuse myself from those at my table, grab another ss of punch, and make my way over to them.


    Once I reach them, Lost immediately gives me a light curtsy, surprising me a little as she lifts the ends of her skirt and says, Wee, Scarlet Wolf. She looks up again with a light smile. It was unfortunate that we werent able to battle during the Tower Siege tournament, but maybe we can during the Primary?


    I nod back, a light smile on my face matching her own as I say, Agreed. Then I turn to the man next to her who simply nods his head at me.


    Molten Angel. And still not a big talker. Also one of the fewer people in this room along with me thats wearing their magi-tech armor and not formal clothing.


    This big lug is Ethan Davis, Crim suddenly says, a wide grin on his face as he puts his arm around Molten Angels shoulders. Which surprisingly doesnt seem to bother the man. Crim then points to himself, the man wearing a red and ck suit, and says, And Im Samuel Lewis. But just call me Sam, kay?


    I nod at him before looking at thest of the group of four.


    Shifter stares at me for a few seconds and sniffs again only to give me a nod and say, Names Lucas Walsh. Nice to meet you.


    At least he isnt saying anything about my smell again. Even if he obviously just sniffed again.


    Im Abigail Kim, Lost suddenly says, seemingly remembering that she didnt introduce herself.


    Nice to meet you all, I say before ncing at Ethan and Lucas, or meeting you again in some of your cases. My name is Scarlet Asger. Please just call me Scarlet.


    In that case, call me Abigail, or just Abi, Lost says with a smile, her glowing white eyes making the smile look a tad odd. Ethan then says, Call me Ethan. And Lucas gives a nod, Lucas.


    This seems like a nice group.


    Call me Sam! Sam says. Again.


    You already said that, Ethan says, his voice sounding slightly gruff as he frowns at the man who still has his arm around his shoulder. But Sam just shrugs, saying, So?


    Guess Sam isnt as insane as I had first thought. Hes still weird though.


    Same with Lucas with his sniffing.

 Book 2: Chapter 58.2: Pre-Tournament Party Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 58.2: Pre-Tournament Party Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    None of us say anything for a few seconds before Sams grin suddenly widens like he has something nefarious in mind and he lets go of Ethan. He then approaches me and tries to put his arm around my shoulder, only for me to quickly dodge him. And while that does surprise him for a moment, he doesnt let it interrupt whatever plot he has in mind as he grins at the others, standing next to me as he says, How about we have a little bet, eh? That us blood magic users will make it further in the Primaries than the three of you!


    I blink at him, startled by both his offering a bet and simultaneously pulling me into it.


    Ethan scoffs and Abigail just rolls her eyes, neither of them seeming to take him seriously. Lucas on the other hand just says, Ill be winning the whole thing, so that bet will be pointless.


    Oh, wow. Someones confident.


    Sam crosses his arms and leans in towards Lucas as he says rather challengingly, Oh, yeah? How about we see how that goes when youre fighting with me?


    Wont change a thing, Lucas says while shaking his head and not showing much on his face.


    Boys, you dont even know if youll be pitted against each other, so please save the testosterone for tomorrow, Abigail says with an amused smile on her face. And the confused look on Lucass face is absolutely hrious, making me understand that he really was just stating what he saw as a fact and not anything more.


    Sam on the other hand puts his hand on his chest like hes wounded and says, Oh, you wound me mdy!


    I walk over to Ethan as Abigail responds with a witty retort before I ask him, Im guessing you all already knew each other before today?


    He nods and leans down slightly, the man being way too damned tall for his own good, and answers, Yeah. We all have the same Instructor. So weve known each other since we became students at our respective universities.


    My eyebrows climb at that. You have the same Instructor despite being in different universities?


    What Guardian goes around between different universities and gets apprentices in each?


    Im not surprised you dont know, Ethan says, looking at the banter-filled argument between Abigail and Sam. Our Instructor is Purple.


    Oh. <em>Oh</em>.


    Their Instructor is a Knight. That would exin it then.


    And I have heard rumors about Purple and ck going around gathering some apprentices, but they were always just rumors. No official confirmations to the public or anything.


    The only Knight that actually has an affiliation with a particr Guardians University is White. And thats because she is the current headmaster of Lions Heart.


    Ethan nces at me andments, You know, Im a little surprised our Instructor never contacted you. He stares at me for several seconds, making me want to fidget under his gaze. But I dont, instead keeping my hands in my pockets. Eventually he shrugs and turns back to the bantering duo as he says, Guess she probably didnt want to teach another blood magic user. Crims already a handful for her after all. Thest thing she needs is another self-destructive berserker under her wing.


    I open my mouth to retort to that, only to shut it again. Then I open it again and shut it, not finding anything to retort with.


    The corner of his lips quirk up, the man likely having noticed my actions.


    Damnit. I am not self-destructive!


    <strong>Yes, you are, </strong>Tar says, apparently having returned. So I round on him instead of Ethan.


    Where the heck have you been? And no, Im not.


    <strong>Denial isnt a good look, young pup, </strong>Tar says in a sagely tone of voice like hes mocking me, making me grit my teeth. But he grows serious a secondter as he says, <strong>And father called for a meeting of the fae heirs.</strong>


    Wait, really? What was it about?


    <strong>I cant tell you much, but I can say it greatly involves the uing ss V Fracture, </strong>Tar says, giving me something to go off of. <strong>And that we always have a meeting months before ss V Fractures are predicted to open.</strong>


    Hmm, okay.


    <strong>I </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like he wants to tell me something but isnt sure. <strong>Please be careful during this ss V Fracture, okay?</strong>


    Huh? Of course Ill be careful. Its a ss V Fracture that will span over the entire city.


    <strong>Right </strong>Tar says in a way that has me narrowing my eyes.


    Is there something strange about this Fracture? Aside from it being a ss V Fracture, of course.


    Im pretty sure three out of the five Knights are nning on being in the city during the Fracture to handle it when it happens, leaving the other two on the front lines of the war with the demons. So we should be a lot more prepared for this one than the others.


    <strong>Just be careful, </strong>Tar says onest time.


    Okay.


    Come to think of it, Ill probably tell Allen and Cynthia about my heritage after the ss V Fracture. Because its probably better not to flood them with extra problems while theyre preparing for that.


    Or maybe it would be better to tell them before it? Just in case there is a ss V demon who will recognize what I am and exposes me?


    Id rather they hear it from me than some demon Noble.


    Assuming they still ept me, of course.


    <strong>Im sure they will, </strong>Tar says in aforting tone.


    I smile a little at that. And the continued bickering between Sam and Abigail, who Im starting to realize might actually be a thing.


    Are those two I whisper to Ethan just to confirm my theory, and he just nods and says, They are.


    Thought so.


    Thats kind of surprising. Wouldnt have expected them to be dating considering the rey of their battle in the final round that I saw.


    They certainly make an interesting pair though.


    I also kind of respect how they were able to fight so intensely without holding back and not have it harm their rtionship.


    <strong>Well, that Crim guy looks like a battle junkie, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>like a lot of blood magic users often are.</strong>


    Hey! Thats rude.


    <strong>True though, </strong>he says sounding smug.


    Still rude.


    I raise my ss to my lips to have a sip of punch as I continue watching the two bicker.

 Book 2: Chapter 59: The Primaries Begin

    Book 2: Chapter 59: The Primaries Begin


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Now a quick rerun of the rules from yesterday before we begin. The ss I Solo Primary tournament willst for three days, and every single round will be a one on one duel thatsts for five minutes each <em>except </em>for the semi-finals and final rounds. But well go over those again on the third day, ck shouts, sounding like he wants to just get on with the tournament but is sticking to exining for some reason anyways as all of uspetitors stand in therge ck field. The first round will be on the first day, the second, third, and fourth rounds will be on the second day, and the fifth round, the quarter finals, semifinals, and finals will all be on thest day. And the rules are the same as always, no cheating, no contact with anyone outside of the battle during a battle, no h h h, lets get this underway! Show us theeee brackets!!!!


    I blink in surprise from my ce front in center amongst thepetitors, the lot of us being sorted based on our universitys rank, before looking up to find a massive screen showing the equally massive brackets. And the brackets are huge. Which makes sense, considering that there are 145 battles for the first round, with one random lucky student getting a free pass to the second round.


    A lucky student named Elizabeth Crow. Someone Id never heard of before.


    Although, while ck is calling it a bracket, its more just a long list of one on one battles with a single person left to the side.


    Out of nowhere, Im teleported to a private booth on my own before I look down at the stadium to find the massive ck field having turned into arge battlefield. One imitating a frozen wastnd. And in the battlefield are two students with arge countdown at the center of the battlefield.


    Now lets get these battles underway!!! ck shouts, sounding excited for the tournament. And the audience seems to be very happy with his impatience, as they immediately begin roaring <em>incredibly </em>loudly.


    I kind of feel bad for the people who went first though. Because neither of them likely even had the time to look up who their opponent was on the brackets, much less research them. So theyre both going blind unless they recognize the other.


    Doesnt help that theyre in a frozen wastnd that is currently covered in a snowstorm.


    The countdown continues dropping, showing about six seconds remaining. And while I wait, I look up at the brackets myself to search for my opponent. But thanks to the vast number of pairings there, it takes me longer than the countdown to find me.


    Ill be fighting someone named Grace Evans, who apparently  ording to the brackets  goes by the title of Conductor.


    Guess there are a couple things their magic can be in terms of broad subject with that name. Something about trains, electricity, or music.


    I look down at the arena, finding several screens floating high above it showing various angles of the twopetitors  one a girl by the name of Lucy Angel and the other a guy named Jorge Raul. And both of them are currently pushing through the snowstorm towards the center of the arena where they sh just secondster, Jorge using gauntlets made of what looks like crystal, and Lucy using some sort of shield that forms in front of her hands.


    Interesting. Definitely a lot stronger Guardians than most of the Guardians I saw in the team tournament.


    <strong>The crowd seems to be enjoying this even though its just the first fight, </strong>Tar says, and I nod my head in response while backing up and sitting down in one of thefortable chairs in the private booth.


    Yeah. You have to remember that this is a Primary tournament, so everyst student that is participating is the best of the best in whatever university theyre from.


    Of course, they wont all be on the level of the ones we fought in the final round of the Tower Siege tournament. But thats because all five of us there were from the top five universities, the primary studentspeting in that tournament having been taken out earlier on. So those four arent a good benchmark to judge by.


    <strong>Interesting why exactly do you all do these tournaments anyways? </strong>Tar asks, sounding slightly confused. <strong>I know arge part of it is for giving hope to the people, but shouldnt you all focus more on the demons than fighting each other in things like these?</strong>


    I raise a brow at that before lowering it again as I remember this is his first Interschool Tournament.


    While it isrgely a way to give hope and entertainment to the masses, it also gives the government and the other Guardians a way to learn who is important amongst the neing Guardians. Who they should look out for. And who they should send to the front lines.


    It is also a good way to train Guardians. Not only does it let us get used to fighting to the death with others, but it also gets us used to fighting contracted individuals with their own magics. And it gets us used to fighting in different situations against various different types of magic, many of which we may not be prepared for beforehand.


    And if they get to make a buck off of it, then you know they will. Its just how the government works, much less the stations broadcasting the tournament, and anyone else involved.


    <strong>Hmm, yeah, that does make a lot of sense, </strong>Tar mutters while appearing in the air in front of me and sitting down on myp. <strong>Guess you can always leave it to humans to think up these bizarre uses for things that others wouldnt have thought of.</strong>


    Yeah, humans are a rather innovative species. And very adaptable. And somehow both very trusting and very distrusting at the same time.


    <strong>That doesnt make sense, </strong>Tar says while looking up at me from myp. But I just shake my head and answer out loud, You and me both.


    He blinks in confusion at that before focusing on the battle again. And I do the same.


    You and me both.

 Book 2: Chapter 60: The First Round Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 60: The First Round Part I


    <strong>Somewhere in the Central Stadium</strong>


    Julian cant help but smile as he drinks his soda with a bowl of popcorn in hisp, his friends located around him simply chatting away about the tournaments. Ever since he became a Guardian, Julians life has improved by leaps and bounds. To the point that the only moments when he wished he were elsewhere, or that hed made a different choice at some point were the two times he almost died, once in each Fracture.


    And even then, those near death experiences led him to meeting her. Not that he has any feelings for her anymore.


    <em>If she were my age though maybe</em>


    Julian sighs at the thought before shaking his head and grabbing a handful of popcorn to stuff into his mouth as his friends Robert and Julie bothugh at something Larkin just said, the masses of people all seated around them drowning out most of theirughter with their own noise.


    <em>I wonder if she wouldve thought of me any differently if we were the same age?</em>


    You thinking about <em>her </em>again? Robert suddenly elbows Julian, almost making him spill his drink as he sputters out denials.


    He totally is, Julie says with augh, meanwhile Larkin just gets an amused look on her face.


    Julians silky silver fox ears flop down onto his head as he focuses on the battle currently going on in the arena, one between a man a lot of people recognize from thest tournament as Crim, and another man that not as many people recognize. A man who happens to be losing pretty badly.


    And Julian cant help but ignore the small wave of awes thate about from both Julie and Larkin, along with a couple other random people who see his ears.


    <em>Damned ears and tail, always causing me problems</em>


    Who do you think will win this tournament? Robert asks, the man sitting next to Julian and Julie in the bleachers.


    Before Julian can say anything, Julie immediately answers, Scarlet, of course.


    Both Robert and Julian turn to stare at her in surprise, but she just shrugs and says, Hey, our little Julian here isnt the only fan of hers here.


    Larkin snorts at that, meanwhile Julian just blushes at her words and focuses on the arena again.


    Well, I dont know, Robert says, turning his attention back to the screen as well. I know she is absolutely a top runner, but Im not sure about winning the whole thing. My money would be on Lost or Shifter for that.


    You know your parents would kill you if you actually b- Larkin begins only for Robert to say, I know, I know. Im not <em>actually </em>gonna bet on this. You should know that already.


    Julian sees Larkin once again raising a brow at Robert from the seat on the other side of Julian from Robert.


    All four of them go silent though when the battle on screen finishes and a certain wolf suddenly appears on it in the middle of a wastnd of Tartarus  something the demonology ss always shows each year. Apletely barren wastnd filled with nothing but demon corpses, red and ck soil, and dead trees with the asional hills and rocky cliffs from time to time.


    Julian perks up upon seeing her on the screen, only to immediately regret it when Robert shouts, Ha! I knew you still had the hots for her!


    I do not! Julian says in denial, ignoring the blush creeping onto his face.


    You should give up, dude, Larkin says while shaking her head, the girls long ck hair falling over her shoulder in the process. Shes like, four years older than you, right? Theres no chance. And Ive heard that she has no interest in romance anyways. At least not now.


    Julian frowns for a few seconds, only to sigh and slump down a little as he says, I know that already. I gave up on her long ago. Its just


    Hey, youre not the only one, Robert says while patting Julians shoulder. A lot of people fall in love with Guardians. Theyre celebrities after all, and most of them seem to look rather beautiful or handsome for some reason, so you absolutely arent the only one. He stops patting his shoulder and grins. Just keep it as a fantasy and not reality, kay?


    Julian snorts at that and shakes his head.


    Youd wonder if it were just some hidden qualification for the Guardians to be good looking Julie mutters, sounding vaguely saddened by that. But Larkin just shrugs and says, Well, there are plenty of Guardians who arent good looking like that. And I feel like a few of the fae might just focus more on the good looking ones since they tend to stand out more, you know what I mean?


    Yeah, guess that makes sense, Robert says, but they all go silent when the battle in the arena begins. And almost immediately upon the countdown hitting zero, Scarlet breaks off into a sprint with small amounts of red steam lifting off of her body as she zips across the barren wastnd, asionally running around some hills or cliffs here and there.


    If Julian remembers correctly, the only humans to have ever gone to Tartarus themselves were the five Knights, which is how theyre as powerful as they are today. So all of the magical realities that are on Earth using images from Tartarus are taking them directly from those Knights descriptions of the ces. Or even their memories, assuming the Knights let someone do that.


    And the ces that the Knights had visited werent exactly pleasant ces.


    <em>I kind of wish they had seen the cities and viges on Tartarus though, because those interest me more than any wastnd or forest would. But I think the teacher mentioned those mostly being controlled by noble demons. And the Knights didnt want to draw the attention of the Demon Lords, who are stronger than them. Even more so back then.</em>


    Julian sighs at the thought, only to quickly be enthralled when he sees Scarlet bursting around a corner to find the Conductor  a girl wearing a suit with the ck jacket in the back ring out into two points at the bottom as she holds a conductors baton. The type of thing hed often see band conductors waving around during a concert.


    <em>Now thisll be good!</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 60.2: The First Round Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 60.2: The First Round Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The very first thing I do in this battle after finding the Conductor is switch to my human ears. Because me fighting a sound based magic using Guardian while using my blood lycan ears is a very bad idea.


    And the second thing I do is rush at her as fast as I possibly can to make sure she doesnt have time tounch a mental attack on me with her Guided Song magic. A very annoying magic thatbines mind control and a much more brute force attack magic.


    But it can only work if shes given time to conduct the song, and only at further distances.


    The moment the girl sees me, she immediately begins conducting, an intense and yet eerie sounding harmony echoing around her as I rush in. A harmony that would likely be too loud for my blood lycan hearing. But my speed seems to surprise her, especially when I proceed to burn even more blood while also using blood boil and life drain on her to distract her, speeding up and making her mess up in her conducting. So she seems to just give up on the mind control entirely, instead changing her rhythm and the song itself to be purely intense, like a song that someone would hear in a battlefield scene of a movie.


    Here ites.


    Right when the song hits its peak, visible soundwaves of varying colors suddenly materialize in beat with the song, flying straight towards me. And I immediately begin to counter them with des of blood, only for the soundwaves to overpower my blood weapons.


    I grimace at that before burning even more of my blood to cross the rest of the distance to her even faster, making the soundwaves miss me in the process. The Conductors eyes then widen in surprise and fear at that, and she immediately backs up. But its toote as I make various daggers of blood between my fingers before throwing them in the middle of my lunge, making the daggers cut into her suit a little, drawing blood. Which is all I need to use blood siphon from here  a strategy Ive worked on since the team tournament.


    The girl winces as I yank out a muchrger amount of their blood than their wound would normally lose before drawing it towards my ws to empower them. All while I continue to press forward myself.


    Throughout all of this though, the girl continues her song, waving her baton around through sheer willpower and making the music hit another crescendo as even more soundwaves begin chasing after me from all sides. And this time, a red mass of soundwaves m into my side, making me cough out a mouthful of blood while sending me flying a few meters. But its not enough to keep me down as I quickly push through the pain of what Im pretty sure is a couple broken ribs thanks to pain diffusion to climb back to my feet and thenunch myself straight at the girl again.


    She openly gapes at me, almost pausing in her song due to her surprise at my tant ignoring of my own injury. But I ignore her surprise as I take a more dangerous route this time of using blood diffusion, making a glowing red barrier appear above my body all over. And the barrier immediately shes when another soundwave strikes me in my approach, sending a wave of pain in the form of a pins and needles feeling all over my body from the rapid and sudden blood loss.


    I ignore this too though, as my blood diffusion skill diffused the impact itself, letting me continue pushing forward until I finally make contact with my shifted arm, tearing arge gash from her shoulder down to her waist, not having the time in this battle to care about any modesty at all. And to follow it up, I spin around while dodging another soundwave before kicking out at her leg and knocking her feet out from under her. Then I duck down under another soundwave and swipe my ws straight downwards, cutting open her windpipe entirely.


    Just secondster, the fog on the borders of the arena vanishes to reveal the audience of the stadium going wild, along with various screens above us, some of which are showing reys of the match. So I do the first thing thates to mind.


    I raise my shifted hand up into the air, my ws spread outwards in an intimidating disy before I clench my fist, causing the crowd to go even wilder in their roaring apuse and cheers.


    And there we have it! The young pup managed to win in an incredible disy of both intelligence and brawn! ck shouts, his voice echoing over the loud audience as the Conductors corpse vanishes and she most likely reappears somewhere in a private booth or a waiting room. Wherever the losers go. She first started out by locating the Conductor through her amazing senses before switching her ears and immediately trying to get close once she reached her! Then she began distracting her from her harmony with her various skills and finished things off by tanking a blow with her damage diffusion skill to get in close! Absolutely outstanding, and just what youd expect of our young pup!


    I cant help but frown up at thementators booth at his constant use of the term young pup when referring to me.


    Its annoying.


    <strong>I wonder if his choice of phrase to call you has anything to do with him knowing what you are? </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but wordlessly nod my head at that right before I find myself being teleported back to my private booth. The Knight then immediately moves ontomentating on the next battle that starts up afterwards.


    My frown grows as I narrow my eyes at the stadium for a few seconds before shrugging and exiting the magical reality for now. Because I need to eat. And the first day is only for the first round of the tournament. A round I just finished my part of.


    I cane backter to check out the rest of thepetition. But Im not gonna sit there through over a hundred matches back to back. Thatd just grow boring fast.


    And my stomach is starting to growl.

 Book 2: Chapter 61: Regret

    Book 2: Chapter 61: Regret


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After leaving the pod dock hub building, I make my way through the falling snow towards the top ss residential area while keeping an eye on my surroundings for any assassins or bounty hunters. Because there have been a couple of those over the past few days.


    Nothing more than nuisances though.


    Except that first one that is. But he was turned into a paste by a certain psychopathic squid man. One who happens to be my uncle.


    I never did hear anything on the news about that. So I guess the government covered up his actions.


    <strong>You also never talked to Aria about her being your cousin, </strong>Tar says, his voice echoing in my head as I walk through the snow-filled street sidewalk with my hands in my pockets.


    Yeah, that would be too much of a hassle. Its not like I can just say hey! Im your cousin! and not exin anything else. Not to mention that, considering how our parents raised us, I wouldnt be surprised if Aria has never even met White. And then theres the fact that she might even associate family in a bad way thanks to her father.


    Thats a random possibility though. No guarantees its true.


    For all I know, she could ept me right away.


    In the end, I dont have the time to worry about it right now.


    Maybe after the tournaments.


    My thoughtse to a halt as I feel a tingling at the back of my neck, making me stop in ce and look up at the ceiling of a nearby building to find the silhouette of someone standing there, just barely visible through the snow. But I cant make out any actual details of them beyond their long white hair and ck outfit.


    Who is that?


    They dont move from their spot on the roof, leading to me just staring at them for several seconds.


    Eventually the snow lets up just a little bit, revealing a bit more of them, only for them to suddenly vanish right after I catch a glimpse of their outfit.


    The heck? I mutter with a frown.


    From the glimpse I got, they were a woman with long white hair wearing a ck jacket over a ck shirt and pants. And they were just standing on the roof staring at me.


    Considering that they didnt attack before leaving, Im assuming theyre friendly. Or at least not an enemy.


    But one thing thats bothering me


    She looked very simr to me.


    Was that White?


    I stare up at the roof for several more seconds, the snow slowly growing stronger again before I eventually sigh.


    If it is her, then Im disappointed in her even more than before.


    I continue walking over to the top ss residential area again putting any thoughts of my birth mother out of my head.


    <strong>A Roof Several Buildings Away</strong>


    Amelia knows that she shouldnt have done that. But she had to see her again. And more importantly, she felt like she owed her to let her at least see her, even if they couldnt talk.


    Out of nowhere, Amelia hears a very annoying and very familiarugh that has her eyes narrowing as she turns around to find a man cloaked in shadows wearing a ck cloak standing behind her.


    I didnt take you for a coward, Whitey! ck says, not bothering to hide his mockery and amusement, being one of the few amongst those who know about the prophecy  an admittedly very small number  to be vocally against it, although more on a matter of his personal hatred of prophecies and anything of the sort. Oh, wait, yep, I kinda did.


    What do you want Will? Amelia asks, deciding not to bother with his taunts. Shouldnt you bementating on that tournament?


    Will Wright, the ck Knight of Humanity, creates a seat made out of shadows and sits down on it cross legged as he leans towards Amelia and says, I dont know, shouldnt you be looking after your own daughter instead of pawning her off on some rando because a prophecy told you to? And right when Amelias eyebrow twitches at hisment, he leans back again and adds, Besides. I have a shadow clone dealing with that.


    Amelia rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, the winter storm still growing stronger as the seconds pass. But she doesnt say anything in response to Wills words.


    Wait, are you actually regretting your decision? Will asks, his eyes widening in surprise before he bursts out intoughter, almost falling over backwards if it werent for a spear of shadows moving up to push him back into his sitting position. You have <em>nooo </em>idea how long Ive been waiting for this day! To be able tough in your face as you realize just how much you fucked up your own family by not going with your beloved <em>princes </em>n of raising her in Tartarus instead!


    Amelias eyes begin shining with an ethereal white light as she scowls at the man and waves her arm, sending a flood of white light straight at him, only for the light to pass straight through, bisecting the man and making his body vanish in shadows. Only for him to reappear several meters away with his hands on his waist as he leans forward and whispers, You fucked up, and you understand that now. No changing that!


    She sends another wave of null light at him, but he just does the same trick again and reappears elsewhere whileughing.


    Go ahead and get your anger out, he says in betweenughs as Amelia turns to stare at him without attacking this time. Because knowing how that girl is, I doubt shell ever forgive you. Her father? <em>Maybe</em>. If given a couple decades. But you? Nope.


    Amelias teeth grit at his jeering tone.


    But then Will turnspletely serious, catching her off guard, Ya know, I honestly considered taking her in myself. For a moment, of course. I wouldnt make a very good father after all. And Id rather not have you and her daddy going after my hide. Will frowns. You really shouldve ignored the prophecy. At least Leonidas was willing and wishing to break the first part of the prophecy. He then shakes his head and clicks his tongue. I really hate prophesies. Because so many of them are self-fulfilling, and others require a cost.


    Will suddenly breaks apart into more shadows that fill the area as his voice echoes across the rooftop, <em>And the price paid for this one was one paid by both you and your daughter. Her future apathy and distaste for you ruining your chance at a family, and any and all of her struggles up till now.</em>


    The shadows then begin to slowly dissipate as he leaves behind onest sentence.


    <em>Enjoy the life youve wrought for yourself, Amelia. Because its the one you decided on, whether you regret it or not.</em>


    Amelia clenches her hands into fists before a few tears begin to leak from her eyes.


    Then she vanishes as well, leaving the rooftop barren of anything but the falling snow.

 Book 2: Chapter 62: Sleepover and a Plan

    Book 2: Chapter 62: Sleepover and a n


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    So after that, I walked right up to him and said, Im sorry, but I dont think my boyfriend would take kindly to you asking me out, Belle finishes saying before she, Emily, and Denise all break out intoughter. You shouldve seen his face afterwards! It was priceless!!!


    Ill bet! Denise says while almost crying. Meanwhile Emily just flops onto her back whileughing her little head off.


    After a few seconds of this I remove one of my hands from the pillow I was hugging before raising it slightly and asking, So, why exactly are you all here? In my room?


    The girls all turn to me  each of the three wearing pajamas as we sit on my enormous bed inside of my equally enormous room in my suite at the university  before Belle says, Well, were here to celebrate you making it to the second round of the Primary tournament, of course!


    I narrow my eyes slightly, shifting awkwardly due to not being used to wearing my usual sleeping attire of a pair of shorts and a tank top while others are around. Said others being these three who randomly showed up at the front gate asking if they could stay over for the night and bothering the poor guards stationed out there.


    If you wanted to celebrate, you couldve done it through another training session, or at least a meal, I say, ignoring the way they flinch slightly at the mention of a training session with me. A sleepover is


    Just the right thing to go with before a big, important second round! Belle says with absolutely no shame in her voice as she sticks out her chest in pride. Meanwhile Denise and Emily just start giggling at that.


    I sigh in defeat.


    <strong>Youre not gonna win this, you know that, right? </strong>Tar asks.


    Unfortunately.


    Oh, and tell your little fae friend to go away, Denise suddenly says, making me blink and Tar mutter, <strong>Huh?</strong>


    Shes right, Belle says, this is time for us girls! Hes not allowed! Weve already kicked our fae to the wayside after all!


    Poor fae.


    You dont have to go Tar. Not if you dont want to.


    <strong>Uh, I, uh, think Im just gonna go, </strong>Tar says.


    Please take me with you.


    <strong>Sorry, but thats not possible, </strong>he says without any hint of actually meaning it in his voice. Then his presence in my mind fades away.


    Damnit. Was worth a shot.


    Time for n B then.


    I lie down on the pillows of the bed and draw up a random nket located nearby since a certain trio is blocking the sheets. Then I close my eyes and begin trying to go to sleep while acting like theyre not here.


    So do you have anyone you like Denise? Belle suddenly asks as I try to go to sleep. Although, I cant help but pause for a moment to hear her answer out of pure curiosity. Only to hear her say, Michael, making my eyes widen in shock.


    Holy shit. That was unexpected.


    The other two dont seem to think that way though, despite the squealing theyre doing thats hurting my wolf ears. So I do the sensible thing now of switching ears and then reaching under the bed to grab some of my earplugs.


    My eyes fly open again and I jerk upwards, throwing the nket off when I feel someone poking my wolf ears, only to end up scowling at Belle who is just grinning at me and waving.


    No touchy, I tell her, my scowl not letting up as I reach over to grab the earplugs, still keeping my eyes on her of course, before pulling the nket over my head this time to protect my poor ears from human hands. Or rather, Belles hands.


    <strong>So how was your sleepover? </strong>Tar asks, suddenly returning as Im staring up at the brackets for the second round from my private booth, briefly wondering how the heck hes been managing to get inside of the magical reality without entering a pod dock. Something I probably shouldve wondered about before.


    Actually, thats beside the point right now.


    You abandoned mest night! Even if they didn''t do anything after Belle poked my ears that one time. In fact, I''m pretty sure they left after I fell asleep.


    The group probably only came to make sure I didn''t stay up training or studying or something...


    <strong>I have no idea what you may be referring to, after all it was impossible to bring you with me, </strong>Tar states rather shamelessly as he appears in the air and floats down onto myp. <strong>And the void in between the Farshore and the mortal realm is also connected to magical realities, so fae can enter it just like we enter the mortal realm. I guess you could say that the magical realities are like a third realm added in the in-between like the other two, but only temporarily. And the people in it areplete copies of what they are in the mortal realm but with their own realities ced temporarily in the copys body. Then their reality is moved back into their real form while the copy of them is destroyed when they leave the magical reality.</strong>


    I blink at him, my mouth opening and then closing twice in a row before I close it and focus on the brackets again.


    It looks like my second round battle will be against a Guardian known by the name of Isaac Taylor, otherwise known as Supersonic. And it doesnt take much research after learning their name to find that they use lightning magic and have incredible speed.


    Kind of like one of those twins that I fought during the ranking tournament at Lions Heart.


    This


    My eyes narrow as I find that they do use weapons, unlike that twin. And theyre a terror with them in conjunction with their superspeed and lightning magic.


    This could be annoying.


    Wait a second. No.


    I grin as a nes to mind.


    Yeah, that could work very nicely.


    <strong>Youre doing that creepy grin again, </strong>Tarments while ncing up at me from myp. <strong>The one that makes people who are looking at you think youre insane.</strong>


    Shut up, Im in the middle of plotting, I say out loud, not stopping grinning in the process.


    The tanuki snorts at that but goes silent.


    This n will work quite well.


    Now I just have to wait till our battlees around. Since we dont appear to be till the middle of the round this time.


    Guess I can just watch the other matches till then.

 Book 2: Chapter 63: The Second Round

    Book 2: Chapter 63: The Second Round


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I spend a rather peaceful couple of hours watching battles before Im teleported into the arena myself. And surprisingly, I immediately find my opponent standing directly across from me, the two of us being on arge, circr tform over the top of a volcano.


    Supersonic is wearing a ck and yellow jump suit that honestly looks rather odd and a little too tight, but the moment the countdown reaches zero, they turn into a blur of ck and yellow lightning. Before they can attack me though, I immediately activate blood diffusion. And just secondster, I feel something impacting me in the back, only for it to be reflected by the blood barrier thats formed around me thanks to blood diffusion as I feel pain akin to pins and needles spread throughout my body when my blood is burned. But I immediately react to the attack by turning around while shifting my arm and wing at the direction of the attack, my ws quickly finding their way into flesh just secondster.


    The man grunts as he is sent flying with five gashes running across his side, only to manage to stop himself and then reenter his superspeed mode right afterwards.


    I slowly flex my ws while narrowing my eyes and focusing on my hearing, but his speed is too great for me to be able to pinpoint his location, unlike thest incredibly fast Guardian I fought. Hes also managing to keep up his speed despite his wound. Something that has me a little impressed.


    Not sure if hed be able to do that without the 50% pain reduction granted by the magical reality though.


    Once again, I feel a sudden impact as he strikes at me with what I now see is a knife, this time going straight for my side. And once again, it is deflected by my blood diffusion. But unlikest time, this impact is followed by a bolt of lightning that has me gritting my teeth as is sets my blood burning like crazy.


    I quickly strike at him again, only for him to dodge part of my hit, leaving my ws to only graze him this time as hes ready for it. A hits a hit though, and he finally starts to slow down now. Not enough for me to determine his location, but hopefully enough to help.


    Damnit, I hate that I cant use blood boil or life drain without him being in my line of sight!


    A few seconds pass this time before he suddenly rushes at me directly from the front, making my eyes widen as I instinctively sh out with my ws at him. And I do manage to score a clean hit on him, drawing five bloody lines straight from his shoulder to his hip. But Im not the only one whonds a major blow.


    His knife goes straight into my chest and through one of my hearts, shattering the blood diffusion barrier in the process.


    My eyes sh and my jaw drops open before I cough out a mouthful of blood on the guy who is now grinning, thinking that he won.


    I quickly remove that thought from his mind by using blood boil and life drain on him while also reaching for his neck with my other ws, shocking him when my ws wrap around his neck. And without any hesitation, I burn arge amount of my blood to rip open his neck, ending the battle there.


    Then I begin to copse onto my back, only to suddenly appear in my private booth before even hitting the ground.


    Fucking hell I mutter while bringing my hand to my chest to find itpletely back to normal without any injuries. Ill never get used to having my heart stabbed like that


    <strong>I would be more worried if you did get used to it </strong>Tar mutters as ck goes on and on about how Supersonic let his guard down too early and stuff.


    But I ignore the Knight as I slump into the chair at the center of my private booth before reclining it back and staring up at the ceiling.


    Hey,e to think of it, do blood lycans have two hearts, or do they have more than two?


    <strong>Blood lycans tend to have five hearts, </strong>Tar answers, making my eyes widen in shock as I sit up straight in an instant. <strong>Why are you so surprised? They also have more bone marrow than humans. All for the purpose of their regeneration and blood magic.</strong>


    Thats wow. I randomly thought of how Ill still be undergoing changes with every ascension and realized that it could be possible to get more hearts from them. But I didnt think they had <em>that </em>many hearts.


    <strong>Well, blood lycans have five hearts, wolf ears, their metallicized blood tails made from magic and not the System, a two and a half meter tall beast form that varies on their skill rarity, retractable ws and fangs in their lycan form, the ability to partial shift, and their enhanced regeneration, </strong>Tar says, stating one trait after another. <strong>And these are just the general traits that the regr blood lycans get, not including the etched skills of the Argus branch or the Royal Family.</strong>


    My jaw drops open, and I fail to find anything to say in response.


    <strong>Unfortunately Im not allowed to give out knowledge on other contractors skills, so I cant tell you what exact etched skills the Argus branch or the Royal Family has, </strong>Tar says while appearing on myp. <strong>But theyre very powerful. A lot more powerful than the other etched skills regr blood lycans have. Especially those from the Royal Family.</strong>


    Wow. Thats a lot.


    Wait a second, you said retractable ws? In their lycan form? Not just partial shifting?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar answers with a nod before he curls up and pokes at my stomach, seemingly telling me to lie back down on the reclined chair. So I do just that while frowning.


    Im not your bed, you know.


    He doesnt respond.


    I sigh before petting the furball on myp as I think about the information he just gave me.


    Guess Ill be getting retractable ws during one of these ss ascensions?

 Book 2: Chapter 64: News on the Class V Fracture

    Book 2: Chapter 64: News on the ss V Fracture


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I want to reroll, I grumble as I sit in my chair inside of my private booth while crossing my arms and ring at the brackets like that will change the free pass that I got making me skip the third round. This is unfair.


    Im pretty sure most people would be wanting the free pass, notining about it Allen mutters as he looks at me from his seat next to me with an amused look on his face, the man having randomlye by to visit at some point. Unlike the others who are all keeping their distance so that I can focus on the tournament.


    Thats exactly what Tar said, I mutter, not turning my re away from the brackets.


    We watch the battles going on in the arena for a few minutes in silence before Allen eventually asks, So your reality warp moved your heart? Or did it give you another one?


    I nce at him before focusing on the battle again and answering, I got a second heart.


    Impressive, Allen says, but I keep focusing on the battle.


    It is rather impressive. Or it would be, if it was actually my reality warp that did it.


    Reality warps often change more than just the exterior of a persons body, a fact that some people apparently dont realize. They can shift around the interior or even give them new organs, both ones that are normally in a humans and ones that arent. Just that its rarer for that sort of thing to happen. Especially for a second heart.


    But in reality, it was my awakening as a demon that gave me a second heart. Not my reality warp.


    I nce at him for a second before focusing on the battle again.


    Nows not the time to tell him. Especially not in a magical reality.


    Ill just stick to telling him about my heritage after the ss V Fracture.


    Anyways, the third roundsts for three hours, following which the fourth round will begin after an hour long break. And the fourth round will have already narrowed down thepetition to just thirty-seven participants. A much smaller number than the original two hundred and ny one.


    I cant help but feel bad for whoever had to organize the tournament though. Because 291petitors is not a simple number to separate into brackets.


    Hence why over half the rounds have a free pass given to one participant at random. Like the one I got this round that I would very much like to give to someone else so that I can fight some more, but thats not allowed.


    Unfortunately.


    I let out a sigh before resting my cheek up against my hand, my elbow resting on the chairs armrest.


    Just where did that tanuki run off to anyways? He just vanished out of nowhere at some point not too long after the brackets for the third tournament were announced.


    At least when hes around I can fill the time by peppering him with questions.


    By the way, Cynthia wants us to take you out to dinner tonight to celebrate if you make it into the fifth round, Allen suddenly says, making me nce over at him for a second before turning my attention back to the screen. Before I can mutter an okay to that though, he adds, And she was looking to buy you a dress to celebrate in.


    My head jerks back to look at him as horror fills my eyes and I immediately say, Denied. I am not going.


    He immediately beginsughing at that before shaking his head and saying, Yeah, I thought thatd be your answer. He then looks at me and winks as he adds, Dont worry. Dont tell Cynthia this, but you dont have to wear the dress she picks out. Juste in whatever you want to wear.


    I let out a sigh of relief at that while rxing. Thank you.


    Allen chuckles while reaching over and patting me on the head, his hand grazing my ears in the process and making me stiffen up while moving my head away.


    Oh, right, he mutters, the ears. Sorry about that.


    I narrow my eyes at him for a second until I realize it truly was an honest mistake and I focus on the arena again.


    Its nice to have someone who doesnt care at all about my ears. And Tar said that there are ways to lower the sensitivity of my ears, so thats good.


    Apparently the sensitivity of my ears physically is tied to how strong I currently have my hearing. So when I eventually learn to control my hearing and lower it, Ill be able to lower the physical sensitivity of my actual ears themselves.


    Which is a must have, since they could be an actual problem inbat. Especially after I lose my human ears.


    No one wants to be beaten by a dog whistle after all.


    Unless I get pain diffusion to a high enough level that I dont feel it anymore that is. Then Ill be fine either way.


    Actually, that makes me want to train pain diffusion more.


    <strong>Please dont go mutting yourself, </strong>Tar suddenly says, having apparently returned from where he went.


    Now why would I ever do that?


    <strong>You whatever, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding slightly exasperated. <strong>Anyways, I got some news. Youve probably already guessed this by now, but all of the Knights are contracted to royal fae. So the human faction of the fae just got together and had a meeting where they shared some intel amongst themselves. Intel that I normally wouldnt be able to tell you but can now because of this meeting.</strong>


    My eyes widen at that.


    Yeah, I kind of guessed that the Knights must be contracted to fae royalty. But what does this meeting have to do with what you can and cant tell me?


    <strong>Well, normally I cant tell you the whereabouts of other humans or demons without their permission, and this meeting gave me the permission to tell you some of that for a particr moment in time, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather happy about that.


    Thats good. Let me guess though, this moment in time is the start of the ss V Fracture?


    <strong>Yep, </strong>Tar says while appearing in myp and briefly startling Allen. <strong>White, ck, and Blue will all be in the capital city, Terra, at the start of the ss V Fracture, which will also be in the capital. Meanwhile Red and Purple will be on the front lines against the demons from Demon Isle. At the same time, various other ss IV and ss V Guardians will be moving to the city before the ss V Fracture takes ce to keep it defended and make sure to contain as much of the ss V Fracture as possible within the city. And there will be an evacuation of the city during the two weeks prior to the Fractures predicted opening.</strong>


    Oh, wow. Thats a lot.


    Good to know that there will be an evacuation at least. Im pretty sure a single ss V demon can shatter a buildings shield in just a single punch after all, so the Fracture will spread to the rest of the city almost instantly after forming.


    Although ss V Fractures are different from others. Because there arent any non-sapient ss V demons, ss V Fractures also have ss III and IV demons in them, with only about a hundred or so noble demons, and a couple n noble demons at most.


    Or at least, thats what was taught in demonology thisst semester happened in thest ss V Fractures.


    Come to think of it, did this predictione from Purple?


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before shaking his head and answering, <strong>No. I cant tell you who it came from.</strong>


    My eyes widen.


    It wasnt Purple? Huh.


    Thats a surprise.


    Wonder who made the prediction then?

 Book 2: Chapter 65: Blood for Blood

    Book 2: Chapter 65: Blood for Blood


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but grin as Crim and I circle around each other while in the middle of a dark cavern illuminated by nothing but some sort of glowing moss on the walls and my own glowing red eyes. But despite the darkness in the cavern, I can see pretty clearly in it. Not as clearly as I would see during the day, but clearly enough. Just like how I can see in the Fractures despite most of the lights being off in the buildings.


    A very convenient change brought about by both my awakening and my leveling up.


    Looks like were finally fighting, Crim says with a chuckle as we continue to circle around each other, both looking for an opening to attack. So lets make it a good one, eh?


    I raise an eyebrow at that, still grinning as I have both my arms ws spread out turned slightly towards him to be ready for any attack heunches. Meanwhile he has both of his arms turned into des of blood.


    Blood for blood, I state, making him grin as well.


    Then we both rush straight at each other while activating our various skills. I activate blood boil, life drain, and all of my otherbat skills. And at the same time, I feel a strange tingling sensation on my skin. But the sensation doesnt show any physical changes to my body. So I just ignore it, along with the other strange sensation in my body that doesnt appear to really be doing anything.


    Crim on the other hand clearly feels my skills effects as small bubbles of blood begin to pop on his skin and the man slows down because of it and the stream of life energy moving towards me. He doesnt stop though. Not even when he shes my own des of blood out of the air. des that Id sent flying at him during our charge.


    His eyes narrow on me as I close the distance by burning arge amount of blood at once before drawing my ws straight into the mans red metal armor that looks slightly like military gear from the old world movies and history books Ive seen. And the armor actually holds up for a second before I tear through it with another burst of blood sacrifice, making him grunt. But he doesnt let it or the popping bubbles of blood stop him from ignoring a de of blood that strikes at his armor, only managing to tear about an inch or so into him before its stopped by it, and swinging the de of blood at my arm.


    I grimace as the de of blood cuts through my jacket sleeve and into my arm by about an inch as well. And I jump back right afterwards, letting his arm dee out in the process as I focus on the wound.


    Crim has a skill that lets him corrupt the blood he touches, which means


    My grimace vanishes after seeing my wound, soon reced with a look of confusion.


    Keep your attention on the fight! Crim shouts, making me barely duck under the swing of his de, only to be kicked in the gut by his foot and sent sprawling a few meters away. I quickly climb back to my feet again with a frown.


    Why didnt his skill do much? All there was in the wound was a few dots of green in my blood that quickly began to drip out.


    Thats not how his skill worked in thest battles. He would quite literally turn entire chunks of their body a few inches wide green and ck from it.


    Crim seems to finally notice when I focus on him as well, judging by the look of confusion shown on his face while he stares at my arm that is revealed a little through the cut in the sleeve.


    A moment of silence passes before he mutters, A resistance skill


    I hide my surprise at that.


    Whats a resistance skill?


    <strong>Its a skill where someone has a resistance towards a certain type of magic, </strong>Tar answers right away as I keep my eye on Crim.


    But I dont have a resistance skill.


    <strong>Of course you do, </strong>Tar says, making me blink in surprise. <strong>All blood lycans have an etched skill giving them at least some sort of resistance against blood magic. Theyre one of the seven ns after all. It would be ridiculous if they were taken out by their own magic.</strong>


    I barely hold my mouth in ce, stopping it from dropping open.


    That that makes sense, but its something I wouldve been happier knowing before this battle than now.


    <strong>Oh, right, sorry, </strong>Tar mutters right before Crim rushes towards me again. And I meet him halfway, my blood ws covered shifted arm meeting with his arm de of blood. But thanks to my use of blood sacrifice, I manage to push him back further and further until he loses his grip and I send him flying. I then rush straight after him, not giving him a moment to recuperate as I catch up and m my fist into his gut before he can evennd, knocking him into the ground directly beneath me.


    Before I can take further advantage of this though, he transforms his legs into des and kicks out at me, stabbing an entire inch into my leg and making me drop to one knee.


    I grunt while raising my head again to see Crims foot heading straight for my head, so I back up, only for his foot to enter my chest and barely miss one of my hearts.


    Not *cough* again, I mutter while coughing out a mouthful of blood onto him that has him grimacing. But pain diffusion lets me ignore the pain as I activate blood retribution and grab onto his leg. And almost immediately, he loses his bnce, falling t on the ground while groaning as waves of red steam lift off of his body. Youd think people would learn not to do this by now.


    Considering what happened with Molten Angel.


    He tries to pull his leg out from around my corbone, but I keep it there before raising a foot of my own just barely and using blood ws on it while wing at the underside of his leg, making him cuss at the pain.


    I then repeat this a couple times wherever I can reach in this awkward position and with a de in my chest until he finally keels over and dies, sending me back to my private booth to copse into my chair.


    Damnit, Im not gonna have to get used to being impaled, am I?


    <strong>At this rate </strong>Tar mutters, leaving his statement open ended.


    I groan at that.

 Book 2: Chapter 66: Furball Traitor

    Book 2: Chapter 66: Furball Traitor


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The second day of the Primary tournament draws to a close about an hourter after thest battle ends with Lost being victorious, following which all of the remaining participants  me included  appear on arge tower at the center of the stadium. And then cks voice begins to echo across the stadium, And that make for our neenth participant moving onto the fifth round! But before we close out for the evening, why dont we have a little looksie at the brackets for the next round!


    The brackets for the round suddenly appear in the center of the stadium above us, with the screen seemingly changing its orientation for every single person depending on where youre looking at it. A much nicer feature that is only used for the third day Primary tournaments brackets and rules for some reason.


    <strong>If I had to guess, its because it should cost arge amount of mana to keep it running, </strong>Tar suddenly answers my thoughts. <strong>After all, theyre basically ovepping millions of realities for the screen to show each and every person a different orientation of the screen for them to see it clearly at whatever angle theyre looking at it from.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    That makes sense.


    My thoughtse to a halt when I find my name on the brackets and the person Im fighting.


    The Blind Prophet.


    Okay, this could actually be a problem.


    <strong>Why? </strong>Tar asks, sounding curious.


    Because the Blind Prophet uses time magic.


    <strong>Oh, </strong>he mutters, making me frown in response.


    Oh is right. From what I watched him do during thest round, he uses martial arts and was big on them even before bing a Guardian. And his magic in particr has arge focus on foresight and somehow seeing a few seconds into the future. So its incredibly difficult to actually hit him.


    In addition to that, he also has some typical time magic spells like making his opponents skills lose time left on their usage, slowing or speeding his opponents up for a brief period of time, and other skills of that type.


    Overall, a pain to deal with.


    Now that is all for tonight! To our extraordinarypetitors, sleep well tonight! Because you will need all the rest you can get for your battles tomorrow! ck shouts before the screen showing him vanishes and all of uspetitors are teleported back to our private booths.


    I quickly find Allen sitting in the chair next to mine already looking at me when I return.


    Were going to the training hall at the base, Allen says, not even giving me a chance to speak. Because you need to work on your martial arts.


    My eyes widen with a hint of fear.


    And more importantly, he says, his eyes narrowing. You need to work on not getting impaled.


    Tar immediately startsughing in my head at that.


    Its only happened three times, so it- I begin, only for Allen to cut me off with a re as he asks, Three? I only remember two. When did this third one happen?


    My mouth opens for a second, only to close again.


    Oops. I forgot that at the time my heart was cut in two, the emergency power was out.


    Wait, it was cut in two! Right! Not impaled!


    Tar snorts.


    No, no, I was only impaled two times, I say while nodding my head and correcting myself.


    His eyes narrow and he simply repeats his question, When did the third one happen?


    I avoid his gaze for a moment before debating the sess rate of me escaping this conversation in my head and finding it to not be very high.


    Tar suddenly appears in the air next to me andnds on top of my head, making my ears twitch when he brushes against them. But before I canin about his choice ofnding, he answers Allens question, <strong>It was during that ss II Fracture she was in over a month ago. One of her hearts was cut in two.</strong>


    I quickly shake my head to fling him off before ncing at Allen to find his eyes narrowing with a dangerous glint to them.


    Oh really? he asks while standing up from his chair and towering over me in height. Before we start this training, how about we go over the fact that you <em>conveniently </em>left that bit of news out when we arrived to save you that day?


    I purse my lips, trying very hard to not send a re the tanukis way because I know that wont help my situation. Plus I can do itter.


    Something to distract hime on, there has to be something


    Oh right!


    So what about that dinner? Are we still going? I ask trying very hard to change the topic.


    And failing.


    Yes, after our training, Allen says, now please tell me why you thought having your heart cut in two wasnt an important detail during your debriefing back then.


    Well, shit. That didnt work.


    And Tar is a traitor. A filthy furry traitor.


    Tar justughs at that while flying around my head with a smile on his tanuki face, clearly enjoying my situation.


    Thats it. Youre not allowed to lie down on me or sit on me for three days.


    He stops flying immediately at that before giving me puppy dog eyes  err, tanuki eyes? Sad tanuki eyes.


    Im waiting, Allen says, bringing my focus back to him to find the man standing just half a meter in front of me, the man being nearly five inches taller than me and looking rather intimidating as he stands there with his arms crossed. But then a frightening grin creeps its way onto his face as he adds, Why dont we have a nice talk about this during training, youngdy?


    I gulp at that.


    Oh, and we can invite Cynthia while were at it! Im sure shed love to hear about this as well, Allen says, making shivers run down my spine.


    <strong>It was nice knowing you, </strong>Tar says somehow sounding smug.


    Remember. No more using me as a pillow or a bed for three days.


    I immediately feel his sorrow at that sh through our bond before he cuts the bond off somehow and says, <strong>Why would I care about that? </strong>and harrumphs.


    This is not going to be a fun night.

 Book 2: Chapter 67: Destroyer

    Book 2: Chapter 67: Destroyer


    <strong>The Rooftop of a Building Near the Dragons Hall Restaurant</strong>


    Lauren was not happy when she heard of her most recent assignment. Not happy at all.


    But now that she is standing on the rooftop of a nearby building looking down at the window of the restaurant her target is at with her family? Pseudo family? With her loved ones, her interest raises ever so slightly. Not enough for her to consider this job anything but a waste of time, but at least she might get to have a little bit of fun.


    More fun than simply disintegrating a pathetic little girl whos only at ss I and her ss III or IV bodyguard.


    At least, that was what she was warned there would be by her employer. That all the previous Rogues vanished without a trace, along with any other organization that put out a bounty on her head, leading her current employer and the most recent in the string of people cing bounties on her head to believe her to have a ss III, or most likely ss IV bodyguard. Nothing she couldnt do herself with ease, considering her status as a ss V Rogue. One of the most powerful ones to boot.


    Which is exactly why Lauren cant help but feel that this job is a waste of time. But none of the other ss V Rogues even bothered considering the job, and she owed the origin of the bounty a favor.


    <em>Looks like it was actually two ss IV bodyguards. This could be a bit more fun than I thought at least. Not much though.</em>


    Lauren raises her terminal to her mouth and speaks into it, Destroyer here. Target is in sight with two ss IV Guardians. Cipher and Frost. Preparing to engage.


    A few seconds pass as the woman stares at the wolf girl through the window before she gets a response.


    <strong>[Terminate the target. Try to leave the ss IV Guardians alive but terminate if you must.]</strong>


    Lauren grins at that.


    <em>If thats the case, this could be fun.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    No. You will stay in the in between.


    <strong>But Scar! </strong>Tarins, clearly wanting toe out and sit on myp as we eat.


    No.


    I said you will not be using me as a pillow or a bed in any way for the next few days and I meant it. That training was rough as hell, and it was all your fault.


    <strong>Well, actually </strong>Tar begins, only for me to raise a brow at the air in front of me. <strong>Shutting up now.</strong>


    Good.


    My brows furrow as I feel that annoying itchy feeling at the back of my neck, making me once again look out the window.


    Scarlet, how do you feel about your match tomorrow? Cynthia asks from next to me at our table.


    I answer without taking my eyes off of the window, Itll be a tougher battle than the rest of them, but I think I should be fine.


    Thats good! Especially with our training earlier, she says, adding a bit of a scary note to her words in the second half of that. But I actually ignore it as I narrow my eyes at the window. And by now, both she and Allen seem to have noticed as I find them both tensing up out of the corner of my eye.


    Allen, Cynthia asks, and he nods his head while reaching into his coat at the same time as she does. Then they both stand up from their chairs while activating their magi-tech armor. So I do the same, the three of us startling the other diners.


    All of them clearly recognize at least one of us each, so they begin getting up and heading for the door, likely suspecting a battle. And theyre not wrong to do so. Because just secondster, the massive window of the high ss dining area is shattered inwards and a woman who I recognize from the newsnds in the room, one of her fists mming into the ground and making a crater there in the process.


    The woman is wearing a full set of ck and red armor, with the armor itself being simr to the magi-tech armor Cynthia wears in terms of material, but very different in style, with the womans armor simply being form fitting armor with no cloak. And when she rises to her full height, she actually appears to be a little shorter than I expected. But that doesnt change how intimidating she is with her pitch ck eyes each with a single ring of crimson in them, bothcking any sclera.


    Destroyer, Cynthia says, her voice sounding incredibly tense as she and Allen slowly move around to stand in between me and the woman. What are you doing here?


    Destroyer. A ss V Rogue. Someone who is far stronger than any of the other Rogues that Ive seene after me, all of which having been killed somehow. A Rogue who uses one of the most dangerous magics.


    Destruction magic.


    Shouldnt that be obvious? the woman asks while putting one hand in the pocket of her magi-tech armors pants. Im here to fulfill a job.


    And what job would that be? Allen asks despite his voice and nce towards me giving away that he already knows.


    Destroyer tilts her head and raises a brow before shaking her head and muttering, This isnt turning out to be as much fun as Id thought with a sigh. She then looks directly at me and deres, Im here for the brat. Give her to me, and youll be spared. Otherwise, dont me me for any harm that befalls you.


    I narrow my eyes at that.


    <strong>This isnt good, </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but agree.


    Theres no way Allen and Cynthia can take on a ss V Rogue who is said to be over level 1200. Thats at least several hundred levels above them.


    That isnt happening, Allen says while spreading his arms out and making a swarm of silver liquid cover them before forming some sort of gauntlets. And Cynthia quickly voices her agreement with him while emitting arge amount of cold mist, freezing the ground around her in the process.


    Meanwhile all of the civilians and a couple of ss II and III Guardians in the room have already evacuated, leaving us all alone. I dont me the Guardians for leaving us though, seeing as it would be a death wish to face Destroyer unless youre a ss V Guardian yourself  a stronger one at that  or a Knight.


    Destroyer smirks slightly and puts her free hand on her hip and cocks it slightly to the side as the young looking woman says, You really think you can take me? Thats kind of adorable. She thenughs, only to shake her head again a few secondster. No, Ill leave the two of you alive. But the girl wont be living to see another day.


    She then blurs from her position, only for Cynthia and Allen to blur from their spots as well, the three moving too fast for my eyes to even see. And not even three secondster, I hear two crashes, following which I see Allen and Cynthia both having been mmed into the walls of the restaurant with their magi-tech armor in tatters, the armors both being half destroyed and still covered in a lingering red and ck energy thats continuing to eat away at the armor.


    They both try to get up from the wall, only for the ck and red energy to suddenly dig into their legs, making them fall back down again.


    Destroyer reappears where she was at before, still with her hand in her pocket as she waves at them and says, Dont bother trying to get up. Ive temporarily destroyed the nerves in your legs. Theyll heal in about a day, so enjoy the rest of the show!


    She then focuses on me, and I immediately feel a chill run down my spine.


    Now its your turn, she says while taking a step towards me, only to pause when a woman suddenly appears between me and her. Destroyers eyes widen in shock as she clearly recognizes her before taking a step backwards, her hand leaving her pocket as she shouts, No what are you doing here?!


    The new womans voice slowly rings in my ears, a memory I will never forget.


    Dont you darey a finger on her.


    I feel both of my hearts almost stop.


    Its White.


    My birth mother.

 Book 2: Chapter 68: Failed Talk Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 68: Failed Talk Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    No matter how I look at her, White looks so simr to me it hurts. She has the same frame, about the same height, same long hair even if hers is stark white while mine is ck and red, same face, and even the same figure as me that Belle is alwaysplimenting purely to see me blush. Despite both me and Belle having about the same figures, even if I most of the time purposefully wear clothes that hide my body to not attract that sort of attention unlike her.


    Whites even wearing simr clothes wait, is that magi-tech armor? So even her magi-tech armor


    I cant tear my eyes away from the woman in front of me. Which is why I immediately catch it when she sends me a faint smile. One filled with regret, sadness, and a faint amount of happiness.


    A smile that vanishes and is reced with a sort of apathetic rage directed at Destroyer the moment she turns away from me to focus on the Rogue.


    My heart nearly stops at the sight of that smile. But it doesnt take me long to shake my head, knocking any and all of those thoughts away as I recover and take a step back.


    She abandoned me. Even if she does regret it, it doesnt change the facts. She abandoned me at an orphanage, leaving me to live a shitty life without any parents beyond the parental figures Allen and Cynthia eventually turned out to be. Leaving me to suffer the abuse that befalls orphans.


    Leaving me alone.


    This woman is not my mother. Doesnt matter if she gave birth to me. All that will ever be is a simple fact and nothing more.


    I scowl at her, only to shift my scowl to the Destroyer in front of her who is now currently trying to run towards the window. With very little sess as just secondster, before she can even take her third step, a white film of energy covers her entire body, freezing her in ce.


    For a moment, I debate simply standing here and watching, but I shake that thought from my head as I hurry over to Allen and Cynthia before helping them into a sitting position and ncing back at White and Destroyer.


    Wait, lets talk about this! Destroyer practically shouts as White walks around to her front while waving her hand up towards the security cameras in the room, covering them in a white energy that turns them off and more likely than not also wipes them of any recordings they were able to obtain of White. You dont have to do this! Just let me go free and Ill be your personal-


    The words Destroyer is saying cut off despite her mouth continuing to move. As if White just eliminated the soundwaves leaving her mouth.


    Destroyer, otherwise known as Lauren Hall. A ss V Rogue, the first ss V sent after <em>my daughter</em>, and a hitwoman for the Legacies Association, White says, listing various bits of information about the Rogue. But the mention of my daughter in such an emphasized manner has me narrowing my eyes. After I eliminate you, a ss V, there wont likely be anymore hitmen going after Scarlet. So theres no reason to keep you alive.


    Destroyers eyes widen in both shock and fright as she hurriedly nces between me and White, only for the white light covering her body to shine even brighter, making me wince and shut my eyes. Then I blink them open a couple secondster and find Destroyerpletely gone. Likely having been erased from existence.


    Scarlet White says after turning around to look at me, once again with that sad look in her eyes. And out of the corner of my eyes, I find both Allen and Cynthia seemingly trying and failing to say anything.


    I move closer to Allen to check if hes alright, only for White to say, Hes fine. Destroyer didnt just paralyze their legs, but she temporarily made it so that they couldnt speak either. Likely in some cruel form of entertainment of having them watch what she was nning on doing without being able to say or do anything to stop it.


    That has me sighing in relief.


    So theyre both okay.


    Tar suddenly appears in the air next to me before floating over to White, drawing my eye back to my birth mother.


    Hello Tarankar, its a pleasure to see you again, she says with a faint smile, vaguely surprising me with how she and him have apparently met before. And Tar answers by nodding his head. But I can detect a noticeable coldness from him. Especially when he says, <strong>Hello, <em>Amelia</em>.</strong>


    A few awkward seconds pass in silence as I look between the two.


    Eventually Tar continues, <strong>I see you began to regret your choice after all, just like he said you would. </strong>White visibly winces at that, making my eyes go wide in shock at the effect his words are having on the most powerful human being in the world. <strong>Not only that, but youre even breaking the rules you set in ce by talking with her now.</strong>


    Amelia purses her lips at that while avoiding his gaze, only to eventually make eye contact with him again as she says, I wont be telling her anything. The contact will be limited to just some conversation. So its not going against the prophecy.


    My eyes narrow at the mention of a prophecy.


    Please, <em>oh pleeaaase </em>tell me she did <em>not </em>abandon me for a <em>fucking </em>prophecy I really hate prophecies. Both in movies, and in real life. The things areplete bullshit. Half the time the events in a bad prophecy only happens because the people try to prepare or stop those events. And other times the things just end up being used as fucking excuses for someone to do something.


    And I also cant help but notice Tars ear twitching as if responding to my thoughts.


    <strong>That is even worse, </strong>Tar says, his eyes narrowing at White. <strong>You abandon her thanks to a damned prophecy and then decide you regretted doing it and try to talk to her again in the middle of it, not even finishing what you started?</strong>


    White winces again at that.


    I scowl at the woman.


    A prophecy.


    I was abandoned because of a prophecy.

 Book 2: Chapter 68.2: Failed Talk Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 68.2: Failed Talk Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The knowledge of that just washes over me and I cant help but lose my strength and fall to the ground.


    A prophecy. I was abandoned. Because of a prophecy.


    Nearly an entire minute passes in silence, the two seemingly not speaking and Allen and Cynthia staying quiet as well since they cant talk. Eventually I manage to life my head to look at White and Tar, just to find White looking at me with both longing and regret stered all over her face.


    I stare for a few seconds before my face hardens into a scowl and I finally climb to my feet.


    No, I state out loud, making a wave of sadness cross her face. No. Just no.


    I shake my head.


    If what you said to Tar is true, youre not even going to bother telling me what this prophecy is, I state while looking White directly in the eyes. Not that it really matters. Because its obvious this prophecy was more important to you than me.


    And my words actually make a tear begin to form at the edge of Whites eye. The strongest human in the entire world. Crying.


    You know what? I dont even care, I mutter, feeling a wave of relief wash over the sheer depression from earlier. I dont. I look down at my fist. Now I at least know who I am. I pause at that thought to look up, Actually, whos my father?


    She opens her mouth and then closes it again. So I turn to Tar, and he just shakes his head, apparently not allowed to tell me.


    Guess it doesnt matter then, I state, my scowl growing deeper. You may be my mother by blood, but the only person who has ever been a mother to me has been Cynthia. And thats that.


    White turns a sad look towards Cynthia, who is still unable to move. And I am very d that she doesnt seem to be showing any hostility towards her for that, because I didnt really consider that she might.


    Is there anything you need to tell me? I ask White while putting my hands in my coat pockets.


    White turns back to me, nods, and says, Yes. This should be thest assassination attempt on you. Especially after I deal with the organization behind Destroyer. But now that a ss V Rogue has been killed, the other organizations would have to be stupid to try anything else.


    Then you have my thanks for saving my life, I tell her, only to cut her off as she opens her mouth to speak, but this in no way makes what you did to me fine. And you are a long, <em>long </em>way from me ever forgiving you, if thats what youre hoping for.


    The woman stiffens up slightly at that before the tear on her face suddenly vanishes in a tiny white light as she nods her head. But right when Im about to turn towards Allen and Cynthia, she says, Please at least consider forgiving your father. He it was my choice alone to follow the prophecy in every way. He wanted to raise you himself, but She pauses with a conflicted look on her face before ncing at Tar, who shakes his head.


    Guess its something they arent allowed to say at this point?


    Stupid fucking prophecy.


    If he wanted to raise me, then why didnt he? Unless the blood lycan White was apparently seen fighting during thest ss V Fracture could it have been my father? But


    I dont have enough information toe to a decision on that.


    What I do know is that he hasnt evere to me since. Meaning either he cant, since hes on Tartarus and is a ss V demon, or he hasnt tried.


    I dont say anything in response to her as I turn to Allen and Cynthia before kneeling down next to them.


    How am I going to get these two out of here now? Should I call for help? Or


    The two suddenly disappear, making me blink in surprise before ncing at White who simply says, I used a magi-tech item to teleport them both back to your Associations base.


    Oh. That makes it easier.


    Could you teleport me as well? I ask while ncing around at the damaged building.


    I really dont want to deal with the aftermath of this alone.


    Of course, dear, White says, making my gaze snap to her as I scowl at her term of endearment. Which makes her flinch.


    Oh, right. One other thing.


    About the adoption, I state, making her flinch again before she answers rather stiffly, Could you wait a bit longer for that?


    My eyes narrow.


    Please? she pleads, tears beginning to form in her eyes again.


    <strong>The adoption isnt nned until after the ss V Fracture, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making White blink while turning to look at him. Then a moment of silence passes, following which she turns to me and nods, saying, Okay. I wont stop the adoption.


    That was easy?


    Why was it so easy?


    And why did she change her mind the moment he mentioned the ss V Fracture?


    Tar doesnt say anything. Although he doesnt avoid my gaze either. In fact, he even makes direct eye contact with me.


    Hmm. Guess its safe to say that something important will happen during that Fracture. Something rted to all this prophecy crap.


    I really hate prophecies. Theyre just stupid and were better off without them.


    White stares at me with way too much emotion on her face for a Knight. Knights are normally shown as the saviors of humanity, even if all of them are psychopaths and insane or just in touched or messed up in the head. Although a lot of people do know that the Knights dont really care much about humanity in truth. Theyre just depicted to care by the government.


    Blue is a psychopath.


    ck I believe has a bit of a split personality. One being yful and the other extremely cold and uncaring. And he only cares about messing around and having fun for one personality, and only benefitting himself for the other.


    Red is the very definition of a battle junky who literally <em>only </em>cares about battling on the front lines. Nothing more. Just battling. He will abandon people in trouble just to go fight hes so obsessed with it.


    Purple is mute unless she is stating a prophecy or talking to people she cares about. And she doesnt bother herself with regr affairs. Which still makes me wonder why she bothersmentating on the Interschool Tournaments when she does. Because she doesnt exactly speak during them. Just sits there as someone elsementates.


    Although her particr type of divination magic gives prophecies that are set in stone and unchangeable. Which are prophecies I don''t mind as much as the self-fulfilling or changeable prophecies. But in general, there are like half a dozen different types of prophecies, each of which are given by different types of seer Guardians. Since not all Guardians give the same types of prophecies. Which makes me wonder what type of prophecy this one is.


    I''m guessing the one who gave the prophecy was most likely a very high level, so it was probably specific. But that doesn''t answer what type of prophecy it is. And considering how tightlipped they are about it, no one is likely to answer me any of this.


    And White White basically erased her existence from the world except for her title, knowledge of her power and magic, and some basic information. Mostly because she has social anxiety from what Ive heard.


    But this isnt what I expected from her. Not at all.


    It doesnt change things though. Whats done is done.


    I cant see myself forgiving her. But I myself know that I have a flippant personality sometimes and my thoughts on something can change on a dime, and I ept things too easily, so who knows. <em>Maybe </em>I might be able to forgive her in like a century.


    Would you mind sending me to my suite at the campus? I need to get some rest for the tournament tomorrow, I state while crossing my arms under my chest. And she quickly nods before hesitating a moment and saying, Good luck, Scarlet.


    I nod back. And then I find myself in the bedroom of my suite at the university.


    Time to go to sleep. Theres been waay too much crap to deal with today at least tomorrows battles will be therapeutic in that sense.


    I smile at the thought.

 Book 2: Chapter 69: Questions and Answers

    Book 2: Chapter 69: Questions and Answers


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up feeling a lot better in the morning before putting on a sports bra and changing out my tank top and shorts for regr pants and a shirt, along with whatever else I need just to move around my suite. Then I quickly head over to the living room of my suite where I make a quick breakfast while listening to the TV.


    Breaking news! The Guardians Research Team has broken up! a reporter deres on the TV, making me pause for a moment as I make scrambled eggs. As ofst night, the Guardians Research Team, which has always been the leading figure on any and all Guardian and System rted research, has been broken up after the Teams head researcher retiredst night to live in the countryside!


    I blink in surprise at that before shaking my head and focusing on my food again.


    The remaining researchers have all gone their separate ways or retired as well, leading us to believe the TV continues droning on, the reporter making up some ridiculous theories as to why this has happened. But in all honesty, Im pretty sure I know why.


    It was probably Whites doing. She probably threatened them into breaking up, since the ss Vs in the team are too powerful for her to just erase the memories of. And ss Vs in the famous team are too high profile for her to erase all the memories and details about in the entire world.


    Or at least, thats what I heard before. That its a lot easier for her to erase details about herself from others memories than details about others.


    <strong>It was her doing, </strong>Tar suddenly appears in my living room, startling me for a moment before I return to making my food again. <strong>I wanted to ask you something.</strong>


    Go ahead, I state, not taking my focus away from the food.


    Not really sure why Im making my own meal right now when it would be a lot more efficient to just go to the cafeteria.


    Guess Im just not in the mood to deal with people right now?


    Probably that.


    <strong>Last night, you sounded pretty mad at your mother, </strong>I nce at him for a moment at his use of the term mother before focusing on my food again.


    Was I? I ask with a frown.


    Tar floats around me and returns my frown as he answers, <strong>Yes. You didnt notice? Because you seemed to get really angry about the prophecies and what she did, only to suddenly turn apathetic over it</strong>


    Oh. That.


    You remember how I mentioned that Im bad when ites to identifying and expressing emotions? I ask out loud, still focusing some of my attention on my scrambled eggs. And after I see Tar nod his head out of the corner of my eye, I continue, Well, some emotions are even harder for me to identify and express than others, with the absolute hardest emotion being anger. So a lot of the time I supposedly feel angry, Ipletely fail to identify the emotion and instead feel ufortable. Then I just kind of nk out and my anger turns into apathy instead. Or at least, thats how Id best describe it. Its a little hard


    <strong>I understand, </strong>Tar says while floating over to my head, only for me to duck out of the way.


    No sitting on me, remember? Iment, not stopping in my food preparation.


    The tanuki floats in front of me with a sad look on his face, but I ignore it. So he continues talking, <strong>You dont understand the emotion youre feeling, so when that happens, you just default to apathy instead. That would also exin a bit as to why youre so epting of whatever situation youre in all the time</strong>


    I nod my head at that.


    Its easier to just deal with the situation and then move on rather than try to figure out how I feel about it andin after I do. Especially since Ill probably have dealt with the situation by the time I figure out how I feel about it. Most of the time. A lot of the time.


    Okay, some of the time.


    But Im getting better at all this! You shouldve seen me a few years ago. It was much worse then.


    <strong>Hmm, </strong>Tar hums while eyeing my shoulder like he wants to sit there.


    No.


    I eventually finish my food with the tanuki watching me the whole time before going to the table and eating it. Then immediately realizing that it really wasnt enough before I go to the fridge and grab a bunch of fruits to eat instead.


    After returning to the couch, I grab the remote for the TV and set it to y some music instead of the news. And then I nce at the clock, finding that I still have another two or so hours before the tournament begins.


    It only takes me about twenty minutes to get to the pod dock hall from here, so I have plenty of time.


    <strong>Plenty of time for what? </strong>Tar asks while floating over andnding on the back of the couch.


    To ask you what you talked about with White.


    He freezes for a moment before rxing and muttering, <strong>Oh. That.</strong>


    I know there are things you arent allowed to tell me. Things both you and White arent allowed to tell me. But at least tell me what you are allowed to tell me. Please?


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before eventually answering, <strong>Okay.</strong>


    I smile at that.


    Thank you.


    <strong>Ill warn you though. There isnt much that I can say, </strong>Tar says, not affecting me in the slightest since Id kind of expected that. <strong>Here we go then. As you can suspect by now, a prophecy was made by someone. But what you probably havent realized by now is the severity of this prophecy. Unfortunately, I cant tell you anything about the prophecy itself. Just that it was entirely centered around you, and it was made right after you were born.</strong>


    I grimace at the mention of prophecies again. Those things are really annoying. The number of times humanity has done something just because of a prophecy since the start of the Demonic Assaults  more often than not ones Purple made  are too great to remember off the top of my head. And they always led to worse living conditions for orphans, for lower Tiered citizens, and just worse life in general judging by the history books. But living conditions werent what the prophecies were meant for.


    They were meant to keep humanity alive.


    And they seeded.


    <strong>I feel like youre probably underestimating the severity of this prophecy in question, but I cant emphasize how important it is without leaking out too much </strong>Tar mutters, making me narrow my eyes slightly at his sneaking that part in there for me. <strong>Oh, and one other thing I can mention freely.</strong>


    I tilt my head at that while snacking on some strawberries, my incredibly long hair that really needs a haircut falling over my shoulder in the process. Too bad the hair grows at like three or four times the speed it grew before I awakened. Probably something to do with my regeneration.


    <strong>Even if your mother is terrible, you have a grandfather on your fathers side, and he was absolutely against everything your parents nned. Against youing here, against them abandoning you, against everything, </strong>Tar says, almost shocking me into dropping a strawberry onto my shirt.<strong> In fact, if he knew it was going to happen, he wouldve stopped it no questions asked. The man truly cares about you a lot. And for good reason, too. Although I cant state the exact reasons. So you do have a family member that cares about you absolutely.</strong>


    I stare at the tanuki for several long seconds, not saying a word in response.


    <strong>Scarlet? You okay? </strong>he eventually asks, making me numbly nod my head as I resume snacking on the strawberries.


    I have a grandfather who actually cares about me?


    Wonder what hes like

 Book 2: Chapter 70: An Unexpected Visit

    Book 2: Chapter 70: An Unexpected Visit


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After that, Tar doesnt have much else to say outside of the fact that apparently the spot for the orphanage to be set up and for me to be raised was picked to be a ce that wouldnt have me ending up in a Fracture. Some sort of prophecy prediction of if I was raised there, then I wouldnt end up in any Fractures until I was ready.


    Everything else is apparently forbidden for him to say. Either due to the prophecy, or due to the king of the fae himself.


    And speaking of the king, the guy is supposedly in on the prophecy but also not in on it at the same time. Like, he knows that the prophecy exists, but he doesnt know most or any of the details about it aside from the very end goal of it. Or something like that at least.


    A little surprising, but not really something I care much about beyond the restrictions the king is giving Tar. Annoying restrictions that keep me from learning everything right now.


    Oh, and the friend of Tar whose contracted partner is the one who told Tar where to find me? That was apparently my fathers fae. Meaning he does know where I am, but likely cante to find me. Or he just decided to abandon me as well, just like White.


    No one will tell me anything about the guy though, so I cant reallye to a conclusion there. And it doesnt help that there are probably around a hundred demons who could be my father, since ording to Tar, the Argus branch of the blood lycans is prettyrge. And all of the demons in the branch have the etched skills, including the mythic one even if they havent unlocked it through the achievements needed.


    I sigh at that thought before finishing off thest strawberry and getting up from the couch.


    Time to head out. Maybe if I get to the pod dock hall early, it wont have so many fans waiting there to greet me like there were yesterday.


    Stupid Primary tournament making me even more famous at our college than I was before.


    Not that it wasnt to be expected. I <em>am</em> representing our university in this tournament after all.


    But still. Doesnt mean I have to like it.


    I sigh again, putting those thoughts out of my head as I go back to my room to get ready for the day beyond just breakfast and questions.


    I slump down in my chair at the private booth with a groan of mental exhaustion, having just made it past who knows how many fans waiting outside of the stadium in the magical reality. Much less the ten or so people who were waiting in the snow an hour and a half early for me to show up at the pod dock hall.


    Do these people not have anything else they need to be doing?!


    Seriously!


    <strong>Being a celebrity justes with the territory of being a highly talented Guardian, </strong>Tar says while trying tond on myp, only for me to grab him by the scruff of his neck and toss him away. Which doesnt stop him from speaking. <strong>So you better get used to it.</strong>


    Yeah, yeah, I know. And no sitting on me. How many times do I have to tell you this?


    <strong>I was hoping you would forget, </strong>Tar openly admits, making me narrow my eyes at the tanuki as he sits on the armrest of my chair instead,pletely ignoring my look.


    You are the most shameless tanuki Ive ever seen in my life, ya know that? Also the only one, but we ignore that fact.


    <strong>Im a fae, not a tanuki, </strong>Tar denies my statement without even looking at me, simply looking out at the stadium that is quickly filling with people.


    No, Im pretty sure youre just a tanuki calling themself a fae. I mean, what immortal creature from another dimension would go using a neen-year-old girl as a bed and chair? Doesnt that hurt your pride at all? And what about when you-


    <strong>ck is here, </strong>Tar cuts me off, making my eyes narrow even further.


    Oh, no you dont! Youre not getting out of this conversation that easily!


    Wait, ck is here?


    I face forward to find ck standing just a meter in front of my seat.


    Oh, right. ck is here.


    The understanding of what that means finally hits me a secondter when he smirks, making me flinch as my eyes widen.


    Why the fuck is ck here in my private booth?!


    Youre probably wondering why Im here, ck says while crossing his arms and standing tall, his shadow covering me.


    No shit.


    Well Im here to tell you that unlike that deadbeat mother of yours, <em>I </em>am perfectly happy to help you! ck says, sounding quite proud of himself as he stands there in front of me wearing a ck cloak shrouded in shadows with some sort of shadowy leather armor beneath it. So just ask me whenever you need assistance, and I wille to help! I blink in surprise at this before opening my mouth, only for him to cut me off, But only twice. Anymore and itd be annoying.


    I blink again, wondering how I should take that.


    Hes obviously in his yful personality right now. But from what I understand, the guy swaps personalities on a dime. Just at random with no warning.


    And Id rather not see his other personality.


    Anyways, he says before waving at me, thats all I wanted to say! So have a lovely tournament! And gooood luck!


    He then vanishes in a veil of shadows that quickly fades away as well, leaving me staring nkly at where he was just standing.


    Several seconds pass in silence. Then those seconds turn into an entire minute before I nce at Tar and ask, What just happened?


    The tanuki just shrugs his little tanuki shoulders.


    I turn back to where he was just standing, only to notice him on arge screen in the center of the stadium, already having returned to thementators booth.


    Huh.


    Why would he offer me his help?


    Im willing to guess that he knows about the prophecy, but why would he bother helping me?


    Also, he didnt even leave any sort of contact information, so how would I even ask for help in the first ce? Its not like ck has any public ways to contact him. Hes just known for showing up at random, and people are expected to take advantage of it to ask him or say whatever they need to at the time before he vanishes again.


    <strong>I wouldnt put much stock into that mans words if I were you </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but lightly nod my head.


    But I will keep in mind that offer of help he made.


    <strong>Of course, </strong>Tar says, nodding his head. <strong>He may not be reliable, but he is honest.</strong>


    Yeah, the information on him online suggests the same.


    Just gotta remember his offer whenever I see him next. Assuming I need help then. Although it wouldve been nice if he had actually given me time to think about it while he was still here. Because Im not sure if Ill even be able to see him again to trade in that favor.


    Wait a second


    Tar stiffens up.


    I narrow my eyes at the tanuki.


    Right. We were in the middle of something, werent we?


    Tar vanishes from the private booth.


    Seriously? Such a coward.


    We <em>will</em> talk about thister.


    Tar doesnt say anything.


    I snort while shaking my head.

 Book 2: Chapter 71: The Blind Prophet

    Book 2: Chapter 71: The Blind Prophet


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The rest of the time before the round passes by in a sh and soon enough I find myself in the arena facing off against the Blind Prophet. And this time the arena is different. This time the arena is an actual arena grounds on the bottom level of the stadium with no mist wall blocking us off from the audience, making it so we can actually hear the audience. Just with them being a bit muted so we can focus on the match.


    Which is very different from the norm so far.


    Another difference is that this round we have no time limit for the battles, unlike the five minute time limit for the previous rounds battles. So we can fight for as long as we want without having to worry about the time limit ending.


    Although I cant help but wonder what theyd do if the time limit did end during one of those matches, since it never actually happened, nor was it exined.


    Doesnt really matter now though. Not as I watch the man standing over a dozen meters away from me wearing a simple white and purple robe with a purple blindfold on his head covering his eyes.


    A few seconds pass with neither of us moving, the ck stadiums center being filled with nothing but the cheers of the audience and a faint breeze as we stand at opposite ends of it.


    Eventually the man straightens up slightly before bowing, not surprising me in the least since hes done that at the start of every single one of his matches so far. And I decide to return the gesture because why not.


    His lips quirk up slightly as if he can tell I did it  which he probably can through his premonition or something. Then we both immediately sprint towards each other, each activating skills along the way.


    By the time we reach each other, I have my arm shifted, hands covered in blood ws, and my vitals in blood armor with ayer of blood diffusion over me, meanwhile he has a faint purple glow shining off of his body, and an even brighter oneing from underneath his blindfold. But my eyes narrow as I see him rushing towards me while not seeming to do any actual attacks. Just plunging headfirst with his arms trailing to the side.


    And just as expected, the moment my ws get near his face, he fluidly avoids my attack while spinning in a smooth circle and sending a kick around towards my side. I dont let him though as I stomp my foot into the ground, cracking the ground in the process before turning around and raising my arms, creating two tes of blood armor in the process.


    But by the time I finish preparing, hes already stopping the kick and backing away.


    I grit my teeth while lowering my arms.


    Annoying. Very annoying.


    We continue going back and forth for a while, neither of usnding a single hit on the other despite my use of every skill I have. And throughout this process, Im sitting here wishing very much that my stupid blood boil and life drain skills would work on him. Because the guy has some sort of skill thats making him immune to those types of attacks.


    This guy really is the definition of a nuisance in battle.


    And the cheering crowd isnt really helping. Although its not hurting either, since theyre very muted from here. So I can still clearly hear every footstep and breath and even heartbeat made by the Blind Prophet.


    Eventually I get sick of our little game and jump backwards before summoning various blood weapons to keep him at bay as I summon forth my blood shadow. And just as I thought, he tries to take advantage of my weakness from the blood loss, only for him to be beat back by the various weapons as he repeatedly dodges them, not making any actual progress towards me.


    After I finish summoning my blood shadow, I wince, feeling the blood loss from both it and my minimal use of blood sacrifice this fight.


    I very much prefer a straightforward fight.


    And with that thought in mind, I straighten up, using pain diffusion to ignore the difort brought about by my blood loss as blood regeneration quickly works to restore my blood. Fortunately I was using blood sacrifice little enough that blood regeneration was able to mostly keep me from really losing much blood. So within a minute of watching the Blind Prophet avoid my manifested weapons, Im already back to fighting shape again with my blood shadow standing next to me while wielding a spear.


    Of the various weapons Ive trained with over the past months, the spear is most likely the best one in this situation. Its mobile and has a good reach, making it great to catch him up when he tries to dodge out of the way of our attacks.


    Allen also went over the Blind Prophetsst battles with me and worked through strategies alongside Cynthiast night in our training. Before the whole Destroyer thing happened. And he agreed that the best way to deal with the Blind Prophet is to overload him with too many attacks simultaneously for him to dodge.


    Which means going all out with everyst one of my skills, including my blood shadow and my blood manifestation skill, arming it with a weapon as we both attack it at once. Not to mention the rest of the blood weapons sent flying through the air at the same time.


    Out of nowhere, the Blind Prophet jumps backwards, away from my blood weapons before simply standing there.


    With his blindfold on, I cant really tell what hes looking at, and it makes it even harder to figure out what hes thinking. A very annoying problem.


    He just stares at me  I think  for several seconds, my blood weapons floating through the air between us. And right when I think hes about to rush towards me again, he raises his hands and says, I surrender, making me blink in surprise. At the same time, the audience just suddenly goes silent.


    My mouth parts open for a second, only for me to end up back in my private booth again.


    What just happened?

 Book 2: Chapter 72: Lost Versus Zero

    Book 2: Chapter 72: Lost Versus Zero


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I stare nkly in front of me for a few seconds before cks voice echoes throughout the silent stadium, Absolutely amazing! It looks like the Blind Prophet saw far enough into the future with his foresight that he realized he had no chance at beating our young pup! So he surrendered to avoid the fight entirely!!!


    Silence fills the stadium for a little bit longer, only for it to be filled with a very conflicted sounding crowd.


    I was really looking forward to battling him it was supposed to be my therapy afterst night!!


    <strong>Most people dont go into battle as a form of therapy </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him.


    Even if we didnt get a great battle as we were expecting, there are still the next battles! So give it up for the Scarlet Wolf, who is now one of the ten participants of the quarter finals! cks voice echoes out over theints and cheers of the crowd, making theintse to a halt before being reced with cheers themselves. And next up, we have a long awaited battle between Zero and Lost!!!


    Now <em>that </em>gets the crowd to the level of ear shattering volume again as the two students in question appear in the arena far down below.


    Hmm, okay, this could make up for that disappointment of a battle. Maybe.


    Right when Abigail begins to prepare some of her skills, including a mental energy barrier and several weapons made out of mental energy around her, Zero calls out, Hey, would you be interested in-


    No, Abigail cuts him off before he can even finish. Then she tilts her head and asks, Do you just ask that to every pretty girl you find? Or is it just the strong ones?


    Zero blinks at both being cut off and questioned before shrugging and answering, Only the strong ones.


    A lot of boos go through the stadium at that. Although I cant help but notice a lot of squeals as well from girls who seem to be interested in the guy.


    Thats Im not really sure how to take that. But it doesnt really matter.


    I know that he asked one other girl out during the tournament as well, but I didnt realize he was just asking out every good looking girl who can fight well. Although the other girl he asked out was another one of the top runners suspected to reach the semi-final round on those betting sites. Before he defeated her that is.


    <strong>Wait, you actually checked out those betting sites? </strong>Tar asks, sounding surprised.


    I focus on the screen without answering.


    <strong>Actually, that makes sense </strong>Tar mutters before appearing in front of me and narrowing his eyes. <strong>Considering how much you love money, I wouldnt be surprised if you bet on yourself!</strong>


    I avert my eyes from the tanuki.


    Dont know what youre talking about the gambling site is a great website for gathering good intel on the other participants.


    <strong>Then why arent you looking me in the eye? </strong>Tar asks, making me focus on his eyes again. <strong>It doesnt count if you look me in the eye after-</strong>


    Hey, look! Theyre starting!


    I look past the tanuki to focus on the battle, putting his usations aside.


    <strong>Youre totally betting on yourself </strong>Tar grumbles before sitting on the armrest of my chair.


    I focus on the arena, ignoring the tanukis words that are absolutely not true.


    Tar snorts.


    The battle starts out rather swiftly with both Zero and Abigail creating des in the air, one of them making des of ice and the other des of mental energy that are glowing with an eerie purple light. And the des quickly begin to sh in between the two primarily magic using Guardians. But Zero doesnt leave it up to that as he pushes his palms out and makes that same wave of icy energy that he sent at me before go straight towards her.


    Abigail narrows her eyes and the purple energy coating her body brightens before she suddenly begins to float up into the air, making my eyes widen slightly.


    She never flew in any of her previous battles guess she was hiding it for the tougher matches.


    Zero narrows his eyes as well before cutting off his skill, letting the rest of it simply pass by underneath her while he raises one of his hands to point at her, following which dozens of des of ice manifest around him and fly straight at her. Meanwhile her eyes begin to re purple, and arge wall of purple energy appears in front of her with the rest of her mental energy weapons flying towards him, blocking half of the ice swords, and letting the rest of them shatter against her barrier.


    Impressive, Zero says that same thing he said to me when we fought.


    Abigail just nods, only for her eyes to start shining with a bright white light as she raises both of her hands to point at him, her hands also shining with that same light.


    Oh no you- Zero begins, only for his eyes to re with a purple light as he drops down to his knees with one hand grasping at his head and mutters, Fuck


    Looks like she used that mental spike skill of hers that lets her very quickly attack a targets mind. A rathermon skill amongst mental magic users. Although a brief attack and not a very damaging one.


    And to prove that point, Zero begins to climb back to his feet again a few secondster while creating the same massive storm of ice and snow he was gonna use on me before I smashed him with a ball of blood.


    Both of the powerful skills rage on, the white light shining from Abigails hands growing brighter and therge storm above Zero slowly turning into arge spike pointing towards Abigail. And after several more seconds of the two skills building up, they both release, shooting straight at the other and making a loud explosion ring out when they sh despite the mental attack mostly ignoring the tornado, only dispelling some of it as it passes through.


    The tornado on the other hand explodes against her barrier, shattering it and making the storm spread out, covering everything and making the result of the battle impossible to tell.


    Everyone in the audience goes silent, simply watching and waiting as the icy mist and snow clears, eventually revealing Abigail coughing out blood with both of her arms frozen solid, along with Zero who is lying t on his back with a nk look in his eyes.


    And the winner is Lost!!! ck shouts, making the audience go crazy.


    She might be trouble. No, scratch that. She will be trouble.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar mutters.

 Book 2: Chapter 73: Bonds

    Book 2: Chapter 73: Bonds


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next couple battles of the fifth round end up taking about the same amount of time, with the first one after Lost and Zeros being between Shifter and a female student titled the Phantom from a higher ranked university with quantum magic  a rare type of magic. One that lets the user basically phase out of our reality halfway and do other stuff that can phase through shields and attack directly at their target. Kind of like a phantom or a ghost.


    Of course, despite her rare magic, she still loses to Shifter, who proves why he and I are evenly matched in the betting sites with some of them even believing him to most likely win the thing. Although just as many believe me to be the most likely winner.


    The other match that I watch is between Molten Angel and a man who everyone has kind of seen as a bit of a ck horse so far. His title is Rebound, and his magic is actually something called Redirect. But no one can really tell much about his magic besides how it allows him to alter the directions of a lot of attacks and even move some of the wounds on his body.


    A really confusing magic overall, but he somehow managed to beat the Molten Angel despite it in a disy that still has both me and the audience confused.


    I frown before finding the man and the dead Molten Angel disappearing from the arena as theyre reced with the next pairing. Neither of which are people I care much about since theyre both rtively low on the betting site. And when I watched their previous matches, there wasnt much that stood out as a challenge for me.


    My thoughts are interrupted when I hear a bell toll from the door.


    I nce at it for a moment before grabbing the device given to me for the magical reality and checking the camera outside to find Allen there. So I open the door, letting hime inside as the door closes behind him.


    Morning Scarlet, he says with a wave, so I wave back and turn back to the arena again.


    He walks over and summons another chair next to me to sit down. Then we just watch the battle that starts for a little while in silence.


    It isnt until the battle ends and one of them wins that Allen finally speaks up beyond his initial greeting, So, aboutst night


    I nce at him before sighing and saying, Yeahst night.


    Neither of us say anything for a few more seconds.


    So about the adoption Allen begins, but I quickly cut him off with a smile as I say, White said it was fine as long as it was after the ss V Fracture.


    He looks surprised by that. So surprised he just stares at me for a few seconds before eventually muttering, Oh. Well, thats Thats good!


    I nod at that, my smile growingrger in the process.


    It is, I say while feeling a small lump building up at the base of my throat. One that Im not entirely sure what is about but think its because of my emotions. It is.


    But why would she Allen mutters with a frown, only to nce at me to see my smile, making him pause for a moment before he smiles as well. Never mind. We can wonder about itter. His smile suddenly growsrger. Now we have something else to celebrated!


    I tilt my head at that, still smiling as I ask, What was the first thing?


    Well, your victory in this tournament, of course, he says with a wink and an amused smile on his face. I just shake my head, still smiling.


    Then another buzz sounds from the door, making me bring up the device again, only to find Aria and her butler standing there in front of it to my surprise.


    I quickly open the door, and the girl immediately runs over to me before sitting on myp and hugging me while eximing, Scarlet!!


    Both Allen and I chuckle at her actions. Meanwhile her butler just bows to us all from the doorway and says, I will take my leave, young misses. If you require anything, just call and I will arrive within the minute.


    I blink at that before nodding and shutting the door after he leaves. Then I focus on Aria and ask, So how has your shooting gone?


    She makes a sour face at the mention of themercials she was shooting all day till now, only to bury her face in my chest as she says, It sucked.


    Allen straight upughs at that, bringing my attention to him as I pat Arias back only to find him actually leaking tears from his eyes. So I ask, What are youughing at?


    And his immediate answer is, How much you look like a big sister right now!


    I blush at that before ncing at Aria to find her suddenly tightening her hold on me.


    At some point over the time Ive known Aria, Ive mostly stopped being ufortable with her touch entirely. Which is a good thing. A very good thing.


    Although it doesnt seem to have affected my difort when touching others.


    Is it because Aria is rted to me? That whole pack mentality thing the blood lycans have? Does that even work when she isnt a blood lycan herself?


    <strong>It does, </strong>Tar states, sounding slightly grumpy for some reason.


    I narrow my eyes at the air for a moment before hearing him grumbling something about letting Aria on me and not him.


    That almost has me snorting in amusement, but I hold it in.


    The tanuki is jealous of a nine-year-old girl.


    Adorable.


    He snorts while turning to focus on the battle from his ce on the armrest.


    Im d, Allen finally says after having calmed down, eyeing me with a smile.


    About? I ask, ncing at Aria to find her peeking her head away from my chest to look at Allen.


    Im d you met your cousin, he says while nodding his head at Aria, making her bury her face in my chest again to his amusement. Both for your sake and hers. Because she only seems to act like a normal kid when shes with you.


    Oh really? I ask while turning my focus to her, just for the girl to start squirming at the attention. Interesting.


    She really is adorable though.


    I raise my head to look at the arena again to find that the battle thatd started around the time Allen walked in is now over and its moving on to the next battle.


    One that I actually do care about.

 Book 2: Chapter 74: Payback is Sweet

    Book 2: Chapter 74: Payback is Sweet


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Thats Allen mutters, and I nod my head.


    Another of the ck horses for the tournament. A girl about the same age as me named Elizabeth An with an inhuman appearance. She has a mouth full of sharp fangs with pitch ck eyes and sharp, ck ws. And she has a rather unique type of magic called miasmic corruption.


    A very dangerous magic that is not to be mistaken with Emilys corruption magic.


    While corruption magic focuses on anything corrosive and deadly to a biological body, miasmic corruption is different. It instead mutates and twists the body, changing it.


    And the best body to use miasmic corruption is one already mutated apparently. At least, thats what everyone is saying because of her reality warp.


    The girl is probably the closest human being to an infection-based demon if Im being honest. Her ws are coated in a type of venom that will twist both humans and demons alike into things very much not human or demon. Although its not immediate and can be healed through magic. And there needs to be enough venom in a body to do it, since a very small amount can be fought off with some mutations around the source of the injury.


    Allen and I both frown as we hear the audience going silent at the sight of her. Which goes to show how popr Guardians with magics like hers are.


    A rather sad fact, but our world really is rather cruel.


    Instead of getting fame like she probably expected after bing a Guardian, she got scorn and fear instead. Regardless of if shes risking her life to save the people.


    Although considering what Ive personally seen of this girl, shes probably not doing that. Just fighting to grow stronger is the impression she gives me. Just like arge majority of the Guardians if Im being honest.


    And no different from me in that regard.


    Actually, in the other thing too. Since if the humans of Terra knew that I was a half demon they probably wouldnt look at me very kindly anymore.


    Who knows though. Its very hard to judge the popces reaction to anything.


    Interestingly enough, the boy shes fighting  someone who is the same age as us at a nce and I believe uses some sort of enhancement magic  looks frightened by her. And she hasnt even moved yet.


    His magic is not well suited against hers I mutter, quickly finding Allen nodding in response.


    His magic requires him to get up close and personal and use martial arts to fight. Hers relies on getting close and attacking him as well, particrly with her ws as she has some skills that enhance the venom and strength of her ws. Kind of like my blood ws in a way.


    After a few seconds of the audience silently staring, the first time in the entire tournament so far that theyve been quiet for this long, ck shouts, And it looks like were off! guebearer looks to already be getting ready to end the Iron Monk right out of the gate!


    At the same time, Elizabeth rushes forwards to attack the Iron Monk, only for the man to flinch as he sees the girls ws be coated in some sort of sticky greenish ck substance that I know I certainly wouldnt want getting into my body. But he quickly prepares himself with reinforcement spells after the brief hesitation, making his skin turn into iron before he blocks her strikes as a loud ng noise echoes out in the process.


    I feel Aria shifting in myp, bringing my attention back to her, only to remember that Allen had mentioned her being my cousin right in front of her. But she didnt react at all.


    Does that mean she already knows?


    Aria? I ask quietly, making her look up at me, the girl having started watching the match at some point as well. Did you hear what Allen said earlier?


    She blinks for a second before nodding and answering, Yeah.


    I stare at her for a second, kind of wishing she would give me more than a simple yeah, but then realizing that she wont be.


    So you already know how were rted? I ask in a way that could be misunderstood if she doesnt know.


    Aria nods with a very faint smile while tightening her grip around me, Yeah, were cousins.


    So she does know.


    How did you know that, if you dont mind me asking? I ask out of pure curiosity as I nce at the match to find the Iron Monk losing rather miserably. Which was to be expected.


    Aria tilts her head slightly before resting her head on my chest again to watch the match as she answers, Mister Roger told me after the first day we met.


    I stare at her with my mouth agape for who knows how long.


    Shes Aria has known about us being cousins longer than I have? The heck?


    My head jerks up to look at Allen at the sound of a snort before I find him covering his mouth and looking the other way.


    Hesughing!


    And to make matters worse, I see the tanuki very pointedly looking at the match with his eyes closed while taking deep breaths. Until, of course, a chuckle leaks through into my mind.


    Even the damned furball isughing!!!


    I almost instinctively cross my arms at this tant rudeness before I remember the girl currently sitting on myp blocking me from doing that.


    You know what? Fine! Laugh away!


    Tar startsughing in my head.


    I didnt mean that literally!


    He justughs even harder.


    Damnit, Im notedic relief


    I sigh at that before focusing on the battle again, just to find guebearer  a rather colorful title for a Guardian to have  finally defeating the Iron Monk, who is currently ck and blue. Literally.


    The sight of his mutated ck and blue limbs is honestly a little disturbing to look at. And for a brief moment, I consider covering Arias eyes. But when I look at her, I already find her having turned her attention to Tar, not paying the battle any mind anymore.


    Tar takes a moment to notice her attention, and by the time he does, she is already reaching for him before grabbing the furball and squeezing him to her chest with a happy look on her face.


    I pat her on the head with a smile as I say, Tar certainly makes a good hug pillow, doesnt he?


    She looks up at me and nods with a very faint smile on her face, not letting the squirming tanuki free.


    I cant help but grin at the tanuki when she looks away.


    Payback is sweet.

 Book 2: Chapter 75: Guardian of the Stars

    Book 2: Chapter 75: Guardian of the Stars


    <strong>In a Private Booth somewhere else in the Stadium</strong>


    Astra watches the final match of the fifth round close up, neither of the participants in the battle being of much interest to her. So before the match even finishes, she turns her attention to her children and their team.


    You <em>know </em>shes pissed that he surrendered, the girl going by the title of Mystic Guardian says with a snort, making the othersugh from their ce seated a few meters away from her.


    Probably, her son says, sounding both amused and exasperated at the thought.


    From everything shes heard from her children about the girl  Scarlet Asger  she sounds quite interesting. And quite reckless as well.


    Absolutely someone she wants her children to know, but not necessarily someone she wants on their team. Particrly because of how reckless she seems to be.


    After a few seconds, Astra shakes her head and focuses on the battle again, just to find it ending with the two students being sent out of the arena.


    <em>I shouldnt think about their friends based on their capabilities. Theyre friends. Thats all that matters.</em>


    Despite these thoughts, Astra cant help but subconsciously consider the benefits of her children getting to know Scarlet. Since it would likely give them a boost in both poprity  at least for Emily, considering Michaels whole being in a team of women issue  and connections.


    Astra nces at her son at that thought.


    <em>If he was building a team, couldnt he have at least put a guy in it besides himself? Even if I know hes not like that, and his team knows that it still doesnt look good to the public.</em>


    Astra sighs again as she realizes that shed already gone back into that habit. But then she cant help but narrow her eyes when she hears that damnable ck Knight of Humanity shouting, Are you all ready for the quarter finals!!! following which the crowd goes wild for the man and he shouts, Then lets seeeee the brackets!!!


    Arge ck and gold square appears majestically in the air above the stadium showing off ten different students, each with a picture of them framed in a rather extravagant looking frame in the shape of a lions head along with some of their basic information such as their capabilities, their magic, Association, university, and so on. All information anyone can get simply by going to the government site and looking them up.


    Basically all the information that really matters except for their level, which no one is supposed to know outside of the Guardian themselves and their Instructor if they have one.


    And at this point, very few people are actually surprised by the extraordinary capabilities shown by Scarlet on the screen, so there arent anywhere near as many reactions from the crowd about it. But despite that, there are still some reactions from those who never bothered to look into the girl or watched the Tower Siege tournament.


    <em>I still find it hard to believe despite seeing it with my own eyes</em>


    And it looks like the first round will beeee. ck says, ying on the dramatics as a zigzagged line suddenly impacts the screen drawn between Scarlet and Lost. The Scarlet Wolf versus Lost! A match many, and I mean <em>many </em>people have been looking forward to!!!


    Astras eyes widen slightly as she finds herself vaguely surprised that the tournament hosts would pit the two highly popr and powerful Guardians against each other in just the quarter finals instead of the semifinals which she was expecting.


    The crowd goes absolutely wild as ck continues, Starting now, the remaining rounds will be different in various ways!! The rest of the brackets will <em>not </em>be revealed until each match before it ispleted, and the semifinal round after the quarter finals will be a free for all until only two students remain!!!


    <em>Interesting. So thats what theyre going with this year?</em>


    Every year they do something different, so no one outside of the tournament hosts know exactly what the semifinals will be for the year.


    And the crowd seems to absolutely love this turn of events, even if its not much of a solo tournament if theyre allowed to team up in a free for all.


    Lets see how your teammate does against an offensive mental magic user, Astra says offhandedly to the team sitting in the room, making them go silent. But despite their silence, she notes a faint look of confidence on their faces. Confidence in their friend. In their teammate.


    <em>Or I guess they arent really teammates anymore. Wasnt she going to ascend after this tournament ended?</em>


    Astra certainly hopes so. Because regardless of how reckless the girl is, she seems to bring danger to whatever Fracture she enters somehow. Or at least ends up in dangerous situations in them.


    And Astra cant figure out why or how.


    <em>Does she just have some sort of skill that affects karma and fate or something? But she uses blood magic, so that shouldnt be possible.</em>


    Her thoughts are interrupted when ck deres, Now, lets get this quarter final round underway!! following which the two girls are sent to an arena that is in the form of the top of a veryrge tower with fog surrounding it, making the ground around the tower impossible to see. In fact, the fog covers everything all the way up to a couple floors from the top of the tower. Meanwhile the entire magical reality changes to be the middle of the night with a full moon hanging high in the air.


    The crowd goes crazy about the battlefield and the sight of the two girls already beginning to prep their skills for the fight on top of the tower as some snow begins to fall around them, along with a faint breeze.


    Even Astra cant help but feel her attention fully drawn into the battle, and shes one of the seventy or so ss V Guardians in the world. Not one of the Knights, obviously, but still a ss V Guardian in her own right.


    <em>This will be very interesting. Very interesting.</em>


    Astra nces at the team in the booth before focusing on the battle again when she finds both of her children absolutely focused on the arena as well.


    <em>Lets finally see just how strong the girl is. Because if she can handle even a mental magicbat focused Guardian, then maybe, just maybe I might consider offering to take her in as an Apprentice.</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 76: The Wolf and the Lost Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 76: The Wolf and the Lost Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but nce at the half a dozen clones of Abigail made out of mental energy standing around her at the ready to attack.


    Since when could she summon clones?


    <strong>Its possible shes been hiding the skill till now, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>Or she just bought it before this fight.</strong>


    Damnit, this makes thingsplicated. My original n was to summon my blood shadow right before she uses that signature skill of hers, as I know shes gonna try using it. And Ill let my blood shadow take the blow since shes always open to attack on a cooldown after using it.


    But with these clones of hers


    <strong>Dont change your n just yet, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes narrow right when we both begin manifesting des in the air above us. <strong>Since she has six clones, each clone is most likely a lot weaker inparison. She should also has less control over them than you have over your blood shadow due to their numbers.</strong>


    Oh? Thats good then. I can continue as nned.


    Both me and Lost send our des at each other, the des shing in the air and letting mine ever so slowly push against hers.


    Right. And my power capability is Tier A, so my magical skills are stronger than hers even on the same level.


    Speaking of her level though, I cant determine it at all. Is that because she doesnt use mana?


    <strong>Youre correct, </strong>Tar says, making my frown grow deeper.


    Thats annoying.


    I begin sprinting straight towards her at the same time as her clones rush towards me, and the moment one of her clones reaches me, I bat its calf aside when it tries to spin around and send a kick straight at me. And to both my and Abigails surprise, the forearm I use to block the kick simply cracks the clones leg while sending the clone flying away from me.


    Huh.


    That thing was weak.


    I hear Tar snorting in my head.


    Hey, its not my fault I was expecting it to be strong!


    <strong>Scarlet, youre a half demon with strength quite a bit greater than the average human Guardian fighting against weaker clones of a mental magic user who likely has eitherpletely average or even below average strength, </strong>Tarys it out for me, making me blink for a moment before I grin.


    So its time to punch some clones!


    <strong>Yes, that it is, </strong>Tar says with more than a little amusement in his voice.


    Then a wave of pain and white noise assails my head for a few seconds before fading again, almost making me drop to my knees.


    Fuck, I mutter, wondering just how much pain that must have been for it to get past pain diffusion and the fifty percent pain limiter to cause that much. But I quickly react to a kick being sent my way by a clone by swiping my shifted arm away from my head towards it, sending the thing flying with a crack going across the things torso.


    I then raise my head to scowl at Abigail, who looks rather shocked that I was able to react to that hit despite her little mental spike attack  or at least thats what Im assuming it was.


    <strong>Well, now youve experienced a mental attack, </strong>Tar says bluntly. <strong>How do you feel?</strong>


    Like I dont ever want to be hit by another one again.


    <strong>Understandable, </strong>he says while sending me the feeling of nodding in a sagely manner.


    I ignore him as I activate blood sacrifice and begin tearing apart the clones, briefly taking note of how they dont seem to be affecting Abigail very much. Meaning that her clones dont cause her mental bacsh like mine.


    <strong>Well, your clone is a lot stronger than hers, </strong>Tar says, which has me wanting to smirk in my moment of pride.


    Until another mental spikees, making me actually growl out loud at the pain.


    Thats getting annoying, I growl after finishing off thest clone and turning my focus solely on the girl.


    Shes not preparing her signature skill yet, probably because she knows I wont give her the time to finish it. And if she misses or fails in using it? She wont have any chance at winning.


    From what Ive seen of her in Fractures through videos online, she takes a bacsh from that skill in the form of paralysis and mind nk, making her unable to move for nearly half a minute after using it. Which is a ring w, but a much needed one to bnce out such a powerful skill.


    I myself have no confidence in taking a hit from it and surviving, so its extremely powerful.


    Very much a finishing move though. Or ast ditch one, where everything else has failed.


    Something that I wouldnt mind having now that I think about it. But Im pretty sure those skills are moremon in ss II. So Ill probably get one then.


    Abigail grimaces as she sees me beginning to step closer towards her, and she uses that damned awful mental spike skill again. But this time I manage to continue walking despite that, briefly wondering how often she can actually use that skill.


    Then she suddenly coats herself in that purple mental energy barrier before waving her hand, sending an arc of mental energy towards me. And I dont bother blocking or countering it, instead opting to dodge out of the way. But when I direct my focus back on her again, I find her already sending another my way. So I continue dodging one after another.


    Eventually, after I roll across the ground to dodge an arc, she begins summoning more clones, which is incredibly annoying.


    My eyes widen though when I see her suddenly stretch her arm out forward before gripping her hand in a fist, making all of the six clones turn into purple lights that fly into her fist.


    Oh shit. That cant be good.


    She suddenly grins as she tosses the ball of glowing purple energy into the air once, then twice, and then suddenly tosses it straight at me, the ball spreading out to form some sort ofrge full of spikes pointed directly towards me.


    Not good at all.

 Book 2: Chapter 76.2: The Wolf and the Lost Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 76.2: The Wolf and the Lost Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Just how many skills has she hidden?!


    I quickly create over a dozen weapons of blood before smashing them together and sending the resulting orb of blood towards the, quickly losing most of my control over it in the process. All while I get the hell out of its way by leaping into a roll.


    When I get back to my feet several meters away, I turn back around to find the giant orb of blood having only dyed therge purple, not having damaged it much at all. Which is rather impressive in its own right. But nevertheless, the ms into the ground where I was, missing me entirely while the spikes dig into the ground sending some sort of purple electricity into it that makes me really d I moved out of the way.


    I turn back to Abigail with my entire body tensed to move, only to suddenly find several clones rushing in to surround me as a white light builds up around her hand which is pointing in my direction.


    Shit.


    Then another mental spike radiates pain through my head, momentarily making my sight go blurry.


    Why is this one even more painful than the others?!


    I hear the clones getting closer as she continues preparing her skill, and after a few seconds, my vision clears up right at around the same time the clones begin grabbing onto me and attempting to pin me down, apparently not even bothering with attacking me themselves.


    Seriously? I mutter before suddenly increasing my use of blood boil and life drain on Abigail, which doesnt seem to do much as shepletely ignores it somehow and continues focusing on her skill. So I push hard with blood sacrifice before breaking out of the hold of the clones grabbing onto my arms and sending them flying. Then I send the ones holding onto my neck and torso flying as well, only for a bright white light to shine from Abigails hands for a moment, signaling the end of the skills preparation.


    Without a moment of hesitation, I ignore the clones grabbing onto my legs since I dont have the time to deal with them as I activate blood shadow, making my blood shadow appear right in front of me.


    Then Losts signature skill fires, directly striking my clone and making it dissipate along with the white beam, sending a massive headache to me that has me dropping to my knees. But Im not the only one as out of the corner of my blurry vision, I find Abigail falling t on her back, unmoving.


    Why did that hurt so much!? The bacsh isnt normally this bad!


    <strong>It looks like some of the mental damage transferred to you from your clone, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>Thankfully the vast majority of it was taken by the clone, otherwise youd be dead.</strong>


    Oh. Good to know that mental attacks might traverse from my clone to me.


    The crowd watching us starts to go quiet despite my not being able to see them, the fog having returned to block our sight but not our hearing of the crowd. Probably to make the battle feel more intense. They did have a fancy stage for it and all.


    My headache slowly begins to go away, and after a few seconds, I regain my movement. Only to realize that the purple clones that were holding onto my legs, along with the other clones that I had knocked off of me, had all just vanished at some point.


    <strong>She most likely lost control of them when her bacsh hit, </strong>Tar answers, making perfect sense.


    I turn my attention back to the girl in question to find her still lying on the ground. So I walk over to her before standing in front of her and saying, You certainly hid a lot of tricks for this fight, didnt you?


    She doesnt say anything. Actually, she doesnt move at all.


    Oh, right. Shes paralyzed.


    I should be able to knock her unconscious, right?


    <strong>With ease, </strong>Tar says.


    So I lift my foot and kick her in the head.


    Almost immediately after doing that, the fog surrounding the tower vanishes, both below it and on the edges of the artificial arena, revealing the bleachers again and a loudly roaring crowd. Not to mention the loudly shouting ck.


    The Scarlet Wolf has taken the first spot in the semifinals by defeating Lost!! And what a battle that was! the man enthusiastically shouts. Also, if Im not mistaken, this was the pups first battle against abat focused mental magic user!! Give her a round of apuse!


    Hisst words arent really needed as the crowd was already going crazy. And surprisingly, Im not immediately sent back to my private booth. Instead Im left standing on the tower even after Abigails unconscious body vanishes.


    The reason for this bes apparent when ck suddenly appears in a surge of shadows in the air above me, following which I find myself floating into the air, my feet reaching out for a moment to reaffirm myself to solid ground only to give up within seconds.


    Now how about we get a word from our victor! he says, sounding rather smug as he sees me ring at him. What say you, young pup?


    I answer without thinking, How about you stop calling me a pup?


    My eyes widen as I hear my voice resounding throughout the stadium despite not having a microphone. But the crowd seems to love it as they all break out intoughter, so I guess its okay?


    ck alsoughs at it though, which is annoying.


    Maybe when youre at least a few decades old, young pup, he says with a hint of smug amusement clear in his voice, sending another round ofughter throughout the stadium. And when he sees me scowling at him, he adds, You do remember that Im two hundred and fifteen years old, right? So I think I can call you a young pup if I want, right everyone?!


    Then, against his expectations, the absolute best thing to ever happen to me throughout this tournament happens in the form of thousands of people shouting no in response to him, crippling the grin on his face. Even better than thest battle that I just fought.


    I cant help but smirk at him.


    He immediately sends me to my private booth, where Im tackled by Aria within seconds of appearing.


    Hah! He ran away!


    <strong>Arent you afraid hell take offense to that or something? </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely confused.


    Nah, cks not the type to take offense to jokes. He ys them all the time after all. Especially on the government.


    Although the government has to tolerate it since they cant reallyin or retaliate against their strongest backer. They wouldnt have much if really any power without ck and Purple backing them after all, and Purple isnt a fighter. She can fight quite well, of course. But she isnt abat focused Guardian like he is. So she wouldnt be of much help against the other Knights in a direct conflict.


    <strong>Interesting, </strong>Tar mutter.


    I cant help but take pride in winning against ck like that as I pick Aria up and move over to my seat, briefly epting a congrattions from Allen in the process.


    Then the brackets reappear as the arena I fought in vanishes.


    Now to announce the next battles participants! ck shouts, having already gotten over what just happened by the sounds of it.


    Wonder who theyll be?

 Book 2: Chapter 77: Embarrassment Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 77: Embarrassment Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Unlike thest time the brackets were shown, this time my images frame, along with my name and information is glowing with a radiant golden light, meanwhile Abigails is faded out, representing who won and lost in our match. And the zigzag line between our frames is gone.


    A short buildup of intense music ys for a few seconds before a zigzag line appears between Shifters frame and the frame of a different time magic using Guardian known as Clockwork. Someone who I havent actually studied all that much beyond knowing that his time magic involves rewinding time. A rather powerful magic, albeit a limited one. Since time magic has a hard cap on it, making it impossible to rewind time more than a day for any time magic user. And thats for high leveled ss V time magic users.


    Because apparently reality does not like the past being changed. So while looking into the future is fine, reversing time is not. And going to the past is impossible.


    Theyre still quite powerful despite that limit though.


    I think Clockwork can go back about three or so seconds into the past. Which just goes to show the difference in strength between a ss I and a ss V.


    Who do you think will win? I ask Allen out of curiosity while sitting down once again with Aria in myp. Although this time she isnt burying her head into my chest and is actually staring out at the brackets.


    Allen responds right away without a hint of hesitation, Shifter.


    I nce at him before focusing on the center of the stadium again as an arena appears. This one being arge clearing in the middle of a forest at night with a bunch of fog around the trees.


    Why? I ask out of further curiosity.


    Because Clockwork uses time reversal focused time magic, and that isnt all that good at the early sses, Allen answers as we both watch Shifter immediately sprint towards the man known as Clockwork, who is standing off to the side of the clearing without moving while wearing some sort of armor made out of gears and normal looking metal with arge clock on his shoulder. Meanwhile Shifter is one of the strongest Guardians of your generation. I dont really think there will be much of apetition between the two.


    Why? I repeat the question, since isnt really all that good at the early sses isnt much of an answer.


    Allen nces at me before focusing on the screen again where Clockwork finally begins to move after some sort of glitchy looking action where the moves forwards, only to appear backwards again. He then says, A time reversal skill costs a significant amount of mana. So much that a ss I Guardian should only be able to use it about ten or so times before draining all of their mana. And even then, the skill only reverse time up to three seconds with each use.


    Oh. Thats expensive.


    And thats assuming the ss I Guardian is at the peak of ss I like you are, Allen continues as we watch Clockwork and Shifter fight, Shifter not really having much trouble with him beyond his asional confusion when the man appears to glitch out. Which if I had to guess is just him reversing time.


    Time is such a confusing subject. I really hate it.


    <strong>Really? Why? </strong>Tar asks, sounding curious.


    Well, its more like I hate the idea of anyone messing with time. If something happened, then it should stay like that. There are no second chances. So the idea of time magic doesnt really sit well with me.


    I dont have anything against Clockwork or anyone who uses time magic though. Just the magic itself.


    <strong>Interesting, </strong>Tar mutters as I continue watching Shifter gradually beat Clockwork to a pulp.


    Poor guy.


    Eventually Shifter beats Clockwork, and the time magic user is sent out of the arena. Then ck descends down to interview Shifter. And the interview goes just about as I expect, with Lucas  almost forgot he told me to call him that  bluntly answering every question he is asked. Including the one about when he mentioned my scent in thest tournament, which has me blushing slightly. Especially when I notice Allen narrowing his eyes at the man out of the corner of my own.


    Wait, is Allen protective in that way? I didnt realize that.


    <strong>Well, he did give Belle and Arthur a scolding when he heard theyd done it, </strong>Tarments, and I guess that makes sense. He also had quite a few words with them when they got together in the first ce. Or rather, words with Arthur. Because he can never beat Belle in a verbal spar. The girl always wins.


    Poor guy. Again. But for Allen this time.


    Also a good thing I dont ever n to get in a rtionship in the first ce.


    <strong>A very good thing, </strong>Tar mutters, making me frown slightly.


    Why? Because Allen would be overprotective?


    <strong>No, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>Because your grandfather and father would probably tear them apart limb by limb.</strong>


    My mouth parts slightly at that before I decide not to respond to that particr bit of information.


    I do find Allens response rather amusing though, despite how embarrassing it is for me. Not to mention that it was a nice distraction from the blunt answer that Lucas gave for what he was talking about when he mentioned my smell. Which wasnt much of an answer. More just repeating what he said before.


    That guy I dont think he really understands the nuances of anything he says or hears. The tiny details that are supposed to be left unspoken or the meaning behind the phrase too much information.


    Absolutely not someone you want to be telling a secret to.


    And surprisingly, the audience seems to love Lucass personality as they cheer for him.


    Normally they dont tend to like that sort of Guardian, so why do they like him? Is it because of his battle strategy being rather berserker in general? Or his strength?


    <strong>Why dont you check the livestream chat to see? </strong>Tar suggests, making my eyes widen slightly as Id forgotten about that.


    Good idea.

 Book 2: Chapter 77.2: Embarrassment Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 77.2: Embarrassment Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I quickly move my right arm in front of me, turning slightly due to the girl on myp as I turn my terminal off of sleep mode before going to the built-in app for the livestream. Then I log into my ount, immediately getting free ess on ount of me being a participant.


    The first thing that appears afterwards is a menu asking me which of the five stadiums Id like to watch the stream of, with four of the stadiums grayed out on ount of not having any tournaments right now. So I click on the center stadium to find the livestream showing everything in front of us. But I ignore that to focus on the chat.


    And almost immediately regret it.


    <strong>[ShadowDancer69  Hes perfect for her!!!!]</strong>


    Excuse me, what?


    <strong>[Ster_Rider  Absolutely perfect!]</strong>


    <strong>[Tech_Wiz  I ship it. The Scarlet Wolf and Shifter. One is both cold and cute, the other nave and stoic.]</strong>


    <strong>[Lunarme_  Absolutely not. Scarlet will never be with someone like that. He said she smelled after all! No one says that to ady!]</strong>


    <strong>[3choChas3r  Well, mostdies dont go around tearing the throats out of people and mauling them.]</strong>


    <strong>[Lunarme_  Thats beside the point!]</strong>


    <strong>[ElectricJourney  I agree with Lunar. Didnt Scarlet say that she didnt have any interest in romance right now? Please dont go forcing your fantasies on her.]</strong>


    I close out of the stream chat at that point before ncing up at Aria to find her having been casually reading it as well. After seeing me close out of the stream though, she just looks up at me and stares for a few seconds, then tightens her grip on me while burying her face in my chest again and saying, He cant have you!


    My mouth parts open and I fail rather miserably to find anything to say to that. All I feel is extreme embarrassment as my face flushes bright enough to possibly match my namesake.


    I nce over at Allen to find him scowling at his own terminal, where I find more messages from the stream, many of which are defending me, others are still shipping us, and others are just going on about my ears or myck of a tail.


    So my cheeks burn even more.


    <strong>I think this is the most embarrassed Ive ever seen you, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding extremely amused.


    Well, I tend to avoid looking at any forums online for this very reason. Because I know by now that theyre just going to be saying weird stuff like this.


    I really dont understand people.


    Then again, this is the life of a celebrity, so just the main aspect of it that I dont like.


    Fortunately not many people try to strike up a conversation with me. Probably because I dont always look that friendly, since I most of the time have a neutral expression.


    <strong>Or youre scowling, </strong>Tar adds. <strong>Or frowning. You do that a lot too.</strong>


    Yeah, but mostly I just have my neutral expression.


    Tar hums an agreement as I nce at Aria, who is still hugging onto me like her life depends on it.


    I pat her on the back while lowering my head down and saying, Dont worry Aria, I dont n on ever getting in a rtionship.


    She looks up at that after a few seconds of continued hugging, only to eventually nod and rest the side of her head on my chest as she returns her attention to the arena right around the time the next matchup is revealed, the three of us having been ignoring ck since the interview with Lucas. And this time, the matchup is between Tempest  another of the top runners in the betting sites  and someone titled Risen because of their necromancy magic. A magic that lets them summon undead minions.


    Unfortunately for him, Tempests, well, tempest magic is extremely well suited for that. Her magic seems to focusrgely on veryrge attacks that cover a wide area but dont deal as much damage spread out. With some concentrated skills too for single targets. Mostly area of effect attacks though.


    Then theres the fact that undead are known to be weak to fire and lightning, and tempest magic specializes in lightning and wind. Which basically means that Risen is screwed in this match.


    And just as expected, the match doesnt really end up being as interesting as it would be if either of them had different opponents. A rather unfortunate matchup made by the tournament staff.


    After Tempests victory, the next match is between guebearer, and a space magic user called Riftwalker. And against everyones expectations, guebearer actually ends up winning despite Riftwalkers space magic.


    And for thest match of the quarterfinals, Rebound  the guy with the strange magic thats kind of hard to figure out  surprisingly beats the mental type magic user he fights. Although no one really knows how he does it. Just that one moment the mental magic user was sending a mental onught at Rebound  a skill that is like a bunch of mini mental spikes that are visible to the naked eye  and Rebound somehow managed to turn half of them around to attack him instead.


    The only thing I can understand about his magic is that it has the power to sometimes alter the direction or target of a skill. But it doesnt seem to always work and has clear limits. And its also obvious that its not the only thing his magic can do.


    So I wonder whats up with that guy?


    And that is <em>it </em>for the quarterfinals!!! ck shouts, his voice interrupting me from my pondering. The semifinal round will begin in two hours! Be sure to make it, else you <em>will </em>miss out! And none of you want to miss the first free for all in a solo tournament, now do you?


    A second passes before the brackets change to show all five of us participants in the semifinals, but without the added information this time. Just our names, titles, magic, and portraits.


    Well see you alllll... ck says, drawing it out to be dramatic, in two hours!

 Book 2: Chapter 78: Relationship between the Knights

    Book 2: Chapter 78: Rtionship between the Knights


    <strong>Somewhere else in the Stadium</strong>


    ke stays silent as he watches the rey of one of the Scarlet Wolfstest battles  particrly the one between her and the ss I girl named Lost  meanwhile his ssmates and friends around him continue gossiping about who they believe will win the Primary out of the five remaining students.


    He doesnt care though. All he cares about is Whites daughter.


    ke! ke vaguely hears his name being called but ignores it to continue watching the rey with his head resting on the palm of his hand, his elbow on the armrest of the bleacher seat. ke Walker!


    ke finally raises his head to frown at his friend, wondering just whats so important that theyd continue bothering him.


    Finally! Are you really that interested in that ss I girl? Lexi Carter asks with an amused look on her face. It cant be love at first sight, can it?!


    ke scoffs at that before returning his attention to the screen again.


    Nah, the great ke Walker, son of the Red Knight of Humanity, would never fall for a mundane girl! his other friend, a loose term that might snap if they keep this up, says with a rather amused tone clear in his voice.


    Oh, right, I forgot about that, Lexi says, ying in on the joke at kes expense.


    The two continue ribbing him for a few seconds, uncaring of hisck of any responses until Aidan finally asks, So why <em>are </em>you intensely watching that girls fights anyways?


    Is it because shes likely going to reach ss II right after this? So shell bepeting with us during the next tournament? Lexi prods, leaning too close to ke forfort as she looks at the screen in front of him showing the reys.


    ke pushes her away with a grunt before pausing the rey as he says, I want to see mypetition.


    So I was right? Lexi asks, sounding proud of herself.


    No, you werent, ke shuts her down without any hint of pity. Im watching her because shes in the same situation I am, and I will <em>not </em>be outdone like my <em>father </em>was.


    Both of his friends go silent at that, understanding what he means.


    For as long as he can remember, his father, Noah Walker, the great Red Knight of Humanity, has always beenpeting with the White Knight of Humanity. And also for as long as he can remember, he has been losing at every turn.


    <em>I cant fucking believe that prick. Now he expects me topete with Whites daughter just because hepetes with her mother?!</em>


    kes fist clenches as he remembers the absolute shit storm of a conversation he had with his father about the subject. But in the end, it was Reds way or Reds way. No other choice.


    <em>Even after I graduated I cant get out from under his damned thumb why cant he just get over White already?! And why does he have to constantly try making me into a carbon copy of himself?!</em>


    ke feels both of his friends patting his back in sympathy. And if it were any other time, he would thank them for caring. But now?


    All he does is continue watching the girls fights back to back, trying to find any possible weakness he can whilepletely looking past her status as a ss I despite his being ss II.


    <em>Despite her rather instinctive fighting style, she does seem to have some skill in martial arts. Even if a lot of it appears to be some sort of technique shes developing on her own to make use of her ws. Shes also very cunning and uses her skills in unexpected ways that ends up bringing her the win.</em>


    Several seconds pass as the manpletely ignores the gazes of the many people around them, all of which know who he is despite none of them being courageous enough to approach. Because ke has already made it abundantly clear that he does not appreciate fans, and especially not fangirls who try to ask him out or get autographs.


    Remind me again why we dont have our own private booth? Aidan asks out of the corner of kes eye. But Lexi answers for him, Because were not participants in todays tournament, and students arent allowed to get their own booth unless they are participating in the tournament that is currently going on.


    Right, a stupid rule, Aidan says, mocking the rule.


    ke cant help but agree with him, but at the same time he realizes that there can only be so many private booths. And all of the working Guardians who are out of university will likely be taking those up themselves, hence the need for the rule.


    A few seconds pass before the gazes grow in number, the distraction that was the tournament being on hold due to the hour long break, making the civilians all the more aware of their surroundings. So eventually, ke gets up from his seat, drawing the eyes of dozens, maybe even hundreds of people as he says, Lets go somewhere else until the match starts.


    Both his friends immediately agree with him, and they head off to a less popted area outside of the stadium where they sit down in a lobby.


    After they sit down, ke immediately pulls up recordings of the girl again, feeling his fist clenching slightly in the process.


    <em>Damnit, its so fucking annoying. </em>


    ke always felt that his fathers romantic interest in White was ridiculous with how much he fought her, even knowing that the woman has a daughter already. But he knew it the instant heid his eyes on Whites daughter.


    That she is his type.


    <em>No matter how much I hate to say it, we really are father and son and that pisses me off.</em>


    ke shakes his head at the thought before sighing, a scowl permanently resting on his face that sends any would-be fans that happen to notice him despite the much less popte area scurrying away.


    <em>Whatever. I can just beat her in the next Interschool Tournaments and never see her again. No time for romance anyways, not that she looks like shed even be interested.</em>


    kes eyes narrow at thatst thought, and he shakes his head again.


    <em>Damnit.</em>

 Book 2: Chapter 79: A Special Arena

    Book 2: Chapter 79: A Special Arena


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I spend all of the downtime between rounds simply going over the otherpetitors whove reached the semifinals, making sure I remember each of their skills by heart so that Ill be ready to deal with them. And I wouldnt be surprised if theyre doing the same.


    The moment the countdown at the center of the stadium strikes zero, we all appear on top of arge tower in the center of the stadium with the crowd going absolutely crazy.


    And the time hase! For the semifinal round of the first Primary tournament of the year!!! ck shouts after appearing from a cloak of shadows in the air above us. Are you ready?!


    The crowd somehow gets even louder  something I didnt think was even possible.


    Then lets begin with the rules for this round! ck says, sounding sufficiently amused by the audiences reactions. Unlike the other rounds, this one will pit all five remaining participants against each other in a free-for-all round! The students are allowed to team up with each other, they can use stealth, they can even gang up on a single student if they want to! Everything goes except for tant cheating which <em>will </em>be punished <em>severely </em>if caught! But no matter what, the round will be over the moment only two participants remain standing amongst these five! These two participants will thenpete in the final round to see who will take home first ce!!!


    At this point, Im very thankful for the magical realitys protection to my ears. Because Id probably have gone deaf a long time ago without it.


    Now, this round will take ce in a special arena made by the Guardian all of you know and love, ck says while spreading his arms out and then pointing directly down at the tower in between the five of us participants where a man suddenly appears out of nowhere. The creator of magical realities, and a ss IV Guardian Artificios!!!


    The crowd suddenly goes silent at that before going absolutely ballistic, showing just how popr this man is. And why wouldnt he be? He was the entire reason the Republic was able to create magical realities in the first ce. So there wouldnt <em>be </em>any tournaments without him. Nor would there be any of the training equipment we Guardians use for practicing live battles, or the new video game that uses magical realities.


    After a second, the man who is d in a purple and ck suit and tie simply floats up into the air, his feet pointing downwards in a show that hes not simply jumping. He then spreads his own arms out to match what ck was doing as he shouts, I know many of you are looking forward to this and the many things toe, both from the Interschool Tournaments, and the future of magical realities themselves! And I for one would very much like to express my utmost gratitude for the support you have all given me! The crowd grows even louder, making the man smile, his long purple hair flowing behind him. But you didnte here to see me! Lets show you the amazing arena we have designed for these fine young Guardians to fight in!


    Just a secondter, I find myself floating in the air along with the other participants of the round while staring at a vast arena beneath us. The arena is separated into five different sections, one seemingly made with each of us participants in mind. Theres a section filled with trees, a full moon hanging high in the sky, and literalkes made out of blood, one being muchrger than the others. A section equally made out of trees with various caves scattered throughout it and a regrke. A section with a swamp filled with a few seemingly poisonous ponds in it. A section filled with a few mountains, each peaked with powerful thunderstorms. Andst but not least, a section where everything seems to be acting rather weird. Its made out of a regr ins, but with all of the wind blowing through it, the trees, the bushes, everything asionally just freezing in ce and then going in a different direction, only to freeze in ce again at random.


    Now, unlike all of the previous arenas which were randomly created, I personally designed this arena with our participants in mind, Artificios says, sounding quite proud of his work. And I do have to admit, I do find the area obviously created for me to be quite appealing. Although I get the feeling this could also draw out the round a bit, since the others might not be as willing to leave their particr areas to fight if they dont wish to. But dont worry about any particr person camping in their area, because this round will have some special rules added to it!


    I look up to find him motioning to ck as he says, ck? Why dont you introduce those rules to us?


    Dont mind if I do, ck says with a grin on his face as he crosses his arms and floats down closer to Artificios. At random throughout the tournament, one participant who is currently inside of their personal section of the arena, has not killed another participant, and is not engaged inbat will be teleported to one of the other sections of the arena chosen equally at random.


    Oh. Thatll be interesting.


    Will certainly make camping an impossibility. Or at least very annoying for someone to do unless theyre just lucky. Or they try to camp after killing a different participant.


    The two continue going on about some special qualities to the different sections that I make sure to take note of before ck eventually floats upwards again, spinning around in a spiral as he does so until he stops, his arms spread out as he shouts, Now are you all ready to get this round underway!!!


    The audience roars all at once, various different shouts rising up, all with a single meaning. Agreeing with what he said.


    Then lets get this round started! ck shouts again, meanwhile I find myself being teleported into the arena right in front of the bloodke.


    I grin.


    Thisll be fun.

 Book 2: Chapter 80: Blacks Personalities

    Book 2: Chapter 80: ck''s Personalities


    <strong>The Commentators Booth</strong>


    ck has never been very sure about how he feels towards Whites daughter. One side of him wants to adopt her himself and treat her as his own daughter, spoiling her for everything she had to go through. The other side wants to adopt her only to spite White without giving a damn about the girl herself.


    But one thing both sides agree on is that if he ever had a child, he would want them to be just like the girl. Quiet, powerful, knows how to pay back favors, and not a wimp. And with a sense of humor.


    Or at least, one side of him wants thatst part.


    <em>Maybe I should try to adopt her? But then her mother would probably kill me if she can find me, and her father would kill me after he sniffs me out. So maybe not</em>


    cks thoughts are interrupted as he notices the girl staring at theke of blood for several seconds without moving despite the round having started already.


    <em>Whats she doing?</em>


    After a few more seconds of staring, ck and the audience both watch her walk up to the bloodke before sticking her hand palm first into the blood, confusing everyone watching. But then that confusion is turned to astonishment when theke of blood suddenly starts getting vacuumed up towards her hand, the blood vanishing in the process.


    cks eyes widen and he shouts out to the audience, Her blood storage skill! It looks like shes just realized that there isnt an actual limit on the amount of blood that can be stored in it, so long as its fresh blood from something living! And that arena was designed with perpetually fresh blood in it!!!


    The crowd goes wild at that as they all watch thergeke of blood slowly vanish into a ck portal that opened up in front of the girls hand.


    After the girl finishes draining theke of blood, she stands up straight, nods at the now-emptyke once more, and runs off to drain the otherkes before going towards the section of the arena filled with poisonous swamps instead.


    Oh? ck utters while ncing at Artificios who is sitting right next to him in thementators booth as he says, It looks like the special rule wasnt needed after all.


    Out of the corner of his eye, ck notices Shifter also leaving his own section to head towards Rebounds, making the special rule pointless.


    <em>Well, except for Tempest, who is left sitting on the top of one of those mountains doing nothing.</em>


    Artificios scratches the slight stubble on his chin as he says, Guess not.


    ck narrows his eyes on the screen showing Scarlet as she runs through the trees towards the swamps. And after a few seconds, he asks, But why would Scarlet be heading towards guebearer his eyes widen as he realizes something.


    Well? Dont just keep us in suspense! Artificios says while elbowing cks arm, making the guy suddenly turn his head to narrow his eyes at the man. Artificios stiffens up at the look in the mans eyes, only to rx again when ck focuses on the screen and says, guebearers greatest strength is her venom, which fights off the infected targets own regenerative capabilities to corrupt and mutate their bodies. But Scarlet has the strongest regenerative capabilities out of any known Guardian in the world at ss I.


    Artificios stays silent for a moment, briefly pondering if talking right now would be a good idea considering that its clear to him cks other personality is now out, only to eventually focus on the screen and say, Scarlet is probably guebearers worst enemy then. Especially with all of that blood she just stole from the arena.


    Laughter echoes throughout the arena at that, but ck continues staring at the screen showing Scarlet as she crosses into the swamp section, heading directly towards guebearer as if she already knows her exact location.


    <em>It would be disappointing if she couldnt determine her location through her hearing.</em>


    ck watches her run for a little bit before switching his attention to Shifter has he searches through Rebounds section for him while slowly heading towards the man while asionally twitching his nose like a dog.


    <em>Then theres the child who could smell the young half-demons magical scent.</em>


    Some of the crowd begin to quiet down as they realize ck isntmentating as much as he has been throughout the rest of the tournament, with many people beginning to whisper about whether or not his persona has swapped. But ck ignores it all as he turns his attention back to Scarlet.


    <em>I cant figure out why her grandfather isnt sending someone to pick her up. Because knowing that monster, he </em>will <em>do that. Theres no doubt about it. Does he simply not know? Did his son not tell him where his own granddaughter was?</em>


    ck frowns as he contemtes this. The one time he met the Demon King, his first reaction was to run away as fast as his legs could carry him. And that was when he was level 1780 over a century ago. One of the five strongest humans in existence thanks to having traversed the demon world of Tartarus and returned to Earth safely.


    Despite that, he was no match for the Demon King. Or going by his other Title, the Beast of the Apocalypse.


    cks fist tightens so strongly that Artificios sees blood beginning to drip out of his fist. Blood coated in small amounts of shadows.


    <em>That monster shouldnt exist in the mortal realm. No being should have that much power, much less a demon. Were all just lucky there isnt a ss VI, and hes already reached the peak of ss V at level 2500.</em>


    But despite cks fear of the Beast, he still knows perfectly well how the man cares for his own family. And why he cares so much.


    For ck is the only one in existence besides the Demon and Fae Kings who knows the various reasons behind the Demon Kings hatred of humans.


    The Scarlet Wolf has reached guebearer! Artificios shouts, taking cks spot and in the process instigating the mans persona switch once again. ck then leans forward with a grin on his face, shouting, Lets see how the young pup takes to venom!


    Out of the corner of cks eye, he notices Artificios letting out a sigh of relief. But he, of course, ignores that.

 Book 2: Chapter 81: The Wolf versus the Plaguebearer

    Book 2: Chapter 81: The Wolf versus the guebearer


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    When I reach the guebearer girl, neither of us say a word before we begin our fight. Which I very much appreciate, and the girl seems to as well.


    The reason I chose to go after her first was because there isnt much she can really do with her section of the arena. After all, were all ss I Guardians, so none of us can really directly manipte our magics. In fact, most people cant. The only people Ive heard being able to directly and freely manipte their magics are a few ss V Guardians, one or two of the Demon Lords, and the Demon King himself. Everyone else may be able to indirectly manipte it at like ss II or ss III, but even those are rare skills. And rather limited too.


    My blood bank though is a rather useful skill as it makes use of a loophole.


    Speaking of that skill, I coat my ws with more blood than Ive ever used before as I match the girl w for w. But she quickly finds that not only am I stronger than her by a fair margin, but my blood ws are stronger than her gue ws.


    And Im not worried about her corrupting me because my regeneration should easily take care of that issue. Especially since the corruption takes ce in the blood first and foremost, if Tars to be believed at least.


    Tar snorts at thatst bit.


    I smirk as I continue pushing the girl back further and further into her section, the both of us avoiding the poisoned ponds until out of nowhere the girl does a backwards flip, disengaging with me before pointing both of her open palms towards the pond were closest to, bringing my attention there for a moment. And what I find has my mouth dropping open in surprise.


    Five creatures suddenly rise from the poisoned marsh, each of them being some sort of spiderlike monster literally dripping in poison.


    Oh shit. Didnt know she could do this.


    <strong>Yeah, you never can tell when a Guardians holding back, </strong>Tar mutters.


    Makes me feel a little awkward that I didnt hold back when I fought.


    <strong>Dont, </strong>Tar says, giving me the feeling of him shaking his head. <strong>While holding back can end up helping, you dont exactly have the luxury of holding back in the Fractures when youre constantly in danger. These guys only did because they all had instructors from the very beginning tutoring them and teaching them the most efficient way to gain Skill Points. Meanwhile you just ughtered your way through demons and leveled up very quickly instead.</strong>


    Wait, so fast leveling is a bad thing?


    <strong>No, not really, </strong>Tar says, making me frown as I watch the spiderlike monsters slowly stepping out of the pond. <strong>Its a tradeoff. Leveling up faster grants you better achievements, which will unlock more and better skills in the future. But leveling up slower gets you more skill points that you can use now, allowing for arger variety of skills that you can both use and level. Although not as muchrger as youd expect, purely due to the achievements giving a lot of skill points as well. So its a matter of trading quantity for quality in slowing down your leveling.</strong>


    Oh. That makes sense. Then I dont feel any regret in what I did.


    And Im guessing they were instructed to level slower for this tournament in particr? Because even with Predators limitations, itll still give them a few percent increase with a level one difference. More than a single levels worth of stats at least. So technically level 99 would give more than level 100 in terms of stats thanks to that. Even if not by much.


    <strong>Yeah, probably, </strong>Tar answers, not entirely sure himself. Likely because he wasnt around for the previous tournaments.


    It sounds right though, so Ill stick with that reasoning. Not that it matters much when it gives them less achievements. And achievements are what I need to make sure I get a skill in the future that can stop me from bing a full blooded demon.


    Anyways, I give a quick order to my blood shadow, making it jump out of hiding whileunching the spear in its hand straight at one of the spiderlike creatures, distracting all of them while I focus on guebearer again.


    Cant really poison me with those things if theyre not fighting me, Iment with a smile, making her grimace slightly.


    A n that Ide up with the moment I considered the possibility of her having any sort of summoning skill. Not that I actually expected her to have one. I was mostly just expecting to have my blood shadow pop out at thest moment to strike a killing blow on her or something.


    Guess it was a good idea to n ahead for this possibility after all.


    My thoughts are cut off at the sound of a firework exploding in the air at the corner of my vision, following which an announcement echoes through the arena.


    <strong>[Rebound has been defeated by Shifter, leaving four participants remaining. The semifinals will conclude after two more are defeated.]</strong>


    I blink in surprise.


    Already?


    That was fast.


    An awkward silence ensues for a moment between me and guebearer with the only noise being that of my blood shadow and her spiderlike creatures fighting, neither side having much of an edge despite the spiders having an advantage in numbers. Probably because their offensive prowess focuses on poison with isnt exactly useful against a clone made of nothing but blood and shadows.


    Then we both turn against each other again and begin fighting w for w at incredible speeds, destroying the swamp trees around us in the process and once in a while scoring a hit against the other. But the difference between us is that my hits on her dont heal, while her hits on me do. Although were both kind of tearing apart the others armor in the process of our fight. To the point that I feel the pressing need to repair it after a while, and she does the same.


    Guess neither of us want to deal with the perverts on the inte. Good thing repair is as cheap as dirt in terms of mana now that Im a higher level.


    Our back and forth continues for several minutes before I finally start using my des of blood against her, having waited till now to tire the girl out. And judging by how she fails to dodge the first strike, the de piercing through her armor and into her leg in the process, Id say it worked.


    I smile while spreading my ws again.


    This is fun.


    <strong>Ive been meaning to ask, </strong>Tar suddenly says as I rush forwards to attack the girl while shes kneeling on the ground. <strong>Why do you all wear armor if its just going to get damaged like that?</strong>


    Huh? Because our armor scales to our own mana. Duh.


    I ignore whatever else he says as I reach the girl and tear a long streak of bloody marks across her front before leaping out of the way of her own w strike at my legs and then jumping over her head,nding on her back with one foot and the other foot on the ground, pushing her into the mud. I then reach down and grab her neck to raise up into the air where I quickly crush it, making another announcement sound out into the arena.


    <strong>[guebearer has been defeated by the Scarlet Wolf, leaving three participants remaining. The semifinals will conclude after one more is defeated.]</strong>


    I nce over to find her summons vanishing into a smog of poison, leaving my blood shadow to hit nothing.


    And sess.

 Book 2: Chapter 82: Armor and Preferences

    Book 2: Chapter 82: Armor and Preferences


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I close my eyes as I listen for the others, only to find one person in Rebounds section quickly moving to the neighboring section of it belonging to Tempest, where I also find someone calmly walking around the top of a mountain.


    My eyes open again, and I let out a sigh.


    Looks like those two are going to fight it out without me thats disappointing, but what the heck. If one kills the other, which is likely, then Ill be fighting the winner regardless.


    Anyways, you were asking something earlier?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says as I simply sit down on the ground as I wait for the two to have their battle. Because it would be rude to interrupt them when Lucas is obviously on the hunt. Plus I want a one on one with him since ourst battle wasnt exactly a good one with me missing an arm at the start of it and him vanishing due to a shattered core. <strong>You said that your armor scaled ording to your mana? How does that work?</strong>


    From what I understand, the skills used to create the armor make it passively absorb the mana emitted by the wearer. And the armor will use that mana to empower itself.


    <strong>Then why dont Guardians just have stronger Guardians empower the armor with their own mana before they use it? </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely curious.


    I lie t on my back with my arms spread out on both sides, just flopped on the swamp floor ignoring the mud that Im in and briefly wishing I had more of a chance to use that bloodke. But at least it helped a lot in that fight, since I was able to push my skills a lot harder than Ive ever done before thanks to it. Even if there is still a vast majority of theke left in my storage.


    And they cant have another Guardian fill it because it <em>only </em>epts the passive mana. The armor will also reset after its taken off, meaning a stronger Guardian cant just put the armor on then take it off and give it to a weaker Guardian.


    Because that would make things too easy, and the System doesnt like that apparently. And the System is the one giving us these skills, so


    <strong>Yeah, I suppose that would make sense, </strong>Tar mutters, agreeing with me.


    I continue lying on the ground for a bit until I hear the two begin fighting.


    <strong>Arent you worried the arena will randomly teleport you? </strong>Tar asks, but I just shake my head while resting my arms underneath my head to prop it up.


    Nah. They said it would only do that if you were in your own section. And Im in guebearers section of the arena.


    Plus I killed guebearer, so I meet the minimum requirement of having beaten someone in this round already.


    <strong>Ah, right, </strong>Tar says before appearing and trying to lie down on me, only for me to reach out and grab him by the scruff of his neck and fling him away while saying, You have the worst memory ever. Didnt I tell you that youre not allowed to do that for another couple days?


    The tanuki starts pouting at me.


    That wont work, I state with a stoic look on my face despite the cuteness of the tanuki. And I really mean it.


    After a few seconds of pouting, the tanuki gives up and vanishes, apparently not wanting to lie on the muddy grass. Which, in hindsight, makes sense.


    Actually I look around before finding a tree.


    Thatll work.


    I get up and quickly use clean to get the mud off me before jumping up into a tree and resuming my rxation on a thick branch.


    Much better.


    <strong>You understand that this is probably going to be turned into some sort of meme  that is what your generation calls them, right? Memes? </strong>Tar starts speaking, only to end up questioning me instead.


    I dont exactly keep up with my own generation if Im being honest. So there are a lot of things that I dont understand myself, such as their ng for example.


    But yeah, I think its called a meme.


    But theres not really much I can do about it, I state out loud for the benefit of the audience with a shrug. Im pretty sure Shifter would get mad if I tried to interrupt their battle.


    Doesnt mean Im gonna like finding memes and videos of me lounging around during a tournament, but they cant be much worse than the images I found of me online in a skirt, so


    At least Belle never crossed the line and made me wear any dresses. So thats a plus.


    <strong>Why do you hate wearing skirts and dresses anyways? </strong>Tar asks seemingly out of curiosity.


    I tilt my head slightly while catching what sounds like a loud explosion of thunder from the other side of the arena.


    Do I really need a reason? I just hate wearing them. Period. Even more so now that Im so used to fighting. Because its not very easy to fight in a dress or a skirt.


    Although I guess I do have one other reason. For skirts at least.


    Theyre too revealing.


    <strong>You know, for a pride demon, you sure dont like showing off your body, </strong>Tarments, making me raise a brow.


    Im a half pride demon, not a lust demon. Why would I want to show off skin?


    I take pride in my skill, intellect, and the image I maintain. Not my body. My body is what it is.


    <strong>I guess thats reasonable, </strong>Tar admits, making me nod my head in agreement. <strong>Even though a lot of people stillplement your body nheless?</strong>


    I blush at that.


    Tar chuckles, making me realize he did that on purpose.


    Before I can retort and get my payback, I feel a wave of shock run through Tar that somehow spreads to me. But I have no idea what the shock was from.


    I sit up slightly.


    Are you okay?


    It takes a moment before Tar answers, <strong>Yes. I was just surprised. Youll understand why after the tournament when you leave the magical reality. Its not a pressing matter right now though, and especially not for you.</strong>


    I blink at that only to eventually lie down again.


    If you say so.


    I cant help but wonder what it was about though.

 Book 2: Chapter 83: Pushed Forward

    Book 2: Chapter 83: Pushed Forward


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It takes about five or so minutes before the announcement goes through the arena dering that Tempest was defeated by Shifter, following which I find myself teleported from my lovely tree to arge tower once again. And immediately upon doing so, I find thunderous cheers echoing throughout the stadium, along with a certain Knight floating down towards us again while shouting, Absolutely amazing! This has been an extraordinary semifinal round! And now we have our two finalists!


    Extraordinary? I almost took a nap.


    However, we have some news as well, ck suddenly says, catching my attention and making the audience begin calming down. Due to some unexpectedplications that have arisen, the three hour long break between the semifinal round and the final round has been shortened to a mere twenty minute break instead. ck floats down to me and Lucas as he finishes, I would like to express the tournaments staffs apologies for this change. They assure me that you will bepensated for the loss of preparation time, so I hope you will forgive them for this.


    I blink in surprise before ncing at Lucas. We both then nod and turn back to ck again.


    Im fine with this, I say at the same time as he says, Thats okay.


    Not sure what this news hes talking about is though. Normally a tournament is only dyed due to a Demonic Assault starting. A tournament or a round has never started earlier before because of anything.


    Maybe it has something to do with what surprised Tar earlier? That would make some sense. And he said it wasnt a pressing issue, so it cant have been anything that needs immediate attention. Couldnt have been a Demonic Assault either because we wouldve been kicked out of the magical reality if that were the case.


    Excellent! ck shouts with a p wile floating up into the air again. In that case, the final round willmence in twenty minutes! Please stay tuned for that everyone!!!


    Then I find myself teleported into my private booth again where Aria and Allen are waiting for me along with Cynthia this time. And just like usual, Aria runs up and jumps into my arms.


    My gaze quickly locks with Allens as he says, We have a lot to go over in these twenty minutes if you want to be ready.


    I nod my head in agreement.


    Lets start then, I tell him while moving over to my seat and letting Aria sit on myp again, ignoring the aww noises Cynthia is making at the sight of us.


    After discussing and nning around Lucass known skills and strength for the entire time, Im eventually sent back to the arena again on that very same tower along with Lucas. Then ck appears again while spreading his arms out and shouting, The final round of the very first Primary tournament for this years Interschool Tournaments is finally upon us!!! It has been a long wait for a lot of you, and Im sure youre all just bursting with excitement!!


    The crowd goes wild at his deration, having grown more and more impatient over thest twenty minutes. Especially because they knew the wait was shortened, and people tend to feel even more impatient over shorter waits than they do for longer ones for some reason.


    On one side, we have Shifter! The strongest user of Shapeshifting magic within the current ss I Guardians, and the representative of Aquatic Pride Guardians University!!! ck shouts while motioning with one arm towards him, making another roar echo through the crowd. He then turns and motions towards me as he says, And on the other, we have the Scarlet Wolf, also recently known as the Apex Predator of Humanity thanks to having the highest capabilities in all of human history! She is an incredible user of blood magic, with a particr strength in transformation and berserk blood magic, and she is the representative of Lions Heart Guardians University! The number one ranked Guardians University in the world!


    The crowd gives an even louder response for me than they gave Lucas, not that the man seems to care.


    And now! ck continues while shooting up into the sky and then snapping his fingers, making a fog roll over the entire arena, following which I find myself along with Lucas standing in the middle of a clearing of trees underneath the light of a blood moon at night. Lets get this final round uuuunndddeeeer waaaaay!!!!


    I cant help but grin a little as I see the blood moon hanging above us.


    Now thats just perfect. Giving me the terrain advantage.


    I dont think most people actually realize that my healing is even faster under the light of the blood moon, particrly because the people selling the stupid recordings captured by security cameras during Fractures dont exactly sell the recordings of me recovering from a fight. Only the recordings of me fighting. So they dont really see me healing.


    And there hasnt been any blood moons in the duels Ive done or in the Tower Siege tournament. Meanwhile all of the second round of the ranking tournament had a blood moon hanging from the sky, so there wasnt much topare it with. Especially since I never really got hurt much except when I almost died to Nick.


    Unlike the quarterfinals, we cant hear the audience as the two of us begin slowly circling each other, the both of us shifting one of our arms into that of a beast. Mine bing a werewolfs w, and his bing that of a bear. And both of us have a grin on our faces, showing just how much the two of us are looking forward to this fight.


    Good luck, wolf, Shifter says while flexing his ws slightly. And I respond in kind, You too, bear. Purely because the majority of his shapeshifting seems to follow along the lines of bears for some reason. Despite his ability to shapeshift partially into other animals as well.


    Guess bears are just one of the strongest animals avable to him?


    He snorts in amusement at that, showing more reaction than normal.


    Then we both break into a sprint straight towards each other, the fight beginning.

 Book 2: Chapter 84: The Wolf and the Bear Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 84: The Wolf and the Bear Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Before we sh at the center of the clearing, I begin using blood boil and life drain on him while covering my forearms in blood ws and covering my vitals in blood armor. Meanwhile he shapeshifts his feet into powerful bearlike extremities and covers himself in some sort of grey energy. Then the moment our ws meet, a faint shockwave shoots out, striking at the grass and trees in the clearing. And unsurprisingly, his strength actually pushes me back a little until I start burning my blood.


    Damned Tier A strength of his.


    <strong>You were expecting this, </strong>Tar states, dismissing myint.


    Too bad the bloodke I took from thest round doesnt extend to this round, leaving me with however much blood I had whening into the magical reality in the first ce. Which was a decent amount, but nothing to scoff at.


    Even with blood sacrifice in y, unless I want to burn my blood too much and try to bring this to a close quickly then I still dont overpower him. We simply match evenly in strength. So we both break off, jumping backwards before rushing at each other again, striking back to back, w to w for minute after minute. Neither of us really doing much damage to the other as we keep blocking the others strikes.


    Throughout the process of our fight though, the surrounding trees slowly take on damage from the shockwaves, along with my missed des of blood. But Lucas simply continues brute forcing things, as he always does. Because the guy is built purely for physical strength, with no ranged skills and no defensive ones. Only brute force strength.


    He also seems to be pretty good at resisting my blood magic, since he hasnt even so much as let out a groan despite my blood boil and life drain skills working overtime on him. And he doesnt have much to show for it either except a bubble of blood popping once in a blue moon on his skin.


    My eyes narrow as I jump back, breaking off contact again.


    This isnt working. For once, Ill have to try something else.


    <strong>Youve never fought someone physically stronger than you before, </strong> Tarments. <strong>At least not someone you cant just beat with blood sacrifice. But you do know one way to beat him. A way you specialize in.</strong>


    I narrow my eyes even further at that before sighing.


    Guess I dont have a choice.


    Without hesitation, I open my status and allocate twenty six of the Skill Points I saved just for a rainy day to Blood Retribution, bringing the skill up to level 7. Then I quickly check on the skills updated description.


    <strong>{Blood Retribution  Any damage dealt to the user while this skill is active is returned to the one who dealt the damage in the form of blood burning. Activation of this skill costs 12.5% of the users total mana. Each activationsts for twenty seconds.}</strong>


    I let out a sigh of relief at that.


    Good. It looks like all of the levels after level five have greater increases than the levels before level five, just like you expected. And the time was extended along with the decrease in mana percentage cost.


    This is gonna be he risky, but I should be fine with the blood moon increasing my regeneration.


    I grin at the thought before rushing at Lucas again at the same time hees at me.


    <strong>In arge Penthouse on Earth</strong>


    Fredricka smiles as she calmly sits with her legs crossed on a chair in front of arge tv showing the final round of the Primary tournament urring at this very moment. And no matter how hard she tries to stifle it, her excitement at seeing Her Highness fight in a manner so very simr to the Blood Lord himself is making it difficult for her to sit still.


    Which is the very reason why she begins scowling when she notices three presences appearing on her balcony.


    Come in, she shouts at them, flicking her wrist to control the doors with her telekinesis skill, making open on their own and letting the three changelings inside of her home, each of which are disguised once again as human children. But she doesnt bother looking at them, simply continuing to watch as Scarlet activates her Blood Retribution skill and purposefully lets strikes from the filthy human hit her. The mere sight of which has the three changelings growling, and even Fredricka cant help but narrow her eyes.


    She manages to calm herself down quickly enough thanks to the sight of her opponent letting off red steam with a grunt. Then Fredricka cant help but smile when she sees any wounds that would prove crippling to the princess get blocked by Blood Diffusion, leading to a loss in blood instead of actual wounds. Meanwhile wounds that she can easily take and heal she simply does so, as it means more damage for the filthy creature shes fighting.


    Her Highness is performing well, as expected, one of the three changelings  Fredricka believes their name was Morax the Deceiver  states with more than a little respect in his tone.


    Of course she is! another one says, sounding like the mere thought of her not outperforming the humans is an insult to all demon kind, much less the Royal Family.


    Enough, Fredricka says, practically <em>feeling </em>the three ss III changelings standing at attention behind her in the forms of human children stiffening at her words. Report.


    Without a moments hesitation, Morax immediately begins speaking, We have sessfully scouted the location designated by the Witches as the spot in the vision where the ss V Fracture will originate and have set about ns to infiltrate the building.


    And the building itself? Fredricka asks, still not taking her eyes off of the battle as the princesss opponent slowly grows weaker than her faster than she herself weakens.


    The building is one of thergest hotels in the city and is located near the center of the city itself, Vap the Tinkerer answers in Moraxs stead.


    <em>A hotel? That makes things easier.</em>


    Leave the infiltration of the building for the higher ranking changelings, Fredricka says while smiling at the sight of Her Highness scoring a major blow on the human. They can either join the shareholders for the buildings, or for the midranking changelings can even enter employment under the hotel management.


    The three changelings simultaneously cross their fists across their chests and exim, As you wish, Countess Rosenfort.


    Now then, Councilwoman Fredricka von Feld Rose of the Human Government, otherwise known by demon society as Countess Fredricka von Rosenfort, the only ss V changeling in existence, states while finally ncing at the ss III changelings. onto the next matter at hand.

 Book 2: Chapter 84.2: The Wolf and the Bear Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 84.2: The Wolf and the Bear Part II


    <strong>In arge Penthouse on Earth</strong>


    You saw the universal notification? Fredricka asks the three changelings before immediately getting a wave of head nods. Good. It means the Lord of Hellfire is the only Demon Lord left without one of his own.


    The changelings grow excited at the thought of each of the four Demon Lords obtaining a Title aside from their Titles as Demon Lords at longst.


    It also means the war will start progressing soon, Fredricka continues while turning back to the TV to immediately narrow her eyes upon the sight of the princess and the human both pausing their fight to talk. And she cant help but feel irritation with the way the filthy creature is speaking to her Princess. Make sure youre ready for when it does.


    Yes, my Lady, the changelings dere with another salute meant for ss III demons towards nobility.


    Theres also something Id like for you to look into, Fredricka continues, her eyes narrowing slightly. Governor Talon has be a little too aggressive in his push towards orphan rightstely. Please deal with it.


    The changelings all stand perfectly still as they simultaneously exim, Yes, your Ladyship.


    Fredricka then hears the changelings departing, leaving the Countess alone in her penthouse.


    <em>Ill have to keep this from that vile human Knight White. Theres no telling what she would do it she knew His Highness left the matter of human orphans to my hands. And unfortunately I must keep it from His Highness as well, because no matter how little that bitch deserves him, he truly does care for her. And it could affect their already tenuous rtionship poorly if she were to even suspect him of having a hand in the orphans situation.</em>


    The Countess taps her finger on the armrest of her chair for a few seconds.


    <em>He may also reject the way Im dealing with the human orphan situation due to his soft side, so it would be best to leave him out of the loop on this one. No matter how much it pains me to do so.</em>


    Fredrickas eyes suddenly narrow as she sees something happening on the screen.


    <em>What the</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>Nearly a minute ago</em></strong>


    I heave out breath after breath in exhaustion as both Lucas and I stop on opposite sides of the now destroyed clearing, just staring at each other for a few seconds. But right when Im about to sprint back into action again, he raises a hand and says, Wait.


    A wave of confusion strikes me at that, almost making me stumble.


    Wait? I ask, unsure of what he is trying to do.


    I wanted to ask you about your scent, he suddenly says, making my eyes narrow. Is your magic really blood magic?


    I blink at that, wondering what hes getting at.


    Wait does he think my magic might be the cause of my scent?


    Im sorry, its just that your scent really is calming, he says while rubbing the back of his head.


    Can we get back to battling please? I ask, letting my irritation with the man leak through into my voice.


    He bows his head slightly and says, Im sorry.


    Although it did give me some more time to regenerate.


    We both rush towards each other again.


    At this point, the both of us are nearing our breaking points. But at the same time, Im healing. Hes not.


    In fact, I stopped using Blood Retribution entirely at one point after evening the ying field. Mostly because I didnt have the mana to keep it up.


    His injuries are much worse than mine right now though, and mine are healing. So even though I cant use blood sacrifice or blood ws right now without the mana or stored blood to use, or enough blood in my own body to safely burn, Im still managing to stay on top.


    As if contradicting my current thoughts, Lucass eyes suddenly begin to glow with a grey light, following which he raises his head and lets out a roar before transforming entirely into arge bear. One without his previous injuries.


    Oh. That could be a problem.


    <strong>Its clearly a finishing move, </strong>Tarments, sounding worried. <strong>If you can survive his usage of it, youll likely find him crippled or at least out of the fight entirely at that point.</strong>


    Right. So how am I gonna survive this while almost dead?


    Tar doesnt say anything.


    I almost snort at that, but I instead have to roll out of the way of a charging bear, briefly grimacing as pain worsens all across my body. The shapeshifted Guardian then turns around rather quickly  too quickly for a regr bear if I had to guess  and begins chasing me again.


    This time though he is moving even faster, and soon enough I feel his massive paws mming into my side and sending me flying straight into a tree where I then fall to the ground with a grunt. But I get up as fast as I can after that, only to be sent flying again when he reaches me.


    When Ind the next time, I make sure to get up as fast as I can before quickly dodging out of the way and briefly noticing a wild look in his eyes.


    <strong>It looks like he cant very well control himself in that form, </strong>Tar points out what Ive realized.


    Yeah. Which is likely the only reason Im still alive right now. Because batting me away isnt a very good way to kill me right now.


    My eyes narrow as my mind floods with possible manners of attack, only for me to remember that blood regeneration also regenerates my mana. So I check my mana to find that I have regenerated enough for a single use of Blood Retribution.


    I try to dodge as Lucas charges at me with a loud roar, only to get swatted again, feeling my bones snap uponnding this time after having likely fractured from thest strikes. And I cant help but cry out in pain from it.


    Fuuck, even with pain diffusion this hurts!


    The rampaging bear lets out another roar and I can hear its pounding feet rushing over here. But this time I cant move, meaning hell have a perfect shot at killing me.


    Ill lose.


    After all of this time, Ill lose


    My eyes narrow at that thought and my pride pushes me forward. And with that, a possibility shes in my mind, making me burn the tiny amount of blood I have left to give me the strength to push myself over onto my front before immediately activating Blood Retribution.


    Please work. Theres nothing else I can do because Im pretty sure my spine is broken around my lower back, leaving me paralyzed from the waist down.


    Then a massive sh of pain enters my back, followed by some faint chewing sounds that I can hear, only for them to vanish as something wet plops onto my back and partially into the wound as a loud and painfilled roar echoes throughout the arena. But I can only whimper slightly as the pain from whatever wound Lucas gave me fills every thought in my head, even as the roar grows louder and louder.


    All the way till it cuts off and I find myself gasping back on the tower, perfectly fine and without any Lucas nearby.


    Congrattions to the winner of the first Primary tournament of this years Interschool Tournaments, Scaaaarleeeet Asgeeeerrr!!! cks voice echoes throughout the stadium as Im trying to reorient myself with the suddenck of pain.


    But I understand what happened at least.


    My gamble must have paid off.


    <strong>What did you do? </strong>Tar asks, sounding unsure of what happened exactly.


    Oh, I read online that bears often attack the backs of their prey when given the chance. And I kind of just hoped that it doing that and probably taking out my heart in the process would be enough damage for Blood Retribution to kill him in return. Since there couldnt have been a perfect recovery just from him using whatever berserk form he was using. Not with Shapeshifting magic.


    <strong>Huh. Smart, </strong>Tar says, sounding genuinely impressed now. <strong>And if he didnt follow what a bear would normally do? Or if you read wrong?</strong>


    I blink at that.


    Guess I wouldve be dinner?


    Tar doesntugh.


    Well, I won. So thats all that matters.

 Book 2: Chapter 85: Prizes

    Book 2: Chapter 85: Prizes


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The Knight says more than a fewpliments while riling up the crowd and getting them more and more excited until he eventually snaps his fingers, making me appear on a much narrower tower with some sort of massive hologram of me that follows my every movement floating above my head. And out of the corner of my eye, I can see both Lucas and Tempest with their own towers and holograms as well, albeit with theirs being lower in elevation than mine and with a less grand appearance overall.


    We have now finished the very first Primary tournament of this years Interschool Tournaments! Now would you give a round of apuse for our top three finishers! ck shouts before the stadium suddenly dims in lighting and a spotlight appears, illuminating Tempest and her hologram as she calmly looks out at the audience. For our third ce winner, she will be getting a total of one million credits and ten points for her to use however she wishes, along with ten points for her Guardians University, Hunters Peak!


    Loud cheers echo throughout the stadium while the girl wearing a set of what looks like purple and blue medieval armor simply waves out at them, not showing an ounce of fear or shyness.


    The spotlight on her vanishes along with her and her hologram, following which a different spotlight appears over Lucas, showing the man as he simply stands there with his arms crossed looking out at the audience.


    And for our second ce winner, he will be getting a total of five million credits and fifty points, along with <em>twenty </em>points for his Guardians University, Aquatic Pride!!! ck shouts, making the audience roar even louder with who knows how many squeals mixed in that has me raising a brow.


    And just like before, the spotlight vanishes along with Lucas and his hologram. But unlike before, several different spotlights begin to move about seemingly at random throughout the stadium while avoiding me as ck begins talking slightly quieter this time, And now, the moment youve all been waiting for! The spotlights all suddenly focus on me and my hologram, making me briefly want to squint my eyes but I stop myself. The winner of this years ss I Solo Primary Tournament, the Scarlet Wolf, Scarlet Asgeeeerrrr!!!


    All at once, the stadium goes wild with screams of excitement. Almost as if every single person within the stadium filled with millions and millions of people suddenly decided to shout all at once. And amidst the shouts, who knows how many people have stood up while pping, making me feel more than a little pride at where Ive climbed.


    First ce.


    Then again, guess its to be expected since Im only half human.


    <strong>Well, not necessarily, </strong>Tar says, making me raise a brow as I put my hands in my jacket pocket and look out over the crowd as they go wild. <strong>Youre only ss I, so the only things you have that the humans here dont are some higher capabilities. Nothing more. And even that doesnt matter as much since youre only ss I. You also dont have most of the skills and powers blood lycans have as they havent been given to you yet in the form of inherent skills. Such as blood metallization for example, and your full transformation that youll eventually get.</strong>


    Oh. Guess youre right.


    <strong>What Im trying to say, </strong>Tar continues, sounding slightly amused, <strong>is that this is your win. Not your genes. ept it. Feel pride in it. But dont look down on it just because youre half blood lycan.</strong>


    Hmm. Okay.


    After letting the crowd go wild for a bit, ck continues speaking, And for her rewards, she will be getting a total of <em>ten million credits </em>and <em>one hundred points</em>, along with an entire <em>thirty </em>points for her Guardians University, Lions Heart!!!


    Once again the crowd goes wild at that, and I cant help the grin that immediately splits across my face.


    Ten. Million. Credits.


    Im rich. I really am rich.


    What games should I buy first? Oh, and a car. I need to buy a car. Never did do that.


    Actually, no. Id rather have a motorcycle. Or both? Yeah. Both.


    Then theres the five hundred thousand credits I got for our team winning the secondary tournament as well, which is nothing to scoff at either.


    <strong>Shouldnt you invest some of that? </strong>Tar says, sounding amused at my reaction to the mary reward. <strong>And you sound like youre forgetting the points entirely.</strong>


    Oh. Right. I did.


    Im suddenly teleported out of the arena and back into my private booth where Im immediately swarmed by too many people, including Aria, Allen, Cynthia, and my team. Or old team, I guess.


    Meanwhile cks voice rings out as Im trying to wiggle my way out of the group towards my chair, Dont forget that these lovely winners also get tinum Fracture Passes, or PFPs for short. If you dont already know, these wonderful passes give the Guardians ess to whatever Fracture they want regardless of if its imed by another Association or organization already!


    My eyes widen as a hint of glee enters them.


    Right. I almost forgot about that.


    We only got a Diamond Fracture Pass for winning the secondary tournament, but a tinum one is better. Not really by much, but better. The only real differences is that theres more authority attached to it since someone with a higher ranked pass can still block someone with a lower ranked one from entering the Fracture. But only if the owner of the pass is there personally to do it.


    After sitting down in my chair again, giving me a bit of a breather, Aria immediately sits on myp, apparently uncaring of the many people around us and somehow trying to use her presence as a buffer between everyone while wrapping her arms around me and saying, You won! Just like you promised!


    Iugh at that before patting her on the back, taking amusement in how my old team is staying back out of supposed fear of the girl. Despite how much Ive told them that its fine and that Aria isnt gonna hurt them. And that her father isnt gonna hurt them for being near her.


    Oh, right. What were you surprised about earlier?


    <strong>Youll see as soon as you leave the magical reality, </strong>Tar says rather ominously.


    Okay

 Book 2: Chapter 86: Titles

    Book 2: Chapter 86: Titles


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After a long bout of people congratting me, with Cynthia and Allen having to leave early amidst it due to work and the others all keeping their distance from the girl in myp, I finally exit the magical reality. Only to find a System Notification in my vision that has me freezing stiff as the pod Im in slowly opens.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    Lucius tor de ckheart has attained a new title-bearing mythic skill!


    Lucius  otherwise known by the title Lord of death  has now attained the title the reaper.


    May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!


    The fuck?


    Whats a title? And why did the System send out a universal notification for it?


    Actually, what is a universal notification? A notification thats sent out to everyone in the universe?


    <strong>Woah, slow down there, </strong>Tar says while I push my way out of the pod immediately into a crowd of people who are all trying to surround me for autographs and to just talk to me. But I dont have the time, so I instead jump over all their heads and make a break for the exit. <strong>To answer your question about universal notifications first, they arent verymon, but they happen when a System user aplishes something so great that the achievement is announced to every single System user in the universe. So they generally only appear for people getting Title-Bearing Mythic skills or earning achievements that will give them etched skill slots. They wont show to regr humans or demons who are not initiated into the System though, which is probably why you didnt know about it. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if there hasnt been a single universal notification in your entire lifetime.</strong>


    Oh. And the title thing?


    Tar answers as I push my way straight through the front doors of the building before jumping up onto the walls, then the roofs of the buildings, <strong>Its Title, not title, </strong>Tar says, putting emphasis on the word Title as if it were special as I run across the rooftops, only to stop at some point and instead sit down at the edge of a building in the snow. <strong>But a Title is only ever given out alongside a mythic skill. And not all mythic skillse with Titles. Only a very small portion of them.</strong>


    So if someone has a Title, theyre important?


    <strong>Very, </strong>Tar says while appearing in front of me, seemingly not bothered at all by the snow falling down and the cold around us. Then again, neither am I. <strong>To list off a few people who have Titles, theres all five Knights of Humanity, all four Demon Lords, and the Demon King for example. I cant tell you their exact Titles until you reach higher sses though.</strong>


    Oh. Yeah, those are definitely important people.


    Whos this Lord of Death person though? Sounds like an important Title. Not to mention his new Title.


    And the name sounds like a demon.


    <strong>The Lords I can go ahead and tell you their Demon Lord Titles for, because they arent important information and are basic for any Demon Lord, </strong>Tar says before answering, <strong>the Lord of Death is one of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus. A ghoul.</strong>


    Hmm, yeah, guess the Lord part does kind of give that way. But who are the other Lords? I mean, whatre their Titles?


    <strong>Well, theres the Blood Lord, who is a blood lycan and the son of the current Demon King, theres the Lord of Devouring, who is a Mindeater, and the Lord of Hellfire, who is, of course, an oni, </strong>Tar answers, making me frown slightly. <strong>And you already know the Knights Titles.</strong>


    I blink at thatst bit.


    Wait a second, are you serious?


    The tanuki floating in front of me nods his head.


    Wow.


    So the White Knight of Humanity is actually recognized by the System as that? I wonder what sort of mythic skill came bearing that Title


    <strong>That I cant tell you, nor can I tell you any other Titles or the number of Titles any of them have, </strong>Tar says, only to pause. <strong>Or at least, I cant right now. There is one other Title I will be able to tell you after you ascend to ss II.</strong>


    Oh? Then I guess I might as well ascend now.


    <strong>No! Dont do it here! </strong>Tar quite literally shouts at me out loud as I climb to my feet.


    Why not?


    <strong>Lets just say that the ascension process isnt pleasant, </strong>Tar says, growing quieter with his voice echoing in my head again and not out loud.


    Okay. I already knew that. So what?


    <strong>Uh, well, how do I put this </strong>Tar continues, making me grow more and more suspicious the longer he speaks. <strong>Ascension for most people simply means an improvement to their reality and their own genes, but for you it involves your human genes being devoured while all of the rest of your genes are improved. All at the same time.</strong>


    I stare at the tanuki for a few seconds before muttering out loud rather quietly, Oh.


    Thats going to hurt, isnt it? A lot more than I was expecting


    <strong>Yeah </strong>Tar mutters. <strong>Itll be much worse for you than the average person.</strong>


    A few seconds pass in silence.


    I should go find a private training room. Or better yet, just go to my own bedroom. Its soundproof after all, so no one should be able to hear me screaming in there. And no one should be able to walk in on me either.


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar says with a nod of his head. <strong>Great idea!</strong>


    The silence returns again.


    After a few seconds I finally stretch a little and begin running off towards the top ss student residential area of the campus. And upon arriving, Im immediately congratted by a few guards who must have already heard of my winning.


    If it werent for the fact that I already know that the university prioritizes people who dont have any intentions of watching the tournaments when hiring security for the campus during Interschool Tournaments, then Id probably pity these two. But since I know that I just nod my head once before continuing on towards the dorm that is the giant mansion hosting my suite of rooms.


    Time to go ascend. And feel a lot of pain in the process most likely.


    I just hope pain diffusion works during an ascension.


    <strong>It doesnt, </strong>Tar says, crushing my hopes immediately.


    This is going to suck.

 Book 2: Chapter 87: Ascension

    Book 2: Chapter 87: Ascension


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It only takes a few minutes for me to reach my suite, and I immediately head towards my room afterwards before sitting on my bed.


    So how do I ascend?


    <strong>I would rmend taking your magi-tech armor off and maybe wearing something you wouldnt mind getting dirty, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes narrow at that. <strong>And not sitting on your bed.</strong>


    Okay


    I deactivate my magi-tech armor, leading to me sitting on my bed wearing a regr shirt, ck and red jacket, and ck pants. Then I get up and go to my closet to change. Only to pause as I remember the clean skill.


    <strong>Some things are <em>too</em> filthy to clean with the skill, </strong>Tar suddenly says when he sees me turn around to go sit on the ground somewhere. So I once again turn around and continue heading to my closet.


    Something I wouldnt mind getting dirty I dont really have any swimsuits, so I guess Ill just go with my old workout outfit from before I became a Guardian of a sports bra and shorts. Something I would only wear using my own personal workout equipment, and not a gym.


    I quickly go to change beforeing back to my room and pausing.


    If I really am going to make something <em>that</em> dirty, then do I really want to do this in my room where Ill be sleeping?


    With that thought in mind, I decide to go somewhere else to do this. To the bath which I almost never use thanks to the clean skill.


    A ratherrge and wide open bath at that. Quite luxurious.


    I lie down in it before asking out loud, So how do I start the ascension process?


    Without Tar even getting the chance to answer me, the Systems voice suddenly registers in my head.


    <strong>[You havepleted all the requirements to reach ss II. Would you like to ascend?]</strong>


    Yes, I would, I state out loud in response to the System.


    <strong>[Confirmation received. Ascension to ss II will now begin.]</strong>


    Then nothing happens.


    I stare up at the ceiling from my spot awkwardly lying in my empty bath for a few seconds before I open my mouth to speak, only for a burning pain to suddenly re up all throughout my entire body. And at the same time, I feel a very simr feeling but also quite different at the same time as when I first awakened as a half demon return to me. My vision suddenly begins to shift between a red tinted vision and regr vision over and over again, I feel my hearts begin beating faster and faster, and extreme pain radiates from my head, particrly in two different ces. Behind and around my eyes, and around where my human ears are.


    <strong>Im sorry, but I cant help you this time, </strong>I hear Tars voice through the fog of pain in my mind. <strong>Not like I did thest time.</strong>


    The pain suddenly spikes, and Im left screaming on the ground as I feel some sort of liquid leave the pores of my skin all over my entire body. And through the haze of pain, through the fading and reappearing red tint in my vision, I can see that the liquid is blood mixed with some sort of ck substance.


    <strong>The ck liquid are all of the impurities in your body that the ascension is removing, including the ones left behind by the burning of your human genes, </strong>Tars voice echoes in my head, not helping with the pain at all. <strong>Ill stay quiet.</strong>


    Time passes, and the pain only grows worse and worse. But no matter how bad it gets, its as if its simply impossible for me to fall unconscious during this process. A damned cruel fact that is.


    At some point the pain around my eyes begins to fade a little, but at the same time, a vicious pain surfaces around the very center of my torso, along with another one around my fingernails. And after a few seconds of this pain, I can begin to see ck ws forcing their way out of my fingers, ripping my fingernails off in the process and making my screaming go up an octave.


    Fortunately that part of the pain onlysts for the brief time my ws came in. And then the ws suddenly transform into regr fingernails again as if they had never appeared in the first ce.


    But the pain at my core continues burning at me for a while, meanwhile I can see a bright crimson lighting from my eyes reflecting off of the mirror in the bathroom.


    Then all at once, the pain vanishes, leaving me slumping in the bath feeling half dead while covered in my own blood and ording to Tar, impurities.


    Without an ounce of hesitation, I immediately use pain diffusion to get rid of the lingering soreness and difort Im feeling despite the pain being gone. Because at some point the skill started letting me remove other feelings aside from just pain. Like regr difort, and even stress.


    Whiches in very handy right now.


    Ascensionplete.


    User is now ss II.


    No more pain then?


    <strong>No more pain, </strong>Tar says in aforting manner.


    I just nod my head, not really wanting to talk about that experience again.


    <strong>I would like to say that it gets better, but that would be lying, </strong>Tar says while floating above me and looking down at my clothes. <strong>To be blunt, it actually gets worse. And I would rmend burning those clothes.</strong>


    Its at that point that I notice the rank smell. An absolutely <em>putrid </em>stench that has my nose scrunching up and me immediately jumping out of the bath, only to realize that that didnt do much good. Seeing as Im covered in the stuff too, with my clothes soaked in it.


    Damnit. At least new clothes arent a problem. Actually, I have plenty already.


    And these System messages can wait till I get cleaned. Because I am <em>not </em>reading them like this.


    <strong>I wouldnt be surprised if there was some sort of cleaning chemical in the bathroom here meant for ascensions, considering how luxurious this ce is, </strong>Tar randomlyments, making my mouth open for a second, only to close again immediately when I feel some of that gunk get into it, almost making me vomit immediately.


    <strong>Oh, and you might want to look into the mirror, </strong>Tar suddenly says, reminding me that I should be 62.5% blood lycan now and only 37.5% human. So I turn my head to look at the mirror, only to not really notice much different.


    Until Tar floats over to my head and points at the side of it, where I finally notice something missing.


    I dont have human ears anymore.

 Book 2: Chapter 88: Changes Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 88: Changes Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It only takes me a few seconds of staring before the smell snaps me out of my brief stupor and Im immediately searching the bathroom for anything that might clean me. Because the cleaning skill is not doing anything to help besides remove the blood, leaving behind the ck guck no matter how many times I try using it.


    Fortunately I do manage to find something that is rather clearlybeled in a small storage area behind a mirror near the sink as ascension cleaning solution. An aptly named product that I immediately open the top of and pour over my head, surprisingly finding the ck guck vanishing without a trace, making me smile.


    A smile that fades when I realize the smell is still in my clothes, making me almost puke from how bad it is. But I dont let it get to me and instead pour some more of the stuff over my bath to clean it before putting it back in the storage thing. Then I strip out of my clothes while running through my suite towards my room where I immediately change into fresh clothes with a sigh. After, of course, putting on a nose plug.


    It only takes me burning the smelly clothes after that and taking the nose plug back off to realize that Id just run through my suite like that without telling Tar to look away or anything.


    <strong>Dont worry, Im nowhere near you right now and am not seeing anything near you, </strong>Tar says, his voice sounding distant for a second before he asks, <strong>is the smell gone?</strong>


    I almost snort at that.


    Of course hed dip because of the smell. Probably shouldve realized this sooner, but I do remember seeing him vanishing the moment he pointed at my missing ears. I was just too distracted to pay attention to it.


    And yes, its gone.


    After a few seconds, he appears in front of me to find me wearing a simple t shirt and pants as I purposefully head to a <em>different </em>bathroom than the one I was just in. The one that currently still smells like fifteen people died and rotted in it.


    I should probably tell whoever cleans my suite about that. Because that might be a bit of an unpleasant surprise for them when they nexte to do their job.


    <strong>You think? </strong>Tar sarcastically says with a snort.


    I ignore him as I arrive at another bathroom and immediately focus on the ratherrge mirror there to see my reflection when Im not covered in blood and ck horror guck.


    The very first thing I notice after pulling my long hair back into a ponytail is that Im, well, without any human ears. Which I am very much not used to seeing.


    The next thing I notice is that my hair has grown. Again.


    I should probably get a haircut since my hair is now very nearly as long as I am tall. Its also got a little bit more red in it. But that might just be my memory messing up on me or something.


    After taking my attention away from my hair, I notice that my skin actually looks clearer than before. And smoother for some reason.


    Am I imagining this?


    <strong>No, youre not, </strong>Tar answers while floating around me. <strong>After reaching ss II, Guardians bodies begin to change to what their society generally considers perfect in appearance. Which generally means for Guardians that they be prettier and more beautiful in the case of girls, and more handsome for boys.</strong>


    I blink at that.


    Wait a second, that really happens? So its not just that some of the fae have a penchant for picking good looking Guardians?


    Tar looks at me as if Id just insulted him as he says, <strong>You seriously thought that? Wow. Im disappointed.</strong>


    I frown at that only to shake my head and refocus on my body again.


    Unfortunately, I didnt get any taller. A very sad thing.


    <strong>Thats what you wanted? </strong>Tar asks, sounding slightly amused. <strong>You dont care that your curves are more pronounced, your skin is clearer and smoother, or that your chest grew a little bit? None of that matters to you? Not even that your range of movement was expanded slightly so that you can bend your arms and legs just a little more and reach further? Or that your bone marrow was expanded to generate more blood faster?</strong>


    No. Why would it? Except for the practical bits of that. Because that could be useful.


    Actually, wait. I might have to buy some new clothes now.


    Tar snorts.


    I focus on my clothes and how well they fit before pursing my lips and shaking my head.


    Actually, never mind. Its not a big enough difference to be too ufortable or anything with the type of clothing I normally wear, considering how free it generally is. So Im not gonna bother. With the exception of my sports bras, which could be a problem.


    But I can just wear something else for now and buy more clothester.


    Probably after Belle bribes me to do it.


    <strong>Youre youre really just going to wait till she bribes you to do it to get some extra money? </strong>Tar asks, sounding exasperated.


    No. Not at all. Why would I need extra money? I have the earnings from winning both tournaments along with the be- err, the credits Ill be earning from magical crystals Ill be getting in ss II Fractures.


    <strong>You were just about to say the earnings you got from betting on yourself, werent you? </strong>Tar asks, his tanuki eyes narrowing slightly as he floats in front of me.


    I avert my gaze to the mirror as I state out loud, I dont know what youre talking about.


    Tar stares at me for several seconds before sighing and floating around to be next to my shoulder as he says, <strong>Either way, you wont have to worry about this happening again. It only happens on the ascension to ss II to perfect the Guardians body, both for appearance andbat. So it wont be happening in any future ascensions.</strong>


    Thats good.


    I purse my lips as I focus on my hearing, using the training Tar gave me to adjust the sensitivity a little down to a more reasonable level. But before I manage to do that, I notice something.


    Do I have three hearts now? I mutter out loud while ncing downwards and patting the spot at the very center of my torso, just at the very top of my stomach where my ribs end.


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tar says with a shrug. <strong>If I had to guess, youll likely end up getting a fourth heart when you reach ss III, and a fifth one at ss V.</strong>


    Oh. Thats a lot of hearts.


    <strong>Yes, that it is, </strong>he says, sounding amused.


    Well then.

 Book 2: Chapter 88.2: Changes Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 88.2: Changes Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Is there anything else I should know? Aside from how you know all this, since you for some reason seem to know everything that changes in my body.


    <strong>Its part of my contract, </strong>Tar exins. <strong>The System informs me of all of your changes so that I can better advise you on things.</strong>


    Uh huh. So what about my chest growing a little bit or my skin bing shinier needs advising?


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before muttering, <strong>You have a point there. But Im not the one who designed the System, so</strong>


    Hmm. True.


    Anyways, my question?


    <strong>Aside from what Ive already mentioned, your muscles have be a little bit morepressed to allow more muscle growth while using up less space, your eyes seem to have gained the ability to track prey now, your sense of smell has been enhanced, which Im guessing youve already noticed? </strong>Tar pauses before continuing after seeing me nod my head at that. <strong>And of course, you now have retractable ws.</strong>


    As if on instinct at the mention of my ws, I feel a strange sort of muscle in my hands thats practically begging me to use it for some reason. So I do, and immediately find my fingernails turning into those ws that I saw earlier. Pitch ck ws with a <em>very </em>faint red glow to them. One that I didnt notice before. Probably due to the blood I was covered in at the time.


    Interesting I mutter while turning my hand back and forth to look at my ws. Then I remember hisment about my muscles being morepressed, so I nce down at my arms and legs to find very little actual difference. But there is <em>some </em>difference. That being that my arms and legs are just a tiny, <em>tiny </em>bit smaller in terms of muscle.


    Huh. Wonder if this means I can work out to get more muscle easier now?


    <strong>The System didnt exin to me anything outside of what I already said, so I dont know, </strong>Tar says while shrugging. So I do the same while focusing on my eyes.


    You said I can track prey now?


    <strong>Correct, </strong>Tar says before adding, <strong>this one I can exin to you thanks to your fathers teaching me about it before.</strong>


    I raise a brow at that, but stay silent, nheless.


    <strong>To mark your prey, you simply have to consider a single target as your prey and you should do it on instinct, </strong>Tar says, so I turn my gaze to him and narrow my eyes, immediately considering him my prey. Which has him quickly backing up at the look in my eyes as my vision bes tinted slightly in red with him showing up with a glowing ck outline.


    Interesting I mutter before turning my gaze away from him and no longer thinking of him as prey, making my vision return to normal immediately. Very interesting.


    This could be quite useful.


    As for my sense of smell yeah, thats going to get annoying.


    I noticed it as soon as I got away from the putrid scent of that ck guck. That Im pretty sure I can smell everyone in this building. And its not pleasant.


    Nowhere near as overwhelming as my hearing, but still not the slightest bit pleasant.


    Especially when I can smell someone training in the training hall, along with their sweat.


    I grimace at that before asking out loud, Any way you could teach me to tone that down too?


    <strong>Of course, </strong>Tar says with a nod. <strong>Its actually easier to turn down your sense of smell than your hearing ording to your father. Not sure why though.</strong>


    I let out a sigh at that news.


    Good. Very good.


    Wait a second


    I look in the mirror again while pulling my lips back slightly to focus on my teeth.


    <strong>Your teeth didnt grow sharper this time, dont worry, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly amused.


    Good.


    <strong>Your teeth arent going to grow any sharper, not even in your next ascensions, </strong>Tar assures me. <strong>You will likely get retractable fangs, but your teeth themselves wont be growing any sharper.</strong>


    Actually, on the note of retractable things, I can tell that I have ws on my feet too.


    Its a good thing I was barefoot when I went into the bath. Because Id have holes in my shoes and socks otherwise.


    I wonder how the inte will react to my new changes?


    <strong>Judging how they seem to love your ears and already thought you were beautiful, </strong>Tar says, making me blush a little, <strong>Id say theyll react positively to these changes. Although some might question why someone with blood magic is getting inhuman features. Moreso than before since youve lost your human ears now. </strong>


    Right. That could be a problem.


    Not like I can dy ascending though. Not unless I want your father hounding me to grow stronger.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding ashamed of that fact.


    Im not ming you, dont worry. Just stating a fact.


    The tanuki lightly nods his head while looking rather sad. Sad enough that I almost hug him. But I stop myself. Because today is still thest day of him not being allowed to sit on or lie down on me.


    Wait. Thats it.


    The ban ends tomorrow by the way, I mention to him, knowing that he understands what Im saying. And that  amusingly enough  perks him right up.


    Why do you like sitting on me so much anyways?


    The tanuki actually grows a little embarrassed by that.


    I raise a brow as I ask out loud with more than a little suspicion, You arent taking advantage of-


    <strong>No! Never! </strong>Tar shouts, sounding slightly offended by that. But then he calms down, seemingly understanding that it was a perfectly normal question. <strong>Ive never told you this, but while fae do have humanoid appearances, we do not have the same sexual parts as humans do. Meaning that its not possible for a fae to feel sexually attracted to a human, because humans are mortal and do not have what we fae are attracted to. And that is not looks at all. It has more to do with the spirit and soul.</strong>


    Huh, I mutter, rather surprised by that sudden admission. The fae never talk about their appearance or sexual thoughts to humans.


    Or at least, thats what Ive always been told.


    <strong>Youre right, we usually dont, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly embarrassed. <strong>In fact, telling mortals about fae society besides the hierarchy is forbidden. Except if you are fae royalty yourself and trust the mortal.</strong>


    My mouth drops open into an o shape at that before I smile.


    Im d you can trust me then.


    Tar smiles back in his weird and cute tanuki smile before suddenly saying, <strong>Dont you have some System messages to go through?</strong>


    Oh. Right.

 Book 2: Chapter 89: New Skills Part I

    Book 2: Chapter 89: New Skills Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without any further hesitation, I finally let my System messages flow through.


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 101. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, on ount of ascending to ss II, your stat multipliers have been increased.}</strong>


    <strong>{Your Species has changed from half human, half blood lycan to 62.5% blood lycan, 37.5% human.}</strong>


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss II. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Thirty Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss II within half a year of being initialized into the System. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss II while less than twenty years old. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Common rarity inherent skill Blood ws may now evolve into umon rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Common rarity inherent skill Partial Shift will now evolve into umon rarity inherent skill Partial Shift while retaining any previous effects. There is no cost in levels due to the skill being static.}</strong>


    <strong>{Common rarity inherent skill Blood Siphon may now evolve into umon rarity inherent skill Blood Pull while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Common rarity inherent skill Life Drain may now evolve into umon rarity inherent skill Life Drain while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the rare rarity inherent skill, Beast Form.}</strong>


    My jaw drops open as I hear the various different messages.


    One hundred and five Skill Points for ascending?! That was absolutely worth the pain!


    The rest of the messages are both expected and not expected at the same time. The extra free point per level at ss II is normal, and the increase in the stat multiplier given from the capabilities is expected as well. Since the multiplier generally goes up by about 0.1 for each tier, so itll increase by 0.1 for Tier E, 0.2 for D, 0.3 for C, and so on.


    Basic stuff I learned in, well, System Basics.


    As for the skill evolutions? Thats rather surprising. I knew that it happened, but normally people only get about two skill evolutions offered to them each ascension not four.


    <strong>Well, the skill evolutions are affected by your etched skills and species, so some of them are more likely to evolve because of that, </strong>Tar says, exining it to me.


    Thats good then. Skill evolutions are always great. They still have all of the effects the skills had prior to the evolution, with brand new effects and uses on top of it.


    Although the metallicized blood ws skill is probably not something Im going to be able to use in public. At least, not the metallicized version.


    Because blood lycans are known to be the only creature that can metallicize their blood. Period.


    But people are only offered skill evolutions once per skill, so it would be an absolute waste to refuse it just because I wont be able to use the metallicized blood part of the skill out in the open. So I go ahead and ept all of the skill evolutions.


    <strong>{Common rarity inherent skill Blood ws has now evolved into the umon rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Common rarity inherent skill Blood Siphon has now evolved into the umon rarity inherent skill Blood Pull while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Common rarity inherent skill Life Drain has now evolved into the umon rarity inherent skill Life Drain while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    Now then. I go ahead and check out each of the skills new descriptions.


    <strong>{Metallicized Blood ws - Allows the user to coat their hands and feet with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana, drained from the body of whatever the user has their ws in, or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana. The user may also metallicize the blood ws into blood metal.}</strong>


    <strong>{Life Drain - Allows the user to drain the life energy of nearby creatures into themselves and others, healing them in the process. Costs mana to use. Life energy drained can be directed to a particr area of the users body to speed up healing there.}</strong>


    <strong>{Blood Pull  Allows the user to drain the blood of nearby creatures and to pull unattached blood from the air and the ground and use it for various purposes, including transfusing the users or others blood or using the blood for the users skills to substitute 50% of the required blood the user would have to personally use.}</strong>


    I frown at the differences in Life Drain and Blood Pull. Specifically that there are no differences in Life Drain, and the difference in Blood Pulls description should be something I already couldve done.


    <strong>Not necessarily, </strong>Tar says while floating in front of me as I still stand in front of the mirror with a frown on my face. <strong>If I had to guess, you should now be able to pull blood that isnt fresh or from a still-living being as well. Thats what it means by unattached. And normally, for skill evolutions, if the description doesnt change then it just involves a pure efficiency boost for the skill.</strong>


    Hmm, okay, I can work with that. I can definitely work with that.


    Should also make filling my blood bank a lot easier too.


    As for the metallicized blood ws skill?


    I grin as I raise my hand to my face before activating the skill, making blood quickly wrap around my entire hand to form the appearance of a paw. The blood then slowly gains a very faint silvery ck sheen to it as it solidifies into metal.


    Now this is cool, I mutter as I flex my fingers, feeling far better movement than Id have expected for having what are basically gauntlets on my hands in the form of a werewolfs hand. Very cool.


    After messing with the skill for a few minutes, I deactivate it and begin heading towards my room again, leaving the bathroom behind.


    Id say this ascension was very beneficial.


    <strong>Of course it was, </strong>Tar says, sounding amused as he floats around my head. <strong>You basically ascended one step past the bounds of humanity. Or demon-kind? Past both.</strong>


    I snort at that.


    <strong>Its what climbing the pathway of ascension means, </strong>Tar says, ignoring my snort.


    Yeah.


    As Im walking through the halls of my suite, I finally open the description of the brand new rare inherent skill.


    <strong>{Beast Form  Allows the user to transform into a humanoid wolflike beast for the price of ten percent of their mana on use.}</strong>


    Not very descriptive, but I did finally get a full body transformation skill. It only took reaching ss II for it to happen, but I got it.


    <strong>Considering that youre part blood lycan, it was almost a guarantee for you to get it, </strong>Tar says while still floating around my head.


    Guess so.


    Once I reach my bedroom, I stop before closing the door and putting my hands on my hips as I smile at the tanuki and state, So lets try it.


    Tar actually begins to look a little excited at that, the little tanuki stopping in midair in front of me with obvious interest on his face.


    With that amusing sight noted, I walk over to the full body mirror that was in my room before I moved in here, wait for a few seconds, then activate the skill.

 Book 2: Chapter 89.2: New Skills Part II

    Book 2: Chapter 89.2: New Skills Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Arge swirl of blood forms around my entire body, just like what happens with my arm when I shift it. And also just like with how my arm was at first, a wave of pain shes through my body. One that I lessen the blow of through the use of pain diffusion.


    Unlike with my old partial shift skill though  which I also need to check the new changes of  this transformation drains far more mana, and it is taking longer. Soon enough an entire five seconds pass before I feel the pain beginning to lessen, which could make arge difference in a fight.


    Now that the pain is getting out of the way though, I feel very different. I feel stronger. Faster. My senses have somehow improved even more. And most importantly, Im going to need new clothes again. At least, if the ripping sounds that I hear are anything to go by.


    When my vision returns to me, the blood having finally faded, I find a two-meter-tall werewolf standing in front of the mirror while wearing pretty badly torn clothes due to my increase in size. So without any hesitation, and before I can get embarrassed, I activate my magi-tech armor, the amulet still settledfortably on my chest despite my increase in size. And after activating it, the magi-tech gear forms as usual but in arger size this time to amodate myrger body.


    I nce at Tar before briefly remembering that he apparently has no sexual interest in humans. So I let out a sigh and focus on my reflection again.


    Not that it really matters right now anyways, seeing as I dont exactly resemble a human much right now. Im covered in ck fur streaked with blood red highlights after all. My hands, or rather, paws also have razor sharp ws, and my eyes are practically radiating a sinister red light with no pupils or sclera. Just straight up glowing red.


    I turn around as I realize I feel something behind me, only to find a tail extending from my tailbone, which has me grimacing.


    <strong>It was bound to happen, </strong>Tar says, making me nod.


    What werewolf doesnt have a tail after all? It would just be weird if I didnt have one in my werewolf form.


    At least its not very fluffy. Rather slicked down and with streaks of red just like the rest of my fur actually.


    I guess its okay since it should count as a weapon. Assuming this tail is made of blood metal?


    <strong>It should be, </strong>Tar answers, making me try to smile at that, only to realize that I need to figure out how to smile. Seeing as I have a muzzle right now with a head akin to a werewolf from a horror movie. <strong>I would rmend you not ever use that form in public as well. Because its not very hard to link to a blood lycan, unlike your original skills.</strong>


    I nod my head at that and try to respond out loud, only to realize that its kind of impossible to do that right now as I instead end up making growling noises.


    <strong>Oh, right, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like hes just remembering this little issue. <strong>Yeah, you wont be able to talk in the rare version of the skill from what your father told me.</strong>


    My eyes narrow as I re at the tanuki, who backs up while raising his front paws into the air and saying, <strong>Hey, dont look at me like that! Do you have any idea how terrifying you look right now?</strong>


    I blink at that before tilting my head slightly and then turning it to look at the mirror again. And the sight that greets me when I narrow my eyes at it is honestly pretty horror film worthy.


    Interesting. If Im being honest, Im pretty sure that if I were someone else, then Id mistake me for a demon if I saw myself in a Fracture.


    Not really something I want happening.


    So no beast form unless Im either absolutely sure no human is near, or I have no other choice and have to in order to save my life.


    Unfortunately this also means that I cant go to the training hall to test out how powerful I am in my werewolf form.


    I try to talk to Tar again, only for growls and snarls toe out instead, making my eyes narrow again.


    Stupid form not being able to talk.


    With that thought, I try to cancel the skill, only to realize that I cant.


    <strong>Activate it again, </strong>Tar answers my confusion. <strong>Full body transformation skills are different from partial ones. Full body transformations are not simply activated and deactivated. Instead you are just using the skill. Then you have to use it again to transform back.</strong>


    Oh. So itll cost twenty percent of my total mana to transform to my beast form and back?


    <strong>Yes, it will, </strong>Tar says, sounding regretful about that.


    Well, thats annoying.


    Oh, right. Before I turn back


    I turn my head to look at the tail before trying to focus on the thing. And focus. And focus. And focus.


    Eventually I do manage to feel something. A strange sensation in the tail. And the moment I pull on that sensation, the tail suddenly turns into blood metal entirely, allowing me to instinctively move it around like a whip.


    But more importantly, it lets me retract the tail into my body. So I immediately do so.


    Yes!!! I dont have to have a tail after all!


    Tar snorts as he sees what must look like a terrifying werewolf jumping into the air while shooting its wed arms upwards in celebration. But I ignore him. I dont even feel embarrassed by what I just did. Just happy that I dont have to have a stupid tail.


    <strong>You sound a little defensive over the idea of having a tail, </strong>Tarments with an amused note to his tone.


    Well, wouldnt you if you saw all of thosements and civilians talking about Scarlet needing a tail and how they want to Stroke Scarlets tail when she gets one and various other disturbing things like that?


    Tar doesnt answer for a moment before eventually admitting, <strong>Yeah, I can see that bing creepy. And actually getting a tail would make it much worse if they ever saw it.</strong>


    Yep. I dont care that Im nning on hiding this form from them regardless. I do not want a tail. Even if it wouldve only been in a temporary shapeshifted form.

 Book 2: Chapter 89.3: New Skills Part III

    Book 2: Chapter 89.3: New Skills Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I very smugly activate the beast form skill again, turning me back into my human form with far less pain than it initially took to transform me into that beast form in the first ce. And then I remember my clothes.


    Right. Should go change.


    I quickly go to my closet before deactivating my magi-tech armor and changing clothes. Then I go back to my bedroom and sit down on the bed.


    So far the benefits Ive gotten have been pretty good.


    <strong>What about the tail? </strong>Tar asks, sounding more amused than he should be.


    We forget the tail. It doesnt exist.


    The tanuki snorts as he lies down on my bed next to me.


    Now then. The next thing on the table is to check out the changes to the partial shift skill.


    <strong>{Partial Shift  Allows the user to transform two extremities into that of a beast for arge and one time price of mana each use.}</strong>


    Not bad. Not bad at all.


    It looks like I can now transform both of my arms into that of a beast, and itll likely cost less mana to do so. A very nice upgrade.


    I smile at that while flopping back on my bed.


    With the exception of the putrid ck guck, the major pain that I went through, and the wardrobe malfunction, this has been a very nice evening. And the day was quite good as well, considering therge amount of credits that should be transferred to me by the morning.


    And then theres the points. Actually, I should start putting more research into what I can get with those points now that I think about it.


    But that can be left for tomorrow.


    For now, I should just focus on my status. Because I havent actually looked at it beyond checking the skill descriptions yet.


    And it should be a bit different now.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 101</strong><strong>SP: 108</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 245</strong><strong>Mental: 243</strong><strong>Magical: 243</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 3</strong><strong>Mana: 40153.32/50191.65</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 3</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 4</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Form</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 11</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Clean</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Repair</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Recharge</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 9</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Wow. My mana really did shoot up just from ascending.


    That increase in the multiplier is already working its magic. Now it looks like my mana is about 0.85 times my mental and magical stats.


    I smile at the thought.


    And it shouldnt just be my mana affected by it. Everything should be.


    Its so nice to be ss II.


    Now then. Onto using up my Skill Points.


    Before I level up my skills though, I should check if there are any new legendary skills that I might want that unlocked from reaching ss II.


    <strong>There probably is knowing you </strong>Tar grumbles, sounding like hes moping or something.


    I snort at that before opening my Skills Store. And low and behold, there really is a new achievement-locked legendary skill there.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Unlocked by persevering through over a hundred different unique magic attacks within a three month time period, by having pushed through your mana capacity numerous times over within a weeks time, by killing a demon over a hundred levels above you, by reaching ss II within half a year of being initialized into the System, and by being the child of the White Knight of Humanity, Amelia Asger.</strong>


    <strong>This skill allows the user to set up a temporary null magic field that will require any magical skill requiring mana to use twice as much mana as the skill originally intended to be sessfully used.</strong>


    <strong>The user is only partially affected by their own null magic fields, requiring them to spend 1.3 times as much mana for any magical skills while inside of them.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Achievement-Locked</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>Blood Sword</strong><strong>Unlocked by killing over one thousand beings within half a year, by having the knowledge of how to wield a sword, by killing a demon over fifty levels above you, by reaching ss II, and by being a Blood Lycan.</strong><strong>The user may create a de made out of metallicized blood that they can use inbat.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Poisoning</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing various demons whose levels far surpass your own with indirect means, and by having blood magic.</strong><strong>The user may corrupt a very small portion of their blood before separating it from their body and using it to infect other living beings.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>Blood Frenzy</strong><strong>Unlocked through killing a demon at least fifty levels above you, through killing a being at least one ss above you, through killing an original variant demon, by killing a demon at a higher level than you while almost burning all of your blood in the process, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>Allows the user to drive their opponents into a frenzy, making them go berserk with anger on a level determined by the difference in power between the user and the target.</strong><strong>Warning: While this skill makes the target incredibly reckless and lose their situational awareness, it also makes the target stronger.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Epic</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    Wow. Thats wow.


    <strong>Get that legendary skill, </strong>Tar immediately says, and I cant help but numbly nod my head as I buy the skill. <strong>Null magic is one of the most powerful magics in existence, and you just got a powerful etched null magic skill. I guess it was bound to happen with your mother being White, but I wasnt expecting it this soon</strong>


    Yeah


    This is a very nice skill.


    <strong>You have too many legendary skills </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like his worldview is being shattered. Or universeview? Guess that term fits better. <strong>Just how how does a Guardian not even half a year past contracting manage to get five legendary skills?</strong>


    I resist the temptation to stand up straight and stick my chest out in pride. Because I am not a child.


    And Im lying down, so thatd be hard.


    Anyways, putting my pride aside for the moment, I activate the null magic field before simply understanding how to use it. So I make the field appear a couple meters in front of me where I soon find a pure white tint fill the air for a diameter of about five or so meters.


    Not a bad size. Should be enough to cover a room.


    The main problem was that setting up the field itself cost an entire five percent of my mana. Which was a lot.


    But it doesnt look like it has a cooldown or even a limit on how many fields I can have up at once.


    I wait for a little bit before realizing that the field doesnt seem to vanish on its own either. Then I walk out of my room and to the other side of my suite, only to walk back again to find that the field is no longer there.


    Interesting. So I can make as many fields as I want, and they will not expire unless I get too far away from them? I also dont have to upkeep them. Its just a straight up five percent cost of my mana to use the skill.


    Not bad. Not bad at all.


    In fact, this is great! Especially for those berserk skills and finishing move skills people have which cost a huge amount of mana. With this I could end up making them not have the mana needed to use the skill at all!


    It still kind of sucks though that I dont have a finishing move skill of my own still unless I count the beast form? Maybe?


    It definitely makes me a lot stronger, thats for sure.


    I sit back down on my bed before pursing my lips.


    What to do with the remaining Skill Points... buying Blood Sword wouldn''t really help much when I already have my metallicized blood ws, and Null Magic Field is an achievement-locked skill, so I cant level it up with Skill Points. I also dont have enough SP to get Blood Thirst to level ten still. Because legendary skills are a massive pain to level up.


    Hmm. I guess thatll work.


    I raise Blood Manifestation to level ten before checking the changes to the skills description to find that I can now summon up to twenty-five des at once. It also looks like my control over them has improved, which Im surprised the description is mentioning.


    Mustve been some improvement for it to point it out.


    Now then.


    I turn my attention to the tanuki lying on the bed next to me before I ask out loud, You mentioned that you could tell me the Demon Kings Titles after I reached ss II?

 Book 2: Chapter 90: Title and Rest

    Book 2: Chapter 90: Title and Rest


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>I can tell you one of his Titles, aside from Demon King, of course, </strong>Tar corrects me, making it clear that the Demon King has quite a few Titles. The tanuki then floats up into the air, making me scoot back to my pillows to sit up with my back against them as I watch him.


    <strong>Now, we do not know the exact story behind how he got this Title, but we do know one of its requirements, </strong>Tar says, surprising me a little bit. <strong>He got his title by killing over one billion sapient creatures. In his case, over a billion humans.</strong>


    My jaw drops open.


    <strong>The Demon King ughtered all of humanity on Tartarus,mitting genocide personally, </strong>Tar continues, sounding rather grim. <strong>We do not know most of the reasons behind his doing this, but we do know that he has at least four important reasons for his actions. The only one that we personally know though is that the Demon Kings wife  the Blood Lords mother  was killed by the ruler of the humans previously on Tartarus. But from what we understand, that wasnt even the worst of what the humans did to the demons.</strong>


    I stare at Tar with my mouth agape for several seconds. Long enough that he just decides to continue speaking, <strong>All we can do is specte as to why the Demon King killed off all of humanity from this. Because the Demon King is not the type of person who would ughter an entire race for one mans faults.</strong>


    A few more seconds pass before I finally find my voice and ask, So what was his Title?


    Tar stares at me for a moment, then answers with more than a little fear in his voice, <strong>Beast of the Apocalypse.</strong>


    I feel a shiver run down my spine just at the mention of the Title for some odd reason.


    Was that the power of a Title? Or just coincidence?


    Either way, I ask, Do you know what the mythical skill bearing that Title does?


    <strong>Its his beast form transformation skill, just like the beast form skill you just got, </strong>Tar answers, still sounding slightly afraid despite the Demon King being on an entirely different. <strong>The Demon King is by far the strongest mortal in existence. And his Beast of the Apocalypse skill significantly strengthens him even more despite his massive lead in levels over the second highest leveled being, that being one of the four Demon Lords who is at about level 1930 or so. The skill lets him transform into two different forms. His werewolf form, and his beast form. The beast is far stronger but less maneuverable, standing at over five meters in height with the pure strength to crush your own mother in a single strike with ease.</strong>


    My jaw drops open at that.


    He can kill White with just a single strike?!


    <strong>Yes, he can, </strong>Tar answers, sounding serious and still slightly afraid. <strong>Do you remember what Blue did to that ss III Rogue when you met him? </strong>I nod my head. <strong>The Demon King can do that very same thing to White with ease.</strong>


    Well shit. Humanity has no chance at survival if he ever makes it to Earth somehow.


    <strong>Theres no doubt about that, </strong>Tar says, sounding grim. <strong>But I dont think hell ever be able to make it to Earth. So humanity is still safe in that regard.</strong>


    Thats good.


    I lean back while stretching my arms up towards the ceiling with a yawn. Then I nce at the clock to find that its already about midnight.


    Guess time flew by while I was trying out the new skills and catching up with everything.


    Overall though, I really enjoyed that tournament. Both of them, actually.


    There were quite a few good fights in them, and I got to experience a mental attack which should prepare me for one when I find a demon that can do it.


    The new skills are great as well.


    Should get started on training pain diffusion with Allen either tomorrow or the day after though. Not to mention blood regeneration.


    I should also be able to start going into ss II Fractures now that Im ss II and have my lovely tinum pass. Something I will be cherishing when it actually arrives in person.


    Wish they would just send it digitally, but apparently this is some sort of tradition, so they dont.


    I slump back with my arms spread out on either side of me and my head on my pillow. Then out of nowhere, I feel the weight of a certain tanuki climbing on top of me, making me narrow my eyes on him.


    <strong>The three days have passed now </strong>Tar mutters rather shyly, making me raise a brow before chuckling and flopping my head back onto my pillow.


    Go ahead then.


    Tar quickly moves up to my chest before curling up into an adorable ball and closing his eyes.


    I reach up with one of my hands to pet the little furball while looking up at the ceiling again.


    This has been one hell of a year, thats for sure. And I dont have any sses until about halfway through January. Meaning plenty of time to train and fight in Fractures.


    Not to mention that the beta testing window for that game finally opens up the day after tomorrow. And I am very much looking forward to that.


    I cant help but grin at the thought of ying that game.


    Wouldnt surprise me if Belle tried bribing me to go to some of the tournaments with her just as spectators though. That could be annoying, but I guess itll be nice to spend time with the team  and Aria of course, since Ill be bringing her with me  in something outside of just fighting.


    Next year is going to be a busy year though, what with the ss V Fracture, my second semester of university, the adoption, all of it.


    I continue staring up at the ceiling for a few more seconds before slowly closing my eyes.


    Really should have Tar teach me to control my sense of smell in the morning I mutter as I begin to fall asleep.

 Book 2: Epilogue

    Book 2: Epilogue


    <strong>The Rooftop of a Hotel near the Center of the Capital City</strong>


    Allen narrows his eyes as he crouches next to his wife on the rooftop, simply looking out at the balcony of a building across the street from the hotel theyre standing on. And he cant help but feel anger as he sees the woman in the room of the building immediately meet his eyes the moment his own lock onto her.


    <em>Of course I wouldnt be able to catch her off-guard</em>


    He nces at his wife to find her already nodding her head at him before he jumps off of the roof alongside Cynthia tond on the balcony. And before he can even step inside of the room, he hears White ask, Why are you here?


    To ask you why you did all of this, Allen says while raising his head and beginning to walk into the room with his eyes narrowed, his wife walking next to him while practically seething in her own rage. Why you left Scarlet to me to be raised as an orphan. Why you were at first against the adoption. Why you had a child with a demon. Whites eyes narrow at that in a dangerous way. And why you chose now to try making amends in your own screwed up way.


    White doesnt say anything for several seconds, making Allen tense up. Because despite all of his bravado, he knows that it would be as easy for White to erase him from existence as it would be for him to kill a fly.


    The woman just stares at them for a time, briefly alternating her gaze from the two before she finally sighs and answers, To save the universe. Then she turns around and begins walking over towards a couch lying in the middle of the room of the apartment they are in.


    Allens eyes widen in shock at that, and out of the corner of his eye, he notices his wifes doing the same.


    Right when he opens his mouth to ask about what she just said though, White says, Do not ask about it as I cannot say more.


    His mouth closes again.


    <em>Of course she cant</em>


    A few tense moments of silence pass before White leans forwards slightly in the couch facing them and says, You know, I really dont like either of you. Both Allen and Cynthia tense up even more, only for White to continue, But I can very much appreciate all that youve done for Scarlet. So I will give you a warning.


    Allens eyes narrow slightly as the woman sits back again.


    Watch out for Scarlet during the ss V Fracture, White says rather cryptically.


    Why? Also, could you at least answer me why you had a child with a demon? A blood lycan no less? Allen prods, hoping to get an answer.


    Whites eyes narrow again as she says, And what makes you think you deserve the answer to that?


    The man doesnt back down, instead stepping forwards, his eyes narrowing despite the danger, Because Im the one who raised <em>your daughter </em>since she was an infant.


    Both Guardians re at each other for several seconds before White lets out another sigh and her re softens.


    Right, she says, sounding a little sad, youre right. The woman then shakes her head and looks up again as she answers, Her father... despite all of our fights, despite our different views on things, and despite my conflicting loyalties I love Leonidas. We first met because of the witches. We were both trapped in the same ce for years, unable to leave, unable to separate from each other, and unable to do anything but fight alongside each other.


    Allens eyes widen as he realizes shes talking about the witches of the demon world Tartarus. Meaning this all happened on Tartarus itself.


    Over the years trapped together, we learned to see past our differences a little. To see who the other truly was underneath their Titles, even if it took three years of being forced to fight alongside each other for us to stop automatically hating each other for what we were, White says while reaching for a table where a ss of what Allen assumes is wine is sitting. She then takes a sip of it and continues, And after five years in that ce, we even grew to love each other. In our own messed up ways. But love was love.


    So you had Scarlet? Cynthia asks, her tone softer than Allen wouldve expected.


    White nods. We had Scarlet in that very ce, in a turn of events that surprised both of us as neither of us ever expected to be able to have a kid considering our levels. Neither did we realize we had wanted one in the first ce. But it wasnt as big a surprise as finding out that that was exactly what we needed to do to leave. Her face sours at that. The damned witches manipted us to realize our prophesized love for each other by wearing away at the mutual hatred we had for each other as a human and a demon. And while I know they cant actually manipte our feelings or anything like that and that our love was still ours, it still She stops as she takes another sip of her wine. "It still pissed me off to be manipted."


    Allen rxes slightly, feeling like hes beginning to understand the woman seated in front of him just a little bit better. Not enough to forgive her, but a little bit, nheless.


    Scarlets father ripped the head off of the first witch who told us of the prophecy they had foretold over a decade ago, White says, sounding slightly amused at that fact. The very moment they told us what they had done to drive us together and why, particrly the leaving our daughter on Earth alone part, he ripped their head off without an ounce of hesitation.


    <em>Yeah, I can definitely see a blood lycan doing that.</em>


    But I White says with her head down, sounding slightly choked up, surprising both Allen and Cynthia in the process. I have experienced prophecies before, and I have ignored them before. She raises her head with a sad look in her eye. They didnt turn out well.


    So you decided to go along with the prophecy? Allen asks with a frown. What did Scarlets father think?


    White shakes her head and says, He was absolutely against it.


    <em>Hence the dead witch. Makes sense. The prophecy had them abandoning their daughter after all. And blood lycans care more about their family than anything else in the world.</em>


    In the end, it came down to a battle between the two of us to decide how we would move forward, White says, sounding slightly despondent. And I won, if only through immobilizing him. Took Scarlet with me, leaving him behind to be sent back to Tartarus without me, Scarlet, or a choice.


    Allens eyes widen at that admission. That if she hadnt immobilized him, she couldve lost.


    <em>Is Scarlets father</em>


    So you followed the prophecy, Cynthia asks, sounding unsure of what to say, but still angry.


    White just nods her head while downing the rest of the wine in onest gulp, likely not feeling anything due to just how powerful she is. The woman then stands up from the couch, the sad look in her eyes gone, reced with the very same neutral expression Allen more often than not sees on Scarlets face.


    I will not repeat this again, Sylvesters, White deres, a sh of white light shining around her and lifting her hair slightly upwards. The part of the prophecy where Scarlet must learn to be on her own will be ending the moment the ss V Fracture begins, meaning her father <em>will</em> send someone to bring her back to Tartarus. And I am not allowed to intervene unless her life is in danger, leaving me stuck dealing with the other ss V demons of the Fracture. So whether or not Scarlet stays on Earth or goes to Tartarus will depend on the two of you and Scarlet herself.


    White steps towards Allen and Cynthia, making the two back up as their eyes widen, I have secured a favor from my brother to protect her once during the Fracture, but that can only go so far. If you wish to keep Scarlet on Earth, then protect her. Keep her safe.


    Then, as if she were never here, the White Knight of Humanity vanishes, leaving the two ss IV Guardians staring at where she was just standing.


    Nearly an entire minute passes in silence before the two share a nce and then nod.


    <em>We need to prepare.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 1: Back to the Grind Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 1: Back to the Grind Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I narrow my eyes, my lips pursed in thought as I stare at the demon acolyte who I am currently holding in a null magic field while using blood boil on it. The creature is focusing on Sylver as he rushes around the room fighting the majority of the ss II demons, leaving me at the back to take care of the stragglers. But since Ive already done that, Ive resorted to walking up and testing my skills on this little guy.


    Through my single minded focus on the acolyte who is struggling to cast its magic within my field, I vaguely hear shoutinging from Sylver. But I ignore it since I can see the guys doing perfectly fine as I continue watching the effects of the null magic field on the acolyte.


    Rather interesting effects too, since the thing isnt just having to use more mana in its skills, but its also being thrown off and confused by the change in the mana requirement. An added bonus I didnt think about before.


    And this is still only at level one for the skill. It makes me wonder just how strong the skill will be at level ten for example.


    A very nice thought.


    Scarlet Asger!!!! Sylvers voice breaks through my thoughts, I <em>told </em>you to stay at the back and deal with the weaker demons! <em>Not </em>to bully a damned acolyte!


    I nce at him for a moment before sending twenty des of blood towards the acolyte while keeping it in my null magic field. The acolyte then struggles to create a barrier of water to block the des, only for it to fail miserably due to ack of mana. Which makes sense, considering its been sitting there firing spells at Sylver while inside of my null magic field. My des then pierce straight into the acolyte, killing the thing without much struggle since all of its bodyguards were busy with Sylver.


    Im not bullying any acolytes, I defend myself acting like I didnt just kill the thing. And all of the fomorians back here are already dead. What did you expect me to do?


    He just groans as he continues sending bolts of silver lightning out at the demons, turning them to ash one by one.


    You know what? I cant even argue with that I hear him muttering to himself before shouting at me, Just do whatever.


    I grin at that and give him a thumbs-up which has him rolling his eyes. Then I proceed to target the other acolytes  because they give the most EXP  and make several null magic fields appear around them as well. And since he said I could do whatever, I shift both of my arms, briefly relishing in the fact that I <em>can </em>do that in the first ce now, before rushing over into the first null magic field and tearing into the acolyte that is at least twenty-five levels above me, the creature not having its bodyguards to be able to defend itself.


    Which honestly makes them a very nice monster to farm for EXP when I have a nice higher leveled guy here drawing the creatures bodyguards like a ma. Even if I get a slightly reduced amount of EXP for technically having help in a way.


    Hes only drawing away other demons though, and maybe exhausting some of their mana, so the EXP penalty shouldnt be too big. And its not like hes <em>trying </em>to pull them.


    After cutting down a few acolytes, Sylver finishes dealing with the dozens upon dozens of other demons in the floor were in of this rather wide open arcades main room. Which surprisingly wasnt where the core appeared.


    Its only been a day since the Primary tournament ended, and the moment the Demonic Assault started, Allen immediately messaged me telling me to work with Sylver if I nned on entering a ss II Fracture. To Sylvers displeasure, of course.


    Im not sure if hes more upset that Im already ss II while he only appears to be midway through ss II, or by the fact that hes stuck babysitting me again. Just like in the early days when I first became a Guardian.


    Does she even need my babysitting? the man mutters, likely not meaning for me to hear it.


    I hold back a snort at that.


    Do I need a babysitter? Probably not. Will Allen let me go around on my own in a ss II Fracture where I will most likely end up getting into trouble somehow and almost dying due to the mysterious person manipting the demons in my Fractures? Probably not.


    At least not until I get a few dozen levels and can handle myself against the demons at the edges of the Fractures without any trouble.


    <strong>Sometimes I wonder if you really have a death wish </strong>Tar mutters, having apparently returned from wherever he had vanished to.


    I do not have a death wish.


    He snorts at that as I use the clean skill on my shapeshifted arms before focusing on Sylver who is walking up to me, briefly ncing at the mauled corpse of the acolyte next to me.


    Getting a second w really didnt help with your mauling habit, Sylver mutters with a raised brow, only to raise the other when he sees me shrug. And that other magic youre using


    I tense up slightly at that.


    Right. It would obviously raise questions when I randomly start using null magic in public.


    But I knew this would happen, and I honestly dont care if people learn that White is my biological mother. So let them specte all they want.


    Doesnt change the fact that Allen and Cynthia are the ones I think of as my parents.


    Never mind, Sylver suddenly says, surprising me for a moment before I realize that this is Sylver. He probably doesnt care. Lets continue.


    I nod my head at that and begin following him through the sea of demon corpses towards the next room.

 Book 3: Chapter 1.2: Back to the Grind Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 1.2: Back to the Grind Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Considering how many kills youre taking from me, Id say you should already be a high enough level to take on the demons on the outskirts of the Fracture by yourself, Sylver grunts with a frown on his face as he looks around at the demons Id killed closer to the edges of the secondrge room of the arcade. A bowling alley. And I cant help but think hes trying to get rid of me.


    <strong>Well, it makes sense that he would, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather amused. <strong>Youre kind of stealing a bunch of his kills.</strong>


    I mean, its not like most of those kills would give him EXP anyways


    That said, I let my System messages flow through.


    <strong>{Level 102 Demon Fomorian defeated. A small EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x5</strong>


    <strong>{Level 102 Demon Fomorian defeated. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x4</strong>


    <strong>{Level 104 Demon Fomorian defeated. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x4</strong>


    <strong>{Level 105 Demon Fomorian defeated. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x4</strong>


    <strong>{Level 106 Demon Fomorian defeated. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x4</strong>


    <strong>{Level 108 Demon Fomorian defeated. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x4</strong>


    <strong>{Level 125 Demon Acolyte defeated. Arge EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Level 126 Demon Acolyte defeated. Arge EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Level 128 Demon Acolyte defeated. Arge EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x3</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 102. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 111. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x32</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Pull has leveled up to level 13.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    Yeah, I did get quite a lot of levels from that. And all it took was like five to ten minutes of fighting.


    I wonder why those demons were so weak?


    <strong>Well, they are the weakest demons in the Fracture, and you already have the advantage over them in your skills and you being mostly blood lycan, </strong>Tar says, making it sound obvious. <strong>Not to mention that the demon acolytes are fully focused on magic attacks with very little in the way of defense for themselves. Which is why they have fomorians guardians.</strong>


    Fomorians that were mostly attacking Sylver.


    Youre sure you wont get in trouble with Allen for this? I ask with a raised brow, and Sylver just snorts and turns around, walking away.


    Guess thats a yes?


    Either way, looks like I already leveled up Null Magic Field once. So thats very nice.


    <strong>You do need to remember that itll be a lot harder-</strong> Tar begins only to stop when I finish, To level up as I do so. Yes, I know. We learned about it in System Basics while you were asleep.


    The range of levels for ss II is 1.5 times asrge as it is for ss I, meaning that Ill probably stop getting EXP from the fomorians entirely after I reach around level one hundred and ny to two hundred or so. And thatll mean I will be stuck having to get another fifty or so levels relying solely on the stronger and more elite demons in the Fracture.


    Its both annoying and nice that the start of each ss has Guardians leveling up the fastest by far. Annoying because its annoying when youre not at the start of the ss, and nice because it really does feel nice to see the levels shooting up when you are.


    I stretch a little as I watch Sylver walk through the door into a hallway leading towards where the core is. Then I turn around and begin heading towards a hallway leading elsewhere, where Ill likely find some rather weak demons due to their being quite a ways away from the core.


    As I walk though, I cant help but wonder if the person manipting the demons in my Fractures will start doing it again now that Im alone.


    Im still not sure whos doing it, but if I had to guess, its probably someone connected to my father. After all, if hes a member of a branch in the blood lycans n, then he will probably be able to do something like that.


    I think?


    Then again, Im not really sure how that all works.


    And Tar wont say anything still.


    <strong>Youll find out on your own, </strong>Tar says, making me frown.


    Annoying.


    Stupid prophecies.


    Then again, for all I know, the one doing the manipting of my Fractures could be my father himself. Or maybe just someone subordinate to him?


    I continue walking through the room before entering the hallway where I eventually find more demons after turning a corner further down in said hallway.


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 102|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 104|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 103|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Fomorian  Subspecies: N/A  Level 102|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Acolyte  Subspecies: N/A  Level 125|</strong>


    An acolyte and its bodyguards, all of which are almost at the lowest level they can possibly be in this Fracture.


    Not a half bad find, if Im being honest.


    The fomorians all begin rushing towards me as soon as they smell me, meanwhile the acolyte begins raising its staff, only to grow confused when I ce a null magic field around it. But it pushes past the confusion a secondter to send a bolt of lightning at me, frowning a secondter.


    I jump out of the way of the bolt of lightning before covering my shapeshifted arms with ws of blood  not using the metallicized blood  and charging straight for the fomorians who are all now several levels below me.


    Lets begin the hunt.

 Book 3: Chapter 2: Frightening Discovery

    Book 3: Chapter 2: Frightening Discovery


    <strong>Further Into the Gaming Arcade</strong>


    Despite splitting off from Scarlet and telling her to fight on her own, Collin cant help but keep an eye on her as he fights, making his way just a bit closer to the core without getting too close to it. Because he isnt a high enough level to deal with the demons at the core or even near it, having to wait for reinforcements from the base for that.


    And what he finds when he watches her still surprises him just as much now as it did when he first saw her fighting after reaching ss II. The girl simply puts up what he can only assume is a field of null magic before rushing forwards and maneuvering around the fomorians attacks, striking back at them when they give an opening using her shapeshifted arms, and taking attacks without so much as flinching sometimes just to create more openings. All while the acolyte seems to struggle with using its magic skills, seemingly using up far more mana than it should otherwise need for each skill.


    <em>That is most definitely null magic. Theres no doubt about it. But for her to have null magic along with her blood magic, shed have to have etched skills. And the only human with null magic in the world at ss V is White.</em>


    Collin doesnt stop killing demons with his silver lightning as he runs through the building, keeping one eye on Scarlet through a camouged drone that she has most likely already heard. Considering just how great her hearing has be.


    <em>Could she be Whites daughter? Its possible, considering just how powerful she is. And while it is incredibly rare, some children who have etched skills do end up getting a magic that is nothing like their parents.</em>


    Seconds pass by, and with each one of them another demon is turned to ash by his lightning. All while he ponders over the subject. But eventually he decides that she is most likely Whites daughter as that would be the only usible exnation for how she has both blood and null magic.


    <em>Not like it matters to me who her parents are. But at least if she knows about it, which she probably would if she got an achievement-locked skill, then she should know shes not an orphan. And the public will likely know this too when they figure it out themselves.</em>


    Collin feels himself rxing ever so slightly at that. Because ever since he found out she was an orphan, he couldnt help but feel worried that her background would be discovered by the public and she would end up ostracized.


    <em>Whether or not she was raised in an orphanage or not doesnt matter. Not if she has etched skills to prove who she is.</em>


    With that thought and onest nce at the girl who constantly reminds him of histe sister and is currently killing the acolyte with several des of blood, taking advantage of the fomorians focus on her, Collin, otherwise known by the public as Sylver, focuses all of his attention on his own battles once again.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    So you decided to go off on your own after just minutes of entering the Fracture and gaining about a dozen levels? Allen asks, trying to gather all the details of what went down in the first Fracture. Followed by the Fracture afterwards, neither of which actually had anything interesting happen. Nothing beyond me getting to about level one hundred and twenty from hunting demons.


    Yep, I answer with a nod while opening up my terminal as I sit in his office on the veryfortable sofa beginning to search up if theres any news on my use of null magic.


    And you got a new null magic etched skill unlocked as an achievement-locked skill? he continues, making me nod without taking my gaze from the terminal. Im not really sure why we didnt think of this before, but now that we have Whites permission to go through with the adoption, we can just let the public know youre her daughter, and we wont have to worry about your being raised as an orphan. Since the people and government wouldnt treat you as an orphan after that. Theyd treat you as the daughter of one of the five Knights of Humanity.


    Yeah, thats why Im fine with using my null magic skills in public, Iment right before finding what Im looking for. Some streamer going on about his spections for me being Whites daughter. It certainly didnt take long for them to start specting either.


    I raise my head finally to find Allen rubbing his temples as he says, Well, your biological mother is the only ss V user of null magic in the world, and also the only one who has ever gotten a universal notification announcing her acquisition of etched skill slots. So itd make sense for people to assume that.


    Wait what?


    You mean universal notifications are public knowledge? I ask, my confusion likely showing on my face.


    Allen raises his head to look at me with a tired expression on his face and asks, You didnt know that? He blinks for a moment only to shake his head. Right. Of course you wouldnt. They dont teach as much as they should in those Tier 3 city schools. Not as much about Guardians at least,pared to how much they teach in higher Tier cities.


    Oh.


    Thats annoying.


    And why wasnt any of it mentioned in the textbooks I borrowed from I pause in the middle of speaking as the answer to my own questiones to me. Never mind.


    Its because I never had a ss that focused solely on Guardians in school before university. Sure we had history sses, and sses over demons and stuff. But we never had one focused solely on Guardians.


    A minor oversight on my part.


    <strong>It would certainly exin how the people are automatically jumping to the conclusion that White is your mother just from seeing your use of null magic, </strong>Tar adds his two cents in, and I cant help but nod.


    Especially if they have some sort of website or something online used to keep track of the universal notifications. Which in hindsight I wouldnt be surprised if they did.


    Actually, I open the browser and search that very thing up. And lo and behold, there really is one.


    Interesting.


    From the looks of it, most of the Demon Lords have about three or four etched skills, with the Lord of Death and the Blood Lord having four, whereas most of the Knights of Humanity have two etched skills, with White being the only one with three. Which answers my question of how many etched skills White has.


    It doesnt list any of their Titles though, presumably because they got most of them before the System was initialized on Earth.


    But the Demon King holy shit.


    Is this is this urate? I cant help but mutter out loud, drawing Allens attention to what Im doing  the man having previously been muttering to himself.


    What? The Demon Kings etched skills? he asks after seeing my screen before grimly answering, Yes, the Demon King has six etched skills.


    Wow I mutter, unsure of how to take that. Wait, doesnt that also mean that


    Yes, it does, Allen says with a grimace. The Blood Lord, the Demon Kings son, has all six of those etched skills along with his own four etched skills on top of them. Although whether he has those skills unlocked for their higher rarity or not is unknown.


    I stare at him with my mouth agape, unsure of how to respond.


    <strong>Dont forget that the other Demon Lords have parents too, all of whom have etched skills of their own even if they dont have anywhere near as many as the Demon King, </strong>Tar suddenly chips in, making my shock turn into downright fear. <strong>And most people only ever etch mythical skills, so those are likely to all be mythical skills. Most likely are Title-Bearing ones as well. Assuming theyve met the requirements for the mythical version of the achievement-locked skills that is.</strong>


    No wonder the Demon Lords are all stronger than the Knights

 Book 3: Chapter 3: Beta Test Opens

    Book 3: Chapter 3: Beta Test Opens


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The very first thing I do the moment I wake up the next morning is jump out of bed and rush over to the pod doc I had set up in my room, all while activating my magi-tech armor and using the clean skill. Not even bothering to change out of my sleeping clothes before I jump into the pod doc.


    Because its finally the start of the beta testing period for the game!


    <strong>You really are excited for this, </strong>Tarments, sounding rather amused.


    Of course I am! Its the very first MMORPG in a magical reality! First game in a magical reality at all even!


    I exined at one point what an RPG was to Tar, and I still cant help but feel amused by his reaction.


    <strong>I still stick to it, </strong>Tar says, sounding smug. <strong>These RPGs of yours are mere mockeries of the System created by Titania!</strong>


    But the RPGs were around long before the System arrived on Earth.


    <strong>We ignore that, </strong>Tar sagely says as I find myself being drawn into the magical reality where I end up floating in the air with the voice of somedy entering my ear, Hello, beta tester, and wee to Hunter XI! She then goes on and on about some basic details for the game, how its the first of its kind, and then talking about my character creation.


    One annoying thing about this magical reality stuff though is that you cant y as anyone other than your own appearance. Or general appearance at least. You can change up some features, but your body has to fit your reality.


    After thedy finishes her introduction, I immediately get to creating my character, which is just my typical character in these games. A vampire if I can. One that tends to use a more berserk fighting style and ss.


    <strong>Not sure what a vampire is outside of Tartarus, but the berserk fighting style fits you to a T, </strong>Tarments, making me briefly wonder why hes still here.


    It ends up taking me quite a while to finish my character, and when I do, thedy returns and starts talking again. Then Im sent to the outskirts of some city from old world medieval times. The typical fantasy city in RPGs.


    And around me I actually find several other people appearing or just standing around as well. People I can tell arent NPCs since theyre wearing the same starter equipment as I am, which is really just a set of basic armor with grey chainmail and an undershirt, with silver metal armor over the vital areas.


    For a moment, I hesitate, only to remember that I changed my features to make me unrecognizable in-game. Specifically, I changed my hair to be purely ck, I gave myself human ears instead of my wolf ears  which doesnt seem to have changed my hearing at all, something I find rather interesting as Im still hearing just like I did with my wolf ears  and I changed my face to be just a little older and rougher looking with a slight mask to make it harder to link my character to me. A nice feature added by the game for those who dont want to be recognized.


    Overall, it shouldnt be possible to link me to my character.


    I look up again to find someone spawning right in front of me, making me blink in surprise. And theyre no different, as they dont appear to have been expecting to spawn right in front of someone either.


    We both step back for a moment to examine the other.


    The yer is a guy with bright, unrealistically crimson hair, which leads me to believe that he either changed it to that with his character creation, or he is a Guardian outside of the game. And his eyes are just as red, with his hair going down to about his shoulder in length, but alsoyered in a way that makes it look clean with his hair not falling in his face at all.


    His face on the other hand doesnt really match his hair or eyes, which leads me to believe that he only changed his face and is a Guardian outside of the game. Because his face looks oddly boringpared to the rest, and very off. And if someone were to go to the trouble of changing their eye and hair color to make them look fancy, they wouldnt leave their face boring like that.


    Although, he couldve also just picked a race that has him looking like that. I know the vampire race I chose  which in this game doesnt seem to have a weakness to the sun besides being weaker in terms of magic cast while in sunlight  has crimson eyes. Both simr and yet still different from my own eyes in reality.


    My eyes suddenly widen as I realize I used the usual username I always use in games. CrimsonWolf.


    I hope that cant be linked to Scarlet Wolf normally I dont have to worry about others figuring it out since they dont have my actual appearance. But now


    <strong>I doubt anyone would care, especially in this beta test, </strong>Tar suddenly says, surprising me for a moment before he exins his reasoning, <strong>you said that this beta test was for rich people, right? So shouldnt a lot of the people here be Guardians already?</strong>


    Oh. I guess he has a point.


    Anyways, the guy whose username I can see is ze finishes examining me and looks me in the eyes as he says, Hello.


    Hi, I respond with a light nod.


    A moment of awkward silence passes before I try to walk away with a short, Well, Im going to-


    Wait, he cuts me off, making me pause in my step to turn around and nce at him with a raised brow. I was going to find a teammate right away for the opening event mission, so youll do if youd like to work with me.


    I continue looking at him with a raised brow, only for a notification from the video games system  not the real System  to appear in my face, making me blink in surprise.


    <strong>Event Mission Acquired!</strong>


    Mission Objective: Complete the beginner missions within twenty four hours of the opening of the beta testing period and then submit a report about how you felt it went!


    Mission Rewards: ss II Beta Armor Set and one ss II Skill Roll.


    Completion Progress: N/A


    My eyes narrow, but the guy, ze, cuts my thoughts off as he says, The event mission has a hidden mechanic to it in that it gives bonus rewards for the first three groups of people who are able to finish it, along with a bonus on how quickly it can bepleted. So if you want to get those bonus rewards, it would be beneficial to work with someone.


    I nce at him for a moment before considering the idea.


    Normally I always go solo in games, but if what he said is really true, then maybe I should work with him just this once.


    Besides. He looks capable in how hes holding himself.


    Okay, I finally answer, and he nods his head before we both begin walking towards the city.


    Thisll be interesting.

 Book 3: Chapter 4: Email

    Book 3: Chapter 4: Email


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I end up ying for the entire day until ze and Iplete all of the beginner missions and therefore the event mission as well at about dinner time, with the two of us only taking a short break for lunch during that. And the man actually ends up being quite helpful during the missions. He seems to have designed his character with a pure offensive magical build, which is different from mine in that while I have magic I also have plenty of investment in physical. Something Tar once again finds amusing considering how simr it is to my stats and skills in reality.


    Makes me wonder if ze is the same though. If his build in-game is the same as how he fights as a Guardian in reality, assuming he is a Guardian. Which Im pretty sure he is at this point, considering that he seemed to show morebat training and experience than me when we were fighting in the game. Something a civilian most likely wont have.


    Either way I stretch not too long after getting out of the pod doc before heading over to the living room, just to pause as I remember to get dressed. So I turn back around, deactivating my magi-tech armor and heading towards my closet where I quickly get dressed and reactivate the armor again.


    Right as Im about to leave my suite though, I find my terminal suddenly buzzing at me from my arm. And when I turn it off sleep mode and find it to be an email, I immediately stop walking, my hand hovering over the doorknob as I find who the email is from.


    White.


    I frown as I read the email, which is basically just asking if I would like to join her in a private booth during the ss I Team Primaries that start tomorrow. With Aria too, apparently.


    Is she actually trying to make an effort now? Although, why is Aria gonna being too?


    My frown grows deeper for a moment before I shake my head.


    Might as well give it a chance. Itll give me time to ask more questions.


    Plus I can see Aria.


    I continue leaving my suite while locking it behind me.


    Now is time for dinner though.


    Scarlet! Aria shouts as she jumps into my arms, having turned a corner out of nowhere while Im walking towards Whites private booth. We get to watch the tournament together!


    I cant help but smile at the girl as I continue walking through the hall, briefly nodding to her butler who is panting in exhaustion when I pass by the hallway they hade from. And the man nods at me while panting, making me feel a faint amount of pity for the old man.


    Greetings *pant* young miss, he says with some difficulty before taking a moment to catch his breath and straightening up again. Would you mind taking care of the youngdy from here?


    Sure, I answer with a chuckle as Aria begins ying with my hair.


    The butler gives me a bow and a quick thank you and starts walking away at a much slower pace than before.


    Were going to see Aunt Amelia? Aria asks, making me pause to nce at her for a second before I continue walking through the hall again as I answer, Yeah.


    Guess Aria has seen White then. Although I shouldnt really be surprised, since the reason she never saw me was apparently that prophecy of theirs. So there wasnt anything stopping her from seeing her niece.


    I cant help but wonder though


    Have you seen your aunt very often? I ask the girl in my arms as I slow down my pace a little to give us more time to talk.


    Aria purses her lips with her left arm wrapped around me and her right ying with my hair still, only to shake her head and say, Not much. She woulde by a few times every year to check on me and bring me gifts, but she never seemedfortable at our house. And she stopped visiting a couple years ago too


    I frown at that before patting the girl on the head and smoothing out her hair which had be a little messed up at some point.


    I have seen her a couple times since then though, but not at home, Aria suddenly adds as she rests her head on my shoulder.


    Interesting.


    If Im reading that right, it sounds like White isnt on good terms with my grandfather on her side of the family, who is apparently the one raising Aria instead of her father. But then again, from what Aria has told me of him, hes not the greatest in terms of parenting or grandparenting material. Since the guy literally charges the nine year old girl to stay home with him.


    Which is why she goes on thosemercial shoots and has her job as a child actress.


    Honestly not sure if thats even legal, but considering who the man is, I doubt the government can do shit to him. Since he is one of the richest people in the world, even if hes not a Guardian himself. Just a man using certain Guardians skills to continue extending his lifetime long past when he shouldve died. Long past when a person using supplements wouldve died too.


    He isnt harsh or abusive with her though. He simply treats their rtionship as a contract of sorts. One he only epts because shes family.


    All in all, my family on my mothers side sounds screwed up in most every way possible.


    Then again, my family on my fathers side is a bunch of demons. So


    <strong>Theyre blood lycans at least, and they love family no matter what, </strong>Tar defends my fathers side.


    Well, he still abandoned me.


    He doesnt say anything in response.


    Aria stays quiet as we pass by a few people in the hallway. People who immediately end up taking pictures of me and Aria that I am absolutely sure are going to end up on the inte within the minute.


    We continue, or rather, I continue walking with Aria in my arms for a few more minutes before we finally arrive at a grand looking staircase, which apparently leads up to the private booths reserved just for the Knights of Humanity. And the ce where me and Aria are going to be seeing White.


    My birth mother.

 Book 3: Chapter 5: Mother and Daughter

    Book 3: Chapter 5: Mother and Daughter


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The door to Whites booth  a rather grand looking white and silver door with a screen outside of it  opens without me even finishing approaching the thing to reveal an equally grand looking room. One fit for royalty. Which I guess in a way the Knights are like the rulers of the Earth in that theyre by far the strongest humans in existence.


    Especially white, whose door is at the center of the five doors.


    I cautiously walk through the door before it shuts behind me, finding White sitting on a literal throne at the center of the room staring at me and Aria with a conflicted look on her face. Then, to my surprise, she gets up from her throne and says, Here, have a seat, while motioning towards it and summoning two other seats just like it but smaller. One that she takes, and one on the other side of me that Im guessing is meant for Aria.


    After a brief moment of hesitation, I walk over and put Aria down on the ground before sitting on the throne. Then, of course, Aria ignores the other seat to instead sit in myp, almost making me chuckle in amusement.


    But Im too tense for that right now as I keep an eye on White, quickly finding the woman surprised by the turn of events. She doesnt let it keep her surprised for long though as she almost immediately waves her hand, dismissing the other chair.


    Then we sit in silence for a few minutes. A few very awkward minutes spent watching as the stadium fills up with people, none of their noise reaching us in here.


    The only asional sound is that of Aria moving around on myp, pushing me further into the throne so that she can scoot between my legs and just lie back with her head resting on my chest instead of her previous spot sitting on one of my legs. Something that both Tar and White appear to be amused about.


    I just roll my eyes before finally focusing my attention solely on White as I ask, So why did you call me here?


    Her amusement gives way to a hint of fear and anxiety as she answers, Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing.


    I frown at that.


    Neen years of never seeing me, and now youre suddenly worrying? I ask, perhaps a bit cruelly.


    But certainly truthfully.


    She flinches at that, meanwhile Aria just ignores the byy between us and actually appears to be going to sleep. Which is adorable, but not important right now. Even if the position she pushed me in feels more than a little ufortable.


    I she starts, pauses, then starts again, Ive never really been good at putting my thoughts to words, but she pauses again, only to continue when she sees my re. I know youll likely never trust me, but I wanted to try. Even if it wont likely happen, I have to at least try.


    I stare at her for several seconds before turning my gaze to the stadium and wrapping my arms around the girl in myp, quickly feeling her somehow grab one of my arms in her sleep.


    You know, I think Im rather thankful that Aria is here during this conversation.


    <strong>I wonder if White knew how much you two got along with each other and had here as a soothing effect? </strong>Tar mutters, sounding genuinely curious.


    And to be honest, I cant help but wonder that as well.


    Not that itd matter.


    Youre right, I eventually state without looking at the woman. I probably wont ever trust you. Nor will I think of you as my real mother.


    I see her flinch out of the corner of my eye, but I ignore it as I turn to look at her again and finish, But Im willing to let you at least try. You did give birth to me after all.


    A small amount of hope appears in her eyes. Something that honestly irritates me even more, because if she really cared for me this much, then why the hell did she abandon me in the first ce? Why would a mother abandon a kid to a hellish life just to sate some prophecy?


    Its bullshit.


    Do know that I wont be inconveniencing myself in any way just to give you a chance, nor will I forgive you for what youve done, I reiterate, making her nod her head in understanding.


    Good.


    And now that weve gotten that out of the way I start before pausing to figure out how to ask, only for White to suddenly ask, You want to know about my etched skills?


    My eyes widen in surprise, but I nod, nheless.


    I thought so, she says with a nod of her own. White then raises her hand, making a white light shine above it. One that gives me a sort of empty feeling when I look into it. This is null magic. Its one of if not the most powerful magic known purely because, at the highest rarity skills, it has the ability topletely erase other magics so long as the user has the mana to do it.


    My eyes widen at that, and I find myself staring intently at the ball of white light.


    Theres actually an etched skill that you should be able to get from me that allows you do to this too, she continues, making my eyes immediately narrow on her. One of my etched skills, she suddenly pauses as she raises a hand and snaps her fingers, making a sh of white surround us, tinting the air around us with white, sorry, had to deal with some eavesdroppers. I blink at that before remembering were in a magical reality. Although how shes stopping anyone from snooping is beyond me. Probably some null magic trick. Anyways, one of my etched mythic skills is called Nullify Magic, and it lets me nullify any sort of magical skill as long as I spend one and a half times the amount of mana that whoever used the skill spent to use it.


    My mouth drops open from shock.


    The hell?! Thats broken!


    Even Tar seems shocked as he suddenly appears in the air while gaping at White, apparently not having known the skill himself. He doesnt stay shocked for long though because he quickly appears to realize something and says to me in my head so that White cant hear, <strong>Your Null Magic Field!!</strong>


    My eyes widen.


    Holy shit. Nullify Magic is the mythic version of Null Magic Field, isnt it?!


    White looks slightly proud of herself and happy with my reaction, but my thoughts are suddenly drawn to the side when a fae appears next to her, making Tar immediately lower his head in respect and state, <strong>Greetings, Third Prince Sylvanus.</strong>


    <strong>And you, Fourteenth Prince Tarankar, </strong>the floating dolphin  yes, dolphin  says in a deep tone of voice.


    Wait, fourteenth? Oh, right! His ce amongst the royal line of ascension rose when I ascended sses!


    Good on you little tanuki!


    Tar snorts in my head.

 Book 3: Chapter 6: Severing and Anger

    Book 3: Chapter 6: Severing and Anger


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Actually,e to think of it, since the royal line of ascension is based on the power of the royal faes Guardian, shouldnt that mean the top five Guardians should be the Demon King and the Demon Lords? And if thats the case, why is White contracted with the third prince?


    Tar doesnt say anything for a moment, and out of the corner of my eye, I find what Im guessing is White and her fae talking between themselves. But after a second, Tar brings my attention back to him by answering, <strong>Thats not technically correct.</strong>


    Oh? Why?


    <strong>The top four fae royals were indeed contracted with the Demon Lords, but recently, White has surpassed the weakest of the Demon Lords in level. And at the same time, another Demon Lord has severed the contract they had with their partner, abandoning the fae royal in the process, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly grim in the process. <strong>Your cousin Aria is actually contracted to that fae royal nowadays.</strong>


    My eyes widen in surprise at that.


    That exins why Aria was contracted to the fourth princess despite being less than level ten.


    <strong>She has thus lost her rank as the fourth princess since youst saw her, something that was long overdue but was dyed for unspecified reasons, </strong>Tar says, answering my next question before I can even ask it.


    Huh. And what about that Demon Lord? The one who severed their contract? I know humans dont have any losses from losing their contract outside of losing the advising their fae gives them, along with the assistance the fae gives them in managing their System notifications. But are demons the same?


    <strong>Demons are indeed the same, so the Demon Lord didnt lose anything in severing their contract, </strong>Tar answers, briefly pausing as we both notice the third prince vanishing, apparently finished talking with White for now. Unless theyre just continuing whatever they were talking about in their heads. <strong>From what I understand, the Demon Lord in question and Princess Rowena had a disagreement, so well her contracted partner ate their contract.</strong>


    I blink at that.


    They ate it?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says with a nod while floating in front of me.


    A contract?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar repeats.


    Wow.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he repeats again for no reason.


    I briefly nce down at the stadium when cks voice rings out, the man finally beginning to speak, Hello everyone and wee to another wonderful Primary tournament! I will once again be your wonderful host, Will Wright!!


    Out of the corner of my eye I cant help but notice White stiffening up at the sound of his voice.


    Interesting.


    I guess the dislike ck has for White is mutual.


    I nce down at Aria to find her sleeping peacefully before I look up at the tanuki again as I remember something.


    You said that the top four ranks for the fae princes and princesses were normally for the Demon Lords. So where does that leave the


    My eyes widen in realization.


    The Demon King is contracted to the Fae King, isnt he?


    Tar just nods his head in response.


    Thats wow.


    In hindsight, it makes perfect sense. The highest ranking fae contracted with the most powerful mortal in existence. After all, who else would fit the kings image as a contractor?


    Doesnt that make a conflict in interest though? The fae are always talking about how theyre neutral in the war.


    <strong>We are, </strong>Tar nods before floating over and sitting on my shoulder, making me briefly wonder why everyones sitting on me today. <strong>Father doesnt make any decisions in regard to the war between the humans and the demons. All of those decisions are passed to his children in a council format so as to avoid a conflict of interest.</strong>


    Thats not a bad way to deal with it, I suppose. And am I to assume there are other measures in ce as well?


    <strong>Of course, </strong>Tar says as ck continues introducing the teams for the ss I Team Primary tournament, starting with the team representing Lions Heart. A team that actually does have some familiar faces, such as Necro for example.


    Actually, something Ive never really thought to ask about, but how does the Demon King know about my existence?


    <strong>I cannot say anything on this topic, </strong>Tar says before pausing and adding, <strong>You may be able to get some information from White though.</strong>


    White?


    I turn to look at her, finding the woman staring at me and Aria with a light smile on her lips. One that goes serious when she notices my attention.


    Tar said that I might be able to get some answers about this from you, I start, making White blink in surprise at my words. How does the Demon King know of my existence?


    She flinches. The White Knight of Humanity, the strongest human in existence, actually flinches.


    Then again, shes done so before. But mostly just from me saying things like I wont forgive her and stuff. Not just from a casual question like this.


    White takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment before letting it out and saying, I cant tell you.


    My eyes narrow, but right when Im about to speak, she raises a hand and adds, What I can tell you though is that he doesnt know where you are, he doesnt know about the prophecy, and he doesnt have any intensions of harming you.


    I close my mouth again.


    The first and second parts I didnt know, but the third part shouldve been rtively clear to me. Considering how Tar mentioned I was given an order by the Demon King once.


    And? I prod the woman, but she just shakes her head.


    Damned fucking prophecy. Despite her insistence on making up for her past wrongs she still insists on keeping this shit from me?


    I scowl at her for a moment before focusing solely on the trickster Knight who is currentlymentating up a storm in the stadium.


    If you keep this up, I might never forgive you, Iment without even bothering to look at the woman who is still keeping things from me.


    And if I had to guess, she probably flinched at those words.


    I cant help but feel what Im assuming is anger at her words. Something that Im not really used to, if Im being honest.


    Aria suddenly shifts in myp, taking my mind away from the woman next to me.


    Very d she came along.

 Book 3: Chapter 7: Thoughts

    Book 3: Chapter 7: Thoughts


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I end up spending a few hours watching the tournament with White before eventually leaving with Aria to go meet up with my former team where I then watch the tournament with them instead for another few hours. Something that apparently made White rather disappointed, but thats not my problem.


    After the second round of the day for the teams tournament ends though, I call it a night and say goodbye to the others, Aria included, before leaving the magical reality and beginning to head home through the snow outside. And as I walk, I cant help but wonder about that ss V Fracture thats predicted to happen next Summer.


    Everyone in the city is most likely going to be evacuated about a week before the predicted time of the Fracture, with the exception of any Guardians who wish to stay behind and defend the city from the other Fractures that open up during the ss V Fracture. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if they change the rules to <em>require </em>us to stay behind for the ss V Fracture. Just because the city is going to have to have defenders if it doesnt want any other gates popping up. Because thest thing we need is to have more Gates here, even if the ss V Fracture is soundly dealt with.


    And the Knights and the other ss V Guardians cant handle every Fracture in the city. Especially when theyre gonna be busy dealing with the ss V Fracture.


    Over the past weeks Ive actually wondered if I should try staying behind to deal with some Fractures myself. On the other side of the city from the ss V, of course.


    But I dont think I will. Because I wouldnt be surprised if a noble demon might have a way to tell what I am. Not to mention the chance that a blood lycan mighte through the Fracture. So it would be most likely the biggest risk Ive ever taken in my life.


    And while Im normally perfectly fine with taking risks, this time is different.


    I let out a sigh at that thought while looking up through the falling snow as I walk.


    Its been snowing a lot this year. More than usual.


    <strong>Is that strange? </strong>Tar asks, sitting curled up in the cor of my coat.


    Not really. Ever since the Demonic Assaults began and the atmosphere was cut off from space, the weather has been all out of whack. Every single year the weather ispletely different. Sure it will still keep to the seasons, but the actual <em>weather </em>during those seasons will always be different from what it used to be.


    Like how the capital  which I believe used to be called New York before it waspletely remade by the Republic, having been destroyed by demons originally  used to have snow every year during the Winter. And quite a bit of it in fact. But after the Demonic Assaults it started having sunny Winters instead half the time. That or just normal rain.


    I think this is the first year in a while weve had this much snow again. In fact, its snowing pretty much every day this Winter. And quite a bit at that.


    Neither of us say anything as I continue walking through the snow, briefly wondering if ze will be online when I get back home. Since I think Ill y Hunter for a bit when I get back.


    Just for a few hours.


    If hes not online though, then Ill just quest without him.


    On that note, I think ss signups start next week for the next semester. Fortunately I already have my sses chosen.


    It will be the three required courses of Status Basics, Guardian History, and Fundamentals of Magic, along with the two elective courses of Demon Noble Society  which I found as a pleasant surprise  and Demon Biology  which is a rather limited course in scope since the only demon corpses humans can study are those demons that came from Gates. But its still something Im interested in.


    I doubt itll have any of the seven noble demon ns species exined in the ss though. At least, beyond the bare basics.


    Pretty sure no blood lycan has been killed before on Earth after all. There was a single kitsune that was killed though. I believe it was the n demon that went through the ss V Fracture that turned into a Gate in Demon Isle, only for it to be killed by White.


    She was a lot weaker back then though, so she couldnt handle Satan.


    Actually, not much is known about Satan now that I think about it. Do you know much, Tar?


    I feel the tanuki perk up slightly as I near the gate to the top ss student residency area.


    <strong>I can tell you one thing at least, </strong>Tar says while rxing again. <strong>Satan has nothing to do with one of the old world religions. But other than that, hes a wrath demon, and he does <em>not </em>like losing. Hes also probably one of the stronger oni demons, although still nowhere near the Lord of Hellfire in terms of power. I dont know anything else about him though.</strong>


    Interesting. I think I know what youre talking about when you mention an old world religion? Pretty sure it was briefly mentioned once during school that that exact religion was what started the Christmas holiday, which nowadays is literally just a source of hope with no religious overtones to it at all.


    Actually, I think some people wanted to abolish the holiday entirely because of that. Because gods were proven by the System to not exist. Not to mention the demons.


    At this point, the only religious things that have stuck around are some swear words and phrases, like holy shit or god damnit.


    <strong>Of course the humans would remember the swear words </strong>Tar mutters, sounding more than a little exasperated.


    I hold myself back from snorting at that as I reach the Guardians at the gate.


    It is rather amusing, isnt it?


    Wee back, Scarlet, the first Guardian at the gate says, making me look over him for a moment to see if I recognize the man, only for me to not.


    I nod at the man before he opens the gate and lets me in.


    Now to go y some games.


    Winter Break is always fun.

 Book 3: Chapter 8: A Meeting at the Museum Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 8: A Meeting at the Museum Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The wind flowing through my hair feels amazing as I fall down from the balcony of the museums second floor while shapeshifting my foot into that of a beast, my shoes vanishing in the process through magic to who knows where before my wed foot tears into the unsuspecting demon acolyte down below. And without any prior warning, the creature finds itself being stomped into the ground from thebination of my strength and weight being pulled by gravity, it practically folding in two in the process. Then I follow it up by jumping off of the creature to avoid the swinging sword of one of its fomorian guards, who Ind on the back of while tearing its throat out.


    At the same time, the various des of blood that I sent flying down just a little bit behind myself strike at the ten fomorians around me, the one Im on top of copsing to the ground as I jump off of it.


    <strong>Youre getting better at this, </strong>Tarments, making me grin with pride.


    Of course I am. Its been an entire week since I reached ss II now, and Ive been training daily with Sylver. Or I guess its Collin. Only found out his name yesterday though.


    I focus on the various fomorians while activating blood boil and life drain on them all, briefly shapeshifting my foot back to normal and my left arm back into a w again. Then I rush at the creatures, slowly tearing them all apart one by one without any mercy, finishing each of them within a minute before stretching a little and letting my System messages flow through.


    <strong>{Level 106 Demon Fomorian defeated. Arge EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x5</strong>


    <strong>{Level 104 Demon Fomorian defeated. Arge EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Level 105 Demon Fomorian defeated. Arge EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Level 109 Demon Fomorian defeated. Arge EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature below your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 130 Demon Acolyte defeated. Arge EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level. A small EXP penalty has been extracted for getting assistance in killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 126. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x11</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood ws has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    Oh? Nice. Its about time I got that skill back to level fifteen again.


    I check the description, only to find that it didnt change.


    Of course it didnt. It never does anymore.


    <strong>I did warn you, </strong>Tar says, sounding smugly amused.


    Yeah, yeah, so you did.


    Anyways, I focus on my hearing, having it currently limited to about the span of therge park-like museum that this Fracture is in. Just the dome covering it. And what I find almost immediately is the sound of another acolyte slinging fireballs just several dozen meters away, on the other side of this building. So I begin running in that direction, soon turning the corner only to slow down again when I find someone fighting the acolyte and winning. With his own fireballs.


    The man looks to be about the same age as me despite being ss II as well, but its a little hard to tell considering that hes facing away from me. Which is a little surprising, but something about him just feels familiar for some reason. Hes wearing a set of armor, mostly red in color, with rings of mes circling his wrists and ankles, along with thicker tes of ck armor covering his vital areas. And he is matching the acolyte fireball to fireball while slowly pushing closer to the creature, his fireballs overpowering the creatures, only to suddenly stomp his foot on the ground, sending pirs of mes shooting up in a line out of the ground towards the creature.


    The acolyte immediately starts panicking, but it doesnt manage to do anything to stop the attack before its burnt to a crisp with a loud scream of agony.


    <strong>Thats not regr fire, </strong>Tar suddenlyments, making my eyes narrow. <strong>Thats hellfire. This man has hellfire magic.</strong>


    Wait, isnt that the same magic that the oni use?


    <strong>Yeah, although he wont have the reality burning aspect of it, </strong>Tar answers, confusing me for a second before he exins, <strong>just like how blood lycans have their unique power to metallicize their blood, oni can use their hellfire to literally burn the realities, or as some people might call them, souls of other people.</strong>


    Oh, wow. Thats gotta hurt.


    <strong>Yep, </strong>Tar says, sounding amused by my response.


    The man suddenly turns around, and I find it finally clicking as to who he is. Because I do remember finding him when I looked into the children of the Knights.


    ze. Otherwise known as ke Walker.


    The son of the Red Knight of Humanity.


    He looks surprised when he sees me, despite seemingly having known someone was standing here. Then a look of recognition crosses his face, only for him to appear confused afterwards and shake his head.


    I also cant help but feel like I recognize him from somewhere, but the only ze I know is the one who has been ying Hunter with me


    Nope. Not gonna go there.


    <strong>What do you mean? </strong>Tar asks while appearing in the air near me andnding on my shoulder.


    I keep a strict policy of separating online game friends from real life friends. Because online games have a tendency to ruin friendships entirely.


    Not that Id consider me and ze friends though.


    The only real life friends that I y games with are those I''m ying a game directly in the same room with. Where it''s not an online role ying game.


    Either way, even if ze is, well, ze, then Im gonna act like hes not.


    <strong>Youre weird, </strong>Tar says, making me shrug as ze walks up to me and says, Scarlet Asger. Been wanting to meet you for a while now.


    I raise a brow at that before putting my still-shapeshifted hands into my pockets.


    Why? I ask rather bluntly.


    Because my father wants me to challenge you to a duel when you catch up to me in magic level, he answers, making me frown. Daughter of White.


    That has me scowling before I nce at the building to find a security camera that most likely caught that.


    Well, looks like the rumor mill online is going to get its confirmation with or without me admitting it to the press.

 Book 3: Chapter 8.2: A Meeting at the Museum Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 8.2: A Meeting at the Museum Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that whole Red and White rivalry thing. Im pretty sure they covered it in high school and always brought it up during sports stuff.


    Although Im willing to bet quite a lot of money that the rivalry that the school painted it as is very different from how it actually was.


    In fact, zes words show just how hung up Red was on beating White.


    Son of Red, I mirror his words with a light nod of my head.


    Then neither of us say a word for several seconds, following which he asks with a frown, Have I met you somewhere before?


    I answer without any hesitation, No.


    Because he is absolutely not ze from Hunter XI. Nope. Not him. At all.


    Tar snorts in my head.


    Hey, he really might not be, so yeah.


    He just snorts again.


    In all honesty though, he didnt exactly use a censor in the game to hide his identifiable features, so not like I did.


    Im just gonna leave him not knowing. Its better this way.


    Anyways, you mentioned something about a duel? I ask with a frown of my own before my ear twitches at the sound of <em>two </em>more acolytes fighting what sounds like civilians a few buildings down the part. Actually, hold that thought. Ive gotta go.


    I run past him, startling the man in the process. And it doesnt even take three whole seconds before Im turning the corner around the building and continuing on towards the sound of the acolytes and civilians.


    The noises of the acolytes and their attacks continue entering my ears as I run straight towards them, moving far faster than any regr human being can ever hope to run. And after less than ten seconds of this, I find myself entering another museum where two acolytes and seven fomorians are pushing a group of humans defended only by a single ss I Guardian into a corner. And the ss I doesnt seem to be faring all that well, for obvious reasons.


    Without any hesitation, I set a null magic field around the acolytes before activating blood ws on both hands, using blood boil and life drain, then rushing in to attack. And at the same time, I have my blood shadow thats been following behind me all this time finally jump out of its hiding ce in the shadows to join me in my assault.


    The ss I Guardian  a kid who appears to be about a year or so younger than me wearing the standard magi-tech armor  looks relieved when he sees me immediately taking the attention of the demons with a volley of blood weapons that pierce into the demons backs, making them roar with pain and anger. But the frontmost fomorian actually manages to avoid the attack, proving his level to be higher than theirs before the System even mentions him being level one hundred and thirty.


    I grin at that before pushing blood sacrifice, making bloody steam rise from my skin as I literally crack the cement ground by jumping straight towards the fomorian.


    <strong>The Other Side of the Room</strong>


    Tyler didnt want to go to the museum. He really didnt. And that feeling only magnified tenfold when the Demonic Assault started, and he found himself along with his friends inside of a <em>ss II </em>Fracture.


    It didnt matter even if he was a Guardian if the Fracture was ss II.


    But right when he was expecting the metaphorical noose to ring his scrawny neck, a celebrity Guardian he and pretty much anyone who isnt buried under a rock knows from TV sprints into the building and sends a flurry of attacks straight at the fomorians, drawing most of their attention away from him. Before Tyler can rejoice about that though, one of the fomorians dodges the strike and continues raising its sword to cut Tyler in two.


    Until a loud cracking sound echoes from where the girl was, and he finds her appearing out of a blur of movement right behind the creature, who tries to redirect its strike towards her. But its too slow, and the Scarlet Wolf simply drags her shapeshifted arm upwards, drawing bloody lines of crimson straight up the things back, making it stumble forwards. She then stomps on the ground next to it and shoves her wed hand forward, ripping straight into the things back and out its chest to grab its heart before pulling it back through its body.


    Tyler cant help but fall on his rear out of pure shock, the creatures blood having sttered onto his face. His time as a Guardian, no matter that its only been a couple months, makes him quickly begin to climb back to his feet again though, and by the time he does, the girl is already moving, tearing apart the other fomorians.


    <em>Wait, somethings wrong</em>


    Tyler  whose magic is focused on divination  feels a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, and he immediately twists his head around to find a strong acolyte whose level is close to one hundred and fifty raising its staff from the stairs and charging a bolt of lightning. He then turns around and shouts out a warning to the girl, but its toote.


    A crashing sound echoes as the lightning bolt flies straight towards the Scarlet Wolf, making his eyes go wide with fear.


    Right when its about to hit though, a sudden burst of mes shoots out of the ground and devours the bolt of lightning, leaving the girl to finish off the demons in front of him unharmed. Then Tyler hears a screaming sound from behind him, so he turns around to find that very acolyte burning to death.


    Tyler can feel his heart pounding faster than even the first time he was in a Fracture from the action around him. From thebat that is far beyond him at his level.


    So when he looks to find the source of the fire and finds the Red Knight of Humanitys son standing at the door with his eyes zing with a red me with streaks of ck in it, he once again falls on his rear. But this time he doesnt get back up because the battles already over.

 Book 3: Glossary

    Book 3: Glossary


    <strong>World:</strong>


    There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.


    The Terran Republic: Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.


    Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.


    Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.


    Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.


    The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    Currency: Credits and Skill Points.


    10 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    4 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    30 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong>System:</strong>


    There are two types of skills. Inherent skills and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.


    Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.


    However, there are also skills known as Achievement-Locked skills, which have to be purchased through skill points before they then turn into inherent skills which level up just like any other inherent skill. These skills cannot use Skill Points to level up.


    The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.


    Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users skills and capabilities take. Especially in their inherent skills.


    At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.


    ss I multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9.


    ss II multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.2, D a multiplier of 0.4, C 0.7, B 1.0, and A has a multiplier of 1.4.


    Total Mana: Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.


    Total Mana Regen: Average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat.


    <em>Note: Scarlets mana regen does not follow this due to Blood Regeneration!!!</em>


    Strength in arc: Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch.


    The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 arc on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.


    (Scarlets multipliersbined is 1.2x)


    The stats everyone starts out with is 10 but their starting stats vary after contracting depending on both their reality warp, their magic, and their physical fitness at the time of contracting.


    <strong>ss I Demons  1-100</strong>


    <strong>Demon Spawn</strong>


    Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.


    Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8


    <strong>Demon Hound</strong>


    Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.


    Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15


    <strong>Demon Huntsman</strong>


    Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.


    Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20


    <strong>Demon Knight</strong>


    Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.


    Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100


    <strong>Demon Breeder</strong>


    Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.


    Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50


    <strong>Demon Captain</strong>


    Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.


    Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100


    Known Captain Species so far: Smanders and Trihearts.


    <strong>ss II Demons  Levels 101-250</strong>


    <strong>Demon Fomorians</strong>


    Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.


    Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150


    <strong>Demon Acolytes</strong>


    Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.


    Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155


    <strong>Demon Wraiths</strong>


    Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.


    Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160


    <strong>Demon Berserkers</strong>


    Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.


    Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200


    <strong>Demon Defenders</strong>


    Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.


    Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200


    <strong>Demon Summoners</strong>


    Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.


    Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210


    <strong>Demon Commander</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250


    <strong>ss III Demons  Levels 251-500</strong>


    <strong>Vanguard</strong>


    Description: These demons are almost as intelligent as humans and are capable of basic speech. They are the lower echelon demons who have climbed their way up to ss III from the less generally powerful species of demons.


    Subspecies Shown So Far:


    Taracht: Massive spider with ck hair streaked with red.


    <strong>Changelings</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves and spreading throughout parts of old world China.


    <strong>Demon Generals</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss III Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Their weakness is dependent on which subspecies of demon they are.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 500


    <strong>ss IV Demons  Levels 501-1000</strong>


    <strong>ss V Demons  Noble Demons  Above level 1000</strong>


    There are only seven demon species that have a cemented ce amongst the Noble Demons. All other Noble Demons are simply other demons who have managed to reach ss V.


    Furthermore, Noble Demons who do not have a humanoid form are granted one upon reaching ss V.


    The reason for this will be toldter on in the story.


    The following seven demon species are the Seven Noble Demon ns.


    <strong>Blood Lycans</strong>


    Description: Blood lycans are known by many to be the most powerful species of demon in existence. They can partially and fully transform into a powerful beast form, have the strongest regeneration in existence, and are born predators in every way, whether ites to their physical prowess, magical, or senses. They are also known to fight in a more berserk manner, often sacrificing hits on themselves to return just as much pain to their enemy as they regenerate their own wounds.


    Blood lycans are known to be very proud and protective of their family and care far more for their family than anything else. However, this care is mostly limited to direct family as indirect family, while it is known that they still protect them viciously from any outsiders not of their species, they may not be treated very well depending on their circumstances by other blood lycans. Or they may just treat indirect family as they would others albeit with a bit more respect.


    It is a breach of their pride for any other species to ever kill a blood lycan.


    They have the most humanlike appearances out of all demons when they are in their lycan forms, with glowing red eyes and wolf ears on their head, along with red and ck hair and a tail that can be absorbed into their body at will. However, their beast forms tend to vary depending on the blood lycan in question. But most of the blood lycans have the form of a ck furred werewolf with streaks of blood red running through the fur.


    Weakness: Blood lycans have a minor weakness to Mental Magic and another weakness to sound magic. However, their weakness to sound magic can be solved through lowering their senses or protecting them with magic, making that weakness go away.


    Magic: Blood magic, with a unique power to metallicized blood.


    Sin: Pride


    <strong>Oni</strong>


    Description: Oni aremonly known as the demon with the most brute force magical power out all demons in existence. While they cannot truly match a blood lycan in fighting prowess, they have them beat in pure magical attacks. These demons are also theplete opposite of the blood lycans in terms of family as their wrath is too great for them to be bound by family, as most of those who try end up tearing themselves apart in the end in a bloody fight before splitting up.


    They have a humanoid appearance with a crown of horns on their head, each glowing red with heat. They have crimson skin, with equally crimson eyes, and red ws on their hands and feet with no heart, instead having a me inside of their chest.


    Weakness: An onis weakness is holy magic.


    Magic: Hellfire magic, with a unique power to cause direct damage to someones reality(their soul) with their hellfire.


    Sin: Wrath


    <strong>Mindeater</strong>


    Description: Mindeaters are perhaps the most reclusive of the demons amongst the seven demon ns, with only one other ning anywhere near close to them in that regard. Most Mindeaters simply spend their days sleeping or watching over their territory with their reality detached from their body. However, should a Mindeater ever be truly angered, they will devour a persons reality whole, turning it into life energy instead and feeding the life force in them to the System entirely.


    They have the appearance of arge insect with very little carapace shielding them from physical harm and ten legs, with three segments to their body and two incisors at the front of their mouths.


    Weakness: A Mindeaters weakness is their physical strength.


    Magic: Mind-eater magic, with a unique power to disconnect their reality(their soul) from their body when asleep.


    Sin: Sloth


    <strong>Ghoul</strong>


    Description: Ghouls are the only undead demons in the ranks of the seven ns, and they are known to be even more unkible than a blood lycan because of their ability to substitute mana for life energy. They often specialize purely in magic and their body, making them powerful foes who have the mana to long since oust most foes they will fight.


    However, fire magic will make regenerating damage done to the physical body of a ghoul more difficult, and so ghouls hate fire magic users more than anything. Including the oni n.


    Ghouls are also ravenous creatures whose appetites know no bounds, leading to them eating both living and nonliving things almost every chance they get.


    They have humanoid bodies with pitch ck eyes, pale skin with veins of ck and purple energy running underneath, and ck ws.


    Weakness: A ghouls weakness is fire magic.


    Magic: Death magic, with the unique power to substitute mana for life energy, allowing them to continue living as long as they have mana regardless of the state of their body.


    Sin: Gluttony


    <strong>Arachnae</strong>


    Description: Arachnae prefer to live in the dark and are known to be the strongest assassins in all of Tartarus. They are often hired by other demons to assassinate noble demons that are too powerful at arge price. However, they only work during the night as their eyes are sensitive to the light.


    Arachnae live in nests with at least a dozen arachnae in each nest, and their kingdoms are all underground.


    These Nobles are some of the most aggressive demons towards other species out of pure envy. If there is something the other species has that the arachnae wishes to have, their envy will lead them do disliking the species.


    Thanks to this, most arachnae tend to live outside of the public eye, not interacting with the other demon species of Tartarus if they do not have to.


    Weakness: An arachnaes weakness is light magic.


    Magic: Corruption with the unique ability to absorb, recreate, mix, and experiment with any type of corruption using their own body that is immune to any corruption(poison, acid, viruses, etc).


    Sin: Envy


    <strong>Subi</strong>


    Description: Subi are known as one of the few demon species who can and will impregnate any other species. However, these creatures are also distant at the same time, as are all seers. They never create permanent ties with other creatures outside of their own species, always leaving them to wander. They never create kingdoms of their own or rule in any manner.


    If a subi is seen in a city, most demons inhabiting that city know that the subi will most likely only leave after sleeping with over a dozen different demons in the city. However, they also know not to ever anger the subi. Because entire citys poptions have been known to go missing after such an event.


    It is simply in their nature to feel lust over anything they deem beautiful.


    Weakness: A subis weakness is pain and fighting someone whos mind is protected from charm magic.


    Magic: Charm with a unique ability to divine anyone whose exact name they know and enter their dreams, thereby finding their location and being able to manipte them in their dreams.(can be warded against if someone is powerful enough)


    Sin: Lust


    <strong>Kitsune</strong>


    Description: Kitsune are known across Tartarus as the rulers of the most powerful association of thieves in all of Tartarus known as the Thieves of Tartarus. They are greedy creatures who are not able to keep their hands to themselves should they ever see something they like. Regardless of the consequences.


    However, despite their thieving nature, kitsune specialize simply in support andbat magic, with no stealth or illusion rted skills known to date.


    How they managed to create the Thieves of Tartarus to this day has alluded even the Demon King himself.(mostly because he doesnt care enough to simply order them to answer)


    Weakness: A kitsunes weakness is water magic.


    Magic: Foxfire, which is abination of fire and lightning and is solely unique to kitsunes, with the ability to enhance any skill that uses foxfire depending on how many tails the kitsune has.


    Sin: Greed


    The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.


    A new glossary will be postedter on with updated demons for the remaining sses.


    Note: Noble demons only include Blood Lycans, Oni, Arachnae, Subae, Ghouls, Mindeaters, Kitsune, and any demon above level one thousand.


    Meaning that there are no noble demons outside of those seven species who are not ss V already.


    No exceptions.


    <strong>Characters:</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet Asger:</strong>


    Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, has ck hair before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.


    The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public.


    <strong>Allen Silvester:</strong>


    Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.


    He was contracted by White to create the orphanage in the first ce and raise Scarlet as an orphan. And he knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how he feels about her.


    Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.


    <strong>Cynthia Sylvester:</strong>


    Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.


    Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.


    And she knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how she feels about her.


    <strong>Arthur Barnes:</strong>


    A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.


    Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.


    But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.


    <strong>Arabellia Silvester:</strong>


    Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.


    She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.


    Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.


    Title: Mystic Guardian


    <strong>Michael Winters:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet at twenty years old and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.


    Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.


    Title: Druid


    <strong>Denise Harley:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet at twenty one years old and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.


    Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.


    Title: Inferno


    <strong>Emily Winters:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet at eighteen years old and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.


    Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.


    Title: Little Reaper.


    <strong>Leonidas Val Art de Archeron: </strong>


    Demon Lord of Tartarus, Scarlets father, and the son of the current Demon King. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan who had a child with White, the current most powerful human being, and his father was not happy about it. He cares about Scarlet a lot despite how White chose to go about fulfilling the prophecy.


    <strong>Amelia Asger: </strong>


    White, the most powerful amongst the Knights of Humanity, and Scarlets mother. She is also the sister to Blue and aunt to Aria. Not much else is known about her outside of the fact that she cares about Scarlet and sometimes regrets how she has treated her, and how she hasnt been able to hold her own daughter for years.


    <strong>Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron: </strong>


    Demon King of Tartarus, Scarlets grandfather, and the father of one of the current Demon Lords. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan and does not approve of his son having had a child with a human. However, he doesnt hold this against the child and cares about Scarlet very much. Even if he has only met her once when she was a baby. He also didnt approve of Leonidass n to bring Scarlet to Earth but had no way to go against it since hismand as Demon King doesnt work on a Demon Lord and his son conducted his n without telling him first. The man has constantly been searching for Scarlet and anything that may lead him to her so that he can bring her home and protect her as his only granddaughter.


    <strong>Aria Knight: </strong>


    Aria is Scarlets cousin and the daughter of Blue. She is one of the youngest Guardians in recorded history, a famous child actress, and is emotionally stunted in her development just like Scarlet. However, she is fine with physical contact as long as its with Scarlet, who she quickly grew to like after meeting her and begins to think of as an older sister.


    Aria has long ck hair with unnatural blue eyes and two wings that she can summon whenever she pleases. The wings look like those of an angels.


    Aquatic Divine: Arias magic that lets her use both water and holy magic in tandem.


    Aria also has a few etched skills from Alexander but doesnt know what all of them are or how to use most of them except for a single one. One that allows her to shapeshift a part of her body into a tentacle tipped with a w. And this one she only knows about due to identally using it.


    <strong>Alexander Knight: </strong>


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, Blue. He is an insane psychopath with water rted magic that can also transform him into a kraken, and is tied with Red as the second most powerful human being. He is Scarlets uncle and White  Scarlets mother  brother. He is Arias father despite practically abandoning her to the government immediately after having her through the first willing gene donor he could find just to get the government off his back.


    <strong>Will Wright:</strong>


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, ck. He has a split personality with one of his personalities being a yful prankster, and the other a pseudo psychopath. The man both wishes to take Scarlet in and adopt her but also doesnt at the same time. One side of him wishes to do it out of actual worry and care, while the other just wants to spite Amelia, Scarlets biological mother.


    ck uses a shadow rted magic that makes him the most powerful human assassin in the world.


    <strong>Noah Walker:</strong>


    Noah is the Red Knight of Humanity and tied for the second most powerful human being, being evenly matched with Blue. He has a son named ke Walker, who he raised on the front lines like a soldier.


    <strong>ke Walker:</strong>


    ke is the son of Red and is a ss II Guardian. He also admits that Scarlet is his type but adamantly refuses to let that develop into any form of romantic interest.


    <strong>Lucius Tor de ckheart:</strong>


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and a Ghoul. He has the titles Lord of Death and The Reaper. He uses death magic.


    <strong>Sylver:</strong>


    A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.


    <strong>Sage:</strong>


    She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.


    Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.


    <strong>Alfred Raynsford:</strong>


    The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.


    He is one of the few people who remembers what White looks like and still meets with her regrly.


    <strong>Jacob R. Ashton:</strong>


    He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart. However, not much else is known about him beyond his being familiar with White.


    <strong>Julian: </strong>


    Son of the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city. He was the new Guardian Scarlet saved in a Fracture. He has silver hair to match the tail that pokes a hole through his pants along with two silver eyes, the same glossy shade of silver as his tail.


    <strong>Anthony Wilson: </strong>


    Contracted partner of Artoria  Tars sister  and a user of death magic. Part void spawn due to human experimentation. Can use a powerful legendary skill that drastically increases all of his stats for the price of taking an explosive amount of damage if hurt while using the skill.


    <strong>Lucas Walsh:</strong>


    Lucas was the second ce finisher in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament that Scarlet won. He is a student at Aquatic Pride Guardians University, and has a strong magical sense of smell, leading to him noticing Scarlets scent and pointing it out in a creepy manner.


    Lucas is not able to understand the nuances behind things spoken to him or by him, making him miss the small details that are meant to be left unsaid and leaving him to say things that can be taken as creepy or strange.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Shifter


    <strong>Abigail Kim:</strong>


    Abigail was defeated in the quarterfinal round of the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. She is a student at Yggdrasil Guardians University, goes by the nickname Abi, and is the only mental magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Abigail and Sam are dating.


    Her Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Lost


    <strong>Samuel Lewis:</strong>


    Sam was defeated in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. He is a student at Hunters Peak Guardians University, goes by the nickname Sam, and is the only blood magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Sam and Abigail are dating.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Crim


    <strong>Ethan Davis:</strong>


    Ethan was defeated by Scarlet in the Tower Siege secondary tournament and is a student at Scorched Halls Guardians University. He uses a magic that locks him in ce while he absorbs the damage dealt to him before he eventually releases is all at the target in an uncontroble wave ofva.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Molten Angel


    <strong>Caroline Winters:</strong>


    Carol is a ss III Guardian and the number one ranked student currently at Lions Heart Guardians University. She is also the older sister of both Emily and Michael, two of Scarlets former teammates.


    Carol uses spatial magic that lets her cut apart space itself.


    Title: Rift

 Book 3: Chapter 9: Fracture at the Station Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 9: Fracture at the Station Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After finishing off thest demon, I turn around to find ze standing at the entrance of the building with his eyes alit with mes. And its only now that I realize the mes have small flickers of ck in them.


    Interesting. Guess thats what sets his mes apart from regr mes in terms of appearance.


    Anyways, I turn around to check on the ss I Guardian, only to find him sitting on his rear with his arms on the ground behind him.


    Whats he doing on the ground? Actually, doesnt matter.


    He looks fine. And so do the others.


    Kind of surprised no one was hurt, but now I should bring them to a bunker.


    Hey, do any of you know where the closest bunker is? I ask the civilians, and the ss I Guardian. And fortunately, one of them quickly answers me, pointing in the direction of the hallway that was on the other side of the room from them as the demons. Which brings my attention to a bunker that I really shouldve seen before asking that.


    Guess they were rather close to making it.


    Unfortunate for them that they were cut off by those demons.


    What are you all waiting for then? I hear zes voice from the door, bringing my attention to the man to find him frowning at the civilians. And without any more hesitation, the civilians all rush over to the bunker with the ss I Guardian, who gives the typical hand sign to let them in.


    The Guardian hesitates for a moment at the door before calling out to us, Thank you! and going inside, the bunker door closing behind him.


    A moment of silence passes after that, and right when ze looks like hes about to say something, the red tint in the air vanishes, marking the end of the Fracture. Meanwhile the corpses of the demons around us all vanish in a faint red light, going back to Tartarus.


    I blink in surprise at that timing, only to feel my terminal buzz. So I open it to find a message. One from Sage that makes my face turn grim.


    <strong>[ording to our sources, including the young miss Belle, your friend Arthur is currently trapped in a ss II Fracture. Im telling you this now that your own Fracture has ended. If you would like to help him, respond to this message promptly.]</strong>


    Without a moment of hesitation, I reply, following which Sage sends me the exact location hes at. So I immediately start running towards the door, only taking a brief moment to shout at ze, Theres an emergency! Gotta go! when I pass by the man, leaving him startled into silence.


    But that doesnt matter to me. What matters is that once again, one of my best friends is in danger.


    <strong>Inside of the Outer Station</strong>


    Arthur deeply regrets havinge to the capital today. It was supposed to be a great day where he could finallye back to the capital again and see his girlfriend, along with the closest person to being his sister that hes ever known. But now? Now hes wondering if hell ever see them again in his life as he runs straight down the train station, briefly wondering why the hell these Fractures keep happening whenever he goes to the train station.


    Screams continue echoing out from every corner of the ss II Fracture as he runs, asionally ducking under the spells sent flying at him by the two demon acolytes chasing both him and the few dozen other people running away. And his fear only increases every single time he hears someone cry out in pain, apanied by the sounds of tearing flesh from fomorians swords cutting apart the people whovegged behind.


    <em>Shit, shit, shit, shit, why today!!!</em>


    Arthurs eyes immediately lock onto one of the trains entrances right when the thing opens, and he continues running straight towards it while still dodging the asional spell. But since hes just a human, the fomorians continue to slowly catch up to him, only being slowed down a bit by the other humans theyre tearing apart in their wake, along with the bright shing lights shining from the ceiling that Arthur has to block out from his sight with his hand. Lights that are specifically meant for ss II Fractures to give the humans a chance to escape from the light sensitive fomorians.


    Unfortunately for him, none of the bunkers will even consider opening the doors when arge group of demons is chasing them. Leaving them all to run for their lives in the hopes of either losing the demons somehow despite their vastly superior physical prowess, or that theyll be able to avoid them long enough that a Guardian might save them.


    Without an ounce of hesitation, as the closest person to the train itself, Arthur jumps into the train when he reaches the door, right when it begins to close again. Only for him to find himself climbing back to his feet to see a fomorian entering the very car next to the intermediary car hed boarded.


    <em>Shit.</em>


    He slowly walks backwards into the other car, taking advantage of how the fomorian is looking out the window and not at him to slowly make his escape. All while asionally ncing at the door to make sure any other humans or fomorians didnt make it inside the train.


    <em>Why did the train door open and shut anyways? Is it broken?</em>


    Arthur puts that thought to the back of his mind though when he passes through the door of the car and it closes in front of him, immediately catching the attention of the fomorian in the process. But with the door shut, Arthur begins to run through the car towards the other end of it, only hearing the door behind him getting mmed into after hes already at the other side of the car.


    But the door on the other end does not open when he tries.


    <em>Are you kidding me?! </em>Now<em> my luck runs out!?</em>


    Arthur ms on the door a few times, but no matter what he does, it doesnt budge. So he turns around to find the door on the other end slowly beginning to dent from the fomorians attacks.


    <em>This isnt good if only Belle or Scarlet were here.</em>


    The mans face morphs into a grimace.


    <em>Damnit, I hate being weak!</em>


    Greetings, human, a voice suddenly echoes in his head before a miniature wolf appears floating in the air in front of him, making him blink for a moment. Would you like to-


    Yes! Arthur shouts, understanding immediately what it is and not giving it the time to finish asking.

 Book 3: Chapter 9.2: Fracture at the Station Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 9.2: Fracture at the Station Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Fortunately it doesnt take me long to reach the station. But one thing about the trip does bother me a little.


    I nce behind me as I run straight into the vast station to find ze still following me.


    Why is he here?


    Im in too much of a hurry to stop and question him though, instead rushing straight into the building and pausing for a moment to raise the sensitivity of my ears again and listen for Arthurs voice. And after a few seconds of searching, during which my tail catches up to me and stops, I hear his voiceing from a ce only several dozen meters down, inside of the car.


    And hes cussing. Which isnt a good sign.


    I open my eyes before immediately running in his direction, ignoring the man who is <em>still </em>following me. Which is getting creepy at this point.


    Doesnt he have somewhere else to be right now? Or did he follow because he knew I was going to a ss II Fracture?


    Actually, didnt he say something about a duel before? I wasnt really paying much attention to that part.


    <strong>I think he mentioned his father wanting him to challenge you to a duel when youre strong enough, </strong>Tarments as I run towards Arthurs voice as fast as I can.


    Ridiculous. But not something Im against.


    Im always up for a battle.


    <strong>You really are a battle junky, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding just as tense as I am despite this conversation.


    At some point though I stop hearing Arthurs voice. Which cant be a good sign. So I start using blood sacrifice even more to increase my speed, still with ze following right next to me, keeping up with his much higher level.


    This time when he sees me sending him a weird look though, he finally exins himself, I still need to get your contact information for that duel.


    Oh. That makes sense. I guess.


    Doesnt matter right now though as I continue running straight towards where I heard Arthurs voice before, only stopping when I reach the outside of the car hes in and narrow my eyes, not finding anyone but a single person inside of it. Someone who smells human and sounds as light as one considering the very faint shifting sounds theyre making.


    At the same time, theres a fomorian who seems to be breaking through the entrance to the train. So I dont wait for it to finish, instead rushing in and smashing the train door inwards with my own transformed fist, leaving a massive dent in it that I follow up with several more punches, sending the rather durable door flying inwards after the tenth strike to smash the fomorian who was hitting it. The creature is then crushed by the weight of the now destroyed door, yet still alive somehow.


    I ignore it though as I step into the train, briefly pausing to stomp on its face once, my foot sinking partway in before I continue on to the door to the car, which is heavily damaged. So I pull my fist back, only for ze to stop me by saying, Wait.


    I nce at him to find him holding some sort of key card.


    He has a key? Why would he have a key?


    <strong>Well, hes Reds son, </strong>Tar says as if that exins it all.


    And it kind of does in a way. Since the children of the Knights, even if there are only two public  now probably three thanks to zes blurting out who I am in front of a camera  are all treated basically as royalty in a lot of ces.


    ze walks up to the door and swipes the key card on it, making it open. And I dont waste any time walking through and then all the way to the end where I focus on a corner before frowning.


    Arthur? I mutter, slightly confused why Im not seeing anything but am hearing a heartbeat and some very slight shifting noises. Not to mention smelling a faint human scent.


    Scarlet? I hear his voice after a second, then a wall of shadows suddenly vanishes to reveal the man who is currently as pale as a sheet with literal eyes made out of shadows. Oh thank the stars


    I stare at him for a few seconds, and he stares back for just as long. Then ze walks into the room and sees us, only to suddenly ask, Wait, arent you the guy whos supposedly dating one of her former team members?


    That has both me and Arthur turning to stare at ze.


    No one says anything for a few seconds before he realizes that were waiting for him to exin why he knows that and says, My father had me look into you, so of course Id know about your former teammates.


    I stare at him for a few more seconds despite getting my answer, then I simply dere, Youre weird, and turn back to Arthur while ignoring zes scoff to ask Arthur, So youre a Guardian now?


    He nods his head as he finally stands up, briefly sending a slightly creeped out nce towards ze before he asks, And who is this?


    Just someone whos been following me around for a while now, I answer him with a dismissive shrug before asking, So whats your magic?


    Arthur turns back to me and smirks slightly as he answers, Shadowborne magic.


    Oh? I mutter, startled a little at that. Then I hear ze stating, Thats a rare one. And Im pretty sure its the same one Uncle ck has.


    I nce at ze before asking, Uncle?


    ze nods and says, Yeah. ck and Red are close in a way, so ck visited a lot while I was a kid.


    Interesting. Im starting to wonder if ck just likes kids considering how he actually briefly brought up the idea of adopting me before he blew that idea away just as quickly as he brought it up.


    Not that Im a kid though, considering Im neen. So any adoption at this point would just be figurative and for social benefit.


    Wait, so Arthur has the same magic as ck? Thats cool. Would also exin why he was contracted if he had that sort of potential.


    Makes me wonder why he wasnt contracted back when Belle was though.


    I turn back to Arthur to find him looking pleasantly surprised by that fact.


    Then a fae suddenly appears in front of us before it bows towards the tanuki currently lying on my shoulder, stating, Greetings, Tenth Prince Tarankar.


    Tar responds rather briefly, <strong>You may rise.</strong>


    Silence passes as I stare at the fae for several seconds, and out of the corner of my eye, I find ze looking between the fae and my ears a few times.


    Then I cant help but turn to Arthur and ask, So whys your fae in the form of a wolf?

 Book 3: Chapter 10: Storm of Hellfire

    Book 3: Chapter 10: Storm of Hellfire


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As it turns out, hisst thoughts before seeing the fae was that he wished either Belle or I were there to save him. And somehow his thinking of me turned his fae into a wolf.


    Rather odd, but I dont really care.


    After that, ze and I escort Arthur to a bunker, following which ze casually mentions bringing me with him to deal with the core. Which has me raising a brow at him.


    Then he reaches out to grab my wrist out of nowhere, making my eyes widen as he begins to pull me along with him in the direction of the core. But before I can yank my arm out of his grip, his feet suddenly send out a burst of mes behind him, making the guy quite literally begin flying through the station with me only hanging on by his grip on my arm.


    What the fuck?! I shout, my voice getting lost in the sounds of fire, explosions, and demons. But after a few seconds I notice that ze is also torching quite the number of demons who were passing over with fireballs. So I decide to join him by sending down des of blood and boiling their blood.


    Unfortunately I dont have the time to life drain them. Otherwise I absolutely would because this is already giving me some nice EXP. Even if most of them are being killed by ze and not me.


    In the end, the man quite literally drags me through the entire station before ending up at the station center, where the core is located. Then hends, letting go of my arm and telling me, Get behind me.


    I narrow my eyes at his words but follow them anyways, briefly remembering mention of his etched skill on the inte.


    But his mana level is only


    My eyes widen as I realize his mana level is far higher now than it was before.


    <strong>At ss II, most guardians have a way to hide their mana from others senses, </strong>Tarments, making my eyes narrow at thete mention of this.


    Damnit, this guy is close to the end of ss II! No wonder he had no worries about going to the center of the Fracture!


    My eyes manage to widen even more at the sight of him beginning to glow with a ck and red light, the man holding his hands together with only a foot in between them. He then chants out loud in some strange authoritative tone, <strong>Bring the destruction of fire unto these pathetic creatures!</strong>


    Then a massive storm of mes manifests in front of him as he pushes both of his hands outwards towards the swarm of demons below.


    Holy shit.


    I hurriedly look around before the storm envelops the station center to fortunately find that its barren of humans. Only having various types of demons including the powerful level 250 demonmander at the center of it next to the core.


    It only takes the storm a few seconds to cover the entire station center, filling it with nothing but the smell of fire, ash, and the screams of demons that make my ears hurt till I lower their sensitivity a bit. ze grimaces slightly while falling to one knee, making me realize that the skill he just used mustve had a pretty hefty price.


    Then again, it was an etched skill. One from the Red Knight of Humanity.


    If I remember correctly, the skill the Red Knight has is some sort of raging ze of hellfire that can cover an entire city in its mes. But the skill needs around seventy percent of the users mana, along with a short chant beforehand.


    The one ze has though is only the legendary version of the skill, making it a lot weaker. But an etched skill is still an etched skill. One from one of the most powerful humans in existence.


    The sounds of screaming demons continue on for several seconds before the red tint in the air fades away, signaling that his skill destroyed the core amidst its ze. But despite that, the mes continue burning. And burning. And burning.


    Uh, are those mes going to stop? I cant help but ask the man kneeling next to me. Because Im pretty sure this ce is gonna go up in smoke if not.


    A second passes, then another, and then finally the mes flicker out all at once, revealing a badly burnt station that makes me pity whoever owns this ce.


    I look out over the damaged station center for a bit before realizing that ze never responded, making me look down at him to find him lying face first on the ground unconscious.


    Uh


    I kneel down next to him before poking him and saying, I dont think this is a good ce to take a nap


    He obviously doesnt respond.


    Hmm, what to do


    <strong>You should probably carry him somewhere, </strong>Tar suggests. <strong>Cant just leave him unconscious in the middle of the floor after all.</strong>


    I mean, cant I?


    Tar gives me a look.


    No, I cant. But still.


    I purse my lips for a moment before an ideaes to me and I summon my blood shadow. Then I order the blood shadow to carry him so I dont have to touch him myself.


    There, problem solved, I dere out loud with a smile and a nod.


    Tar just snorts as he asks, <strong>So you know where youre gonna bring him?</strong>


    I stare at the tanuki for a few seconds before turning to look at the unconscious dude.


    No clue.


    Oh, wait!


    Ill just call Arias butler and have him pick him up. Hell probably be able to get into contact with Red or something.


    <strong>Or you could just bring him somewhere morefortable and wait for him to wake up, </strong>Tar suggests, making me stare at him again.


    But that would require me to waste my time waiting who knows how long for him to wake up.


    Actually, now that I think about it, this is probably why he dragged me with him in the first ce. Because he knew hed be falling unconscious after using that skill.


    And he didnt bother warning me of this. Which is rather rude.


    Scarlet? I suddenly hear a familiar voice ask, making me turn around to find White standing behind me with a worried look on her face.


    I blink in surprise, only to grin.


    That could work.

 Book 3: Chapter 11: Swindled

    Book 3: Chapter 11: Swindled


    <strong>The Station Roof</strong>


    ke lets out a groan of pain as he wakes up, pushing himself up with his left hand and holding his head with his right.


    <em>Shit, that skill never gets easier to use</em>


    His memories from before it flood his head and he jerks his head upwards to look for Scarlet, only for his eyes to widen in shock when he finds her mother sitting on a pure white cube floating in the air with a bored look on her face.


    <em>Why the fuck is the White Knight of Humanity watching over me as I was unconscious?!!</em>


    And by the looks of it, she isnt very happy about it either. Not considering the re she turns towards him after finding him awake.


    Finally awake? she says, her voice so sharp it could cut through steel. Good. Now I can leave.


    White stands up from her cube, only to pause, making ke stiffen slightly. She then nces at him again and asks, You have feelings for her, dont you?


    <em>Shit. Shit, shit, shiiit!</em>


    ke quickly stands up and opens his mouth to refute her, only for Whites eyes to narrow as she says, Do not lie to me, making his mouth shut again on its own.


    A few seconds pass before he can open it again, and he immediately says, Yes. I do.


    White taps her chin a few times with her index finger without saying a word, letting ke grow more and more frightened. Then she eventually mutters, seemingly to herself, First it was that child, Julian, then a couple random Guardians she fought, and now this one? She pauses at that before shaking her head and muttering, No, never mind. All of them lost interest eventually, their feelings only fleeting crushes. Even the boy she saved.


    ke blinks at that and frowns.


    <em>A kid fell for her? That couldnt have gone well. Good thing he lost interest. But the others shes talking about mustve been those two who propositioned her during the tournaments and were rejected. Idiots who probably thought she would be a nice one time thing before moving on again.</em>


    The womans eyes narrow on ke as she takes him in fully and asks, But youre not like them, are you? Not if youre anything like your father.


    ke feels his blood run cold at her words.


    Then the damn bursts and he scowls at her, stating in a cold tone of voice equaling that of her own, I will <em>never</em> be <em>anything </em>like him!


    White raises a brow at that, lets a few seconds pass in silence, then says, But you are. I can tell without even entering your mind because you have that very same stubborn look as he has. One that means he will never give up.


    kes eyes widen in shock at that, but White just continues while ring at the boy, You can feel for my daughter however you want, but know this. She has no interest in romance.


    A few seconds pass as ke calms down before he sighs and says, I already knew that.


    The Knight raises a brow at his words, only to turn around and begin walking away, fading out of existence after just a few steps.


    But right before she does, ke swears he hears her mutter to herself, Children and did she really tell me to <em>babysit</em> him? Really?


    kes eye twitches at the thought of being babysat. Especially when he dragged Scarlet with him so that she would still be with him when he woke up. And to get her contact information, which he never managed to get.


    A few moments pass in silence before ke sighs.


    <em>Guess Ill just go home and y some Hunter XI</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but grin as I watch Belley into Arthur about being careful and why his fae is a wolf along with various other random things that shouldnt really be a problem but apparently are to a worried girlfriend.


    Overall Id say todays been a pretty good day. I climbed all the way up to level one hundred and thirty, met the child of another Knight even if he was a little odd, managed to pull one over on both White and ke at the same time, and got another inherent skill. Not to mention Im getting to see Belle tear into Arthur for no reason other than her being worried. And he even got a rare magic too!


    All in all a very good day.


    On that note though, I bring up the description of my new inherent skill. An umon one at that.


    <strong>{Blood Chains  Allows the user to</strong><strong>conjure chains made of blood, whether hardened, metallicized, or liquid blood, which bind and constrict enemies, restricting their movement, draining their blood, and draining their life energy along with it.}</strong>


    My grin grows wider and wider the further into the description the System gets.


    Another useful skill both at ranged and in pure offense! Not to mention its a constricting skill, which was something Icked! Something to keep the target in ce!


    Man, today was <em>such</em> a good day!


    Well, aside from Arthur almost dying, that is.


    I continue lying back on my lovely recliner in the middle of my living room, briefly wondering why it is exactly that Arthur and Belle are having their argument here in the first ce before deciding that I dont care. Instead I just close my eyes while significantly lowering the sensitivity of my ears to only be able to hear about a few feet around me. Something I learned I could do and have been doing so ever since to fall asleep.


    Certainly one perk of not being human anymore. Or, not being mostly human anymore? Not being half human?


    Whatever.


    <strong>You sound like youre enjoying yourself, </strong>Tars voice echoes in my head, making me grin despite having my eyes closed.


    Yeah. I really am.


    And now Ill just go take a nap while those two are arguing over there.


    Then I can get on Hunter XI in the morning.

 Book 3: Intermission 1

    Book 3: Intermission 1


    <strong>Allens Office in the Silver Associations Base</strong>


    Allen feels a smile reaching his lips as he looks at the picture of Aria and Scarlet sitting in the middle of a ssroom full of students. Students that all look rather tense. Which makes sense, considering that Scarlets identity as Whites daughter has been confirmed by both the Red Knights son and White herself, and thats not even factoring the psychopaths daughter sitting in herp.


    <em>They look just like a little sister sitting on her big sissp.</em>


    Then theres the fact that his soon-to-be daughter seems to smile far more often when the little girl is near her. Something that Allen cant help but chalk up to her blood lycan instincts connecting her to her blood rtive.


    Allen honestly feels happy for both of them. Because long before Scarlet had met Aria, hed felt pity for the girl. A girl who was born in ab through her fathers genes mixed with a random persons. Something that had below a 0.00001% chance of working when using the DNA of someone as powerful as a Knight, and always corrupts the blood of the parents when it fails. Meaning that if Blues specialty didnt happen to be healing and regeneration, then they wouldve never gotten him to have a child.


    But thanks to his magic, he was able to give them hundreds of thousands of gallons of blood to use for his DNA in which they simply tried over and over again for decades before seeding after spending what mustve been trillions of credits. And then immediately having the DNA reimed by Blue to stop them from trying again now that hed fulfilled his duty byw.


    Never once did the man ever actually care about his daughter, simply leaving her with the government before Blues own father took her in. For a price.


    Allen shakes his head as he remembers the first time he heard about this. The first time the <em>public </em>heard about this.


    <em>Then theres ke</em>


    Allens thoughts are interrupted when his terminal buzzes, following which Sages face pops up on it and she says, Weve been informed by the General of the Military that Satans forces appear to be increasing their activity. Both in and outside of their territory.


    <em>Thats not good</em>


    Furthermore, the undead up north at the Arctic are starting to be more frequent, and there have been sightings of stronger undead amongst them, Sage states, making Allen shoot to his feet and shout, Shit!


    <em>That means Damien is waking up from his slumber!? That damned ghoul is still alive after all!</em>


    Allen immediately begins to pace back and forth in front of his desk, unsure of how he should respond to this news. Because ever since half a century ago, when ck and Purple teamed up to go after the ghoul, he hasnt been seen since. But now that he is most likely returning, the entire war effort will be turned on its head.


    After several seconds of pacing, Allen stops and raises his arm to look at the screen again as he asks, Has the General started making preparations yet?


    Sage nods her head on the screen and answers, He has. But they havent been implemented yet. They should be implemented in two days.


    Good, Allen says before sitting down again, only to hear his terminal start buzzing with another call. So Sage nods her head and hangs up to let him take it.


    But when Allen sees who it is thats calling, his grimace only grows worse.


    <em>Seriously? Now? They want to try something now of all times?</em>


    After a few seconds of debating whether or not he shouldnt just ignore the call, he finally epts the call, making one of the very few humans not amongst the Knights with a Title appear on the screen. She has long red hair with glowing crimson eyes and skin as pale as the falling snow outside, and is wearing a mostly ck set of armor with streaks of crimson red through it, the armor being made up of grand looking metal ting instead of the generally more modern styles of armor.


    Cipher. We need to talk, the Bloody Valkyrie deres the moment the call connects as she res at the man through the screen.


    Immediately upon hearing her, Allen lets out a sigh.


    <em>This is going to be a pain.</em>


    The Bloody Valkyrie is the sole leader of the Garden of Blood Association. One of the very few gender restricted Associations in the entire world, with its only other counterparts being the Iron Mountain Association  an Association created to pursue ascension of the mind through removing all desires for their all-male members  and the Golden Retreat  an all-male Association created purely out of spite towards the Bloody Valkyrie.


    Allen personally thinks their feud is absolutely ridiculous as it began simply due to a massive argument between the pair of exes that are now the leaders of the two Associations. A feud taken too far. But what can he say? Hes just a ss IV Guardian, while the two of them are ss Vs.


    Two of the highest leveled ss V Guardians in the world at that, the two being only a few hundred levels below the Knights.


    <em>At least the woman has gotten over her fear of men thanks to him. Now its just a difort. And the rest of her Association only goes along with it to keep herfortable and because shes their Association leader.</em>


    I dont think we do, Allen answers while leaning back in his chair, wondering why everyone decided to make today hell.


    Not that he hasnt been expecting this call toe around sooner orter. In fact, he is rather surprised that it took over an entire month since Scarlet reached ss II for her toe calling.


    The Bloody Valkyries eyes narrow before she asks, So youre going to y that game then? Does this mean Ill have to go ask her mother directly?


    Allenughs at that and shakes his head while saying, Good luck with that!


    <em>There is no way White would ever consider having Scarlet go under an apprenticeship, much less have her join the Garden of Blood. Regardless of if Ava is the strongest human blood magic user in the world.</em>


    Avas eyes suddenly sh slightly with a bright red light before she coldly states, Well see, and hangs up the call.


    A few seconds pass in silence, following which Allen pulls out a bottle of wine from his storage skill and pours it into a ss thats sitting empty on his desk. Then he brings the ss up and takes a sip of the wine.


    <em>I get the feeling Scarlets going to be getting an unwanted visitor soon enough.</em>


    He takes another sip of the wine before putting it down on the desk and leaning back in his chair again, briefly thinking back to what he was thinking about before all this began. About the children of the Knights.


    About ke, whose biological mother hed just gotten off a call with.


    <em>Im not sure who I pity more now. The young girl who was basically abandoned by her father after being born artificially, or ke, who was somehow born after a one-night-stand between Red and Ava. Purely because the two of them werent against having kids when they did it, not actually expecting it to happen.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 12: Guardian History

    Book 3: Chapter 12: Guardian History


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I ignore the frightened looks of the students around me as I sit in the back of the ss with Aria sitting on myp, the girl having practically forced the poor professor into letting her sit in. Which definitely goes to show that she isnt afraid to use her fathers reputation when it benefits her, despite it all being rather baseless when he wouldnt actually help her if it came down to it. Just that no one is willing to test that theory.


    And now Im starting to be treated in a simr yet different manner as well, since people know Im Whites daughter now. Something thatpletely squashed the few rumors that had actually started building up at one point about me being an orphan.


    Technically I guess Im not an orphan anymore anyways. Not considering that White is my biological mother, regardless of if she has any sort of im to being able to call herself my mother or not.


    Then again, thats aplicated subject. One that well all cross when we go through with the adoption during the Summer.


    I take my attention away from the students and the sleeping child on myp to focus on the professor as he continues his Guardian History lecture, ignoring the students obviousck of attention, Now as many of you know, the three ss V Fractures that have opened up over the course of our history have brought with them disasters worse than any humanity has ever faced before. The Fracture in the year 2045 that opened up in old-world Japans capital called Tokyo  the city that used to be the most popted city in the entire  ended up making humanity lose the entire nation thanks to the oni known as Satan, kickstarting the founding of the Republic. The Fracture in the year 2175 that opened up in the Arctic, decades after the Republic began settling there in a failed attempt to spread out the poption and keep Fractures from appearing as often, ended up making the entirety of the Arctic get overrun with undead demons. All of whom were led by the ghoul known as Damien val Shadowde, who went missing not long after the ck and Purple Knights of Humanity went to vanquish him.


    That mustve been the point in time that the councilmembers of the Republic realized they couldnt avert the Fractures no matter how hard they tried. If they tried spreading the people out, then they risk a Gate opening up because no one could arrive to stop a Fracture in time. And if they put everyone in one ce, then Fractures happen way too frequently.


    Neither of which were good solutions. But they eventually decided that the loss of life caused by the greater number of Fractures was less of a risk than the possibility of more Gates opening up on Earth.


    Lastly, there was the third and final ss V Fracture that happened just about neen years ago. One that opened up in this very city of Terra and was led by a kitsune known as Shiro Oniryu. However, unlike the other two ss V Fractures, the kitsune was in by White herself before she went on to fight an unnamed blood lycan in the Fracture, only for the core to be destroyed before she could kill him, the professor continues, making me stiffen up ever so slightly at the mention of a blood lycan.


    I begin to tune out the rest of the lecture as thoughts about the blood lycan fill my head.


    That blood lycan Allen mentioned before hed seen a blood lycan that looked a lot like me in some ways during that Fracture. And it was also the Fracture that happened right around when I was born.


    Could that blood lycan have been my father? Or maybe someone who worked for him at least?


    I dont know. There isnt enough information. Especially since White wont tell me anything. Not even to this day, over a month after she finally started speaking to me.


    <strong>At least shes trying to make up for her mistake, unlike some parents would in her position, </strong>Tar says, making me frown slightly.<strong> Dont get me wrong. I support you in whatever decisions you make, and I agree that what your birth mother did was absolutely terrible and unforgivable. But she is still trying at least.</strong>


    I purse my lips at the thought before reluctantly nodding my head lightly.


    She has beening to see me at least once a day ever since we met in the magical reality to watch the tournament with Aria. And she hasnt really been a bother, leaving whenever I tell her to and not staying any longer. Shes even helped me a few times in unimportant things such as babysitting an unconscious ke.


    <strong>I still cant believe you did that, </strong>Tar mutters, making a slight smirk find its way onto my face.


    Well, it worked, didnt it?


    Tar grumbles something about how a Knight shouldnt be delegated to babysitting.


    I ignore him, of course.


    Something I did realize a few nights after leaving her to babysitting duty is that she was watching over me during that Fracture. Why she was doing so, Im not sure. Because I know she wont step in even if I were about to die to a demon. Just the fact that Im still getting EXP and achievements from the System is enough proof for that.


    So why is she watching over me?


    To protect me from Rogues? From demons not from Fractures?


    Whatever her reasoning is, I feel a little conflicted about her watching me. Because it kind of sucks to know that shed just watch me die but is nice to know that shell probably kill off any Rogues whoe after me. Like she apparently has already done before, if Allens words are to be believed.


    Im roused from my thoughts by the sound of something hitting the desk up front, followed by the professor stating, Thatll be all for todays ss. Make sure you study the events surrounding the three ss V Fractures and are ready for a quiz next ss!


    I nce down at Aria before pondering about how exactly Im going to wake her up.


    Or, wait


    Guess thatll work.


    I disconnect my terminal from the device on the desk before shifting around a little and picking Aria up as I stand up.


    Dont have to wake her up at all.

 Book 3: Chapter 13: Failed Divinations

    Book 3: Chapter 13: Failed Divinations


    <strong>Inside of the Grand Hall of the Garden of Blood</strong>


    Ava Carter  otherwise known as the Bloody Valkyrie  stands just meters in front of the center of the Grand Hall as the most powerful seer of the Garden performs a divination. And she cant help but tap her foot in anticipation of the result, because she <em>needs </em>to get the child  Scarlet Asger  on her side.


    <em>Highest capabilities known to man, powerful blood magic skills, and a temperament honed and directed towards battle. She would be an absolutely perfect fit in the Garden.</em>


    It was the only reason she bothered to lower her head to make a request to the ss IV Guardian currently in charge of the girls Association. Something she would never do otherwise.


    Ava recognizes that she has a big ego. That her pride often gets the best of her. But this time she didnt let it. And still, it didnt work. The man rejected her without a second thought.


    Her fist clenches at that understanding before she rxes again and looks around the Grand Hall to find dozens of women of all types. Most of whom are beautiful, but some  those being the few ss Is in the Association who havent ascended yet  arent.


    All of them regardless of appearance, however, are powerful. The one thing the Garden of Blood requires as an absolute. Besides that the Association members be female, a stiption made by the Valkyrie due to her troubled past with men.


    Ava doesnt dislike men as a whole, she simply doesnt feelfortable around them. A significant improvement from when she felt terrified just being in their presence. And no one thinks less of her due to that, despite it being public knowledge. Even the Guardians in her Association respect her enough to not allow any men on the floating Garden of Blood.


    The woman lets out a sigh before smiling a little at the women around the Grand Hall, each of whom appears rather excited at the thought of a new member joining their tight-knit Association. After all, its not a verymon urrence.


    Even Ava admits that her requirements for joining may be a little strict.


    <em>But if I were anything other than strict, then the Garden wouldnt have anywhere near as much respect from the world atrge. And it certainly wouldnt be one of the most powerful Associations in the world as it is now.</em>


    Avas thoughts are interrupted when a sh of white light shines from the woman sitting cross-legged in the center of the hall wearing a simple robe. But then the light suddenly fades, making Ava and the other women around the hall frown.


    <em>That wasnt supposed to happen.</em>


    Did something go wrong? Ava asks her seer the moment she opens her eyes, only to find the seer frowning soon after.


    Sofia Rossi continues frowning for a few seconds before lifting her head, showing herpletely white, pupilless eyes to Ava as she says, I failed to connect.


    But how?! Isnt her divination supposed to work on anyone?! Maybe the new girl has some sort of resistance skill? But would that skill be able to resist the Pale Seer? When the girls only recently be ss II?


    Do you know what happened? Ava softly asks while kneeling down next to the blind seer. And the seer stares in her direction for a few seconds before eventually answering, We appear to not have her full name.


    Ava blinks in surprise at that, only to stand up straight with a frown.


    Youre saying Scarlet Asger isnt her true name then? Ava asks, seeking rification.


    Sofia nods her head, briefly looking around at the women around her who are like family as she answers, Yes. But it was odd. It was like it was her name but wasnt. Like something had hidden her true name from both us and the girl herself.


    The Bloody Valkyrie frowns at that.


    <em>But why is it some sort of defensive measure White put into her daughter to defend against divination? Why would she need to defend against divination though? Its not like the demons can urately divine happenings on Earth from Tartarus or can they? But even then theyd need to know her true name for it to matter. Did her name get leaked to the demons and made into a weakness for the Knight?</em>


    Ava looks down at the ground as the other women talk amongst themselves about their interesting new potential recruit. After several seconds of silence though, Ava finally looks at Sofia again, giving her a gentle smile as she helps her to her feet and says, Thank you for your help, as always, Sofia.


    She then begins to lead her through the hall towards a morefortable location while seriously pondering what to do with the girl if divining what it would take for her to ept a mentorship isnt possible.


    <em>This is going to be much harder than I thought.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Before I walk through the doors of the buildings entry way into the cold outdoors, I shift around rather awkwardly to take off my coat, leaving me in just my short sleeved shirt. Then I cover Aria with my coat, still awkwardly shifting her around until I have her bundled up, the girl somehow having slept through all that movement as I begin moving outside of the building. All while ignoring the ncesing our way by both students and faculty, along with the shuttering sounds of a couple photos being taken. Something Ive grown used to at this point.


    Although I think this might be one of the few pictures outside of the annoying modeling pictures I had to take that Im actually not covering up my arms with long sleeves.


    Fortunately, the cold from being outside doesnt really bother me at all even without my coat. Not since I became ss II at least. Before that it may have bothered me a little bit. But it goes to show the benefits of ascending are more than just the visible benefits.


    I briefly look around outside for Arias butler, only to feel my terminal buzz, so I raise it to find a message from him stating that he wont be able to pick her up. It also asks me if I can look after her for a bit, so I answer in the positive before lowering my terminal and beginning the trek back to my suite.


    Out of nowhere though, I feel a strange tingling sensation in the back of my head. Something Ive felt quite a few times since reaching ss II. Almost like someone is trying to look at me from far away but fails.


    An odd feeling.


    Tar mentioned that it was probably a failed divination when I first felt it, but why are there so many failed divinations on me? Its like theres been at least two a week


    Whoevers doing the divining must be a terrible seer if theyre failing that badly.


    I cant help but wonder who it is though?


    My first guess is probably my grandfather on my fathers side that Tar mentioned cares about me and has no idea where I am. But I could be wrong.


    Also, this time the sensation felt a little weaker. As if it were someone else doing it. A weaker person.


    Either way, I continue walking through the snow with Aria in my arms, heading towards my suite to go y some more Hunter XI and put Aria to bed.

 Book 3: Chapter 14: Theories

    Book 3: Chapter 14: Theories


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After I get back to my suite, I put Aria in my bed and tuck her in before going to my living room and ordering some food be delivered to my room while turning on the TV.


    -and once again, another day passes without a Demonic Assault, proving the theories online that a ss V Fracture may be approaching! A newsman says the moment I turn it on, making me pause for a moment before continuing to the couch.


    Yeah, thats nothing new. I did almost forget that the public doesnt know about the uing ss V Fracture that should be happening within a few months though.


    And I cant help but feel conflicted about the decrease in Demonic Assault frequency. I know it happened prior to thest three ss V Fractures, where for the few months before the Fractures, Demonic Assaults began happening less frequently, but it wasnt a proven fact. Now that its happening a fourth time though, Id say its safe to say its proven enough.


    It also means that I cant level as much before the stupid ss V Fracture either. Because while there used to be a Fracture every three to four days, now theres just one every six to seven days. Which cuts the Fractures I can fight in in half.


    I lean back on the couch, just staring up at the ceiling as I hear the newsman continue talking, No one has ever proved one way or another why this seems to happen, but there are plenty of theories about the topic out there. And here with us today is one of the lead researchers on the topic. A man who used to be a part of the Guardian Research Team before the team was disbanded!


    My eye twitches in irritation at the mention of that annoying team. Good riddance to them.


    Hello, some of you may know me by my name, Charles Kimani, but most of you will know me by my Guardian title, Archol, a man whose voice and apparently name and title I do not recognize at all says as I close my eyes and continue lying on the couch patiently waiting for my food to arrive at my door. The theory that I came up with alongside two of my colleagues from the former Team states that the ss V Fractures are most likely different from the other Fractures in that they require a lot more energy to build up in order for them to appear. Which is why the Demonic Assaults appear less frequently before a Demonic Assault carrying a ss V Fracture.


    So youre saying that the Demonic Assaults are stalling to save up this energy so that they can create these different Fractures? the newsman asks rhetorically before eximing, Fascinating! But how did youe up with this theory? And what is this energy youre speaking of?


    Well the answer is quite simple, Charles pauses for a moment, probably for effect or something, each Fracture core contains something we researchers like to ssify as Reality Energy that works as the power source for the entire Fracture. The thing connecting our two worlds. And the more reality energy that can be found in a core, the higher the cores ss will be. But the gap between a ss IV Fracture and a ss V Fracture core is so massive that a single ss V core has as much reality energy as nearly a hundred ss IV Fracture cores.


    My eyes open at that, but before I can nce at the TV, I hear a dinging sound resonate through my suite marking the arrival of my food. So I get up right when the newsman asks, But whats causing these Fractures in the first ce? What causes the Demonic Assaults?


    I continue through a couple rooms while raising the sensitivity of my ears to catch whats being said despite not being in the same room as Charles answers, No one truly knows the answer to that, so everything beyond this point is pure theory. But my team and I believe that its reality itself doing this for some reason. Just some sort of natural urrence in response to something else changing. Kind of like how sometimes nature will go about bncing things out on its own. Like how after a forest fire, the greenery and life will slowlye back over a long period of time. But in this sense, its reality itself responding to something.


    That exnation doesnt make much sense to me, but I continue listening even after I reach the door and let robot there roll a cart filled with food into my suite.


    Wait, are you trying to say that reality itself has a consciousness, or can react in some way to threats? And if so, then what could possibly lead reality to set the demon race upon our world? the newsman whose name I still dont remember continues speaking as I direct the robot towards my living room where the TV is.


    Yes and no, Charles continues, its already been proven to us that the universe seems to have some sort of instinctive process and is alive in the sense that it can alter reality to bnce it out a bit, but it isnt alive at the same time as it has no actual conscience or mind of its own. All it can do is react to a threat from outside of the universe.


    I pause at that before briefly blinking at the TV.


    Outside of the universe?


    Do you mean the newsman, a man wearing a casual suit with short hair and a rather shocked look on his face mutters, leading Charles to nod and state, Our current theory is that the Demonic Assaults are a result of the universe instinctively and without any drive or direction trying to strengthen both the demons and us by giving us opponents in order to allow us to survive the uing threat. One that most likely originates from a ce outside of our universe, such as the void for example.


    My jaw drops open at that.


    That cant be true can it?


    Tar? What do you think?


    <strong>It is a rather prevalent theory even amongst us fae, so its not out of the question, </strong>he answers, shocking me even more. <strong>It would also align with the theory that the Demonic Assaults and Fractures are naturally urring but also very slightly artificial in some manner.</strong>


    That well yeah, I guess that does make sense. Its just a little mind blowing to think about the possibility that there may be a threat greater than the demons out there.


    Actually,e to think of it, isnt the Farshore outside of the universe?


    Tar appears in front of me with his eyes narrowed before slowly stating, <strong>Yes, it is. But fae are not able to physically interact with the mortal realm outside of weak artificial bodies such as my own. So no fae, not even King Oberon, could pose a threat to the universe. At least, not with the Demon King around to stop him.</strong>


    Oh, right. Didnt realize the Demon King was stronger than King Oberon, but it makes sense since you said fae were more energy beings than physical.


    But the void isnt it only full of those weakish void creatures? Weak in terms of a ss II Guardian at least.


    <strong>Thats unknown, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes widen. <strong>No one has ever explored the void before. All we know about it are the brief glimpses some Guardians have seen into it inside of a corrupted Fracture, along with the creatures that havee out of it. Nothing more.</strong>


    So the possible theorized threat to the universe could very welle from the void.


    But why would reality set the demons on the human race? If humanity didnt react well or have the fae to help, wouldnt we have just been wiped out?


    <strong>Thats </strong>Tar mutters sounding slightly reluctant to say anything, only to eventually answer, <strong>If I had to guess, since the universe is only acting on instinct and isnt intelligent, its instincts probably didnt factor in that the demons might go to war with the humans right away. If this is an actual theory, which we still dont know if this is anything other than theory, then its entirely possible that the humans and demons were only supposed to have some conflicts, allowing some Gates to appear between the worlds, and letting the two races grow stronger through asionally fighting each other. It also couldve just underestimated how powerful the demons were.</strong>


    Thats a lot of ifs and assumptions.


    Tar just shrugs.


    Guess this really only a theory in the end. Although knowing that the universe is able to instinctively nudge things towards fixing fatal problems is kind of nice to know. I also cant help but wonder if the previous fae queen used the universe in some way when she made the System? Seeing as the System helps guide our pathway to ascension and improves upon our very realities to smooth that path.


    So many theories, but no actual proof for any of this. Kind of annoying, but-


    My stomach suddenly growls, announcing my need to eat the food in front of me as the robot finishes up setting the tes and begins leaving my suite, locking the door behind it.


    Nows not the time to worry about theories.

 Book 3: Chapter 15: An Awkward Confrontation Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 15: An Awkward Confrontation Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Weeks pass with fewer and fewer Demonic Assaults to the point that they end up only happening once every two weeks after a few weeks, and soon the final month of the semester, April,es around, along with crunch time for studying. But I cant help but grimace as I look at my poor status screen.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 149</strong><strong>SP: 3</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 373</strong><strong>Mental: 373</strong><strong>Magical: 372</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 117,001/117,942.6</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 3</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 9</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 8</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Form</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 11</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Its been almost three and a half months since I reached ss II, and Ive only leveled up forty-eight times. Although learning that Tar could optimize my status screen to not show the unimportant skills like those utility skills was nice and freed up some space in my status.


    I lean back in my desks chair located within my suites bedroom, pondering over the meaning of life if not to level up. With a tanuki scoffing at the dramatics Im currently not expressing at all, of course.


    <strong>You are already about to hit level 150 after not even being a Guardian for an entire year, not to mention the progress youve made in getting almost all of your skills to at least level 10, so Id say youre doing pretty freaking well, </strong>Tarments, already having had his worldview broken by me by now. <strong>My worldview is perfectly fine thank you very much.</strong>


    Yep. Keep tellin yourself that.


    I do have to admit though, while my level hasnt raised as much as Id like in these months, the changes to my skills after bringing most of them to level ten have been very nice. Especially blood regeneration, which now heals me even faster and apparently regenerates damage to my reality as well, blood thirst, which now has the stacks resetting the timer each time a new stack is applied, with the timer counting down from three minutes, and blood shadow, which lets my blood shadow use some very basic and weak versions of some of my skills.


    Tar mutters something about cheat legendary skills again, just like he always does.


    Blood shadow isnt a legendary skill though.


    Tar snorts in response, apparently not deigning to grace me with an answer.


    I smirk at that before letting out a sigh and stretching, deciding that Im not gonna get any studying done if Im just sitting hereining about levels.


    Then again, its not like I need to study right now. The finals arent for another few weeks after all.


    My thoughts are cut off when the terminal on my arm buzzes, bringing my attention to it to find an email from the vice headmaster of the university. One asking me toe to his office for some reason.


    Uh what?


    So after not getting lost at all in the process of finding his office, I arrive there within just three hours of the email.


    Tar chuckles in my head, but I ignore him as the wonderful human be- err, blood lycan? Um. The wonderful whatever I am that I am.


    He just snorts at that.


    Aaanyways, I raise my hand to knock on the door, only for it to suddenly open on its own. Or, rather, it opens by a familiar mist that I remember the vice headmaster using both during the first semester and the second semester opening ceremonies and ranking tournaments. A tournament that I made forty-first ce in.


    Something that didnt really shock anyone this time.


    I follow the mist to its source just to find the man sitting behind a desk with a woman I very much recognize sitting on afortable chair across from him. And upon seeing her, I almost immediately get the idea of whats happening.


    Either the Bloody Valkyrie is here to ask me to join the Garden of Blood, shes here to make me her apprentice, or shes here to ask me something about White. Basically the same thing most other Association leaders have been doing over the past few months.


    Just that she is a much more well known Association leader than the others were. And stronger. A lot stronger.


    Just from my time in middle school, much less university or even high school, I already know that shes supposed to be about tied for the sixth highest leveled human in the world. Even if shes still a few hundred levels behind the Knights.


    <strong>So shes important? </strong>Tar asks in my head as I walk through the door, feeling a tad bit nervous about the gazes of two ss V Guardians being locked on me.


    Very important. In fact, her Association alone has enough power to take on the government, if we excluded the governments two main backers that is.


    Actually, she may be able to survive dealing with them as well. Since Purple isnt abat focused Guardian at all, and ck is a stealth and assassination focused Guardian. Something that doesnt exactly pair well against a woman who can literally turn her body into pure blood to avoid a fatal blow.


    Ah! Scarlet, youve arrived! the vice headmaster says with a smile on his face before getting up from his chair and indicating the woman as he introduces her, This, as you probably already know, is Ava Carter, otherwise known as the Bloody Valkyrie! And she would like to speak to you about something.


    I try to keep from making any sort of reaction to his words, but I cant help but stiffen up slightly anyways.


    If either of them noticed though, they dont show it. Instead the vice headmaster gives a nod to the both of us before saying, And with that, my part here is done. Please do lock up my office when you leave.


    Then he vanishes, leaving me alone with the woman.


    I cant see this ending well.

 Book 3: Chapter 15.2: An Awkward Confrontation Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 15.2: An Awkward Confrontation Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Both the Valkyrie and I take a moment to study the other, and no matter how I look at her, shes just as fierce looking as the images and videos on the inte depict. Maybe even a bit more, purely because I cant sense even an ounce of her mana. Meaning she has absolutely amazing control over it,pletely hiding any sign of just how strong she is. Or at least, it would hide it if I didnt already know who she was.


    After a few seconds, she stands up from her seat and walks over to me before reaching her hand out, offering a handshake. And just so as to not be rude, I ept it.


    Its good to finally meet you, Scarlet Asger, she says with a firm nod of her head. And I nod back as our hands part. The woman then walks back to her seat and motions towards the one next to it.


    I watch her for a second before going to the other seat and sitting down at the same time she does. The woman then bluntly asks me, Would you be my apprentice?


    Sorry, but no, I answer right away, just like I did with all the other Association leaders before her.


    None of them can actually legally do anything to me, and all of them have been way too afraid to try anything illegal thanks to White, who is finally helping me out quite a bit. Just her name alone is a major boon when dealing with Guardian politics.


    The woman actually doesnt look surprised, nor does she so much as budge from her spot, instead asking, Is there anything I can do to convince you otherwise?


    I shake my head, There isnt.


    She just nods and says, Thought so.


    I cant help but raise a brow at that, and she just chuckles while waving a hand, the intensity she was radiating fading away rather quickly as she exins, That wasnt the only thing I came to ask. She pauses for a moment to reach her arm into some sort of portal made up of blood that appears out of nowhere, pulling it back out secondster with a bottle of wine and a couple sses, each being carried between two fingers apiece. Would you like some wine?


    A second passes in silence before I shake my head and apologize, Sorry, but Im not much of a fan of alcohol, even if it doesnt affect me.


    The woman pauses at that for a moment, only to reach into the blood portal again and bring out something else as she asks, How about this strawberry juice? It was made by the head chef on the Garden of Blood and should increase your mana regeneration by a hundred percent for the next week.


    My eyes widen in shock at that before practically bing glued to the bottle, my head nodding without me even meaning to do so.


    The Valkyrie chuckles at that and ces the sses on the table before filling them and setting the two bottles on the table while pushing my ss towards me.


    I quickly reach out, taking a moment to sniff it just to make sure I dont smell any poison, then take a sip. And the thing tastes absolutely amazing.


    <strong>Really? </strong>Tar mutters in surprise. <strong>You usually dont like eating or drinking. So for you to say something tastes absolutely amazing</strong>


    It really does! And its also sending a warm tingling feeling throughout my entire body.


    <strong>[Mana regeneration has been increased by 100% for 168 hours.]</strong>


    Holy shit, this stuff really does increase my mana regeneration!


    I see you like it, the Valkyrie says with a smug grin on her face that I choose to ignore. This is probably our chefs greatest creation, although it only works once a month. Any other time you try drinking it, itll just taste really good without the mana regeneration benefit. Its also a banned item from the Interschool Tournaments, if you were wondering.


    Makes sense, I mutter in reply before taking another sip. But then I grow serious again as I frown at her and ask, You had something else you wanted to ask me?


    The grin on her face vanishes, immediately being reced with a serious look to match my own as she answers just as bluntly as the first time, You have to go through a week-long internship to finish your first year, right? At an Association that isnt your own?


    I narrow my eyes slightly before saying, Yes.


    Something that Im not very fond of and am definitely not going to enjoy. The idea of having to go work with a bunch of random strangers for a random stranger in a city that isnt this one. A major pain in every possible way.


    I can understand the universitys need for their students to do this though, since a Guardian will often end up working with other Guardians that they have never met before in Fractures. So they do this to get them used to other Associations, some of which they may actually end up working with one day whether as a part of them or alongside them.


    Although most of the time the internship is assigned to the student by the university, unless the student has already talked with an Association they want to work with. One that the university can confirm doesnt have close ties to them already. Because then it would erase the point of the internship entirely.


    Fortunately the university sends a representative with us, so we arent going alone. And whether or not we pass isnt dependent on what the Association thinks, but what the representative thinks.


    I would like for you to do your internship at the Garden of Blood Association, the Valkyrie says with absolutely no humor in her eyes. Your vice headmaster already gave the go-ahead if you wish to do it, and so has your mother. But she has also stated in no uncertain terms that it must be your choice.


    So White threatened her and said that she isnt allowed to threaten me into it. Makes sense.


    But, going to the Garden of Blood


    I frown for a few seconds before eventually meeting the Valkyries eyes and searching for any sort of deceit in them. But after failing to find any, I nce down at the table as I take a sip of the lovely juice.


    The Garden of Blood is one of the most elite amongst the elite Associations. Everyst member of the Association is skilled and powerful beyond belief, the Guardians each being the top of their own generation. And all of them are also female.


    <strong>Wait, theyre all women? </strong>Tar asks, suddenly sounding confused.


    Yeah. From what Ive researched, the Bloody Valkyries situation isplicated in that regard, so she doesnt allow men on the floating ind.


    <strong>Floating ind? </strong>Tar asks once more.


    Yep. Floating ind.


    The Garden of Blood is on a floating ind that travels through the sky, never staying in one ce. It supposedly uses one of the most powerful magi-tech devices ever made to stay afloat. A device that was made by Allens father.


    But as for joining them during the internship I honestly dont see any issues with that. Its not like Ill be staying there for any longer than a week, and Im not bing anyones apprentice. Plus Ive always wanted to see the Garden of Blood.


    Not just me actually, most people want to see it. It is after all a floating ind. A supposedly beautiful one at that.


    Although I think a lot of men just want to see it because its an ind full of powerful women.


    Tar snorts at thatst part.


    Anyways, I dont see any reason to decline. Aside from the fact that Im pretty sure shes gonna try using this internship as a way to appeal herself to me so that she might convince meter on to be her apprentice.


    Not like that matters since Ill just say no then as well.


    Very well, Ill do my internship with Garden of Blood then, I finally agree out loud, making the woman immediately smile at me. A very warm one. As if she were looking at her own child.


    A smile that makes me feel very awkward.

 Book 3: Chapter 16: Congratulations

    Book 3: Chapter 16: Congrattions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant believe youre going to the Garden of Blood!!! Belle practically shouts as we sit in the dining hall of the mansions cafeteria inside of the top ss student residence, eating dinner as a group. Myself and my former team. Meanwhile Im stuck here going to the Bulwark Association


    I raise a brow at that.


    You do realize that Association is a pretty good one, right? I ask, not really understanding why shesining.


    The Bulwark Association is an Association created purely for mental defensive magic using Guardians. Which pretty much fits Belle to a T.


    Belle looks up at me with a sad expression and grumbles, But I want to see the Garden of Blood!


    I hold myself back from snorting at that as I nce over towards Emily to find her also looking at me with jealousy. And surprisingly, Denise isnt much different.


    Then theres Anthony, who Im still not sure why is even here as he whispers to Michael, Any chance you and I could stowaway when she heads there? And Michael looks at him with a frown for a moment before whispering back, Isnt that ce limited to women only?


    Hell yeah it is! Anthony says, raising his voice a bit more than he was apparently expecting as he lowers it again a momentter, Its a ce full of hundreds of single Guardian women! Dont you want to at least <em>see </em>it?!


    I re their way with more than a little disgust on my face, only to suddenly grin when I notice Denise doing the same.


    Michaels in trouble.


    Before Michael can respond to the perverted death magic user, Denise puts on a bright smile on her face  too bright, if you ask me  and then pokes him in the arm, making him turn around. His eyes then immediately widen in fear the moment he sees that smile.


    Hey, Mike, would you minding with me? she politely asks him, and I barely hold myself back from chuckling at the visible gulp the man gives when he nods. Not to mention the sight of him following after her like a lost puppy dog after they get up and leave the cafeteria.


    Pureedy gold right there.


    Its been rather obvious to the rest of us that the two of them have feelings for each other, especially since both have admitted it. Although only Denise admitted it to me. Michael  who Denise calls Mike these days  only admitted it to Anthony of all people, and I managed to overhear it. Kind of like how I overhear everything nowadays.


    Despite that, and the fact that the two practically act like a couple already, neither of them has asked the other out. And its a little infuriating to watch.


    That aside though, I re at Anthony for a moment, seemingly confusing him before I focus on my food again.


    <strong>So have you decided? </strong>Tar asks me again for the fourth time today since my conversation with him after talking to the Bloody Valkyrie.


    I sigh and finally nod my head, giving him affirmative.


    <strong>Oh, really? </strong>he sounds genuinely surprised at that, making me nce down at the table where hes sitting next to my food with a frown. <strong>I wouldve expected you to continue procrastinating till the day of before deciding you changed your mind about telling Allen and Cynthia.</strong>


    Wow. You really thought that little of me?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he bluntly answers, almost making me choke on my food.


    How rude.


    Im going to act like you didnt just say that.


    Anyways, theres no point in procrastinating anymore. Ive put it off for long enough, and its getting closer and closer to the ss V Fracture.


    I have to tell them of my blood lycan genes before I head out for the Garden of Blood just the day after tomorrow.


    <strong>Hmm, </strong>Tar hums for a moment. <strong>Jokes aside, that is a good time to tell them. If they have a negative reaction, youll be able to hide on the Garden of Blood for them to calm down, since you know they shouldnt hate you for it or anything.</strong>


    Yeah. At most I can see them getting upset, <em>maybe </em>throwing something, and kicking me out for a while before cooling down. Or just not talking to me again in the worst case.


    But theyd never use the information to hurt me. Ever.


    Thats one of the reasons I want to trust them in the first ce. Because I know they trust me absolutely.


    <strong>Well, they may not trust you to stay out of trouble, </strong>Tarments while ncing away from me, making me re at him again. <strong>But they do seem to trust you in everything else. And they trust who you are.</strong>


    Yeah.


    I eventually drag my re away from him to continue eating, only vaguely listening to Emily and Belles conversation. But after a few minutes of quiet eating, I raise my head to look at the entrance, finding Arthuring inside, having finally gotten out of his ss, the mans sses being the ones meant purely for the students who join in the middle of a year.


    Arthur is here, I tell Belle, making her immediately turn to him and wave before pointing at the chair on the other side of her from me. Arthur then quickly makes his way over here and sits down.


    The man looks around at the two empty seats belonging to Denise and Michael for a moment with a frown before asking, Wherere the others?


    Belle just shrugs, and I hide augh behind my hands. Only to pause as my ears pick up something.


    Several seconds pass in silence before I see the two walking back in, so I point in their direction.


    Michael looks rather tired and disgruntled, but also rather happy. And Denise is positively glowing.


    But considering what I just heard


    Hey guys! Denise says immediately upon reaching our table, Michael and I are going out!


    Yep.


    And all it took for Denise to finally ask him was Michael talking with Anthony about the girls in the Garden of Blood. Even though theres no way theyd ever even consider allowing a man on that floating piece of rock and metal. Not to mention that Michael didnt actually say much of anything.


    Poor guy just got dragged into the conversation by the shameless death magic user.


    Then again, guess it worked out in the end.


    Congrats, I tell them with a smile.

 Book 3: Chapter 17: The Truth

    Book 3: Chapter 17: The Truth


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next morning finds me awkwardly sitting in Allens office with Allen, Cynthia, and Belle  who had joined at thest moment to my surprise  all in the same arrangement we had when we settled on the adoption. Me sitting on a chair on one side of the table, and the other three in chairs on the other.


    None of us say anything for a few seconds before Allen finally asks, You wanted to tell us something?


    I look up at the three to find Allen and Cynthia seemingly with a hopeful look on their face mixed with some slight fear, meanwhile Belle just looks confused. And I cant help but grow a little confused as well due to the hopeful looks, but I ignore that for now.


    Instead I take a deep breath and begin, I I dont know how youll feel about this, but I decided Id rather tell you myself than have you learn about it on your own. I pause as I make eye contact with each one of them, one by one. Not only do I trust you three, but I owe you this much for being willing to take me in.


    You dont owe us anything, dear, Allen says, almost at the same time Cynthia says, Nonsense. You owe us nothing, sweetheart.


    And Belle just nods her head firmly while pointing at the others, making me want to raise a brow in amusement. But I dont.


    I take a deep breath  once again  and climb to my feet while saying, It would be easier if I just showed you.


    <strong>And youre absolutely sure about this? </strong>Tar asks, <strong>I know you got White to ward this room from any sort of scrying, but its still not toote to back out. Even if it would be embarrassing to tell White that you did so.</strong>


    No. I cant back out.


    They deserve to know. Especially if theyre gonna ept me into their family.


    And so, I activate my Beast Form.


    The transformation only takes a few seconds to ur, a wave of blood flooding over my entire body before I find myself standing in front of my soon-to-be family in the form of a blood lycans beast form. Or, rather, a weaker version of it.


    Then things get strange, making me frown.


    Not a single one of them looks surprised.


    I blink once. Then twice.


    Then I tilt my head, unsure of whats happening.


    Allen and Cynthia show a hint of recognition, likely due to having seen the beast form of the blood lycan who was at thest ss V Fracture, but Belle just shows a hint of awe.


    Wait, did she not study the physical appearance of a blood lycans beast form looks like? It was one of the most important subjects on the final exam for Demonology


    Never mind, that doesnt matter. Why are Allen and Cynthia acting as they-


    Your fur looks so sooooft! Belle suddenly exims while jumping out of her seat and grabbing my arm, then rubbing her face on it while hugging it to her chest to my utter astonishment. Meanwhile Allen and Cynthia just look amused.


    I open my mouth to ask what the fuck is going on, only to remember I cant talk in this form. So I use the skill again to transform back before trying to gently take my arm out of her embrace. And after a little struggle and some pouting from the girl, I seed.


    Then I dere, Im part blood lycan.


    She just nods her head sagely and says, Yep, yep! Now can you transform again? Your fur is just so soft!!!


    I stare at her, my mouth wide open in shock for a few seconds before I turn to find Allen and Cynthia both trying not tough.


    What the heck is going on here I mutter, briefly wondering if this is all a dream or something.


    Apparently my question was too much for them as both Allen and Cynthia break out intoughter,ughing louder than I think Ive ever heard themugh before. And during this littleughing session, Belle leans into my shoulder and whispers, Mom and dad already knew, and White approached me not too long ago to tell me.


    I gape at her, unsure how to process this.


    The tanuki doesnt have any problems though, as he immediately appears in the air and adds his ownughter to the two ss IV Guardians.


    You- but- how? Why? I try and fail to ask, eventually settling on a single word question.


    Belle giggles at that and answers, Apparently your biological mother wanted to help you, so she decided to tell the only two people she knew you trusted absolutely about you being a blood lycan. Then if we reacted poorly, she said she was going to erase our memories of being told.


    I continue staring at her, my mouth open wide enough to catch a fly.


    My best friend finally calms down, growing a little serious as she continues, Neither Arthur nor I were very pleased that she decided to tell us behind your back, but after she exined that she thought you would prefer it this way, we eventually agreed. She pauses for a second and tilts her head. You do prefer it this way, right?


    I blink at that, finally snapping out of my daze as I answer, Y-yes, I do, actually.


    It makes things so much easier on me. And while I know some people might be upset if they were in my position and someone told their secret, I know she wouldve been able to fix it just by erasing their memories. Although, how did she know that I would prefer it this way?


    Apparently youre more like your mother in some ways than you may care to admit, Belle says, answering my question.


    I grimace at that.


    I would never abandon my child just because of a damned prophecy, I grumble, seemingly making the threeughers stopughing. And Belle immediately raises her hands and says, No, thats not what I meant! What I meant is that neither of you like emotional confrontations!


    Well yeah. I dont like them. At all.


    <strong>Didnt you say you would never have a kid in the first ce? </strong>Tar asks in my mind, sounding vaguely curious. <strong>So what did you mean-</strong>


    It was not sure what to call it, but Im never having a kid. In fact, Im never going to get married. I have no interest in that. It was meant as an in the impossible chance that I did have one, then I wouldnt ever abandon them.


    <strong>Ah, makes sense, </strong>Tar nods his head while floating in ce.


    I let out a sigh before narrowing my eyes on the three and asking, Did you really wait for me to tell you just so you could get augh in?


    Yep. Yes. Yeah. All three of them answer in concert.


    Wow.


    And because we wanted you to trust us with it, Allen adds as an afterthought, making me raise a brow.


    He just shrugs at my brow.


    That one makes more sense, but still. Doesnt this mean Ive been worrying myself sick for months now for no reason at all?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar bluntly answers with a firm nod. <strong>You have.</strong>


    I sigh again.


    Please give me the time I spent worrying about how you all would react back I grumble to them, making the three startughing again. Im serious.


    They justugh harder.


    Despite theirughing though, I cant help but smile.


    Because they ept me for who <em>and </em>what I am.

 Book 3: Chapter 18: The Representative

    Book 3: Chapter 18: The ''Representative''


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I copse in my bed with a grunt, followed by a sigh.


    That was a lot.


    After that whole confession thing was out of the way, they started giving me more details on what White had told Belle and Arthur and why she did it. Not that there was much more exnation on the why than was already said.


    Then Allen and Cynthia told me how they figured it out, which has me wondering if there are any other ss IV Guardians who know what a blood lycan smells like. Even if Allen assured me there shouldnt have been. Because there apparently werent any other Guardians with Tier A perception or a magical scent based skill nearby that couldve picked up the scent.


    I still cant help but worry a little though.


    <strong>Better to be worried and nothing happen than unprepared and something happen, </strong>Tar says as he appears and floats down to lie on my chest.


    Yeah, good point.


    I cant believe they had me go celebrating with them afterwards though. All I did was tell them something they already knew, so why did they make me go out to eat with them? And why did Belle let herself get drunk?


    Poor Arthur ended up being dragged along by Belle as well, partially because hes her boyfriend, and partially because he was told my secret as well. And, of course, he ended up having to carry her to her dorm.


    After being warned a few times by Allen not to do anything inappropriate to her.


    While Belle was currently in the process of nuzzling the back of his head.


    The poor guy.


    If anyone was gonna do anything inappropriate between those two, I doubt it would be Arthur. Especially considering that Belle was drunk.


    Makes me wonder just what sort of magical alcohol she drank


    In all honesty though, the night was fun. Ill admit that. And it felt liberating in a way, since it was the first time I was out with those I considered family while they were privy to all of my secrets.


    Or at least, all of my secrets that I actually know. Seeing as I dont even know all of my secrets myself.


    I stretch slightly, wearing my regr sleep outfit of a tank top and shorts before reaching down and pulling at the covers, speaking out loud, Lights, off, to turn off the lights in my room.


    Tomorrow will be the day I go to the internship. And itll also be when I see what representative the university is deciding to send with me.


    So thatll be interesting.


    Night Tar, I mutter while closing my eyes, faintly hearing him respond in kind.


    I stare nkly at the University Representative for my Internship as the vice headmaster kindly stands in between me, the representative, and the Bloody Valkyrie and says, Well then, Im sure youre already well acquainted with your own mother, so you wont be needing me anymore. He smiles a wide smile and adds, Ill be taking my leave!


    Then he vanishes. Like always.


    None of us say anything for who knows how long.


    Are we going to go to the Garden or not? White eventually asks, sounding rather happy for some reason. Perhaps a bit <em>too</em> happy.


    Could be because were going to be living in the same building for a while.


    <strong>Thats probably why, </strong>Tarments. <strong>Looks like shes just excited to be able to spend more time with you, since youre always busy. And you kind of dont give her much time to spend with you.</strong>


    Well then she shouldnt have abandoned me.


    <strong>Fair point, </strong>Tar agrees.


    And I am giving her time. Doesnt mean I particrly care if shes there when she is or not, unless its an outing with my friends or something, but I still give her time.


    Shes sat in my suite watching me and Aria as we yed video games. Shes gotten a beta test spot on Hunter XI somehow  most likely through forcing thepany to give her the spot  and joined me from time to time in ying the game. And shes even tried walking me to my first ss some mornings.


    At this point I see her at least a couple times every single day, for around an hour or so a day at minimum.


    Sometimes gets a little annoying how hard shes trying, but shes trying. I still wont be forgiving her, at least not for decades or even a century down the road, but its a start at least.


    Not like her following me around or ying a game with me can change what she did.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar agrees again.


    Of course, Lady White, the Bloody Valkyrie says with a smile. One that, if my senses werent as good as they are, wouldve looked sincere. But the womans smile looks ever so slightly strained to me.


    Tier A Perception for the win, I guess.


    And shes probably not happy that a Knight is going to be staying on the Garden for a week. Might end up feeling like someones looking over her shoulder the entire time.


    Or shes just used to being the strongest person around and doesnt like someone stronger being on the Garden with her.


    I have heard that the woman is rather prideful after all. Not that Im one to talk.


    Anyways, the woman begins to lead us outside of the building were in before summoning some sort of carriage. One with red colors of varying shades, mostly of crimson, and two winged horses pulling it.


    I blink in surprise, only for the woman to start walking up to the carriage. She then turns around at the entrance and spreads her arms out, saying, Wee to the Carriage of the Valkyries! Please,e inside!


    The door to the carriage opens on its own, revealing a muchrger inside to the carriage than its size would suggest.


    Okay, this internship might just be even more interesting than I was expecting.


    Both White and I slowly begin to step into the carriage, White standing in front of me like she were some sort of bodyguard. Which I find both a tiny bit amusing and a tiny bit insulting, even if shes there to protect me.


    Probably my pride talking.


    I ignore that feeling as I take in the inside of the carriage, which looks like a very fancy room from medieval times, albeit with several appliances that look more than a little out of ce.


    Yeah, this internship will be a lot more interesting than I expected.

 Book 3: Chapter 19: Thoughts and the Garden

    Book 3: Chapter 19: Thoughts and the Garden


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The trip ends up being incredibly awkward. But then again, its me alone in a carriage flying through the sky with White and Valkyrie just staring at each other. Although more than once the Valkyrie has tried asking White for a duel. And gotten rejected.


    Overall, White is acting quite a bit different from how she normally does. Instead of the socially awkward mother trying to fix her past mistakes, shes acting like the professional and powerful Knight everyone in the world knows her to be.


    Its an interesting thing. To see my birth mother in a different light like this. Not the mother who abandoned her child after having her, nor the one who is trying to make up for what she did. But as the level 1871 White Knight of Humanity and the most powerful null magic user in existence.


    Actually I nce between the two who are still staring at each other.


    A battle between the two of them could be interesting to watch.


    White? I ask, bringing her attention to me, the womans features softening almost right away. I actually wouldnt mind seeing you battle someone of her level.


    She straightens up at that and seems to consider it for a moment before nodding her head and focusing on the Valkyrie as she says, I ept your duel.


    Both the Bloody Valkyrie and I are a little startled by just how quickly her mood made a one eighty, but the woman recovers quickly, saying, Then I will have the training hall prepared for when we arrive.


    Then we fall into silence again.


    This is so awkward


    Several minutes pass like this before I look out the window, finding the city finally leaving the horizon behind us, proving just how fast this carriage is going. Especially considering the enormous size of the city itself. But then my attention is taken by the sight of arge shadow on the ground far ahead, just barely in sight.


    Looks like were almost there, Valkyrie says as my eyes turn upwards to find a massive floating ind in the sky. One thats spanning at least thirty kilometers in diameter alone.


    Holy shit. Thats arge ind.


    Right now were far beneath the ind, so the top isnt visible yet. But the underside of the inds seems to be made out of some sort of blood red metal, with various little areas open and currently epting air trucks full of what Im guessing are supplies or deliveries. As soon as the air trucks leave though, those openings seal themselves back up again, the doors merging seemingly perfectly into the rest of the structure in a way that it would be impossible to tell at a nce that there was a door there.


    The carriage suddenly begins to ascend higher and higher until the top of the ind bes visible, showing us a city. One where all of the buildings are built of a slightly less modern style. More like the style of buildings Id see in a medieval fantasy video game. Like Hunter XI.


    At the center of the city is a ratherrge structure akin to a castle but also not. Almost like its a singlerge tower sticking out over arge dome on top of a grand looking building.


    And everything is red and ck. Mostly red though.


    They certainly have good tastes; Ill say that much.


    What sticks out the most about the floating ind though is the ratherrge river of what looks like blood running all around and throughout the city as if it were a normal river partitioning the city. That and the fact that there isnt a single man in sight on the ind.


    Two of the reasons the ind is called the Garden of Blood in the first ce. Or at least, the whole female only thing is assumed by the popce to be in corrtion to the garden part of the title. Since there isnt an actual garden on the, well, Garden.


    Although the blood part is also from the fact that their leader is the strongest blood magic user amongst the humans.


    I cant help but wonder how she would match up against my father though. Whoever he is.


    <strong>Your father would kill her in an instant, </strong>Tar says, startling me enough that I almost flinch.


    Wait, really? Hes that strong?


    Tar doesnt say anything else.


    I frown at that but dontment, briefly wondering if he actually meant to say that out loud or not. Wondering if he didnt just identally say that or something.


    From what I can tell, Tar doesnt like White, even if he does respect her power. But he does seem to like my father in some ways.


    This is the first time hes said much of anything about his actual power though.


    Im not really sure how strong most of the demons are though, aside from the Demon Lords, of course. All of whom are stronger than all of the Knights. Albeit only by a hundred or so levels.


    I kind of wish I knew who my father was though. Allen mentioned that White told him something, but not something he was allowed to tell me. Which is frustrating, but something I can at least understand.


    After all, White is still the strongest human in the world. And not even Allen would want to annoy her by pushing too far.


    He did mention that I will likely be finding out for myself who my father was within the next month or so though.


    Meaning Ill probably learn about him during the ss V Fracture.


    I nce at White with a frown before looking out the window once again as the carriage gets closer and closer to the Garden of Blood.


    White also mentioned that after the ss V Fracture, theyll all be able to tell me more about everything. About why they did what they did. About what happened.


    Although not about what the prophecy itself was, just the end goals of the prophecy. Which was more than a little irritating to hear.


    Although at least knowing the end goals of it would be better than thepleteck of <em>any </em>information I have on it right now. Since I literally dont know a single thing about it aside from the fact that it had my parents abandoning me as a child to a man they had never met.


    Everything always seems toe back to that ss V Fracture thats supposed to happen in a little over a month though. Which is rather disconcerting, if Im being honest.


    Tar still doesnt say anything, acting unlike his usual self. Unlike the tanuki who quite frequently inserts himself into my line of thoughts.


    I let out a sigh before watching as the carriage flies over the city and then begins to descend towards some sort of za at the edge of the city, next to the outer ring of the blood river.


    Well, time to see what this ce is like.

 Book 3: Chapter 20: The Strongest Human

    Book 3: Chapter 20: The Strongest Human


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After the carriagends, we all get out and begin walking through the za towards arge street. One split in two by a river of blood, with an asional bridge over the river.


    When I look around, I find that everyst person here is not only female, as I already saw from above, but theyre also Guardians of varying levels. Not to mention varying ages, with some being just between sixteen to eighteen years old, and some being in their twenties.


    Although the higher ss Guardians are harder to tell the age of strictly due to their aging being either reverted or slowed, making it impossible to know just how old they are.


    Then theres the one person I can sense looking at us but cant actually see. Nor can I find them with my mana senses.


    ss Vs maybe? Or just higher ss stealth focused Guardians?


    Either way, everyone is looking at us. And most of them seem either excited or just a little curious.


    What surprises me though is that they seem to be ignoring White.


    Wait.


    I nce at White before noticing a very faint white glow from her.


    Damnit, shes hiding her presence from them, isnt she?!


    Tar startsughing in my head from his ce in the cor of my jacket. But I ignore him as I focus on Valkyrie, finding her looking at White with a frown, only to shake her head. She then turns to look at the people watching, which is growing in number by the second, and says, Let us wee our guest as a member of our family!


    I blink at that before ncing at the people who immediately start cheering.


    Family? What?


    And then they all begin swarming me.


    I let out a sigh of relief a couple hourster after we get situated in a training hall, all the members of the Garden finally giving me space. Because apparently everyone in the Garden, whether theyre an intern or not, is family. Something I dont exactly get but wont contradict either.


    Fortunately they all realized rather quickly that I dont like physical contact. Right from the first moment one of them touched me and I flinched. They all just seemed to stay at least a foot or two away from me after that point, so Im thankful for that. But they just kept talking and talking and talking, each and every one of them along with a few I hadnt noticed before weing me rather warmly.


    Too warmly forfort, if Im being honest.


    Im not used to that.


    <strong>They seem like a nice bunch, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but agree. Even if their friendliness makes me a touch ufortable.


    Now is where the exciting part begins though. After the whole meet and greet where they shoved a couple hundred names in one ear and out the other since theres no way Im remembering them, we all went straight to the training hall for the duel.


    I cant help but smile as I lean forward in my chair at the side of the hall, watching as White and Valkyrie slowly approach each other. The half itself is rather enormous, with a much more medieval setting to it than anything Ive ever seen in a city. But its also rather in and in a simple dome shape, with some sort of barrier between us spectators and the fighters.


    Oh, and its in a magical reality. Not in the real world.


    Or rather, it is in the real world, but this is just a copy of that real world one. Because they apparently like to just straight up copy their training hall for duels so that they dont have to frequently repair the hall when the duels get dangerous for the building.


    Looking around the training hall itself at the various people here watching, I find several familiar faces from TV. Seven of which are ss V, showcasing just how powerful this Association is. Since most Associations either dont have any ss Vs or they only have a couple.


    And whats most surprising about the Garden of Blood, is that aside from Valkyrie, theres only two other blood magic users in the entire Association. Neither of which are ss V.


    So the whole blood motif for the Association is entirely due to the Gardens appearance and their leader.


    My thoughts are interrupted when the Valkyrie finally speaks, her voice echoing throughout the entire magical reality, Now let us see the true power of one of the Knights of Humanity! And let me prove my power to her in a fight to the death! Her eyes narrow and she pops her neck. Do <em>not </em>hold back on me!


    White raises a brow at that, not saying a word despite the obvious aggressiveness of her opponent.


    Without any hesitation, the Bloody Valkyrie  like her name would suggest  transforms her entire body into blood, leaving her figure amorphous for a moment before it turns into what looks to be a Valkyrie from old world Norse mythology withrge eagle-like wings stretching on both sides of her. A mythology that I find rather interesting.


    Even her armor changes slightly to match, not that it wasnt already simr to a Valkyries armor. Although ck and red in color. And her wings are red too.


    Meanwhile White just stands there with her hands in her pockets, seemingly not caring much about the battle. She even yawns once, which very much seems to piss off Valkyrie as she immediately forms arge spear of blood in her left hand along with a sword in her right before suddenly breaking the sound barrier and quite literally vanishing from where she was, only for our sight of the inside of the barrier to suddenly slow down to a pace where we can actually see. Because if it wasnt, then theyd be moving faster than Id be able to see at all.


    All of the members of the Garden immediately start cheering for their leader, but they all go silent just as quickly when White just yawns again before pulling one of her hands out of her pocket and coating it in a milky white energy and swiping it in front of her, apparently hitting both of the Valkyries weapons and erasing them from existence back to back. The Bloody Valkyrie then continues flying towards White, her eyes widening in shock for a moment only for her to narrow them again and quickly pull her fist back to punch White.


    White shakes her head with a slightly disappointed look, following which her eyes sh with a bright white light, illuminating the entire hall and blinding everyone. And by the time the light fades, the Bloody Valkyrie is already gone, soon respawning in a daze at the starting location of the training hall, opposite White.


    No one says anything. No one even makes a sound.


    Instead everyone just stares. Stares at the woman d in a white shirt with a ck jacket and ck pants, her right hand already returning to her pocket as if that battle wasnt worth her time.


    I feel more than a little fear at that demonstration, but the stronger emotion I feel right now is respect.


    Respect for the strong. For her power.


    Along with a driving urge to get that powerful one day myself. Because my pride demands it of me.


    I demand it of myself.


    White turns and looks at me with a light smile; one that grows a little bit when she sees the awe and determination on my face.


    The strongest human in existence.

 Book 3: Chapter 21: Wrapping up the Tour

    Book 3: Chapter 21: Wrapping up the Tour


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The rest of the day goes by pretty quickly, with the Bloody Valkyrie seemingly throwing herself into the internship as a way to forget about the duel that she lost. She shows me around the Garden, pointing out the residential buildings, the Association members personal shops, and the main building, along with various different ces in the main building that I might need to go to at some point. Like the reception desk where Ill be able to exchange Association points for some of the resources the Association has, or the library.


    After the tour, the three of us find ourselves at the Valkyries office, which is also in a slightly medieval style. With some modern appliances scattered throughout.


    Why is everything so medieval? I ask as White and I sit down in chairs opposite her desk before adding, In the Garden, I mean.


    She looks away from her desk where she was grabbing a couple documents and answers, Personal preference. I blink at that in surprise, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch the corner of Whites lips quirking slightly upwards. The underside of the Garden is more or less the same as the capital city though.


    The underside of the Garden. A ce meant for battle, and also a ce I havent been shown around yet.


    Supposedly I will be shown around the ce tomorrow morning. But since no Demonic Assaults are Expected until the day after tomorrow, she didnt see it necessary to show us the underside of the Garden yet. Especially considering just how much she showed us today.


    Here are a couple documents the two of you will have to sign to join us in battle during Fractures, the Valkyrie says while pushing the documents towards us. And when I pause to read it, I find it to be a simple contract. Just the basic contract that each Association has for their members, albeit with an expiration date on it marking the end of the internship.


    Both White and I sign the thing, although Im pretty sure White didnt actually need to do that. Considering the vast amount of authority the Knights have in the first ce, she should be able to enter quite literally any Fracture regardless of if its imed by an Association with priority or not.


    Although it would mess up the whole payment situation if she didnt sign it.


    The Bloody Valkyrie smiles at me with a nod and says, Wee aboard, Scarlet! Were d to have you! She takes both documents and stores them in some sort of storage skill as she continues, From now on go ahead and call me Ava, since thats what all the members of the Garden call me. The woman hesitates for a moment when she nces at White, only to add, The both of you.


    I find myself a little surprised at her giving White the go-ahead on that as well, but I dont show it on my face. And if White feels anything about it, she doesnt show it either, simply nodding her head instead.


    A few seconds pass in silence before White turns to me and says, As you probably know, most internships are meant to have two Demonic Assaults in them, with the intern participating in both and working together with the Association to clear at least two Fractures. But this time around, there will only be one Demonic Assault because of the uing ss V Fracture. So you will only be required to participate in a single Fracture with the Garden of Blood Association.


    I nod my head at that, prompting her to continue, As long as I see you attempting to work together with the Association, you will pass the internship and be allowed to move on to your second year at Lions Heart. But if you dont make any attempt at working with the Garden, then youll be doing a redo internship over the summer instead. She pauses as her lips quirk upwards, Although, I dont think thatll be a problem for you.


    None at all, I answer with a little smirk of my own before turning to Ava and asking, Do you know what Fractures well be participating in, ss-wise?


    She nods her head and answers, For the internship, we decided to participate in a ss III Fracture all together, and then everyone can split off after that to deal with whatever Fractures they wish to deal with themselves. Ill even take you personally since I know you wont likely have transportation.


    My eyebrows rise a little at that, but it isnt too surprising. Although I get the feeling the ss III Fracture will probably end almost immediately. Unless they hold back that is.


    Then again, they probably will hold back. I wouldnt be surprised if the ss Vs end up holding the demon general hostage and the humans in the Fracture safe just to let us fight. Amon way for the really powerful Associations with ss Vs to level their weaker Guardians.


    The only issue with this is that it has a high fatality rate. Because the higher ss Guardians cannot even consider protecting their lower ss Association members unless they want most of their rewards taken away by the System for theck of risk.


    They send them in as teams of dozens of ss II and III Guardians and leave them alone, letting them handle themselves. And while they still get a significant cut in their EXP as a penalty, they still get more than they would in a regr Fracture just due to the sheer quantity of higher level demons theyll be getting at least some credit for.


    Although with Associations like the Garden of Blood, most of the Guardians are personally at the top of the world in terms of their own age groups. And theres a reason everyone is this powerful in the Associations. So they have a lot less casualties than most of the other Associations that do this stuff. Which at this point just makes these Fractures into training grounds for their Association.


    Something the public isnt exactly happy about but cant say much against either since theyre still fighting demons. Its just that theyre prioritizing their own growth over fighting in other Fractures.


    There would probably me moreints though if this was done more often instead of the only once every one or two months that its typically done in Associations.


    Just goes to show that most Guardians arent the superheroes many people try to make them out to be.


    For now, you can just get situated in your room, Ava says with a smile. Well have a meetingter in the evening that youll have to attend, but there wont be anything else going on today that you need to participate in.


    I nod my head in response, Alright.


    Thisll be fun.

 Book 3: Intermission 2

    Book 3: Intermission 2


    <strong>The Demon Kings Pce</strong>


    The Demon Kings mouth quirks upwards ever so slightly as he looks out from the balcony of his bedroom in the castle at the barren wastnd spreading for as far as the eye can see. Or as far as most eyes can see.


    After neen and a half years of searching, she is finally within sight. And all it took in the end was for his granddaughter to be so well-known amongst the humans that the changelings he sent could easily find her just from their news alone.


    Unfortunately the scrying of the subi never managed to work thanks to the work of the White Knight of Humanity obscuring his granddaughters full name.


    <em>Who wouldve guessed that all it took in the end was some human social media to find her.</em>


    When Leonidas hade home with a daughter, the Demon King was overjoyed beyond words. He and histe wife Anna had always wanted a daughter. One to y along with their son. But they never were able to have one, no matter how hard they tried. And before he knew it, it was toote.


    She was already dead.


    Arkazs fist clenches slightly at that thought before his eyes narrow.


    <em>The curses on demon-kind are one thing, and the past another, but if those humans ever so much asy a bloody finger on Scarlets head, I will break their world even if I have to break everything else along with it! </em>


    Ayer of bloody mist begins to fill the air around the Demon King as he unconsciously spreads a small amount of his blood domain around him, turning the air itself into his permanent territory. One where nothing else may treat. Where he is a god among mortals.


    But after taking a deep breath, he calms himself down again and shakes his head.


    Were you thinking of Her Highness again, Your Majesty? a servant asks while appearing two meters to the Demon Kings right and kneeling, not daring to lift their head.


    Arkaz nces at the ss V vampire. If he remembers correctly, he was pretty sure that this particr vampire is a new addition to the castle staff. One made by Arkazs head maid, a kitsune named Raiden Akuma.


    <em>Lets see her name is Seraphina Nightshade I believe. And shes a Baroness.</em>


    Yes, he eventually answers the white haired, red eyed woman before looking out over the wastnd again. It should only be a matter of time before shes brought here.


    And we will wee Her Highness with open arms once she is! the Baroness fervently says, making Arkaz nce at her again to find the woman having lifted her head with an excited look in her eyes, the woman clearly looking forward to seeing her Princess in the flesh, just like the vast majority of the Nobles.


    Arkaz smiles slightly at that, d to see that his subjects are just as loyal to her as they would be even if she didnt have those human genes inside of her.


    His smile stumbles a little at the thought of the genes given to her by her mother. Genes that hes not entirely sure he will be able to get rid of, even with his blood domain.


    <em>Not when theyre genes from a level 1871 human</em>


    If he had to guess, Scarlets human genes will most likely stop being devoured by his sons at around one or two percent. Which would normally be a problem, but since Oberon said its not, then its not.


    <strong>The curses are specific in their mentioning of pure blood humans, </strong>Oberons voice suddenly echoes in Arkazs head, surprising him for a moment. <strong>So even if she remained part human, it should have no effect on the curses.</strong>


    <em>Im surprised youre not too busy dealing with the sudden surge of new contractors amongst the demons to talk.</em>


    Oberon scoffs at that in his head and retorts, <strong>Youre one to talk about being busy. What are you doing right now? Brooding about your granddaughters absence again?</strong>


    Arkaz winces at that.


    Then he swipes his hand, making a t pool of blood appear in the air in front of him, shaped in arge oval shape. And after a moment, that pool of blood shifts to show the image of arge underground city on it  the capital city of the Lord of Deaths territory.


    The city spans for over a hundred kilometers  a unit of measurement stolen from the humans over on Earth to make things simpler  and has hundreds of thousands of demons wandering throughout it, all visible in the pool of blood. Amongst these demons, the vast majority of them are all ss III, but there are also tens of thousands of ss IV demons as well, and even thousands of Nobles sttered amidst them here and there.


    The Demon King swipes his hand again, making the pool focus on therge underground cave system filled with enormous caverns and even arge underground castle, where the Lord of Death, now also known as The Reaper dwells. But the pool doesnt stop there, instead continuing on to focus on the Lord of Death himself, the man sitting on a throne while reading a book despite an entire court being in session.


    Arkaz snorts at that, making The Reaper immediately raise his head and smile at the sight of the pool of blood that appears in front of him, the entire court growing silent before all of the Nobles attending kneel with their heads bowed down, their chins touching their chests.


    Your Majesty! A synchronous roar echoes through the room at once from the gathered Nobles.


    The Demon King waits a few moments before he says, You may rise. And the Nobles do so immediately. He then focuses on the Lord of Death, who is still seated in his throne, only having given the Demon King a brief nod of respect instead of kneeling like the others, and asks, Are the preparations ready?


    They are, Lucius answers, the ghouls voice sounding even as his pitch ck and scyleraless eyes stare at the pool of blood. Damien is currently in the process of waking up from his recovery hibernation and will be ready before the ss V Fracture begins.


    Arkaz nods his head, Good work. And you have my congrattions on the new Title, Grim Reaper.


    The Grim Reaper nods his head, a very faint smile stretching across his face before Arkaz closes the connection, making the pool of blood fall down to ssh somewhere below the balcony.


    <em>Everything should be ready soon. Even Leonidas seems to be looking forward to having his daughter brought back, whatever reason that he was hiding her no longer being pressing anymore.</em>


    <strong>Arkaz, my son believes that since you already know where your granddaughter is now, it is safe for both me and you to learn of the reasons for your sons actions, </strong>Oberon suddenly states, his voice echoing in the mans head, making him narrow his eyes slightly. <strong>If you wish to know, simply ask the witches.</strong>


    The Demon King tenses up slightly at that, only for his eyes to begin zing with an eerie red light that frightens the Baroness still kneeling close by.


    Oh, really? he asks out loud, drawing out both words.


    <em>A prophecy, is it? And he really believes that to be a good enough excuse?</em>


    Arkaz turns his head towards the Baroness faster than her eyes can keep up with as he deres, Ill be paying a visit to the witches. Inform them of my impending arrival.


    The vampire immediately bows her head again with a simple, Yes, Your Majesty!


    Arkaz floats up into the air before moving off of the balcony, an ominous lookingyer of blood beginning to flow all around him in the process. Then after a few seconds, the blood grows thicker and thicker until it covers his entire body, slowly expanding outwards after that until it forms an orb spanning several meters in diameter.


    The Baronesss eyes gain a mixture of fear and awe as the ominous orb of blood suddenly stops writhing and bursts outwards, expanding the Demon Kings blood domain over an entire kilometer around them and tinting the air with a red haze. At the same time, it reveals a massive beast spanning over five meters in height and seven meters in length with fur as ck as the night and several streaks of fur made entirely up of blood running across it. Meanwhile the beasts eyes are as red as the blood moon high in the sky, just a single glimpse into them enough to send shivers down the spine of any other mortal. Including the level 1481 vampire on the balcony, who the Demon King can practically <em>feel </em>shivering in fear.


    Arkaz snorts at the sight and smell of her fear and awe, only for the snort to mostlye out as a faint snarl, frightening the vampire so much that she loses her bnce and begins to rush out of the balcony to fulfil his orders.


    <em>Even if the entire hellsdamned universe were to copse, it would not be enough of a reason to send Scarlet to Earth.</em>


    Inform the Blood Lord that he and I will be sharing words once I return, Arkaz speaks, his voice echoing straight into the mind of the vampire despite her already having left the room.


    <em>But before that, Ill be having a few words with the witches.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 22: Warning Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 22: Warning Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The second day of the internship is spent mostly just going on a tour of the underside of the Garden, which is a lot more modern in terms of technology. Probably because the underside is meant for battle and not living or anything else. Aside from some storage and the hangars, that is.


    After that Im given the opportunity to train with some of the members of the Garden, following which Im led to that very same training hall as yesterday.


    And immediately upon entering the training hall to start a match, I nce out of the barrier to find White standing with her arms crossed and a serious look on her face. Meanwhile, the rest of the spectating area is full of several dozen other members of the Garden of varying sses.


    And across from me in the arena itself is a girl about the same age as me who is also ss II and Im pretty sure contracted at the same time as me, if what Ava said was true at least.


    She goes to Aquatic Pride though and wasnt their Solo Primary student. Actually, she didnt participate in the tournaments at all due to her own choice.


    The girl nods her head at me, briefly saying, To a good duel. So I respond in kind.


    Then we both break into a sprint towards each other. And right away, I shift both of my arms, activate my blood ws, and set up a null magic field around her, making her grimace as a thinyer of water forms around her. The water then transforms into tentacles of water that sway around her despite the increased mana cost.


    I use both blood boil and life drain on her, making her wince for a moment, only to continue charging towards me. And when we meet together at the center of the arena, my ws striking at her first, the water tentacles begin to move straight towards me. But I dont let them, stopping them with des of blood that I use to sever the tentacles midway through.


    The girl  Angelica I believe her name was  grimaces at that but continues making more, which she finds is easier to do now that shes outside of the null magic field.


    One major issue with that skill, if Im being honest, is that it doesnt work all that well against closebat Guardians. Since Im also affected by my own null magic field. And I like to be up close and personal when fighting.


    Its mostly useful against ranged attackers.


    Something I do find a little surprising about this girl though is that shes actually quite strong. Although I believe her level is a couple dozen above my own, so in hindsight, it makes sense that she is.


    And she probably has a Tier B capability in strength.


    Not bad, the girl says with a smile on her face, and I return it with a grin as we both take a step back, neither of us particrly winning out in that sh. Since somehow she managed to redirect some of the force of my strike outwards with some of the water coating her fists.


    This could be fun.


    <strong>The Spectator Area</strong>


    Ava feels conflicted as she watches Scarlet fight against Angelica. Especially when she realizes that the girl is winning even if she doesnt realize it.


    Angelicas skills and capabilities are built towards a more instant win. She was not meant for a long and drawn out battle like what Ava is seeing right now.


    The Valkyrie shakes her head and begins to walk over towards the White Knight, who she is still surprised actually decided toe in person. But at the same time, the womans always been a mystery. One that only the other Knights seem to understand how to solve in any way.


    After stopping next to the woman, she crosses her arms and continues watching the battle.


    Over and over again, Scarlet and Angelica can be seen rushing at each other, engaging in closebat while showing off their martial arts, which Angelica seems to have a greater level of skill in. But despite that, Scarlet manages to keep going thanks to her blood sacrifice skill, the steam of her own blood slowly lifting out of her pores throughout the fight as blood de meets tentacle, and w meets fist.


    <em>Over two dozen levels below her as a rough estimate judging by their mana levels, and yet, shes still winning. Predator V  which is what I assume she has  only tends to give an incremental boost until the user is up to thirty levels above them, so it should only be giving her a fifteen percent boost to her stats right now at most. And just that along with her blood sacrifice skill alone are enough for her to eclipse her in strength</em>


    Ava nces at White.


    <em>The daughter of a Knight really is frightening.</em>


    Right as Ava is about to wonder if the match will end up being drawn out to wear Angelica down, chains made up of hardened blood suddenly shoot out of both the ground and portals in the air to wrap around the girl, following which Scarlet rushes in while waves of bloody steam rise off of her skin, her arm raised to strike. And to stop her from trying to break out of her chains with her water tentacles, various des of blood start rushing out around her, severing the tentacles the moment theyre formed with a few des piercing into Angelicas skin.


    Then the match ends just like that, her ws digging straight down the girls neck, through her chest, and going all the way to her hip before Scarlet performs a spin and kicks her, sending her bleeding form flying away, only for it to vanish midair.


    She saved up her chains skill till thest moment to do one major and unexpected push, taking Angelica off guard and finishing her off in an instant, Ava says, trying to strike up a conversation with White with a genuinely impressed look on her face. But most people would be impressed after seeing a Guardian defeat another Guardian who is over two dozen levels above them and has better training in unarmedbat.


    White just nods her head, the ghost of a smile stretching across her face.


    The spectators all begin apuding the winner, only for everyone to be sent back to the real training hall. And its at that point that White finally turns to look at Ava while narrowing her eyes.


    Ava narrows her own in response.


    <em>Looks like shes done ignoring me.</em>

 Update

    Update


    <strong>Hello again everyone!</strong>


    <strong>So as you''ve already been told before, I am in the middle of my Summer semester of myst year at college. This isn''t a very hard semester as you can probably tell just by how it hasn''t affected my uploads in the slightest.</strong>


    <strong>That said, I only have two more weeks left of the five-week-long semester.</strong>


    <strong>Which means the end of term paper is gonna be due soon.</strong>


    <strong>Which means I have to start it.</strong>


    <strong>So I might have to cancel a chapter or two depending on how that works out.</strong>


    <strong>Probably won''t though.</strong>


    <strong>The more important thing in this update though is that I''ll be going with my dad to visit family out of state in a few weeks. And while I''ll try to continue writing as normal, I have not gone out of state since I was in junior high about a decade-ish ago.</strong>


    <strong>So who knows if I''ll be able to keep up with my current writing.</strong>


    <strong>Just wanted to warn y''all just in case.</strong>


    <strong>As for the Fall semester this year? That won''t start up for about two to three months or so. I think two.</strong>


    <strong>I''ll have four sses total in it, half of which are easy sses like ssical Mythology because the University for some reason requires Computer Science majors to take a sociology ss, and the other half are actual sses like Senior Design I and Computer Graphics.</strong>


    <strong>And the Spring semester will just be two sses. Senior Design II and whatever random technical elective I take to get thatst ss of credits out of the way. Probably a cybersecurity one like I always take.</strong>


    <strong>Point being, I''m almost done with college :)</strong>


    <strong>So my stress level will be going way down after this next year. Probably. Hopefully.</strong>


    <strong>Let''s just say it will be.</strong>


    <strong>Anyways, have a lovely night all!</strong>

 Book 3: Chapter 22.2: Warning Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 22.2: Warning Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After the duel, Angelica quickly sprints over to me and practically tackles me with a hug, the short girl grinning like an idiot as she does so. And it takes all of my mental fortitude not to throw her off due to the physical contact.


    That was amazing, Scarlet!!! she exims before seemingly remembering and backing away, breaking the contact. We <em>have </em>to duel again sometime before you leave!


    I smile at that, but right when Im about to respond, I hear a particr conversation that strikes my interest.


    <em>I dont think I need to remind you of this, but if you try anything against my daughters wishes, I will destroy this little Garden of yours, </em>I hear Whites voice, making me nce over to find her frowning at Ava on the other side of the training hall.


    Ava winces at that, but doesnt get angry and instead says, <em>Dont worry, I wont try anything. All I want is for the girl to make her own decision on whether or not she will be my apprentice. Or at least if shell consider joining the Garden.</em>


    Yeah, thats not gonna happen.


    Scarlet? Is something wrong? Angelicas voice brings my attention back to the girl who has to be about five foot three inches tall, and has navy blue hair thats almost as long as she is tall. Not that Im one to talk, but I did at least cut my hair a little bit so that it only goes down to my hip instead of my mid-thigh.


    Not that itll take long to grow back to that length again.


    Was there something interesting over there? the girl asks while tilting her head and looking just a little adorable while doing it as she looks at where I was looking.


    Im pretty sure it was her reality warp  that or her growth was stunted  but she really does look more like a fourteen year old girl rather than the neen-years-old she and Ava im her to be.


    You dont see them? I ask, a little curious.


    She frowns before shaking her head and saying, All I see are the other members of the Garden that came by to watch us duel.


    What about White and Ava? I prod.


    Her eyes suddenly light up as she starts looking around the room and saying, Wait, your mothers here?! Where?!


    Guess that confirms it. Whites hiding their presence and conversation from everyone but me.


    <em>If its her choice and her choice alone, then she can do what she wishes, </em>White continues, bringing my gaze back to the two. <em>But I will not tolerate any attempts to manipte or force her. So do keep this in mind tomorrow.</em>


    Then White vanishes, following which the people around the training hall suddenly seem to notice Ava standing in the middle of them, startling them all.


    I really want that sense nullification skill of hers. It looks like an incredibly useful skill. To just be able to nullify anyones senses.


    Even my own hearing going at full sensitivity cant catch a single whisper of movement from her when she does that.


    Oh! Theres the Association Leader! Angelica shouts with an excited look on her face, only for it to die down a little as she says, But I dont see your mother. Did she leave already?


    I hold myself back from chuckling at her actions. Because despite the ferocious way she fights, and the obvious bloodlust she has, shes kind of like a little kitten in a way. Small, cute, and wears her emotions on her sleeves.


    On that thought, I nce at her outfit which consists of a basic red and ck leather magi-tech armor thats rather distant from the cutesy vibes shes giving off.


    An armor that has no sleeves.


    Hmm.


    Wears her emotions on her gloves, I guess?


    Thats a better phrase.


    <strong>Did it really matter? </strong>Tar asks, sounding amused.


    Probably not.


    He snorts as I begin to walk towards the entrance of the training hall, stopping only briefly when Angelica asks for my terminal ID so that we can stay in touch before I continue walking after giving it.


    Honestly, that girl reminds me a little bit of Emily. Although a bit smaller, and a lot less shy.


    Then again, Emily did blush quite a few times during the team tournament when I had to carry her.


    <strong>Didnt she say that it was because she was being carried like a princess while being livestreamed to the entire world? </strong>Tarments, appearing above my head before just plopping down and sitting in between my ears, making sure not to touch them. <strong>Id say thats a pretty good excuse to blush.</strong>


    Eh, I guess youre right. I know I wouldnt want to be carried around on live TV.


    <strong>You wouldnt want to be carried around period, </strong>Tar corrects, and I have to incline my head at that in agreement.


    True enough.


    Anyways, the people here are really nice, but I have no interest in joining a different Association. So Ill be staying with Allens, even if his Association is quite a bit weaker, their only real benefit over this one being their ess to greater magi-tech equipment.


    I do wonder what it is White was talking about when she mentioned Ava remembering her words tomorrow.


    It makes sense that she would do something that would try to endear me towards her or her Association, but just what would White be against her trying? Im honestly curious.


    Also a little curious if shell still go through with whatever she was nning, assuming she was nning something, after Whites warning.


    Then theres the fact that White purposefully didnt nullify my senses of their conversation, letting me hear every word of it. Which I wonder if Ava knew about?


    I continue walking out of the training hall as I ponder over that for a bit before stretching a little as I leave the building into the cold night outside and starting to make my way over to my assigned room through the snow.


    Tomorrow will make for an interesting day, thats for sure.

 Book 3: Chapter 23: A Tier 3 City

    Book 3: Chapter 23: A Tier 3 City


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but feel conflicted as I look out over the edge of the Garden at the Tier 3 city were approaching. The city, just like every other Tier 3 city, has two sets of walls. Onerge wall with a powerful barrier covering the entire main city, a city consistent of mostly two or three story buildings, with one five story building acting as the town hall and a couple other decently sized manors that are likely owned by the few Guardians in the city. And one much smaller wall only half the size of the first ten meter tall wall surrounding a separated portion of the city meant solely for the orphans but with some poorer folks who care for them as well. This wall also has a barrier, just like the first, but its clear as day that its far weaker than the first barrier. Meanwhile the smaller section itself has much smaller and more worn out buildings without a single two story building in sight.


    Despite the difference in protection though, the size of the orphan sector is actuallyrger than the size of the main city. And even from here, I can already see a shadow trying to hop the wall of the orphan sector.


    A changeling.


    The creature doesntst long though, as Ava casually sends a bolt made up of blood flying straight down towards it, piercing the changeling mid-jump and pinning it to the ground. And none of the members of the Garden currently looking out over the edge of the city spread out along the walkway so much as react towards her killing of the ss III creature.


    I had almost forgotten somehow, but Ava herself used to be an orphan. Which is one of the reasons the Garden of Blood often patrols around the Tier 2 and 3 cities at the expected times of Demonic Assaults, waiting for any Fractures that may open up during those Assaults.


    One fact about her that I really do admire. That shes an orphan who reached high enough in power to almost nip at the heels of the Knights.


    Who created her own Association, and is actually leading the charge against the treatment of orphans.


    Although theres still nothing that would make me ept her as an Instructor. But it does raise my respect of the woman a little bit.


    I look back down at the city again to study the inhabitants of the main city. People who are all living rather poorly, albeit still making it through life. Which isnt something that can be said for the orphans of the city.


    Two things that do stand out in the city though are the particr areas where the infrastructure is destroyed. Nearly a dozen in the orphan sector, and one in the main city. All of which must be ces that were struck by Fractures.


    ces no one ever managed to raise the funds to repair.


    If I remember correctly, the main city portions of the city do eventually end up with the funds to repair themselves, hence why theres only one damaged area in there. Well, that and because the Fractures are more likely to end up in the orphan sector due to therger poption there.


    But the orphan sectors of cities rarely ever get the money to repair themselves. In fact, the orphan sectors of the cities are more often than not the main crime sectors as well. Which doesnt exactly bode well for their resources.


    Unless the area destroyed belonged to one of the gangs in the sectors that is. Then itll probably eventually get fixed.


    And most of the orphans dont get much more than a barebones education at all, to be honest. The only reason I got to go to school in the main sector of the city was because of Allen. Same with the other orphans in our orphanage.


    Which kind of means that Allen went beyond what was normal treatment for orphans, but I guess it didnt vite their contract because there are a few other orphanages around the world that do the same?


    <strong>Tier 3 cities sound </strong>Tar says before trailing off, but he doesnt need to finish.


    Yeah


    Theyre not good ces to live, despite them being the mostmon cities by a vast margin.


    The Tier 2 cities are supposed to be a lot nicer. More along the lines of the old-world cities, with the same technology as the old world as well. And no orphans unless the orphan was from a more wealthy or important family, in which case the orphan will generally be taken in by someone else right away in order to avoid even the slightest possibility that they could be reced by a changeling.


    <strong>How did the deteriorate to this degree over thest century anyways? </strong>Tar mutters, sounding bewildered. And I cant help but frown at that.


    The answer generally lies in three ces. The changelings, desperation, and the government.


    There are quite a few council members who are openly against the orphans and for some reason seem to have a bone to pick with them. And no one really knows their exact reasoning for it. Just that theyre always acting against the orphans in every way possible.


    <strong>Council members? </strong>Tar asks. <strong>You mean like that Fredricka woman?</strong>


    My frown grows at the mention of her.


    Yeah. Like her.


    I still havent seen her since before I realized she may very well be a changeling. And despite me telling both White and Allen about her, nothing has happened.


    Allen I can understand, since he doesnt have the power to do anything, and no one would believe him if he used her. But White she just straight up vanished for a week the moment I told her, and when she reappeared, she looked pissed as hell about something.


    But the councilwoman is still alive, and still doing her job. And White wont answer what happened.


    I honestly have no idea what went down, but no matter what I ask White, she just ms up around that topic with a dark look in her eyes. Not one direct at me but directed elsewhere.


    It kind of has me worried.


    Then there are those three changelings that were disguised as the triplets


    My thoughts are interrupted when a loud cracking sound echoes and a Demonic Assault begins, following which we all focus on one particr area in the city down below. One giving out powerful waves of energy and originating in the center of the orphan sector.


    A ss III Fracture, just as the seer predicted, Ava says, her eyes narrowing on the orphan sector that is now breaking out into chaos. Lets begin.

 Book 3: Chapter 24: The Hunt Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 24: The Hunt Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without any hesitation, the Garden begins to descend at an incredible speed towards the ground, stopping with the bottom of the ind just barely not touching the walls of the orphan sector. Then Ava immediately shouts while manifesting a spear in her hand and ayer of blood armor around her body, Enforcers,e! We restrain the Fracture here and now!


    A loud roar echoes from the Guardians on the Garden, making me look back to find a woman seemingly about thirty years old spreading her hands out and letting out a roar akin to that of a tiger. She then begins transforming into a ck tiger spanning three meters in length and an entire meter and a half in height, her ws digging into the stone of the Garden. Only for that stone to fix itself when she begins charging off towards the edge of the Garden.


    Meanwhile, simr events start happening around the Garden where each of the ss V Guardians prepare before leaping off of the floating ind and into the orphan sector. But when I turn around myself, I feel a hand on my shoulder, bringing my gaze to find the blind seer of the Garden. Avas second inmand. And as I look back, I also notice the rest of the members of the Garden heading down towards one of the tunnels leading underground.


    The woman smiles at me and says, Come.


    So I follow her and the other Guardians underground until we end up at a hangar which is housing severalrge hover tforms  magi-tech structures meant to transportrge objects through the air. And everyone is currently climbing onto the tforms.


    The seer lightly pushes my back towards it and says, Hop on.


    I smile at that before nodding at her and jumping onto one of the tforms alongside over a dozen other Guardians, almost all of which on this tform are ss II, leaving the majority of the ss IIIs and some ss IVs on other tforms entirely.


    Something I do notice is that none of the ss Is are here. In fact, Im pretty sure they all stayed above ground.


    Guess theyll be bombarding the demons from the ind with ranged skills or equipment? Probably for the best since they wont be able to do anything to the demons down there even if they helped. Theyd just end up in danger.


    Either way, there seems to be one ss IV Guardian on each tform along with the ss IIs, likely here to defend us from the higher leveled ss III demons. But since we wont be given anything by the System should we not be at risk at all, theyre probably only going to defend us from ss III demons above a certain level.


    After were all on the tform, each of the tforms begin to float off the ground in the hangar as the hangar door opens, soon letting us all outside. The tforms then start floating in the direction of the ground, with the ones with ss III and above Guardians on them going all the way down to the ground, while the ones with ss IIs on them like my own stay up in the air.


    Out of nowhere, the tform turns see-through, giving me a better view of the ground below. And what terror it is.


    Normally Fractures dont generally appear in Tier 3 cities. Not even very many appear in Tier 2 cities, in fact.


    Most of the time, only one Fracture happens every one to two months inside of each Tier 3 city, the Demonic Assaults being rather limited in reality energy, as the researchers call it, not letting them form many Fractures here. Which also leads them to believe that reality energy is generated by living beings. Probably only sapient ones. Meanwhile, one Fracture tends to happen every two or so weeks in Tier 2 cities. And with the general rarity of Fractures, ss I and II Fractures are the mostmon ones seen in the lower Tiered cities.


    And even with those, the cities lose tens of thousands of people with each Fracture. Something thats only made up for with theck of people dying to diseases, along with the enforced birth requirement on the people.


    But what Im seeing down there right now is a massacre. And since there arent many barriers or bunkers in Tier 3 cities, with none of them being in the orphan sector, and all of the buildings down there only being one story and in rtively poor condition, most of the demons are out in the open. And theyre all ughtering the humans in the city like bugs.


    I feel my fist clenching at the sight before I start using skills from up here on the demons down below. Starting with blood boil and life drain, and then moving on to using blood manifestation to send attacks towards them, along with making various null magic fields to bother the demons attacking both humans and Guardians. But after a few minutes of this, I use my blood shadow and have it jump down to the buildings below to start targeting one of the weakest demons I noticed in the corner of the mayhem thats targeting a couple orphan kids. A demon that should still be strong enough to rip me in half.


    If its my blood shadow though, I should be able to safely attack it. All itll mean for me is some painful bacsh if my blood shadow is killed after all.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find the other Guardians on the tform all sending ranged attacks down on the demons as well, meanwhile the Guardians on the ground are starting to tear their way through the swarms of demons. I even see the ss Vs already having killed the general and sealed the core, making it so they can shatter it at any moment. And by now theyre floating up into the air and using widescale skills to stop any demons from killing the civilians with some rather great sess.


    I also cant help but notice some random shes of white here and there before demons just randomly disappear right as theyre about to hurt a civilian.


    Whites doing, no doubt.


    But shes not just ughtering everything. Only protecting civilians who are about to get hurt or die.


    My attention returns to the ss III demon that my blood shadow was fighting the moment I feel bacsh from its death, making me almost lose my footing on the tform.


    <strong>|Demon Vanguard  Subspecies: Taracht  Level 253|</strong>


    The same demon that was used in my very first ranking tournament at Lions Heart as the ss III demon.


    Damnit, I <em>will</em> kill this thing!

 Book 3: Chapter 24.2: The Hunt Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 24.2: The Hunt Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Despite my blood shadow having been attacking it, all therge ck and red spider has to show for it is that one of its legs is bent the wrong way at one point, and the civilian orphans it was targeting have managed to run away. So with that in mind, I summon another blood shadow with a pained grimace, feeling my legs begin to shake a little before sending the blood shadow down towards it and this time actually focusing on it.


    My blood shadow jumps from building to building until it leaps down straight towards the taracht, which was just focusing on the direction the children ran off in. And thanks to that, my blood shadow manages to grab a spear I manifested and stab it into the three-meter-long spiders back. But unlike what I was hoping, the spear barely pierces the creature at all, only managing to deal whats basically just a scratch to the thing.


    I grit my teeth while climbing to my feet, the ss IV Guardian on this tform walking up seeming to check if Im alright.


    To jump down or not to jump down to jump down or not to jump down


    A few seconds pass and I look around the other areas of the Fracture to find that its mostly all handled by now, with no more civilian casualties as all of the humans have been corralled and protected by Guardian-made barriers. Then I nce at the ss IV Guardian, only for their eyes to widen when they see the look in my eyes.


    See yater, I whisper, making a look of horror cross their eyes before I jump off of the tform down onto a building below, following which I begin running towards the alleyway the taracht was in, focusing on my connection with my blood shadow as I do.


    <strong>This is probably the most reckless thing youve done yet, </strong>Tarments, not actually sounding very worried. <strong>Reckless or not, you always seem toe out on top. And if you do end up being teamed up on by other ss III demons, the ss IV Guardian currently yelling at you from the tform will step in.</strong>


    True.


    I just feel that I cant let this thing go. I have to fight it, no matter what.


    Like something fundamental about myself will be damaged if I dont fight this thing. And Im not sure why.


    I hear Tar sigh as I finally reach the alleyway, briefly giving me pause.


    <strong>Guess it was only a matter of time, </strong>he mutters. <strong>I should get this out of the way now anyways. Ive been exaggerating how much your demonic instincts have been affecting you this whole time. Most of your pride  probably 70% to 75% of it  really is your own and has nothing to do with your species. What youre feeling now, however, is due to your species. Its why blood lycans are also called the Alphas of Pride.</strong>


    Are you kidding me? Seriously?


    Why would you bother with tricking me like that anyways? It doesnt make sense.


    Tar begins to speak, only to pause when I raise a hand.


    Not right now. Later.


    And youll exin what this feeling is then too.


    <strong>Of course, </strong>Tar says right as I jump down from the roof, my arms shapeshifting and covering themselves in ws of blood as I fall. Meanwhile des of blood begin flying straight at the taracht, distracting it a little from my blood shadow that has been moving around trying to find an opening to attack since I sent it down.


    As Im falling though, a bunch of stacks of blood thirst suddenly start building up, making me grin.


    A lot of the demons I was attacking from the tform were most likely killed.


    I increase the boost in strength by burning a lot of my own blood, following which I activate blood chains and blood retribution right before my ws strike at an already wounded part of the taracht. But despite all the massive boosts and Predator V being fully unleashed, my ws only dig up till my wrists into the creatures body.


    The taracht lets out a screech in anger before mming its body into the wall, sending me flying off into the wall with a grunt before I roll down to the ground. I dont stay there long though and quickly jump away, only to get struck by a limb and sent smashing into another wall as the giant spider lets out a slightly pained screech, bloody steam rising from under its fur.


    I cant help but grin at that.


    The ns working.


    My blood shadow runs up to the wall before jumping off of it and mming its spear into the wound we both created on its back, and when the creature turns its attention back to the blood shadow, I run up to it again, ignoring the massive bruising I have. And once I reach the creatures side, I hurriedly pull myself up its leg right when it begins to take a swing at my blood shadow before I reach its back, pull my right arm back, and m it back inside its wound again while grabbing and wing at whatever I can before ripping it out again, making the creature screech loudly enough this time that I have to once again lower my ears sensitivity like I did at the start of this Fracture. Then I repeat my action, digging my hand back in and ripping it out again, only for the creature to send a limb flying towards me despite my location on its back, making the wed limb cut straight through my forearm. It then ms itself into the wall again, sending me flying with eyes wide in pain.


    Fucking, <em>shit, </em>that hurts! I shout while rolling onto the ground, one wed hand gripping my now handless arm. And I swear I hear a gasp of fear and worrying from somewhere, but I dont pay attention to it.


    I feel Tar growing more and more worried as well the longer this fight goes on, but at the same time, the spider screeches incredibly loudly as literal waves of blood waft off of its body thanks to blood retribution.


    Despite my pain, a third of which Im diffusing to feelter, I grin as feelings of pride begin to reign in me at the sight of the creature struggling to stand up now, blood running down its body from the wound on top of it.


    Then things get weird.


    The spider starts glowing with a purple light.


    I blink at that, my grin fading.


    Oh shit.

 Book 3: Chapter 24.3: The Hunt Part III

    Book 3: Chapter 24.3: The Hunt Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    A wave of purple gook suddenly stters out of the spider, spraying everything in sight including me. And the moment the gook touches me, it <em>burns</em>.


    The liquid eats away at my skin, at my armor, at my fur on my arms, and practically at everything, leaving me screaming in pain. But the spider isnt in much better shape since it seems to have forgotten about blood retribution and has lost its footing, also screeching in its own pain.


    Through my purple coated and slightly spotty eyes, I see a woman with white hair appear in front of me with her arm raised. But I practically scream, Do <em>not </em>attack it!!!


    White turns around to frown at me, but I push through the pain somehow to stand up, the color red reflecting off of the walls likely from my eyes ring as I look at the creature, <em>my prey</em>, with determination set in stone.


    I will <em>not </em>let another- I shout, only to cough out blood in the middle of that and then continue, -chance like this pass me by!


    I step towards the spider, who is finally starting to get up, albeit with some struggle.


    Not like thest time with the damned <em>fucking</em> wraith! I finish, may eyes suddenly widening as I realize just why this situation has been burning at me inside. Why I couldnt just let someone else deal with this creature. Not when I have a chance to kill it <em>on my own.</em>


    Thest time I fought a creature over one hundred levels above me, I was saved by Cynthia. Then I was saved when fighting the Rogue by Blue, even if he didnt seem to mean it.


    I will <em>not </em>be saved again! Not like those times! I will kill this fucking spider myself!


    A faint wave of surprise enters my mind from Tar, likely due to the emotional outburst Im having. But I dont care. I begin running towards the spider with my left w, still partially burnt from the acidic poison it spit at me, raised. And the spider climbs to its feet as White steps back. The thing then turns towards me, only to suddenly stagger again when my blood shadow jumps on top of it, the thing having managed to find cover before the poison spurt happened. My blood shadow then stabs it again in the back, making it screech again, following which it ms itself into the wall and then skewers my blood shadow when itnds on the ground.


    I stagger at the bacsh before coughing out a mouthful of blood, but I continue forward anyways, briefly noticing the stump on my right arm slooowly regenerating again, the cells growing back at an incredibly slow but visible pace.


    Good.


    I burn more of my blood, which has Tar sending waves of fright and uncertainty to my mind. But I ignore that to jump straight onto the back of the spider, not bothering with climbing it. Then I stab my left arm as deep as I can possibly go into its body, making it let out another screech, only for something to burst under my grip and that screech to rise an octave in pitch.


    A faint grin stretches its way across my face at that, but it doesntst long as the creature suddenly throws itself into the wall seemingly as ast resort, sending me flying off of it again. And before I can even hit the ground, the creature sends another limb my way that I only barely manage to move partially out of the way of, making the limb cut into my back and pass through straight out my side in a sh, cutting one of my hearts in half.


    Then the creature lets out an incredibly loud screech, following which it copses on the ground as Ind smashing into a wall, my vision beginning to fade.


    Soon enough, I hear the sound of a new System message, a ding from a stack of blood thirst, and see White running over to me while Ava appears next to me.


    The hunts over.


    I win.


    Then everything goes dark.


    <strong>The Alleyway</strong>


    Amelias mind nks out for just a moment before the sight of her daughter hitting the ground while missing a hand with arge open and significantly bleeding cut going all the way through her shoulder de and out the side of her chest has her running straight to her daughter, appearing there in an instant. And at the same time, she sees the Bloody Valkyrie appearing as well.


    When Scarlet had shouted at her to stay out of the fight, she was absolutely shocked. Because not once had she <em>ever </em>heard her daughter raise her voice in the entire time shes been watching over her since birth. Not a single time.


    And this time she sounded genuinely pissed off and absolutely determined.


    So Amelia decided to trust her despite her apprehensions.


    And now she regrets that choice.


    Amelia quickly pulls her daughter into her arms while nullifying any sense of pain her daughter has despite her being unconscious. Then she looks up at Ava who quickly kneels next to her and raises her hands, controlling the blood flowing out of Scarlet to stop and instead continue flowing inside of her body despite theck of body parts.


    That regeneration, Ava mutters as she notices the arm that is slowly growing back from the stump about a little past halfway down Scarlets forearm.


    <em>Shes part blood lycan. Right. I almost how could I? The danger damnit, I cant think straight!!</em>


    Amelia just holds her daughter to her chest as Ava begins using blood magic to heal the girls wounds in conjunction with Scarlets own regeneration. And after a few minutes, the worst of it is over, all of her burns from the poison having already healed thanks to her regeneration, the wound in her side closed up enough that it justcks blood now, and her arm still slowly growing back, not being something Ava can heal herself as she cant regrow limbs. Even her clothes and armor were repaired through magic so that she isnt exposed anymore, the poison having done a lot of damage to her clothing.


    Amelia leans her forehead into her daughters as her arms tighten ever so slightly around the girl, not daring to let go even as tears begin dripping down her face, seemingly startling the Bloody Valkyrie in the process.


    At some point, the Fracture ends, the core shattering making Amelia open her eyes again to find a tanuki on the ground staring worriedly at Scarlet.


    Shell be fine, Amelia says to her daughters contracted fae. And despite the tanuki nodding his head, he just continues to stare at Scarlet.


    More time passes while the Guardians of the Garden begin helping the people of the orphan sector, healing the injured, restoring the buildings to what they were, and even speaking with the authorities of the city. And eventually, Scarlets arm finally finishes fully regenerating.


    Amelia waits a few more minutes after that before finally floating up into the sky while still cradling her daughter to her chest in a way that would embarrass the girl if she were awake. Especially with the eyes watching.


    But Amelia is too worried to care.


    <em>Im not leaving her until she wakes up.</em>


    A few seconds pass as Amelia frequently nces between the tanuki floating alongside them, Scarlet, and the Garden.


    <em>Her father would be proud though.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 25: Demonic Instinct and Rewards

    Book 3: Chapter 25: Demonic Instinct and Rewards


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up to the sound of shouting. The shouting isnt in the room I wake up in though, which is the bedroom I was using on the Garden. No. Itsing from Avas office, where I hear a slight static sound apanied by Allens voice as he most likely shouts at her through a video call.


    And just hearing his shouting makes me wince.


    Yeah, its probably gonna be my turn when I get back.


    <strong>Itll definitely be your turn, </strong>Tarments, bringing my attention to the ball of mostly ck and red fur with some white and a little brown mixed in currently sitting curled up next to me.


    Good morning.


    <strong>Its evening, </strong>Tarments without any amusement in his tone.


    Right.


    What day is today, by the way?


    <strong>Today was thest day of the internship, </strong>Tar says while getting up and stretching. Then he walks up to me and smacks me in the face. With a paw. So I barely feel it. <strong>Dont do that ever again. Okay?</strong>


    Before I can answer, his face twists slightly and he slumps, saying, <strong>Never mind. I know it was the curse that caused your actions, not entirely you.</strong>


    I blink at that.


    Curse?


    <strong>I have since learned from King Oberon that the demonic instincts are a curse ced on the demon race as a whole, </strong>Tar drops a bomb on me that has me sitting up. <strong>He wouldnt tell me the exact effects, outside of that they force the demons to be bound to the seven sins, but he did give me a brief exnation of the curse as to how it affects blood lycans.</strong>


    That has me staring at him, waiting for the response as he pauses for a second.


    <strong>Blood lycans feel the instinctive need to prove that theyre the strongest species there is, and if that pride is tarnished in any way, they feel a driving need to fix it, </strong>he exins, not looking me in the eye.


    So when my prey was taken from me twice, even if I didnt have any chance at beating them


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar says, finally looking me in the eye. <strong>Your Demonic Pride wouldnt let you turn away again. You simply had to fight it to at least prove you were superior, even if you didnt kill it.</strong>


    Hmm.


    I lean back against the pillows at the end of the bed while ncing up at the ceiling.


    A few minutes pass in silence, the only sound in my room being that of my own breathing and heartbeats. Since the tanuki doesnt actually have a heart in his artificial form.


    So I eventually mutter before bringing my eyes to the tanuki who I find staring at me. Do you think this excuse will work with Allen?


    Tars mouth drops open in shock. Then it closes. Then it opens again. And closes once more.


    <strong>You </strong>he starts, only to sigh. <strong>Probably not.</strong>


    I let out a sigh of my own at that answer before leaning my head back again.


    Thats unfortunate.


    A few seconds of silence pass.


    Then my stomach growls, so I push the sheets off of me and swing my legs over the edge of the bed, briefly noticing  to my surprise  that Im wearing my typical tank top and shorts despite not having changed into them.


    Uh, who changed me? I ask, directing my gaze to Tar, who immediately answers, <strong>White.</strong>


    Oh. I guess I can tolerate that. She did give birth to me after all, so its not really the first time shes seen me without clothes.


    <strong>Um, well about that, </strong>Tar says, making me look at him, my eyes narrowed. <strong>That poison the taracht used against you kind of burned away most of your clothes and armor before Ava repaired them. So</strong>


    I blink at that.


    How much did she see?


    <strong>Enough, </strong>Tar answers, making me frown.


    Well thats yeah, I think its best to act like that didnt happen.


    At least shes a woman. And over a century above my own age. Wouldve been much worse if it were a guy.


    That aside, I reach up to the amulet to find it safely sitting on my chest. So I move over to the wardrobe to change into a ck shirt and ck pants before activating my armor and walking back to my bed.


    Time to see what I almost killed myself for.


    Tar snorts at that.


    <strong>{Level 252 Demon Vanguard defeated. A massive EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred levels above your level. Almost all of the EXP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in killing a demon.} x9</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 291 Demon Vanguard defeated. A massive EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred levels above your level. Almost all of the EXP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in killing a demon.} x9</strong>


    <strong>{Level 251 Demon Vanguard defeated. A massive EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Sixty Skill Points are awarded for killing a demon one hundred or more levels above you without any assistance. You push even further beyond the bounds of sanity, taking on prey that should be considered predator instead. You face risk and push it aside, instead charging straight ahead. How much longer can you push before youre pushed back? Or will you continue on to eternity? Only time will tell. }</strong>


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for killing a Demon Vanguard while under level one hundred and fifty.}</strong>


    <strong>{Thirty-five Skill Points are awarded for killing a being of ss III while you yourself are ss II.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty Skill Points are awarded for taking enough damage to kill most people your level five times over and surviving.} </strong>


    <strong>{Twenty Skill Points are awarded for having your heart or hearts cut or destroyed at least five times. This is not a safe habit. It is suggested you stop.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for pushing through enough pain to make most people pass out through sheer willpower.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for having a limb cut off and then regenerated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for surviving being sprayed by the poison of a Taracht.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Demon Vanguard.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 150. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 182. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 10.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 9.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood ws has leveled up to level 16.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 16.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Chains has leveled up to level 7.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 12.]</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the rare inherent skill, Sanguine Effect.}</strong>


    By the freaking stars thats a lot!


    Without any hesitation, I open my status and immediately assign my free points. Then I check out the skill descriptions of all the upgraded skills, finding Pain Diffusion being the only one with a different effect. Which is that it can diffuse up to fifty percent of my pain, and I can spread it out over the next five days instead of three.


    Very nice additions.


    But what I really want to know the description of is the new skill. So I look for it, surprisingly finding that its a passive skill before I open its description.


    <strong>{Sanguine Effect  This skill grants all attacks of the user dealt through blood magic a life draining aspect, absorbing a small sliver of the targets life energy into the user of the skills. The life energy drained cannot be controlled and it cannot be put into other targets.}</strong>


    My jaw drops open.


    Okay, I like this skill. I like it a lot.


    After admiring the skill for several more seconds, I focus on my status as a whole.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Asger</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 182</strong><strong>SP: 219</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 514</strong><strong>Mental: 514</strong><strong>Magical: 514</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 224,566.6/224,566.6</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 3</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 9</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Form</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 16</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 16</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Now that is a whole lot of SP to spend.


    <strong>You should probably deal with the whole Allen problem before you get absorbed in shopping, </strong>Tarments, making me frown for a moment before nodding.


    Yeah, guess youre right.


    Looks like its time to see just how pissed off Allen is.

 Book 3: Chapter 26: Redacted

    Book 3: Chapter 26: Redacted


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Where in the ever loving stars did you get the idea that charging a demon over <em>one hundred levels </em>above you <em>was a good fucking idea</em>?! Allen shouts from the other side of the terminal as Ava quietly makes her way out of her office. Not only was it the most reckless thing youve ever done, but you didnt even have to do it! Why the fucking hell did you try that?!


    I patiently wait until I hear Ava having left our room before I gently ask, White? Following which a white barrier appears around us, cutting us off from anything. Appreciated.


    Knew she was still around somewhere. I kept feeling that annoying sensation that someone was watching me all the way back to the moment I woke up.


    Not to mention that Tar said she hadnt left my side once while I was out.


    Anyways, I look up at Allen now that its safe to talk before briefly exining to him what Tar told me about my demonic instinct. And that alone cools down a lot of his anger.


    Although I get the feeling hes not any less stressed now. In fact, he might just be more anxious and worried now than before.


    So youre saying it might happen again, and theres nothing you can do about it? he eventually asks, a tired yet still slightly hopeful look on his face that Ill say no.


    Hmm. Okay. Yeah, I can see the downside there.


    Tar snorts at my thoughts.


    Yeah, I answer Allen, unfortunately crushing the hope that I saw in his eyes.


    Out of nowhere, a clone of his appears out of the terminal screen made out of nanomachines before he walks up to me and hugs me out of nowhere, pulling my face to his chest as I let out a short Uh out of surprise.


    Just just for a moment, Allen says, so I decide to let him.


    A minute or so passes in silence before he finally lets go. And I cant help but notice that I didnt feel as ufortable as I wouldve used to during that.


    Probably because of Aria.


    Although it could also have something to do with me considering Allen family now, but Id say its probably the first.


    A moment passes as Allen looks at me before he says, Ill tell Cynthia what you told me, and White told us that youre done with your internship now. So you can either head back tomorrow or today. Whichever works for you.


    I nod at that with a smile before turning around and starting to make my way towards the hall, only pausing once to wave at him and call back, Thanks! See youter!


    Now I can go ahead and shop for skills!


    As soon as I make it back to my room, I open my Skills Store except this time only having it show any new legendary skills I might have. Just to not tempt me into buying anything else when I should spend my SP on leveling my skills. Only to find a very nice surprise in there. And a very strange surprise along with it.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Unlocked by being ss II or above, by using a skill in a way unexined by the System to create a muchrger attack, by having used blood magic to kill over one thousand beings within half a year, by killing a demon one hundred or more levels above you without any assistance, by killing a being of ss III while you yourself are ss II without any assistance, and by being the child of REDACTED ON INDIVIDUALS REQUEST.</strong>


    <strong>This skill unleashes the power of blood to bring ruin to the designated location.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Achievement-Locked</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked by killing a ss III being while at ss II through allowing it to mutte yourself in return for taking damage itself without any assistance, by being ss II or above, by using a skill in a way unexined by the System to create a muchrger attack, by having used blood magic to kill over one thousand beings within half a year, by killing a demon one hundred or more levels above you without any assistance, by having blood magic, and by- by- by- ERROR.</strong>


    <strong>User does not have null magic.</strong>


    <strong>Searching for alternatives alternative found.</strong>


    <strong>And by having null magic etched skills.</strong>


    <strong>This skill deals a set amount of damage to any individual who causes damage to the holder of the skill no matter who it is regardless of their defense in the form of blood nullification.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong>


    <strong></strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    I stare at the two new skills for what feels like forever before I nce at Tar and mutter, Huh?


    But Tar is also staring. Although not at the first one by the looks of it. Only the second.


    <strong>But what? That shouldnt how?</strong> he mutters, just for his eyes to widen as if he came to a realization. <strong>Thats why!</strong>


    Sooo mind filling me in on what the heck those skills are about? I ask, snapping him out of his little reverie.


    Tar turns to me and says, <strong>Well, it looks like the System gave you a blood and null magic skill thanks to you already having null magic etched skills. I almostpletely forgot that could happen, since normally the System never does that. Not unless the achievements made by the user are so great that it decided to dedicate more of its resources just to fix the error. Otherwise the error wouldve never been fixed, and you wouldnt have been shown the skill.</strong>


    I blink at that before ncing at the Skills Store again. Then at the tanuki. Then the store. And finally the tanuki.


    And the other thing? I ask while pointing at the whole REDACTED thing.


    Tar blinks before looking and then focusing on me as he answers, <strong>Well, your father doesnt want you to know who he is until you meet him. Or you figure it out on your own. So he had his information redacted by the System.</strong>


    People can do that? Redact their name from etched skills?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says while nodding his head.


    Then why didnt White? I ask out of curiosity as I focus on the skills again.


    <strong>Well,</strong> he says, only to shrug. <strong>Who knows. She probably didnt think that it was very important to hide her identity.</strong>


    So my fathers identity may be more important than I expected. Good to know.


    Probably someone higher up in that branch family than I was guessing. Theres also the veeeery faint possibility of him being the Demon Lord, but from the time Ive been with White, she seems to dislike demons, not to mention the Demon Lords. So thats out.


    Then again, she never mentioned the Blood Lord. Only the others.


    Hmm. I still dont think its him, but its worth not shoving the possibility out the window at least.


    Anyways, both of these skills look great.


    One of them looks to be a great finisher move like Ive been wanting for a while now, and the other is a passive and weaker version of blood retribution that is always active and doesnt require mana.


    <strong>It also uses null magic, which might open you up to getting some more null magic skills in the future, </strong>Tarments, pointing out another benefit of it that I didnt think of. <strong>But the important thing in that skill that makes it worth so much more than blood retribution is that it cant be defended against unlike blood retribution. Its true damage.</strong>


    My eyes widen as that clicks in my head.


    Right. Blood retribution can be defended against if someone has a skill to protect their blood or cool it or something. But this passive cant be defended against. Not to mention that its a passive in the first ce and will always be active.


    I purse my lips while staring at the two skills before finally giving into the temptation and buying them both.


    There goes myrge store of SP.


    <strong>Well, you still have 99 more SP to spend, </strong>Tarments, sounding amused.


    Well, yeah, I guess I do.


    Lets see what I want to upgrade with that.

 Book 3: Chapter 27: Surprise

    Book 3: Chapter 27: Surprise


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The very first thing I do is spend thirty-two Skill Points to bring the new passive legendary skill straight up to level five to get the level five improvement for the skill, leaving me with sixty-seven SP left. Then I go ahead and spend another fifty-four Skill Points to finally bring Blood Retribution to level ten, making it so that all of my skills except the new ones, blood armor, null magic field, and blood chains are at least at level ten. And even null magic field is just about there, what with it being level nine.


    Too bad its achievement-locked so I cant use SP to raise it to ten.


    Blood of Ruin is also achievement-locked, so Im gonna have to grind that one out in Fractures. Which Im not sure how will go, considering its a finisher attack and probably costs a significant amount of mana to use.


    As for thest remaining thirteen Skill Points I dont have enough to afford leveling blood armor to level eight, or anything else, really. The only thing I can afford with thest points is bringing Bloody Thorns to level six.


    I stare at my status for a few seconds before eventually just shrugging and bringing it to level six. Because its a legendary skill, and legendary skills are great.


    Wait a second I reread through the description of Bloody Thorns again.


    Uh, Tar? I ask out loud, making him float up to my face, the tanuki having lied down and started napping while I was figuring out my spending. Does this skill apply to any damage at all?


    Tar nods his head without saying anything out loud.


    So it includes anything that can be considered damaging? Even if its just a tiny scratch? And itll return the base damage no matter what?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says before finishing my line of thought for me, <strong>so no matter how much damage you take, they will always be taking the same t rate of damage. Even if theyre using a passive attack against you like, for example, your blood boil.</strong>


    It would just continuously deal them even more damage than their own skill is dealing me depending on just how much damage that t amount of damage is. And in a much more reliable manner than Blood Retribution as well.


    This skill is even better than I thought. It basically makes those passive damage dealing skillspletely useless against me.


    Well, unless they want to take more damage than theyre dealing, that is.


    I cant wait to test out that skill though.


    <strong>Do you know what happened to Allen, by the way? </strong>Tar suddenlyments, reminding me of how displeased Ill call it Ava was when she found out that Allen had sent a clone onto the Garden through the terminal on her desk.


    Pretty sure she quite literally kicked his clone off the Garden. Not that he cared, since he supposedly dispelled his clone before it hit the ground.


    <strong>Thats harsh, </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but nod. But at the same time, Ive learned why she is ufortable around men thanks to the people on the Garden not actually being opposed to talking about it.


    This being while you were away in the Farshore.


    It turns out she had a close call when she was a child and was only saved from a group of thugs thanks to a Fracture appearing where they were at. And ever since then she grew absolutely terrified of men.


    <strong>Terrified? She didnt look terrified when she was on campus, </strong>Tar points out.


    Thats because she slowly got over that fear, which was helped by a man she had eventually gotten romantically involved with trying to rid her of that fear entirely. Until he apparently cheated on her, that is.


    Tar nces at me with a startled look on his face.


    Yeah. Kind of messed up.


    Didnt do any favors to her mental state either. She ended up just feeling ufortable around men in general, but not afraid anymore.


    And the reason she made the Garden women only was because of this very reason. She didnt feel she would be able to have any men in her Association as it would make her too ufortable.


    Overall a very different reason from what a lot of people suspect. In fact, I think there were some groups online that I saw who thought she had some sort of distaste for men or just thought they were disgusting or something.


    Anyways, I stretch a little before flopping on the bed and staring at the ceiling.


    What to do because Im not sleepy thanks to only recently waking up from that shorta. But I dont exactly have my pod here to y Hunter XI either.


    <strong>You could always just train, </strong>Tar points out a very good idea. So I get up and begin making my way over towards the training hall of the Garden.


    The moment I step inside of the training hall, though, I find myself being stopped by White, who appears out of nowhere and says, Theres been a change to the schedule for the rest of the semester.


    I blink at that before frowning and asking, What changed?


    The signs of the ss V Fracture are starting to grow stronger, indicating that it will most likely happen in either two or three weeks. So thest few weeks of sses are cancelled, and the final exams are moved to this next week, White says, sounding rather stiff as she always does whenever shes talking about official university stuff. Something she clearly doesnt really enjoy doing.


    Oh, I mutter, my frown growing a little.


    Thats going to be annoying. But whatever.


    Are the exams going to be cutting that content entirely? I ask, Or will they give us something to study it after all this so that we dont miss out?


    White looks slightly surprised at the question before answering that they will indeed be giving us some recorded lectures over the content after the ss V Fracture so that we can at least learn it if we wish to.


    Good. Because I dont want to waste the funds Im paying to go to the Guardians University in the first ce.

 Book 3: Chapter 28: Another Semester Complete

    Book 3: Chapter 28: Another Semester Complete


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Have a nice summer! It was wonderful having you in my ss, Scarlet, my Demon Biology professor  a Guardian whose title is the Professor  says with a smile as I hand in my final exam paper. I give him a light smile and a nod in return before walking out of the ss, leaving the couple dozen other students to their exams.


    And that was myst final for the year.


    <strong>Have you decided yet? </strong>Tar asks, appearing above me before floating down andnding on top of my head, lightly bumping up against my ears in the process. But since I have my hearing drastically down right now to only let me hear the stuff happening in the buildings around me, it doesnt bother me anywhere near as much.


    Im really d I can reduce the sensitivity of my ears this way. Makes it so Belle cant mess with me by poking them.


    And Im still thinking, but Ill probably end up having to stay in the city.


    Not long after the change in the universitys schedule was released a week ago, the government released a warning for all civilians to evacuate within the next week and a half. But alongside that, they made an official request to every Guardian stationed in an Association of the capital city to assist in protecting the capital.


    Those who help are generously rewarded, and those who dont wont find themselves getting any help from the government in the next decade.


    A rather bold threat, but an understandable one considering that losing to the ss V Fracture will be a drastic blow to the Republic. It will mean another Gate opening up in the capital no less.


    I personally dont care much about their threat. But what I do care about is that all my friends and family are staying behind in the capital. Belle, Arthur, the rest of the team, and everyone from the Silver Association are all staying behind to help.


    So there really isnt much choice. Especially since the others outside of Arthur, Belle, Cynthia, and Allen dont know that I have an actual reason to avoid the capital then.


    Its a rather annoying situation.


    It doesnt help that the government specifically contacts the more well known and higher profile Guardians during times like these. After all, having a very famous Guardian sit out of the most important Demonic Assault of the generation is not exactly a good look. Neither for me, nor the government that cant control or even persuade me.


    <strong>It doesnt look like you have much choice </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly resigned to our fate.


    Yeah. Unfortunately.


    But at least I should be able to stay away from the ss V Fracture since White told me the exact location it should be opening up in. Just means that I have to stay on the opposite side of the city from there.


    <strong>In that case, you should be safe from a blood lycan as long as they arent specifically looking for you, </strong>Tar says as I continue walking through the street towards the top ss students residency. <strong>And the other ss Vs shouldn''t be able to find you at all even if they were looking for you assuming theyre not a perception based demon.</strong>


    Thats good to hear.


    I just have to stay far away from the Fractures core, and it should be fine.


    And I can find quite a bit to hunt during the Fracture, so thats a plus as well.


    Fortunately the Guardians University campus is on the edge of the city, while the ss V Fracture is predicted to open somewhere around the tower at the center of the city. So I should be able to just help with the Fractures over here and be fine.


    I almost scoff at the idea of being fine considering the one whos been manipting the demons in my Fractures. Although they actually havent done that much recently.


    Maybe theyre involved with the preparation for the ss V Fracture that should be going down about right now in Tartarus? At least, ording to the stuff about Tartarus that Ive learned in my sses it sounds like a reasonable exnation for theck of bizarre things happening in my Fractures.


    I look up at the heavy snow falling down on the city. Something thatll make for a rather annoying ss V Fracture for those who can actually feel the cold.


    Doesnt help that its dark out right now despite only being three in the afternoon. An annoying side effect of the ss V Fracture affecting the world and a sign that itll be happening soon.


    My terminal suddenly begins to buzz, making me look down to find a call from Belle. So I ept the call as I continue walking through the snow, one arm in my pocket and the other held in front of me for the video.


    Hey, Scarlet! I knew youd already have finished! she says, the girl for some odd reason wearing a dress on the other side of the screen. And when she notices me looking, she grins and does a little spin, whatever terminal shes using obviously not being attached to her arm as she exims, How do I look?


    You look great, but whats the asion? I ask, my confusion easily shown on both my face and in my voice.


    Belle rolls her eyes at that and says, The ball, you doofus! And when I just blink at her, unsure of what shes talking about, she continues, The ball meant to celebrate the first years and those graduating this year! Its gonna be held on Sunday, and I wanted to try out some dresses for it!


    I stare at the screen for a few seconds, trying rather hard to figure out what the heck shes talking about.


    The girl frowns, her excitement dying a little when she asks, You seriously dont know about it? Then she blinks and sends me an exasperated look as she says, We got an email about this just a week ago


    My staringsts for another few seconds before my eyes widen and I mutter, Oh. That.


    She rolls her eyes with a scoff and says, You really forgot about it? Thats she pauses as she blinks, her face clearing up slightly, actually, thats very much like you.


    I raise a brow at that and shrug, So I dont like balls, dances, or anything formal. Sue me.


    Look, could you please attend? Its a really important event for most people, the rest of the team and I included she asks, sounding genuinely hopeful. Not the usual yful request or just her wanting to see me at a ball or something, but her <em>actually </em>wanting me to attend. You dont even have to attend in anything formal! Just your magi-tech armor will do ording to the dress code!


    That has me frowning for a moment, only for a light smile to touch my face as I eventually nod, Sure. I guess Ille.


    Its just a ball, and I dont even have to dance or do anything. And maybe they might have something simr to the juice Ava has.

 Book 3: Chapter 29: The Beginning

    Book 3: Chapter 29: The Beginning


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Next time I decide to go to a ball of my own free will, make sure to tell me not to. Okay, Tar?


    He just snorts in amusement before muttering a short okay as I look past the hundreds of people, most of whom are wearing formal attire of fancy dresses or equally nice suits, at the stage where White is standing next to the vice headmaster.


    I have a very bad feeling about this. And the gazes people are sending me after looking at White are not helping that.


    Hello everyone, and wee to the end of year celebration! And for the first time this year, we have our lovely headmaster with us today! he exims while motioning towards White, the crowd of Guardians immediately growing loud as she is almost never if ever seen in public. Mostly because of her social anxiety, which Ivee to understand rather well over the time shes spent following me.


    White just nods her head, looking a little stiff as she grabs the mic and says, Enjoy the evening.


    Then a whiteyer of light suddenly covers her, making me frown. But I quickly realize what happened when everyone begins looking around in confusion, the cheers trailing off a little.


    She seriously just said three words and then hid herself from view? Seriously?


    Wow.


    I may not like talking or having any kind of attention that isnt focused purely on fighting, but I can deal with groups of people well enough. And even from what Ive seen in the past weeks, I didnt realize she had it this bad


    Now it kind of makes sense why she removed most of the information about her from the world.


    The woman in question turns her gaze to me as the vice headmaster awkwardly picks things up after her disappearance, exining that shes still here and stuff. And she quickly begins to blush before lightly shrugging her shoulders.


    Wow.


    Your mother Michael begins, only to pause as he seemingly tries to figure out what to say, is certainly a woman of few words.


    I raise a brow his way, making him look thoroughly chastised for the remark.


    She may have given birth to me, but she isnt my mother in the truest sense of the word, I state while turning my gaze back to White to find her walking over towards us, clearly having heard what I just said considering the wince I just barely catch. But when she actually arrives, she doesnt show any signs of disappointment or regret.


    At this point, my image of the most powerful human in the world has kind of been shattered. Which is a little sad.


    The white barrier over her res slightly before all of my former team members and Arthur turn to look at her, the woman clearly having allowed just them to see her now. And just as quickly, they all nod their heads in a show of respect. Some of them even say, Lady White.


    White nods her head with a faint smile on her face before saying, Thank you for being friends with Scarlet, and for pulling her into your team when you did.


    My former team looks very surprised by her words, and I cant say Im any different. But then she turns to me and says, Make sure youre careful when the ss V Fracture begins, alright? I wont be able to help you during it.


    I know, I tell her, not surprised by that. You have to deal with the Fracture itself. I wouldnt expect you to risk another ss V Gate just to help me.


    She is, after all, the strongest human. Not to mention one of the two Knights sent to deal with this Fracture.


    It used to be three, but then one of them had to be sent North to deal with the undead. Which doesnt bode as well for down here.


    Theres still White and Blue here though, so I dont think there will be a problem. Not unless a Demon Lord manages to figure out how to make it through a Fracture personally.


    Now, I assume you all have your armor on you? she asks with a slightly raised brow, seemingly perfectly fine with talking with smaller groups of people. Which I find interesting.


    After we all nod, she nods back, Good. Because the ss V Fracture can happen any time between today all the way to a week from now. So always have your armor on you.


    Right, I answer as the others all give their own answers.


    Go ahead and enjoy the night then, she continues with a smile directed towards me, only to vanish again a momentter.


    Scarlet, I hear Denise say, bringing my gaze towards her, your mother is amazing.


    I frown at her, and out of the corner of my eye, I find Belle frowning at the girl as well. Meanwhile Emily is just ignoring us to head towards the spreads of foodid out on various tables. And Michael going after a waiter for some wine.


    She may be powerful, but she isnt amazing, Belle says, a bit of venom in her tone showing her as theplete opposite of how she was just acting towards White. Which surprises more than just Denise.


    Denise looks between the two of us for a moment before opening her mouth to speak, only to get interrupted by the sound of ss shattering all around us. And at the same time, strange fractures begin appearing in the air both inside of the building and outside of it. Both in the sky and at our own elevation above the ground.


    And as if the initiating signs of a Fracture appearing in the building were in wasnt enough  one of a ss II nature by the sensation of energying from the direction of the core  a loud explosion echoes out from closer to the center of the city. Then a loud sound that is a mix between a screech and a hiss echoes throughout the entire city, followed soon after by something that sends shivers down my spine.


    A loud howl.

 Book 3: Chapter 30: Of The End

    Book 3: Chapter 30: Of The End


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The howl resonates within me for some reason. It feels familiar. A little warm. But also weak? Why is this howl making me feel superior towards whoever or whatever is howling?


    <strong>Its probably because youre higher in the pack than the blood lycan howling, </strong>Tar answers, sounding not the least bit surprised that theres a fucking blood lycan in the Fracture. Which shouldnt have happened since there was one in thest ss V Fracture. <strong>I will be able to answer a lot more of your questions after this Fracture is over. Please just bear with me for now.</strong>


    I narrow my eyes at the air for a moment, only to lightly shake my head.


    Then I hear Whites voice echo throughout the silent ballroom despite her talking quietly.


    Damnit, it had to happen today? Of all days


    I turn around, only to see White walking through a crowd of people whilepletely ignoring them and raising one hand. She then mutters, I dont have time for this, and snaps her fingers once, sending a pulse of white throughout the room and the hallway connected to it. And as if the Fracture never happened, the energy I sense from the ss II Fracture that opened up on top of us vanishes along with the shield.


    My eyes widen in shock at that, and the other Guardians filling the room all immediately begin whispering about her obvious disy of power.


    She just straight up destroyed a ss II core by snapping her fingers seconds after it opened


    A white sh of light blinds everyone and I feel someones arms suddenly wrapping around me, making me feel a little ufortable. But not as ufortable as Id expected.


    Then the light fades and I find the person hugging me to be White before she immediately steps back, keeping her hands on my shoulders.


    I can tell you almost everything after this Fracture, she says, making my eyes widen slightly even if I had expected it from what shed told me before. I can also tell that shes hiding herself from everyone as she has that usual whiteyer of light glowing around her. I can even start helping you with training and fighting with you if you want. Anything. But only if you remain on Earth.


    I blink at that, simply staring at her, unsure of what she meant by that.


    Your grandfather finally found you, and both he and your father are sending someone to bring you back to Tartarus, she exins without anyone around us able to hear besides me, only to pause as she purses her lips. Then she adds, I wont be able to help you personally due toplications. But I got your uncle to save you one time during the Fracture. A tear starts falling down her face. Please stay safe. Everything is up to you for this Fracture.


    Before I can say anything in response, she vanishes without a trace. Most likely heading straight towards the ss V Fracture.


    I stare at where she was just standing for several seconds, only for Belle to snap me out of it by shaking me and saying, Scarlet! Everyones already heading to stop the Fractures! Wake up!


    When I look at her, I find her already in her magi-tech gear. And all the others are as well. So I nod and quickly begin sprinting through the hall, calling behind me, Stay safe!


    They all shout back, returning my well wishes before I face where Im going.


    As I run though, I cant help but think about Whites words.


    My father and grandfather sent someone toe get me. Which is confusing in and of itself, because why wouldnt they juste themselves?


    Maybe theyre unable to? They could very well be fighting on the front lines or maybe dealing with politics or conflict on Tartarus. After all, I know now from the ss I took this past semester that there are small scale wars and conflicts on Tartarus between territories. Which is another part of how the demons get so strong over there.


    The only other possibility is something that I dont want to think about being a possibility.


    I make it to the front of the building at a very fast speed before looking around and then grabbing a chip that I had in my pocket and putting some of my mana in it, making an air motorcycle appear in front of me that I quickly hop on. Something that Id bought at one point because I preferred it over a car. Mostly because its smaller.


    And cooler, but I wont admit that part to anyone.


    <strong>Um </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him.


    He snorts, but I ignore that too as I start driving towards the closest ss II Fracture to me ording to my terminal and ask, So whats up with all of you saying that you can start telling me things after this ss V Fracture?


    <strong>Thats </strong>Tar hesitates, only to eventually answer, <strong>lets just say that this Fracture is a turning point in the prophecy. One that means youre allowed to know a lot more about whats going on. And one that will change your life significantly.</strong>


    Hmm. Okay. So if I have this right, from what Ive been told by you and White so far, Ill either end up being trained personally and helped by White after this, or Ill end up kidnapped to Tartarus. Do I have that right?


    He hesitates before answering, <strong>Yes. You do.</strong>


    And Im guessing since White would train me here, my father would train me on Tartarus.


    <strong>Yeah </strong>Tar mutters, sounding vaguely defeated for some reason.


    Okay.


    Uh


    Im not really sure how to take that.


    Going to Tartarus sounds dangerous. Sounds like I will probably die. And I have no idea how I would be treated. Although I do admit it would be a hell of a lot easier to level up there, with the exception of getting catalysts to advance in ss which might be harder. Might not be though. Not like I know of any of the types of catalysts other than Fracture cores.


    Overall though, I have the adoption to go to after this Demonic Assault. Not to mention that Ill finally have a real family. And I can still level up plenty fast here. Plus even if he is my father, I have never met him before. So I dont know what hes like beyond Whites word.


    So Id rather stay on Earth with them. And my new friends.


    <strong>Aww, </strong>Tar says, sounding happy for some reason, <strong>youre finally maturing emotionally!</strong>


    I blink at that, almost forgetting to make a turn.


    Shut up.

 Book 3: Intermission 3

    Book 3: Intermission 3


    <strong>The Grand Hotel</strong>


    Lyra Sinir del Argus, marchioness over thends of Rivenfall, a march of the Guardian Duchy of the Argus n, appears in a puff of red fog inside of arge ballroom full of humans right next to a vast core spanning five meters in width alongside an arachnae. And almost immediately, she senses the faintest hint of blood lycaning from somewhere in the city. Somewhere to the south, closer to the border. So she nces at the humans in the room  all of whom are ss I or II Guardians, as they like to call themselves  to find them already running out of the room.


    Lyra scoffs before turning to the count beside her who is currently in his humanoid form  one that has the eerie eyes of a spider but with pale skin and four spiderlike limbs sticking out of his back and through his pitch ck leather and metal armor. And the arachnae immediately narrows his eyes when their gazes meet.


    Count Zephyr von Arachna, she says with a light arch of her brow. And the man replies with a short, Marchioness Sinir.


    Despite her wishing to go find the Princess as quickly as she can, she stands still with her eyes narrowed on the man, waiting.


    Eventually the Count gives in and performs a very light bow while crossing one arm over his chest and straightening his other arm to follow his torso as he says, Yourdyship. He then straightens back up with a faint sneer on his face, clearly unhappy at her higher station in ranking.


    <em>Good to see hes taking his loss ofmand well.</em>


    Generally themand over ss V Fractures is given to the highest leveled Counts amongst the Demon Kingdom of Tartarus, but this time an exception was made. One that put Lyra as the one in charge due to the Demon Kings direct intervention through having the Blood Lord assign her to the Fracture. Something that normally wouldnt have been done since it decreases the overall number of ss V demons that can be sent through the Fracture, even if their leader is a higher level than they otherwise would be.


    Remember your objective, she states, her voice coldly echoing through the room as various other ss V demons of varying species appear around them. We must stall for time until the Princess is recovered. After that we can either retreat or finish off the Knights depending on how the situation has unfolded.


    As you wish, Your Ladyship, the Count says through gritted teeth, not even bothering to hide his distaste for her. Something that is generallymon amongst the arachnae, who tend to hate everyone thanks to their Demonic Instinct of Envy.


    Lyra knows he wont disobey though. No one disobeys His Majesty, even if they wanted to.


    The only ones who are exempt from being a target of the arachnaes envy is the Royal Family. So even if the spider wished to sabotage Lyra, which he no doubt does, he wouldnt do it if it might bring failure to the mission.


    <em>Why did I have toe with an arachnae, again? I really wish it was a ghouls turn. Or even a subi or oni.</em>


    Lyra frowns for a moment, only to sigh a secondter.


    <em>Then again, anythings better than a kitsune or a mindeater.</em>


    After she sees the core stabilizing behind them, signifying that all the demons are present and ounted for within the surrounding area even if they arent all in this room, she begins to float into the air and shouts, Attention!


    All of the many noble demons in the room, most of which being simple Barons with only a few Viscounts amongst them, immediately focus on her and perform a bow, cing a single fist over their chests while shouting, Your Ladyship Marchioness Sinir, we live to serve!


    All ss V demons are to hold this floor and defend the core with your lives until the mission is aplished, Lyra shouts, her voice echoing throughout the entire building, starting many human Guardians who are currently trapped within the building. But they dont focus on her voice for long as the ss V demons who appeared further away from the core all lock them in ce with ease without killing them before making their way up to the core themselves. ss IV and below demons should wrangle up the humans and bring them to the floor that the core room is on along with the two surrounding floors to use as hostages! Should the humans enter their bunkers, all ss IV demons are ordered to shatter the barriers!


    Waves of blood begin to appear at the Marchionesss feet before the waves slowly move up in ripples to envelop her entire body, soon expanding outwards to eventually reveal a three meter tall blood lycan in her beast form as she growls, her voice echoing out despite her not using her mouth to speak, Today we hunt for two reasons!


    The demon nobles all begin stomping a single foot, shaking the entire building, and further frightening the humans, most of whom are bound by now and being carried by the peasant demons.


    Our main priority is to find and bring the Princess back to Tartarus! To where Her Royal Highness belongs!!! she exims, her voice growing louder and louder as a light growl rings true from each and every demons throat in unison. And then we eliminate the damned Knights who have gued us for so long!


    The growls all turn in to roars before she finishes, Tonight we hunt! Now get to it!


    In an instant, the roars double in volume. Meanwhile the Marchioness lets out a loud howl as she immediately flies through the air straight towards a wall before smashing through it and every other wall until she reaches the barrier of therge building and smashes that as well, not even pausing when dealing with the thing that is supposedly deadly towards any demon below ss IV. But the moment she makes it outside of the building, she is hit with arge tentacle that sends her flying straight to the ground, creating a massive crater and destroying any of the human vehicles that were in her way.


    Lyra growls as she begins to climb out of the crater and looks up where she finds a man with eyes akin to blobs of water staring at her whilst slowly floating down to the ground with various tentacles each covered in water sprouted from both his back and hair waving about him.


    The moment the Marchionesss eyes make contact with his, the System rys to her his identity.


    <strong></strong>


    Lyras glowing red eyes narrow on the man who isbeled amongst demon kind as one of the most frightening humans in existence. A man who  just like all the other Title holders  is so powerful even the System gives him a unique identify result that somehow just <em>feels </em>powerful.


    The woman doesnt hesitate for even a moment as she rushes towards the man who is nearly an entire two hundred levels above her. But as she does so, she hears another fight echoing from closer to the core as shes of white light shine out of the building signaling Her Royal Highnesss mother. So she sends a telepathic signal through a call stone in her pocket to the woman known as Fredricka by the humans.


    <em>The Knights defending this city are now both preupied. Find the Princess and bring her to the core. But under the orders from His Majesty, absolutely do not permanently harm any who might be dear to Her Highness, even if they are </em>humans<em>.</em>


    Lyra isnt worried about White destroying the core in their fight as the Count has no doubt put up enough defenses around it to shield the core well enough that even the White Knight will require time to remove them. Time outside ofbat.


    <em>Now we just need to handle these Knights and keep their attention for long enough.</em>


    Despite her thoughts though, she cant help but feel a shiver run down her spine even as she leaps through the air towards the Blue Knight, finding the look in his eyes frightening even for her.


    <em>I just hope I survive long enough to see Her Highness.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 31: Confrontation Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 31: Confrontation Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I cant help but frown a little when both Allen and Cynthia walk into the ss II Fracture after me for some reason, the two having shown up practically out of nowhere.


    Why are they here? Could they know about what White said?


    Dont worry about us, dear, Allen says with a light smile, we wont steal your prey.


    I almost snort at that in amusement. Instead the corner of my lips quirk upwards a bit and I turn around to head towards the demons in this Fracture. All while explosions ring out from all over the city. Especially from the area of the ss V Fracture.


    If I had to guess, Allen and Cynthia were probably already told about the danger to me of being taken to Tartarus during this Demonic Assault when they spoke with White before. One of the things they couldnt tell me about no doubt.


    Rather annoying, but understandable at least.


    I shift both of my arms before grinning, only for the emergency lights to suddenly start flickering. Then they turn offpletely, meaning the emergency power is off.


    Shit, I mutter, the grin being wiped off my face in an instant.


    But thats not all as my terminal suddenly buzzes, making me bring it up to find a message from Sage.


    <strong>[Warning. All emergency power in the entire city has been cut off. Each and every electricity generator in the city has been interrupted due to a ss V demon with a type of electricity based magic. A bounty of one billion credits from the government has been sent out to each and every Guardian for that demons head.]</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock at the news.


    Holy. Fucking. Shit.


    This is bad, Allen mutters, bringing my attention to him to find him looking at his terminal where a map of the city is disyed along with what Im assuming are a chart of all of the Fractures, along with the ss V. It looks like there is a blood lycan amongst the demons, and this blood lycan is a Marchioness.


    Wait, seriously?!


    From what Ive learned in the Demon Noble Society ss, a Baron or Baroness is a Noble demon between levels one thousand to one thousand two hundred, a Viscount or Viscountess is a Noble demon between levels one thousand two hundred and one thousand four hundred, a Count or Countess is a Noble demon between levels one thousand four hundred and one thousand six hundred, and a Marquess or Marchioness is a demon between levels one thousand six hundred and one thousand seven hundred, with Dukes and Duchesses being anything above that, and the Demon Lords simply being the four strongest demons aside from the Demon King.


    But one issue is that demons of any kind, <em>especially </em>the noble demon ns, are all stronger than humans of the same level. So a blood lycan in the mid sixteen hundreds is as strong as a human in the early to mid seventeen hundreds. And if they have a high rarity Predator, then even stronger.


    It means that the Marchioness should be able to keep up with one of the Knights, even if she wont likely win. Which means the ss V Fracture will stall for longer, especially due to the regeneration of blood lycans.


    Allen turns to Cynthia and asks, Do you think we could sneak her out of the city now that the power is out?


    I blink at that, surprised that hed mention it. But it does seem like a liable option. After all, the government will believe me to still be in the city.


    Although plenty of things could go wrong. Wed still need to figure out a way past the citys barrier for example.


    Also, are you still here Tar? Youve been really quiet for a while now.


    A few seconds pass before he answers, sounding tired, <strong>Im sorry. I broke some rules telling you even just that bit before the Fracture was over. So I had to face punishment.</strong>


    The hell? All you told me was-


    <strong>Dont worry, the punishment wasnt very harsh as the infraction was minor this time, </strong>Tar says, cutting me off.


    I narrow my eyes at the air in front of me, only to suddenly feel that annoying sensation that someones watching me. And when I turn towards Allen, I find that he seems to have noticed it too.


    But hes toote as the barrier around the building suddenly shatters and everything then turns purple around us, then it grows dark making it impossible to see for a moment even with my night vision, and finally we find ourselves in apletely different building. And I begin vomiting out my lunch in the process, only for Allen to pick me up in his arms and begin running, making me instead vomit on his feet.


    Spatial magic user, Allen answers any question I would have before I can even ask it. It looks like theyve teleported us a few dozen blocks in closer to the center of the city!


    Oh shit. Thats not good.


    Both Allen and Cynthia try running out of the empty building we find ourselves in to no avail as the world turns purple again and were once again teleported, making me hurl what Im assuming was the rest of the dinner that I ate earlier.


    I apologize, but this must be done, I hear a strange and disturbing voice echo in my ear, but I dont see anyone or anything. The spatial sickness will pass as your body grows used to teleportation.


    I look around, but no matter how hard I look or try to hear or smell, I cant find a single hint of their location.


    Can you hear it? I ask Allen after noticing that neither he nor Cynthia are reacting, only for him to grimace and shake his head.


    It looks like you really are their target, Allen states before looking at his terminal map, something thats only running because the terminals dont run on electricity but instead run on mana, just like all magi-tech armor. Were getting closer and closer to the center of the city. He looks up and around while sending a silver liquid out of his hands. We need to stop this before we get too close to the blood lycan.


    From a nce at his map, it looks like we will reach the center of the city in another four or so teleports. Which isnt good.


    Wait a second, if Im the target, why is it teleporting all three of us?


    I look around as the purple returns before understanding.


    It can only teleport an area of people. Meaning its not targeting me but is instead targeting the area around me. Which includes both Allen and Cynthia whether it wants them or not.


    Guess theres a silver lining in that.


    This time Allens magic shes with the purple enclosing around us along with Cynthias, starting to stall it.


    Then arge humanoid creature with wormlike skin and amprey-like mouth appears in the air and scowls at the two as it says in that same tone of voice despite its mouth not moving with it, If you know whats good for you, leave her with me and run, or stop interfering. You are not to be harmed by order of His Majesty.


    My eyes widen at both that and the System message I get regarding the demons identity.


    <strong>|Demon General  Subspecies: Cosmic Lampyrid  Level 1000|</strong>


    This thing is the leader of a ss IV Fracture?! Where the heck is its Fracture then?!?

 Book 3: Chapter 31.2: Confrontation Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 31.2: Confrontation Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We wont let you take her, <em>General</em>, Allen says while still carrying me, a sneer visible on his face not to mention audible in his voice when he says the General part. And I swear I hear the demon sigh before it says, Very well.


    The creature vanishes in an instant, following which the purple light suddenly expands far faster than the two can hold back, engulfing us again and sending us to a very high ced roof before we can stop it. And along with the teleportation, I find myself dry heaving, all of my dinner having left me by now.


    Which isnt a very good sign since part of my regeneration relies on my food stores. Not all of it. In fact, nowhere near all of it. But some of it at least.


    After I finish dry heaving, I raise my head before stiffening up.


    Allen, I start, trepidation clear in my tone. Clear enough to catch his attention as I continue, Hes not alone anymore.


    Allen stiffens up at that and raises his head to look around. And as if on cue with my words, dozens, maybe even over a hundred creatures appear in the middle of the air all around us.


    My eyes widen as I take in the creatures, each of which have long tails ending in a scorpions stinger, along with two leathery wings and bodies covered in scales. The scales themselves are mostly a dark green; one so dark that it looks mostly ck. But there are also some blood red scales mixed in, and their faces have less scales than anywhere else on their bodies, revealing facial features more akin to a human underneath the scales.


    And their eyes. Pitch ck without a single trace of color.


    Changelings, Cynthia mutters from next to us, and I cant help but nod.


    Lots. And lots. Of changelings.


    More and more of the creatures begin appearing around the roof of the building, some standing on the roof and others pping their wings and flying around us. But by the time they stop appearing, there has to be hundreds of the creatures.


    Some of them are ss IV, Allen mutters, sounding shocked. And for good reason.


    I look through the creatures, identifying each one by ident until I ask Tar to stop giving me messages from the System for them.


    But even without the messages, I can already tell that almost a fifth of these changelings are ss IV. Despite it not being possible for a ss IV changeling to hide amongst the humans. And the fact that these changelings are here at all means they mustve done so. Especially considering that all of these changelings are here together right now. They had to have gathered here knowing that we would be sent to this roof.


    Put me down, I tell Allen, and he immediately does so as I shapeshift both of my arms.


    You might as well fully transform, Allen whispers to me, making me nce at him for a moment before nodding.


    The emergency power is off right now and so is any device that isnt mana powered. Not to mention that were on a rooftop right now and the snow is pretty heavy with the only light being that of the blood moon above us.


    I transform into my beast form, which seems to make all of the changelings show more than a little awe for some reason. Even the general appears again with awe in his beady eyes.


    Wait a second, how do I know thats awe? The worm thing doesnt have a humanoid mouth, nor does it have any sclera. At least the changelings have a mouth in a straight line like humans that can be used to tell their emotions. But the worm thing has amprey-like mouth.


    Capture her alive but do <em>not </em>harm her or her <em>humans</em>! the general shouts, making my eyes narrow. And just as he does so, the changelings all begin to swarm us. But since everyst creature here is <em>at least </em>one ss higher than me, I end up being nothing more than baggage in this as Allen and Cynthia fight off the demons. And surprisingly, even when they killrge numbers of the ss III and IV changelings, the general doesnt change his orders to kill them.


    The fighting continues for a few minutes, Allen and Cynthia keeping me in between them as I try and fail miserably to help them at all, instead ending up as a burden.


    Just the thought of being a burden in a fight burns at my pride so much that I unconsciously let out a growl.


    But no matter how I feel, the fighting continues on until Allen and Cynthia grow too exhausted to fight, leaving them both panting in front of us, ice coating the entire roof along with various machines created and controlled by Allen, some of which are destroyed on the ground in varying ways due to the changelings various magics.


    Finally, the general says, a note of happiness in his voice as he begins to step towards us. Now please leave the two humans ande with us.


    I grit my teeth while looking around at the dozens of remaining changelings, then at the general who alone is already a higher level than both Allen and Cynthia by over a hundred levels.


    Then I focus on Allen and Cynthia, a sad expression forming on my face as I understand just how outssed we are.


    Maybe all they want to do is bring me to my father. Theyre avoiding killing or permanently harming Allen and Cynthia despite being demons as well. Even if they clearly dont care about each other dying.


    Maybe I should just go with them if itll spare Allen and-


    My thoughts are cut off when I hear a stting sound, bringing my attention to the worm guy who is uh


    I blink at the sight of arge tentacle slowly lifting back up off the roof, having just turned the general into a paste.


    Holy shit I mutter.


    The tentacle ising from all the way at the center of the city, as if Blue had somehow stretched his arm all the way here while fighting one of the ss V demons there  which I can just barely hear from here. And after climbing a few meters above the ground of the roof again, the tentacle bes a blur, following which all the changelings join the general, leaving us in absolute silence.


    After a few seconds, I hear Blues voice enter my ear from the center of the city.


    The favor has been paid.


    All without his own battle even stopping.

 Book 3: Chapter 31.3: Confrontation Part III

    Book 3: Chapter 31.3: Confrontation Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    None of us say anything for who knows how long.


    Did he just do that?


    <strong>Yes, that he did, </strong>Tar says, his voice echoing in my head.


    Wow.


    Allen and Cynthia both copse onto the ground in exhaustion now that the fighting is over. And I almost join them.


    But right when the tentacle above us is about to move back over to the center of the city, a powerful wave of darkness cuts straight into it, seemingly disintegrating the tentacle as it turns to dust. And I only briefly hear Blue pause his battle, just for him to continue without sending any other tentacle over here as my head turns to stare at the stairwell to the roof at the sound of someone apuding.


    I immediately begin ring at the sight of a woman I very much recognize.


    Fredricka, I state, making both Allen and Cynthia stiffen up before rushing to their feet despite their exhaustion.


    The woman simply walks onto the roof while looking around at the various corpses around us, including the pastes created by the tentacle out of the demons. Then she eventually looks up at us as she stops several meters in front of us.


    Hello again, Scarlet, she says with a smile. Its been a while.


    I tensely answer while ncing in the direction of the citys center, That it has. But it doesnt look like Blue is going to help again.


    White did mention that he would only help once. And he said the favor was repaid.


    Damnit, why couldnt she havee out earlier?!


    Wait, its possible that she could only be ss III. Although I doubt it considering that shes walking out here as carefree as she is. Because even if Allen and Cynthia are injured, they should easily be able to deal with a ss III changeling.


    Not to mention that she just eliminated Blues tentacle.


    Speaking of their injuries, fortunately none of them seem to be major. In fact, Im pretty sure that was their point. They werent going to do any major harm. They just seemed to be trying to wear us down till they could take me away without actually injuring any of us.


    I focus my attention solely on the woman who is still in her human form. But no matter how hard I try, I cant get any sort of read on how strong she is.


    Young Scarlet, it would behoove you to surrender peacefully so that I can take you to your father, she says while standing in front of me, still talking rather politely if a little sternly.


    And why would she do that? Allen grunts while pulling out a potion that has my eyes going wide in shock. Because its not a regr potion. No, a regr potion wouldnt work on a ss IV Guardian. This potion is a high grade potion which shouldve cost over ten million credits at least to get!


    Fredrickas gaze focuses on Allen as she nces at the potion, only for her to quirk a single brow and state, Youll regret it if you drink that.


    Allen, of course, drinks it right after she says that, taking it as a sign that shell attack.


    And while she doesnt exactly attack she instead does something much, <em>much</em> worse.


    Fredricka sighs and suddenly her body begins to let out strange cracking sounds before growing. And growing. And growing. All the way until she reaches nearly three meters in height, with a form simr to the other changelings yet muchrger. Her wings sprout out from her back, her tail along with it, and ws ripping out her fingernails as her magi-tech armor adjusts to fit her new form.


    And then her mana bursts out, making my eyes widen in shock.


    ss V.


    Shes ss V.


    A ss V fucking changeling.


    How? I hear Cynthia ask, sounding shocked. And Allen isnt much better.


    How, you ask? Fredrickas voice  if thats even her name  echoes around the roof as the snow starts to pick up a little bit. It was easy enough to hide the higher ss changelings when you have the power of a councilwoman. The power of your own government.


    I I cant argue there.


    She then focuses her attention on me while flinging her hand at Allen and Cynthia, making some sort of binding made out of pure darkness wrap around the two before strapping them to the side of the stairwell as she says, Now please, Scarlet. Come with me.


    Did she just say please? A demon trying to kidnap me, a ss V one no less, just said please?


    Actually,e to think of it


    Why are you demons all being so polite to me? I finally break and ask out loud, hoping to get an answer. And her eyes immediately widen in surprise at that, only for a light smile to touch her lips as I continue, I noticed it was the same with the general and the other changelings. All of them were absolutely polite even if we were fighting. And none of them are referring to me directly in any way aside from you.


    Its almost as if theyre avoiding referring to me by anything for some reason. I can tell just by how awkward theyre being.


    What are you hiding from me? I ask, changing the question.


    Silence fills the roof for several seconds, during which I nce at Allen and Cynthia to find the two no longer struggling and instead waiting for her response as well.


    My gaze is brought back to Fredricka when she starts speaking again, Your father gave us explicit orders not to reveal your status to you until you have been confined and it is certain you will be heading to Tartarus through the ss V Fracture. Then she shrugs. And to keep it from the humans.


    There it is again. The mention of me going through the Fracture.


    But is that even possible?


    <strong>Yes, it is, </strong>Tar suddenly answers me. <strong>Anyone with demon genes can enter Tartarus through a Fracture. Although a part demon like you can only enter them through touching the core of a ss V Fracture with a demon alongside you.</strong>


    Oh.


    The Noble changeling looks around for a second before focusing on me and saying, And now seems like that time. She then kneels down, making my eyes widen in shock, and begins to say, I, Countess Fredricka von Rosenfort, hereby greet-


    And shes cut off when shes sent flying across the rooftop, destroying the roof a little and falling off of the building by a shadow that appears next to her. Then, not even a few secondster, ck  or a clone of ck considering that not only is he supposed to be on the front lines, but his mana level is much lower than before  turns towards me and gives me a salute while saying, Hello little puppy! Hows it been?

 Book 3: Chapter 32: For Home Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 32: For Home Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I gape up at the man who is standing about five inches taller than myself before hearing the Noble demonnd on the ground below. ck then tilts his head and asks, No thank you? Well thats disappointing. That snaps me out of it, but he doesnt give me the chance to say anything as he just moves up to me and scoops me up into a princess carry that has me blushing and says, Well, we should run.


    Then I learn in a rather unpleasant way how it feels to break the sound barrier, even if his shadows are protecting me from damage.


    I try to speak, but he just looks down and shushes me while saying, Its not safe for you to try to talk at this speed. I think.


    Not safe he thinks? Seriously? He doesnt even know, but hes still gonna shush me?!


    And can he please put me down?! This is really ufortable!


    My thoughtse to a grinding halt when I hear a loud crashing sound from the building we were just at before another sonic boom echoes out, indicating something else breaking the sound barrier. Then I see the Noble demon chasing after us through the air.


    Seeing as Im here in a clone, and she is a purebat focused demon, the chances of me winning against her in this form is not as high as Id hope, ck eventually says, now acting a little serious but still in his jokester personality. So if you dont mind me I look up at him at those words, getting a very bad feeling from them. Ill just be sending you away now.


    What does he mean by that?


    The shadows around us suddenly grow a significant amount, hiding us from view and covering the Noble demon chasing us as well before I feel him shifting me around. Then Im airborne, as if the bastard had just tossed me through the fucking air. But just secondster, I feel myself slow down before reaching solid ground somehow.


    Despite being on the ground, the shadows remain for a bit. But theyve be a lot less thick now, so I can see through them with my blood lycan vision. Enough to know that Im several blocks away from the tower now and on the ground.


    Oh, right.


    I transform back into my regr form out of my beast form, and immediately afterwards, the shadows vanish.


    Guess he was waiting for me to do that first. Which makes sense considering someone couldve seen if he didnt.


    I look around my general location at the park I now find myself in before looking up at where ck and Fredricka are shing in the air. And I cant help but frown when I see the man holding what looks like a shadow-covered version of me in his arms as if I were still there.


    Guess hes using his clone as bait to keep her away.


    A warm feeling enters my chest at the thought that one of the Knights is sincerely trying to help me. That hes not just doing it as a favor or because hes my family.


    My frown turns into a smile, and I look down at the park around me, only for the smile to turn back into a frown when I hear something prowling around through the forest. Something very much not human considering the noises corresponding to eight different legs stabbing into the ground.


    Well, shit.


    I look around before closing my eyes and focusing on my ears, only to find that there arent any humans nearby. So I begin coating my ws in metallicized blood for the very first time, the blood growing a deeper ck while gaining a slightly silvery sheen to it along with the crimson tint. And just from the testing that I did once in my room, I can tell its the sharpest thing Ive ever seen.


    Because blood metal is far superior than any metal on Earth. And its one of the best metals if not <em>the best</em> on Tartarus as well. So good that the blood lycans more often than not create their own magi-tech armor out of it. Although their magi-tech is simply just regr armor imbued with skills and enchanted with rune magic. No technology added like the artificial fibers in my magi-tech armor. Armor that Im pretty sure would blow up in my face if I tried wearing it on Tartarus.


    The footsteps, or rather wsteps if thats a thing continue getting closer and closer until they breach the clearing Im in, revealing themselves to belong to arge spider demon. One at the start of ss III. But this one isnt a taracht.


    <strong>|Demon Vanguard  Subspecies: Arachne  Level 251|</strong>


    An arachne. An inferior breed of the n demon arachnae.


    Unlike both the taracht and the arachnae, which are one hundred percent spiders in form, the arachne have humanoid bodies attached where the spiders head would otherwise be. And while theyre still superior to the taracht, theyre far weaker than an arachnae. They also dont have the arachnaes unique constitution of being able to absorb, recreate, mix, and experiment with any type of corruption using their own body, nor their immunity to corruption.


    I grit my teeth before narrowing my eyes on the creature and spreading my ws out slightly while entering abat ready stance.


    Youuuu dessssirre battllleee? the arachne speaks, stopping on the other side of the clearing. Orderrrs aarrre bring home.


    My eyes narrow at that, and I immediately answer, Tartarus is not my home.


    The arachne seems surprised by that, the woman  because this arachne is clearly female with the onlyyer of clothing she has on being a silken wrap around her chest  flinching slightly, only to state, It isss home.


    I frown before shaking my head.


    Also unlike arachnae, arachne arent all that intelligent. Sure theyre smarter than most ss III Vanguard demons their own level, but theyre still just a vanguard demon.


    And I doubt its smart enough to control itself to not fight me when provoked. Especially since I doubt it was given a direct order from the Demon King to stop it from attacking me, which should be the only way to make it control its Wrath.


    Then we fight, I state, quickly transforming into my beast form and sprinting straight towards the arachne while leaving a small crater where I was just standing.

 Book 3: Chapter 32.2: For Home Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 32.2: For Home Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The arachne, although startled for a moment, rushes towards me as well, meeting me halfway with one of its ded legs shing directly with my ws. And unlike all of the attacks I shared with the taracht, I actually manage to hold my ground a little despite the level difference of about seventy levels between us.


    The spiders strike pushes me back, my feet digging through the ground.


    Just the fact that Im able to contend with it and not getpletely wiped out in a physical confrontation goes to show just how strong my beast form is, not to mention the blood metal.


    I reach forward with my other hand, only for the spider to send two more limbs towards me while also using her human hands to throw a bolt of poison that I end up disengaging to avoid, jumping back and away from the creature.


    We battlllle theeen, the arachne says, her humanoid eyes narrowing on me.


    <strong>Scarlet, I should warn you that any orders this demon may have probably wont be enough to stop her from actually trying to kill you if you fight it, </strong>Tar mentions as I summon my blood shadow and have it circle around to the other side of the arachne, whose eyes are ncing between me and it. <strong>An arachne just doesnt have the intelligence for it. The creature will end up losing itself to its rage as unlike the arachnae, arachne are creatures of the Wrath sin.</strong>


    My eyes narrow slightly at that, but I continue keeping my gaze locked on the arachne still.


    Then let it.


    I raise one arm and begin summoning two dozen weapons of blood in the air all around the arachne before dropping my arm and sending them all flying towards it from different angles. And at the same time, I order my blood shadow to attack it.


    The arachne lets out a loud screech that sends what looks like visible soundwaves outwards at my blood weapons, making me wince and almost drop down to my knees, just barely managing to stop myself by lowering the sensitivity of my ears.


    Why the hell does a creature who specializes in poison type magics have a sound based skill?!


    <strong>That Im not sure, </strong>Tar says, surprising me even more than the arachne by his ignorance of the subject.


    Well thats annoying.


    The arachne continues letting out screech after screech while fending off my blood shadow with rtive ease through its spider limbs. But then it suddenly freezes in ce and begins radiating a purple light that has me focusing solely on the fight again.


    The purple light immediately turns into a light spray of some sort of acidic poison that burns everything it touches. Whether that be the grass, the trees, the leaves, my blood shadow, or even the small amount that gets on me before I jump away.


    Fortunately it only manages to burn through the armor on my right sleeve and doesnt get past the blood armor underneath. Although it wouldve been worse if more of it got on me.


    I cant help but notice my blood shadow though, as the thing doesnt actually seem to be harmed much if at all by the acid. The only thing I saw from it was a small amount of red steam floating into the air. Like the acid had boiled a tiny amount of the blood making up the blood shadow.


    Oh. Wait. Can you really poison a walking clone made out of just blood and my shadow?


    <strong>Probably not, </strong>Tarments, making me grin a little. <strong>Not with most poisons at least. Corruption maybe, and acidic poisons definitely. But not regr poisons.</strong>


    Thats good to know.


    Then the arachne finally gets a clean hit on my clone, sending it flying into a tree where arge portion of the blood making up its body stters the tree, making my clone shrink a little.


    <strong>Doesnt change the fact that the clone is a lot weaker than the spider though, </strong>he adds as if an afterthought as I grimace at the sight.


    Well, that decreases its use again.


    The arachne lets out another screech, but midway through the screech begins to turn into a scream. A much more humanlike scream from it. And I cant help but frown as I wonder what its doing.


    Then arge wad of silk shoots out of the creatures spinneret before floating into the air and forming a sphere above the creatures head. And it doesnt stop there as more and more silk shoots out in a constant stream as the creature screams its heart out.


    Is it in pain?


    Im so confused right now. It shouldnt hurt a spider to create silk, so why


    <strong>Maybe its the massive amount its creating at once? </strong>Tar suggests, and I nod in agreement since its the only reason that makes any sense.


    That aside though, I immediately use null magic field around the arachne, which only has the creatures screaming go up a pitch again. But it doesnt stop.


    Interesting.


    I sprint forwards before raising my wed right hand and striking at the arachne, only for it to raise a limb to block it. But the way it does so is incredibly awkward since it doesnt seem to be able to stop creating silk, making the orb of slightly slick silk in the air continue to growrger andrger. So my ws manage to avoid its ownrge w at the end of the leg and instead cut into the limb itself, digging nearly two inches into the five inch thick leg, making the creatures scream once again increase in volume.


    I dont stop there either, instead spinning slightly to avoid another limb before it hits the ground and I take the chance to strike at that very limb, cutting just as deep in this one as the other.


    Then I feel something impacting my blood diffusion barrier on my side, making a tingling sensation run through my body. And at the same time, a crimson light shines from the arachne without much to show for it before the light fades.


    Guess the base damage that passive skill does isnt really suited to dealing with a demon seventy levels above me. Or at least, not when the skill is only level six.


    I am a little surprised the arachnes limb striking me in the side didnt break the blood diffusion barrier though. And Im also pretty sure that I just got a tiny bit of life energy from the true damage dealt to the spider.


    Which means that the Sanguine Effect skill and Bloody Thorns stack together. The damage dealt in retaliation through the thorns also activates the life energy restoration of sanguine.


    <strong>Thats a very powerfulbination of skills for when youre a higher level, especially whenbined with your healing, </strong>Tarments, apparently not having realized how powerful it was before now either considering how impressed he sounds.


    The screaminges to a sudden halt, making me raise my head to find the arachne now staring at me as arge arrow made out of poison forms in front of it and smashes directly into my chest, breaking the blood diffusion barrier and sending me flying through the air across the clearing.


    And before I evennd, I find the massive ball of silk spanning nearly five meters in width in the air suddenly falling down and crashing against the ground, making the silk in it spread outwards to cover the area.


    By the time I hit the ground with a cough of blood, I find the entire area coated in webbing with arge cocoon somehow built up above and around us, blocking the blood moons light from shining through while making the only light in here that of the red light bloody thorns is making shine from the arachne.


    Well, this isnt good.

 Book 3: Chapter 32.3: For Home Part III

    Book 3: Chapter 32.3: For Home Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Afternding, I look down at my front to find arge gaping wound in my chest, right about where my cor bone is. But for some reason I dont feel any pain. All I feel is weakness from it. And the random chunk of missing flesh itself has bits of purple coating it.


    <strong>It looks like the poison has a numbing effect of sort, </strong>Tarments, making me frown as I try to get up.


    Unfortunately it ends up taking me using blood sacrifice to be able to climb to my feet thanks to the weakness I feel spreading from the wound. But despite the weakness, I also notice the wound very slowly closing itself at a visible pace.


    I raise my head after climbing to my feet, only to find the arachne ring at me with eyes glowing with an eerie shade of purple.


    <strong>Its been lost to its Wrath, </strong>Tar says, sounding concerned.


    And is that good or bad?


    <strong>Both, </strong>Tar answers, still sounding concerned as I put my hand on my chest to cover the wound and hopefully stop as much blood loss as I can to allow it to heal. <strong>The arachne will have lost any intelligence it had, making it more akin to a wild beast now. Like a spawn. But at the same time, its magical attacks will be strengthened, and its magic itself will begin coursing through its veins in a self-destructive berserker mode.</strong>


    Oh. So its stronger and stupider.


    <strong>Basically, </strong>he says right when the arachne charges straight at me.


    I grin despite the wound in my chest.


    This is fun!


    I begin sprinting towards it as well, simply burning my own blood to keep me going. And when I get close to it, I duck under a swipe of its ws before moving to the side to avoid another and jumping over a third,nding on the third limb itself. Then I jump onto the arachnes back and stab my ws into its human back with a lot more ease than I was expecting, giving me a solid grip on it.


    Right. Its human body is a weak spot, even if its not necessarily an important part beyond speaking and some magic.


    I reach back as the spider begins freaking out while sending stters of poison at me and iling its spider limbs, trying to strike me without much sess considering my position. And without a hint of hesitation, I spread my ws slightly and push my hand straight into its back before digging into it with my ws and grabbing a handful of organs to tear out. Then I repeat this as the arachne lets out pained screams and begins going even more frantic than before.


    It takes me emptying out arge amount of its insides before grabbing its human part and straight up ripping it off of the spider part, making the spider suddenly begin iling on the ground with no direction, sending me flying off now that I have no anchor. But the damage is done.


    Unfortunately, some of the poison it was flinging at me did end up hitting me and sinking through my shoulders along with its slightly corrosive blood that I feel burning at my arms. But I ignore that as I enjoy the life energy entering me from all the damage I just dealt to it along with life drain itself.


    When I hit the ground several meters away though, I feel something <em>snapping </em>in my arm, making me look over to find a bone there literally sticking out of my arm. But I still dont make a sound, because whatever poison it hit me with is also covering that wound. And that poison seems to numb pain for some reason.


    <strong>Its likely trying to do something else to you and using thatck of pain as a distraction to make you believe nothings wrong, </strong>Tar exins, sounding slightly worried but not as much as his words should make him. <strong>I dont think the poison is potent enough to do much damage to you with your blood regeneration. Just try to keep moving to stop it from settling in one ce.</strong>


    Ah, thats why. And okay.


    I look up at the arachne while slowly moving around just to keep moving when the arachne stops moving, only for weird crunching and shifting sounds akin to flesh and bone moving echo through the otherwise silent clearing full of webbing. Then the creature suddenly grows a spider head in the ce of the human torso, making me frown even though I already knew it would happen.


    The eyes on the new head re with a bright purple light as it lets out a loud hiss and begins skittering across the web covered ground with a speed far faster than before. And as it does so, I cant help but feel a slight tingling sensation throughout my body. Likely the work of whatever poison is in me.


    Well, this isnt turning out very well.


    <strong>We both underestimated the poison, just like a lot of other people do, </strong>Tar says, sounding worried now. <strong>I still doubt itll hurt you or do severe damage of any kind, but it will most likely hinder your fighting.</strong>


    Yeah.


    The tingling sensation continues growing stronger, following which the sensitivity of everything grows along with it. But despite that, I still dont feel any pain.


    This is just getting weird.


    <strong>Oh, shit, </strong>Tar suddenly exims, startling me as Im about to jump out of the way of the arachne. <strong>I just figure out what this magic is! I cant tell you exactly what it is due to the constraints of the fae, but do <em>not </em>stop moving <em>or</em> let it bite you! <em>No matter what!</em></strong>


    I blink at that, only to nod immediately and leap out of the way of the spiders lunging bite, just barely avoiding it.


    Okay, this is getting really annoying. And very ufortable, since Im not used to feeling things so strongly.


    I shift awkwardly a little afternding before turning around and narrowing my eyes on the spider.


    Damnit, <em>fine</em>!


    Lets just hope this kills it.


    I spread both of my arms out at angles to my sides as if trying to wee someone into a hug before activating a skill.


    Blood of Ruin.

 Book 3: Chapter 33: Blood of Ruin

    Book 3: Chapter 33: Blood of Ruin


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Almost immediately, I let out a grunt as droplets of my own blood shoot out of me and through my clothes with ease before hovering in the air in between me and the arachne. Meanwhile the arachne just freezes in ce after turning around, the hairs on its body quite literally standing up as it begins to back away from the random orb of my own blood.


    Interesting.


    The orb changes color slightly, taking on a ck tone to it, as if the blood was corrupted somehow. Then it begins to spin.


    It does it rather slowly at first, but the spinning gradually grows faster and faster until its moving so fast that even I cant keep up with it with my eyes. And almost immediately after, little droplets of blood begin to appear all around us. Although these dont have the ck shade that the main orb has, nor are they asrge.


    The taracht actually jumps back when a droplet appears near it though, which has me growing genuinely curious about why the skill is having that big of an effect on it. Although I havent actually tested this skill outside of a training hall monitored by White, considering its an etched skill from a demon. So its probably recognizable.


    I dont get to think much on it though as Im immediately struck by dizziness as my mana begins draining like someone had just pulled the plug in a sink. And it continues draining and draining and draining until I find myself dropping to one knee and panting with only ten percent of my mana left, the skill having taken seventy-five percent of my maximum mana capacity just to be used once.


    This skill is unpleasant to use.


    <strong>Well, the mana price should decrease as it levels up, and the skill itself is worth the price, </strong>Tarments as I raise my head to look at the fruits of mybor.


    Each and every droplet of blood grows to form a ball of spikes. The balls then shoot out spikes of blood that each connect to other spike balls, turning them into aplicated array of bloody lines throughout the sky, with them all connecting each other to the main orb of blood. Then the ck blood in the main orb begins to spread throughout the array, all while the arachne frantically looks for a way out of the area.


    But its already enclosed in by lines blocking any attempt at escape, and the thing seems too terrified of the blood to even touch the lines.


    I begin to sit back, only for Tar to shout at me to keep moving. So I let out a short groan and continue moving ever so slightly just to make sure whatever the poison is doing doesnt do whatever Tar is afraid of.


    After the ck blood is distributed across the lines, a loud screeching soundes from the arachne as I see some small parts of its body beginning to groan and stretch only to return to normal. As if a part of it were being pulled outside but the part failing to make it.


    Interesting. Guess the spider is too strong for its blood to be pulled into the skill.


    On the other hand, any blood that was spilled in the area is immediately pulled into it. And I go ahead and open up my blood storage, letting all of the blood in there join it with a look of expectation on my face despite the incredible difort Im in.


    Then, after all of the blood in the area is pulled into the skill including both the spilled blood and the blood of any animal or even any of the stray spawn that had wandered into the area during this fight leading to a pitiful death of the animal or demon, it happens.


    A loud cracking sound echoes throughout the area, following which the various lines and orbs of blood show cracks on their surface. These cracks then begin to leak a type of corrupted blood that covers the ground in the entire area, slowly corrupting and poisoning and even burning anything and everything it touches.


    Except me, who the blood just slides right off of without even soaking into my hair, clothes, or armor.


    Then another cracking sound echoes as the arachne lets out terrified and pained screeches, briefly bringing my attention to the orb to find it having cracked again along with the lines, increasing the speed of which the blood is leaking out. So I look towards the arachne, soon finding the thing writhing on the ground as the ckened blood corrupts its body, burning it, mutating it, and overall destroying it.


    Leaving it in ruin in every way possible.


    But the process only speeds up when more blood floods the area. And its not just the arachne thats hurt, as the blood burns and corrupts every living thing aside from me. Including the nts, the animals, and any other demons nearby. Even including the grass at my feet.


    It all eventually turns to ck and red ash, with the sole exception of the arachne, who is still struggling on.


    Until onest crack and a shattering sound echoes through the area, following which all of the blood in the orb and the lines immediately rushes towards thest living thing in the area besides me.


    The arachne.


    Holy fucking shit I mutter, a little stunned by the absolute destruction caused by the skill.


    All thats left is the ck and red ash shimmering with a faint crimson glow all across the ground, along with a vast orb of red thats thrashing about as I hear muffled screechesing from inside. Screeches that are growing quieter and quieter by the second until they vanish entirely and the blood calms down.


    A short time passes in silence, the orb of blood left remaining only barely making a blubbing noise once in a while until the orb itself just bursts, painting everything in blood around it and dropping arge amount of ash on the ground.


    I look around from my ce trying to walk back and forth before smiling a little.


    Then the sensation caused by the poison grows worse.

 Book 3: Chapter 34: Victory or Loss

    Book 3: Chapter 34: Victory or Loss


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The tingling sensation and sensitivity grows stronger and stronger until just the simple fact of wearing my clothes is growing far more ufortable than anything Ive ever felt before. No matter how much I try to run around.


    Ta-ah, I try to speak out loud, only for the sensitivity in my mouth and my throat to stop me.


    Tar, what the fuck is going on?!


    <strong>Its much worse than I expected, </strong>Tar says while appearing in front of me. <strong>Now that its dead I can tell you what the poison is. This creature has a special type of petrification corruption. The corruption first makes the infected creature so sensitive that they cant move before their body begins to turn to stone. But the amount of your body that turns to stone and how fast you petrify depends on how much you move and if you can keep moving while under the effects of the poison. Until it finally fades away.</strong>


    And how long is this going to take to go away?!


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before eventually answering, <strong>One hour is the normal time.</strong>


    Fucking hell! There is no way Im going to be able tost an <em>entire hour </em>like this!!


    <strong>You have to! </strong>Tar exims, sounding genuinely angry. <strong>You are <em>not </em>giving up on me! I will not have you dying, do you hear me?! Youre the most important person in the world to me now! Were tied together! Do! Not! Die!</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock at the stuff he just said. And considering that hes a fae, he cant lie. So he really means all that.


    Im uh


    He seems to grow embarrassed after a moment and looks down as he mutters, <strong>Youre my best friend. And Ive never had one of those before</strong>


    I blink while still moving, the strange twist in the conversation helping me somehow deal with the incredibly unpleasant sensation better.


    What about your family?


    <strong>My brothers and sisters have always been inpetition with each other, never caring all that much for the most part beyond simple politeness and a few close siblings amongst them, </strong>Tar says, sounding sad. <strong>And our father isnt much better, especially considering the vast number of siblings I have. We werent treated poorly by any means, but there wasnt as much warmth in it as there is in you mortals rtionships with your fam-</strong>


    He cuts off as he notices me grimacing at that. Particrly the fact that I didnt have my parents around growing up.


    And an awkward silence fills the area as I try to move as little as I can while still moving, just so that my body doesnt rub up against my clothes much. Its getting so bad that if it werent for my pride beating down at me not to, I would straight up strip here and now.


    But my pride wont let me. And its making the situation even worse.


    Then a cracking sound echoes through the clearing, bringing my attention to my fingers, which are slowly turning to stone.


    <strong>Move faster you idiot! </strong>Tar shouts while rushing around me as if that would do something.


    Damnit!


    I grit my teeth and begin moving faster. But it looks like its already toote. The petrification is slowly spreading. And the further it spreads, the harder it is to move.


    Slowly it spreads across my hands and then arms before more of it starts on my feet. And by this point, I cant move at all, even if I wanted to. So it continues spreading until it suddenly stops right around my shoulders, confusing me.


    Tar lets out a sigh of relief and mutters, <strong>Thank Oberon the poisons effect was weakened.</strong>


    I open my mouth to speak, only to realize that the sensitivity of my body has returned to normal, and everything feels fine again.


    Then pain shoots throughout my entire body instead, and I cant help but scream as its the worst pain Ive ever felt in my entire life. Even worse than having a limb torn off or my heart cut through or pierced. Or even my gut impaled.


    I immediately use pain diffusion to remove fifty percent of the pain, but it still hurts bad enough that I cant help but scream. A ming pain all throughout my body. A sharp stabbing pain in my chest where the wound is still closing, along with a burning pain that is flooding my mind where my arms are petrified.


    <strong>Damnit, </strong>Tar mutters as he floats around me, seemingly unsure of what to do. Eventually I vaguely see him vanish, seemingly abandoning me.


    But I know him. He wouldnt do that. He has to have some reason for it.


    Whatever reason it is though, the pain continues growing worse regardless.


    And soon enough, my mind nks and everything goes ck.


    <strong>The In-Between</strong>


    Tar panics as he flies through the in-between, searching desperately for a connection. But the only connection he can find is that of his contract with Scarlets father. The one he had to sign in order for him to be allowed to contract with his daughter. The one stopping him from telling Scarlet everything he wishes to tell her.


    <em>No! Nonono! I havent been able to form a connection with White yet?! Why not! I cant find her through the In-Between without it!</em>


    As he flies through the In-Between in his tanuki form, passing through the absolute darkness that is the In-Between with nothing in it aside from him, he continues panicking, unable to find what he wants. At one point, he peeks his head out of the In-Between to look at the mortal realm, only to find himself at the North Pole. So he reenters it and continues flying through the In-Between again for a while until he stops and peeks again, only to find himself on Tartarus instead.


    This process repeats itself over and over again as the In-Between has no measure of distance. Just one foot in distance inside of the In-Between could end up on entirely differents or even realms on the outside, making it nearly impossible to find anything without a direct connection to them. And thats not even mentioning that any world where a fae has no connection will not even allow the fae inside the through the In-Between.


    Tar continues flying before eventually tugging on his connection to Scarlet, the girl he has grown to love more than his own family. Far more than hisst contracted partner, even if he himself doesnt understand why.


    When he first met her, he had only decided to contract with her because of who her parents were. What her bloodline was. He even thought that he was lowering himself a little bit to allow a child such as herself to contract with him and felt it necessary to keep things from her and even manipte her a little bit. But after spending time with her, he grew to love her. Grew to no longer feel any need to manipte her. Even grew to feel disgusted at his mere act of having previously manipted her.


    Its not a romantic type of love, though. Instead, its one betweenrades. Between what the humans deemed best friends when he asked around while Scarlet was in ss one time.


    The fae princes panic only grows when he returns to find Scarletpletely unconscious in the middle of an ashen blood covered clearing inside of a park during a Demonic Assault with her arms and legs turned to a purple tinted stone. And for a moment he turns to look towards the center of the city, only to find that its far too far away.


    By the time he would arrive, if he isnt just taken or killed by a demon along the way, Scarlet could already have been killed by a wandering spawn. And he does see plenty of wandering spawn when he flies up into the air over the park. Some of which are heading in her direction.


    His eyes widen when he sees a fomorian along with them. Something that would absolutely be able to kill a weakened, almost dead, and unconscious Scarlet.


    <em>Nononono, she </em>cannot <em>die!!!</em>


    Tar tries to think of anything he can possibly think of until hees to the conclusion that there is only one way to save her now. A way he knows Scarlet wont be happy with.


    He reenters the In-Between.


    And he pulls on his connection with Scarlets father.


    <em>He is the only one who can send someone to save her now. Even if it means even if it means she may have to leave Earth behind for now.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 35: Rescue Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 35: Rescue Part I


    <strong>The Blood Duchy</strong>


    The Blood Lord stands at the edge of his rooms balcony inside of the Castle of Ruin, simply staring out over the edge of the floating ind the castle is situated on at the vast ocean of blood beneath the duchy. The duchy itself is made up of hundreds of floating inds, each separated from one another with the only manner of transit between them being through flight, teleportation, or the single drawbridge connecting the major inds. And the Blood Lord has always felt pride over the duchy he has established personally.


    But right now, all he can think about is his daughter.


    <em>Will she be brought here? Or will she stay with Amy?</em>


    No matter how hard the man tried, he couldnt get his mind off of this thought when he was trying to settle a dispute between Nobles. So he left the issue to his advisers instead and came here.


    <em>Not that it helped at all</em>


    Leonidas frowns as he leans against the railing and looks out at the blood ocean, his eyes ncing at the asional blood reaver that surfaces ever so slightly, just revealing the serrated edges that make up the fishs back before it goes under the surface again.


    Ever since Amelia took Scarlet away to Earth, Leonidas has been burying himself in his work, trying as hard as he could to not think about it. To not think about how his daughter could be in danger at any moment in time. Or about how Amelia had taken things into her own hands and forced the two to follow the prophecy to the letter.


    He clenches his fist again, something he always does whenever he remembers that day. The day she had immobilized him with that damned reverse healing mythic skill of hers and forcefully taken Scarlet away.


    Of course, he would never tell his father about any of this. Because all the man knows is that Leonidas sent his daughter to Earth without telling him why or even how. Not even where she was sent.


    Leonidas shivers slightly as he considers what could happen if his father actually knew that Leonidas had no intention of bringing Scarlet to Earth and that it was actually Amelia who had done so.


    <em>Hed never let me or Scarlet see the woman again. Actually, he would probably kill her the moment he senses her ever stepping into Tartarus. Or at least lock her up, if only for Scarlets sake. Assuming she even cares. The only reason he didnt kill her the moment he noticed her on Tartarus was because of me after all</em>


    The Blood Lord shakes his head at the thought before leaning further over the railing and thinking of the current assault. With Satan and Damien both going on the attack at the same time as the ss V Fracture, something is going to break in the humans defense. And thatll also make it a lot harder for anyone to keep Scarlet from Lyra.


    He frowns as he thinks of the prophecy.


    <em>I wonder whats so special about this ss V Fracture that the prophecy stated her solitary can safely be lifted now? Or is it just because shes already learned to be independent by now?</em>


    <strong>Leon, we have a visitor, </strong>ra suddenly says, her voice interrupting Leonidass thoughts.


    Leonidas frowns at his contracted faes words before looking up and finding a tanuki suddenly appearing in the air. But before anything else, he notices the panic clear as day in the faes posture and face.


    Whats wrong? he immediately asks, a small domain of blood appearing around him as he grows restless.


    <strong>Its Scarlet! Shes been poisoned by an arachne and is unconscious in the middle of the demonic assault with no help anywhere nearby! </strong>the tanuki shouts, clearly having lost hisposure. Enough to surprise ra, considering the emotions Leonidas can feel traversing their bond.


    A cold re appears on the Blood Lords face as he hears the fae princes words. One not directed at the fae prince himself, but at the Marchioness who appears to have failed so far in her job.


    Leonidas closes his eyes before activating a skill that immediately connects him directly to the Marchionesss mind, making her send shock and surprise through the bond as soon as it connects. Along with a lot of pain.


    Marchioness Sinir, exin to me why my daughter is almost dead, he growls at her, his anger growing by the second as more and more blood begins appearing around him, slowly turning into a small tempest of blood.


    His anger is only abated a little bit when he feels her surprise going through the link to him as she exims, Shes <em>what</em>?! But she calms down just as quickly, realizing that she had just shouted at her Lord. I apologize Blood Cmity. I will rectify this even if it means my life is forfeit!


    You better, Leonidas growls, sending more than a little of his anger through the link just to make sure she realizes how angry he is. If shees to any permanent harm, or even so much as gets a hair on her head touched by any of the demons in the Assault after this, both you <em>and </em>the Count will be burned alive from the inside out!


    He feels a wave of fearing through his blood domination skill before she quickly says, Of course, my Lord! I guarantee her- the woman pauses with a shout of pain before groaning -safety!


    Leonidas frowns for a moment before using his skill to take control of one of her eyes through the domination seed in her body and immediately finding that shes struggling to fight the Blue Knight of Humanity.


    <em>That bastard again. I shouldve killed him when I had the chance.</em>


    Im taking control, Leonidas states before fully activating his mythic skill Blood Domination to take full control of the Marchionesss body, allowing him to use some of his skills with the body as a conduit.


    He nces at his daughters fae with his body before telling him, Go back to her. I will use my connection with you to find her.


    The fae nods his head and disappears again.


    <em>Time to see if I can deal with him quickly enough to go save her.</em>


    His real form grimaces.


    <em>If only those damned Gates had enough reality energy for me to pass through right now thisll have to do though.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 35.2: Rescue Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 35.2: Rescue Part II


    <strong>The Street Next to the Grand Hotel</strong>


    <strong><em>Less than a minute ago</em></strong>


    Alexander ignores the sounds of his sister fighting the arachnae and over a dozen other ss V demons at once inside of the building as he focuses on the blood lycan and her six ss V Nobles. The battle had been going rtively well for him, but something about the way the Marchioness has been nking out recently tells him something unexpected and most likely <em>unpleasant </em>was about to happen.


    Despite that, Alexander doesnt feel all that much about it. He hasnt felt that much at all since his run-in with the Lady of Devouring, where she simply ate any emotions of love andpassion he once had, along with arge majority of the rest of his emotions.


    He doesnt consider that a bad thing, necessarily. But he does asionally wonder why hes fighting.


    Alexander shakes his head, keeping his dead gaze locked on the blood lycan right as its eyes begin to glow with a much brighter crimson light than before. Then he notices little glowing crimson veins spreading throughout her body, the Marchioness stiffening up in the process.


    <em>I was right. Unpleasant.</em>


    Even with that thought though, Alexander just lightly shakes his head and begins backing up a little while preparing to use his mythic skill.


    Blue Knight, as I am in a hurry, I will give you one chance to run, the Marchionesss mouth begins to speak, but Alexander can easily tell that its not her speaking.


    Alexander just shakes his head, not feeling much care for the Demon Lords proposal which wasnt a proposal.


    <em>Looks like my niece is in danger. That is the only reason he is likely to risk his mind by connecting across worlds.</em>


    The Knight stands in ce for a few seconds beforeing to a decision.


    He may not care about that girl, nor does he necessarily care about his sister anymore, but he feels like a favor owed to him would be of great use. So without hesitating, he calls his sister through his terminal, not taking his eyes off of the Demon Lord in the Marchionesss body even for a moment.


    As soon as it connects, he hears explosions echoing out from the other end as she shouts, What is it?! sounding angry that hes distracting her.


    <em>Guess it would be unpleasant if someone interrupted my battle. Like Leonidas did.</em>


    Your husband is here, he states, not exining any more than that. And out of the corner of his eye, he notices her eyes widening in shock. But she appears to be too locked into her battle to leave with the fifteen ss V demons hounding at her from all sides. If you wish for it, I will let the Blood Lord go save your daughter. In exchange for a favor.


    Whites eyes widen on the screen before narrowing for a moment and then she finally grits her teeth and says, Fine, do it. But make sure you-


    Alexander hangs up the call, not needing to be told to follow him and continue the fight after the Demon Lord is done with the blood lycans body. He then narrows his eyes slightly and calls out to the Demon Lord who seems to be preparing a skill, Let me keep an eye on you and we have a deal.


    The Demon Lords eyes go wide in shock before he snaps out of it and nods his head.


    After you leave the Marchionesss body, I will continue my battle with her, Alexander further states, to which the Blood Lord seems to have no issue as he immediately turns around and begins flying through the air in a swirl of blood in a specific direction.


    Without even a nce towards the Grand Hotel or the other ss V demons they just left behind, Alexander follows after the man by encasing himself in water and flying through the air in a simr manner as the Demon Lord. They then fly through over a third of the citys length before reaching a park where Alexander notices his niece standing awkwardly in arge barren wastnd of an area in the middle of the park.


    Alexander nces at the Demon Lord, vaguely recognizing the effects of the mans skills in the area. And he quickly finds the man looking both extremely worried and proud at the same time.


    The twond in the middle of the glowing red and ck ash filled wastnd of a park clearing before Alexander stands off to the side and watches as the Demon Lord walks over to his daughter. And once he reaches her, Alexander finally notices the tanuki floating around her seemingly in a panic.


    <em>Her fae.</em>


    Leonidas doesnt waste a single second, immediately waving his hand and sending a wave of blood all around him that he then begins to use to write runes in the air. Runes that Alexander have no idea what do, because every time he tries to understand any of the runes himself, he gets a major headache, and the meaning of the rune simply slips by him along with the memory of what it looked like.


    <em>Blood Runes. One of his mythic skills.</em>


    So Alexander focuses his attention on the girl instead as a bright crimson light shines from the runes and waves of the blood begin rushing into the girls arms and legs, slowly reversing the petrification until her arms and legs are fully restored. And immediately after the man finishes that, he simply waves his hand, causing blood to rush in and clear out any infection or bacteria that may have gotten into her wound before another blood rune fully heals the gaping hole in her corbone. One that Alexander assumes must have been much bigger before they had arrived considering his knowledge of the girls regeneration.


    <em>Probably has the weaker Blood Regeneration. It wouldve healed long before we got here, both the wound and her petrification, if she had her grandfathers Lycans Regeneration.</em>


    After the girls wounds are all healed and she is no longer in danger, Leonidas lets out a sigh of relief and brings the girl gently into his arms, cradling her like a newborn baby despite her age. And the look Alexander can see in the mans eye even hits him somehow despite his loss ofpassion. A look of pure love. Of regret, joy, grief, happiness, and just a simple enjoyment of holding his daughter for the first time since she was a baby.


    Alexander blinks at that look before shaking his head.


    <em>Blood lycans. So obsessed with their family.</em>


    He begins to turn around as the Blood Lord does the same with his daughter in his arms. But he stops after a second as a thoughtes to mind.


    <em>What wouldve happened if my family was like that?</em>


    The thought worms its way into his head somehow and he cant seem to get rid of it. He doesnt feel much of anything towards the thought though, so he isnt sure why it wont leave his head.


    Eventually he shakes his head again and follows the Blood Lord back to the Grand Hotel.

 Book 3: Chapter 35.3: Rescue Part III

    Book 3: Chapter 35.3: Rescue Part III


    <strong>The Grand Hotel</strong>


    Amelia grits her teeth as she continues fighting off the fifteen Noble demons, wishing that she could get this over with sooner so that she can go find Scarlet. But right after her brother hung up the call, two more Noble demons joined the fight against her, and she cant help but curse Leons name in her head.


    As she fights, she also notices the arachnae standing in the backmanding the Noble demons. A Count if she had to guess.


    Unfortunately for her, she is not a physically focused Guardian. Instead, her magic is focused on magic itself. On her null magic.


    The only reason she is still perfectly fine despite being dogpiled by seventeen Noble demons is because of the level gap in between them, her skills cooldowns and high mana pricesing back to bite her as she has to use the weaker ones to stay afloat while asionally using a stronger one just to get rid of one of the Nobles.


    Amelia scowls at the arachnae before finally deciding shes had enough. Without any hesitation, she uses her mythic skill Reverse Healing on each and every Noble demon around her, making hundreds of wounds appear all over them. All wounds they had received within thest three months as ording to the three million mana Amelia spends on the skill dictates.


    The arachnaes eyes widen in shock, the man somehow not having taken a single wound, before he lets out a harsh sounding screech. Then Amelia grimaces at the sight of ten more Noble demons rushing through the shattered windows of the buildings beside them. But some of them crush their way through the few remaining walls of the building, copsing more of it in the process and leaving it as nothing more than a fifty one story building whose remaining forty-nine stories are all nothing but rubble to be found on the streets below, leaving the core exposed at the center of the fifty-first floor. The floor acting as the buildings new roof. And only because one of the Noble demons have been using their magic to stabilize the floor.


    <em>Fucking damnit!! When will these Noble demons end?!</em>


    At that thought, a swirl of blood and a swirl of water fly through the air in between two buildings nearby before stopping on the fifty-first floor of the building to reveal her brother and her husband.


    Amelia visibly flinches when she sees Leonidas holding their daughter. When she sees the frown on his face. The look of sadness there. And the very slight disappointment in his eyes. Even if those eyes are currently the body of the Marchioness and not his actual body.


    Meanwhile all of the struggling Noble demons on the floor seem to recognize the auraing from the Demon Lord, along with his Demon Lords Rule skill and immediately give him a short salute despite them being in a fight.


    But Amelia has no intention on fighting right now. Not when her daughter is here and could be coteral damage.


    And the demons dont seem willing to either.


    A few seconds pass in silence after the Nobles all call out their greeting to their Lord, during which White makes sure to send a sweep through the area for any Guardians who may have seen Scarlet with the demons, or the scene here happening at all. And after finding none, she double checks to make sure that all of the security cameras really are out and that there isnt one that someone made for some reason use mana in the area. But she finds none of those either, as to be expected.


    She lets out a breath, unsure of how to feel as she watches her husband walk through the demons before stopping next to the core and directly meeting her eyes. Meanwhile her brother just continues staring at him like a fisher watching the fish on his hook. Likely waiting for the exact moment he sends Scarlet through the Fracture core and leaves the body hes using to attack.


    Amelia grits her teeth even harder and clenches her fists for a few seconds before eventually releasing a sigh and rxing her grip.


    <em>Ive lost. Its his turn now.</em>


    Leonidas looks surprised for a moment before a very faint smile emerges on the beautiful womans face hes currently using  a fact that bothers Amelia more than she wishes to admit  and he mouths, Travel through the Arctic to see her. And just seeing that alone makes her rx a little.


    A smile even almost emerges on her face as she realizes that hes on his way to forgiving her if hes willing to have her visit.


    Stay away from father though, he adds after a second.


    <em>Wasnt nning on going anywhere near that monster after he almost killed me thest three times I saw him. In fact, if it werent for Scarlet or you, he </em>wouldve<em> killed me.</em>


    Amelia and Leonidas look each other in the eyes for a few seconds, the Knight feeling ever so slightly odd in the fact that shes looking at him despite not looking at his real body, before Leonidas finally presses their daughters hand to the core as she lies unconscious in his arms.


    See youter, Scarlet, Amelia whispers, despite knowing the girl is unconscious.


    Then her daughter vanishes in a sh of red mist, having been sent to Tartarus through the core by her husband. Leonidas then turns to look at Amelia once more and says, It was good to see you after all, Amy.


    Amelia waits a few seconds before saying, I missed you, Leon.


    Then silence fills the roof as the dozens of Noble demons awkwardly watch the byy between the two.


    After several seconds, the silence is broken by her brother letting out an audible growl, the man clearly getting impatient for his fight to continue.


    So Leonidas nods his head once before the crimson veins on the Marchionesss skin fade and the brightness of her eyes goes down along with it, leaving the woman back in control of her body with what looks to be some disorientation. And almost immediately, her brother transforms into a giant ten meter tall kraken, pping at her and yanking her down with him as he falls off of the roof due to his size.


    Meanwhile Amelia continues her battle against the Noble demons.


    <em>I hope you stay safe, Scarlet.</em>

 Book 3: Scarlets Current Skills List as of Chapter 35

    Book 3: Scarlet''s Current Skills List as of Chapter 35


    <strong>Note: Remember that inherent and achievement-locked skills <em>CANNOT </em>be leveled through Skill Points. Meanwhile purchased skills<em> CANNOT</em> be leveled simply through using the skills and must be leveled through spending Skill Points.</strong>


    <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to temporarily nullify up to 50% of the pain felt by the user. However, the pain nullified must be felt at some point within the next week, and the user may diffuse that pain over a set length of time or feel it all at once at ater time.</em>


    <strong>Null Magic Field</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 9


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to set up a temporary null magic field that will require any magical skill requiring mana to use twice as much mana as the skill originally intended to be sessfully used. The user is only partially affected by their own null magic fields, requiring them to spend 1.28 times as much mana for any magical skills while inside of them.</em>


    <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 1


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill unleashes the power of blood to bring ruin to the designated location.</em>


    <strong>Beast Form</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform into a humanoid wolflike beast for the price of ten percent of their mana on use.</em>


    <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 16


    Description: <em>Allows the user to coat their hands and feet with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana, drained from the body of whatever the user has their ws in, or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana. The user may also metallicize the blood ws into blood metal.</em>


    <strong>Life Drain</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 16


    Description: <em>Allows the user to drain the life energy of nearby creatures into themselves and others, healing them in the process. Costs mana to use. Life energy drained can be directed to a particr area of the users body to speed up healing there.</em>


    <strong>Partial Shift</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform two extremities into that of a beast for arge and one time price of mana each use.</em>


    <strong>Blood Pull</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>Allows the user to drain the blood of nearby creatures and to pull unattached blood from the air and the ground and use it for various purposes, including transfusing the users or others blood or using the blood for the users skills to substitute 55% of the required blood the user would have to personally use.</em>


    <strong>Blood Chains</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 7


    Description: <em>Allows the user to conjure chains made of blood, whether hardened, metallicized, or liquid blood, which bind and constrict enemies, restricting their movement, draining their blood, and draining their life energy along with it.</em>


    <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Common


    Current Level: 12


    Description: <em>Allows the user to set up a faint magical barrier around their own body. This barrier will cause any attack below a certain level to burn the blood of the user instead of causing direct damage to them. The amount of blood burned is dependent on the level of the user and the power behind the attack dealt. The barrier does not work very well against affliction-based attacks.</em>


    <strong>Blood Shadow</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>This skill can be used to create a clone made out of shadows and blood. It uses the users own blood and their shadow in the process of the skills use, and when the clone is destroyed, the user loses the blood and takes mental damage as bacsh. 10% of the blood used can be substituted through skills or mana. The clone summoned can use basic, level 1 versions of each of the users skills at the cost of the users mana.</em>


    <strong>Blood Retribution</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>Any damage dealt to the user while this skill is active is returned to the one who dealt the damage in the form of blood burning. Activation of this skill costs 10% of the users total mana. Each activationsts for thirty seconds.</em>


    <strong>Blood Armor</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 7


    Description: <em>Allows the user to create an armor purely out of congealed and hardened blood with mana. This skill may only create seven tes of armor at one time. Each te of armor created removes a small portion of the users mana pool until the skill is dispelled or the armor ting is shattered.</em>


    <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>The user may summon up to twenty-five weapons of blood that they may control through their will. These weapons will stay summoned for one minute and will cost ten mana per weapon.</em>


    <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities. This boost willst for fifteen seconds after the blood was burned. The more blood burned, the stronger the boost will be.</em>


    <strong>Blood Boil</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>An attack skill that slowly makes the blood of the target begin to boil, causing gradual internal damage that builds up while slowing down the reaction speed of the target.</em>


    <strong>Blood Bank</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>A storage skill that allows the user to store the blood of either themselves or other creatures in the void for use at ater time.</em>


    <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong>


    Passive


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 12


    Description: <em>The second most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. This skill significantly increases the natural regeneration of the user, both in terms of life energy and mana. It also allows the user to regenerate lost limbs over a long period of time.</em>


    <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong>


    Passive


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Static


    Description: <em>This skill grants all attacks of the user dealt through blood magic a life draining aspect, absorbing a small sliver of the targets life energy into the user of the skills. The life energy drained cannot be controlled and it cannot be put into other targets.</em>


    <strong>Blood Thirst</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>On ount of the users absolute blood thirst and utterck of a self-preservation instinct, you have learned to grow stronger through each kill. This skill passively increases all of the users statistics by a t 0.8% bonus for each enemy in for a period of one minute and twenty-five seconds after their death. This effect is stackable. The timer resets with every new stack.</em>


    <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 5


    Description: <em>This skill deals a set amount of damage to any individual who causes damage to the holder of the skill no matter who it is regardless of their defense in the form of blood nullification.</em>


    <strong>Predator V</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Static


    Description: <em>It grants the user a 30% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 36: Dream

    Book 3: Chapter 36: Dream


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>Fourteen Years Ago</em></strong>


    <em>I hide at the corner of my bed on the upper bunk underneath a pile of nkets as I watch Arthur walking into the room with a girl the same age as us. And I feel a small flicker of curiosity from watching them.</em>


    <em>Who is she?</em>


    <em>The girl has long ck hair going down to her lower back, with two curious and happy looking brown eyes and hands that are wandering everywhere. I almost yelp when her hands get close to the small deck of cards that Id managed to find a few months back in an alley, but I hold myself back just barely when her hands pass by them without stopping.</em>


    <em>Why Im hiding here? Im not really sure.</em>


    <em>The girl is new. Ive never seen her before.</em>


    <em>And new people means more people that I could end up touching. And the boys visiting from the city said that I would get them sick.</em>


    <em>So I ran.</em>


    <em>I watch the two as the girl continues talking and talking and talking nonstop, just walking around in circles looking at everything in the room. But I stiffen up the moment her eyes lock on me.</em>


    <em>Please dont notice me. Please dont notice me. Please dont-</em>


    <em>Aw! Youre sooo cuuute!!!! she squeals while rushing towards the bed, making me back up to hide fully in the nkets. But that doesnt work as the taller girl just climbs the bed within seconds to yank the nkets away before grabbing me and pulling me into a hug. Sooo cute!!!</em>


    <em>I struggle to get out of her grasp in a panic, not wanting to get her sick. Because thats what they said would happen. But no matter how hard I struggle, the girl  who despite looking the same age as Arthur, who is the same age as me, is </em>at least <em>four inches taller than me  keeps her hold firm.</em>


    <em>Arabellia, youre scaring her, Arthur warns her, surprising her enough to let me go before I end up throwing myself off the bed by ident. She then rushes over to the side of the bed and exims, Oh, no! Are you alr-</em>


    <em>I dont let her finish, simply running out of the room as fast as I can and turning to leave the building entirely. It isnt until I make it to the alley two buildings down from the orphanage that I stop to catch my breath between two dumpsters, sitting down in between them while hugging my legs and looking at the muddy ground from the rain that had juste throughst night.</em>


    <em>Please dont let here after me. Please dont I dont want to get her sick</em>


    <em>I let out a yelp when I feel a hand touching my head, making me try to back up only to bump into the wall as I look up to find a woman with long white hair wearing a ck jacket standing there with a loving look on her face. And for some reason, the sight of this woman alone makes me calm down a little bit.</em>


    <em>Then I feel my eyes growing wet, so I rub them to wipe them off. But they just get wet again. So I repeat the process a few times till I realize Im crying.</em>


    <em>Crying? That what?</em>


    <em>The woman kneels down next to me and gives me a hug. One that I would normally avoid and run away, but I cant with me being cornered like this. So instead I stiffen up.</em>


    <em>After a few seconds though, the hug makes my chest feel warm. I dont know why. It just feels nice.</em>


    <em>I finally begin to rx a little bit, the hug somehow being nice. And I think the woman is rxing as well as she strokes my hair.</em>


    <em>Several minutes pass by like this, and I almost fall asleep infort. But then I hear Arthur shouting my name, and the woman stiffens slightly.</em>


    <em>She backs up a little, letting go of me. And to my confusion, I feel a strange longing to go back into her arms.</em>


    <em>The woman just shakes her head with a sad smile and whispers, Im sorry, Scarlet. But neither of us can remember this after today.</em>


    <em>I blink in confusion at that before tilting my head a little bit.</em>


    <em>She pats my head, tears of her own flowing down her face. Then she stands up and begins glowing with a white light.</em>


    <em>My eyes widen in awe at the beauty of it, but then everything begins to grow fuzzy</em>


    <em>Everything grows dark for a single moment as I blink in confusion before looking around, wondering why I suddenly dont feel as anxious anymore.</em>


    <em>I look down to see footprints right in front of me, but no one is there. Which just makes my confusion grow stronger.</em>


    <em>After a second, I hear Arthur shouting again, so I climb to my feet, wiping off the mud that had gotten on me. Or at least, as much of it as I can get off with my dirty hands. Then I begin leaving the alleyway, confused as to what just happened.</em>


    <em>And why I feel like I just met. Someone important. Even though I didnt.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>The Present</em></strong>


    I wake up to the sight of a very fancy canopy above me. And when I look down, I find myself lying on an enormous bed fit for at least four people sleeping on it at once, with arge curtain around the bed thats closed. The bed itself ispletely ck and red in color, which ys to my taste in aesthetics. But I cant help but wonder


    Where am I?


    Thest thing I remember was losing my consciousness in the middle of that park after beating the arachne. And I think Tar was panicking as well.


    Then theres that dream. I remember it so clearly now. That was White. She had visited me when I was just five years old but for some reason wiped both our memories of the event.


    Why would she do that?


    I dont I really dont understand.

 Book 3: Chapter 37: True Name

    Book 3: Chapter 37: True Name


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Before I can ponder on the subject any more, I feel something shifting under the nket, making me blink for a moment before I move the thick and ratherfortable nket to find Tar curled up next to me. And that sight alone makes me smile.


    It takes a moment, but the tanukis eyes slowly open as I begin petting him, my smile growing a little bit in the process. And as soon as his mind registers that Im awake, he exims in my head <strong>Scarlet!! </strong>and rushes straight at me, jumping into my arms where I hold him to my chest. <strong>Youre awake!!!</strong>


    Yep. And I had another dream of White erasing my memories before.


    Tar raises his head to look me in the eyes as he asks, <strong>Really? What was it about this time?</strong>


    Well, it was the first time I met Belle back when I was just five years old. And apparently she didnt just erase my memories this time, but also her own. Sheforted me when I was feeling upset and anxious before just erasing both of our memories and vanishing.


    <strong>Really? </strong>he mutters, his confusioning along with the words into my head. <strong>I wonder why she would erase her own memories as well</strong>


    Me too. But before that, do you have any idea where we are? Or how long I was asleep for that matter?


    Oh. And who it is thats been pacing outside of this curtain back and forth since I woke up?


    The tanuki blinks at me for a moment before floating out of my arms andnding on the bed itself as he says, <strong>Oh right.</strong>


    Several seconds pass with the only noise being that of the pacing, any other noise outside of this room beingpletely blocked off with what I can only assume are extremely powerful soundproof walls.


    So, are you going to tell me?


    <strong>Im just going to say it outright, </strong>Tar says, tensing up ever so slightly. <strong>Youre on Tartarus.</strong>


    I blink at that. Then stare at him for a few seconds.


    Then I lie back down on the pillows again to stare up at the canopy.


    Oh.


    <strong>Its my fault </strong>Tar eventually says, sounding regretful as he climbs on top of me and looks down at my face, a sad look on his own. <strong>It was the only way to save you. I had to do it.</strong>


    Do what?


    <strong>I had to get your father, </strong>he answers before ncing at the curtain.


    Wait, so was the blood lycan who entered the ss V Fracture my-


    <strong>No, they werent, </strong>Tar says while shaking his head and lying down. <strong>They were a subordinate of his. He never actually came to Earth personally. Just took control of his subordinates body instead.</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock at the subtle mention of a skill powerful enough to take over someone elses body from another world.


    <strong>Oh, but dont worry. He cant do that to you, even if he wanted to, </strong>Tar says, sensing my distress. <strong>He has that skill etched, so you have a much weaker version of it even if the only thing it does for you right now is make you immune to that sort of thing.</strong>


    I open my mouth but fail to find any words to say. So I close it again.


    <strong>Scarlet? </strong>he asks while reaching out and touching my face with his paw. <strong>Are you okay?</strong>


    Y-yeah, I am. But if he has a mythic skill that powerful, then he can only be


    <strong>Yeah </strong>Tar mutters, turning to look at the curtain again. And I do the same, only to frown as I remember that Im lying down on my hair. Which is one of the only things I dislike about having such long hair and why I almost always sleep with it in a braid.


    A few seconds pass as I stare at the curtain where someone  most likely my biological father  is still pacing back and forth nonstop.


    <strong>Hes been doing that since you were brought here, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly amused. <strong>Hasnt left the room since and has been jumping at every single slight movement youve made. Although he refuses to open the curtain because it might disturb your rest.</strong>


    That has me raising a brow and quite honestly questioning if my conclusion as to his identity is correct or not.


    <strong>No, hes actually, just open your System messages, </strong>Tar says, making me frown. <strong>Theyll exin it rather clearly.</strong>


    And so I let my System messages free.


    <strong>{Level 252 Changeling defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over seventy-five levels above your level. Almost all of the EXP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in killing a demon.} x4</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 401 Changeling defeated. A massive EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred levels above your level. Almost all of the EXP has been extracted as a penalty for barely assisting in killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 251 Demon Vanguard defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over seventy-five levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Thirty Skill Points are awarded for killing three being of higher sses than yourself in less than a year.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for assisting in killing at least two hundred and fifty beings of a higher ss than yourself.}</strong>


    <strong>{Twenty Skill Points are awarded for taking enough damage to kill most people your level ten times over and surviving.} </strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing three being of higher sses than yourself.} </strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for surviving a petrific miasma poisoning.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for having at least twenty-five percent of your body petrified and restored.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Arachne.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 183. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 196. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 11.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 2.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 10.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood ws has leveled up to level 17.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 17.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 13.]</strong>


    I read through them all, finding the messages to be quite satisfying, but I also dont see what Tar meant by itll exin it rather clearly.


    That is, until a System notification ys out after the messages.


    <strong>System anomaly recognized upon fracture crossing.</strong>


    <strong>Resources diverted towards determining source</strong>


    <strong>Source confirmed.</strong>


    <strong>Anomalys true name was interfered with by a system user known as the White Knight of Humanity.</strong>


    <strong>True name has now been returned to normal.</strong>


    <strong>Anomaly has been repaired.</strong>


    <strong>System resources returning to appropriate responsibilities.</strong>


    My true name? What?


    <strong>Open your status, </strong>Tar gently tells me while patting my corbone with his paw.


    I frown before doing exactly what he says and quickly allocating my free points without looking at anything else first.


    Then I notice my name.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 196</strong><strong>SP: 112</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 552</strong><strong>Mental: 551</strong><strong>Magical: 551</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 258,060.85/258,060.85</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 3</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 11</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Form</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 17</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 17</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 7</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 13</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    I calmly stare at the name part of my status for several seconds. Calmly. Very calmly.


    Um. Tar?


    <strong>Yeah? </strong>he asks, sounding confused.


    Isnt Archeron the Royal Demon Familys name?


    <strong>Yeah </strong>he mutters, his voice echoing through my head as I stare nkly at my status.


    Right.


    Im going to punch White in the face the next time I see her for hiding this.

 Book 3: Chapter 38: The Blood Calamity Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 38: The Blood Cmity Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>It would be within your right to do so, </strong>Tar says with a firm nod of his head. <strong>But you should probably focus on the present first.</strong>


    Right. And I can punch White the next time I see her.


    Anyways, I had already considered that the Demon Lord could possibly be my biological father.


    <strong>You just didnt want it to be true, </strong>Tar says, and I nod my head in agreement.


    Yeah. After all, who would want to find out that their grandfather is the one behind the demons assault on Earth?


    Its kind of a bitter pill to swallow.


    <strong>Perfectly understandable, </strong>Tar says while climbing to his feet again, which I have to admit is rather ufortable considering where hes standing. But he flies into the air quickly enough that it doesnt matter. <strong>I will mention that you can know more about the reason behind his anger now that the ss V Fracture has passed. But I cant tell you it personally. Youll have to find out from your grandfather himself, as not even your father knows the whole story. And what he does know hes only learned recently.</strong>


    Wait, really? Thats kind of surprising.


    Well, time to spend my Skill Points then.


    Tar gives me a <em>look </em>before ncing at the curtain and asking, <strong>Youre just gonna leave him out there? </strong>He turns back to me again. <strong>After he saved you?</strong>


    I mean, he also abandoned me in the first ce.


    <strong>While I will admit he didnt have anyone bring you back from Earth before now, he didnt have a choice in how you ended up on Earth in the first ce, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes widen slightly. <strong>He and White basically fought over custody of you and what they should do about the prophecy, and she ended up immobilizing him and making off to Earth with you while he was unable to move. So I actually agree with White in that you should at least forgive your father, if not now than in the future.</strong>


    My mouth opens for a second before I close it again.


    He didnt have a choice?


    I


    After a few seconds, I purse my lips and nce over at the curtain.


    That does change things. But Im still not forgiving him.


    But I wont hate him either. Assuming Im even capable of hating someone, which Im not entirely sure I am.


    <strong>Huh? </strong>Tar mutters, confused as to my current thoughts.


    Okay, I wont necessarily dislike him or anything. Well, outside of the whole he couldvee to get me afterwards thing.


    Hes not my father though. Even if he is my biological father.


    Allen is my father, and nothing will change that.


    Speaking of, how-


    <strong>White already exined everything to Allen, Cynthia, and Belle already. You dont have to worry, </strong>Tar says, waving his paw like nothings wrong. <strong>And the people of Earth have been led to believe that White took you in as her apprentice and you wont be showing your face in the public for years, having White hide you from view and manipte memories to hide you whenever you go out to fight in Fractures.</strong>


    I blink at that.


    Wow. Thats actually a good n.


    And definitely something I could see the popce believing considering Whites image.


    Not like they can prove otherwise either. Especially considering that my true name has changed, making scrying and divination a lot harder.


    I lie back down to stare up at the ceiling for a few seconds before letting out an inaudible sigh and sitting up, only to look down and notice that while I am wearing the same shirt and pants I was wearing when I fell unconscious, I dont have my magi-tech armor on. Just my ck t-shirt and ck pants. I dont even have the amulet on.


    Oh. Right.


    Tartarus doesnt allow modern world technology like the advanced armor fibers used in my magi-tech armor. Which, unlike the cotton in my shirt and whatever is in my pants, is way too advanced for Tartarus.


    Thats a pain. But I hope my armor didnt explode, because that jacket, even if it was something White technically gave me, is still important. If for no other reason than how long Ive cherished it.


    I raise my head to look at Tar, only for him to nod and answer my unasked question, <strong>Dont worry, your jacket is fine. When your armor came with you to Tartarus, it fell apart and spilled all the clothing it had merged into the amulet. Including the jacket.</strong>


    Okay. Thats good.


    Anyways, I should stop procrastinating now.


    <strong>Yes, you should, </strong>Tar agrees with a nod of his head.


    I continue lying in ce, not moving an inch as I stare at the curtain.


    Seconds pass in silence with the only noise once again being my biological fathers pacing.


    <strong>Any day now, </strong>Tarments.


    Oh, right. Theres the skill points that I need to distribute as well.


    <strong>Scarlet, </strong>Tar says, his voice sounding stern. <strong>Hes been sitting there for three days straight without leaving the room or even eating.</strong>


    My jaw drops open in shock at that. Both that Ive been here for three days, and that he hasnt even stopped to eat.


    I


    A faint warmth fills my chest at that, but I push it out of my mind as I remember that he did still leave me to my fate on Earth even if it wasnt his choice originally. Because he very well could havee to get me from the orphanage. Or gotten someone else to do so.


    But still. He doesnt deserve being made to wait longer just because I feel uneasy being somewherepletely foreign to me actually, where am I exactly? In Tartarus, I mean.


    <strong>Youre inside of the Castle of Ruin in the Bloody Duchy, </strong>Tar answers before nodding his head towards the curtain as if directing me to open it.


    Fine, fine.


    I take a deep breath before climbing out of the nkets fully and crawling over to the edge of the bed to grab the curtain. And as I do so, I immediately hear him pause in his pacing as if noticing my movements. Then he moves up to the curtain, only to back away and continue pacing again.


    Wow. He really is doing what Tar said.


    I nce at the tanuki before finally pulling the curtain open.

 Book 3: Chapter 38.2: The Blood Calamity Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 38.2: The Blood Cmity Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My first thought upon seeing the man who is my biological father is that I take after White more than him. His face is a bit sharper than my own, his eyes are a bit narrower even if they are the same glowing red as mine, and hes quite a bit taller than both me and my birth mother. Although my hair clearly takes after him as we have the same shade of ck. And while he doesnt have as much red going through his hair as me for some reason, he still has the asional highlight that I can see.


    In fact, his hair looks rather thick. Just like mine. To the point that the ck often covers up a lot of the red as he stares at me with his mouth wide open like a fish.


    We both stare at each other for who knows how long as I put my legs out over the edge of the bed. Then I break the stare by looking around at the room beyond the curtain. And the room is extremely luxurious. Even more luxurious than my suite at the university in some ways. Although less in others.


    It certainly looks a lot more grand at a nce, but it iscking in one particr area.


    No electronics.


    Although there do seem to be some items that should be pure magical items  the term most demons tend to use for items that are imbued with skills or simply enchanted with rune magic  lying around the ce. Judging by the mana they give off at least.


    I look back at the man when he finally closes his mouth. Only to continue staring.


    <strong>Oh by the fae king, stop staring and say something! </strong>Tar loses his patience, and immediately afterwards, I feel myself wrapped up in the mans arms without being able to move an inch.


    Uh.


    I actually dont feel particrly ufortable by his contact, probably because hes my biological father. After all, I didnt feel that ufortable with White either. Or Aria. But Aria is Aria.


    Speaking of-


    <strong>Yes, Aria was told by White about what happened, </strong>Tar says, his amused voice sounding in my head as I try to figure out what to do with my arms before eventually just leaving them at my side, unused to hugs in general. And not really feeling close enough to the man to return it even if I dont try to struggle out of it.


    Which in and of itself is a big step up above most other people who try hugging me.


    Although, after he continues hugging me without saying a word for like an entire minute, I begin to feel more and more awkward. All the way till I reach up and pat him on the shoulder, saying, Uh, could you let go?


    And he does so immediately, stepping back and meeting me directly in the eyes.


    Eyes that I cant help but notice once again look just like mine even if theyre a bit narrower. At least, like mine in the whole glowing crimson eyes thing.


    Looks pretty cool. Although also a little odd, since Im not used to looking people with glowing crimson eyes in the eyes.


    Wonder if thats how others feel when looking me in the eyes?


    Im d youre ho- here, he finally speaks, the mans voice being deep but not too deep as he stumbles on what I was assuming was gonna be home before he changed it to here. Which was a good idea.


    Because this is not my home.


    We both then stare at each other unmoving for a few more seconds before Tar lets out a groan and the Demon Lords fae  or at least Im assuming its his  appears in the form of a wolf floating in the air next to him.


    And both fae speak at the same time.


    <strong>Would you just talk to each other?! Stop staring and talk!</strong>


    They then nce at each other, nod once, and focus on the two of us again as if we were children being scolded.


    I scowl at that thought, and I notice the Demon Lord doing the same.


    Then we look at each other with a frown, then a neutral expression.


    <strong>Well now we know who Scarlet takes after in terms of personality, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding rather amused.


    Until I reach out to swat him, the treacherous tanuki flying out of the way somehow before I can do it.


    <strong>Good, </strong>the Demon Lords fae says, her voice sounding oddly soft considering her wolf form. <strong>She clearly took more after her mother than poor Leon in terms of looks, so he needed something topensate.</strong>


    I gape at her at the same time as the Demon Lord reaches out with his hand to grab his fae by the scruff of the neck before tossing her straight out the doors to the balcony of the room, which Im only now noticing are open. She doesnt exactly fly far though before turning back around and casually floating back inside with what I can only assume is some sort of smug sense of pride as she floats in the air.


    <strong>She doesnt seem to be as fast as him though, </strong>Tarments as if speaking some sage wisdom. Then he turns to the Demon Lord and bows his head slightly, <strong>Oh great Blood Cmity, your daughter seems to-</strong>


    I cut him off by quickly grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and tossing him out the window. Only, unlike the Demon Lord, I use blood sacrifice to rush to the balcony and close the doors so that he cant get back inside.


    Then I wipe my hands clean of the pest and turn back to the Demon Lord to find him smirking in amusement. And I cant help but notice that Im doing the same.


    Huh. Looks like the tanuki wasnt useless after all.


    A tapping sound of ws on sses from the window of the balcony door behind me, but I, as the dignifieddy that I am, ignore it to instead walk back up to where the Demon Lord is standing.


    Now that the ice was broken as a matter of phrase, even if we havent really spoken to each other yet outside of his one statement


    So mind exining why Im here? I ask with a raised brow.

 Book 3: Chapter 38.3: The Blood Calamity Part III

    Book 3: Chapter 38.3: The Blood Cmity Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The amusement on his face dies down a little bit at my question before he answers, Because I wanted to see you. And so that you can train more efficiently as Im sure youd wish to do.


    I narrow my eyes at that.


    I couldve trained perfectly well back on Earth with my family, I bluntly tell him. But surprisingly, unlike White, he doesnt flinch. Instead his expression just retains the same neutrality as before. Although the amusement is finally gone.


    Okay, the faes joking aside, they are right about one thing. He does seem simr to me in terms of personality.


    Yes, but it wouldnt have been as efficient, nor would you have been able to meet my side of your blood, he exins, not giving an inch.


    Our eyes lock for who knows how long before I state, As true as that is, it doesnt excuse not giving me a choice.


    He nods his head and admits, Yes, that is true. But you wouldnt have chosen to meet me and your grandfather. It also wouldve slowed down your training significantly from what it could be. The man then tilts his head and adds, And besides. Dont you want a fighting style more fit for ws and our beast forms? You cant get that on Earth. Not the royal familys style of fighting at least.


    Now <em>that </em>catches my attention.


    The Demon Lords lips quirk ever so slightly in the corner as he says, You do want it, dont you?


    I grimace at that before ncing around the very fancy medieval style room for a moment and eventually nodding my head.


    Thought so, he says, but surprisingly without any smugness to his tone. Which I appreciate. Im assuming youre also going to want to go out to train?


    I turn my attention back to him before nodding my head again and answering, Yeah.


    Good, he says while walking over to the balcony and opening the doors, letting the tanuki inside as he goes out onto the balcony himself. And after a second, I walk out to join him.


    What I find outside though is arge castle overlooking an evenrger ocean made out of blood. Which is far below the actual ground. As if were floating in the air.


    This is my Duchy, the Bloody Duchy, my biological father exins. I personally created thesends myself half a millennia ago through blood Runes, along with the assistance of your grandfathers Blood Domain. He pauses for a moment as he reaches back and scratches the back of his neck, adding, Although nowadays, I have his Blood Domain as well. He turns to me and nods. You will likely get it too one day.


    I blink at that, utterly confused about why hes describing his duchy to me. But in the end, I decide to just let him talk. Because I can tell hes trying.


    And Im pretty sure he also just casually mentioned two mythic skills. Because there isnt anything else I can think of that could create something like this.


    <strong>Just ask him, </strong>Tar says whilending on my shoulder.


    I nce at him before shrugging, turning back to the Demon Lord, and asking, What are blood runes? And whats a blood domain?


    He looks at me, slightly surprised that Id spoken for some reason, then smiles a little and says, Theyre mythic skills. And without any warning, the area around us begins to get tainted with a deep crimson while droplets of blood appear all around us. Blood Domain is a skill that your grandfather attained that grants him absolute control over blood within the domain. And its a skill he etched, following which I obtained through the achievement-locked variety of it.


    I watch with more than a little awe as he begins to create animals out of blood without so much as moving a finger. The animals then start dancing around us as if alive. And to top it off, he creates several orbs of different types of blood. Some of the blood is ck, some green, some red, some is even blue. Then one of the orbs  the red blood  gains a slightly ckish green color to it that makes me think its corrupted somehow.


    With the blood domain, we can manifest blood, dispel the blood we manifested, and control any and all blood within the domain, he exins while looking up at the orbs of blood. Now, people have a natural defense against us messing with the blood directly in their bodies, but that defense is only as strong as their own reality. The man turns to look at me again, a slightly happy look in his eyes rather than the neutral expression he seems to have as his default one. Just like me. But we can generally do whatever we want to the blood inside of a living person a couple hundred levels below us and there isnt anything they can do to stop us.


    And I can get this skill too? I cant help but ask, truly understanding the power of a mythic skill for the first time.


    The blood domain vanishes, and he nods his head, Yes, you can. Then he raises his hand and begins drawing in the air, leaving a trail of glowing red blood behind. Blood Runes on the other hand is a mythic skill that I personally etched. Something your grandfather doesnt have. And it lets me use any type of rune magic rted to blood in all of reality. And thanks to that, Im also able to enchant items. To give them magic and skills.


    My eyes widen in shock.


    Holy shit thats strong.


    Rune magic is by far the strongest magic in terms of making magi-tech, or in Tartarus terms, magical items. Especially because they dont even need to infuse the item with a skill. They can instead just enchant it entirely, giving it magical properties.


    I step up to the railing and lean slightly over it with my arms folded across the red and ck bricks.


    So all of these inds I mutter, and my biological father finishes for me, Are enchanted by me, with your grandfather providing the blood to do so. He then reaches over and points down at the ocean of blood. Which you can find the leftover blood down there.


    I hold myself back from snorting.


    Leftover, he says.


    An entire ocean of blood is leftovers from making arge array of enchantments.


    On that note though, I look back at the Demon Lord before asking, What other mythic skills do you have?


    He looks at me with a full smile for the first time since he hugged me and says, Im d youre interested. Although Im sure youre just snooping to figure out what etched skills you can get. I blush slightly at that, since hes absolutely correct. We dont have the time to get to that though, as much as Id like to.


    Wait, what?


    Your grandfather has finally broken through the divination block on the pce and has just learned of your presence here, he exins, making my eyes widen in both shock and fear. He basically told me that hell be visiting in two hours to give you time to prepare. And weve already spoken for half an hour since then, so youll need to start preparing. And so will I.


    I blink at that.


    Prepare? I ask. Prepare what?


    You stink of the human world, my biological father states rather bluntly while scrunching his nose a little. Of their putrid environment tainted by their technology. Something that makes me wonder if our technological curse wasnt such a bad thing after all. And before I can say anything about the clean skill, he adds, And its not something the clean skill can eliminate.


    Well, thats annoying. I cant really smell much of anything bad.


    Actually, the only new smell I can smell is the near overwhelming scent of blooding from the ocean down below. And a bunch of new scents Im assuming belong to demons.


    Also a mix of ash, smoke, and trees. The same thing I smelled from the Fracture cores.


    My biological father suddenly pats me once on the head, making me re at him before he turns around and begins walking towards the fancy double doors of what Im assuming is my bedroom. And right when he reaches them, he steps to the side and whistles a sharp whistle that actually has me wincing slightly.


    And to get rid of that smell, youre gonna need a bath, he says as the doors open, and a few female demon maids walk in before bowing. Then you can meet your grandfather before the ball scheduled forter today.


    I feel a shiver run down my spine at the mention of a ball.


    I wish I could talk to you more, but I put off a lot of work recently and need to catch up on it a bit, he says, sounding slightly awkward as he does. Then he heads out of the room after a brief, Esteemed Blood Lord, from the maids in respect.


    The maids then turn to me and bow again with a short, Greetings, Your Highness. Please follow us to the bath. We are running short on time, and His Highness would like you changed afterwards as well into something more fitting for the ball.


    A second shiver runs down my spine at the mention of them getting me changed into something more fitting for the ball.


    I get the feeling Im not going to like this.


    At all.


    That feeling only grows stronger when Tar quickly says, <strong>Well, Ill see youter!</strong> and vanishes without a trace.


    Well, shit.

 Book 3: Chapter 39: Unexpected Luxuries and an Unfortunate Situation

    Book 3: Chapter 39: Unexpected Luxuries and an Unfortunate Situation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a rxed sigh as I lie back in the grandiose bath spanning asrge as a damned swimming pool. Against my expectations, the maids actually did respect my privacy. Although I guess my thoughts on the matter were just tainted by the sight of royalty in tv shows, movies, and video games being bathed by attendants too much.


    These maids actually gave me the option to let them take care of me or to let me do it myself. They even left the room so that I could get out of my clothes, telling me to ce them somewhere in the changing room connected to the bath.


    The only unpleasant part was them taking my measurements before they left. That and how when I told them in no uncertain terms that I wasnt going to wear a dress, they simply apologized and said that the Princess cant be meeting His Majesty for the first time in travel clothes and that ball attire requires women attending to wear either their armor or a formal dress, and since I dont have any armor to wear until they get my new armor made, I cant exactly wear that.


    Which means Im probably stuck wearing a dress for a little bit. Something I am <em>not </em>looking forward to.


    Although I guess I could just refuse and put on the clothes I was already wearing before this. Its not like theres anything stopping me from doing that.


    Yeah, guess Ill just do that.


    The maids are rather intimidating despite how respectful they are though. Just the very fact that theyre all ss V demons is terrifying in its own right. And not just them. Literally every servant in this entire castle is ss V. Hundreds of ss V demons all in this one building.


    A being on par with some of the strongest humans on Earth is just a simple maid here in this castle. Certainly puts into ce how different Tartarus and Earth are.


    I stretch a little bit with a short groan before looking around again at the beautiful ce. Throughout the room are various statues of wolves and blood lycans in their beast forms, both humanoid and otherwise. And everything is a beautiful shade of crimson on ck. Meanwhile the water itself is the perfect temperature, and even feels like its massaging my body somehow. Probably due to magic.


    There are also some small lights at the bottom of the bath just to illuminate it, each of which are crimson in color.


    Overall the entire bath is a paradise to me. It even hasplete soundproofing, and a small waterfall in one spot to give a bit of ambiance to it!


    Out of nowhere, I hear a bell chime, following which I hear the voice of one of the maids say through the closed doors, Your Highness, its time to get changed. His Majesty will be arriving on the hour.


    I hold myself back from groaning before getting up out of the water and briefly wondering how her voice is getting through the soundproofing on the door and walls. But then I realize that the soundproofing is gone. Which I guess means it can be turned on and off.


    So I call back out, Please wait outside the changing room so I can dress myself.


    A brief pause ensues before a slightly confused answeres, Very well, but the clothing may be difficult to put on yourself. Please let us at least help you put it on after youve put on your undergarments.


    I blink in surprise, only to decide that its probably the best concession Ill get. And besides. If theyre gonna leave, I can just put on my underwear and my usual clothes as well while theyre out.


    Surprisingly, the maids dont give me the chance to respond as I hear them leaving the changing room. So I quickly go inside to find a beautiful ck and red dressid out on a counter in the back of the changing room, along with various other articles of clothing including undergarments. But I ignore them all to look around for my own clothing.


    None of which I find.


    Shit. Shit, shit, shit.


    Why didnt I consider that theyd take my clothes with them?!


    I hurriedly look around the room, briefly wondering if I could somehow magically manifest clothes before eventually letting out a sigh and giving up.


    Well, shit. Looks like I really dont have a choice. Not unless I want to run around the pce naked, which is even worse than wearing a dress by a longshot.


    So I walk over to it and put on the underwear. Then, as if magically knowing that Id finished doing so, the maid knocks on the door and states, We will nowe in and help you into the dress, Your Highness.


    They wait a few moments, as if giving me time to mentally prepare myself or something before opening the door and walking in with more than just three maids this time.


    I blink in surprise at the sight of five different maids, only to feel a little ustrophobic and ufortable in general when they get too close, some of them grabbing articles of the clothing. Not to mention my general difort with being in here with them in just my undergarments.


    Lets begin, Your Highness, she says, and out of the corner of my eye, I cant help but notice a corset somewhere in the dress that has me wanting to be anywhere but here.


    Uh, are you sure theres no way I couldnt at least get an outfit with pants? I ask, feeling a little shy and awkward being surrounded by five Noble demons in maid outfits while in my current attire. Noble demons who are all in their humanoid form, giving them only a few demon characteristics such as one of them who identifies as a vampire and simply has pale skin and sharp fangs. Or another who identifies as a draugr and has pitch ck eyes with slightly pointed ears.


    Im afraid not, Your Highness, the same one who is always speaking says again, making me think of her as some sort of head maid or something. This being the vampiredy. You may wear your new armor during any ball following this one after you get it, but the attire for Noble women during balls in the Noble Court are either dresses in the colors of your house, or magical armor worthy of your houses name.


    Oh I mutter, feeling a little depressed at the moment. Because I know theres no way I could possibly escape considering the vast number of ss V demons in this pce. Oh, and the fact that its floating in the air.


    I also know that theyre not going to give me anything else to wear, so if I dont wear the dress, Ill be stuck in this underwear. And Im not gonna go around half naked.


    Then lets begin, the maid repeats her earlier statement, snapping her fingers and making the other maids begin rushing all around me.

 Book 3: Chapter 40: Good News Amongst the Pain

    Book 3: Chapter 40: Good News Amongst the Pain


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Hey Tar? Could you make it so that I dont get a stupid System message every stinking time I see a new demon? Its getting really annoying to have an identification message y out in my head everyst time I turn my eye to find someone new. Especially considering that everyone Ive seen so far is ss V.


    <strong>Of course, </strong>Tar says, his voice echoing in my head as he floats next to me, the tanuki having been scolded by the maids when he triednding on my shoulder due to it not being dignified. Maids who Im pretty sure are plotting to ruin everyst bit of dignity I have left by now, considering the whole corset thing which I am very much not used to wearing and is entuating my chest more than any other outfit I have ever worn. <strong>Actually, most demons dont bother having the identification turned on by default, instead asking for the System to identify others. Because unlike you humans, they can identify most everyone on their as long as theyre not the exact same species.</strong>


    Huh, guess thats right.


    I carefully keep my bnce as I walk, not used to wearing heels. Something that the maids for some reason insisted upon. The only bright side being that they didnt put me in high heels.


    The dress itself, I have to admit, does look quite nice on me. And it does take into ount my dislike of exposing skin, which apparently the Demon Lord was already aware of ording to the maids. Since this dress doesnt actually expose much of anything. It even has the shoulders covered, and long sleeves that end around my wrists.


    The dress is mostly ck with a small red strap with the texture of a ribbon going across my stomach, with the dress flowing out from there in a mostly straight manner down to about my lower calves. The majority of the dress except for the ribbon is all a sleek ck in color, but a small portion of the dress in the front stretching down from the little strap is a blood red and has some very faint ruffles as it goes down to the same length as the rest of it. At the same time, the dress above the strap actually has buttons that go up to the cor, which stops at about halfway up my neck and is made out of the same sleek material as the rest of the dress. Meanwhile my hair ispletely straightened and feeling silky smooth from that bath and is running down to about my knees in length since the maids trimmed it a little. Most of its going straight down my back, but there are two small parts going down over my shoulders and across my chest.


    But the breeze I feel from wearing a dress in the first ce is unpleasant and making me want to change out of this thing and find some pants. Although not nearly as much as the corset that would be making me feel like Im dying inside if it werent for pain diffusion which I now see as the best skill in the world simply for its ability to diffuse difort as well as pain. And the fact that they painted my nails red was in my opinion an unnecessary addition, but then again, all of this outfit was an unnecessary addition in my eyes.


    I re at the woman who Ive since learned to be the head maid of this pce  the vampiredy whose name is apparently Countess Selene Vespara of Bloodfall, a Countess without anynd to her name  making her stiffen up ever so slightly in the process. Then I let out a sigh and focus my gaze forwards as I walk through the grandiose pce, ignoring the various demons we pass by who are all bowing to me and clearly greeting me with a short, Your Highness.


    Something thats really starting to get annoying.


    Not to mention the fact that Ive seen hundreds of ss V demons so far just from where Ive passed in the pce going from the bath to wherever this maid is taking me. Unfortunately, ss V servants in the Royal Familys houses are a lot moremon than the human worlds education believes it to be.


    Literally every servant serving members of the Royal family are ss V demons ording to the maids. All Nobles. Most of which are of the rank Count or Countess and below.


    Actually, the head maid is the only Countess rank amongst the servants. Any who are of the same rank or higher are serving as my biological fathers personal guard or in some group he has called the Blood Fang. Some sort of force of soldiers beneath him. Or rather, force of Nobles beneath him.


    Such a confusing term, Noble. Since everyst ss V demon is a Noble, even those that have nond are Nobles. In fact, most Noble demons dont have anynd to their name.


    I hold in a swear as I trip slightly thanks to my heels only to catch myself before anyone notices.


    Fucking heels.


    Tar chuckles in my head, making my eye twitch. But I dont act out to swat at him or anything because I dont want to give a bad impression to the staff at the castle. The all ss V demon staff. The staff that if they didnt revere me as their Princess could kill me simply by swatting me like a fly.


    I am a little surprised that not a single one of them seems to care at all about my human genes though.


    <strong>Well, they know that as you ascend, your human genes will slowly be devoured by your demon genes, </strong>Tar admits, making me raise a brow. <strong>Itsmon knowledge amongst the Nobles, actually. The Demon King himself actually admitted recently that he knew from the first time he saw you that youd only have a single percentage of your human genes left by the time you reach ss V.</strong>


    That has me quickly turning to look at the tanuki.


    I will still have a percentage left of my human genes?!


    <strong>Yeah, turns out all our worrying was for nothing, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly annoyed by that. <strong>Then again, I didnt really take into consideration that your human genes belonged to the White Knight of Humanity and not just some regr human. So the genes are stronger than most humans and will at least let a single percent survive.</strong>


    Thats good. Thats very good.


    The tanuki nces at me as he says, <strong>I doubt I have to say this, but it wouldnt be a good idea to-</strong>


    I know. I wont just stop fighting and growing stronger just because Im not at risk of that anymore.


    Not sure if I could even if I chose to. Not with my pride getting in the way.


    <strong>Right. Considering that you just said, chose to and not wanted to, you could just say you dont want to stop, </strong>Tar mutters, making my lips quirk up slightly. Which, I notice, has the head maid walking next to me suddenly smiling and walking a tiny bit straighter as well.


    Thats going to take some getting used to.


    Note: If you are reading this on a website that is not Royal Road or on my Patreon, you are reading a pirated version and that website does not have the permission of the author to host the story. Please instead read the story on Royal Road, here, as it ispletely free to read on Royal Road.

 Book 3: Intermission 4

    Book 3: Intermission 4


    <strong>The Demon Kings Throne Room</strong>


    Arkaz repeatedly taps the armrest of his throne as he res ahead, ignoring the talks of the various Dukes and Duchesses around him. Instead focusing all of his attention on his inner clock thates with the System. Something most people dont realize exist until they ask about it.


    The moment the subi finally got a connection with Scarlet through their divining, he immediately knew the mission in the ss V Fracture was a sess, even if the ss V Fracture itself was stopped and the majority of the Nobles sent there killed. But the absolute joy and excitement he felt at it was immediately crushed when the divination was cut off before they could find her. The only thing they could see was that she was somewhere on Tartarus, which couldve meant anywhere.


    He of course considered his sons pce, but it wouldve been extremely difficult for his son to have found her immediately after she passed through the Fracture unless he was the one to send her through himself. Which he knew wasnt possible unless he paid the set mana price required to connect to his domination seed in another world. And he wouldnt do that unless it was an emergency, since doing it across worlds would lock him out of using that mana for several months.


    So he started searching elsewhere, hoping that his granddaughter was safe, only sending a cursory letter to his son in case he did find her.


    A letter he only bothered to answer <em>after </em>the divination barrier covering his granddaughter was finally shattered by the subi n, exposing his sons actions.


    Arkaz slowly watches the timer tick until it finally strikes seventeen hundred, at which point he stands up from the throne, silencing all of the Dukes and Duchesses in the process, before announcing, I will be meeting with my granddaughter. Carry on. Then he vanishes in a swirl of blood before any of them can react, shortly appearing on an outer court high up on a pce in the Bloody Duchy where he finds his son doing paperwork.


    Leonidas, Arkaz coldly states as his sons gaze rises to look at him. You have some exining to do.


    She only woke up earlier today, and I wanted to meet with her before you did, Leonidas answers in a blunt manner that has Arkazs eyes narrowing ever so slightly. We both know you wouldve rushed over here the moment you learned she was here, regardless of if she was awake and recovered or not.


    Before Arkaz can say anything, he continues, And what do you think she wouldve done if she had woken up to find the Demon King watching over her as she slept? It was bad enough to wake up to find one of the Demon Lords  people she was raised to believe were evil  watching over her, even if she already knew I was her father. But for both a Demon Lord and the Demon King? He shakes his head. I didnt want to risk overwhelming her right away.


    Arkaz feels a lot of his rage die down at the exnation.


    <em>He has a point.</em>


    But, Arkaz says, somethinging to mind, if she was asleep, you couldve just mentioned that to me when I arrived instead of hiding her from me and making me worry instead.


    Leonidas looks down at his paperwork, clearly using it to avoid the statement.


    The Demon King snorts and lightly shakes his head at that, understanding very well that he just wanted alone time with his daughter when she woke up.


    <em>I guess I cant really me him for that.</em>


    And her armor? Arkaz asks while walking over and sitting down on a chair in the ratherrge court, the blood moon hanging high in the sky.


    I will start working on it after the ball tonight, Leonidas states as he continues going over documents.


    <em>Good. If her new armor is made by him, then I wont have to worry about it not being good enough.</em>


    In that case, it sounds like shes almost here, Arkaz says while ncing towards one of the entrances to the court in particr. And she doesnt sound very happy.


    Arkaz notices his son wincing slightly at that, which isnt amon urrence.


    <em>Intriguing. I wonder what happened?</em>


    She isnt a fan of dresses, as it would appear, Leonidas eventually exins, reaching back to scratch his neck in an awkward disy.


    Arkaz nces at him with a single brow raised.


    You know as well as I do that it could damage the respect the Nobles have in her if they saw her in anything but a dress or armor befitting her status, Leonidas continues with a sigh. I wanted toplete the armor sooner, but she almost slept past the date of the ball in the first ce. A ball I had made to introduce her even if others dont know thats the purpose of it. And-


    You needed her awake to work on the armor, I get it, Arkaz mutters, making his son lean back in his seat with a sigh. I can see how that would be an issue.


    <em>While I could threaten everyone into submission or simply kill them, that wouldnt help her very much in the long run. And I want to help her as much as I can in any way possible. Although I get the feeling the Nobles would only think her entric or some such nonsense if she didnt wear the proper attire, and that Leon is overthinking things. She is still my granddaughter after all. And that ces her far above any of them.</em>


    A few seconds pass in silence, during which Leonidas finally puts down his enchanted quill. The two of them then spend a few minutes simply listening to the sound of Scarlets footsteps as she approaches the outer court. And the moment Leonidass head maid opens the door for her and she passes into the outer court, Arkazs eyes lock onto her and he disappears from his seat, reappearing right in front of her before lifting the startled girl up by her arm pits and smiling the widest smile hes shown in nearly two thousand years.

 Book 3: Chapter 41: The Demon King

    Book 3: Chapter 41: The Demon King


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>A few moments ago</em></strong>


    After I hear my biological father and the man Im pretty sure is my grandfather stop talking, I let out a sigh, not pausing in my walk down the hall.


    Okay. So thats a lot to take in.


    <strong>They were likely speaking with the intent of you hearing their conversation, </strong>Tar exins for me. <strong>Otherwise they wouldve put up some sort of sound proofing to block others from listening in.</strong>


    Good to know.


    I guess thats one way to quell the dislike that I had fostered towards the Demon Lord for making me wear a dress.


    He not only didnt know about me disliking dresses despite knowing about my dislike for not showing skin, but he also didnt have much of a choice by the sounds of it. Of course, Im sure they could just force it if I really wanted to try forcing my way into regr clothes. But at this point, its lose some of the Nobles respect, or wear a dress for a single night.


    And loathe as I am to admit it, I think Id rather wear the dress. Because each and every one of these Nobles can squash me like a bug.


    Not exactly a good idea to get on their bad sides in any way, even if Im pretty sure the Demon Lord wouldnt let them.


    At some point during my walk through the pce, I get lost in my thoughts. But thates to a screeching halt when I enter what looks like arge outer courtyard on the roof of a lower floor of the pce and am greeted by a man with long red and ck hair simr to mine but with a paler shade of red appearing right in front of me. And before I can so much as react to his appearance, he puts his hands underneath my arms and lifts me up like some sort of child, making me let out a slightly less than dignified yelp that no one will ever hear again.


    But despite his smile, despite how absolutely happy the man for some reason looks, I cant help but stiffen up in fear at the waves of absolute power wafting off of him every single second. Power that ispletely unrestrained. Power that makes White look like a joke in the few times I saw her letting out her mana unrestrained.


    Then a slightly demonic sounding message ys out in my head. One vastly different from any other System message as I physically see abel appearing above his head and not just sounding out in my head.


    <strong></strong>


    Are those his Titles?


    Tar answers as the man begins swinging me in the air like a child, making my face turn a shade of crimson I never want anyone to see, <strong>Yes. When a being with a Title is identified, their Titles will appear instead of their name. </strong>And the tanuki sounds way too amused for his own good right now.


    But why am I able to identify him when hes a blood lycan too?


    <strong>Because hes the Demon King, </strong>Tar answers as if that exined everything. <strong>Hes special. Everyone can identify him regardless of their species.</strong>


    Oh.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find the Blood Lord looking away while coughing to suppress augh. Meanwhile the head maid and all of the other maids currently around the outer court that I see, along with some people dressed in armor, all look extremely happy for some reason.


    Eventually the man finally sets me back on the ground before he then steps forward and pulls me into a hug, without even letting me regain my bnce. And he quite literally puts his chin on my head as he hugs me, the man being way too tall for his own good.


    Im simply too shocked and terrified right now to move, so I just stand stiffly as he hugs me.


    A level 2500 being. The strongest being in existence. One strong enough to destroy an entire if he wished to without much difficulty.


    Is hugging me and not letting go.


    Who knows how long passes with him hugging me before the Blood Lord finally clears his throat and says, Father, I think you may be overwhelming her.


    The Demon King finally takes a step back, letting me go. But I continue staring at him, my eyes wide in uncertainty and shock. Although at this point Im pretty sure he isnt going to hurt me, so the fear is mostly gone.


    Especially considering Tar said he actually cared about me.


    But hes the Demon King.


    <strong>Hes also a doting grandpa, </strong>Tarments, interjecting himself into my thoughts.


    A doting grandpa the Demon King doting huh?


    I blink, simply staring at the man in front of me who now looks rather awkward and unsure of what to say or do himself.


    Huh. Guess our awkwardness in situations like these does runs in the family after all.


    After a few seconds, the Demon King seems to realize we have an audience, so he snaps his fingers while sending them a frown, making each and every Noble in the area clear out, leaving us all alone. Then he looks at me with a warm smile and says, Hello, Scarlet. Im your grandfather, but please just call me grandpa, okay?


    My thoughts short out.


    Grandpa the Demon King grandpa


    <strong>Uh, Your Majesty, she seems to be uh, shorting out? </strong>Tars voice echoes out loud, but I continue staring ahead, unable to really think about whats happening.


    The man in front of me reaches back and scratches his neck in a disy of uncertainty before looking back at the Blood Lord, at which point I finally blink again and mutter, Grandpa?


    His head swivels around to look at me, a bright smile appearing on his face.


    Until I, without really thinking it through, ask, Why are you attacking Earth?


    Then my hands immediately go to cover my mouth as I realize what I just asked. Meanwhile the smile on the Demon Kings face turns sad. Which isnt the reaction I was expecting.


    He looks at me, then at his son who also looks curious as to what his answer is.


    After a few seconds, the Demon King lets out a sigh and turns around while motioning for us to follow as he says, Come. Ill tell you the story.


    The Blood Lord looks borderline shocked at his words before he looks at me and nods his head in appreciation as if Im the only reason the Demon King was answering at all.


    <strong>Actually, that may not be far from the truth, </strong>Tar says, only to add, <strong>just listen to his story and youll understand.</strong>


    My eyes narrow for a moment, but my feet begin to follow after the Demon King without me even thinking about it.

 Book 3: Chapter 42: The Story of Tartarus and the Demon King

    Book 3: Chapter 42: The Story of Tartarus and the Demon King


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Once we get situated in some rather luxurious chairs underneath a small canopy with a table in between us, I take a moment during the Demon Kings silence to actually examine him. The man has hair a lot more like mine than my biological fathers, and its more like how my hair usually is. Slightly unruly but not too unruly. Still taken care of.


    Mine right now though is a different matter entirely thanks to the bathbined with whatever work those maids did on it.


    He also has a face just a little bit less sharp than my biological fathers, along with a generally arrogant yet alsoidback attitude in his body posture. One that I canpletely understand given the fact that hes the most powerful being in the universe. There literally isnt anything stronger than him, so whats there to worry about? Whats there that could threaten his pride and arrogance? Or his peace, in regard to theidback part of his attitude.


    Hes wearing two pauldrons over his shoulders with multipleyers and a golden outline with ck as the main color and ayer of red fur underneath, the same color as his hair. There are some golden ropes connected between the pauldrons, and he has tes of what look like a silvery ck armor over his forearms. Meanwhile the rest of his armor just looks to be ayer going down from his hips past his thighs, only on the sides of his body and not on the front or back, with some clothing simr to what Ive seen nobles in video games and tv shows wearing underneath it all.


    And hes just staring at his hands as he leans forward, his hands resting between his knees while he seems to be lost in thought.


    I nce at my biological father, only to find him shaking his head at me before he focuses on his own father. So I just stay quiet and focus on him as well.


    Eventually the Demon King spreads out his blood domain around us, just like the Blood Lord did before, and begins speaking in a slightly monotone voice, as if distancing himself from what hes saying, Unlike what many of the humans on Earth seem to believe, and even some of the demons, the System on Tartarus has been here for almost two thousand years now. And back then, when the System first initialized itself here, things were far different from now.


    My eyes widen in shock at that statement alone.


    Two thousand years?!


    Tartarus was split up into several different nations, including the Holy Empire, the Grand Empire, the Arcadian Republic, and various other nations, each with their own people and their own ways of governing, he continues, his words still sounding distant to my ears. During that time, I was the King of a smaller kingdom known as the Blood Monarchy. And things were rtively peaceful.


    I blink before frowning. And I notice the Blood Lord doing the same.


    The Blood Monarchy? The King of a smaller kingdom? Not one of therger powers?


    That peace didntst long, the Demon King says, a slightly self-mocking tone in his voice. The Grand Empire decided to pursue world domination. And one of the very first nations they conquered was my own, showing me just how weak we were even after the Systems initialization into Tartarus.


    I cant help but lean forward a little, interested beyond belief by this story. Something that will most likely answer all of the questions the humans of Earth had.


    They didnt just stop with conquering us though, instead deciding to use the powers of the System in order to create human weapons, the Demon King continues, but the Demon Lord stops him there as he asks, Human?


    The Demon King raises his gaze to meet his sons before nodding and answering, Yes, my son. Human.


    He then meets my own eyes as he continues, The Grand Empire experimented on my entire kingdom, my wife and I included, and turned us into test subjects. Turning us into creatures no longer even considered human by the System.


    A short pause ensues as I hold my breath.


    Turned us into demons.


    Both the Demon Lord and I stare, our mouths agape.


    Demons used to be human.


    Even Tar looks shocked, not to mention my biological fathers fae who had appeared out of nowhere as well.


    Our bodies all changed, the Empire turning us in groups, making some groups stronger and faster than others, he continues, his voice sounding monotone once again. The vast majority of the poption didnt even manage to hold onto their intelligence. Their capability to think like a human. They were turned into what are now known as spawn.


    Neither the Demon Lord nor I say a word, simply listening as the Demon King leans back. With our help, the Grand Empire eventually managed to achieve world domination, conquering everyst nation, and creating the Empire of Tartarus. But despite our assistance being the sole reason for their victory, the rest of the humans in the world hated us. They believed us to be disgusting, terrifying creatures who shouldnt exist, and they treated us as mere ves. Despite them being the ones who made us into what we were in the first ce.


    Thats horrible.


    I, along with all of the demons beneath me who still held their sapience, grew more and more enraged over this as the years passed. But despite this, we still held our tongue. We still obeyed. We didnt rebel, he says, his voice growing softer now. And eventually things even started to look up. He looks at my biological father. My wife and I had you, Leon. And we were even nning on having a daughter to give youpany as well.


    His gaze turns to me, a deep sorrow filling him to the brim, But then the Emperor of the Empire of Tartarus decided to make a show of power over the demons. By killing my wife.


    My eyes widen in shock, and I notice the blood domain around us growing slightly turbulent with the Demon Kings current emotions. Emotions that I can see written all over his face.


    Pain. Rage. Hatred. And sorrow.


    None of which are directed at me or the Demon Lord, but instead at those who did those atrocities.


    We were never able to have a daughter, even though my wife really wanted one, more than almost anything in the world, he continues, his voice toning down slightly. But when I found out that my wife was pregnant when she was killed


    Holy shit


    I lost it.


    An eerie silence fills the blood domain for a few seconds before he slowly says, For decades, I hunted everyst human I could find. Every single one. I grew stronger and stronger, eventually turning to killing the spawn in my own kingdomsnds just to put them out of their misery. And after nearly a century, I managed to kill the Emperor who struck down my wife.


    The Demon Kings eyes narrow and he looks up at the canopy above us. But the Emperor was ready for that, for he set up a dead mans spell. He looks back down. Two of them, in fact. One of them cursed all of demon kind to be bound by what he called the seven deadly sins, and the other restricted the technological development of Tartarus past a certain point.


    My eyes widen in shock, and even Tars do as well. Although, surprisingly, my biological father doesnt seem surprised by this part.


    And the only way to dispel these curses, he says, his voice growing quiet as he looks me in the eyes, is to exterminate every pure blooded human in the universe. Down to the veryst one.


    Pure blooded I cant help but mutter, feeling shocked by all of this information.


    He nods his head and says, Meaning you dont count in that number, as a hybrid between a human and a demon yourself.


    So thats why youre attacking Earth I mutter, unsure how to feel about all of this.


    The man nods once more before turning to look at his son. After that, I went on a berserk rampage, ughtering everyst human I could find. Even after the System had given me the Title Beast of the Apocalypse for ughtering over a billion creatures. I just continued. All the way till thest human on Tartarus.


    But the curses never lifted, my biological father mutters. And the Demon King nods at that with a sad look on his face.


    That they didnt, he says, a conflicted note in his voice this time. After that, I returned to my kingdom to find it in in utter chaos, so I rebuilt the kingdom. I turned it into what it is today and even gained the Title Demon King. He then pauses as a sad note crosses his face, his eyes moistening slightly while meeting his sons. And the only reason I managed to retain my sanity at all, was because of you.


    I sit in silence, absolutely sure that I shouldnt say anything as my biological father tears up a bit. Something I never thought I would ever see, same with the Demon King tearing up.


    The silence extends for a little bit before the Demon King leans forward in his seat and looks at me again, Over the years, I ended up reaching the level cap for ss V. But no matter how hard I searched, I couldnt find a sufficient catalyst to ascend to ss VI. He pauses here, his face turning slightly dark. Then Queen Tiamat, the creator of the System, passed away, and free reign over the System for any living being became locked. After that point, anyone who wasnt already initialized into the System would need to contract with a fae to initialize themselves into the System, even if they didnt stay contracted to them afterwards. A way the Queen designed to keep her own people alive after her passing.


    Wait a second, everyone had ess to the System at one point? Without a contract?


    The hell?


    I almost gave up in my search to be ss VI, the Demon King moves back to the subject of ascension, only to darkly chuckle. But right when I was about to give up, the Fractures began, opening us up to a new world. His eyes meet mine. To Earth. Where more humans existed, exining clearly why the curses never lifted.


    I grimace and mutter, So youre trying to kill the humans on Earth to lift the curses.


    He nods before adding, And because I despise all of humanity. It doesnt matter if theyre on Tartarus or not. Humans will always be despicable creatures. So I feel no pity anymore for killing them. No regret. Not after all theyve done.


    That Im not sure if I can really me him, but at the same time, what hes doing is terrible. And hes arge part of why treatment of orphans is so terrible on Earth. Why so many people die every day.


    Now, Im not a martyr or anything. I dont really care much about other people unless it just doesnt inconvenience me to help them.


    And Im not going to lose sleep over someone dying near me. It happens every day. Even before the Fractures, the world was constantly at war with itself, with soldiers dying every single day. With people dying to disease all the time.


    Death is just an eventuality in life. Theye hand in hand.


    I cant forgive you for what youve done to humanity on Earth, especially when they havent done anything to you, I state while shaking my head, quickly finding a deep sadness in the Demon Kings eyes. But I dont take it personally either. So while I will never support you in any of your goals against humanity from what Im told, you didnt even know about what was happening when I was taken to Earth and abandoned in the first ce. You didnt have a say. I pause to nce at Tar, only to find him nodding his head, so I turn back to the Demon King to find hope in his eyes. So, even if I will never forgive you in that, I will not hate you. And after a brief hesitation, I add, Grandpa.


    His eyes alight with joy at that, and I can tell he looks to be itching to hug me. But my biological father stops that as he clears his throat and says, You didnt finish.


    The Demon Kin- uh, Grandpa? Thatll take some getting used to. Grandpa straightens up again, wiping any moisture from his eyes as he continues, The Fractures also represented a way for me to achieve ss VI, since I can ascend after I obtain ten ss V cores. So whatever the universes plot is regarding its creation of the Demonic Assaults and the Fractures, I need it to continue at least until I manage to gather all of the cores I need to ascend.


    My jaw drops open.


    To ascend to ss VI.


    This is a major info bomb.


    As Im trying to parse this information, I hear my biological father slowly ask, But what if there was another way to get rid of the curses?


    Silence fills the blood domain while both Grandpa and I turn to stare at him.


    What? Grandpa asks, his facepletely nk.

 Book 3: Chapter 43: The Prophecy Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 43: The Prophecy Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    What if there was another way to get rid of the curse? Would you then stop your attack on the human world? the Demon Lord asks, briefly ncing in my direction before focusing again on Grandpa.


    My lips part slightly at that.


    Grandpa frowns and nces at me, only to look at him again and nod, If there was another way, I would pursue it.


    The Demon Lords lips twitch slightly as he says, Then now is as good a time as any to tell you, especially since its allowed by the prophecy.


    Out of nowhere, Grandpas face turns downright terrifying as he looks at his son with the coldest look Ive ever seen him show thus far. And the Demon Lord flinches at that look. He <em>actually </em>flinches.


    The prophecy the witches foretold soon after Scarlets birth, Grandpa says, his voice just as terrifying as his face. Yes, I know of it. My fathers entire expression changes to one of shock. I learned of it only a little over a month ago. And while saving the entire universe from the threat, clearing the curses, and bringing peace to both the humans and demons is a righteous goal his eyes sh with an even brighter crimson light, but with flickers of ck in them as the blood domain around us grows turbulent, your daughter, <em>my granddaughter</em>, was the one to pay the price. <em>For your own choice</em>.


    My mind shorts out at the mention of the prophecy. And the supposed goal of the prophecy.


    Saving the entire universe? Curses? Peace?


    What I speak, my voice barely a whisper despite it drawing both of their gazes to me, what could abandoning me have anything to do with saving the universe?


    The Demon Lords eyes widen in both fear and distress, but Im too shaken up to care.


    Before I know it, I somehow find myself standing up and held in someones arms. After a few seconds of staring straight ahead, I vaguely notice Grandpa standing right next to me and whoevers holding me, meaning it has to be my biological father.


    But I still dont move.


    I swear I didnt want to abandon you, sweetie, I hear the Demon Lord whisper in my ear, his voice filled with emotions I hadnt realized he could express. And all your mother wanted when she took you away was to clear our curses and let us live in peace as a family. To save you from having to discover the pain our Curse of Pride can bring. His hand strokes the back of my head, but I barely notice it as I continue staring forward, my brain trying and failing to process whats going on. I love you, Scarlet.


    Everything freezes all at once. I stiffen up, my eyes grow wet, and I somehow feel my own ws, which are now extended without me even realizing it, digging into my own palms. Until Grandpa gently grabs my hands and pulls my ws out of my palms before healing them.


    Even that I barely recognize as I begin to truly cry for the first time in a decade.


    <strong>The Outer Court</strong>


    Leonidas isnt sure what to do as he holds his daughter. Not once has he ever been good at expressing or showing his own emotions in any way, and from what hes seen so far, his daughter is the same way.


    What he is sure about is that shes in shock. That shes crying. And that she needs <em>someone </em>to help her through this right now.


    <em>But am I that someone? I I knew where she was all those years, but never went to go get her. I just left her abandoned in a fucking orphanage Do I really deserve that? Or, would she want that?</em>


    <strong>In my opinion, no, you dont deserve that, </strong>ra says without holding back. <strong>But it doesnt matter what you want, its what she wants that matters.</strong>


    <em>And if she would rather have her grandfath-</em>


    His thoughts are cut off when he feels his fathers arms wrapping around both him and his daughter, making her pause for a moment in her crying as if registering what had happened. Then she continues to cry, but without making any noise this time. Nothing more than tears.


    <strong>No one said it had to be one or the other, </strong>raments, her voice sounding a lot warmer than before.


    Leonidas nods as he continues stroking his daughters hair lightly.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It takes me nearly ten minutes to calm down, and Im honestly not even sure what had me so upset. Not even now.


    <strong>Maybe everything just hit you at once when your father brought up the prophecy? </strong>Tar asks from his ce on my shoulder rubbing his head up against my neck. Something Im pretty sure those maids from before would skin him alive for doing.


    Yeah, that might be it. But Im not very good with emotions, so


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar says as I take a deep breath and nod at the two who are still noticeably awkward but seem to be content for some reason. Even if theyre still noticeably worried.


    The two give me a moment before I focus on the Demon Lord and ask, You mentioned a threat to the universe. What is it and how am I supposed to be of any help against something that strong?


    My biological father frowns for a moment, making me realize that he cant tell me about it. So I state, To be perfectly clear, I dont care about the specifics of the prophecy. In fact, Id rather not know them if I can help it. It would make me overthink things. This seems to surprise the two, but I dont leave it at that. What I want to know are the end goals of the prophecy and why I had to be abandoned for it to work. Like what is the threat thatsing, how am I supposed to break the curses, and why does it have to be me?


    The Blood Lord clears his surprise rather quickly and says, Okay. Ill tell you what I can then.

 Update and Book 4 Cover Image

    Update and Book 4 Cover Image


    My Summer semester of university is now over. But I am going to be going on a trip out of state with my dad next week, so I might still miss a chapter.


    Furthermore, my Fall semester of university - myst Fall semester ever - should start in about a month and a half.


    Now, moving onto the new art.


    I know I introduced a cover image for book 4 already, buuuut I''ve already changed it. And this one uses a slightly different art style. One I honestly prefer over the other one.


    So here''s the new one, still with no spoilers.

 Book 3: Chapter 43.2: The Prophecy Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 43.2: The Prophecy Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wont tell you any of the specifics of the prophecy since neither you nor the prophecy want that, but the main points are, he pauses to nce at his father before looking at me again after finding Grandpa frowning at him, seemingly still angry at the prophecy thing in the first ce, in order for you to grow independent, you had to be left to your own devices with some asional nudging to grow. To gain achievements far greater than any other at the same levels. And to grow fast.


    So it was you who was making all of the Fractures I entered so bizarre, I state with a frown. And he nods his head and says, It was.


    Grandpa doesnt seem to like that, but he stays silent anyways.


    Before I tell you about the prophecy itself, I believe it should be fine to tell you about what happened before it, he starts, making me frown slightly. About how your mother and I met. My eyes widen. How we had you.


    Back then, I hated humans just as much as any other demon did, and she absolutely despised demons even more than other humans, he says, leaning back slightly in his chair. I had gone to the witches valley after receiving a request from them and deeming it important enough to look into, simply because its a bad idea to ignore the seers. But when I arrived, they cast a ritual scale mythic skill with each and every one of their Nobles working together in order to trap me in the illusion valley alongside a human. Your mother. The White Knight of Humanity.


    They the witches were behind them meeting?


    I nce at Grandpa to find him still scowling.


    Oh, right. He doesnt like my biological mother.


    And a ritual skill? Isnt that a skill that requires over a dozen or so people working with the user for it to work?


    <strong>It is, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>Some might take upwards of a few dozen though. Generally the more people working with the user, the stronger the skills effect.</strong>


    We, of course, tried to kill each other right away, the Blood Lord continues, drawing my attention back to him with a start. It didnt work out. Because the illusion valley was inplete control, making it so that only the summoned creatures made by the witches would actually be able to kill either of us. Whenever we tried to attack each other, it simply didnt do anything. So we were left fighting the creatures for days upon days, months upon months, and eventually, entire years began to pass in there.


    I raise both my brows at that.


    Entire years just fighting alone with someone you hated? I think I can understand how they managed to get over their differences, if Im being honest.


    It took us about three years to stop hating each other, and another two to realize we had fallen in love, he continues, verifying my conclusion. And after that, we had you, and the witches let us out.


    I blink at the abruptness of that.


    But why? I cant help but ask.


    His eyes directly meet mine as he says, Because that was their goal all along. To force us into realizing our feelings for each other, and to have a child.


    My jaw drops open.


    Thats certainly one brutal way to matchmake.


    We, as you may have guessed, were not very happy with them, the Blood Lord says with a dark chuckle. But as it turned out, the entire illusionsted for only a fifth of the time on the outside world as it did inside of the illusion. Although just like any time magic, it didnt affect our level gain, no matter how unfortunate that was.


    Right. Time magic. I dont like time magic.


    After that, they told us of the prophecy, he continues, his eyes turning serious. The goal of the prophecy to them is simple. To save the universe from the ss VI being who will be descending upon us from the void in an attempt to destroy it.


    Holy shit I mutter out loud, my eyes going wide in shock. And I cant help but nce over at Grandpa to see if he reacted at all to the mention of a ss VI, only to remember that he already knew about the prophecy. So I focus on my biological father again.


    They simply saw the breaking of the curses and the peace between the demons and humans as a means to that end. Something that had to happen for us to all work together against this threat, he continues, sounding rather annoyed by that. But you were absolutely necessary for it all. You, the daughter of one of the Knights of Humanity and a Royal Princess of the Demons. You, someone afflicted with the Demonic Instincts curse but who also has vestiges of null magic in her. And you, someone who, if raised a certain way ording to the prophecy, could potentially reach ss VI in the distant future.


    Oh. <em>Oh</em>. Yeah, that does all make sense when he puts it like wait, I could potentially reach ss VI?


    <strong>Of course thats what you focus on, </strong>Tar says, sounding exasperated as his voice rings in my head.


    So you are the only one who can end the curses for reasons I cant speak of, you are the only one who can bring humans and demons together, and you will be the only one who may be able to bring an end to the threat to the universe, the Blood Lord continues, his eyes never leaving my own as he speaks.


    Several seconds pass in silence, the blood domain around us slowly shifting with droplets of blood moving in the air while likely protecting us from any would be eavesdroppers.


    I see, Grandpa says, bringing both our attentions to him. I knew all about the prophecys goal, but even I avoided trying to learn of any specifics that havent happened as of yet, since this is not a set in stone prophecy. And I understand that the wrong people knowing about it can lead to a shift in the prophecy.


    Thats a bit of a surprise.


    But still, he continues, making both me and my biological father frown ever so slightly, I will not be stopping my war on the humans until it is proven that Scarlet can indeed break the curses herself.


    When he sees Leonidas  which I believe was my biological fathers name and will be what Ill call him now since constantly calling him biological father is getting awkward even in my own head  beginning to speak, he raises a hand and says, However, I will not ughter all of humanity even after I win. Not until we know whether or not Scarlet can indeed break the curses herself. And I will shift the focus from ughtering every human in the Fractures to just targeting the Guardians.


    Thatll have to do, Leonidas admits, and while I wish he would call off the war entirely, I know thats stretching things a bit. Considering how much hes put into this war, and how it could all go up in smoke if I cant actually break the curses. Curses he seems to really want to break for the sake of both us and his own people.


    Because I can tell just from looking at him that this is more about that than his revenge and hatred of humans. After all, he wouldnt consider not killing them if he truly hated them to the bone.


    Its something, at least.


    Grandpa brightens up after a few seconds before turning to me with a smile and saying, Oh, thats right! We still have a ball to go to!


    I let out a groan.

 Book 3: Chapter 44: The Ball Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 44: The Ball Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Introducing, Her Highness, Princess Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron! a voice echoes out into the hallway as the doors to the ballroom open and I step through, quickly hearing loud apuse as everyone watches me enter the room. A room full of hundreds of Noble demons, all of whom are at least of the Count or Countess rank, making the lowest level individual here outside of the servants and myself being level 1400. And even some of those servants are still above level 1400.


    I simply walk through the middle of the grand ballroom full of dozens of tables, each stuffed full of refreshments of all kinds, until I make it to Leonidas, giving him a light nod. Then we both turn to grandpa, who is smiling at me. And if we werent in the middle of a ballroom full of his Nobles, I get the feeling he mightve started crying by now.


    Something that would shock everyst human on Earth to see.


    My granddaughter has finally made it back to us after all these years! Grandpa says, his voice somehow making it to every corner of the room despite him not shouting or even raising his voice. And shese with a total of <em>seven </em>legendary skills at the young age of neen!!!


    A loud roar fills the ball as everyone breaks out into conversation about it, with most of the demons praising me for my grand achievements. Something Grandpa said needed to happen to convince the <em>very</em> few demons who werent happy about me of my skill and worth. And I can already see those who Grandpa had pointed out to me earlier changing their attitude towards me already to, if not respect, at least no longer disliking or scorning me.


    I guess it really was a good idea for him to announce that.


    At first I was a little skeptical of the idea, but it looks like things are turning out well after all.


    Now, please! Eat and drink till your hearts are content! Grandpa says, making me almost raise a brow at the change of the usual phrase used on Earth of till your hearts content due to most of the demons here having more than one heart.


    Everyone raises their sses to that before taking a sip and filing out into their own little cliques. Meanwhile I just focus on Leonidas as he asks me, So how are you liking the ball so far?


    It just started, Iment with a single raised brow. But when he just raises a brow in response, I answer, It would be better if I were wearing armor instead of this stuffy thing.


    I pat my dress over my leg to emphasize my point, giving the clothing a clear scowl.


    Well, you should have your armor by the time the next balles around, he says while waving myints off. But Im too intrigued by the mention of new armor to care as I look directly at him and ask, So whats the armor going to be like?


    Before he can say anything, Grandpa chuckles and interjects, Itll be the best armor youve ever seen. Far better than what you were wearing beforeing here. He then nods his head towards Leonidas and adds, After all, itll be made by your father here.


    My eyes widen as I realize just how useful his blood runes could be in creating armor.


    At first I had doubts about them making something as good as my old armor considering theyre stuck with medieval tech, but with that yeah, their magic far outsses what humans can do. Not to mention that Tartarus has far superior natural and magical materials to work with than Earth.


    Sooo what will it be like? I repeat my question, since he didnt actually answer.


    Grandpa snorts in amusement, his eyes practically dancing as he nces at Leonidas, who just shakes his head in exasperation. But he still answers after a second, I have to admit that whoever did your armor was a very talented enchanter, so the actual defensive properties of the armor will only see a slight increase from your old armor. But there will be other enchants on the armor in addition to that. Something your other armor didnt have. Things like spatial storage pockets, a way to enhance it through blood, and a way to repair it through blood.


    I stare at him for a few seconds before asking, So when can I have it?


    Grandpa turns his head away to hide his smile as Leonidas lets out a sigh.


    This time he doesnt respond.


    A pity.


    I really want that armor now.


    Oh, and can you please make sure the armor doesnt expose much skin? I ask after a few seconds of silence, making Leonidas frown for a moment. And when Im about to wonder if he had already made it expose too much, he says, Of course I wouldnt make it expose too much. Why would I want dogs eyeing you up?


    I blink at that, and at the disgusted expression hes making. He even seems to shiver at the thought.


    <strong>Well, you are his only daughter after all, </strong>Tarments, sounding amused with the situation.


    Huh. Guess thats technically right.


    Didnt think hed be an overprotective type.


    <strong>Scarlet, all blood lycans are the overprotective type when ites to their kids, </strong>Tar says, sounding both exasperated and amused.


    Oh.


    I nce at Grandpa, just to find him gritting his teeth and ring at some random corner of the room. And when I look at the corner, I find a man seemingly around the same age as me running away and leaving the ballroom.


    Huh.


    Did he just


    <strong>He scared off someone who was eyeing you, </strong>Tarments. <strong>Im more surprised he didnt rip them apart than anything else, to be honest.</strong>


    I didnt rip them apart because then Id be ripping apart everyone here, the Demon King interjects into what was supposed to have been a private conversation since Tar was talking in my mind and not out loud. He then nces at me with a smile and adds, After all, shes clearly the most beautiful girl here, and no one can contest that. So its only natural. And I cant go killing off half my court.


    My lips part open and my cheeks turn bright crimson.


    Um, if youll excuse me, Im just gonna go to the outer yard Iment, quickly making my escape to the sound of Leonidas chuckling.


    When I reach the outer yard just outside of the ballroom, I let out a sigh of relief, finally being out of there. Then I feel a tickling sensation on the back of my neck, bringing my gaze to a dark corner at the edge of the outer court where I find some man seemingly standing guard. Then I turn and find a few others.


    Let me introduce you to your bodyguards, Your Highness, I hear the head maid suddenly say from behind me, almost making me jump in fright since I somehow didnt manage to sense her at all.


    Wait a second bodyguards?

 Book 3: Chapter 44.2: The Ball Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 44.2: The Ball Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Bodyguards you said I mutter, very much unhappy with the idea. Not only because itll make it hard to sneak away and hunt, but itll make it hard to go back to Earth when I feel ready to do so.


    <strong>Im kind of surprised youre not already nning to go to Earth, </strong>Tarments.


    Well, theyre right in that this ce is much better than Earth to grow stronger in. So Ill be taking advantage of that for a bit before going.


    Yes, Your Highness, the head maid says, the woman bowing slightly as she says so before she waves at the bodyguards, making five Nobles step out of the shadows, three of whom are women and two men. These are your Royal Bodyguards, and they will stay with you at all times except when you need privacy in which case they will surround whatever area youre in to make sure youre safe from all harm. They were all taken directly from His Majestys Royal Guard.


    Or at least, Id like to go back to Earth. But its starting to look like the chances of that are bing rather slim


    <strong>You wouldnt have made it anyways, </strong>Tarment, briefly prickling at my pride before he exins, <strong>you need another demon to help you through the Fractures to get back to Earth since youre not a pure blooded demon. Not to mention the Fractures are all fiercely guarded, always with at least one Noble. And the Gates are even more well-guarded. So unless you somehow convinced a demon to help you through, making them risk execution for the very minimal chance you could possibly sneak by a Noble demon, I doubt youll be able to sneak back to Earth.</strong>


    Oh.


    Thats not really what I wanted to hear


    Still gonna try to sneak away so that I can hunt on my own though. There should be a hell of a lot of prey to hunt here, so I can tide myself over with that.


    Then again, there isnt anything pressing that I need to do on Earth anyways. So spending a year or so here cant hurt, right?


    And the headmaster of the Guardians University I go to is White in the first ce, so I should be fine in terms of my time there.


    Actually, I wonder if that was why she became the headmaster of a university? Because none of the other Knights have ever bothered with the other Guardians Universities for the most part.


    Well, that aside, I focus on my bodyguards who have been stoically waiting as I conversed with Tar. Something that people seem to be used to on Tartarus.


    Although I guess that makes sense, considering that most everyone here has a fae contracted to them, unlike on Earth.


    Anyways, the bodyguards are all wearing the same type of armor, which if I had to guess is probably Grandpas Royal Guards armor. It has a lot of ck, with some stripes of crimson running through it and armor ting over all of the vital areas, and some sort of leather and scale armor in the areas between the tes. Also, the armor seems to be mostly made out of Blood Metal.


    The thing that stands out the most about these five is that theyre all, for one, kneeling right now and not raising their heads even to look at me despite not having said a word, and for two, theyre all blood lycans.


    I wonder if Grandpas entire Royal Guard is just made up of blood lycans, or if he specifically chose only blood lycans for my bodyguards?


    Either way, it makes things difficult.


    Because how the hell am I going to escape when they have hearing and senses even stronger than my own? I can hear a damned bird pping its wings from literally an entire kilometer away!


    I blink as the sound of the bird pping its wings goes away, being reced with a ssh of blood, a crunch, and another ssh of blood.


    Rest in peace bird.


    Please stand up, I tell the guards, deciding to finally acknowledge their existence beyond simply wondering how to ditch them.


    The guards immediately do so, and I almost flinch at the look theyre all giving me. Because its honestly rather creepy.


    Theyre all looking at me with absolute respect, awe, and for some reason I get the feeling theyd do anything I told them to as long as it didnt sh with Grandpas orders. Even die.


    And its really creepy.


    Although I also get the feeling they wont leave me even if I told them to.


    What are your names? I ask, and the center guard immediately steps forward and salutes me, mming his fist into his chest te as he deres, Vincent Lacroix de Argus, Your Highness!


    Then the one to his immediate right steps forward and does the same, introducing herself as Elizabeth Lacroix de Argus, his sister. And the two are followed by Juliette Argol de Argus, Seraphina Tempest de Argus, and Nicki Valtar de Argus.


    Overall, a lot of de Arguses.


    <strong>Looks like he didnt just send you an all blood lycan team of bodyguards, he sent you a team of all branch family blood lycans as bodyguards, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly surprised by that. Then he turns to me and nods. <strong>Yeah, youre never gonna get away from them.</strong>


    I raise a brow at him.


    Wanna bet?


    He opens his mouth, only to close it again, seemingly remembering thest bet we had.


    The one where he agreed to eat his tail if I ever get a mythic skill, which is likely to happen in the distant future if I keep my current progress.


    Come on. Wanna bet?


    <strong>Uh, I think Ill just stick to my words and say no more, </strong>hements while beginning tond on my shoulder just for a certain maid to pluck him off and coldly state, I dont care if youre fae royalty. You are not to dirty Her Highnesss beautiful dress. Do you understand me?


    The tanuki meekly nods his head in her grasp before the frightening woman lets him ago and he immediately flies behind me, not daring to touch my dress but still using me as a shield despite his ability to vanish into the In-Between.


    So about that bet.


    I hear him groan in my mind.

 Book 3: Map

    Book 3: Map


    If you''re curious, the Blood Lycans live in the Bloody Duchy and the Demon King''s pce. The Oni live in the Oni Citadel. The Mindeaters in theirir. The Ghouls live in the Caverns of Death, and the Arachnae in the Spider''s Burrow. The Kitsune live in the Ashen Mountains, and the Subi and witches live in the Mesa of Illusions.


    Also, the map is made by me using .


    PS: Something you would know if you read the glossary, no, the kitsune do not have any sort of illusion powers at all, so no they do not belong in the Mesa of Illusions. A patron asked why they weren''t there because they hadn''t read the glossary.

 Book 3: Intermission 5

    Book 3: Intermission 5


    <strong>The Arctic</strong>


    Everyone moves out of the way as Amelia walks through the crowd of Guardians to the edge of the cliff overlooking the massive horde of undead approaching them.


    <em>This is a fucking pain.</em>


    Amelia has been in a bad mood ever since Scarlet was taken, having seriously been hoping against hope that she would be able to train her daughter herself. But then <em>that </em>had to happen.


    The woman scowls down at the horde before raising a single hand and activating her Minor Erase skill, using up millions of points of mana as arge wave of white light engulfs half of the horde. And after just a second, the light vanishes again along with the ss II and ss III undead it had engulfed.


    She then turns around and begins walking away, ignoring the tens of thousands of Guardians charging straight down the cliff towards the horde she had just decimated.


    <em>You should rx when in front of the- </em>Purples voice lethargically begins to echo in Amelias head, but she just blocks everyone elses vision and hearing of her before saying, Yeah, not happening.


    A few seconds pass in silence as White begins to teleport from ce to ce until she reaches arge tower located at the very edge of the Arctic where she finds Purple sitting cross legged at the center of arge dome atop the tower.


    Why did you contact me, Gabrie? Amelia asks right away before rifying, What did you see?


    Of the five Knights, Purple, otherwise known as Gabrie Silva, is aplete mute unless she is speaking to someone she has seen in a vision or a prophecy, or she is speaking to one of her students. So Amelias first and only guess as to why she spoke to her was that she saw her in a vision.


    The woman, one who looks to be in herte forties thanks to her fate magic that makes her appear old despite most Guardians looking young, slowly opens her glowing purple eyes to look at Amelia before stating, The pup of two bloods shall grow into a wolf. Only then may she tear down the threat of void. But be wary, as the danger may not wait for her to grow.


    Amelia waits for a few seconds to see if Gabrie will say anything else, and when she doesnt, Amelia just nods her head in appreciation and turns around to leave. But right when shes about to teleport out of the tower, Purple speaks once more, There is more than one way to interpret a prophecy.


    Amelia freezes in ce at that.


    <em>Even Gabrie. Fucking damnit. I thought she was above that sort of stuff, unlike Will.</em>


    Ah, so Im not the only one! a voice very familiar to Amelia echoes through the area before a vortex of shadows appears out of nowhere just a meter in front of Amelia and Will steps into the tower through it. Why hello theredies! Did I miss anything important?


    Purple ignores him, simply closing her eyes and not bothering with the two other Knights in her tower now that shes finished telling the subject of her vision about it.


    Meanwhile Amelia res at Will, only for him to raise his hands as he sees white light begin to shine in her eyes.


    Wait, wait, wait! Lets talk this out, okay? he says, sounding like hes in a panic for a second, only for the joking panic on his face to evaporate in an instant, reced with a cold disregard as he says, No, actually, lets not. I did what I could to keep your daughter from the demons. And so did the family that you forced into your troubles, who are now endlessly worrying about whether Scarlet will evere back or not.


    Amelia continues to re at him, but the white light shining in her eyes doesnt grow any brighter.


    But what all did you do while this was going down outside of your duty? Will asks, his voice emotionless at this point. You simply let Leonidas leave. When you couldve stopped him. After all, its not like a substitute of him couldve stopped you from taking her back if you went all out.


    The white light in her eyes cracks once before a bolt of white lightning strikes down from the sky, passing straight through the tower, ignoring it without damaging it, and striking where Will was standing, only for him to appear a few meters away with his arms crossed.


    That was a family matter, Amelia speaks, finally feeling confident in herself for the first time in who knows how long as she turns to face him, a cold scowl on her face. You are not family, Will. Scarlet will be training on Tartarus as is her birthright, and should she wish toe back to Earth, she may do so whenever she is strong enough toe herself.


    Wills indifference cracks at that as he uncrosses his arms and tilts his head slightly, So youre actually giving her a choice this time? In a manner of speaking at least.


    Amelia nods her head. Once she is a Noble herself, she can do whatever the hell she wants. But for now, she can only do whatever she wants on Tartarus. Then a cold smile stretches across her face. And if a demon who she didnt pick a fight with does try to mess with her? Well see just how overprotective Arkaz can be.


    The ck Knight of Humanity shivers at the mention of the Demon Kings name, and even the Purple Knight, whos eyes are close, shivers as well.


    Amelia teleports away from the tower after that, appearing in her home floating high in the sky with enchantments that block anyone from seeing or sensing it. She then slumps down on a couch with a sigh.


    Several seconds pass as she stares up at the ceiling before her fae asks, <strong>Youre worried, arent you?</strong>


    Amelia smiles slightly at that and nods.


    I cant help but worry that shell go challenging someone far too strong for her to a battle and will end up dying because of it, she mutters, knowing that the blood lycans are loath to interrupt a hunt. Including the Demon King.


    <em>She better not die. Ill erase that entire if that happens. Or at least Ill figure out how to do that.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 45: Clothes and Corruption

    Book 3: Chapter 45: Clothes and Corruption


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The rest of the ball ends up being rather boring and repetitive. Fortunately, no one bothers to approach me to offer a dance because I decided to put my new bodyguards to use as a buffer. And they turned out to be an incredibly good buffer.


    They literally growled at anyone who got near.


    Not sure if thats normal, but Im not gonna question what worked.


    <strong>Its actually, Im not sure if thats normal either, </strong>Tarments, sounding genuinely confused as my bodyguards follow along around me as we make our way towards the room I woke up in. Specifically so I can change out of this dress.


    Then maybe burn the corset.


    <strong>Im pretty sure its made out of fireproof- </strong>Tar begins, but I mentally shut him out as I continue walking, imagining burning the corset and heels as soon as I enter my room. Only for that lovely dream to crumble when I enter and realize there arent any clothes in my room.


    Uh, where are my clothes? I ask one of the bodyguards, and she immediately answers, As the pce did not have your sizes until earlier this morning, and no one dared measure you while you were asleep lest His Highness kill them- I blink at that, but she just keeps talking as if she hadnt said it -the pce staff were unable to get magic clothes that fit you perfectly. However, Im sure they will have a full wardrobe ready soon, Your Highness.


    Doesnt that mean that this dress doesnt fit me perfectly? And here I thought it was only ufortable because it was a dress.


    Also, is she really just going to blow off that whole lest His Highness kill them thing?


    <strong>Yes, that she is, </strong>Tar says, sounding amused. <strong>And in all honesty, Im pretty sure he probably would have killed them if they suddenly went in and started groping you to figure out your sizes as you were unconscious in front of him.</strong>


    I open my mouth to retort, only to realize hes probably right.


    Thats a dark thought.


    Any chance we can go over to wherever they are and grab an outfit for me to change into? I ask, hoping against hope that they say yes.


    Absolutely not, the woman, Seraphina, says right away, startling me and crushing my hopes again, only for her to add, one of us can go get them instead. Theres no need to bother yourself for a task such a this, Your Highness.


    I blink at that, but they dont wait for me to say anything as the one named Juliette just gives me a quick bow and vanishes from her spot, following which I hear her speaking to someone on the other side of the castle. Then just secondster she reappears with a folded array of clothing in her arms before she carefully steps forward and ces it as gently as possible on the bed.


    Uh.


    <strong>I think youre forgetting that youre a Princess, </strong>Tar says, sounding like hes holding back augh.


    Shut up.


    Well leave you to get changed, Your Highness, Seraphina says as the five blood lycans all give me a brief bow before vanishing. I then hear them appear at various corners outside of my room keeping guard.


    Then even that noise goes away, showing me just how strong they are.


    <strong>Yeah, youre never gonna escape them, </strong>Tar states again, making me shake my head as I walk up to the clothes, finding them to surprisingly include my jacket folded up on the bottom.


    I smile at that.


    The rest of the clothes look to be a medieval top that would likely be worn by a high born noble family from Earth, along with pants and undergarments. All seemingly made of silk.


    Very soft silk.


    I look down at my dress before frowning.


    Huh.


    How do I get this thing off?


    After both closing the curtains to make sure I have privacy and spending who knows how long trying to figure out how to take off the dress, I finally get it off and change into the outfit given to me, finishing it off with my jacket over the top. Which actually doesnt look out of ce despite the different cultures and eras in the clothing.


    Then again, Seraphina did mention that they were making new clothes for me. So thats probably on purpose.


    Anyways, I walk over to the mirror to check out the new ensemble for a moment before nodding and walking to the bed.


    Alrighty, now I can check out my Skills Store finally.


    After lying down on my bed staring up at the canopy above me, I open the Skills Store to only show legendary skills again.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Unlocked by being ss II or above, by killing a demon one hundred or more levels above you with or without assistance over two hundred and fifty times half a year of being initiated into the System, by killing a being of higher sses three or more times without any assistance within half a year of being initiated into the System, by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>This skill allows the user to infect every being in sight that they choose to infect with one of three different viruses, each of which will spread through physical contact or contact with bodily fluids to anyone the user wishes it to spread to.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong>


    <strong>Unlocked by being at least ss II, by surviving what would normally most people at your level ten times over, by surviving having over twenty-five percent of your body petrified, by surviving a powerful poison, by having manipted your own blood in some way before, by surviving having a vital organ destroyed that would normally lead to death soon after destruction in some manner at least five times, and by- by- by- ERROR.</strong>


    <strong>User does not have null magic.</strong>


    <strong>Searching for alternatives alternative found.</strong>


    <strong>And by having null magic etched skills.</strong>


    <strong>This skill allows the user to slowly nullify any sort of corruption in their body over the course of ten minutes.</strong>


    <strong>The ten minutes does not have to go uninterrupted, however, the user may not use any other skills during this time.</strong>


    <strong>Usage of this skill requires a steady stream of mana.</strong>


    <strong>Passive</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong>


    <strong></strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    I stare at the store for a few seconds, then turn to look at Tar, whos jaw is currently wide open.


    Youre gonna catch a fly, Iment, amusement clear in my voice.


    His jaw shuts with a ck as he turns to look at me and says, You dont even realize what you just got, do you?


    I blink at that before rereading the descriptions of the skills. And after rereading Gradual Corruption Nullification, I realize that it says, any corruption, meaning any sort of illness, virus, poison, venom, or <em>curse</em>.


    A curse just like the one ced upon the demons.


    Oh, I mutter before immediately taking the skill without a single ounce of hesitation. Then I try to use the skill on myself to get rid of the curse.


    But I dont find anything with the skill.


    <strong>Damn, looks like it doesnt register the curse on all demons as a curse in your body, </strong>Tar mutters, making me frown.


    Does that mean I cant undo the curses after all?


    Tar shakes his head and says, <strong>No, you probably can if you can upgrade this skill.</strong>


    Right. Upgrading a purchased skill. Something thats almost unheard of, with White being the only known person amongst the humans to do it.


    Something I learned about not too long ago actually. About how she originally upgraded her own Pain Diffusion skill into Sense Nullification.


    I stare up at the ceiling, still smiling despite the skill not working as nned. Because now theres a clear goal in sight. Even if its a farfetched one.


    Thisll be fun.

 Book 3: Chapter 46: New Armor

    Book 3: Chapter 46: New Armor


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The sun begins toe up outside, bringing my attention to the window, which is leaking sunlight through the closed curtains, marking the beginning of the day as I hear quite the number of people going to sleep. Something Im going to find very difficult to get used to, since Tartarus is overall a nocturnal world. The days here are just as long as the nights are on Earth. Actually, theyre probably shorter in general. Just about six or seven hours each day.


    A lot of the demons dont bother going to sleep though, since most high leveled individuals dont really need much sleep. They need rest every day, but not all that much. And it doesnt have to be sleep. Could just be lying down and closing your eyes for a little bit.


    Too bad Im not at that point in power just yet. I believe it only happens after you reach ss III, and your mind begins to undergo the reality warp for it.


    <strong>Yeah, thats right, </strong>Tar confirms my thoughts as I return my gaze to the canopy above me. <strong>ss I reality warp is to change your body to fit your magic, ss IIs is to perfect your body both in appearance and physical form, and ss III is to improve upon your mind, enhancing your magical senses and making it easier and faster to think. Then ss IV begins to infuse your reality deeper into your body, giving you a natural protection against any form of mental or reality attacks. And ss V finishes that process while also granting a powerful increase in all your multipliers and warping your body one more time to be perfectly in tune with your magic.</strong>


    Right. So I just need to make it to ss III to no longer have to waste my time sleeping.


    Actually,e to think of it, you dont have to eat at ss V, right?


    Tar nces at me beforending on my chest and curling into a ball as he answers, <strong>You dont.</strong>


    Right. Now I really want to reach ss V.


    Tar snorts.


    I smirk before deciding that I might as well go ahead and start getting used to this new nocturnal sleeping.


    Really?! I exim, my face practically radiating excitement as I barely keep myself still while standing in front of my bed the next night. Or rather, the next dusk? The next dusk. Its finished?!


    Leonidas nods his head with a faint smile before snapping his fingers, making an amulet appear in the air next to him. And the amulet is absolutely beautiful. It has some sort of blood red gem inserted into the center of a triangr shaped pyramid pointing downwards with two wolves howling engraved on the silvery ck design, both wolves facing away from the jewel. Meanwhile the chain itself attached to the work of art is a sleek silver with some flecks of red running through it that you can only see at an angle. As if it were magical. Which it kind of is.


    I reach forwards before grabbing it and putting it around my neck. Then I put some of my mana into it and it immediately makes arge vortex of blood move around me as my clothes are swapped out for the armor, following which the vortex of blood vanishes again, leaving me in a ratherfortable set of armor. Much morefortable than my old set which was too tight around the chest.


    After testing my movement a little in it, I nod my head, satisfied with it before going over to the full body mirror that a Noble servant had brought in at some point. And my reflection in it both has me happy and a little frustrated. Because the armor looks really nice on me, but it also emphasizes my form a bit too much. Not too, too much, but a bit. And Im used to wearing stuff that doesnt do that. Hence my jacket.


    The armor is form fitting around the torso with some give-way in the arms and legs, which seem to be made out of some sort of silk with a gauntlet on both hands going down to my elbow along with spiked pauldrons on both my shoulders. The silk part ispletely red while the pauldrons and gauntlets are a mostly solid ck with deep blood red lines and are clearly made out of blood metal, just like the entire torso which is mostly ck and red with a glowing blood red symbol in the center of it. Meanwhile the rest of the torso is mostly ck but with some lines of blood red going down from my stomach to my naval with a triangr te standing out from the rest going up from my naval to the bottom center of my chest and some sort of symbol at the bottom center of the triangr te. The armor has a mostly silk cor and some extra ting around my hips, with high greaves going up all the way from my feet to my knees and the same silken material as on my arms covering the rest of my legs.


    Overall, I love it. I just really wish that it didnt emphasize my figure. But I guess most armor does that since theyre almost always fitted just right to make sure it doesnt move around on you or try to fall off somehow while still giving you room to breathe and move around yourself. To make it fit perfectly.


    I turn around to look at Leonidas to find him wiping a tear, which has me raising a brow.


    Dont mind me, he says, making me raise my other brow. Just d I finally got to make you armor.


    Huh. Sentimental much?


    The armor your wearing can be repaired using blood of any type, including the blood you have in your blood bank skill, and it can also be enhanced with that blood as well to grow more durable, he immediately gets into describing the benefits of the armor. Then he points to the armor ting over my hips, bringing my attention there as he says, There are two storage spaces in the armor that you can use, and theyre both there. Simply speak themand word and it will open the pockets for you. You can also change themand word by using the currentmand word and saying Change.


    I pat down on my hips, but I dont find anything, only for him to add, The currentmand word is just open so change it to whatever you feelfortable withter.


    Open, I state, and two small slits open up in the side of the hips leading into some sort of red vortex. Cool.


    Last but not least, at least for me, the silk underneath the armor ting is enchanted to simply pass on any damage done to the silk to you when the armor itself is destroyed so that the silk cant actually be destroyed, he says, making my eyebrows rise as he scratches the back of his neck. Mostly to make sure your armor isntpletely destroyed, leaving you exposed.


    I almost chuckle at that, instead thanking him. Because that is a rather nice enchantment.


    Not like I was expecting silk to be able to handle an attack anyways. And thisll maintain my dignity in case the rest of the armor is broken.


    I have to admit, it really is better than my old armor, I state while ncing at the mirror again.


    Of course it is, Leonidas scoffs, making the corners of my mouth quirk up.


    Prideful old man.

 Book 3: Chapter 47: Lazy Prince

    Book 3: Chapter 47: Lazy Prince


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Surprisingly, or I guess unsurprisingly considering what I know about blood lycans and hunts, Leonidas lets me leave the castle as long as I have my bodyguards. So thats the very first thing I do, after eating breakfast that is.


    The first thought thates to mind after leaving the pce though is that the city further down on the floating ind is rather scarce of people judging by the sounds I hearing from it. But then again, its supposedly a city meant just for blood lycans, with no one else living there.


    A ce I feel Ill probably end up ufortable passing through. So I ignore the city to go to the edge of the ind before skirting around it to one of the bridges leading to other inds.


    The bridge is made of blood metal and isnt even so much as swaying in the wind as I reach it, the blood red metal thats so dark its nearly ck shining with the light of the blood moon above us. Not to mention the reflected blood moons light thatsing from the blood down below us.


    After poking at the bridge for a moment to test it, I quickly begin to make my way across, constantly feeling the gazes of my bodyguards watching me from the shadows as I do so. Which I cant help but wonder how theyre even doing that considering Im on a damned bridge thats only spanning about four meters in width.


    Once I make it to the center of the bridge, I find a crack in it going from one way to the other withtches between the two sides, denouncing it as a drawbridge. But I continue walking without spending much time to study it.


    Overall Im kind of surprised Grandpa let me leave the pce. Particrly because he seemed to have wanted to spend more time with me from what I saw yesterday.


    I could be wrong though.


    Although theres also the possibility that Leonidas simply didnt tell him I was leaving. Which would be amusing.


    <strong>And very likely, </strong>Tarments, adding his own thoughts to the matter. <strong>Doesnt matter though. Blood lycans do not interrupt hunts.</strong>


    True. I keep forgetting that they have apletely different set ofmon sense than what Im used to.


    <strong>If a blood lycan marks something as their prey, it is a social faux pas for anyone else to take it from them or interrupt the hunt, </strong>Tar says, making me smile slightly.


    That sounds nice. Maybe itll mean these bodyguards wont damage my EXP gathering then.


    <strong>As long as you dont shoot too high in terms of your hunt, theyll leave you be, </strong>Tar says, clearing most of my worries. <strong>The only times I can see them interfering is if you try fighting something midway through ss III or higher. Although one of them <em>may </em>interfere if you fight something at ss III at all, but that would depend on the bodyguard in question.</strong>


    Right. Thats good then.


    For now


    Vincent, would you mind telling me where some good prey are? I ask the air around me, following which the bodyguard in question appears right in front of me and points towards one of the inds to the East. Much appreciated.


    Of course, Your Highness, he says with a bow before vanishing again.


    That is kind of annoying.


    <strong>What? The vanishing thing or the Your Highness thing? </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely curious as he appears in the air, briefly nces back at the pce, and sits on my shoulder with a happy look on his face, making me raise a brow in amusement.


    Both. And did you just look back at the pce to see if that head maid was anywhere nearby?


    He doesnt say anything for a few seconds. <strong>No</strong>


    You totally did.


    I begin walking along the edge of this ind towards the bridge leading to the one the guard pointed out. A bridge that is currently up in the air and not connected.


    Then again, he probably wouldnt have pointed it out to me if I couldnt get them to lower it.


    Anyways, I dont like not knowing whats around me. Its unnerving and makes me ufortable. So knowing the guards are always around me even if I cant see them and feeling that ufortable tickling sensation whenever one of them nces at me, it just sets me on edge.


    And of course I dont like the whole Your Highness thing. It makes everything feel stiff and formal. Not to mention that it feels weird having people who can swat me like a fly talking to me like Im the sun. Borderline creepy even.


    <strong>Yeah, I guess I can understand that, </strong>Tar murmurs before adding, <strong>wake me up when we get there.</strong>


    I do a double take at the tanuki before rolling my eyes and continuing towards the drawbridge.


    Once we reach the drawbridge its as simple as asking the Noble standing guard to pull the drawbridge down and somehow theyre immediately able to recognize me as the Princess. Which is a tad unnerving.


    They rush to open it at least, so I guess its best that way.


    The guards arent showing their faces right now, or their mana, so there shouldnt be anything signifying me as oh.


    I nce down at my chest where the crest is shown.


    This is the royal familys crest. Duh.


    Also, whys the crest not symmetrical? Its annoying.


    I keep my frustration inside, not wanting to show the poor Noble whos already terrified for some reason any other reason to be frightened.


    Why is he so scared of me? Im literally a thousand levels below him. Whats there to be afraid of?


    <strong>Youre the Princess, </strong>Tarments, apparently having woken up as he stretches on my shoulder before just draping himself across it in azy disy.


    Says the prince whos draping himself across the shoulder of a neen-year-old publicly as hezes around using her as his personal carriage.


    He nces at me at that, only to look down and close his eyes, not bothering to retort.


    I snort as I begin crossing the bridge, making the poor Noble flinch in the process.


    Such azy prince.


    Anyways, time to find something worth hunting.

 Book 3: Chapter 48: Freedom

    Book 3: Chapter 48: Freedom


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As I walk across the bridge, I pay attention to all the soundsing from the little forest situated atop the ind Im heading to. And there are a lot of sounds there. Almost all of them being from battle between demons of all kinds.


    But I dont see any damage to the ind itself, so I assume Leonidas probably enchanted it to be able to either take a lot more damage than regr ground, to restore itself with blood, or maybe even both.


    Either way, its a really nice hunting ground by the sound of it.


    Right when Im about to step foot on the ind though, I hear the voice of one of my guards saying, Your Highness, if you would, please hide the Royal Crest.


    I pause before ncing backwards to find Seraphina standing there while slightly bowing her head.


    Huh?


    Prince Tarankar, she says, confusing me even more until Tar raises his head and says, <strong>Oh, right. Your father told me to tell you that you can also hide and reveal the crest on your armor at will. But you should already know why thats necessary.</strong>


    Oh. Right.


    Because crests are a mark of whose family youre from and are necessary in Tartarus because simply showing everyone the faces of who theyre not allowed to kill would ruin the way of life for Tartarus. So everyone is required to memorize crests to know who not to touch.


    <strong>Right, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>After all, if all the demons avoided fighting someone because their father was a Noble, then how is that Nobles child ever going to get stronger? The System wont let them simply level off of prisoners or people fed to them, nor would it level if the opposition just threw down their arms and surrendered before they kill them without a fight.</strong>


    Yeah. Soplicated.


    How do I hide my crest?


    <strong>Just infuse a bit of mana into the chest te, </strong>Tar says, so I do so right away, and the crest disappears from the chest te. Which in hindsight is also necessary for when I go to Earth.


    After all, cant go walking around there with the Demon Royal Familys crest on my chest.


    And now none of the demons will recognize me as the Princess either!


    <strong>Except the Nobles, </strong>Tar states, deting the excitement that was just filling me. <strong>Hey, they cant let the Nobles have even a chance at attacking you since theyd kill you in mere moments if they tried. So every Noble demon knows your face.</strong>


    Well thats annoying.


    But Im not hunting Nobles, so its fine, I guess.


    For now.


    Wonder if I can get a memory erasing skill one day and erase my face from their memories? That would be nice.


    Tar snorts.


    Anyways, I nce at where the royal guard was just to find her gone again before I turn around and continue making my way onto the ind and then into the forest there. Then I track the closest demon using my ears and soon enough run into an ongoing battle.


    <strong>|Scythloid  Level 203|</strong>


    <strong>|Cerberus  Level 200|</strong>


    Interesting.


    One of the demons, the scythloid, looks like arge praying mantis standing at two meters in height, whereas the other is a typical cerberus from Earthen mythology. A three headed dog. Although they both have the typical ck and red color theme that most demons have.


    Both of them have the intelligence of a regr wolf from Earth too, so they cant speak or anything. Not that they really have mouths capable of that anyways.


    I watch the two go at it for a few seconds, the scythloid trying repeatedly to cut into the cerberus as the cerberus blocks it by grabbing the de with its mouth or blocking with itsrge and sharp ws. Then I transform into my beast form, my gauntlets transforming with them and revealing my ws in all their ck and red glory before I cover both of my paws in metallicized blood ws, feeling a lot of freedom just in simply <em>being able </em>to do this in the first ce, since I couldnt on Earth.


    Right when theyre about to sh again, I use half a dozen skills all at once, burning their blood, draining their life, shielding myself, putting a null magic field over them and sending a couple dozen weapons made out of blood at them all as I sprint out of the trees, shocking the hell out of them. And before they can recover, my attacks all hit at once, and even after that, the null magic field slows down their response as I arrive and draw my ws straight through the scythloid, ripping open its guts without much trouble at all despite the seven level difference between us. Which, in all honesty, is mostly dealt with already by Predator V.


    And to follow it up, I pull my leg back and kick straight at the thing, sending it flying straight into half a dozen des of blood I had float behind it, skewering it in an instant. Then I turn around to find the cerberus running for its life.


    But I dont let it, instead sprinting after it with a grin on my face before tearing into it as well with ease.


    <strong>Wow, you really are letting loose </strong>Tarments as he floats over to me, having been thrown off my shoulder the moment I sprinted towards the demons.


    Of course I am. This is the most fun Ive had in a while!


    Honestly am starting to be happy that I came here. After all, I can let loose without anyone hating or trying to kill me just because of what I am!


    Tar smiles at that, which I still say looks odd on a tanukis face.


    <strong>Yeah, I bet that would be nice, </strong>he says as I begin stretching a little, the cerberus already dead as I walk away from its corpse.


    Very nice.


    Earth felt incredibly stuffy for me, since I always had to hide what I was and to not use certain skills or powers.


    But here? Here I can go all out. I dont have to wait for Fractures to hunt. And I dont have to deal with financial problems as a Princess.


    Even if the Nobles and their treatment of me is annoying. And the dress.


    I shiver at the memory of that.


    Still gonna try to find a way to get back to Earth though, just so I can see Allen and the others and tell them Im alright in person.


    Kind of wish there was a way tomunicate with them directly from here, but there isnt. The only one who can do something like that is Leonidas who needs to ce a domination seed in them from what he told me.


    A pity.


    Anyways, I sprint through the trees looking for more prey.

 Book 3: Chapter 49: The Guards and a Dog

    Book 3: Chapter 49: The Guards and a Dog


    <strong>A Blood Realm on the Southeastern Isles of the Blood Duchy</strong>


    Vincent was beyond happy when His Majesty notified him of his appointment as the Princesss royal guard. Because there are very few things the guard of the most powerful being in the universe can really do besides keep watch over him and look cool while doing it.


    But now he can actually perform his duties by keeping watch over the young Princess.


    At first he was a little worried that the human blood she has may have tainted her strength, made her weaker and therefore more in need of protection.


    But now, as he watches her go wild in her hunt in the First of the Southeastern Isles? That worry is gone.


    <em>Shes absolutely amazing! Even a blood lycan born, raised, and trained by the Argus branch wouldnt be a match for her at the same level! How is this possible?! She </em>does <em>have human genes, right?!</em>


    Vincent cant help but grow confused, but despite that, most of his thoughts are pride. Pure pride for his Princess.


    And when he looks at the other guards stationed in his blood realm, a skill creating an entire realm of blood outside of reality that they can traverse within limits to hide themselves, he finds them all looking on the Princess with pride as well.


    <em>Of course they are. She truly is the daughter of The Blood Cmity and granddaughter of the Beast of the Apocalypse.</em>


    He turns his gaze back to the Princess in question, only for his eyes to widen as he finds her picking a fight with a ss III demon. But right when hes about to jump out to save her, she actually manages to fight w for w with the thing, shocking him into stillness.


    The demon in question is just level 251, likely only having recently advanced. But despite that, its still a ss III demon, and hed rather eat his own foot than watch her get hurt by taking on someone of a higher ss.


    Leave her be, Elizabeth says, bringing Vincents gaze to his sister for a moment before he returns it to the Princess. This will be the Princesss third hunt against a ss III demon on her own. You know how sacred the hunt is.


    Vincent watches her fight the ss III cerberus for a few seconds until he too realizes she can take it. But he still asks, And if she tries to fight something too high a level?


    His sister frowns before answering, Then we step in.


    He nods his head in agreement, and he sees the others doing so as well.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I pant in exhaustion as I stand at the opposite corner of the clearing from the three-meter-tall two-headed dog that used to have three heads before I tore one off. And the creature continues growling and snarling as it stands off against me.


    Unlike the first cerberus, this one didnt run away when I started fighting. Or the second and third cerberus.


    Actually, a lot of the cerberuses here seem to be cowards.


    Which has been kind of disappointing.


    But the ss III cerberus wasnt. And thats made things exciting.


    I look over it once more before deciding that its weakened enough. So I use Blood of Ruin.


    The once three-headed dogs eyes on both remaining heads widen in shock when the orb of blood manifests high in the air, along with the many other drops of blood. And its gaze turns fearful when the droplets begin connecting. It even begins to run, damaging the respect I had begun to develop towards it.


    Well, thats a pity.


    <strong>Thats not something youre supposed to be saying about a demon whose ss is higher than your own </strong>Tar mutters as I casually watch the Blood of Ruin skill decimate everything in the area. From my spot sitting on a tree stump, of course. Because that skill is he expensive in terms of mana.


    And why not? Its running away! From someone whos a lower ss than it!


    <strong>Thats </strong>Tar pauses, not seeming to be able to figure out what to say. <strong>Actually a good point.</strong>


    Right?


    Well, anyways, it doesnt get far as the Blood of Ruin skill has a reallyrge radius and decimates the doggo before it can.


    <strong>{Level 251 Cerberus defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 200. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 206. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 3.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 11.]</strong>


    And there we go.


    Im still curious why the System identifies and ssifies the demons differently when theyre on Tartarus than how they ssify them on Earth.


    Is it because Earth isnt the Demons home? So the System is ssifying them as a sort of invader and calling them by ranks instead?


    <strong>Sort of, </strong>Tar answer as he floats around me, looking at the devastation caused by Blood of Ruin, whose skill description hasnt changed one bit. <strong>Its also because the demons themselves call themselves by those ranks when invading. Which gives the System more power to do it.</strong>


    Interesting.


    That aside, Im d you were right about the whole bodyguards not interfering with my hunt even if I fight ss III demons thing. Because that was a satisfying hunt.


    Until it started running. But it only started running at the sight of my finishing skill, so its not too bad.


    <strong>Yeah, although I would rmend that you set a boundary with them, otherwise they may mess up a hunt in the future on ident, </strong>Tarments, making my eyes narrow before he adds, <strong>For example, they could consider going in to help you, and even that brief consideration will dampen your rewards a bit without them even assisting you. Purely because you know theyre there watching you.</strong>


    Ugh. Yeah, that could be annoying.


    In that case, I look up before calling out, Seraphina.


    Time to do some negotiating.

 Book 3: Chapter 50: Negotiation at its Finest

    Book 3: Chapter 50: Negotiation at its Finest


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Yes, Your Highness? the guard appears in an instant as I continue sitting on the tree stump, letting my mana regenerate. Which its doing at a pretty fast pace thanks to my Blood Regeneration skill.


    I would like to set a minimum level of demon that you would be allowed to protect me if I need it in the fight, I state, being as blunt as possible, surprising her only a little bit. Although my next words have a much bigger affect. The lowest level demon you can help me against is level 300.


    She immediately shakes her head as the other guards appear, looking worried.


    No, we cant let you face something about a hundred levels above yourself, she says, still shaking her head, and the others obviously agree. Would you agree to lower it to level 275?


    I shake my head, Level 300.


    Her frown grows slightly more worried as she suggests, Level 280?


    Level 300, I repeat with absolutely no intentions to change it.


    285? she continues, sounding slightly desperate now.


    Level, three hundred, I state, pausing ever so slightly before the words level and three hundred this time.


    Seraphina looks at the other guards with an expression clearly stating, help me, so Vincent walks up and says, Your Highness, dont you think level 300 is-


    Level 300, I state, starting to smile a little bit at him without a hint of shame.


    The guards all start visibly sweating at this point, wondering what they should do until Elizabeth, Vincents sister, kneels slightly and says, Please, Your Highness. If something were to-


    Level 300, I repeat, full on smiling this time.


    They all sigh before giving up as Seraphina mutters, Yes, Your Highness.


    My smile grows wider.


    Finally able to get my way in this new world. I was growing tired of having to listen to everyone and go along with their own ns. Even my hunt is being dictated by these bodyguards, so some freedom is very nice to see.


    Also is nice to know that my words are actually respected.


    Alright, now that weve got that settled, I state, making them stiffen up a little, Im gonna take a nap.


    They all gape at me in shock, but I ignore them as I lie down on the tree stump and close my eyes.


    Might as well take a nap while I wait for my mana to refill. Nothing else to do after all.


    Who knows how longter I finally finish hunting for the day before checking myst System Messages.


    <strong>{Level 242 Cerberus defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over thirty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 252 Cerberus defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over thirty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 232 Scythloid defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over twenty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 271 Scythloid defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 230 Wendigo defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over ten levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 249 Wendigo defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over twenty-five levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x29</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 216. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 231. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 14.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Pull has leveled up to level 16.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 12.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 14.]</strong>


    Ya know, my furry tailed friend, I think Im starting to understand a lot more deeply just why the demons are so much stronger than the humans. They have so much more prey here to fight, most of which arent even sapient.


    Although Im not sure if I can call those wendigos sapient, considering that they were speaking in grunts, growls, and screams most of the time and saying very little words as they tried to eat me.


    <strong>I dont think your progress is anything to judge most demons by </strong>Tar says, sounding exasperated for some reason. <strong>Seriously? You dont even realize just how unlikely it is for most demons to go around hunting other demons who are at a higher ss than them? Much less in one of the Seven ns hunting grounds?</strong>


    I open my mouth to retort, only to realize that hes probably right. Most people dont go around hunting things dozens of levels above them. Even if they have Predator.


    Hmm. Then again, whatever works, works. And it works for me, so theres no use not doing it.


    I nod my head at that thought as I step out of the forest and reach the drawbridge, which is back to being raised. But the moment I step on the metal part of the bridge over the ind, it begins to lower again. As if it detected my presence.


    Which is convenient.


    I never did end up finding a demon above level two hundred and seventy five though, but this agreement with them will hold even after this hunting trip. Not that it would matter because I think theyd be fine with me going after them now anyways.


    After all, Im a higher level now, and they just kind of watched me go on a massacre in the forest.


    Just too bad they didnt let me go into the other areas. Kept saying to leave the other areas for other days.


    A pity, but oh well.


    At this rate I will end up climbing levels at an incredibly fast pace. Far faster than I wouldve on Earth with the structured Fractures and theck of demons to fight. Not to mention the other Guardians fighting the demons too and taking the EXP.


    I stretch my arms up into the air with a light groan as I start walking across the bridge which is almost fully lowered by now.


    At the rate Im going I will be ss III by the time I return to Earth. Maybe even ss IV if it takes me too long.


    Although even here ss IVs will be harder to find than those ss IIIs.


    Either way, it was a good hunt.

 Book 3: Intermission 6

    Book 3: Intermission 6


    <strong>The Blood Cmitys Throne Room</strong>


    Let me get this straight, Leonidas states, his voice slowly echoing through the grand hall and out the open balconies of the room. Scarlet went out to hunt but not only did she only hunt things that were already above her magic level, but she hunted the damned things near extinction on that ind in a single night. She also forced you into going along with her level cap on what demons she could fight, and you didnt even think to get into contact with me about this before her hunt continued?


    The two royal guards kneeling in front of him shiver under his gaze. A gaze that is gradually growing darker and darker by the second.


    Leonidas stands up from his throne and walks down the raised dais before stopping in front of the guards and quietly speaking, Scarlet still doesnt fully understand the differences between our culture and her own, where the humans dont allow <em>their own people </em>to learn of their levels. Meaning she most likely still assumes that letting others know of her exact level is a bad thing that couldpromise her safety, when in reality its just bound to happen. He raises his voice a little bit as he continues, Now, I understand that no one expected her to be this reckless, and Im not even sure if she herself realized that you knew her level, her desire to hunt having gotten to her head, but youre supposed to be her guards. So please act like it.


    The Blood Cmity sighs and turns around before sitting back on his throne again.


    Remember that shes still just a child, Leonidas points out, making the two guards eyes widen in surprise, apparently not having remembered that fact themselves. And until the day she turns thirty, that will still remain true, regardless of her human genes.


    Understood, Your Highness! both guards shout in sync. Then the female guard  Seraphina, if Leonidas remembers correctly  raises her head further and asks, For rification, Your Highness, does this mean we should limit Her Highness to only fighting demons up to seventy levels above her own?


    Leonidas shakes his head while tapping the armrest, No, theres no point coddling her now that shes already shown herself to be able to take on demons up to a hundred levels above her. Just dont take everything she says asw. Shes still just a child after all. So you need to be more firm with her. He then waves his hands their way and says, Now return to her side.


    Understood, Your Highness! the two guards repeat before vanishing into their blood realm to return to his daughter.


    And immediately after they leave, Leonidas puts his face in his hands and groans. With his blood domain up around him to block others from hearing, of course.


    <em>Her first night out of the pce and she spends the entire night hunting without even stopping to eat. Thats more than just a blood lycans desire to hunt. Thats extreme dedication.</em>


    Leonidas leans back in his throne again with a sigh as he rubs his temples slightly.


    <em>Then again, it was part of what the prophecy foretold was necessary so I cantin about her dedication. No,ining about it would be hypocritical since I had a hand in making her how she is today</em>


    <strong>Yes, that it would be, </strong>raments, the wolf appearing in the air next to him before floating down andnding on hisp. <strong>But I get the feeling trying to control her hunts now would only increase her desire to give those bodyguards your father assigned to her the slip.</strong>


    Yeah, Leonidas mutters, agreeing with his contracted partner. You have a point. But what could I do? Shell just continuously try to find tougher and tougher demons if I dont. And at this point shes trying to hunt more and stronger enemies than even I did when I was growing up


    <strong>Didnt your father call you reckless for that? </strong>raments, sounding vaguely amused as Leonidass eyes shoot down to her and he quickly asks, Did he really tell you about that?! Or did you make it back from the Summit without telling me?!


    <strong>Who knows? </strong>ra says, a wolfish smile appearing on her face. <strong>Although I cant see the Demon King taking this news all that well. Because if he thought you were reckless and tried to make you take breaks every now and then</strong>


    Then hell be even more of a killjoy for her, Leonidas agrees with a nod, still narrowing his eyes in suspicion towards the fae on hisp. And if she is actually able to get away from her bodyguards, then that means she deserves the freedom shell get from it.


    ra nces up, <strong>Like a challenge? A test?</strong>


    Leonidas nods as he begins petting the wolf and leaning back in the throne. If she can get away from five Nobles in the 1700s level-wise, then she can get away from most of the things thatll actually be trying to hurt her even with her crest showing.


    <strong>True, </strong>the wolf agrees, resting her head back down on hisp again.


    Silence fills the throne room for several minutes. Then, out of nowhere, a wave of blood passes through the room like a shockwave.


    Looks like they told him, Leonidas mutters, smirking slightly as he wonders how his father will react. Since its already not looking good for his reckless young daughter.


    <strong>Youre enjoying this, arent you? </strong>ra says, sounding amused herself.


    Leonidas pats her on the head without looking down as he says, Im just happy to have her here. Even if she doesnt really consider me her father, shell always be my daughter.


    <strong>Im d youre happy again, </strong>ra states, not raising her head. <strong>Youve been rather depressed since Amy left.</strong>


    Leonidas stiffens up slightly at that, only to rx and nod his head, saying, Yeah. Dispute or no dispute, I still miss her.

 Book 3: Chapter 51: Lecture

    Book 3: Chapter 51: Lecture


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I try very hard to hold back a yawn as Grandpa continues shouting in front of me, -and were you really going to fight a level 300 on your own? Without even <em>allowing </em>your guards to help you?! Do you know just how reckless that was?! Youre reminding me so much of your father right now it hurts!


    That surprises me for a moment, enough so that I identally let out the yawn I was holding back, making Grandpas eyes narrow.


    Oops.


    There are a few things about demon society that you dont seem to realize, so I think Ill go through them with you tomorrow night, Grandpa says, a faint grin stretching across his face as I feel shivers run down my spine. So tomorrow well be going on a walk through the city down below together.


    I open my mouth to refuse, only for his eyes to narrow, making my mouth shut again.


    Hes not gonna ept my refusal.


    Can I have the nice Grandpa back please?


    <strong>You do remember hes the Demon King, right? </strong>Tarments, sounding both amused and exasperated at the same time. <strong>And hes technically doing this to help you, since you seem to be forgetting some of the demon societys differences from the human society is like.</strong>


    I mean, yes, I probably forgot a few things. Like the whole the demons can see my level just as much as I can see theirs thing. Except the blood lycans.


    Made me feel a little awkward earlier when I realized that the blood lycans knew my level while we were negotiating for my hunt. But then again, its not like it would be the first time for me to kill a demon a hundred or more levels above me. In fact, it should be the third time if I find one to kill again.


    Grandpas face rxes ever so slightly as he exins, The city will help show you some of the differences between the demon and human societies, even if this is a blood lycan city and not all demon cities are the same. Which is the first thing you should understand. He reaches out to me from his ce standing in front of me as I sit on the edge of my overlyrge bed before putting his hand on my head, making my ears twitch slightly. The various demon cities and duchies around the world have their own sets of rules on top of my own that are set in ce by whatever Nobles rule over thosends. And you know very well how we demons are cursed with the Sins, so some of thosends may not be very pleasant for the weak. I try to move my head away from his hand, slightly unnerved by how it doesnt actually make me feel that ufortable. And he lets me with a slight smile. Some of these cities andnds you may not like. So know that when you are stronger, you can do whatever you want with thends.


    My eyes widen at that.


    All you need is the power to defeat, kill, or subordinate the Noble ruling thends in question, Grandpa says while kneeling down next to me. And when youre strong enough to break away from your bodyguards, you can do whatever you want.


    Guess this world really is ruled solely by the strong.


    Grandpa stands up again a secondter before walking over to a table surrounded byfy chairs in the corner of the room and pulling out arge parchment from what I can only guess is a storage skill. So I push through my drowsiness to get up from the bed and walk over there, only to find the parchment to be arge map as he ces it on the table.


    This is a map of Tartarus itself, he says while waving to it, but my attention is solely focused on the map now. Something no human has ever gotten their hands on.


    Four continents and the floating inds of the Bloody Duchy, which is where Im at right now. Specifically the Castle of Ruin.


    Although the central continent is a lot smaller than the others. And the Southeastern continent doesnt look very hospitable considering the volcanoes.


    Im assuming youve heard from your father about the history of the Bloody Duchy? he asks, but I just shake my head. Since Leonidas isnt exactly the talkative type. And he hasnt mentioned much about the history of this ce. Oh really? Well, lets rectify that then.


    Part of me wants to go to sleep, and the other part is minorly curious about what hes about to say.


    Mostly I want to go to sleep right now.


    The Bloody Duchy started out as a singlerge continent until a series of earthquakes began to ur here on a regr basis, damaging the foundation of the continent itself and eventually splitting it up into various smaller continents, or rather, inds, he starts, making my eyes widen slightly at the sheer power that mustve been in those earthquakes. Something that doesnt exactly seem natural. Of course, weter figured out that the earthquakes werent natural and were really just the actions of a single oni who had lost control of his anger, taking it out on the home of the blood lycans. His face turns dark for a seconds. That oni is now dead.


    Yeah, thats no surprise.


    Your father decided against abandoning the blood lycans personal continent and began doing massive enchantments on the inds themselves, the remainder of the continent, while having me supply the blood for the enchantments through my blood domain, he continues exining, only to pause and nce at me from the map as he asks, You do know what my blood domain is, right? And when I nod, he focuses on the map and continues, He ended up taking an entire month just to finish the enchantments on the inds. But the results were worth it as his enchantments not only protect the inds from further harm, enhancing them with blood metal, but they also allow the inds to drain some of the blood in the ocean below to repair themselves if needed, and, of course, they fly.


    I let out a yawn, briefly covering my mouth as I do so and making Grandpa look up at me. Then his eyes widen, and he stands up straight while putting his hand on my back and directing me to the bed while saying, Im sorry! I didnt consider how tired youd be from your hunt earlier. You mustve leveled up a lot from it, and those levels can start showing more effect on your actual body when gained in mass the higher your level gets. So you should rest now.


    He actually guides me into the bed before tucking me in, which would normally have me staring at him in shock, but I feel my eyes drooping close instead, and soon enough, everything goes dark. But not before I hear him say, Goodnight, young pup.

 Book 3: Chapter 52: Tartarus Lesson Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 52: Tartarus Lesson Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next dusk has me immediately being pull out of bed and told to get ready for my outing with the Demon King, very much confusing me until Tar reminds me what happenedst night. At which point I just start going through the motions, taking a bath in that lovely bath chamber that has reminded me of how much Ive always loved baths, and finally changing into afortable shirt and shorts and activating my armor. Then I scowl at my royal guards on the way to the front gate due to them outing me to the Demon King. Not that I expected them to really do anything else, but still.


    Once I reach the front gate of the castle, I find the Demon King standing there in his usual armor simply talking with Leonidas with a blood domain pulled up around them to keep their conversation private. But when I get close enough, they both turn to me and pull the blood domain down.


    Good dusk, Scarlet, Leonidas says, a smirk touching his lips that has me narrowing my eyes. How did you sleep?


    Something about that smirk is suspicious. I dont know what, but <em>something </em>about it is.


    After a few seconds I eventually answer, I slept well, failing to figure out whats up.


    His smirk grows a little bit at that, and he nods to his father, saying, Well, Ill be off then, and leaves.


    Very suspicious.


    Hello again, Grandpa says with a smile of his own. Although his doesnt look suspicious. It actually looks a tad scary and too warm. As we discussedst night, well be going on a trip to the city so I can introduce you to demon society.


    I nod at that, not exactly the most happy about this turn of events, but not exactly all that against it either. Because while I would rather go hunt, I do understand that I need to know this stuff if Ill be living here for a while.


    So we set off.


    Flying.


    My feet immediately flounder around in the air as I try not to panic at suddenly being lifted into the air as he takes us straight towards the city, but Grandpa justughs, amused by my reaction. Which has me ring at him.


    But that just makes himugh even harder, so I eventually cross my arms and refuse to look at him, instead looking at the city.


    The city itself spans for about fifty or so kilometers, and the infrastructure is entirely made up of medieval fantasy style buildings with a lot of blood metal being used in the buildings themselves. Which I guess makes sense since blood lycans are the ones who make it.


    Each of the buildings are rather extravagant, making it a slightly odd looking city since its like a city made up of mansions of all kinds. Meanwhile the streets have hundreds of blood lycans wandering around everywhere, including blood lycan children who are weaker than myself.


    Overall its a rather beautiful sight, but also one that would terrify most humans on Earth just from the vast quantity of Nobles down there.


    The economy between the duchies is a rather simple one in terms of what the blood lycans offer the other demon races, Grandpa says, noticing my examination of the city.


    Blood metal? I guess, and he nods immediately as we continue floating down to the city below.


    Correct, he states before wend in arge za. The blood lycans are the only ones who can make it, and its the strongest metal on the. So its rather strongly desired in terms of armor.


    As hes speaking, all the blood lycans around us, Noble or not, bow first towards him and then towards me, albeit slightly less so towards me, before continuing on their way without a word.


    Grandpa puts up a blood domain around us to keep our conversation private while we begin moving through the za towards one city street filled withrge stores on both sides of it. We blood lycans tend to live amongst our own with very few other races of demons in our cities outside of visitors and merchants, simply because our pack is rather close together most of the time. I look around as he talks, taking note of how almost everyone here is indeed a blood lycan but there are also a few other demons here as well, including some vampires, an orc, some walking skeletons, and several other interesting demons. Most of which are in the stores. Although the cities we do live in are generally separated based on the individual in the packs rank, but while the lowest members of the pack arent exactly treated as well by the higher ranking members, theyre still seen as mostly superior to the other demon races by fellow blood lycans. So theyre not treated poorly per se either.


    That part I knew about. Its rathermon knowledge after all, even on Earth.


    We continue walking through the street until we seemingly leave whatever shopping district we were in and end up at the crossroads between what looks to be a district full of inns along with arge residency district full of homes.


    This district is meant for the visiting merchants and any demons wishing to greet your father or challenge a blood lycan for the prestige that winning would bring them, Grandpa says as he waves towards the district with the inns, the man stopping in the middle of the crossroads. Then he points at the other district with the homes and continues, And this is the residential area where the homes are located. Meanwhile back where we came from had more homes as you could probably guess, and honestly, most of this city is just full of homes.


    I blink at that, briefly wondering what part of that was good teaching.


    We blood lycans have a rather strict hierarchy, and most of the governing over the city takes ce in the Castle of Ruin itself, so there isnt a need for a city hall or other governing buildings in the city itself, Grandpa answers the look Im sending him with a shrug. Listen to those above you in the pack. Thats all. And our family is at the top of the pack. The only exception is if youre the same age as someone else who is higher up in the pack. Then you can challenge them for the right to refuse their orders.


    Oh. Wow.


    This is just like I expected it would be.


    Now, he says, my feet suddenly leaving the ground as I bite my tongue so as to hold back a yelp. Lets move onto themon sense of the world itself.

 Book 3: Chapter 52.2: Tartarus Lesson Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 52.2: Tartarus Lesson Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Please <em>warn </em>me before you do that! I shout at him with a scowl, but he just chuckles again.


    Now, your fae tells me that youve already realized by now that every other demon here aside from blood lycans can easily see your level, so I dont have to mention that anymore, Grandpa says, starting with the next part of the lesson without awknowledging my shout. But I dont do anything in response to that, simply narrowing my eyes since he seems to take amusement in my usual responses. Aww, dont be like that! Ill warn you the next time I n to do it, okay?


    I blink in surprise before nodding my head and letting my face rx a little.


    Huh. A reasonable Demon King. Sorta.


    Who wouldve thought.


    <strong>Hes just teasing you, </strong>Tar says, his voice echoing in my head with amusement. <strong>Remember that he and his wife always wanted a daughter, so in a way youre like the daughter he never had. Although a granddaughter instead.</strong>


    Hmm. Guess youre right.


    The man in question raises a brow seemingly in both amusement and slight irritation somehow at the same time.


    Oh. Right. I almost forgot that he seems to be able to hear Tars voice.


    Actually, I ask, How are you able to hear Tars voice when hes speaking in my head?


    He smiles at that and nods, Good question. And the reason for that is quite simple.


    Out of nowhere, a meter long dragon appears next to the Demon King, following which Tar appears next to us and bows his head as he says, <strong>Greetings, father.</strong>


    My eyes widen.


    King Oberon.


    <strong>Tar, </strong>Oberon nods his head, using the same nickname I call him, which I find rather amusing. Then he looks at me, the dragons slit and glowing red eyes locking directly on me. <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, I thank you for taking care of my son.</strong>


    As surprising as his words are, I quickly find myself nodding as I answer, Of course. Hes my friend after all.


    The dragon smiles. I think.


    Anyways, Grandpa puts his hand on the Fae Kings back as he says, Well, anyways, my contract with Oberon gives me actual benefits unlike the contracts the rest of you have.


    Like hearing the voices of all the fae around you as theyre privately speaking to their contractors in their heads? I ask, a slight frown on my face.


    He nods his head.


    Well thats annoying. But it is nice to know that if Tar bes the Fae King one day then Ill get benefits too. Plus he cant hear my own thoughts, so he only hears a one-sided conversation.


    Tar nces at me as I feel amusement radiating through our bond.


    Just looking at the bright side of this.


    He doesnt say anything, simply turning his head back to face his father again. But I can tell he is holding back a snort just from the emotions hes sending across the bond.


    <strong>Well, if thats all, </strong>Oberon says, but I cut him off by asking, Um, Your Majesty, is that your real form?


    The Fae King pauses to look at me, blinking once in surprise before he shakes his head, answering, <strong>We fae dont truly have physical forms. But this is the form I choose to take on the mortal nes.</strong>


    He then nods once and vanishes. Then Grandpa leans into my ear and whispers, He usually takes arger form when hes not simply here for a conversation.


    My eyes widen as I turn my head towards him, backing away a little. He can fight in the mortal ne?!


    Grandpa nods again, Yeah. Its something that the Fae King Title gives him. And yes, before you ask, he is the only fae initiated into the System. Thats the main benefit a fae gets from bing the Fae King, set into ce by the creator of the System, Titania. You could say hes rather different from the other fae in a lot of ways.


    Holy shit


    I nce at Tar, only to find him not surprised in the least by this. Meaning it was probably something he either never thought to bring up or it was something he couldnt talk about.


    Wow. Having a Grandpa who is contracted to the Fae King definitely skips some rules.


    <strong>Of course it does, </strong>Tar says with a scoff, <strong>based on the normal rules you wouldve had to wait till you were ss V to hear about all of that. But the Demon King just ignores all the rules since father cant do anything to him at all.</strong>


    That has the corner of my lips quirking slightly in amusement.


    Were friends anyways, so he doesnt mind a bit of me breaking his rules, Grandpa says with a wave of his hand, only for a familiar voice to echo around us, <strong>I very much <em>do </em>mind it.</strong>


    I cant stop myself as I snort in amusement before covering my mouth, hiding my wide smile from view.


    They certainly sound like friends.


    Tar snorts at that.


    Anyways, it looks like there are more benefits than I realized to winning thatpetition of yours, Tar.


    <strong>Yep, </strong>he answers while floating over and sitting on my shoulder. Only for him to be plucked off of it by Grandpa who holds him by the scruff of his neck and narrows his eyes.


    Who told you that you could sit on my granddaughter? he says, his voice sounding slightly dangerous as Tar begins sweating. Something I didnt realize was even possible.


    And I honestly cant tell if hes joking or being serious right now. But just like I did with the head maid, I proceed to turn my head away and ignore the current goings-on around me.


    Because absolutely nothing is happening.


    <strong>Help me!</strong>


    Absolutely. Nothing.


    I <em>dont </em>hear anyone pleading for help as Grandpa pulls back his arm and tosses a random ball of fur far away before wiping his hands and turning back to me. And I dont hear the ball of fur screaming at all.


    Hmm. Its rather interesting how the people here treat the fae as opposed to on Earth.


    The fae on Earth are treated with absolute respect even if the Guardians joke around with them. But here they dont exactly seem to be treated like that. More like a family member.


    Then again, Im pretty sure the fae have been around here for a lot longer. Not to mention that most of the demons are older.


    <strong>Traitor, </strong>I hear a familiar voice, bringing my attention to the furball who has made it back from their long voyage across the skies.


    Wee back.


    He snorts.


    Now then, where were we? Grandpa asks, seemingly trying to bring the topic back on track. Oh, right. The other demon ns.

 Book 3: Chapter 52.3: Tartarus Lesson Part III

    Book 3: Chapter 52.3: Tartarus Lesson Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    While Im sure you already know some details about all of the demon ns, I also know the humans arent aware of everything, so Ill start from the basics, Grandpa says, and I nod in agreement.


    That would be for the best.


    Obviously you already know about blood lycans, so the only thing Ill say there is the one thing I dont think you know, he says as Tar begins to float down onto my head, only to pause when the Demon Kings eyes narrow on him before he floats up again. It is a breach of our pride as the most powerful demon species for any other creature to kill one of our own. So its not just our protectiveness of our pack making us stop others from hurting our own, but our pride as well.


    My eyebrows rise at that, but in all honesty its not that surprising. Especially with some of the thoughts that went through my head from time to time when I was close to losing.


    Moving onto the oni n, he says, and I almost instinctively try to put my hands in my pockets, only to remember that I dont exactly have physical pockets outside of the spatial pockets which are sealed up. A rather annoying fact I didnt think much about till now. In all honesty, the oni themselves have stronger brute force power than the blood lycans, even if they wont be able to win a battle against a blood lycan of the same level. To put it simply, they have the most powerful magic attacks out of all demons, and they also tend to be driven by their Sin more harshly than most other demons, aside from the ghouls.


    The oni just like Satan on Earth.


    Unlike the blood lycans, the oni tend to move out to live on their own at a young five years of age where they will fight for their lives or die, strictly because their own family may end up losing themselves to their Wrath and killing them if theyre not careful, he continues, shocking me with information I didnt know about them. Although the family more often than not does manage to retain their control at thest moment, but it still splits up their family as the childs Wrath is just as strong, and they wont stand for almost being killed by their family. For obvious reasons.


    I nod my head at that.


    Yeah. Makes sense.


    The mindeaters are the most neutral faction amongst the demon ns and they are also theziest, Grandpa says with apletely straight face that would make meugh if I didnt already know just howzy the mindeaters are. Therge insects generally spend almost all of their time asleep with their realities detached from their bodies, and they absolutely hate being woken up by anything. Which is generally the only real thing that can anger them.


    Right. Dont wake up a sleeping mindeater and youre good.


    Actually, that <em>uncle </em>of yours, Grandpa puts extra disgusted emphasis on the word uncle as he refers to Blue, had most of his emotions eaten by a mindeater after the man identally woke it up in the middle of a fight with an oni.


    My jaw drops open in shock.


    He what? I cant help but ask, only to shake my head and state, So youre telling me Aria was left without a father because the idiot woke up a damned mindeater?! Is there any way to get his emotions back?!


    Grandpa looks surprised at the intensity of my words, but he answers nheless, Yes, there is. All you have to do is kill the mindeater who ate them, or simply ask them to give the emotions back. But theyre not likely to do that even if its you asking, and I dont know which mindeater it was that ate them. Then his eyes narrow. You are not to go searching for that mindeater until youre at least level one thousand six hundred, do you understand me, Scarlet?


    My eyes widen slightly at that, but I nod my head anyways. Because I wasnt really nning on going after it yet anyways.


    After all, it was strong enough to make Blue run away. And Blue can crush me like an insect.


    Good. Now, onto the ghouls, he says with a short nod. The ghouls are known for three things. They are the only undead race amongst the seven demon ns, they are practically unkible unless you sit there for hours hammering away at them and somehow manage to oust their significant mana pool which also acts as their life energy, and they are always hungry. Always. To the point of a very rare few of them having lost themselves to their hunger and eaten their own family members due to their Curse of Gluttony.


    Yeah, I already knew all of that. Except just how bad their curse was, that is.


    As for their rtionship with other demons? Unless theyre a n demon, then the ghouls simply try to eat them first and talkter, he continues, making my mouth part open for a second only to close a secondter. Its why they live underground and far away from any other demon races.


    Right. Thats yeah.


    Onto the arachnae, who Ill have to speak withter about their sending an arachne out to find you, he says, his eyes narrowing with a dangerous note to his tone at those words before he rxes again. Arachnae live underground in nests of about a dozen arachnae each, and their envy is strong enough that unless youre part of the royal family, which you are, they will always hate you. Just out of pure envy. The only chance they wouldnt hate you is if you gift them everything you have that they have any interest in at all. And even then they may still hate you just because they envy your reputation or something.


    Wow. I would rather stay away from the arachnae.


    They treat the royal family well though, simply because they believe that I deserve everything I have, along with my family, he says before adding a secondter, plus they owe me a massive debt and know I could crush them all with ease.


    I almost snort at that.


    The arachnae also work as assassins for the Noble demons, and theyre the best assassins in the world, he finishes. Next up are the subi. His eyes narrow slightly as he taps his lips, only to shake his head and make eye contact with me. For these next two demon ns, I know your human world seems to have a preconception of them thats tainted by your own mythology, but most of what you humans believe about them isnt actually true. Mostly because a subi has never actually gone to Earth before, and the one kitsune who did was in our territory there when they died.


    I blink in surprise at that before tilting my head slightly in curiosity.


    Considering that he felt he had to say that, they must be very different from what I was imagining.


    Interesting.

 Book 3: Chapter 52.4: Tartarus Lesson Part IV

    Book 3: Chapter 52.4: Tartarus Lesson Part IV


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Unlike what you humans seem to believe, the kitsune have nothing to do with illusions nor do they have an illusion rted magic or etched skill, he says, making my eyes go wide in surprise. They rule over the most powerful association of thieves in Tartarus called the Thieves of Tartarus, and they have a magic solely unique to them thats called foxfire, unlike the illusion magic you humans seem to think they have. If I had to guess, the tricksters probably fooled the humans into believing they had a different type of magic than they actually do.


    What does foxfire do anyways? I ask, genuinely curious as I sit cross-legged in the middle of the sky next to him.


    Foxfire is abination of fire and lightning, and the kitsune themselves are able to enhance their magic through their tails depending on the exact number of tails they have, he answers, smiling slightly at the interest Im showing. Now, the subi are a different subject entirely. They do indeed have charm magic, but most of their skills are abination of mind control and divination, leading to them actually being more well-known for their divination than anything else.


    My mouth drops open at that. Particrly the subus thing.


    Wait a second, I thought a subus was a lust demon? I ask, my shock morphing into a frown.


    Its subi. Im not really sure why you humans decided to change the name the System gave them just to better fit it to yournguages, he says with a light shake of his head, making me raise a brow. And they are a lust demon. But unlike what you humans depict them as, most subi dont actually enjoy the lust they have. Its a part of their curse after all. They treat it as mere business since they have no choice but to do what they do to satiate themselves and get rid of their urges.


    Oh. Wow.


    It sounds like being born a subi is not a fun thing.


    Im sure youve had times where the curse drove you into doing things you didnt wish to do, even if the curse is probably a little lighter on you than other demons thanks to your mothers genes, Grandpa says with a nod, surprisingly not putting any disgust in his tone this time as he mentions White. Probably because this is the one benefit he sees of my birth mother being her.


    I nod, Yeah, I have.


    Some demons instincts given to them by their Sin are more life threatening but lessmon to show up, like us blood lycans, while others are a regr or even constant thing that doesnt directly affect their lives, like the subi, he says before ncing at the castle. Then he looks at me again. It looks like our time is almost up before the next matter at hand needs addressing.


    I frown at that, unsure of what he means. But he just continues talking while slowly bringing us towards the castle, You may already know some of this, but demons do not know the faces of the Nobles or their children. All they know are their crests. And that includes our crest most of all. Its to make it so that what happens on a hunt stays on a hunt. The only time retaliation is allowed is if the Nobles child had their crest out on disy, meaning they were not out on a hunt.


    Yeah, that I already knew, I respond with a nod of my head.


    Although I get the feeling that he would kill someone for killing me regardless of that rule.


    At least he wont interfere before that. His pride is probably stopping him, just like with Leonidas.


    All of the demon Nobles and their children know what you look like, so you wont have to worry about them, he continues as we begin flying faster. Just remember not to aim too high. Otherwise your guards <em>will </em>interfere.


    I purse my lips at that, unhappy about having watchdogs looking over my hunt.


    Oh, he adds, ncing at me, and you dont have to care about the other demons crests. Just kill who you want. He faces forwards again as I raise a brow at him. Youre my granddaughter after all.


    Right. Tyrant. Cant forget that. Even if he is generally nice to his people and they trust the heck out of him.


    Then again, Im not gonnain. Every demon dead is one demon that wont be going to Earth to kill people there.


    Just because Im their Princess doesnt mean I have to care about the demons on this. Even if I dont feel any particr hatred towards them now that I know <em>why </em>theyre fighting, the demons are still going around killing the humans on Earth for no other reason than their King told them to. So theres no reason to feel pity for them. No reason not to kill them.


    Ill show you thends belonging to the other demon nster, Grandpa says, bringing my attention back to him again. For now, there are three people you must meet.


    I blink at that before frowning.


    Three people? Its not hard to guess who he means, but I could be wrong.


    We fly straight through the window of the castles throne room as he exins, Each of them should meet you at least once, even if they may not have any particr reason to work with you right now. And they themselves wish to meet their Princess as well, so I called them all here.


    On that note, I hear footsteps beginning to approach the throne room from down the hall.


    Remember that youre my granddaughter and despite their power, youre on the same level as them in station, he says, making me gape at him in shock before quickly fixing my face.


    Right. I almost forgot.


    Demon society ces the Demon King at the top, followed immediately by both the Princes and Princesses and the Demon Lords on the same level.


    Meaning that on a technical level, I do have the same authority as them.


    I school my face into a passive one before the footsteps reach the door.


    Then the door opens to reveal the four Demon Lords of Tartarus.

 Book 3: Chapter 53: The Demon Lords of Tartarus

    Book 3: Chapter 53: The Demon Lords of Tartarus


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Of the four Demon Lords, I immediately ignore Leonidas who is standing next to a man with pale skin, pitch ck eyes, and pitch ck ws on each hand wearing a set of pitch ck armor in the center of the four Demon Lords. A man I recognize based on his appearance as a ghoul, particrly due to hisck of any sort of pupil or sclera. Just a straight up single solid color for his entire eyes without any sort of light radiating from them.


    <strong></strong>


    Yeah, this is the guy who got the new Title recently. Although he looks different from what I expected when I hear of him from the Universal Notification. Less kill everyone like I expected from someone Titled The Reaper, and more quiet, stoic, and intellectual type. Although still taller and bigger than me overall.


    My gaze turns to the man on the far right who has long red hair and a permanent scowl on his face, unlike the calm look the Lord of Death has. He also has glowing red horns on his head that I can feel the heat of from here, along with bright red skin, eyes, and ws. The man is also ratherrge, and his armor doesnt cover much skin, leaving most of his torso bare. Skin that also has glowing red veins on it.


    <strong></strong>


    Only one Title? Guess hesgging behind the others, since I know Leonidas has two and The Reaper has two.


    I turn my gaze to thest of the four on the far left, finding them to be the most inhuman of the bunch. They have a deep green almost ck carapace instead of skin,pound eyes like a bug that glow with an eerie green light, and natural des extending from their forearms over their hands. Although they look to have some sort of carapace-like helmet on that makes me wonder if they can pull it down over their face or something. And while their carapace and bug-like appearance makes it hard to guess their gender, their chest makes it a lot easier to tell. That and their Titles.


    <strong></strong>


    Wee, Demon Lords, Grandpa says, making me realize that lords is a gender neutral term to them. That or personal preference. I introduce to you my granddaughter, Her Highness, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, the First Princess of Tartarus!


    Guess hes not using the faes way of ranking the royalty, instead listing the princes and princesses separately in the ranking. Although that might just be because theres only one Prince and one Princess, and First Prince and First Princess sound more intimidating than First Prince and Second Princess.


    I could definitely see him doing it for that reason.


    That aside, I nod my head with a short, Greetings, Demon Lords.


    Leonidas raises a brow at that but doesnt say anything. Meanwhile the Reaper just nods and answers in kind, Greetings, Princess Scarlet.


    I nce at the other two to find the Lord of Hellfire narrowing his eyes slightly without saying a word. But the Devourer smiles lightly and says, her voiceing out slightly shrill, Hello, dear. Im d youre back where you belong.


    My eyes widen ever so slightly before I nod my head, deciding not toment on that statement.


    She seems nice though.


    Then again, from what Ive heard, the mindeaters are a rather neutral demon in terms of the war. They dont care about it at all. In fact, theyre the only demon n against the war because it interferes with their sleep time.


    A rather simply reason to be against a war, but good nheless I suppose.


    I look to the Lord of Hellfire again, only for the man to appear right in front of me as the rather tall man looks down on me, his eyes still narrowed. But since neither Grandpa nor Leonidas do anything, I simply stare up at him with a frown on my face, not backing down in the slightest.


    We stare at each other for several seconds before a slight grin cracks his face and he pats my head, chuckles, and says, Youll do, Your Ladyship. Youll do.


    Now Im ring at him as I move my head away from his hand, to his apparent amusement.


    Not what I was expecting from an oni.


    <strong>If I had to guess, he was sizing you up based on your age, what he sees of you right now, and the achievements hes been told youve made, and deciding whether you were worthy for your position, </strong>Tar says, exining his actions. Something I pretty much guessed.


    What would he have done if he didnt find me worthy?


    <strong>Not sure, </strong>Tar answers directly into my mind as the other Demon Lords scowl at the oni. <strong>He may have just scoffed and left the room. Or he may have tried to kill you. Depends on how weak and undeserving he thought you were, and if it sparked his Wrath or not.</strong>


    I blink at that second possibility.


    Now that would be more along the lines of what I expect from an oni.


    Come to think of it, who was the Demon Lord that ate their contract with their fae?


    <strong>Uh, </strong>Tar utters for a moment before answering, <strong>It was The Reaper.</strong>


    Hmm. The ghoul then.


    Guess that makes sense. He is affected by the Gluttony Sin after all.


    <strong>I wouldnt be surprised if his eating his contract was one of the requirements for his new Title, </strong>Tarments, almost making me raise a brow at The Reaper.


    Almost.


    I hold myself back simply because the Reaper in question is currently staring at me in a slightly unnerving manner. Simply staring without blinking at all. And now that I look more closely, I notice an intense hunger in his gaze. One that Im sure all ghouls feel all the time.


    That would be a terrible Sin to have, if Im being honest. Always feeling hungry.


    At this point I feel like the blood lycans Sin of Pride is probably one of the easiest on the cursed demons.


    Then again.


    I nce at the Devourer.


    She and the other mindeaters dont seem to mind having to sleep all the time. Although, her true form is a giant insect. And insects hibernate.


    Actually, shes the only one in this room not in her true form right now. Also, the whole demons used to be human thing certainly exins why the demons all get a humanoid form at ss V.


    If thats all, Ill be taking my leave, The Reaper says, following which Grandpa nods. So he nods once towards Grandpa, then at Leonidas, then the Devourer, andstly to me before leaving in a wave of ck and purple death magic, ignoring the Lord of Hellfire in the process, telling me just what he thinks of the guy.


    Should you need anything, ask me and I will consider, The Devourer states, herpound eyes drilling into me before I nod, and her body breaks up into thousands of insects and she flies off out the balcony.


    Then the Lord of Hellfire walks up once more and ces his hand on my shoulder, not budging an inch when I try to move my shoulder out of his grasp as he says, Well, youngdy, I think well get along great! But Im gonna head out! Got some skulls to crush after all. His body immediately alights with ck mes that make me begin panicking, only to realize that they arent hurting me in the slightest. As you humans often say, sayonara!


    I blink at that before his body vanishes out the window in a sh.


    Then I just stare out the window for who knows how long.


    What is wrong with that guy?

 Book 3: Chapter 54: Reaching the Peak of Class II

    Book 3: Chapter 54: Reaching the Peak of ss II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Scarlet, Grandpas voice snaps me out of it, bringing my attention to him to find the man smiling. Thats all for today. Youre free to do whatever you want.


    My eyes widen with glee before I give him a quick salute and rush straight to the balcony, jumping off of it without a hint of fear into a roll on the ground far below. Then I simply sprint straight towards the gate, passing through it in a sh.


    Please let me get to the ind before my bodyguards catch up to me!


    Your Highness, I hear one of them state, making me nce to the side to find them easily running alongside me.


    Shit. That didnt work as nned.


    <strong>I mean, what did you expect? </strong>Tar says with a snort, sounding more than a little amused.


    True. Doesnt mean I cant still dream, cant I?


    Im going hunting, I tell him without pausing in my run or slowing down in the slightest. I swear Ill reach ss III by the end of the night!


    A proud smile makes its way on the guards face. One that Ipletely ignore.


    As you wish, Your Highness, he says, somehow bowing while running at my top speed. Something that kind of makes me want to punch him because of how fluidly he did it, making me look slow byparison.


    Then again, that might just be my pride talking.


    Anyways, the man vanishes to his blood realm as I continue running straight towards the bridge.


    Time to fight the other demons on that ind!


    After ten straight hours of nonstop hunting in the forest, something I wouldnt have been able to do on Earth, my System Messages suddenly y through by themselves the moment I finish off another bicorn.


    <strong>{Level 242 Bicorn defeated. A small EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over ten levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 252 Bicorn defeated. Arge EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over twenty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 232 Blood Bear defeated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 271 Blood Bear defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over thirty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 230 Wendigo defeated. A small EXP penalty is extracted for killing a creature below your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 249 Wendigo defeated. A medium EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifteen levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 242 Blood Revenant defeated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 271 Blood Revenant defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over twenty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x57</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 232. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 250. Three Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to- Level up canceled due to you being at the cap of ss II. Please ascend to ss III. To do so you must find and absorb two ss II catalysts.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Pull has leveled up to level 17.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 13.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 14.]</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the rare inherent skill, Life Sense.}</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock at the new inherent skill.


    Now thats a skill I know about. Its a rather rare skill but a well-known one on Earth.


    The skill lets you sense anything living within a radius around you depending on the skills level. It should also let you see the exact amount of mana someone has even if theyre hiding it simply by looking at them. At least, at the higher levels of the skill it gives that.


    <strong>One of the skills you learned about at the university, right? </strong>Tarments as I take a moment to sit down on a tree stump.


    Yeah.


    I close my eyes, focusing on my senses before slowly gaining a sense of awareness of five presences surrounding me, but when I open my eyes, I dont find anyone there. Meaning theyre probably the guards.


    So I close my eyes again and focus once more until I find the presence of a demon approaching the clearing were in.


    I open my eyes and turn to look at it, finding a blood revenant  an undead creature made mostly of blood and bone  whose mana I can see clear as day.


    Itll take a bit to get used to though, since its kind of bizarre to see a blue aura around everything. And since its a passive skill, I cant exactly turn it off.


    The only real downside to the skill.


    Ill also have to figure out how to determine somethings level from their exact amount of mana, if thats possible.


    Although the fact that I only got two inherent skills in my entire time as ss II is disappointing, not including the one I got for reaching ss II in the first ce. Even if I know its due to the inherent skills I got being higher rarity.


    Something that tends to happen for people with a lot of difficult achievements.


    Anyways, I quickly distribute my free points before getting up and stretching a bit. Then I tell the guards, Lets head back to the pce. Ive reached level 250 and just need the catalysts now.


    Of course, Your Highness, the guards all state, each of them appearing for a moment before vanishing again from my physical sight, but not from my life sense anymore.


    At least I can tell where they are now. Thats a plus.


    Didnt realize life sense could see into a blood realm though. Not that I actually knew what a blood realm was before yesterday, but still.


    Now I just have to figure out where I can get the catalysts. Although Grandpa might just offer them to me for free.


    I kind of doubt he will though. Its just not the blood lycan way of doing things.


    So with that thought in mind, I make the crest reappear on my armor and begin heading back towards the castle again, only to pause after just three steps when a cloud of miasma suddenly appears in front of me, following which the guards all immediately surround me with their arms partially shifted.


    Then The Reaper appears out of the miasma, his eyes locked on mine.


    Whats he doing here?

 Book 3: Chapter 55: Offer

    Book 3: Chapter 55: Offer


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Lord of Death, why may I ask are you here? Seraphina asks in a stern but rtively polite way. Or at least as polite as one can be while ready for battle.


    The Reaper nces at her before shaking his head and stating, I simply wish to offer her a catalyst for her ascension.


    I raise a brow, and hisment seems to catch the others off guard as well. But without even giving me a chance to consider his offer, I hear a voice echo in my head.


    And its not Tars.


    <strong>Hello, young Princess. What I truly wish to offer you is a way to escape your babysitters. To get back to Earth.</strong>


    My eyes begin to widen, only for his voice to continue, <strong>Do not show any reaction if you dont want your guards ruining this chance for you.</strong>


    That stops me, making me narrow my eyes at the man instead. Something that would be expected from the offer he mentioned out loud.


    Her Highness will be searching for her own catalyst soon, so there is no need, Lord of Death, Seraphina says with a light nod of her head. Meanwhile the mans voice continues in my head, <strong>Simply say my name out loud and I will have you teleported to wherever you wish to go, away from your bodyguards. This does not have to be now either, as I know you wish to grow stronger here first.</strong>


    Very well then, he says with a nod before ck and purple energy begin to move around him again. I will be taking my leave.


    Then he vanishes once again, leaving only onest statement in my head, <strong>If you dont trust me, simply know that I believe all children should have the freedom to choose their own paths.</strong>


    And just as if he were never here, the forest goes silent again.


    Several seconds pass before I nce at Seraphina, the woman finally shifting her arms back to normal, and ask, Seraphina, would you mind telling me a little more about The Reaper?


    The woman continues watching our surroundings as she answers, Sure, Your Highness. And after she appears satisfied that hes gone, she focuses on me, the other guards vanishing, and asks, What would you like to know about him?


    Well, for a start, has he ever lost control of his hunger? I ask while beginning to walk through the forest again.


    Seraphina quickly moves to keep pace with me, carefully watching our surroundings as she answers, The Reaper is probably the most self-restrained ghoul in existence, having only ever lost control of his hunger once.


    Once? I ask, vaguely surprised. How do you know he didnt lose control more than that?


    Most ghouls lose control of their hunger at least once a month, not just once in their entire life


    He must have strong self-control. That or hes just not telling the-


    Because it was His Majesty that has praised the mains self-restraint, not the man himself, she says, surprising me even more.


    And the one time he did lose control? I prod, growing a little curious about The Reaper.


    Because if he can really be trusted, I might actually have a way off of Tartarus after all.


    Seraphina nces at me before facing forwards again, It was because of his father. Very few people know of exactly what urred, but from what I do know, his father did something that made him lose his self-control. Which led to him racing out of the room to devour a nearby demon, only barely stopping himself from eating his own father.


    My jaw drops wide open at that.


    The fuck? Thats... messed up.


    And his father? What happened after that? I ask, feeling more and more interested the more I hear.


    She nces at me for a second and answers in a short sentence, Hes dead.


    Awkward silence fills the forest as we walk.


    I cant tell if she respects or fears The Reaper, and I feel awkward asking at this point.


    There is one more question I need to ask regardless though.


    Whats the rtionship between The Reaper and Grandpa? I ask, making her eyes widen slightly before she smiles and answers, The two of them actually trust each other quite a lot. She faces forwards again while continuing, The Reaper doesnt really show much of his emotions very often, simr to you and your father, but he does trust His Majesty with his life. Even if he disagrees on how family should be treated.


    Wait, what was that about family? I ask, stopping her there.


    She nces at me with a look of surprise and confusion, almost like shes wondering why Im asking all this, before saying, The Reapers father raised him in a rather harsh manner, trying to force him into living just like he did. And thats warped The Reapers view on family, making him dead set on the idea of children having the right to go and choose their own paths to follow without their parents forceful intervention.


    I blink at that.


    Okay. That would exin why The Reaper made that offer.


    I might take him up on it when I reach ss IV, or if something major happens in the war between the humans and demons. But for now, hes right. I do want to continue growing stronger here first.


    Maybe I can head back when the original adoption was nned to take ce, around July?


    That said, Ill need to talk to Grandpa a little bit about The Reaper just to make sure hes trustworthy.


    <strong>Good idea, </strong>Tarments. <strong>Just make sure not to clue him in to The Reapers offer otherwise he might put an immediate end to that chance.</strong>


    True.


    Oh, right. I also need to ask him about the catalyst.


    Actually, The Reapers fake offer about a catalyst might make a perfect excuse to ask him about The Reaper.


    I nce at Seraphina, only for her to bow slightly and reenter her blood realm, the woman realizing that Im done with my questions before I look forward again.


    Lets see what Gramps has to say about catalysts. And The Reaper.

 Book 3: Chapter 56: Catalysts

    Book 3: Chapter 56: Catalysts


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    That didnt take long, Grandpa says with a raised brow after appearing out of nowhere in my room, the man having been busy with something when I got back to the castle, making me jump in surprise straight off the bed. You ready to learn about the next set of catalysts in full? More than just what the humans know about them?


    I quickly nod my head, honestly not having expected him to finish his business in just a few minutes. Seeing as I literally just sat down on my bed in the first ce after getting here.


    He raises his hand, making a crystal shard appear in it covered in blood as he says, This here is a ss II Fracture Core Shard, one of the many possible Catalysts. And to ascend with it, youd need two of these. Then he raises his other hand, making three objects appear there, each covered in blood as well with one of them  some sort of purple organ  pushed out a little closer to me than the others. This is the heart of a ss III demon, and to ascend with these, youd need one hundred ss III demon hearts as only fifty of thesebined count as a Catalyst. The heart moves in a circle, making the next object  some sort of crystal  move to take its ce. This is a ss III Metal that has passively absorbed mana for thousands of years, and to ascend with it you would need at least a few kilograms of the stuff. Although there are also some special crystals that are basically just extremely pure versions of the metal that would count as one Catalyst each. Andstly, the final object  some sort of glowing orb  moves to take its ce. And then theres the pure brute force manner of ascending. With a core or other object packed full of mana.


    Wait, something like that can act as a Catalyst? I cant help but ask, looking at the orb that Im pretty sure is just a random magical item designed to hold mana that someone filled to the top.


    Grandpa nods, It can and does. The orb vanishes with a snap of his finger. But youll be using the demon hearts since youve already got quite a collection growing of them.


    That has me blinking in confusion, only for a pile of hearts to suddenly appear in the room, somehow not making a mess of the floor.


    You didnt think your bodyguards were only there to protect you, did you? he asks with a smug grin on his face. They were also there to collect the hearts of any demons you killed and preserve them for your ascension.


    My jaw drops open.


    How the heck did they manage to do that without me noticing? Im pretty sure it shouldve been rather obvious if they were going around digging through the bodies of the demons I killed.


    Right now you have a total of forty-nine ss III demon hearts, he says, sounding slightly impressed by the number. So tomorrow you can go ahead and hunt just ss III demons for more hearts and if you get enough by the end of the night, you can go ahead and ascend in the bath chamber.


    I nod at that, only to pause at the mention of the incredibly nice bath chamber.


    He smirks at that and adds, Dont worry, the bath can easily cleanse the ascension impurities.


    Thank the stars. I was <em>not</em> looking forward to experiencing that again. The pain is bad enough already.


    Whats a ss III Metal exactly? I ask, genuinely curious as I look at the crystal. We dont have those on Earth.


    He moves the crystal closer to me and says, They form in areas of high mana usage, generally after a contractor uses a strong enough magic that it floods the area with mana, making the world in that area begin generating its own mana after having its reality touched by the powerful magic. And it would be more urate to say that they dont form on Earth <em>yet</em>, since it takes hundreds or even over a thousand years for them to form from the ambient mana.


    Oh.


    And Earths only been in the System for two hundred years, I finish, making him nod. Then he snaps his fingers once more, making the ss III Metal vanish along with the Core Shards.


    Grandpa suddenly pats me on the head, making me frown and push away his hand, but he justughs and says, Well, Ive gotta go, dear pup. I shouldnt make those Demon Lords wait too long just because I left to see you.


    My jaw drops open.


    Did you really- he vanishes before I finish, trailing off part of the way through my statement, leave in the middle of a meeting


    Tar startsughing as he appears, draping himself over my armored shoulder.


    He really just dipped on his meeting to go see me and exin Catalysts? I hope the Demon Lords dont me me for that.


    Wait a second.


    I frown.


    How could The Reaper have been in a meeting with him if he met with me in the forest?


    <strong>It was probably a clone that we saw, </strong>Tar says, finally getting over hisughing fit. <strong>Hes certainly strong enough to make one.</strong>


    True.


    Oh, shit. He left so fast I didnt get the chance to ask him about The Reaper


    <strong>You can ask himter, </strong>Tar says with a cute wave of his paw. <strong>Not like hes going anywhere permanently.</strong>


    Hmm, youve got a point.


    I walk over and lie down on my bed again while deactivating my armor, resulting in me once again being in casual clothes of a T-shirt and pants. Although I stopped wearing my jacket since it could get damaged on Tartarus beyond Repairs capability to repair it.


    One thing I should definitely ask Leonidas aboutter.


    <strong>What is it? </strong>Tar asks, sounding curious as he crawls onto my chest and lies down.


    The armor is missing one of its most important parts.


    Pockets.


    The tanuki just snorts and closes his eyes, seemingly going to sleep without bothering to say anything in response.


    I mean it. They really need pockets.


    And I dont mean the spatial ones they have.


    Real pockets I can put my hands in, because Im too used to putting my hands in my pockets as I walk. So it feels awkward now that I cant do that.


    Tar doesnt respond, instead snoring.


    I roll my eyes at that before ncing at the window to find the sun rising.


    Then I close my eyes, beginning to go to sleep myself without caring about the open window.

 Book 3: Glossary (2)

    Book 3: Glossary (2)


    <strong>World:</strong>


    There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.


    The Terran Republic: Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.


    Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.


    Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.


    Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.


    The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    Currency: Credits and Skill Points.


    10 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    4 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    30 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong>Tartarus:</strong>


    Blood Lycans live in the Bloody Duchy.


    Oni live in the Oni Citadel.


    Mindeaters live in the Mindeaters Lair.


    Ghouls live in the Caverns of Death.


    Arachnae live in the Spider Burrows.


    Kitsune live in the Ashen Mountains.


    Subi live in the Mesa of Illusions.


    The ranks of Nobility include:


    Baron/Baroness {1001-1200}


    Viscount/Viscountess {1201-1400}


    Count/Countess {1401-1600}


    Marquess/Marchioness {1601-1700}


    Duke/Duchess {>1700}


    Prince/Princess{Sons or Daughters of the Demon king} and Demon Lord{Four highest level demons}


    Demon King


    Social Contact Outside of Cities:


    Demons are perfectly fine with killing any other demon they see outside of cities. However, they will generally avoid killing other demons who have crests showing clearly on their body, designating them as members of a Nobles family. Unless the demon in question is also a child of a Noble or a Noble themselves.


    The demons ce absolute trust in the Royal Family thanks to the entire Demon world of Tartarus being controlled under his absolute power, and their entire society having been formed by him alone. Additionally, he solves all of their problems, and is by far the oldest demon living to this day. One of the very few demons who survived long enough to know the truth of the world.


    <em>One gold coin -> Ten silver</em>


    <em>One silver -> One hundred bronze</em>


    <strong>System:</strong>


    There are two types of skills. Inherent skills and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.


    Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.


    However, there are also skills known as Achievement-Locked skills, which have to be purchased through skill points before they then turn into inherent skills which level up just like any other inherent skill. These skills cannot use Skill Points to level up.


    The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.


    Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users skills and capabilities take. Especially in their inherent skills.


    At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.


    ss I multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9.


    ss II multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.2, D a multiplier of 0.4, C 0.7, B 1.0, and A has a multiplier of 1.4.


    Total Mana: Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.


    Total Mana Regen: Average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat.


    <em>Note: Scarlets mana regen does not follow this due to Blood Regeneration!!!</em>


    Strength in arc: Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch.


    The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 arc on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.


    (Scarlets multipliersbined is 1.2x)


    The stats everyone starts out with is 10 but their starting stats vary after contracting depending on both their reality warp, their magic, and their physical fitness at the time of contracting.


    <strong>ss I Demons  1-100</strong>


    <strong>Demon Spawn</strong>


    Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.


    Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8


    <strong>Demon Hound</strong>


    Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.


    Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15


    <strong>Demon Huntsman</strong>


    Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.


    Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20


    <strong>Demon Knight</strong>


    Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.


    Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100


    <strong>Demon Breeder</strong>


    Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.


    Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50


    <strong>Demon Captain</strong>


    Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.


    Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100


    Known Captain Species so far: Smanders and Trihearts.


    <strong>ss II Demons  Levels 101-250</strong>


    <strong>Demon Fomorians</strong>


    Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.


    Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150


    <strong>Demon Acolytes</strong>


    Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.


    Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155


    <strong>Demon Wraiths</strong>


    Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.


    Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160


    <strong>Demon Berserkers</strong>


    Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.


    Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200


    <strong>Demon Defenders</strong>


    Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.


    Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200


    <strong>Demon Summoners</strong>


    Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.


    Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Demon Commander</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250


    <strong>ss III Demons  Levels 251-500</strong>


    <strong>Vanguard</strong>


    Description: These demons are almost as intelligent as humans and are capable of basic speech. They are the lower echelon demons who have climbed their way up to ss III from the less generally powerful species of demons.


    Subspecies Shown So Far:


    Taracht: Massive spider with ck hair streaked with red.


    <strong>Changelings</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves and spreading throughout parts of old world China.


    <strong>Demon Generals</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss III Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Their weakness is dependent on which subspecies of demon they are.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 500


    <strong>ss IV Demons  Levels 501-1000</strong>


    <strong>ss V Demons  Noble Demons  Above level 1000</strong>


    There are only seven demon species that have a cemented ce amongst the Noble Demons. All other Noble Demons are simply other demons who have managed to reach ss V.


    Furthermore, Noble Demons who do not have a humanoid form are granted one upon reaching ss V.


    The reason for this will be toldter on in the story.


    The following seven demon species are the Seven Noble Demon ns.


    <strong>Blood Lycans</strong>


    Description: Blood lycans are known by many to be the most powerful species of demon in existence. They can partially and fully transform into a powerful beast form, have the strongest regeneration in existence, and are born predators in every way, whether ites to their physical prowess, magical, or senses. They are also known to fight in a more berserk manner, often sacrificing hits on themselves to return just as much pain to their enemy as they regenerate their own wounds.


    Blood lycans are known to be very proud and protective of their family and care far more for their family than anything else. However, this care is mostly limited to direct family as indirect family, while it is known that they still protect them viciously from any outsiders not of their species, they may not be treated very well depending on their circumstances by other blood lycans. Or they may just treat indirect family as they would others albeit with a bit more respect.


    It is a breach of their pride for any other species to ever kill a blood lycan.


    They have the most humanlike appearances out of all demons when they are in their lycan forms, with glowing red eyes and wolf ears on their head, along with red and ck hair and a tail that can be absorbed into their body at will. However, their beast forms tend to vary depending on the blood lycan in question. But most of the blood lycans have the form of a ck furred werewolf with streaks of blood red running through the fur.


    Weakness: Blood lycans have a minor weakness to Mental Magic and another weakness to sound magic. However, their weakness to sound magic can be solved through lowering their senses or protecting them with magic, making that weakness go away.


    Magic: Blood magic, with a unique power to metallicized blood.


    Sin: Pride


    <strong>Oni</strong>


    Description: Oni aremonly known as the demon with the most brute force magical power out all demons in existence. While they cannot truly match a blood lycan in fighting prowess, they have them beat in pure magical attacks. These demons are also theplete opposite of the blood lycans in terms of family as their wrath is too great for them to be bound by family, as most of those who try end up tearing themselves apart in the end in a bloody fight before splitting up.


    They have a humanoid appearance with a crown of horns on their head, each glowing red with heat. They have crimson skin, with equally crimson eyes, and red ws on their hands and feet with no heart, instead having a me inside of their chest.


    Weakness: An onis weakness is holy magic.


    Magic: Hellfire magic, with a unique power to cause direct damage to someones reality(their soul) with their hellfire.


    Sin: Wrath


    <strong>Mindeater</strong>


    Description: Mindeaters are perhaps the most reclusive of the demons amongst the seven demon ns, with only one other ning anywhere near close to them in that regard. Most Mindeaters simply spend their days sleeping or watching over their territory with their reality detached from their body. However, should a Mindeater ever be truly angered, they will devour a persons reality whole, turning it into life energy instead and feeding the life force in them to the System entirely.


    They have the appearance of arge insect with very little carapace shielding them from physical harm and ten legs, with three segments to their body and two incisors at the front of their mouths.


    Weakness: A Mindeaters weakness is their physical strength.


    Magic: Mind-eater magic, with a unique power to disconnect their reality(their soul) from their body when asleep.


    Sin: Sloth


    <strong>Ghoul</strong>


    Description: Ghouls are the only undead demons in the ranks of the seven ns, and they are known to be even more unkible than a blood lycan because of their ability to substitute mana for life energy. They often specialize purely in magic and their body, making them powerful foes who have the mana to long since oust most foes they will fight.


    However, fire magic will make regenerating damage done to the physical body of a ghoul more difficult, and so ghouls hate fire magic users more than anything. Including the oni n.


    Ghouls are also ravenous creatures whose appetites know no bounds, leading to them eating both living and nonliving things almost every chance they get.


    They have humanoid bodies with pitch ck eyes, pale skin with veins of ck and purple energy running underneath, and ck ws.


    Weakness: A ghouls weakness is fire magic.


    Magic: Death magic, with the unique power to substitute mana for life energy, allowing them to continue living as long as they have mana regardless of the state of their body.


    Sin: Gluttony


    <strong>Arachnae</strong>


    Description: Arachnae prefer to live in the dark and are known to be the strongest assassins in all of Tartarus. They are often hired by other demons to assassinate noble demons that are too powerful at arge price. However, they only work during the night as their eyes are sensitive to the light.


    Arachnae live in nests with at least a dozen arachnae in each nest, and their kingdoms are all underground.


    These Nobles are some of the most aggressive demons towards other species out of pure envy. If there is something the other species has that the arachnae wishes to have, their envy will lead them do disliking the species.


    Thanks to this, most arachnae tend to live outside of the public eye, not interacting with the other demon species of Tartarus if they do not have to.


    Weakness: An arachnaes weakness is light magic.


    Magic: Corruption with the unique ability to absorb, recreate, mix, and experiment with any type of corruption using their own body that is immune to any corruption(poison, acid, viruses, etc).


    Sin: Envy


    <strong>Subi</strong>


    Description: Subi are known as one of the few demon species who can and will impregnate any other species. However, these creatures are also distant at the same time, as are all seers. They never create permanent ties with other creatures outside of their own species, always leaving them to wander. They never create kingdoms of their own or rule in any manner.


    If a subi is seen in a city, most demons inhabiting that city know that the subi will most likely only leave after sleeping with over a dozen different demons in the city. However, they also know not to ever anger the subi. Because entire citys poptions have been known to go missing after such an event.


    It is simply in their nature to feel lust over anything they deem beautiful.


    Weakness: A subis weakness is pain and fighting someone whos mind is protected from charm magic.


    Magic: Charm with a unique ability to divine anyone whose exact name they know and enter their dreams, thereby finding their location and being able to manipte them in their dreams.(can be warded against if someone is powerful enough)


    Sin: Lust


    <strong>Kitsune</strong>


    Description: Kitsune are known across Tartarus as the rulers of the most powerful association of thieves in all of Tartarus known as the Thieves of Tartarus. They are greedy creatures who are not able to keep their hands to themselves should they ever see something they like. Regardless of the consequences.


    However, despite their thieving nature, kitsune specialize simply in support andbat magic, with no stealth or illusion rted skills known to date.


    How they managed to create the Thieves of Tartarus to this day has alluded even the Demon King himself.(mostly because he doesnt care enough to simply order them to answer)


    Weakness: A kitsunes weakness is water magic.


    Magic: Foxfire, which is abination of fire and lightning and is solely unique to kitsunes, with the ability to enhance any skill that uses foxfire depending on how many tails the kitsune has.


    Sin: Greed


    The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.


    A new glossary will be postedter on with updated demons for the remaining sses.


    Note: Noble demons only include Blood Lycans, Oni, Arachnae, Subae, Ghouls, Mindeaters, Kitsune, and any demon above level one thousand.


    Meaning that there are no noble demons outside of those seven species who are not ss V already.


    No exceptions.


    <strong>Characters:</strong>


    Scarlet Asger:


    Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, has ck hair before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.


    The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public.


    Allen Silvester:


    Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.


    He was contracted by White to create the orphanage in the first ce and raise Scarlet as an orphan. And he knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how he feels about her.


    Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.


    Cynthia Sylvester:


    Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.


    Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.


    And she knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how she feels about her.


    Arthur Barnes:


    A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.


    Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.


    But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.


    Arabellia Silvester:


    Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.


    She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.


    Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.


    Title: Mystic Guardian


    Precontract.


    Michael Winters:


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet at twenty years old and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.


    Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.


    Title: Druid


    Denise Harley:


    A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet at twenty one years old and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.


    Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.


    Title: Inferno


    Emily Winters:


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet at eighteen years old and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.


    Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.


    Title: Little Reaper.


    Leonidas Val Art de Archeron:


    Demon Lord of Tartarus, Scarlets father, and the son of the current Demon King. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan who had a child with White, the current most powerful human being, and his father was not happy about it. He cares about Scarlet a lot and can get protective of her in strange ways. However, if she is on a hunt, he will not disturb her as is the way with blood lycans.


    Amelia Asger:


    White, the most powerful amongst the Knights of Humanity, and Scarlets mother. She is also the brother to Blue and aunt to Aria. Amelia loves both her daughter and Leonidas and went with the prophecy due to her fear of losing the two of them. Fear that was imnted into her by past prophecies that had gone horribly wrong after she didnt follow them.


    Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron:


    Demon King of Tartarus, Scarlets grandfather, and the father of one of the current Demon Lords. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan and does not approve of his son having had a child with a human. However, he doesnt hold this against the child and cares about Scarlet very much. Even if he has only met her once when she was a baby. He also didnt approve of Leonidass n to bring Scarlet to Earth but had no way to go against it since hismand as Demon King doesnt work on a Demon Lord and his son conducted his n without telling him first. The man has constantly been searching for Scarlet and anything that may lead him to her so that he can bring her home and protect her as his only granddaughter.


    After Scarlet was brought to Tartarus, he prioritizes her over most things, including his own work as the King sometimes. He also has a habit of patting her on the head, to her displeasure.


    Aria Knight:


    Aria is Scarlets cousin and the daughter of Blue. She is one of the youngest Guardians in recorded history, a famous child actress, and is emotionally stunted in her development just like Scarlet. However, she is fine with physical contact as long as its with Scarlet, who she quickly grew to like after meeting her and begins to think of as an older sister.


    Aria has long ck hair with unnatural blue eyes and two wings that she can summon whenever she pleases. The wings look like those of an angels.


    Aquatic Divine: Arias magic that lets her use both water and holy magic in tandem.


    Aria also has a few etched skills from Alexander but doesnt know what all of them are or how to use most of them except for a single one. One that allows her to shapeshift a part of her body into a tentacle tipped with a w. And this one she only knows about due to identally using it.


    Alexander Knight:


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, Blue. He is an insane psychopath with water rted magic that can also transform him into a kraken, and is tied with Red as the second most powerful human being. He is Scarlets uncle and White  Scarlets mother  brother. He is Arias father despite practically abandoning her to the government immediately after having her through the first willing gene donor he could find just to get the government off his back.


    Will Wright:


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, ck. He has a split personality with one of his personalities being a yful prankster, and the other a pseudo psychopath. The man both wishes to take Scarlet in and adopt her but also doesnt at the same time. One side of him wishes to do it out of actual worry and care, while the other just wants to spite Amelia, Scarlets biological mother.


    ck uses a shadow rted magic that makes him the most powerful human assassin in the world.


    Noah Walker:


    Noah is the Red Knight of Humanity and tied for the second most powerful human being, being evenly matched with Blue. He has a son named ke Walker, who he raised on the front lines like a soldier.


    ke Walker:


    ke is the son of Red and is a ss II Guardian. He also admits that Scarlet is his type but adamantly refuses to let that develop into any form of romantic interest.


    Lucius Tor de ckheart:


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and a Ghoul. He has the titles Lord of Death and The Reaper. He uses death magic and is close to the Demon King. He is the oldest of the four Demon Lords even if he isnt the strongest and has family issues.


    He dislikes the way blood lycans treat their family sometimes.


    <em><strong>(His art will be revealed soon along with the other Demon Lords)</strong></em>


    Sylver:


    A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.


    Sage:


    She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.


    Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.


    Alfred Raynsford:


    The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.


    He is one of the few people who remembers what White looks like and still meets with her regrly.


    Jacob R. Ashton:


    He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart. However, not much else is known about him beyond his being familiar with White.


    Julian:


    Son of the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city. He was the new Guardian Scarlet saved in a Fracture. He has silver hair to match the tail that pokes a hole through his pants along with two silver eyes, the same glossy shade of silver as his tail.


    Anthony Wilson:


    Contracted partner of Artoria  Tars sister  and a user of death magic. Part void spawn due to human experimentation. Can use a powerful legendary skill that drastically increases all of his stats for the price of taking an explosive amount of damage if hurt while using the skill.


    Lucas Walsh:


    Lucas was the second ce finisher in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament that Scarlet won. He is a student at Aquatic Pride Guardians University, and has a strong magical sense of smell, leading to him noticing Scarlets scent and pointing it out in a creepy manner.


    Lucas is not able to understand the nuances behind things spoken to him or by him, making him miss the small details that are meant to be left unsaid and leaving him to say things that can be taken as creepy or strange.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Shifter


    Abigail Kim:


    Abigail was defeated in the quarterfinal round of the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. She is a student at Yggdrasil Guardians University, goes by the nickname Abi, and is the only mental magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Abigail and Sam are dating.


    Her Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Lost


    Samuel Lewis:


    Sam was defeated in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. He is a student at Hunters Peak Guardians University, goes by the nickname Sam, and is the only blood magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Sam and Abigail are dating.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Crim


    Ethan Davis:


    Ethan was defeated by Scarlet in the Tower Siege secondary tournament and is a student at Scorched Halls Guardians University. He uses a magic that locks him in ce while he absorbs the damage dealt to him before he eventually releases is all at the target in an uncontroble wave ofva.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Molten Angel


    Caroline Winters:


    Carol is a ss III Guardian and the number one ranked student currently at Lions Heart Guardians University. She is also the older sister of both Emily and Michael, two of Scarlets former teammates.


    Carol uses spatial magic that lets her cut apart space itself.


    Title: Rift

 Book 3: Chapter 57: Puppy Dog

    Book 3: Chapter 57: Puppy Dog


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I spend the entirety the next night simply hunting ss III demons until I finally get enough hearts to use as Catalysts, following which I head straight back to the castle and meet with Gramps, who once again ditches his meeting to join me. Something I get the feeling Im going to hearints about at some point in time if he keeps on doing it.


    But for now Ill ignore it. Especially considering the fact that it should actually help Earth if his ns are dyed.


    <strong>Thats certainly one way to do things, </strong>Tarments with a chuckle. But then he asks, <strong>So why are you starting to think of him as Gramps instead of Grandpa?</strong>


    I blink as I enter my room where Gramps is.


    Honestly not sure. It just feels like it suits him more now that Ive gotten to know him a little better.


    <strong>I wonder what hell think if he hears you calling him that, </strong>Tar says with a smirk as he purposefully floats next to me instead of on me, likely due to not wanting to be sent flying. Something that will probably happen if Gramps sees him sitting on me.


    That was fast, Gramps says with a proud smile on his face before snapping his fingers and saying, now bring them here.


    Then a pile of hearts appears next to him from the bodyguards whove been gathering them up for me after I killed each demon.


    Gramps holds both of his hands out to the pile of hearts before a blood domain covers them and he lifts them into the air while saying, This isnt exactly the normal way to do this, but we dont have the time to do things the normal way. So Ill just speed things up.


    The hearts separate into two different groups, each with fifty hearts, before they all begin spinning and merging into each other. Then a crimson glow shines out, followed shortly by a short shockwave.


    And not even half a minuteter I find myself staring at two glowing red orbs as he moves them over to me.


    And here are your Catalysts! he exims with a proud nod of his head, almost like hes searching for some sort of praise from me. Kind of like a puppy.


    <strong>I think hed keel over and die if he heard you call him that, </strong>Tarments dryly.


    Doesnt change the facts.


    Thank you, I tell him with a smile, probably one of the first smiles Ive shown since I got to Tartarus. Or at least, one of the first sincere smiles, seeing as I smiled at the guards while we were negotiating our agreement on levels and interruptions. Also smiled a couple times at Tar. Never at anyone else though.


    And surprisingly my smile actually stuns him into simply staring dumbfounded for a few moments.


    I ignore his shock though as I reach out and grab both of the orbs, causing them to pass right into my body just like the core shard I used to ascend to ss II did when I touched that core.


    <strong>[You have devoured thepacted hearts of one hundred ss III demons and therefore meet the second of the two requirements for breaking through to ss III: The absorption of two ss II Catalysts.]</strong>


    <strong>[You havepleted all the requirements to reach ss III. Would you like to ascend?]</strong>


    No, I state out loud in response to the System.


    <strong>[Negative received. Ascension to ss III will begin whenever the user wishes.]</strong>


    Gramps finally snaps out of it at my answer to the System as he blinks and says, Well, I should get back to my work. Feel free to visit me after you reach ss III!


    Then he vanishes in a vortex of blood.


    I stare at where he was standing for several seconds without moving.


    Okay. Ive gotta ask.


    How does Tartarus run with a Demon King as flippant as him leading it?


    Tar actually coughs at that before muttering, <strong>Of course shed ask something like that </strong>but when I raise a brow he clears his throat and says, <strong>Well, hes not normally like that. You should be able to tell just from how your <em>mother </em>is afraid of him.</strong>


    I cant help but feel skeptical about that, but I guess he <em>is</em> still the Demon King who strikes terror into the hearts of all humans


    <strong>He actspletely differently around you as opposed to everyone else, </strong>Tar says, trying to convince me. <strong>Its the same with most blood lycans actually.</strong>


    I find it hard to believe that most blood lycans basically turn into excited puppies when theyre around their children or grandchildren. After all, Leonidas isnt like that. Except when he was waiting for me to wake up.


    Tar doesnt say anything this time, seemingly not having anything to retort with.


    Yeah, thought so.


    Although I can understand that hes different around others. After all, a reputation has toe from somewhere.


    <strong>Yeah! </strong>Tar exims like a persontching onto a lifeline, making me chuckle for a second before I stretch a little and begin turning around to leave my room.


    Are you nning to head to the baths and ascend, Your Highness? one of the guards appears and asks, and I nod my head without a word as I continue walking. Then we will inform the staff to avoid that area.


    I nod my head in appreciation, only to pause and add before he leaves, Also, could you inform Leonidas that if he hears any screaminging from the baths, or rather, any screaming louder than he was likely already expecting due to the ascension, then ignore it. Ive been told that my ascensions are more painful than most peoples.


    The guard winces at that and says, My condolences, and I will do as you say at once, Your Highness.


    He then vanishes in an instant, following which I begin heading towards the baths that I went to before.


    This is <em>not </em>going to be pleasant.


    But at least I dont have to deal with the stench this time.

 Book 3: Chapter 58: Ascension. Again. Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 58: Ascension. Again. Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a sigh as I lie in the bath, having taken off my clothes in the changing room and left them there already.


    The water in here is so nice


    <strong>You do remember why youre here, right? </strong>Tars voice echoes in my head and I just wave at him, finally no longer caring at all about him seeing me without clothes on now that I know he really has no interest in a human body. That fae dont even really have physical forms in the first ce. Or at least, not tangible ones that can be physically touched.


    I continue soaking casually in the water for a few minutes before Tar says, <strong>You really should start.</strong>


    That has me frowning, only to eventually let out a sigh.


    Well, now or never. At least I wont stink this time.


    <strong>[You havepleted all the requirements to reach ss III. Would you like to ascend?]</strong>


    Yes, I would, I state out loud in response to the System, my voice echoing through the bath chamber.


    <strong>[Confirmation received. Ascension to ss III will now begin.]</strong>


    And just like thest time, nothing happens for several seconds, following which that same burning pain spreads throughout my entire body and I have to choke back a scream. But then the pain shoots up again, making me let out a loud scream that echoes throughout the bath chamber as I feel myself partially losing my grip on my spot and sink further into the bath until my head stops on the edge of it, just barely above the water.


    I clench my eyes shut through the pain, feeling another stabbing pain radiating around my chest where Im likely getting another heart, along with a stabbing pain in my teeth. And along with that pain, my scream goes up in pitch as my teeth begin to get pushed out of their sockets and I cough out a mouthful of blood, only for new teeth to grow in and then shift back to normal, just like what happened with my ws in thest ascension.


    After several seconds, the pain in my mouth and chest fade, making me almost feel relieved that its over.


    Then I feel the absolute worst headache Ive ever had in my entire life. One that is far worse than even when I was hit by a mind spike. As if my mind is about to crack and shatter into pieces, making me scream so loudly my voice starts going hoarse before healing and going hoarse again over and over again.


    Throughout the excruciating process, Tar stays absolutely silent, instead just putting his pat gently on my cheek as if in some form of reassurance that he was here. But after noticing that, my thoughtspletely fragment as the pain grows even worse, following which everything just goes nk.


    Then it all vanishes, and I suck in a gasp of air, shooting straight up into a sitting position, sending the water on me flying in the process all the way to hit the far wall, cracking it slightly and startling me.


    That. Fucking. I turn around to look at Tar. Hurt.


    <strong>Im sorry you had to go through that, </strong>he says, sounding genuinely sorry. Like he has anything to do with the pain I just went through.


    I sigh.


    Its not your fault or anything like that. It just hurt.


    Bad.


    Not like you can do anything about it.


    <strong>Yeah, but still </strong>Tar mutters, sounding sad despite me being the one who just experienced the mind shattering pain.


    I pat the little guy before looking around and finding the little blood and ck impurities that hadnt already vanished currently vanishing in the bath. Then I look at my own body to find it squeaky clean just like when I went into the bath in the first ce.


    When we go back to Tartarus, Im taking this bath with me.


    Tar looks up at me, surprised for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head, <strong>Sure. Whatever you want.</strong>


    I smile at that as I step out of the bath for a moment, only to shake my head and step back in, lying back down.


    I can check the results and everything after a short nap I mutter before falling asleep thanks to my exhaustion the moment my eyes close.


    <strong>The Blood Cmitys Throne Room</strong>


    <strong><em>Right before the start of Scarlets Ascension</em></strong>


    Leonidas sits on a makeshift throne of blood made by his domain at the bottom of the dais as his father sits on his own throne at the end of the hall, and he cant help but wonder what the other Demon Lords are thinking about the Demon Kings current actions. About his constantly king on their meetings just to go do something superficial with Leonidass daughter. Something any regr servant couldve done.


    <em>Although</em>


    Despite Leonidass thoughts, he cant help but feel a tad jealous of his father. After all, the Demon King is able to spend as much time as he wants with Leonidass daughter while Leonidas cant do it himself. And even if his daughter clearly doesnt hate him, there isnt any love there either.


    But he can tell that shes beginning to care in a way towards her grandfather, even if its still tainted a bit by his actions.


    Leonidas sighs at the thought.


    Then the screaming echoes out from the baths and both Leonidas and his father stiffen up, being the only ones in the room whose ears are good enough to hear past the soundproofing on the bath walls.


    <em>Shes started then.</em>


    The Reaper suggests some random reform or something for hisnd to the Demon King, but neither the Demon King nor Leonidas pay any attention to him. All they can focus on is Scarlets screaming as they fidget, constantly looking in the direction of the bath.


    Your Majesty? The Reaper asks, sounding confused for a moment only to seemingly realize whats happening. Ah, shes ascending, then?


    Already? That was fast! the Lord of Hellfirements, sounding excited, most likely at the thought of eventually fighting Scarlet when she reaches his level in the future.


    The Devourer stays silent for a few moments as Leonidas hears the screaming rise in pitch, making him almost jump out of his throne to go after her. Then he hears the Devourer mutter, I hope her ascension is swift


    Leonidas cant help but nod at that sentiment, but he already realizes that it wont be thanks to the sound of her screaming louder now than when the ascension first began.


    Then her screaming grows in pitch once more and bes hoarse, and neither Leonidas nor his father can stand it anymore despite her saying it would be more painful than it is for most people, immediately rushing from their thrones and going straight towards where the baths are. But they dont dare to even so much as open the door to the changing room, instead pacing outside of it to give her privacy.


    Since they both know she would be extremely angry if they went in.


    <em>Please be alright</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 58.2: Ascension. Again. Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 58.2: Ascension. Again. Part II


    <strong>Outside of the Baths</strong>


    After way too long spent pacing back and forth outside, Scarlets voice finally cuts off, signifying the end of the ascension. And both Leonidas and his father stop pacing to stand still right outside of the changing room connected to the bath, simply waiting for her to leave the bath and get changed.


    But she never leaves.


    Leonidas and his father share a look before Leonidas asks, You think she passed out in the bath?


    His father frowns and nces at the door with a look that tells Leonidas that hes probably considering going inside to check. But before either of them can do anything, a tanuki appears in front of them looking slightly down.


    Is she okay? Hows she doing? Both Leonidas and his father ask at the same time, their eyes drilling into the tanukipletelycking any sort of patience.


    <strong>Shes fine, </strong>the tanuki answers, making both of them let out sighs right away. <strong>But she decided to take a nap afterwards and is sleeping in the bath. So please dont disturb her.</strong>


    Leonidas feels surprised that the usually meek fae prince would order him around, even if in a polite manner, much less the Demon King. But when he nces at his father, he just sees the man nodding while summoning a throne of blood and casually sitting in the hallways.


    After a few seconds of silence, Leonidas nods and does the same, sitting outside of the changing room waiting with his father for his daughter to wake up.


    And right before the tanuki vanishes, he cant help but notice a surprised and slightly incredulous look on the ball of furs face. But he ignores it on ount of how important he is to his daughter, along with the fact that he was the only one there to help her through her ascension.


    Even if the fact that she was technically naked in the same room as the fae grinds on his nerves.


    <strong>Remember that- </strong>ra starts, only for Leonidas to answer in his head, I know you fae dont feel sexual attraction towards humans. But that doesnt change how a father might feel.


    ra stays quiet, but Leonidas notices faint waves of amusement wafting to him from their bond.


    He tries to distract himself by thinking of whatever matter The Reaper was talking about before Scarlets ascension started, but that only brings his mind to the report about The Reaper offering his daughter a Catalyst. Something he shouldnt have done.


    <em>If I had to guess, it was due to his dislike of how we blood lycans do things but that was still almost crossing a line</em>


    Leonidas shakes his head at the thought.


    <em>Well, nothing happened, so its better to not cause trouble with the ghouls.</em>


    The man then sighs, his gaze not leaving the changing room door. But his eyes go wide when he realizes that the fae is probably in there alone with his daughter as she sleeps naked in the bath, making his ws extend on their own at the realization.


    <em>I must not rip the tanuki apart. I must not rip the tanuki apart. I must not-</em>


    ra chuckles this time, making him narrow his eyes. But then he continues the chant in his head.


    <em>I must not rip the tanuki apart. I must not rip the tanuki apart. I must not rip the tanuki apart</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After waking up feeling a lot more rxed in the bath who knows how longter, I stand up and stretch a little with a short yawn before walking to the changing room and getting dressed. Then I hear Tar saying, <strong>Youre finally up? Your father and grandfather have been sitting outside for about three hours now waiting for you.</strong>


    I blink at that and stare at the tanuki for several seconds.


    Oh.


    Oops?


    I walk over to the door while activating my armor before opening it, not surprising them in the least. Until I say, Im okay, and begin closing the door again so that I can check my messages, only for a hand to catch the door, making it stop moving instantly.


    Did you seriously think that would be all you needed to say? I hear Leonidass voice ask rather incredulously as he pushes the door back open.


    That has me tilting my head slightly, my head still more than a little sleep addled from my lovely nap in the bath as I mutter, Yeah?


    I see the tanuki pping his paw to his face in a disy of exasperation as Leonidass mouth parts open in surprise and Gramps full-on bellyughs. But Im still not sure whats happening so I just turn around and walk over to the bench as I let the System Messages pass.


    <strong>Ascensionplete.</strong>


    <strong>User is now ss III.</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 251. Four Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, on ount of ascending to ss III, your stat multipliers have been increased.}</strong>


    <strong>{Your Species has changed from 62.5% blood lycan, 37.5% human to 75% blood lycan, 25% human.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss III. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss III within a year of being initialized into the System. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss III while less than twenty years old. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Umon rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws may now evolve into rare rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Umon rarity inherent skill Partial Shift will now evolve into rare rarity inherent skill Partial Shift while retaining any previous effects. There is no cost in levels due to the skill being static.}</strong>


    <strong>{Umon rarity inherent skill Life Drain may now evolve into rare rarity inherent skill Life Drain while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the epic rarity inherent skill, Metallicized Blood.}</strong>


    The sight of an epic rarity inherent skill gives me pause, but I yawn again, showing just how tired I am. So tired that it actually doesnt faze me at all.


    <strong>Its likely a side effect of the trauma you just experienced, </strong>Tar answers my thoughts for me. Then he speaks out loud, presumably for Leonidass sake, <strong>You should probably get some more rest. In an actual bed this time. It took a lot out of you to ascend both in body and mind this time, and your body needs the sleep.</strong>


    I sluggishly nod at that before standing up with another yawn. But just secondster, I feel the strength in me leave as I begin to fall down to the ground, everything growing dark as I fall back to sleep, only barely registering the feeling of being caught by someone instead of hitting the ground.

 Book 3: Intermission 7

    Book 3: Intermission 7


    <strong>Inside of arge Museum on Earth</strong>


    Arabellia grits her teeth as she uses her Basic Mental Barrier skill to create arge shining purple wall between her team and the ss II demons while repeatedly ncing at her boyfriend who she still believes shouldnt be with the rest of them here. After all, while she and the others have all reached ss II, he hasnt. He is still at ss I. So hes entirely relying on them all here.


    Soon after Arthur became a Guardian, he had joined their team. But despite getting someone to fill the gap Scarlet left, the teams poprity still shot down a significant amount after the Rising Star Guardian of their generation left it.


    Fuck, she grunts when several fireballs m into her barrier. But the acolyte problem is soon taken care of by Michaels dryad familiar as the walking treedy sends a wave of powerful spikes of bark straight at the acolytes attacking them, killing them all in one fell swoop. Then she finally lets the barrier fade while dropping to one knee.


    Arthur quickly rushes over to help her up, but she raises a hand and pushes herself up instead. Then they stand in awkward silence as the others go around making sure the civilians they had just saved were safe.


    Eventually Belle turns to look at Arthur and says, You dont have to work yourself this hard.


    Her boyfriend just shakes his head and retorts, Look whos talking.


    Belle sighs at his words, not even denying them. Because they both know that theyve been trying as hard as they possibly can since Scarlets abduction to grow stronger. To catch up to her, even if they both understand that to be an impossible goal, considering her origins and stubborn temperament.


    And its not just those two. The others in their team have been pushing harder as well, even if they dont know exactly what happened to Scarlet. Only what the rest of the public believes. That she was taken by her mother to do private training and is being given private tutoring for her time in the university as well, staying out of all public affairs for now.


    Something that really disappointed the majority of her fans, even if they knew she wasnt a social person. But no one raised any sort of fuss thanks to her status as Whites daughter, and because they knew she woulde back stronger soon enough.


    <em>And theyre probably right, considering how much better Tartarus is as a ce for her to grow stronger I wouldnt be surprised if shes already nearing ss III by now.</em>


    Belle sits down on a bench in the museum, the others giving them space as Michael goes around healing the injured civilians.


    How are your parents doing? Arthur asks, sitting down next to her.


    Belle just shakes her head and says, Theyre not taking it well either. Both are ming themselves for letting her get taken.


    Her boyfriend winces at that before Belle leans into him, Arthurs arm going around her shoulder in the process.


    Several seconds of silence pass. Then Belle murmurs, I miss her.


    Arthur just nods his head and quietly says, Me too.


    Even with only a little over a week passing since her disappearance, and the citys only recently having gotten back to running how it was before the ss V Fracture, it still feels like months have passed to Belle. And shes sure its the same to her parents as well, considering how theyve been beating themselves up about what happened since.


    <em>If anyone took it the hardest, it was them</em>


    Something Belle didnt know until the day after the ss V Fracture ended was that her parents had met with Scarlets mother and were going around with her during the Fracture solely to protect her. So they both feel like failures, not having been able to do just that.


    She sighs again for what must be the hundredth time that day before her thoughts turn towards ck, who had apparently helped Scarlet during the Fracture ording to her parents.


    <em>Whole lot of good that did</em>


    The two sit in silence for a while until the others finish with the civilians and signal them that theyre ready to move on. So the both of them stand up with Belle ncing at Arthur and saying, You still sure you dont want to back out?


    Arthur rolls his eyes at that and answers with the same thing he had answered for thest dozen times she asked, Im staying with the team till the end.


    Belle sighs once more before starting to walk towards the others.


    It only takes a second for Arthur to catch up with her, and he immediately reaches for her hand, taking it to feel it shaking slightly.


    Ill be fine, Belle, he says quietly, and Scarlet will be as well. You know how <em>they </em>treat their own blood.


    Belle nods at that but still feels nervous about it. About both Arthur and Scarlet.


    I know I just wish you wouldnt go putting yourself into unnecessary danger, she murmurs as they walk, soon joining with the others of their team along with the civilians. They then begin heading over to the closest bunker marked on Belles terminal.


    I know, Arthur says in a whisper, but I cant let myself fall behind. I wont. And not going with you would make me fall further behind than ever. Belle feels his hand tighten slightly around hers. I wont be helpless again.


    A sad smile forms on Belles face as she gives Arthurs hand a little squeeze as the two continue walking.


    <em>I wonder how Scarlets doing right now? Is she safe?</em>


    Then a thoughtes to mind, making her smile grow a little wider again.


    <em>Is she out hunting? I wouldnt be surprised knowing her shes probably turning the demon world inside out already.</em>


    Her thoughtse to a halt when they find another group of demons after turning a corner.


    <em>Back to fighting.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 59: Skill Management and a Talk Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 59: Skill Management and a Talk Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up feeling more than a little groggy as I sit up in my bed rubbing my eyes. And it takes me just a few seconds to realize that Im <em>in </em>my bed and not the bath, where Ist remember being awake.


    Did someone-


    <strong>No, you woke up and left the bath to get changed, only to pass out afterwards, </strong>Tar says, interrupting my thoughts and making me rx again.


    Okay. Mind telling me what happened then? I dont remember anything.


    <strong>Well, you checked your System Messages after getting changed, and that was basically it, </strong>Tar exins. <strong>In the messages, three skills were offered to evolve and are still awaiting your answer, while you also got an epic inherent skill called Metallicized Blood. Which I think you can probably guess what does.</strong>


    Oh, thats nice.


    I stretch for a moment before his words actually register and I turn to stare at the tanuki who I find sitting next to me.


    Wait, an epic inherent skill?


    He snorts at how long it took to register.


    Actually, which of my skills were offered evolutions?


    <strong>The three lower rarity inherent skills you use the most, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>Metallicized Blood ws, Life Drain, and Partial Shift.</strong>


    Ah, right. Yeah, Ill evolve all three of those.


    <strong>{Umon rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws has now evolved into the rare rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Umon rarity inherent skill Partial Shift has now evolved into the rare rarity inherent skill Partial Shift while retaining any previous effects it may have had at no price.}</strong>


    <strong>{Umon rarity inherent skill Life Drain has now evolved into the rare rarity inherent skill Life Drain while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    That was all, right?


    <strong>You also got two hundred Skill Points, </strong>Tar points out, making my eyes widen slightly.


    Thats a lot.


    I open up my status to find that they really are there, along with the new skill. So I go ahead and focus on the description of the new skill.


    <strong>{Metallicized Blood  Allows the user to have a limited amount of control over their own blood once it leaves their body and allows the user to metallicize their blood, turning it into blood metal.}</strong>


    Now <em>that </em>has me fully waking up as I grin.


    I move my hand outwards before trying to use the skill, and almost immediately, I transform a small amount of the blood in my forearm to metal while also pulling on it, ripping it through my arm and out of my body. Then I gradually shift it into the form of a rather shabby looking sword and reach out to grab it.


    Now this skill coulde in handy, Iment, my grin turning into a full-blown smile.


    <strong>Remember to spend your Skill Points, </strong>Tarments, following which I realize I dont have anywhere to put the sword. So I just toss it off the bed, making it tter to the floor as I focus on my skills. <strong>And check the store just in case.</strong>


    I check the store, only to not find anything new there.


    Although Blood gue is still there, so I go ahead and buy that legendary skill. Just because its legendary and looks like it could be quite useful in some ways. Particrly due to it being another skill like blood boil and life drain. A passive damaging one. Except this one lets the passive damage spread to others as well. But only those I want it to spread to.


    And looking at my skills list again after buying the new skill, I decide to spend thirty of my one hundred and ny-four points on getting blood armor to level ten, which makes thest purchased skill for me to bring to level ten. With the exception of the two legendary skills I bought recently that are both at level one.


    So I spend sixty-four Skill Points right away to raise both legendary skills to level five at the least. Then I look at my remaining points, which total to exactly one hundred points on the dot.


    <strong>Thats a clean number, </strong>Tarments, and I cant help but nod my head in agreement.


    Then I go and check the descriptions of the two legendary skills.


    <strong>{Blood gue  This skill allows the user to infect every being in sight that they choose to infect with one of five different viruses, each of which will spread through physical contact or contact with bodily fluids to anyone the user wishes it to spread to.}</strong>


    <strong>{Gradual Corruption Nullification  This skill allows the user to slowly nullify any sort of corruption in their body over the course of nine minutes. The nine minutes does not have to go uninterrupted, however, the user may not use any other skills during this time. Usage of this skill requires a steady stream of mana.}</strong>


    Looks like two more different types of viruses were added to Blood gue, and the amount of time I have to use Gradual Corruption Nullification has been reduced from ten minutes to nine. Both good changes.


    I run some math in my head to figure out how I can spend the rest of the Skill Points before deciding to bring one of the two legendary skills to level ten and the other to level six. Which should use up all of my remaining points but three.


    But the question is, which should I bring to level ten?


    <strong>Is there even a question about it? </strong>Tar asks, and I shake my head.


    Not really.


    I bring Gradual Corruption Nullification to level ten and Blood gue to level six, simply because Ill need the corruption nullification to be as high a level as possible if I ever want it to evolve.


    Still gonna bring Blood gue to level tenter though. When I get the points.


    And with that done, I sit back to look at my status.

 Back from my Trip

    Back from my Trip


    Hello everyone, I am now back from my trip and the schedule for chapters <strong>this week</strong> is updated!


    If you don''t want to check my bio or discord, here it is:


    <strong>Wednesday:</strong> 2 Wolf of the Blood Moon chapters and 1 Wrath chapter


    <strong>Thursday:</strong> 3 Wolf of the Blood Moon chapters and 1 Winter Wolf chapter and 1 Eternal Winter chapter


    <strong>Friday:</strong> 3 Wolf of the Blood Moon chapters and 1 Dungeon chapter


    <strong>Saturday:</strong> 3 Wolf of the Blood Moon chapters and 1 Undying chapter


    As you can see, three chapters a day start up again for WBM on Thursday.


    Now, that aside, if you''re curious, here are a few pictures from my trip :)


    I went to the Beartooth Mountains in Montana and the Yellowstone National Park as well. Although I didn''t post any pictures from the park because I''m not really sure what would be considered using them formercial gain and didn''t want to risk any troubles with that. Doubt I''d get any, but I''m paranoid and cautious, so I won''t risk anything.


    Also, yes, that''s a picture of me. If you''ve seen my Amazon profile, then you will likely already have seen what I look like. And no, I''m not worried about people seeing what I look like. If you look my name up on google my picture is the first thing that pops up since I don''t hide my name or face on Amazon.


    Although the sun was bright and I haven''t taken a picture of myself like that in a while so it''s not exactly a good picture.


    Anyways, the trip was fun and it was probably the first ''break'' I''ve had for a long time. Even if I still wrote a little bit during it.


    It was interesting to see snow in the middle of the summer too.


    I''m also probably going to move to Montana in a few years.


    I hope you all have a lovely rest of your night, and I am back in Texas again :)

 Book 3: Chapter 59.2: Skill Management and a Talk Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 59.2: Skill Management and a Talk Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Or rather, I distribute my free points and <em>then </em>I sit back to look at my status. And what a beautiful status it is.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 251</strong><strong>SP: 3</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 699</strong><strong>Mental: 698</strong><strong>Magical: 698</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 584,644.8/584,644.8</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 4</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 13</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Form</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 14</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 14</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 17</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 14</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Just something about seeing skills below level ten now is making me want to level them to level ten at least. I dont know why. It just bothers me.


    <strong>Youre a perfectionist in some ways, so it makes sense that it does, </strong>Tarments with a shrug as he floats up andnds on my shoulder.


    Yeah, anyways, I close out of my status and get up from the bed. Then I activate my armor, making it switch out with my regr clothes like usual.


    Come to think of it, did anyone say anything about my screaming? I ask while ncing at the tanuki on my shoulder. And his eyes widen for a second before he opens his mouth to answer, only for someone to appear in front of me, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck.


    I raise my gaze upwards a bit to find Leonidas narrowing his eyes on the tanuki before raising a hand, making a whip of blood metal form that wraps around the balcony door handles and opens the door.


    Then he tosses the tanuki outside and closes the door again, finally turning his focus on me with a faint smile.


    Was that necessary? I ask with more than a little amusement in my voice.


    It never gets old seeing the tanuki getting tossed out a window.


    <strong>Hey! </strong>Tar shouts in my head.


    I mean, youre gonna have to get used to it if you insist on sitting on me here on Tartarus. Considering everyones pension for respecting the Royal Family. And their habit of throwing you away.


    Yes, it was necessary, Leonidas answers my question, making me raise a brow. Then, as if to reaffirm his statement, he repeats, It was.


    Agreed, I hear Grampss voice from behind me, making me turn around to find the man having appeared there out of nowhere.


    Do you people always have to just appear out of nowhere? Iin with a frown, since its really getting annoying.


    Yes. Of course. The two answer at the same time.


    When I simply stare at the two of them with a brow raised, Gramps borates, Its a fright tactic we learn to use on others to show power over them on Tartarus.


    Hmm, I hum before tilting my head, still with a brow raised, and youre using it on me why?


    They both stiffen up at that, and I swear I hearughtering from outside of the castle. Likely from the tanuki who seems to beughing out loud and not in my head.


    I stand in ce tapping my foot for a bit to make the two sweat for a little while before eventually moving on and asking, So what time is it and where is the best hunting ground for me now?


    Both of them blink in surprise. Then they share a nce, following which the tanuki finallyes back inside again.


    <strong>You shouldnt be surprised at this point, </strong>Tar says to the two, bringing their attention to him. <strong>Hunting and growing stronger are probably some of the most important things in the world to Scarlet. Its all she thinks of sometimes.</strong>


    Hey! I exim, crossing my arms. I think of other things too!


    <strong>Like? </strong>Tar asks, turning to me with a brow raised. Which looks ridiculous on a tanuki.


    Video games, I answer with a serious scowl on my face.


    Tar startsughing. Meanwhile Gramps looks at me incredulously and Leonidas just shakes his head with his fingers rubbing his temples.


    And the Sylvesters and Arthur.


    I mention this second part in my head since I dont think Gramps would very much appreciate me mentioning some humans I care about in front of him.


    Tar doesnt say anything, likely due to the Demon Kings ability to hear Tars voice when he speaks privately to me. But since he cant hear my thoughts, Im good.


    Your love of that human technology aside, Leonidas says, there is another ind where you would likely find more ss III demons on average if you would like to go there. But I think now would be a good time for you to go explore more of Tartarus instead of staying solely in the Bloody Duchy.


    I blink in surprise at that, only for Gramps to jump in, Your father is right, Scarlet. Not only would it be good for you to fight a variety of different demons with different magics, but it would also benefit some of the demons you might see when traveling through the cities for them to see you. Improve morale.


    Oh. So I should avoid visiting demon cities if my presence would hurt the humans side of the war.


    Rather ironic.


    Wasnt nning on visiting them anyways.


    <strong>You kind of have to for food and supplies, </strong>Tarments, almost making me groan.


    Wait, what if-


    Also, you will be responsible for procuring your own food and supplies, Gramps says, making me let out an internal groan that I dont voice out loud. Of course, Ill pay for anything you wish for. But you must buy it yourself. Your guards can carry it. Or your fae. He adds thisst part while narrowing his eyes at Tar, who he really doesnt seem to like.


    Then again, from what Ive seen so far and just from blood lycans in general, blood lycans can be a bit protective of their kids and grandkids. So it makes sense in some twisted form of logic that theyd dislike the idea of Tar being so close to me as a guy even though hes a fae.


    Actually, I get the feeling theyd be a lot happier if Tar was a girl.


    I hear Tar choking at my thoughts, bringing my gaze to find him staring wide-eyed at me.


    So I just shrug.


    Not like Im wrong.


    Before this trip though, you need to stay an entire night in the castle for a first, Gramps says, making my head swivel around to stare at him. You havent spent an entire night here thus far. And more importantly, I want to show you some of my work as the Demon King.


    Okay, I feel a tiny bit of fear at thatst part.

 Book 3: Chapter 60: Royal Court Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 60: Royal Court Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I try very hard not to scream as Gramps pulls me through the air with some skill, the two of us flying straight towards the center of the world alongside the Blood Lord. At speeds that I have never gone in my entire life before. Not even on a supersonic magi-tech train. Speeds so fast that the view below us is just a mere blur to my eyes despite me being ss III now.


    And to make matters worse, I dont think Id be able to scream even if I wanted to. I dont think I can even talk, since whatever Gramps is doing that is letting me breathe isnt exactly letting me talk.


    Why the heck Gramps said all he did about me not staying the night in the Castle of Ruin when he wasnt even going to be having the business of his that he wants me to watch in that castle is beyond me.


    <strong>He just wanted an excuse to show you his work, and another side of himself, </strong>Tarments, and judging by the slight pursing of Gramps lips at those words, Im guessing hes right.


    At the very least, the trip only takes a few minutes. Even though we all just flew for several tens of thousands of kilometers during these few minutes.


    And when we actually stop, I find myself staring at a massive castle in front of us on the ground in awe. The castle itself is over twice asrge as the Castle of Ruin, and it has four evenrger towers on each corner of the rhombus shaped castle, each spanning nearly three times the castles size in height. And the castles design is very dark, clearly made entirely out of blood metal with the whole thing being a very dark ck with hints of red in color and a sleek metallic sheen to it.


    What makes the castle look even more sinister though is the barren wastnds surrounding it. Since the ground ispletely red with no fertile soil in sight, no life at all except for the millions of spawn I see all fighting each other around the castle.


    Although in hindsight, there isnt really much fertile soil on Tartarus in the first ce. And the demons dont exactly eat vegetables or fruit or anything like that.


    If I remember correctly from Gramps lessons, the Bloody Duchy is the only continent in the world that has fertile soil. And they dont really farm much, seeing as most demons dont bother eating vegetables or fruit and sustain themselves almost entirely on meat. Often the meat of other demons of other species. Although a lot of spawn are cannibals too.


    Nobles are often the only demons with a muchrger variety in their pte.


    This is my castle, Gramps says with a proud look on his face.


    I numbly stare at it as he begins lowering up into the center of the castle where arge tower stands, albeit not asrge as the four surrounding it. Then he drops us all in through a skylight at the center of the tower into a throne room.


    Wee, Your Majesty, a demon I can only assume is a kitsune says with a bow. So I identify her out of curiosity.


    <strong>|Raiden Akuma  Kitsune  Level 1792|</strong>


    Holy shit this is one strong kitsune. Shes almost as high a level as most of the Knights of Humanity. And with her being a kitsune on top of it, shes probably stronger than them. Just like Satan.


    The kitsune has a pair of red and ck fox ears along with <em>nine </em>fox tails spread out around her, each of them being a sleek ck. And her eyes themselves are like that of a cat, and theyre amber in color. Although while they are slit, they arent anywhere near as narrow as a reptiles eyes are.


    Her gaze turns to me and Leonidas as she says with another bow, albeit one that doesnt go as deep as the one she gave towards Gramps, And wee to Your Highnesses as well. Then she focuses solely on me with a polite smile, Its a pleasure to meet you, Princess Scarlet. I hope we can get along.


    I feel a shiver run down my spine at the way shes looking at me. Like Im a toy for her to y with despite her clear loyalty.


    A simr look that Ive seen both Belle and her mother get from time to time. Particrly when theyre looking to dress me up.


    Albeit with this woman being far more frightening than them.


    Gramps begins walking past her towards his throne as he says, Akuma, please bring in the requesters.


    The kitsune takes a second to turn her gaze away from me before she bows again towards the King and says, Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.


    Then she vanishes in a flurry of fire and lightning, both of a color mixture of yellow, red, and orange.


    Foxfire.


    Leonidas walks up to me and makes a blood domain around us while whispering, I would watch out for that one. She may absolutely respect the royal family like other demons, but also like other demon n demons, she is a lot more willing to do things to them that wont actually harm them or cross their respect. Particrly the kitsune, who can be rather yful.


    I purse my lips as I look back, only for the blood domain to vanish at a wave of Gramps hand, making me realize he has more control over blood domains than his son. Then he waves at the two thrones next to therge one hes now sitting in. And I cant help but feel a little awkward as I walk over and sit down on one of the rather grand looking thrones.


    All three of the thrones are clearly made out of very expensive and luxurious material, likely all made from demon parts. Not to mention that the metal in them is blood metal, making this one throne probably more expensive than my entire suite back at the university.


    And thats not considering how the Kings throne isrger and grander looking than ours.


    You can watch or participate yourself, Grandpa says without looking at me, focusing his attention on the vast doors at the end of the long throne room. Its entirely your choice. I wont force you to participate in demon affairs. Only show you a little bit of it.


    I nod my head at that, feeling appreciative at his consideration there.


    Although I do admit that Id rather not be here right now.


    The kitsune appears again in a sh of lightning and fire before bowing slightly and moving to the side of the thrones. Then she raises her voice, dering, Enter!

 Book 3: Chapter 60.2: Royal Court Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 60.2: Royal Court Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The door to the three-meter-tall grand double doors to the throne room open with a quiet creak, revealing dozens of demons on the other side, all of which are strong enough to squash me like a bug. And each one of them begins filing into the room before forming arge quadrant about half a dozen meters in front of the raised dais were on. They then all perform a bow, kneeling down low and saluting with a synchronous, We greet Your Majesty and are grateful for the audience you have given us.


    You may raise your heads, Gramps says, his tone having gone slightly cold as opposed to the warm tone he uses with me.


    They all do so before each of them continues, We greet Your Highnesses.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find Leonidas nodding his head, so I just do the same, deciding that mimicking him is the best option for me right now. And it seems to work as they all focus on the King again.


    Out of nowhere, another person appears in the room, immediately attracting my attention to a man who is now standing about a meter away from my throne to the side, on a lower step, symmetrical to where Raiden is standing. And I can tell the man is a ghoul before I even finish identifying him.


    <strong>|Cedric</strong><strong>Tor de ckheart  Ghoul  Level 1822|</strong>


    Is he The Reapers brother? Because he really does look very simr to him. And he has the same names as well, with the exception of his first name.


    Royal Court is now in session, please make your pleas and be heard by His Majesty one by one based on your ranking, the man says, making me realize hes probably some sort of prime minister type guy. At least, by the way he sounds. Or maybe a royal guard?


    Almost immediately, one of the demons stands up and moves forward before kneeling again. The man has a very simr appearance to the Lady of Devouring, albeit with a much lower level.


    Your Majesty, I wish to go to war with the ckwater Duchy, with your permission, the mindeater states, and Gramps turns his head to look at another demon before asking, The state of your territory, Duchess ckwater?


    The duchess in question  a dragonoid with tworge red wings, a draconic head, and red scales across her body  steps forward as well and bows herself as she answers, Improved enough to benefit from a war, Your Majesty.


    Gramps turns his gaze back to the mindeater and deres, The Darkheart Duchy and the ckwater Duchy are now at war for a period of ten years, following which the winner shall devour the losers territory. The victory conditions of the war will be decided upon by the two Duchies involved. However, both sides must give the inhabitants of their duchies ten days to leave should they not wish to participate in the war.


    Thank you, Your Majesty, Duke Darkheart states, sounding very grateful before both him and the duchess step back into line.


    Then the next Noble steps forward and the process continues, making me feel more than a little bored.


    I cant help but wonder if this is how princesses felt back in medieval times on Earth. Just having to sit here looking pretty as other people talk politics.


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tarments.


    Although Gramps has a lot more control over everything than any ruler from medieval times on Earth had. Partially because he can tten them like insects if they disagree, and partially because they respect him so much. Its like everything he says is absolute. Like nothing he does can be wrong.


    Its kind of creepy.


    The proceedings go on for hours, leaving me sitting in this ratherfortable chair wondering what Im doing with my life. Then, after who knows how long, the Nobles split down the middle and move to the sides of the halls, the pleas all finally done and over with.


    I start paying closer attention again when Leonidas vanishes from his throne. And the throne vanishes a secondter as well.


    Demon Lords?


    Right on cue, the door opens once more, having been closed earlier after all of the Nobles had entered, and this time it reveals the four Demon Lords as they step into the room, passing in-between the Nobles with level steps.


    After they make it to the throne, each of them bows, albeit not as low as the rest of the Nobles did. Then they each greet me as well, with the exception of Leonidas.


    Wee to my Court, Demon Lords, Gramps says with a nod. And may it be evesting.


    May it be evesting, each of the Demon Lords deres, reminding me of something Gramps had told me before. About that exact phrase and how its meant to signify the eternal reign of the Demons of Tartarus. Of the Kingdom built across the world so that it may never fall again, like it fell to the Empire of humans long ago.


    Something I find rather curious considering the fact that there arent any other nations or races on the. So who exactly could it fall to? Aside from the humans on Earth and the creatures from the Void.


    Actually, are there any other worlds out there with intelligent species on them?


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>The fae have a connection to the world of Tartarus located directly beneath this castle where we can cross over into the mortal realm. It would make sense if there are two inhabiteds already, but we dont have a connection to any other world. We didnt even know Earth existed until the Fractures began.</strong>


    Oh. Right. I think you mentioned this before.


    My eyes are directed towards Gramps when he stands up from his throne with a powerful aura nketing over the entire throne room, making everyone in the room begin kneeling. Although he seems to avoid covering me with his aura, so Im spared from it.


    Then he begins speaking, I have an important announcement to make to the Kingdom. And I swear I hear his voice twice. Once echoing in my head, and once from him standing there.


    <strong>Its because hes spreading his aura over the entire, speaking into everyst demons mind right now, </strong>Tar says, making my jaw drop open in shock.


    This is probably important then.

 Book 3: Chapter 61: Shocking Announcement

    Book 3: Chapter 61: Shocking Announcement


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    A few seconds pass in silence before Gramps continues speaking, A prophecy has been told and evidence collected. The way we war on Earth must change. From now on the primary goal of the war is no longer to exterminate the human species but to instead conquer them until a time when the prophecyes to pass. You are now all to avoid causing unnecessary human casualties during the war. However, contracted humans are still targets and to be considered soldiers of the human species. Take thismand asw and obey, my subjects!


    My eyes widen in absolute shock.


    He he really just he just did that


    All of the demons in the throne room look shocked by themand as well, including Leonidas. But not a single one voices aint.


    <strong>They have absolute trust in him after all, so of course they wouldnt, </strong>Tar says. <strong>And it helps that your Grandfather specified a prophecy, and that the prophecy was proved already, so they are given a clear reason for the change.</strong>


    Yeah but still wow.


    I may have to rethink how I treat White.


    <strong>Why is that? </strong>Tar asks, sounding curious.


    Ive always treated herpletely apathetically, if not slightly rudely for what she did based on the prophecy. But I also know that if she didnt do any of that, then this wouldnt have happened. The Demon King wouldnt have given that order, since I absolutely wouldnt have gotten Gradual Corruption Nullification. Which is most likely the skill thatll be the one I need to fulfill the curse lifting part of the prophecy. The reason hes made this change in thew in the first ce.


    If I hadnt been through everything Ive been through since awakening, then it wouldnt have happened.


    So in a sense, I guess I can forgive her a little bit.


    She still isnt my mother in my eyes though, but thats moreso because she wasnt the one who raised me. But I can stop treating her rudely now.


    <strong>Well, you werent necessarily rude before anyways, so to speak, </strong>Tarments, which I guess isnt all that wrong. <strong>You treated her as you would most pushy people trying to get to know you. Like anyone else. Its just that most people arent purposefully trying to get to know you and spend time with you even if they know you dont care.</strong>


    Hmm, okay, yeah. You have a point.


    Although theres still the possibility that there might have been another way to go about this. But Ill reserve my judgement on this topic till the next time I see her. Which may not be for a very long time, if Im being honest.


    <strong>True, </strong>Tar mutters.


    Now for the other announcement, Gramps says before motioning towards me and saying, my Granddaughter, Princess Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has finally returned to us! And not only that, but she, as a child of only <em>neen </em>years old, has already reached ss III with <em>nine</em> legendary skills!


    All of the demons present go silent at that before they all focus on me with awe and pride in their gazes.


    Looks that make me feel even more awkward than I already was.


    I wish he kept that announcement to himself. Also, I know I told him about the Gradual Corruption Nullification skill due to the prophecy, but I didnt tell him about the Blood gue skill. So how did he


    <strong>He can hear me when I talk to you through our bond, remember? </strong>Tar mentions, making me let out an inner groan as I stare at the demon Nobles with apletely neutral expression. <strong>You have to admit though, you do deserve their awe. After all, most people at ss III only have one or two legendary skills at most. But you have nine. And you also have plenty of difficult achievements that are likely to affect future legendary and even mythic skills as well.</strong>


    Wait, so you admit Ill probably end up with mythic skills?


    He goes silent at that, seemingly understanding what Im getting at.


    I barely hold myself back from grinning.


    Better be ready to eat your tail when I do.


    <strong>Of course you still remember that </strong>Tar says with a groan.


    And Ill never forget it either.


    Gramps moves back to his throne again, drawing the Nobles eyes back to him and making me rx on the inside. Then he states onest thing, although this one not being announced to everyone in the world judging by theck of the echo of his voice in my head, The Princess will also be heading out on a trip to explore Tartarus and hunt tomorrow, so should she arrive on your doorstep one day, you understand what will befall you should you mistreat her.


    Of course, Your Majesty, everyst Noble in the room, including the Demon Lords except Leonidas, and the prime minister dude and kitsune all shout at once.


    The Demon King waves two fingers at the prime minister dude, signaling the guy to dere, And that is the end of this Royal Court Session.


    Gramps follows that up with a short and loud, You are all dismissed.


    Then everyone immediately clears out of the throne room in an orderly manner, leaving me along with Gramps, the Demon Lords, the terrifying kitsune maid, and the prime minister dude.


    And within seconds of the massive doors shutting, I feel myself being lifted up into someones arms and squeezed figuratively to death by arge oni as the Lord of Hellfire exims, Youve already made it to ss III, littledy! Congrats! I let out a grunt due to not being able to breathe. Well be battling someday soon Ill wager!


    Then the force of nature that is the Lord of Hellfire suddenly vanishes, letting me gasp in a breath of air before I look over at Grandpa to find him holding the man in an orb of blood above his head. But the man doesnt seem to be struggling. In fact, he actually seems to be having fun trying and failing to break out of that orb.


    Okay. Hes also more terrifying than I originally thought.


    The Reaper just gives me a polite nod and a <em>look,</em> likely about what we had talked about before, and I nod back. Meanwhile the Devourer smiles warmly at me like an elderly grandmother and says, Just make sure to take care of yourself, dear. We wouldnt want His Majesty destroying the because you died trying to rush things. Slow and steady works just fine too.


    Im not too sure about taking that particr advice from someone affected by the Sin of Sloth.


    Leonidas just looks amused. And the prime minister looks happy for some reason.


    Of course, the maid is still giving me chills from the way I asionally see her ncing at me.


    Gramps turns to me and asks, So what did you think?


    I turn to him before bluntly answering, I dont think Ill ever be going with you to another one of these again.

 Book 3: Chapter 62: Identify Obscuring

    Book 3: Chapter 62: Identify Obscuring


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    First thing the next dusk, I find myself standing ready outside of the castle waiting for Leonidas to arrive with whatever it is he said he would be arriving with. Since he told mest morning in no uncertain terms that if I didnt want everyone identifying me and figuring out who I was from that, Id better wait for him.


    But now Im starting to wonder if I should just go without him, since Ive already been here for a couple hours.


    I sigh as I look up at the blood moon hanging low in the sky, marking it as just past dusk. Something Im still not all that used to. Waking up at dusk and going to sleep in the morning.


    Are you alright, Your Highness? One of my give bodyguards asks from his ce standing at attention next to me.


    That just has me sighing again at the very fact that I have a bodyguard before I answer with a question, Do you know if Leonidas will be getting here soon?


    He opens his mouth to respond, only for a blood domain to suddenly cover the area, making his mouth close again. We both then turn to look at the direction the blood domain spread here from before finding a rather shocking surprise in the form of Leonidas walking here with arge blob of blood walking alongside him.


    Uh huh?


    Both he and the blob of blood stop moving just a couple meters from us before he nods his head to my guard and says, Guards, leave us.


    And all five of my guards along with whatever guards he had following him leave in an instant, making me feel a little bit of relief. But it still doesnt answer the question of whats the blob.


    After the guards are gone, the blood domain thickens to form arge dome of blood around us, blocking any sight, sounds, smells, andpletely cutting us off from outside the dome.


    Then the blob of blood falls to the ground, revealing a woman inside who is wearing a set of armor actually simr to mine in a way but without the insignia, and made of white and ck colors instead of ck and red. She has stark white hair with gray eyes and looks no different from how I remember her before leaving Earth except her new armor.


    I turn to Leonidas as I ask, How exactly did White get here?


    He smirks and says, Father decided to let here here to obscure your name from identify and nothing more. So she wont be here long.


    Huh. A little surprising, but in hindsight makes sense.


    Gramps is a rather pragmatic sort. He doesnt seem to let his own personal dislikes drive his actions, such as how hes nning on dropping the war with Earth should I manage to upgrade the Gradual Corruption Nullification skill to Mythic despite his hatred of humans.


    And from what Ive been able to tell from him so far, he views lying as beneath him. Something he would never do simply because he has no need for maniption or trickery.


    Hes practically a god after all.


    Power and a pragmatic attitude that I can respect. Absolutely not what I had originally expected when I first met him.


    Anyways, I turn to White, finding her smiling at me.


    I purse my lips for a moment before sighing and beckoning her over to me.


    Id feel bad if I punched her now that the prophecy turned out to be helping Earth and I guess me in the end.


    Her eyes widen in shock, but she doesnt waste a second as she rushes over and engulfs me in a hug. But I only let the hugst for three seconds before I tap her arm, making her immediately let go again. And after she does, I find tears in her eyes.


    I still find issue with you not trying any other routes before abandoning me, but I at least dont hate you for what you did, nor do I hold it against you as much, I tell her, making her tears fall faster with a look of hope blooming on her face. But then I add, I still dont consider you my mother though. Just remember that.


    She nods right away with a quick, Of course!


    I nce at Leonidas to find him smiling before I focus on White, or I guess I should call her Amelia? Since Im calling Leonidas by his name. Either way, I focus on Amelia and ask, So you were going to do something about my identify?


    The woman quickly nods and raises her hands in front of me, cing one directly over my cor bone and the other in front of my face. Then she whispers some sort of iprehensible chant and ayer of white liquid flows out of her hands and over my entire body. But despite that, I cant actually feel anything happening.


    After several seconds of this very odd sight, she moves her hands again and says, Its done.


    And as if he were just waiting for those words, I hear Gramps voice echoing in the blood domain with a feeling of power to it akin to the fae royalty despite the ce being locked from the outside world, <strong>Then you are no longer wee in my world, <em>White Knight of Humanity</em>.</strong>


    That has me raising a brow, simply due to the absolute hatred in his voice when he said her Title.


    Huh. I guess I underestimated how much he hates Amelia. But then again, shes the strongest human and went gallivanting about his murdering who knows how many demons and reducing their number of Nobles rather significantly from it.


    Shes also the main person involved with foiling the ss V Fractures that have opened up in the more recent years. The twotest ones.


    So in his eyes, she is the main threat to the warfront. And yet, despite that, hes not killing her when he can easily do so. Just because shes my biological mother and Leonidass mate, as blood lycans apparently call them, with the exception of the Demon King who was married before he even became a blood lycan.


    Its a clear show of self-restraint on his part.


    Although the sight of her being covered in another blob of blood before shooting through the air straight out of this blood domain that pops like a bubble in the process, the woman flying straight towards the East, has me raising a brow.


    She is literally helpless against him right now. Hes just throwing her around like a toy, likely sending her back towards whatever Gate she came through to get to Tartarus. A Gate that was drained of energy to let her through in the first ce, hurting the war effort further.


    Its shows of strength like these along with the Royal Court Session I witnessed that clearly show off the mans true power. And while its still frightening to see, its also hard to link the image of him doing stuff like this to the overprotective Grandpa Ive seen him as most of the time.


    Kind of weird.


    Anyways, I turn to Leonidas and nod, Ill be seeing you when I see you, Leonidas.


    He nods, and I give a simr goodbye to Gramps. But I actually dont get a reply from him, which confuses me until I realize hes probably focused on sending White back to the Gate. That and the fact that hes not actually here.


    Also, just his ability to spread out his aura and talk to and see everyst person on the if he wishes to is terrifying.


    He could <em>literally </em>destroy the world if he wanted to.


    I shake my head at the thought before setting off on my trip.

 Book 3: Chapter 63: The Southwestern Continent of Sands

    Book 3: Chapter 63: The Southwestern Continent of Sands


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After some thinking, I decide to visit the Southwestern continent first out of the three continents I havent been to yet. If it were just for the climate, then Id go to the Northeastern continent thanks to the cold and snow. But I dont particrly like starting my trip by going to a continent ruled by envious spider people and gluttonous ghouls. So the desert continent it is.


    Especially considering the other one is literally just a massive volcano filled with other volcanoes.


    So I start the trip off by heading South and swiftly reaching the bridge to the thirdrgest ind of the Bloody Duchy. And by my estimate, the ind itself should take me close to an entire night just to traverse even at my fastest speed while in my beast form. Which goes to show just how massive these inds are, since this particr ind is about 7500 kilometers long. Especially considering that my regr non-shapeshifted form is about five hundred times faster and stronger than the average human being. Not even considering my shapeshifted form which is even stronger and faster.


    Makes me very d reality itself alters how we interact with things based on our desires, so we dont go breaking everything on ident.


    Especially considering that even with the help of my bodyguards speeding me up, it still took me at least a couple hours just to get to the hunting grounds each time I went.


    And since Ive already seen bits of the Bloody Duchy, the guards agree to help me across the ind faster than it wouldve taken otherwise. So the trip ends up taking a lot less time than it wouldve otherwise.


    A ratherrge increase in speed.


    But the trip takes an interesting turn after we reach the edge of the ind overlooking the ocean of blood. Because the ocean is supposedly stretching for close to ten thousand kilometers between the edge of this ind to the Southwestern continent.


    Dont worry, Your Highness, Seraphina suddenly says before I feel theyer of blood metal surrounding me begin to shift into a throne, pushing me to sit on it, well handle the trip to the continent from here.


    Then I choke back a scream as we begin flying through the air straight over the blood ocean.


    I must not re at them. They are helping you, Scarlet. Do. Not. re.


    Somehow I manage to not re at the guards after we make it to the continent before they disappear again. And fortunately, the continent itself is enough to distract me from the infuriating habit the demons of Tartarus have made of making me fly through the air faster than humans should be able to go.


    <strong>Well, youre not a human anymore, </strong>Tarments. <strong>Not mostly at least.</strong>


    Shut up.


    Anyways, I cant help but look around the desert Im in with a little bit of awe. Mostly just because Ive never seen one in real life before. Outside of a game or a magical reality, that is.


    And my first thought about it is that the wind is annoying since its blowing my hair everywhere.


    Actually, I frown for a second before metallicizing a small amount of my blood and pulling it out of my body. Then I slowly snake it around to my hair and tie it into a ponytail from the base.


    Thats much better.


    A perfect hair tie since its made from magic.


    I nod my head at my work before looking around again, narrowing my eyes slightly at the sand blowing everywhere.


    Next problem. The sand in my eyes and mouth.


    Your Highness, please activate the filter on your armor, one of the guards says without appearing.


    I frown at that, which prompts them to exin, All magical sets of armore with certain environmental features that are meant to help the wearer in different environments. One of them is a filtered mask made out of see-through magic over the face to protect it from the sand.


    Oh. Convenient.


    The guard exins how to activate it and soon enough, a very faint redyer of energy appears over my face. One so faint you can only barely see it if you tried. And immediately after that I no longer feel any sand hitting my face.


    Nice.


    <strong>Your old armor probably had something like it as well, </strong>Tarments, and I agree.


    Still nice.


    I stretch a little, trying to get the kinks out from the couple hour long flight here that I spent on a throne before I begin walking through the red sand towards the Southeast, specifically avoiding going directly South thanks to what I remember from the map. Since directly South of here should be the Ashen Mountains. The home of the kitsune.


    A ce I will be avoiding like the gue.


    My walk onlysts for several seconds though before I run into a demon. One that is burrowed under the sand ording to my life sense skill.


    Is it going to be the stereotypical giant worm monster that is found in deserts in RPGs?


    <strong>Is it what? </strong>Tar asks, soundingpletely confused. <strong>Why would youpare a</strong><em><strong>video game </strong></em><strong>to Tartarus? Its not a very-</strong>


    Tar cuts off when I jump to the side, following which a two-meter-long sandy-orange colored worm jumps out of the sand where I was just at, seemingly trying to eat me.


    <strong>|Unnamed  Sand Wyrm  Level 231|</strong>


    Hmm.


    You were saying?


    Tar stays silent.


    I snort at that, the noiseing out rougher since Im in my beast form right now as I rush forward, activating metallicized blood ws on my right paw before tearing my razor sharp ws straight through the worm without much resistance. And the thing quickly ends up bisected into two with both pieces falling to the ground.


    Sand worms truly are the staple of any fantasy world desert.


    I nod my head in absolute certainty at that thought as I look around for a few seconds.


    Although these dont seem to travel in groups unlike the ones from the games Ive yed. Nor is it anywhere near asrge as I was expecting.


    Not that those are bad things, but they are a tad surprising.


    Anyways, let the hunt begin.

 Book 3: Chapter 64: Regrets and Civilization

    Book 3: Chapter 64: Regrets and Civilization


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It only takes me a week of hunting to realize three things. One being that I hate deserts, another that this desert is a much worse ce to hunt in than the inds of the Bloody Duchy since the demons are a lot more spread out and weaker, and thest thing being that I probably should have stopped at a vige for food and supplies <em>before </em>I left the Bloody Duchy.


    Because the map doesnt have viges and cities marked. Just the major locations on the map. Making the more local maps something else Gramps decided I would have to find on my own.


    And the guards refuse to take me back, stating that Gramps told them to not help me in any way except purchasing supplies when we do get to viges. Well, that and the whole them interfering in my hunt should I go after too strong prey thing.


    Which Ive yet to figure out how to convince them otherwise.


    I frown as I continue walking across the desert, wondering what Im doing with my life. The stupid demons here are far lower level on average than the inds, most of which being ss II and not giving me much of anything in terms of EXP while making me understand clearly why the inds I hunted on were called the best hunting grounds by the guards.


    Time gradually passes, and after another hour or so I finally begin to pick up the sounds of activity from far to the East. So I begin running without a care until I reach the top of a dune and find a rtively decently sized city down below.


    One with an oasis in it.


    Deciding that Id rather not draw attention to myself, I deactivate my beast form while pulling on a brown cloak  one of the few things Gramps and Leonidas did give me to prepare. Mostly just to hide my ears through the hood.


    Since a blood lycans ears are a dead giveaway. Not that them identifying me wouldnt already be a dead giveaway actually, what does my identify even say anymore?


    <strong>Its starting to transition more towards your demon side, </strong>Tarments. <strong>The System, I mean.</strong>


    And that means?


    <strong>While the identify used to show you as a human with some issues in the identification, now itll show apletely messed up identification with parts of both the human and blood lycan words mixed in, </strong>Tar exins in a way that confuses me but still answers it nheless.


    Huh.


    Well, at least it doesnt say human. Since that would probably be a nice way to get everyone to kill me.


    Wish Amelia couldve hidden that as well though.


    <strong>That wouldnt have been possible without trying to seal away your demon genes again, which also wouldnt have been possible considering youre ss III and more demon than human now, </strong>Tarments as I walk down the dune towards the city.


    Huh. Good to know.


    Anyways, the city itself has arge sandstone wall surrounding it with a gate facing just a few dozen meters down from where Im standing. And at the gate are two demons that I have no clue what are. They both have tusks with some dried out skin and are bipedal despite not being ss V. Which I guess is normal since Gramps said most guards responsible for checking those who enter cities need to be bipedal to be <em>able </em>to check the stuff going into the city. Or at least, they need hands.


    Or telepathy.


    These dont seem to have telepathy, but they do have hands. And bandages despite not seeming to have any injuries.


    <strong>|Grulok the Savage  Mummified Orc  Level 531|</strong>


    <strong>|Durgok the Merciless  Mummified Orc  Level 550|</strong>


    Wait a second, those are orcs? Huh?


    Well, I guess that exins the boar-like head?


    <strong>I told you long ago in that game of yours, those orcs in it are fake, </strong>Tar says with a sense of smugness in his voice that Ipletely ignore.


    There seem to be dozens upon dozens of demons trying to get into the city, and each one of them is eyeing the others with distrust. Like they may start ripping into each other at any moment. Which kind of goes to show just how friendly Tartarus is.


    Although they also seem to be afraid of the guards at the gate. For good reason too, seeing as theyre all lower leveled than the guards.


    <em>Your Highness, </em>I hear Seraphinas voice echo in my head, the woman likely using some sort of telepathy somehow. Probably a magical item. <em>The orcs will likely ask for a toll to pass into the city. Remember that one gold coin equates to ten silver, and one silver equates to a hundred copper. And since youre a fresh face, theyll likely try to scam you. So keep that in mind.</em>


    I frown at thatst part before shaking my head and unconsciously ncing at my spatial pockets, where Gramps pushed tens of thousands of gold coins on me. Along with thousands of silver and copper coins as well, just to make sure I have my bases covered.


    Honestly not sure if I care much about being scammed by them, but at the same time, if I showed that, then they might mark me as a target to rob. Which wouldnt be a good thing.


    I blink at that.


    Or would it?


    <strong>Dont even think about trying to bait robbers out just to kill them, </strong>Tar states rather sternly. <strong>Remember that some of these robbers may very well be ss IV.</strong>


    Right. No baiting the robbers to hunt.


    A pity.


    The city probably wouldve liked it if I cleared out some of their scum.


    <strong>Yes, but I dont think theyd like an angry Demon Kinging here after youre killed picking a fight with bandits, </strong>Tarments drily. <strong>Nor do I think theyd like him destroying half of the continent around here in a fit of rage. Maybe even more. Possibly the entire if hes that pissed.</strong>


    Okay, okay, I got it.


    No baiting the bandits.


    Not until Im a higher ss.


    Tar sighs as I continue walking towards the end of the line, fortunately being ignored by most of the demons here in the process. Likely due to my smaller size than almost all of them.


    Although the ones that do notice me keep an eye on me. Probably because they identified me and saw my level.


    Well, time to do something Ive done who knows how many times before in Hunter XI, but in real life this time.


    Paying a toll at a medieval world city gate.


    This could be fun. Or maybe not.


    Interesting if nothing else at least.

 Book 3: Chapter 65: The City

    Book 3: Chapter 65: The City


    <strong>The City Gate</strong>


    Durgok growls at the random antical demon in front of him as the overgrown ant tries to sneak into the city past him. And when it doesnt stop, he moves up to it faster than most of the demons at the gate can keep up with their bare eyes before he ttens it into a paste on the sand before lifting a hand and spraying acid from underneath one of the wraps around his hand, burning the corpse until nothing remains. Then he steps back to his post and growls, Next.


    The next demon steps up and Durgok immediately states, Pay five coppers or leave.


    Durgok feels a mixture of disappointment and relief when the sand weaver reaches into its silken pouch and pulls out the coins before dropping them in his hand and moving on through the gate. Disappointment because nowadays his only real source of EXP in this dump of a city has be killing the many demons who try entering without paying the fine, and relief because hes grown sick of dealing with it today.


    <em>A mug of ale would be great right now</em>


    Gradually, time passes, and dozens of demons all pass through, some trying to sneak by and being killed, others actually paying the fine. But after nearly an hour, Durgok feels chills run down his spine at the sight of the next demon that begins approaching him from the line standing back a few meters from him and the gate.


    And those chills only grow worse when he identifies her despite his clear advantage in levels and ss.


    <strong>|[REDACTED]  Hu/bl-m-oo/d-a/ly--an  Level 257|</strong>


    <em>What under the Demon Kings rule is </em>that<em> supposed to mean?! A redacted name? Some sort of messed up species?</em>


    The demon in question is slowly walking up to him with a baggy brown cloak covering most of them. One so baggy that if it werent for their size and figure, he wouldnt be able to tell if the demon was male or female or not as he cant see their face.


    <em>A beggar? No that cloak is clearly designed to hide the appearance of the one wearing it, and it looks expensive fuck, I dont care. Its not my problem as long as they pay the fine.</em>


    Seven coppers, he states his usual fee for neers to the city who dont know the actual fee, only to be handed five coppers, making his mouth part open slightly. But the demon just walks past him without a word, not even giving him the chance to refute them.


    <em>You know what? I dont care.</em>


    Durgok shakes his head at the sight of their back, only to pause for a moment when the wind suddenly picks up, pushing the demons hood off of their head to reveal wolf ears before she quickly moves it back over her head again  and by this point, he realizes for sure that the demon is a she just form the glimpse he got of her without her hood.


    But from just that one single glimpse at the she-demons head, Durgok cant help but feel shivers run down his spine.


    <em>She cant be can she? It was just the back of her ears so maybe they arent a wolfs ears? Maybe I just mistook it for them? She did pick the hood back up so fast no one below ss III would be able to see it</em>


    After debating it over in his head for a bit, he lets out a low growl and turns to the next demon in line while shouting, Next!


    <em>No one else seems to have noticed, so best not to tempt fate.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Well that was easier than I expected it to be. And figuring out the gate guards little scam was also rather easy thanks to my hearing.


    The guy was literally scamming about a third of the people there. Most of which he seemed to treat more coldly or apathetically than the ones he didnt try scamming.


    Probably because he already knew them.


    I am kind of surprised he just let me go when I gave him five copper coins,pletely ignoring his words in the process.


    <strong>It was probably because he saw you when your hood was blown off, </strong>Tarments, making me frown a little. <strong>Or just base instinct.</strong>


    Thats annoying, but I guess it probably saved me a hassle that wouldve been annoying otherwise.


    Then theres the other guard who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there despite him being on the other side of the gate also scamming people. Just a lot more often than the guard whose line I joined.


    I look around the inside of the city after I finish passing through the rather wide gate to find myself standing on a wide street with buildings mostly made up of sandstone on either side of the street. Meanwhile the demons who are walking around all vary in species, with some being the same mummified orcs as the guards at the entrance, others being those ratherrge ant people, and some even beingrge lizards or even lizard people named kobolds.


    Overall though, they all share the theme of clearly being desert dwelling creatures at a nce. With a couple of exceptions that are probably travelers like me.


    The main thing that catches my attention though isnt the demons, the buildings some of which are shops and others homes, or the random stalls on the street. Its therge manor sitting much further in the city towering above the rest of it.


    Guess that probably belongs to the guy who runs this ce.


    Wonder if theyre a Noble or not?


    <strong>They probably are, </strong>Tarments as I put my hands in the new pockets that I managed to nag Leonidas into putting into my armor while walking through the street, ncing back and forth between the stalls and shops.


    Yeah, probably. From my understanding, most walled cities are owned by a Noble after all. Although probably only a Baron. And only one who had just recently be a Noble as well.


    Anyways, I need to find a store that sells food and supplies. Which doesnt look too hard considering that a lot of the stores and stalls here sell just that.


    Probably because its in high demand in a desert.


    But first I should listen to some of the conversations around here so Im not scammed.

 Book 3: Chapter 66: Shopping

    Book 3: Chapter 66: Shopping


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After looking around for a while and listening to quite a few conversations including a few private ones, I find that this city belongs to a Noble called Baroness Selene de Razor  a shadow weaver demon. Some sort of demon spider with the ability to create shadows in the ce of silk.


    The baroness is ratherxed in her governing of the city, only really using it as a way to amass some money. But at the same time, the insectoid and arachnid type demons often are ratherzy.


    Although a lot of them tend to be envious too.


    The insectoid and arachnid type demons are generally of the Envy or Sloth Sins from what Ive learned in ss. And if I had to guess, this one should be a Sloth Sin demon.


    Which bodes well for me as it means theyre not likely to bother me.


    Although Sloth demons also dont tend to think of the consequences of their actions much, or even think too deeply on their actions at all. Theyre kind of careless, thinking of very little but getting back to sleep.


    I frown as I open my eyes and finally walk out of the alley I found before joining the little traffic in the street and heading directly towards the store called the Weaving Market. Something that I really think should get a better name, since from what Ive been able to gather, its just a store. Not a market.


    Wasnt hard to figure that out either thanks to the many people asking that question every now and then that I can hear in the store.


    It takes me nearly half an hour to walk across the city to get there, but the trip is rather smooth. Smoother than I was expecting, if Im being honest.


    Especially considering the significant number of muggings Ive heard going on throughout the city where demons are pulled over into the alleys and attacked. Although they seem to leave everyone who is indoors alone. Some sort of rule of the city.


    <strong>Its probably because youre ss III, </strong>Tarments, his voice echoing in my head as I finally enter the Weaving Market.


    Probably. Most of the people in this city are ss II, with quite a few ss IIIs as well, but they tend to be higher profile and rarer.


    And the few ss IVs all have important ces or shops in the city.


    After entering the store  which is just arge sandstone buildingyered in some sort of glowing orange metal  I immediately head to the food and supplies area. Although I notice the clerk currently manning the store  a ss III shadow weaver  staring at me as I walk despite the many other demons here.


    Its annoying that I still stand out even with the redacted name and my cloak.


    <strong>Well, in all honesty, your redacted name is probably getting you more attention, and while your cloak isnt suspicious, the fact that you have a humanoid form and are wearing a cloak thatpletely obscures your appearance is a tad suspicious, </strong>Tar says, sounding tired for some reason.


    Yeah, guess youre right. But theres not much I can do about it. Walking around showing off the fact that Im a blood lycan would attract even more attention, much less walking around without my name redacted. A name that everyone on the knows.


    Why did Gramps have to announce my name to the entire world? Its annoying.


    <strong>Well, even if he didnt, the Archeron name is a dead giveaway already, </strong>Tarments as I finally make it through the crowd of people filling the ratherrge store to the food and supplies section.


    True.


    Anyways, I narrow my eyes slightly at the magical items they have here. Some devices where people can toss coins in and get a certain amount of food from each machine.


    Kind of like a vending machine. But one that uses magic instead of science.


    Honestly wouldnt be surprised if they stole the idea from Earth, considering a few things Leonidas mentioned that they <em>did</em> actually steal from Earth.


    After looking around the machine and studying it for several seconds, I find myself frowning. Because it looks like I cant take out more than one of each item at a time. And pulling out one loaf of bread or whatever food items they have here at a time in order to get supplies for a month would be a pain.


    Excuse me, would you like to purchase in bulk? I hear a voice from behind me, making me immediately turn around, my hood blowing slightly in the wind to reveal my face for a moment to the shadow weaver I find standing behind me. The woman then bows her head slightly with a short, My apologies, maam. I did not mean to frighten you.


    Looks like they saw my face, judging by the fact that they know my gender. Something Im pretty sure the guard outside didnt actually notice. And something I know Ive heard a few conversations on the way here trying to figure out through my cloak.


    Honestly kind of d they gave me this cloak since its working wonders for hiding my species, considering how its even managing to hide my gender.


    As long as they dont find out my species, I dont care.


    Its fine, I answer thedy, whose form is that of a human but with pitch ck eyes, four spider-like limbs sticking out of their back, and ck ws on their fingertips. And yes, I would like to buy in bulk.


    The level 453 shadow weaver nods her head and says, Pleasee with me then, before turning around and walking to a room closer to the clerks desk. But right when shes reaching for the doorknob, a string of shadows suddenly shoots out of her and coils around one of the customers who I now realize is trying to walk out of the store with one of the pieces of shadow silk armor without paying. The string of shadows then begins constricting around their arm holding onto the piece of armor until the orc lets out a scream, following which the arm ispletely severed, dropping both the rest of their arm and the armor it was holding to the ground.


    I indifferently watch as the demon thief runs screaming out of the building after grabbing their arm. Meanwhile the shadow weaver clerk stops at the door and opens it, saying, Right this way.


    Well then. Thats one way to deal with a thief.

 Book 3: Chapter 67: Child

    Book 3: Chapter 67: Child


    <strong>The Trade Room at the Weaving Market</strong>


    <em>What is this thing?</em>


    Ravena cant help but think this as she politely speaks to hertest customer, negotiating the supplies they seem to want. Supplies meant tost for an entire month without stopping at any other cities. Something that Ravena thinks is a little too hopeful of an outlook, but she isnt one to judge her customers.


    Unless theyre robbing from her, of course. But even those only lose an arm or two before being politely shown the door.


    The shadow weaver continues speaking, surprisingly finding the demon sitting on the chair across from her in the trade room to be a capable negotiator, if clearly still new in some ways. And the demon  who Ravena couldnt tell was female through her cloak until she turned around fast enough that the rather low hanging hood blew back to reveal her face  is also rather polite.


    Something most demons visiting the city are not.


    Ravena continues the negotiations for just about ten or so minutes before she eventually sells the she-demon an entire months worth of supplies, along with a map of the northern part of the continent. Which made Ravena aware that the woman isnt likely even from the Southwestern continent.


    As the two are standing up from the chairs and beginning to walk towards the door to the main room, Ravenas middle w twitches, signaling another thief. So she pulls down on it, locking the item being stolen in ce before opening the door to the room and sending out a thread of shadow to bind and then relieve an arm from the current thief. Following which they run screaming out of the building.


    But Ravena doesnt pay them any mind as she focuses on the she-demon, finally letting her curiosity get the better of her as she asks, Would you mind telling me your name? You were a better negotiator than I was expecting.


    The she-demon pauses on her way to the door before turning around and answering, Scarlet. But she doesnt say any more than that, instead turning back around and heading to the door of her store.


    Ravena blinks.


    <em>Probably shouldnt have expected a full name anyways. But</em>


    Unable to handle it anymore, Ravena activates a skill, letting her see through the cloak on the she-demon. And what she sees has her eyes widening in shock.


    The she-demon is wearing full blood metal armor and is very clearly a blood lycan despite her messed up identify result. Which in hindsight would exin why someone would hide her name.


    <em>I didnt realize it was possible to mess with the species in an identify though whoever did that mustve been powerful.</em>


    Ravena cant help but feel d that she didnt treat the she-demon poorly.


    <em>Scarlet, was it? I should keep an eye wait, Scarlet?! She couldnt have been could she?</em>


    The shadow weaver watches the she-demon leave her store and continues staring even after she is no longer in sight,pletely ignoring her other customers for longer than she should. Eventually though, she just shakes her head and turns her attention back to her store again.


    <em>The mistress might be interested to know about this she-demon, regardless of whether or not shes </em>that <em>Scarlet.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After leaving the store with all of my food and supplies stowed away in my spatial pockets, I immediately begin heading towards the best inn I found in my research. And once I make it there, I open the door and go inside to find dozens of demonsughing and drinking all around the inn, likely due to the fact that the sun is going to be rising in the next couple hours.


    Most of the people in the main lobby ignore me, simply continuing to drink whatever versions of magical ale theyre drinking as I walk through the center of the many tables towards the reception desk. But some of them do pay attention to me. And most of those are ss III or ss IV.


    Hmm. Starting to wonder if choosing the nicest inn in the city was a bad idea or not, considering that its also the one most of the stronger demons passing through or visiting seem to use.


    Either way, the receptionist at the desk is just a ss III demon at about the same level as me. And to my surprise, theyre actually an undead.


    <strong>|Lyria de re  Shadow Weaver Draugr  Level 252|</strong>


    Interesting. A draugr is a higher form of zombie. One that retains its intelligence and is quite a bit stronger but can only turn someone into one of them by quite literally giving them an organ from their own body.


    And this is a draugr of a shadow weaver.


    Come to think of it, Im running into a lot of shadow weavers in this city. Probably because the Baroness ruling over it is one herself.


    Anyways, the draugr is just like the other shadow weavers in appearance, just with her skin being a bit of a grayer color than the pale skin the other shadow weavers had. Almost like its dying. And her hair is paler too instead of thepletely raven ck they had.


    Hello, would you like a room or dinner? thedy asks with a smile on her face, showing her fangs as she gestures with her hand towards a te of food that someone else is walking up to grab right now, likely after ordering it. She is wearing a purple apron over a regr tunic and a skirt, and actually looks rather cute, with the appearance of a young teenager despite something about her making me think shes older than I am.


    <strong>Well, demons age slower than humans, </strong>Tarments, and I nod my head to both that and her question as I answer her out loud, A room please.


    Right. I almost forgot about that whole blood lycans arent adults till theyre 30 bullshit.


    <strong>I mean, it makes sense when you consider that the typical blood lycan lifespan without the blood lycan being contracted is about a thousand years old, </strong>Tar states, making my hand pause as it reaches for my pocket.


    Thatll be twelve coppers per night, including the day beforehand thrown in, the draugr says with a cute yet terrifying smile thanks to her fangs.


    Okay, a thousand years is a long lifespan without the System. I was expecting something more along the lines of a few hundred years.


    But a thousand?


    Thats a lot.


    I grab the coppers from my spatial storage pockets and hand it to thedy before she hands me a key that I can feel manaing out of. Then she says, Your room is room twenty-nine, and its on the third floor at the back of the left side.


    I nod my head at her before beginning to walk towards the stairs.


    Now I kind of understand why thirty year olds are still children to blood lycans. In fact, Im a little surprised the bar isnt a little higher considering some of the other races of demon.


    <strong>The ghouls are considered children until theyre one hundred, </strong>Tarments, almost making me stumble in my walk towards the stairs.


    Stupid undead and their endless lifespans.

 Book 3: Chapter 68: An Unpleasant Dusk

    Book 3: Chapter 68: An Unpleasant Dusk


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up in the middle of the morning to the sound of my rooms window opening, making me shoot up while activating my armor, only to find a demon peeking their head through the raised hatch of the window.


    Then our gazes meet.


    Shit, he mutters making me realize I dont have my cloak on as his eyes wander to my ears, but I dont give him the time to retreat as I wave my hand, sending several des of blood to skewer the guy, knocking him off of the window in the process with a scream of pain.


    Annoying.


    I get up out of the bed and walk over to the window before looking down to find him with a de of blood running through each extremity as he fails miserably to get up off the ground while screaming. So I end it quickly with another de of blood straight through the throat of the demon  who happens to be another mummified orc.


    To my surprise, no one leaves their homes or stores, ignoring what had happened. And just a few minutester, a guard of the city walks into the street before ncing at the corpse, raising his hand, and burning it to ash. Then he looks up at me, his eyes widening at the sight of my ears.


    A second passes in silence.


    The guard bows his head in polite respect and walks away.


    Huh.


    Guess its perfectly fine to go murdering a would-be thief.


    I close my window again, wishing I had some sort of skill that could trap it or protect my room from thieves. But then again, my instincts and life sense make it so that I wake up right away. So its not really an issue.


    Just means Ill be waking up every time a thief sneaks in. Or tries to sneak in.


    Actually, now that I think about it, the inn had a use about thieves, didnt it? Something about the rooms having enchantments to block people without a key to the room from actually getting inside even if they opened the window or the door.


    Meaning the idiot probably wouldve been stuck at the window even if I didnt wake up and kill him.


    I stare at the closed window for a few seconds before shrugging at the thought and going back to bed, deactivating my armor as its not the mostfortable thing to sleep in.


    After waking up at dusk, I have food brought to my room where I then eat it and begin leaving the inn. Only to end up finding several guards standing outside, making me tense up. But none of them seem ready to fight, or even tense at all. Which confuses me.


    Are you Miss Scarlet? One of the guards asks, bringing my attention to the center one who is ss IV and closer to ss V than III.


    My eyes narrow.


    Okay, yeah, in hindsight I probably shouldnt have told someone my name.


    Why does it matter? I ask with a frown hidden beneath my cloak.


    The guards look surprised before theirxed mannerisms turn slightly more stern. But before any of them can say anything, a voice echoes in the area, startling both us and our little crowd of spectators that is building up, Because I would like to meet you, Lady Scarlet.


    Everyone around us appears absolutely shocked by what the feminine voice says, but my eyes just narrow further.


    If I had to guess, that was probably the Baroness of the city. And she, just like all the other Nobles, know what I look like.


    Annoying.


    Thats really all I can consider this situation.


    Just in annoying.


    At this point, refusing her will just attract attention to me. Not to mention it might upset the Baroness as well.


    I let out a sigh before answering, Very well.


    The guards appear to rx at that, and we all begin heading towards therge manor at the center of the city. Meanwhile anyone who was watching just stare in shock at what just happened.


    Good thing I was nning on leaving the city first thing in the night? First thing in the night.


    Still getting used to that.


    <strong>Itlle, </strong>Tar says. <strong>And itll probably get confusing again when you make it back to Earth eventually.</strong>


    True.


    Why do the twos have to be so different? Not only is Tartarus just so much bigger than Earth, with a muchrger poption, but day and night is inverted, and the blood moon is always out


    There are still times I wake up forgetting that Im on Tartarus and look to the sky to find the blood moon there.


    <strong>Yeah, I remember you doing that once </strong>Tar mutters, sounding slightly downcast himself. Something Ive noticed since we first entered the city.


    Wait, are you upset you cant travel on me while were in the city?


    He doesnt respond, basically admitting his guilt.


    I am not your mode of transportation.


    The tanuki doesnt respond.


    Im not.


    Seriously.


    He still doesnt say anything.


    I huff very lightly in irritation as I continue walking through the street with the guards. And eventually we reach therge manor. Or rather, the gate to therge fence around it, where the guards open the gate in short manner.


    Then we proceed inside.


    The manor itself is quiterge and is made out of a mixture of wood, which I cant help but wonder where they got, some sort of silver metal that has mana in it, and sandstone. Its about four stories tall and is very wide but not too long.


    Overall a nice ce, but not of a style that I like. Not somewhere Id want to live.


    But Ive also grown to dislike sand in my time on this continent, even though its only been a month.


    Honestly kind of wish I chose to go to the Northeastern continent instead already. Even if there are gluttonous ghouls and envious spiders there.


    <strong>You think as youre going to go see a spider, </strong>Tarments, making my eye twitch.


    Shes a Sloth Sin spider. Its not the same.


    And besides. From what Ive heard, shadow weavers dont use their spider form very often. Because they apparently are able to weave their shadow silk better in their human form for some reason.


    Doesnt make much sense, but Im not gonna question it.


    Anyways, most of the guards leave me once we get to the porch of the manor, leaving only a single guard still with me who escorts me inside.


    Time to meet the baroness, I guess.

 Book 3: Chapter 69: The Baroness

    Book 3: Chapter 69: The Baroness


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The moment we step inside of the building, were greeted by the Baroness who is kneeling down to greet me, shocking the hell out of the guard with us as she deres, I wee you to my home, Your Highness.


    That shocks the guard even more.


    Poor guy.


    I ignore the hastily kneeling guard as I frown and state, I wouldve preferred to have gone incognito.


    The Baroness looks surprised at that, only for the surprise to shift to worry before she hastily issues a bunch of orders out loud seemingly to no one. Then she bows her head again to me, but all the way to the ground this time as she deres, Please forgive me, Your Highness! I wasnt aware!


    Well, duh. And shouldnt my attire have already hinted to my desire to stay out of sight?


    Then again, shes a Sloth demon. Theyre not exactly the most observant of demons.


    The demons are smart, sure. Just that they dont often bother using their intelligence. Generally only the highest level Sloth demons like the Lady of Devouring actually think things all the way through.


    I sigh at that thought and pull my hood back. Then I free my hair that is tucked down the cor of my cloak rather ufortably, letting it flow down my back again.


    Much better.


    Do you happen to have a better way out of the city than the front gate? I ask while ncing to the side when I see one of my bodyguards suddenly appear. But I subsequently ignore them to refocus on the Baroness again.


    She quickly nods, answering, I have a private tunnel leading out of the city thats meant for emergencies, but you can use it whenever you wish to enter the city, Your Highness!


    I nod at that myself, Then I think I will.


    And this way I wont have to deal with the annoying line at the gate every time Ie back.


    Maybe meeting with her wasnt all that bad.


    I nce at the bodyguard, only to find Vincent not doing anything other than keeping a close eye on the shadows of the building. Which lead me to believe that the Baroness has guards of her own or something.


    Kind of surprising that they didnte out to kneel as well considering how obsessed the demons seem to be with ranking, but who cares. They may also just be clones or something.


    And considering how I dont sense someone looking at me, theyre probably either kneeling in the shadows or are keeping their focus on the Baroness.


    Anyways, its time to leave this city and return to my hunt again.


    <strong>After Scarlet Leaves the Manor</strong>


    Selene lets out a sigh of relief after the Princess leaves through her emergency escape route. She never wouldve expected that the Princess would immediately arrive at <em>her </em>city just weeks after His Majesty made the announcement.


    <em>Even if the blood lycans have a non-interference pact with their kin when theyre out hunting, if Her Highness were to die here or even get hurt or suffer in any way in my city</em>


    The Baroness shivers at the thought before immediately turning around and climbing the stairs to the main room where she pulls on the shadow tether she has on the shadow weaver that notified her of the Princesss presence in the first ce. And not even a minuteter, that very shadow weaver appears in the room bowing in front of her.


    Before the shadow weaver can say anything, Selene states, If you are to see Her Highness again, you will treat her with all the respect you can possibly give her. Is that understood?


    The shadow weavers head jerks up with an expression of shock on her face before she clears it and responds, Of course, mistress.


    Now tell me what you sold to her and how much you sold it for, Selene continues, narrowing her pitch ck eyes on her child.


    Of course, mistress, the shadow weaver says before answering, I sold her a months worth of food and supplies for an amount just a single copper over market value after Her Highness negotiated it down. And when the Baronesss eyes narrow, the shadow weaver asks, Would you like me to go find her and give the Princess her coin back?


    Selene shakes her head, No, that would likely just insult Her Highness. And from what I could tell by how she was acting, quite possibly irritate her as well. Her brows furrow slightly. She seemed to be in a rush to hunt.


    The shadow weavers eyes widen, and she quickly bows her head and states, As you wish it, then, mistress. I will treat Her Highness as well as our store can manage the next time she arrives at the shop.


    No, Selene says, her voice hardening as she res at her child. She appeared to want to go incognito during her trip, so treat her as a regr VIP when in public, and only as the Princess in private.


    Her child doesnt appear surprised by that, instead looking up with a look of determination in her eyes as she says, Your will be done.


    Selene begins to step towards the stairs, only to pause before looking at a seemingly empty location in the center of the room. Then a vortex of blood appears there, following which a blood lycan  one of the Princesss guards no doubt  steps out into the room.


    The Baroness immediately kneels down as she says, Greetings, Your Grace. How may I serve you?


    The man Selene immediately recognizes as Duke Nicki Valtar de Argus nces at her with his eyes narrowed before ordering, Send word to all the nearby cities that should the Princess arrive at their city, she is not to be bothered.


    Right away, Your Grace, Selene deres. She then nces at her child, finding her already nodding her head and vanishing in a mist of shadows to fulfill his order. Selene then turns back to him again and asks, Is there anything else, Your Grace?


    Nicki seems to think for a moment before he answers, Please have intel on the closest nests brought to me at once.


    Of course, Selene says with a bow of her head as she orders some of her clones to go do just that. And when the clone makes it into the room with the intel, she immediately hands it to the Duke and returns to her kneeling position.


    That will be all then, the Duke deres before vanishing in another vortex of blood, leaving Selene to let out a sigh of relief.


    <em>Too many important people arriving today maybe I can get back to my nap now</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 70: Nests and Evolved Demons

    Book 3: Chapter 70: Nests and Evolved Demons


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After getting out of the tunnel, I nce to the side as I notice one of the bodyguards missing. Nicki to be exact. One of my quietest guards.


    Hmm. Guess he probably had business to take care of.


    I immediately begin to set off into the desert again while activating the features of the armor to protect my face from the sand, not bothering to put my cloak back on in the process. Because its annoying to wear that thing even if it does work well.


    And besides. I dont care if someone recognizes me as a blood lycan outside of the city.


    In fact, from what Ive heard, a lot of people like to challenge the blood lycans by attacking their young when they dont have their insignias on disy. Simply to bring down the most powerful demon species a notch.


    Although this is driven solely by their Demonic Instincts and not by any sort of sanity since theyre basically just asking to be wiped out when they try that crap. And the ones that do manage to retain their sanity while attacking always leave it at just that. Attacking. Not killing.


    Not that Imining since it gives me people who will be attacking me.


    After getting a little ways away from the city, I nce back when Nicki appears next to me holding a map out to me.


    I raise a brow, waiting for him to exin.


    I have gotten the Baroness to notify the nearby Nobles to leave you alone should you arrive in their cities and have been provided a map of the nearby nests now that youve already gotten a map of the area yourself, he exins, making me raise my other brow.


    Interesting.


    Nests? I ask with a frown.


    He bows slightly and answers, Nests on Tartarus are locations filled with demons ruled by one or more ss III or higher demons, where all of the species in the nest are unintelligent and only able to be led by a ss III or IV demon of a superior and evolved species to or of their own.


    My frown grows deeper for a moment, only to turn into a smile.


    Thatll work for my next hunt, I tell him, making the guy seem extremely happy. To the point that I notice his ears twitching slightly.


    Okay, I really hope I dont ever develop a habit of showing my emotions with my ears. That would be way too embarrassing.


    Ignoring the overly happy blood lycan Duke, I take the map and look at it, finding that one of these nests should be located just about an hours walk from here. So I look up at the man again with a brief, Thank you, before turning in the direction stated by the map.


    Lets see evolved species include things like arachnae being evolved species of arachne  the creature that almost killed me during the ss V Fracture  and things like draugr which are one type of species evolved from zombies. With evolved species basically being just that. A demon that evolved its race after growing into a Noble themselves.


    Generally the inferior versions of the demons are either not intelligent at all or are less intelligent than the evolved versions. Like how zombies cant have any intelligence, only acting on their Gluttony Sin as they try to eat others for no reason aside from the Sin.


    I begin to sprint in the direction of the nest as I think.


    What type of evolved demons do you think would be in the desert, Tar?


    <strong>Well, youve already seen some, </strong>he answers, making me frown for a second before ites to me.


    The mummified orcs?


    <strong>Right, </strong>he answers as he appears in the air and lies down on my shoulder with a happy sigh, likely due to finally being able to do that again now that were out of the city, <strong>and any other mummified demon. Theyre all evolved from mummies.</strong>


    Yeah, guess that was to be expected.


    I wouldnt be surprised if one of the nests I end up going to is filled with mummies, now that I think about it. Those creatures will infest anywhere given the time to multiply.


    Theyre much worse than the zombies in that all they have to do is get that infected cloth wrapping to touch a creatures skin and theyll be infected with their curse. Although the curses strength is dependent on the strength of the demon who is doing the infecting, so a level one mummy cant infect a level one hundred.


    I frown as I try to remember what caused the curse in the first ce, only to realize that they never taught that.


    <strong>You can always ask your bodyguards, </strong>Tarments, making a good point. Although Id be surprised if he didnt know the answer himself. <strong>I think you should ask them for things more often. They seem to like helping you at the very least. Might as well make them happy.</strong>


    Theyre keeping an eye on me and making it so I cant escape to Earth. Why would I want to-


    <strong>If you make them happy, it might make them drop their guard and perhaps allow you to escape to Earth while its dropped? </strong>Tar suggests, making my mouth part open for a second only to close again.


    Thats sneaky.


    I like it.


    So I nce at one of the life forces I can sense before asking, Would you mind telling me what started the mummy race?


    Seraphina appears floating along next to me as she answers, The mummy race was originally created one hundred and seventeen years ago when an arachnae decided they wanted a pyramid owned by a race known as the anubi. The arachnae Noble cursed all of the residents of the pyramid with an incredibly strong curse, erasing their intelligence and turning them into mindless monsters that attack everything on sight.


    I blink at that.


    So Gramps didnt do anything? I ask out of curiosity, but Seraphina just nces at me in confusion as she answers, Why would he? It was a feud between a Noble demon and lesser demons. Even if he did interfere, he would side with the Noble.


    And the mummies? He just let them stay alive and spread? I continue as we run.


    Seraphina nods, He did, because they serve as excellent fodder for higher ss demons to hunt.


    Interesting.


    Then again, theres no way they could be a threat to the world, so why would he interfere?


    I guess Im still thinking more along the lines of what a human would do. And Gramps is by no means a human anymore, even if he was originally one.

 Book 3: Chapter 71: Mummies Nest

    Book 3: Chapter 71: Mummies Nest


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The nest, as it turns out, is indeed full of mummies. What I wasnt expecting though was for it to be a giant underground cavern.


    Arent mummies supposed to be in pyramids?


    <strong>Well, the evolved mummies do sometimes live there in groups, but not the regr ones, </strong>Tar says as I casually rip out the throat of another mummy, not really caring about the creatures rather pathetic attempts to attack me, seeing as its an entire one hundred levels below me. Just ss II.


    And why are the demons here so weak?


    <strong>You do realize that if these weak demons were to be let loose on Earth, theyd kill thousands of people? </strong>Tarments, but I stand by my statement. These demons are weak.


    Tar sighs as I continue walking through the tunnel of the cave system Im in while in my beast form, tearing apart any mummy I find with ease in my search for ss III mummies.


    <strong>Youll find the ss III ones deeper in, </strong>Tarments with a sigh, making me smile before I start moving faster through the tunnel.


    In that case, lets go!


    After ughtering mummies so low leveled they dont give me any EXP for a few hours while traversing through the web of tunnels that is way toorge to be natural, I finally find some sort of structure down here with arge circr sliding door. One that I kind of ignore to punch through it, smashing the door without trying to figure out how to unlock the thing after finding it locked.


    <strong>Brute, </strong>I hear Tar whisper, making me raise a brow and try to speak, only to remember that I cant in beast form.


    Youre banned from sitting on me for a day.


    <strong>Wait, no! </strong>Tar exims, but I ignore him as I focus solely on the ss III mummies that are rushing, or rather lumbering towards me from inside of the structure.


    Finally! Some EXP!


    <strong>Im sure the mummies appreciate being called EXP </strong>Tar grumbles, clearly upset about his punishment.


    Well, they arent intelligent, so I couldnt care less.


    He snorts as I sprint forwards to tear apart the mummies while using Blood Manifestation and trying Blood Boil as well, only to find that boiling their blood doesnt do anything, making me blink in surprise.


    <strong>Mummies dont have blood, </strong>Tarments, answering my unasked question before I continue killing the things but with Metallicized Blood ws and Metallicized Blood instead. Although Metallicized Blood isnt exactly helping since Im still trying to figure it out despite how long has passed since I got it.


    Right now all Im able to manage is swiping my arm and metallicizing some small parts of my blood in my arm at the same time, flinging the metallicized blood through my arm and out at the enemies as metallicized blood spikes and needles. Which does help, but not all that much due to how small they are and the limited amount of force I can put into the attack while keeping it stable and urate.


    <strong>Its a difficulty thates along with a more flexible skill, </strong>Tarments as I continue ughtering the mummies. <strong>Skills that give you a direct maniption over something instead of just doing it for you.</strong>


    Yeah. Guess the more powerful stuff alwayses with a price.


    Im guessing my control will improve as I level it though?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he answers rather quickly, making me nod in satisfaction as I rip the head off of another mummy, briefly grimacing at the ck liquid that stters out from its neck and head.


    So thats <em>not </em>blood, right?


    <strong>Its their curse manifested in physical form filling their body, </strong>Tar exins, showing he knows a lot more about mummies than I expected.


    Guess hes only answering me now because I cant speak out loud to ask the guards these questions. Not in my beast form.


    I continue traversing through the structure whose walls are made out of sandstone unlike the sand and dirt walls of the tunnels before until I find something new. A demon that is not just a regr mummy.


    <strong>|Fredrick Nightfall  Mummified Shadow Weaver  Level 252|</strong>


    The demon looks just like the other shadow weavers but with dried out skin and a couple random bandages sticking out of them in some ces.


    They also notice me the moment I enter the room with them in it, long after Id already noticed them thanks to my ears.


    Leave, the demon states after it finishes killing the mummy in front of it and nces at me. But the indifference on its facepletely vanishes when it sees my beast form appearance, turning serious. Leave or Ill be forced to attack you.


    I raise a brow at that while folding my arms under my chest and tapping one w against the armor on my other arm. Then I shake my head and let out a growl to decline their statement, really kind of wishing I could speak in this form.


    The demon looks around my armor, likely for a crest, but when they dont find any, they let out a hiss and begin transforming into arge spider themselves. And as their transformation urs, I hear a voice echoing through the room were in.


    Verryyy well, you ssshall be dinneeerr.


    Me? Dinner?


    For a mummified shadow weaver?


    I scoff at that thought, the sounding out as a snarly growl before I uncross my arms and stretch my ws slightly.


    <strong>This might be a good time to test out some of your other skills that you havent been able to work on much, </strong>Tarments, making me lightly nod my head in response.


    Like Blood gue.


    Too bad he probably doesnt have blood if hes mummified. So Bloody Thorns is just as useless on him as it is on the mummies.


    A rather annoying limitation on that skill I didnt realize before. That they actually need to have blood for it to do anything.


    I let out a short snarl at that thought before activating Blood gue and deciding to give them a little surprise.

 Book 3: Chapter 72: Disappointment

    Book 3: Chapter 72: Disappointment


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The particr gue I decide to give the spider is one that debilitates their thinking. It makes them sluggish, with their thoughts bing unclear, and parts of their body feeling like theyre wading through mud instead of freely moving as they are.


    A rather useful gue that affects only his mind through their brain and their nervous system.


    And while this thing might not have blood, he does have a brain and nerves. So the gue seems to set hold as the guy starts to stumble slightly after he finishes his transformation, letting out an irritated hiss.


    I grin at that before deciding why not and using Blood Boil to no avail.


    Yeah, didnt expect that to work.


    I use Life Drain after that, which does work, along with summoning my Blood Shadow, making me let out a grunt as the blood and shadows are taken from me. But Blood Regeneration soon takes care of it thanks to the amount of blood needed having significantly reduced for Blood Shadow as it leveled, along with the speed of Blood Regenerations blood regen going up. Not to mention life drain doing its work to heal me.


    A green aura begins to surround the spider, but I dont let it do whatever it was nning as I set up a null magic field around it, making it blink in surprise when the aura suddenly shrinks.


    Without a hint of hesitation, I finish off my preparations by using Blood Chains on it and Blood Armor on myself, covering my own armor with hardened blood that I then use Blood Metallization on to turn into blood metal while the spider is covered in chains of the same.


    I grin, happy that I managed to find this particr use of the skill, even if I dont consider it Blood Metallization itself but rather abination of the skills.


    Then I sprint forwards at the shocked, confused, and bound spider before taking advantage of its surprise to rake my ws straight across the three-meter-long pitch ck spiders face. Only to realize that the thing is weaker than I thought as my metallicized blood ws covered hands quite literally rip into the things face with ease, leaving me blinking in awkward silence after the demons corpse hits the ground.


    <strong>{Level 252 Mummified Shadow Weaver defeated.}</strong>


    Uh huh? I was hoping for a satisfying battle


    <strong>Scarlet, you do remember that youve been hunting demons upwards of seventy or so levels above you on the hunting inds in the Bloody Duchy, and that this demon was actually a lower level than you, right? </strong>Tar asks, sounding slightly patronizing.


    Uh yeah, I guess youre right.


    <strong>To level up as fast as you did to get to ss III, youre going to have to find a ce somewhere that is as good a hunting grounds as the blood lycans personal hunting grounds that you were using, </strong>Tar says while appearing in the air and trying to sit on my shoulder again, only for me to avoid him to his displeasure. But he doesnt stop talking, <strong>And finding a ce as good as that will be hard. Most of them will also already be imed by other demons, meaning youre going to have to either fight for the right to use them or just show your crest and get in that way.</strong>


    Ugh. And I doubt Ill be able to fight whatever Nobles are using them to train their children.


    <strong>Probably not, </strong>Tarments before disappearing again, apparently deciding he has no reason to be here physically if he cant use me as a means of transportation.


    I use Beast Form again, transforming back into what the lycans call their lycan form. Which is just our regr form. Then I turn to look at one of my stalkers, err, bodyguards as I ask, Do you know of any hunting grounds as good as the one I was going to in the Bloody Duchy?


    This time Juliette appears and answers, While they arent as good as our hunting grounds, I do know of some hunting grounds of high enough quality for you to use. But they will take several hours of you running at your fastest speed to reach, and youll have to talk with the demon ns who own them.


    Ugh.


    Guess the hunting grounds of that quality wont be uncontrolled after all. Not even by a regr Noble. Only under demon ns control.


    Thats a pain.


    I cant help but frown as I turn to stare up at the ceiling. But then I look at Juliette again as I ask, What ns near us control them? Or do all the ns control a hunting ground of quality close to ours?


    A faint smile stretches across her face, likely at the term ours that I used, but I ignore it when she answers, All of the ns control hunting grounds that are usually restricted to their n alone, but they are all also required to allow the royal family ess to them whenever they would like. So you can use any of them as you please. Although I suggest you not overuse them. Especially if you go to the oni ns hunting grounds.


    Right. The onis Wrath could end up overpowering their respect for me if I do that, and Id rather not die via angered oni.


    Best not to test them.


    And the idea of going to the subis territory is kind of disturbing.


    <strong>Whys that? </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely curious.


    From what Ive heard of the subi, there are some of them that do act flirty even if the majority of them dont. After all, saying that none of the creatures are lustful by nature is like saying no human being is lustful.


    Just that the subi are worse. And the thought of one of them hitting on me sends shivers down my spine.


    Even if I have to go to the kitsune to avoid them, I will.


    <strong>Hmm, </strong>Tar hums, <strong>understandable.</strong>


    Overall its basically a decision of possibly risking getting killed if I piss the oni off too much, risking a subi or two making very suggestive moves on me and making me incredibly ufortable, or dealing with the kitsunes yfulness, pranks, and treating me like a child. And while it will get annoying having them try to y with me like Im a child, its better than the alternatives.


    I just hope I can avoid interacting with them too much.

 Book 3: Updated Map

    Book 3: Updated Map


    This is the updated map. I made it so that this isn''t all of the world. Not all of the four continents.


    So the world isrger than that.


    The Blood Lycans live in the Bloody Duchy and the Demon King''s pce. The Oni live in the Oni Citadel. The Mindeaters in theirir. The Ghouls live in the Caverns of Death, and the Arachnae in the Spider''s Burrow. The Kitsune live in the Ashen Mountains, and the Subi and witches live in the Mesa of Illusions.


    The map is made by me using .

 Book 3: Chapter 73: War Updates and a New Prophecy

    Book 3: Chapter 73: War Updates and a New Prophecy


    <strong>Belles Suite at Lions Heart Guardians University</strong>


    Are you sure about this, Belle? Arthur asks as Belle walks over to the couch and sits down next to him before reaching over and turning on the TV, making a news reporters voice immediately fill the room.


    I am, Belle answers without any hesitation while listening to the news reporter.


    As an update on the wars progress, a third of the Eastern continent was taken by the demons after the demons from Demon Isle and the Arctic both coordinated attacks with the ss V Fracture, breaking past the frontlines of the war and onto the maind from Demon Isle, a woman with red hair wearing a winter coat deres as she looks into the camera from her ce standing on a rooftop somewhere. And ever since then, the war continues to rage on within the Eastern continent itself, having only gotten worse when the White Knight of Humanity had to step in to stop the undead from heading south of the Arctic.


    Belle sighs at that before turning the TV off again and leaning back in the couch.


    At the rate things are going now, we wont even have a choice by the time we graduate, Belle exins her decision. So yes, I will be going to the frontlines of the war to fight.


    You know as well as I do that all we have to do is ask White and shell make it so we can all stay at the capital, Arthur rejects her exnation with a light shake of his head. They still need Guardians here to help with the Demonic Assaults after all.


    Belle frowns at him and shakes her head, I wont use Scarlets mother to our benefit. I just wont.


    Her boyfriend frowns back at her for a few seconds before sighing.


    When will you go there then? he asks, only to cross his arms and add, It better not be before youre at least ss III.


    Belles eyes widen and she raises her hands, eximing, I wouldnt think of going before at least reaching ss III! Im not that stupid!


    Arthur cracks a grin at that, making Belle lightly punch his arm before she leans her head into his shoulder.


    Ever since the demons started pushing the humans back further into the human territory on the, expanding their own territory into the maind, the government began hiring Guardians from some of the Tier 1 cities to head out there and battle. More than they usually do by a significant margin.


    Along with this, they also began hiring Guardians to head to the Arctic to handle the undead, leaving each city with far less Guardians to defend them. Which has already shown its result in the significantly higher death toll on the popce.


    Until the demons suddenly stopped targeting humans to kill them, instead focusing solely on the Guardians and ignoring the civilians.


    Something that shouldnt have been possible ording to what the Republic knew.


    <em>Scarlets doing probably. Her grandfather is the Demon King after all.</em>


    Belle closes her eyes as she thinks about what life will be like on the frontlines of the war. Will she die? Will she speed up her leveling to get closer to Scarlets leveling speed?


    <em>Then again, Scarlets probably leveling a lot faster than any humans right now assuming she isnt locked away in some castle somewhere.</em>


    Belle almost chuckles at the mental picture of Scarlet pounding on the wall trying to get out of a castle as the guards treat her like a princess. But she manages to hold herself back.


    Do you think sses will start up again next year at the university? Belle asks Arthur as she raises her head to look at him. But he just frowns, seemingly unsure of the answer himself. Belle looks down again. I hope they do. But if they dont, I n on asking White to bring me with her to the frontlines after I reach ss III.


    Belle feels Arthurs hand tense slightly on her shoulder, but he doesnt say anything. So she reaches up with her left hand and lightly grabs it, making him rx a little again.


    Thanks to the significant damages done to the capital, the summer semester of every universitys sses were either canceled or moved online only. Especially for some of the universities whose campuses werepletely destroyed in the battles.


    Neither Belle nor any of her team members were nning on taking any summer sses anyways, so it doesnt matter to them. But the Fall sses will matter. And if they arent going to happen, then Belle sees no reason for her to stay in the capital after she reaches ss III.


    After a few seconds of silence, Belle turns the TV back on, making a different news reporters voicee through to fill the silence, Breaking news! The White and ck Knights of Humanity have both confirmed from a demon General that the current unusual behavior of the demons in them not attacking civilians is due to a recent order directly from the Demon King himself! However, they were not able to get a reason for the Demon Kings change in orders!


    Belle sighs at that, a light smile tugging on her lips.


    Looks like shes helping us from the other side, Arthur says, a smile on his face as well, making Belle nod. And in a big way too.


    <em>Yeah. That she is.</em>


    Both of their expressions dampen when they hear the next words out of the reporters mouth, The Purple Knight of Humanity has reported a prophecy to all of the other Knights and the government! We will ry this prophecy to you now! A video of Purple reces the reporter as the woman apathetically speaks to all of the viewers watching, The day wille when the true enemy arrives. A day when the sides of day and night must unite to fight for the universe. A day when the princess of both worlds shall unite them and lead the charge.


    Belle and Arthur share shocked looks with each other before looking at the TV again when the screen changes back to show the reporter as she exims, Right now all of the experts in the world are trying to decipher just what this prophecy may mean! But so far none of them have released any words on it!


    <em>The princess of both worlds.</em>


    Belle sighs and looks up at the ceiling.


    <em>I guess she can be considered a princess of Earth too, considering her mother</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 74: A Test of Blood And Fire Part I

    Book 3: Chapter 74: A Test of Blood And Fire Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    So this is the evolved demon leading this nest of mummies?


    I frown at therge mummified drake in front of me. The creature is about five meters in length and three in width, with a height of about three meters, its wings being entirely dried out with holes in them patched by bandages. Meanwhile various other ces on its body are leaking a ck liquid through bandages, with other ces having the ck liquid just coating therge creatures ck scales as it stares at me with its pitch ck eyes, the creatures head being that of a lizard.


    <strong>|Unnamed  Mummified Drake  Level 421|</strong>


    Your Highness, perhaps- Seraphina begins, only for me to raise a hand and shake my head, feeling slightly frustrated that I cant talk in my beast form right now. So Tar appears and speaks for me, <strong>She will be fighting it regardless, so its best to just let her do what she wants.</strong>


    Seraphina opens her mouth seemingly to reject his words, but Tar continues with a frown on his tanuki face, <strong>Scarlet may appear reckless, but she has never made a decision thus far that has led to her death. If she chooses to believe she can fight this creature, then I believe she can do it.</strong>


    The bodyguards mouth closes, and she appears to look at the other guards for help. I notice all of them appearing unsure about what to do though, so I instead step forwards into the room, making the drake let out a roar in the process.


    <strong>Let her handle it, </strong>Tar says from next to them as I slowly move further into therge room filled with various pieces of treasure along with a few clean, rectangr pools ofva in the middle of the sandstone chamber, with obsidian around theva. <strong>This mummified drake should have blood other than just the cursed blood, so it can be affected by blood magic.</strong>


    That has me grinning slightly as I spread my ws out on either side of me.


    This might just be my most difficult hunt yet. The thing is one hundred and fifty levels above me on the dot and is a stronger species than the tarachts. Although not as strong as the arachne, this one only being stronger due to its higher level.


    But the thing has no minions. It is vulnerable to blood magic ording to Tar and has the sluggish speed of a mummified demon. And it is a drake in an enclosed space where it cant fly.


    Everything lines up to my advantage.


    Without any hesitation, I have my blood shadow enter the room with me before both myself and my blood shadow use skills at the same time, starting with Blood Boil, followed by Blood Armor, Blood Chains, Life Drain, Blood Manifestation, Blood gue, and finishing it all up with Blood Sacrifice. Then we both rush straight towards the drake, taking advantage of the dozens of stacks of Blood Thirst I have from the mummies I ughtered to get into this room in the first ce before the timer runs out on the stacks.


    In our initial sprint, we both crush the sandstone blocks making up the floor where we were standing before moving across the room in a sh and jumping at the drake, startling it with all thats happened in mere moments. But it recovers quickly enough to spin around, sending its tail flying towards us both.


    I have my blood shadow move in the way of the tail, striking it with its metallicized ws as I continue towards the creature itself, my own ws digging into its shoulder, going a mere three inches deep despite all of the skills I have active. Then I push Blood Sacrifice even further to grab onto its leg with my other arm before using it to fling myself over its body to its other side to avoid the creature as it snaps its sharp fangs at where I was just at. And just that snap alone makes a small shockwave radiate out from where it attacked, making me frown in the process.


    Powerful. Fast.


    It turns its head towards my blood shadow as it gets sent flying by the tail after the drakes tail suddenly starts glowing ck before the drake builds up a fireball made out of ck mes in front of its opened jaws.


    I quickly activate Pain Diffusion, perfectly ready for the bacsh from my blood shadow being killed as I climb up its side, digging my ws in throughout the process to jump onto its back and then target the open wound it has from my initial attack.


    If I can just get rid of one of its arms, the fight will take a turn for my benefit. But for whatever reason, my ws only manage to pierce another inch deeper into the wound. As if the ck blood in it is fighting against me.


    So I pour massive amounts of the blood in my blood storage into my blood ws before letting the ws drip towards the wound while metallicizing the blood and stabbing my hand back down, my fingers grouped together. And this time my ws and the metallicized blood thats being thrown down all go a few inches deeper. But at the same time, I feel a spike of pain radiate through my head marking my blood shadows death. One much less severe than it would otherwise be thanks to Pain Diffusion.


    I quickly nce up to find a patch of ckened sandstone covered in ck mes that shouldnt be able to catch fire on sandstone in the first ce. Then I look at the drakes head again to find it turning towards me as I prepare another attack, sending my ws drilling down to its shoulder again. But right when my ws hit it, going a few more inches deep, the creatures tail reaches around and smacks me from the back, sending me flying off of the mummified drakes body with a cry of pain.


    I grit my teeth as I fly through the air, only to right myself before Ind several meters away, finding the drake already facing me with a ck fireball building up in its maw again.


    My eyes narrow and I focus on the blood covering its wounds, using Blood Pull to draw it towards me along with arge amount of blood from its wound itself until the skill stops me from pulling more from the same wound. But instead of pulling the blood into my ws or to use for Blood Sacrifice, I make arge orb in front of me.


    Lets see if this cant numb the blow.

 Book 3: Chapter 74.2: A Test of Blood And Fire Part II

    Book 3: Chapter 74.2: A Test of Blood And Fire Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The fireballunches towards me right before I jump far backwards, leaving the blood orb where it is and making the fireball explode against it. But the explosion continues past it, heading straight towards me.


    I grimace before using Blood Retribution the moment before the mes strike me, making me let out a scream of pain as I feel burns across my entire body. Its not just me screaming though, as I hear the drake letting out a roar of pain once the mes dissipate, leaving me kneeling on the ground with ck smoke rising from my charred body, my armor somehow having tanked the hit without much to show for it. Aside from some burn marks that arent very visible on the ck and red armor.


    I quickly check on my Blood Thirst stacks to find them all still in effect for another minute or so, making me let out a sigh of relief. Because the Blood Thirst stacks are currently raising my stats by about fifty percent, which in addition to Predator is probably the only reason I can still move right now as I struggle to my feet again.


    My burned flesh begins to mend itself under my eyes thanks to Blood Regeneration, but its not as fast as it could be under the light of the blood moon. Life Drain and Sanguine Effect are helping though, since Im still using Blood Boil and Blood gue on it, and Blood Retribution and Bloody Thorns damage is also blood magic so theyre all making me drain more life energy with Sanguine Effect.


    I finally focus on the creature again to find ck steam rising from its body the same as the smoke is rising from mine.


    And the creature doesnt look happy. Not one bit.


    My eyes narrow before I begin to slowly circle around as it does the same, albeit sluggishly thanks to the gue it currently has, not to mention its leg.


    After circling each other enough to reach each others original positions, we both rush at each other again, it seemingly reacting to me rushing at it now that my wounds have healed enough. But right when Im about to get within a meter of it, I use both Blood Chains and Blood Manifestation again to lock it in ce while distracting it with more attacks, making it raise its head to look at them while swiping one of its wings at the blood weapons. Meanwhile I duck down under its other wing to charge straight for the same leg I was attacking before.


    It doesnt take the demon long to deal with my weapons and shatter the chains, but I manage to climb back onto it and stab my hand into its wound again during that time. And before it can knock me off, I pull my arm back and stab onest time while also burning more blood than Ive ever burnt before, finally cutting straight through it and out the other end to the sound of the drake roaring in anger. Then I jump off of its leg while it goes limp, the thing barely hanging on by a few tendons around therge hole I made.


    But my goal was achieved. The leg is now lying lifelessly on the ground as it drags it around, unable to make any use of it now but still having to lug it around and feel the pain of the wound.


    Im honestly a little surprised that the creature is feeling any pain at all though, seeing as its mummified.


    Then again, it has real blood in it along with the cursed blood. So I guess it makes sense.


    The drake lets out a loud roar of pain before suddenly ring with ck mes all over its body, making me jump backwards with my ws spread out, ready for any sudden moves. Only to find the creature suddenly going berserk and charging straight towards me while reaching its jaws over to mp around its own wound and tearing its entire limb off in mere moments.


    Holy shit.


    It lets out an incredibly loud roar filled with pain but doesnt stop charging.


    I grit my teeth as I try to jump out of the way to no avail, only to activate Blood Retribution again, following which the thing ms into me with ck mes licking all over its body spreading over to mine. Then everything goes dark for a moment until Ie to again what must only be momentster while feeling pain all over as I lie next to a wall.


    The pain res when I try to get up, making me immediately drop down again. So I turn my head to look at the drake, finding it standing in ce several meters away from me while roaring, its head lifted up into the air with ck mist wafting off of its body to form a bloody ck steam at the top of the chamber. And as this happens, I feel life energy entering my body at a rather rapid pace. But not rapid enough to heal my wounds just yet.


    I try to get up again, only to groan as the pain pushes past my Pain Diffusion and my body simply refuses to move, making me look down to find that all of my skin ispletely gone around my right arm, shoulder, and right leg. Meanwhile the bones in my right leg are aplete mess, with several of them in my ribs sticking out through my skin and armor, albeit only barely. And I notice that the bones sticking out are very slowly moving back in. Fast enough that its visible, but not fast enough for it to happen any time soon.


    Shit. This isnt good.


    One of the sources of life energy cuts off, bringing my attention back to the drake as its roar tapers off along with the bloody mist its releasing. The creature then slowly lowers its hate-filled eyes to me before snorting a puff of ck me through its nose.


    Very much not good.

 Book 3: Chapter 74.3: A Test of Blood And Fire Part III

    Book 3: Chapter 74.3: A Test of Blood And Fire Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find the bodyguards all tensing up from the entrance to the room alongside Tar. But none of them are moving despite that, which has me smiling slightly.


    Then the drake charges towards me.


    Well, now or never.


    I activate Blood of Ruin. And to top it off, I release all of the blood in my blood storage as a flood towards the drake, pushing it away to build some distance between us.


    Then I sit back and watch as droplets of blood are torn from my body, making me grunt, the extra pain from that not really registering much outside of ring up the pain Im already feeling. But I keep my eye on therge orb of blood that forms before turning ck as if it was corrupted. Then I watch the whole process of the droplets forming, the spikes shooting out of the main corrupted spiky orb to the other spiky orbs, the corrupted blood of ruin  as Leonidas likes to call it  leaking to the other droplets across the lines, and the blood in the area both my own and the blood on the ground being pulled into the skill. I even see the drakes blood being yanked out of its lost limb <em>with </em>the limb itself being pulled into the main corrupted orb, making the orb shoot up in size. Which didnt happen during thest usages of the skill.


    Guess this demon has more powerful blood or something?


    I let out a grunt when the mana for the skill is pulled from me, making me grow weaker and weaker until I can barely lift my head to watch.


    A loud cracking sound echoes throughout the area, following which the various lines and orbs of blood show cracks on their surface that quickly leak the blood of ruin, burning and corrupting everything in the chamber. Although I cant help but notice the bodyguards vanishing into their blood realm while Tar vanishes to the in-between so as to not get hit by my skill.


    At this point the drake truly looks frightened, but it cant go anywhere since the lines of blood are blocking its escape.


    I grimace both at my pain and exhaustion, and the fact that blood of ruin is just pouring all over me, flowing off of me without any effect aside from making me feel the incessant need to wipe my eyes and clear my vision. Only to feel irritation at not being able to lift my arm to do just that.


    Damn, this is ufortable like Im taking a shower in blood while I cant move.


    The drake roars in pain and fear, but unlike the majority of the demons Ive used this skill on, the drake doesnt run away. Even if it did look to see if it could. Instead, after realizing it couldnt run, it begins to charge towards me while trying to avoid the lines of corrupted blood.


    Then another cracking sound echoes through the chamber, the main orb and the lines cracking once more and flooding the area with more blood of ruin as the drake begins charging through the stuff while roaring even louder in pain.


    But it continues going, making me try to get up with a pained scream of my own, realizing that the thing doesnt care that its going to die anymore.


    Its trying to kill me knowing its going to die.


    I start burning my own blood to push myself up, screaming all the way despite Pain Diffusion being fully active, making me understand that if I do survive this, Im going to be paying for itter in pain. But I dont think about that right now, just pushing as hard as I can before I finally reach my feet, using the wall Im next to as a crutch to stand on my feet despite a few shards of bone still sticking out of my leg and a rib sticking out of my torso scraping up against my armor.


    Fuuuuck, this hurts!!! Why does this hurt so much?!


    <strong>Use Gradual Corruption Nullification, </strong>Tar says, sounding worried but somehow confident Ill win this.


    So I do just that, and the skill quickly locks onto something in my body, making my eyes widen in understanding.


    Its blood got into me, didnt it? Its corrupted blood.


    Mana begins to drain from me as the skill goes to work clearing up the corruption. But I doubt itll clear up fast enough for it to help in the battle. Not when level 10 takes seven minutes of the skills use to clear the corruption. So I continue pushing through the pain before using Blood Chains on the creature as it tries to push through the lines of blood of ruin, getting parts of its body corrupted and destroyed each time.


    The creature keepsing though, and soon enough it reaches within a couple meters of me. If it werent for the blood of ruin raining down everywhere, it wouldve just shot a fireball at me to finish me off. But when it tried that, the thing simply dissipated thanks to the blood.


    I grimace before checking my mana and finding it at only about five percent left.


    Fortunately Gradual Corruption Nullification barely takes any mana to use, so I use up some of that remaining mana to-


    My thoughts cut off when a shattering sound echoes through the chamber, following which all of the blood flows freely to the ground from each and every orb, flooding the entire chamber and sending the drake straight towards me as its body quickly corrodes. But right when its about to reach me with its jaws wide open, I feel a massive surge of life energy enter me, my Blood of Ruin skill technically being finished and therefore giving me the life energy from Sanguine Effect. The energy quickly pushes my remaining wounds to heal at incredible speeds, allowing me to jump out of the way of the creatures charge, leaving it to only bite into my shoulder and tear its one remaining w straight across my other shoulder and down my chest, tearing off my entire left arm and severing my right in the process while also cutting through two of my hearts and making my scream go up a pitch for only a moment, just for it to vanish entirely when I find it hard to breathe.


    Everything goes silent with the only sounds in the chamber being the rushing flow of blood as thest of the drake is destroyed by the blood of ruin and my mind is flooded with nothing but pain.


    Then my vision goes dark, thest thing I hear other than the flowing blood being the sound of Tar and all of my bodyguards voices.

 Book 3: Chapter 75: Once More

    Book 3: Chapter 75: Once More


    <strong>The Chamber after Scarlet Passed Out</strong>


    Seraphina feels real fear as she rushes over to Her Highness, the blood of ruin having begun to drain into the sandstone beneath them, turning it into red ash before all five of the Princesss bodyguards, herself included, immediately begin using their blood magic to heal her. But she knows that even with their help, reattaching two arms and fixing all three of her hearts is too much for them to handle alone.


    Nothing but panic fills Seraphinas head, and she quickly notices the same looks on the other bodyguards faces.


    <em>Please dont die!!!!</em>


    Tears begin to drip down her face as she continues healing the Princess, focusing first on her hearts before alternating between her hearts after one of them is fixed and her severed arms. But to her surprise, she finds all of her body suddenly beginning to repair itself at frightening speeds, making her stumble backwards and pause her own healing job.


    Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the others having stopped as well.


    But the healing continues, with Scarlets body beingpletely restored within seconds, absolutely shocking all of the bodyguards.


    Then the voice of His Majesty echoes through the room, saying, You did well not intervening.


    All of the bodyguards immediately kneel when they find the Demon King standing just a meter behind them, not a single one of them having noticed his arrival.


    The guards keep their heads down as the Demon King walks over to his granddaughter and picks her up into his arms before saying, Lets go.


    Seraphina and the other guards all stand up without any hesitation with a brief, Yes, Your Majesty.


    Then they all fly straight out of the ceiling, shooting straight through the ground and out of the nest entirely.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up, my eyes opening to find another canopy above my head with the sound of someone pacing next to therge and fancy bed I find myself in.


    Why do I feel like Ive been in this situation before?


    <strong>Because you have, </strong>Tar says, his head rising from underneath the nkets, making me look down at him to surprisingly not find him worried. <strong>Why would I be worried when I knew the Demon King was watching you the entire time?</strong>


    My jaw drops open.


    He was <em>what?!</em>


    <strong>Your grandfather kept an eye on you as he dealt with his business throughout your entire trip, not taking his attention away for a moment, </strong>Tar says, making me gape at him in shock. <strong>He told me that he wasnt going to interfere unless you tried fighting something one hundred and seventy-five levels or more above you. And you didnt try that. So all he did was instantly heal you after you won.</strong>


    I continue staring at him for several seconds until I hear someone clearing their throat, making me nce to the curtain to find that whoever was pacing has stopped right out of the curtain. So I pull the curtain open to find Gramps standing there awkwardly.


    Hi, he says with an awkward smile.


    Oh. Right. He could hear Tars voice, so he could tell I was awake even before I made a sound.


    I stare at him for a few seconds, my eyes narrowed as I do so, making him appear slightly nervous. But then I let out a sigh before lying back down on the bed again.


    Thank you, I tell him with a faint smile on my face. And he practically begins <em>glowing </em>at those words.


    I roll my eyes at that, only to turn onto my side and ask, How were you able to heal me?


    Those wounds were pretty severe, and I never heard of the Demon King having a healing skill.


    He blinks in surprise before seriously answering, Blood Domain and Life Energy Control. I blink at those two skills, so he exins, Blood Domain lets me have absolute control over blood, remember? And blood is one of the most important things in your body. So I used Life Energy Control to transfer a small amount of my life energy into you to quickly heal the parts of you that didnt require blood, like sealing off your wounds and reattaching your arms before summoning blood copied from your own cells to rece the blood you lost. Then I simply transferred more life energy to you, healing all of your wounds with arge influx of it.


    My jaw drops open.


    <strong>He fully healed you from all of your wounds in just a few seconds, </strong>Tar adds as he climbs on top of my side and looks down at my face.


    Gramps grins slightly with obvious pride.


    He was able to reattach two arms, heal three hearts, and fix whatever other damage I had while restoring my blood in just a few seconds and this guy is supposed to be the strongest person in the universe inbat by a massive margin and is known for hisbat without a hint of news about his healing


    I stare up at him in a daze until I feel Tar tapping me on the face with his paws as he says, <strong>Scarlet, snap out of it!</strong>


    That has me blinking before looking at Tar and then Gramps, who now looks slightly worried.


    Youre too broken, I state rather bluntly with a short nod before sitting up in the bed, knocking the tanuki off me along with the nket. And to my pleasant surprise, I am wearing the same thing I was wearing prior to falling unconscious.


    Meaning no one changed me while I was out.


    Honestly, I think Im starting to make a nasty habit of almost dying and then going unconscious for someone to heal me.


    I should probably stop that.


    <strong>You think? </strong>Tar asks, sounding more than a little sarcastic.


    Yeah, probably.


    Ill leave you alone now that youre awake, Gramps says with a light pat on my head that has one of my ears that he touches in the process twitching slightly. Im sure you want to check out your gains right about now.


    I nod at that, frowning slightly at his hand but not moving it. Both because he saved me, and I have my sensitivity severely toned down right now anyways. Meaning it isnt very ufortable.


    He smiles rather widely after seeing me not push him away before he turns around, removing his hand and beginning to walk away.


    Its kind of creepy how well that old man seems to know me sometimes. Almost as if he can tell what I will and wont like and avoids it while making sure he can spend time with me and protect me despite it.


    Although it also makes me feel slightly warm that I have a blood rtive who actually cares about me and hasnt done anything bad to me.


    Well, except the whole demon war thing. But hes at least stopping killing the civilians.


    So theres that.


    I shake my head to dislodge any more thoughts on my doting Grandfather before focusing on my System Messages with a grin of my own.


    Time to see what I got.


    <strong>Time to see what legendary skill youve unlocked this time </strong>Tar grumbles, actually making meugh out loud due to how despondent and straight up defeated he sounds. Like hes gotten used to having his reality turned on its head by now.


    Anyways, I let my System Messages flow.

 Book 3: Chapter 76: Surprises

    Book 3: Chapter 76: Surprises


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    A frown reces the grin on my face when I hear a cracking sound akin to ss shattering.


    Huh?


    <strong>{Level 421 Demon Vanguard defeated. An enormous EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature one hundred and fifty or more levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred Skill Points are awarded for killing a being one hundred and fifty or more levels above you without assistance. The prey has be the predator, climbing their way to the top of the food chain with or without their sanity intact.}</strong>


    <strong>System error</strong>


    <strong>User is below the age of etching yet haspleted two achievements unlocking etched skill slots.</strong>


    <strong>Allocating resources</strong>


    <strong>Resources allocated</strong>


    <strong>Searching for a solution</strong>


    <strong>Solution found</strong>


    <strong>User Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has now forcibly had their etched skills feature unlocked.</strong>


    <strong>Resources returning to usual procedures</strong>


    I nkly stare at the System Error notice for a few seconds before I ignore the message prior to it about me possibly having lost my sanity as I mutter out loud, Whats the age of etching?


    <strong>Its the minimum age the System will allow users to use any etched skill slots theyve gained, </strong>Tar answers, not sounding surprised. <strong>Generally most people dont manage to get etched skill slots until theyre ss V anyways, so this has never been a problem before now. And the few times people have gained etched skill slots, they only gained a single one before reaching the Age of Etching at thirty years old. Something that the System just holds in reserve for them, only making a Universal Announcement about the achievement when they reach their Age of Etching.</strong>


    Oh. Wait, doesnt that mean-


    My thoughts are interrupted by a dinging sound and the sight of a Universal Notification appearing in front of me.


    <em>Warning! This is a universal notification!</em>


    <strong>[REDACTED] has obtained an etched skill slot through reaching ss III under the age of twenty years old!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Wait, Ive never heard of someone getting an etched skill slot for achieving that before.


    <strong>Well, no one <em>has </em>ever achieved that before you did, so of course you wouldnt have heard of it, </strong>Tar answers, shocking me into silence as another Universal Notification appears right after it.


    <em>Warning! This is a universal notification!</em>


    <strong>[REDACTED] has obtained an etched skill slot through defeating a being one hundred and fifty or more levels above them with no assistance!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Well now I am even happier that Amelia redacted my name.


    Tar nods his head at that without saying a word.


    Then I get another notification from the System, although not a universal one this time.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted three out of four of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss III while under twenty years old.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being one hundred and fifty levels above you without any assistance.</strong>


    <strong>Have the Predator V Skill.</strong>


    <strong>Complete the final achievement in order to attain the Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    I nkly stare at this notice for several seconds before turning to find Tar gaping with a nervous look on his face.


    So when are you nning on eating your tail? I ask him without a hint of smugness in my voice. Absolutely none.


    He blinks and retorts, <strong>Just because youvepleted three of the achievements doesnt mean youll get thest one!</strong>


    Hmm. If you say so.


    Anyways, considering that Predator V is a requirement, I think its safe to assume this is for the mythic version of the skill. Although I didnt realize it was a Title-Bearing Mythic.


    <strong>Yeah, neither did I, </strong>Tar answers, surprising me. Or at least, surprising me until I remember what he just said earlier.


    That Im the only person to ever reach ss III while under twenty years old.


    Doesnt that mean there isnt a single being alive that has the mythic version of Predator?


    <strong>Thats correct, </strong>Tar answers as the notice fades away. <strong>Not even the Demon King or the Demon Lords have the mythic version of the skill.</strong>


    Oh. Wow.


    <strong>Most people dont end up fighting beings that far above their level, and those who do generally end up dead, </strong>Tar exins rather bluntly. <strong>Youre an exception thanks to your being a blood lycan of the royal family born with at least thirteen etched skills, along with the upbringing you had.</strong>


    I grimace at the mention of my upbringing.


    You do have a point though. Without the prophecy I probably wouldnt have ended up in the situations where Id end up fighting those demons in the first ce, nor would I have wanted to fight them.


    I sigh at that thought before letting the rest of the System Messages flow.


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for taking enough damage to kill most people your level twenty-five times over and surviving. This is not a safe habit either. It is suggested you stop this as well.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Mummified Drake.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 272. Four Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 290. Four Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 14.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 7.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 8.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood ws has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Chains has leveled up to level 11.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained two Etched Skill Slots. To use them, simply wish for one of your skills to be etched, and it will be passed down to all of your descendants regardless of if they were born before or after you etch the skill or skills.]</strong>


    Okay, seriously. Does the System just think I make a habit of getting myself hurt or something?


    Tar turns to look at me as he asks, <strong>Wait, you dont?</strong>


    I stare at him for several seconds before reaching out to grab him, only for the tanuki to retreat to the in-between.


    Coward.


    <strong>Its called a tactical retreat, </strong>Tar says, making me roll my eyes in exasperation.<strong> Not the least bit cowardly.</strong>


    If you say so.


    Anyways, thats a lot of skills that just leveled. And quite a few of them reached level fifteen.


    Lets see what changes if any were made to their descriptions

 Book 3: Chapter 77: Crimson Overdrive

    Book 3: Chapter 77: Crimson Overdrive


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After checking each of the skills descriptions, I find that the only ones to have changed are Pain Diffusion and Blood Regeneration. Pain Diffusion can now diffuse up to sixty percent of the pain, and I only have to feel half of the pain in the next week after using the skill diffused through the week instead of all of it. Blood Regenerations description simply changes to change the word significantly before the increases the natural regeneration of the user, both in terms of life energy and mana part to immensely. Which probably means a nice boost to the skill.


    Overall some nice changes.


    <strong>Dont forget that you need to experience the pain from your battle with the drake, </strong>Tarments, reminding me of something I wish I could forget.


    Lets not think about that right now.


    Instead of that, lets think about what new legendary skills Ill have unlocked through that battle!


    Tar snorts at that but doesnt say anything as I open my Skills Store while limiting it to just legendary skills. And just as expected, there is a new one there.


    One that has my eyes widening in absolute glee.


    Hell, yeah! Now <em>this </em>is something Ive been wanting for a while now!


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Unlocked by being ss III or above, by killing a demon one hundred and fifty or more levels above you without assistance, by killing over a thousand demons of higher levels than you while enhancing your physical body through sacrificing your own blood, by taking enough damage to kill most people your level twenty-five times over and surviving, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>This skill allows the user to push their body into overdrive using their blood as fuel, forcing their blood to pump faster, their muscles to grow stronger, pushing their bioelectricity into overdrive, and overall increasing their physical strength, speed, regeneration, and senses by the amount of blood used as fuel.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    Without an ounce of hesitation, I immediately purchase the skill that is basically just a legendary upgrade of Blood Sacrifice with more than just a strength bonus. Then I jump up off of the bed and begin using the skill right away, finding a sight very different from what Im used to seeing from Blood Sacrifice.


    Instead of a bloody mist rising from my skin, a faint current of red, ck, and blue electricity begins to run across my body as I feel invigorated in every way. And when I push the skill harder, I find it already giving me a boost about on par with Blood Sacrifice despite it only being level 1 while Blood Sacrifice is level ten.


    I think this is the only skill that I have that actively increases my regeneration and senses as well, since Blood Regeneration is a passive skill.


    <strong>It really is a great skill, </strong>Tarments while floating tond on my head, only to suddenly fly away again when hes zapped by the ck, red, and blue electricity running across my body. But it doesnt seem to do much damage. Probably only a bit more than a static electricity shock would.


    So nothing I can use in battle. It just looks cool for the most part.


    And if I had to guess, the blue is because of the fact that it likely has some bioelectricity involved, mixing in with whatever is making the red and ck colored part of the electricity.


    My thoughts cut off when I find myself being pat on the head, making me instinctively raise my hand to push the arm away, only to find the arm belonging to Gramps, who had suddenly appeared next to me with a proud look on his face.


    Great job, sweetie, he says with a wide grin, youre the youngest person to have their etched skill slots unlocked! Then he pauses as he takes in the electricity running through my body that I quickly stop before he adds, And congrattions on yourtest legendary skill as well!


    I frown at that while backing away from him a little while asking, How are you always able to tell what rarity skills I have? Are you just listening to Tar as we talk?


    His grin grows wider as he crosses his arms and answers, Another perk of being contracted with dear old Oberon.


    Well thats just unfair.


    Can you see exactly what other peoples skills are? I ask out of curiosity while activating my armor.


    He shakes his head, No, just how many skills they have and what their rarity is. Not what they can do.


    Thats a relief at least. And something to look forward to should we win that fae tournament thing.


    Actually, why does Oberon have any control over the System to be able to see that stuff if he wasnt the one who made it?


    <strong>Father has no control over the System, </strong>Tar answers quickly while beginning tond on my shoulder only to pause when he notices Gramps eyes narrowing. <strong>All the Fae King can do is a few presetmands given to him by Titania and ess some of the logs of the System. He has no actual authority over it and cant change anything himself.</strong>


    Interesting.


    Im kind of surprised you can tell me this though.


    <strong>Well, my father decided to give us some exceptions to the faews simply due to you being his contracted partners granddaughter, </strong>Tar says, stating some rather tant nepotism. <strong>Cantin when its helping you.</strong>


    True.


    <strong>Although Im pretty sure the only reason hes doing it is because he knows the Demon King will happily answer the questions for you anyways, </strong>Tar adds with more than a little amusement. And based on how Gramps lips are quirking up a bit more after Tar said that, I think its safe to say hes right.


    I raise an eyebrow at Gramps.


    It honestly feels like the Demon King has the Fae King wrapped around his finger sometimes


    <strong>Well father does put his foot down when it really matters, but generally the Demon Kings actions dont actually harm the fae, so while he does wish he would stop, hes mostly given up on trying to stop him after over two thousand years of being his contracted partner, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather amused by his fathers situation.


    I watch Gramps for a second before deciding that I agree with that statement.


    The man is all-powerful, has little interest in doing what others tell him to do if it doesnt benefit him, his family, or his world, and seems like he doesnt exactly y by others rules. But then again, when someone is the strongest being in the universe, I guess they dont really have to care about other peoples rules.


    Rules are, after all, just put in ce by whoever is in power to keep order. For the most part at least. And for the better powers.


    And Gramps is in power wherever he goes.


    Anyways, I look around the room again before ncing at Gramps once more and asking, Where are we?

 Book 3: Current Skills List

    Book 3: Current Skills List


    <strong>Note: Remember that inherent and achievement-locked skills </strong><em><strong>CANNOT </strong></em><strong>be leveled through Skill Points. Meanwhile purchased skills</strong><em><strong> CANNOT</strong></em><strong> be leveled simply through using the skills and must be leveled through spending Skill Points. And Inherent skills are skills a user gets either as achievement-locked skills they purchase, or just naturally through leveling up that are based on their magic, species, and achievements.</strong>


    <strong>Skills List:</strong>


    <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to temporarily nullify up to 60% of the pain felt by the user. However, half of the pain nullified must be felt at some point within the next week, and the user may diffuse that pain over a set length of time or feel it all at once at ater time.</em>


    <strong>Null Magic Field</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to set up a temporary null magic field that will require any magical skill requiring mana to use twice as much mana as the skill originally intended to be sessfully used. The user is only partially affected by their own null magic fields, requiring them to spend 1.25 times as much mana for any magical skills while inside of them.</em>


    <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 8


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill unleashes the power of blood to bring ruin to the designated location.</em>


    <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 4


    Description: <em>Allows the user to have a limited amount of control over their own blood once it leaves their body and allows the user to metallicize their blood, turning it into blood metal.</em>


    <strong>Beast Form</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform into a humanoid wolflike beast for the price of ten percent of their mana on use.</em>


    <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>Allows the user to coat their hands and feet with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana, drained from the body of whatever the user has their ws in, or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana. The user may also metallicize the blood ws into blood metal.</em>


    <strong>Life Drain</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>Allows the user to drain the life energy of nearby creatures into themselves and others, healing them in the process. Costs mana to use. Life energy drained can be directed to a particr area of the users body to speed up healing there.</em>


    <strong>Partial Shift</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform two extremities into that of a beast for arge and one time price of mana each use.</em>


    <strong>Blood Pull</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 17


    Description: <em>Allows the user to drain the blood of nearby creatures and to pull unattached blood from the air and the ground and use it for various purposes, including transfusing the users or others blood or using the blood for the users skills to substitute 55% of the required blood the user would have to personally use.</em>


    <strong>Blood Chains</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>Allows the user to conjure chains made of blood, whether hardened, metallicized, or liquid blood, which bind and constrict enemies, restricting their movement, draining their blood, and draining their life energy along with it.</em>


    <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Common


    Current Level: 12


    Description: <em>Allows the user to set up a faint magical barrier around their own body. This barrier will cause any attack below a certain level to burn the blood of the user instead of causing direct damage to them. The amount of blood burned is dependent on the level of the user and the power behind the attack dealt. The barrier does not work very well against affliction-based attacks.</em>


    <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to slowly nullify any sort of corruption in their body over the course of seven minutes. The seven minutes does not have to go uninterrupted, however, the user may not use any other skills during this time. Usage of this skill requires a steady stream of mana.</em>


    <strong>Blood gue</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 6


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to infect every being in sight that they choose to infect with one of five different viruses, each of which will spread through physical contact or contact with bodily fluids to anyone the user wishes it to spread to.</em>


    <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 1


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to push their body into overdrive, forcing their blood to pump faster, their muscles to grow stronger, using the blood as fuel, pushing their bioelectricity into overdrive, and overall increasing their physical strength, speed, regeneration, and senses by the amount of blood used as fuel.</em>


    <strong>Blood Shadow</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>This skill can be used to create a clone made out of shadows and blood. It uses the users own blood and their shadow in the process of the skills use, and when the clone is destroyed, the user loses the blood and takes mental damage as bacsh. 10% of the blood used can be substituted through skills or mana. The clone summoned can use basic, level 1 versions of each of the users skills at the cost of the users mana.</em>


    <strong>Blood Retribution</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>Any damage dealt to the user while this skill is active is returned to the one who dealt the damage in the form of blood burning. Activation of this skill costs 10% of the users total mana. Each activationsts for thirty seconds.</em>


    <strong>Blood Armor</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>Allows the user to create an armor purely out of congealed and hardened blood with mana. This skill may only create ten tes of armor at one time. Each te of armor created removes a small portion of the users mana pool until the skill is dispelled or the armor ting is shattered.</em>


    <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>The user may summon up to twenty-five weapons of blood that they may control through their will. These weapons will stay summoned for one minute and will cost ten mana per weapon.</em>


    <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities. This boost willst for fifteen seconds after the blood was burned. The more blood burned, the stronger the boost will be.</em>


    <strong>Blood Boil</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>An attack skill that slowly makes the blood of the target begin to boil, causing gradual internal damage that builds up while slowing down the reaction speed of the target.</em>


    <strong>Blood Bank</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>A storage skill that allows the user to store the blood of either themselves or other creatures in the void for use at ater time.</em>


    <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong>


    Passive


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>The second most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. This skill immensely increases the natural regeneration of the user, both in terms of life energy and mana. It also allows the user to regenerate lost limbs over a long period of time.</em>


    <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong>


    Passive


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Static


    Description: <em>This skill grants all attacks of the user dealt through blood magic a life draining aspect, absorbing a small sliver of the targets life energy into the user of the skills. The life energy drained cannot be controlled and it cannot be put into other targets.</em>


    <strong>Life Sense</strong>


    Passive


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 4


    Description: <em>Grants the user the ability to sense life force in their surroundings.</em>


    <strong>Blood Thirst</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>On ount of the users absolute blood thirst and utterck of a self-preservation instinct, you have learned to grow stronger through each kill. This skill passively increases all of the users statistics by a t 0.8% bonus for each enemy in for a period of one minute and twenty-five seconds after their death. This effect is stackable. The timer resets with every new stack.</em>


    <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>This skill deals a set amount of damage to any individual who causes damage to the holder of the skill no matter who it is regardless of their defense in the form of blood nullification.</em>


    <strong>Predator V</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Static


    Description: <em>It grants the user a 30% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves.</em>


    <em>Note: If you are reading this on a website that is not Royal Road or on my Patreon, you are reading a pirated version and that website does not have the permission of the author to host the story. Please instead read the story on Royal Road, here, as it ispletely free to read on Royal Road.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 78: Left in the Foxes’ Den

    Book 3: Chapter 78: Left in the Foxes¡¯ Den


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Gramps smiles at me before walking over to the balcony and opening the curtain, revealing ash-covered mountains outside of whateverrge castle were inside. A castle that from where Im standing as I walk over to the balcony myself, looks to be of an Eastern style. Or at least, Eastern in Earth standards.


    Your fae told me which n you decided to head to for ess to a better hunting grounds, so I just brought you there, Gramps says, making me feel a tiny amount of fear. Especially when I see some kitsune walking around the castle, either ignoring or straight up ying tricks on the Noble servants wandering about. Some of them are even stealing from them, not that the Nobles seem to notice.


    The only reason I notice is thanks to my hearing.


    Well, at least I wont have to deal with that Raiden woman. Gramps head maid for his castle is just straight up terrifying.


    I didnt have to deal with her for very long whatsoever, but I swear if she got a chance she wouldve tried stuffing me into a dress and making me a dress-up doll or something.


    <strong>The other kitsune probably arent as bad, </strong>Tarments, seemingly trying tofort me.


    And it works.


    Until I hear a familiar voice appearing right behind me as it says, I am here as requested, Your Majesty.


    I spin around perhaps a little too quickly to find the very kitsune I was thinking about standing behind me in a mostly ck maid uniform with two red bows on her waist and in her ck hair. And just like before, she has a polite smile on her face and that same terrifying look in her eyes.


    I will be busy handling the war, since the whole no killing civilians rule has made the war a lot more difficult and needs more supervision, Gramps says while cing his hand on my shoulder, bringing my gaze back to his face to find him smiling. So I decided to ask Duchess Raiden Akuma to stay here with you and keep the other kitsune out of trouble while youre here.


    No, Im sure Ill be fine without- I start, only for the head maid Duchess  who I am really wondering why the hell is a head maid in the first ce when she is likely stronger than the Knights of Humanity  smiles slightly wider as she interrupts me, Apologies, Your Highness, but the kitsune often lose themselves to their Greed. Im afraid that at least one of them will attempt to steal from you while you are staying here, unable to hold themselves back even with the fear of their impending deaths hanging over their heads. She bows slightly before straightening back up again. It is an unfortunate shoring of our Demonic Curse, but one we must live with.


    My eyes widen in more than a little fear, and Gramps just pats my shoulder once more, leans in, and whispers, Dont worry. She may have some odd fixations but shes a good person. And shes one of the strongest kitsune. Then he pats my shoulder again and vanishes in a swirl of blood, not letting me get a word in as I gape at where he was just standing.


    I slowly turn to look at the head maid again where I find her still smiling that veryrge, very polite, and very terrifying smile as she says, Now, Your Highness, there are a few things your father and grandfather wish of you to do while youre here. Duties that are yours by birthright of being the Princess. But after that, I will take you to the Ashen Mountains. My familys hunting grounds.


    A shiver runs down my spine at the mention of duties that are mine by birthright, but the mention of the Ashen Mountains piques my interest a bit.


    You mentioned that its your familys hunting grounds? I ask, genuinely curious as I momentarily forget  mostly  her terrifying gaze.


    She nods while holding her hands neatly on the front of her skirt, standing perfectly straight with the clearly trained posture of a maid, Yes. The Raiden family is the leading family of the Kitsune n, standing near the top of the world in strength. And my mother is the leader of the n.


    Raiden family? Wait, do they have the same naming sense as what the Eastern continent on Earth used to have? Where the family name came before the given name?


    Thats kind of interesting.


    Wait, so Akuma is her given name then?


    I stare at her for a few seconds, trying very hard to ignore the look shes still giving me before I turn around to walk to the edge of the balcony and look out over the city.


    You mentioned some duties that I have to perform? I ask, sounding more than a little trepidatious.


    Dont worry, Your Highness, the maid says behind me. You wont have to do much. Just simple things such as getting your portraits done for the Royal Hall for traditions sake, getting regr magical imprints done of you, introducing yourself to the head of the Kitsune n, my mother, and that is all you will need to do for now.


    I let out a sigh at that.


    Right. Okay.


    Wait a second, I turn around as I ask, Whats a magical imprint?


    The woman doesnt even blink as she continues smiling politely at me and answers, I believe they are Tartaruss equivalent of what the humans call electronic pictures but through the use of magic to take and store the image instead of technology, Your Highness.


    Oh. So Ill be getting a painting done, followed by getting my picture taken.


    You said the portrait was for traditions sake? I ask her for rification.


    Correct, Your Highness, she says, making me feel slightly irritated by the drastic number of times shes calling me that. The Royal Family has a tradition of having the portraits taken of each member of the family and hung up in the Royal Grand Hall in His Majestys pce.


    Okay. I can deal with that.


    Wait.


    My eyes narrow slightly.


    She said portraits.


    Why do you need more than one portrait? I ask, growing slightly nervous.


    Her grin grows wider, but she just bows slightly and motions towards the door as she says, Right this way, Your Highness. We can get the portraits out of the way first.


    Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

 Book 3: Chapter 79: Terrifying Demon

    Book 3: Chapter 79: Terrifying Demon


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Why did I have to do that? I ask with a scowl on my face after we finish the portraits and I immediately take off the damned dress they had me wear for the formal portrait as opposed to my armor in the battle-ready portrait. Why couldnt I have just worn a suit or something?


    If I had to wear something formal, Id much rather it be a suit than a damned dress. But she wouldnt let me. Just forced me into the thing without a care in the world.


    You could have, Your Highness, Raiden says, making my eyes widen in shock, but believe with a clear conscious that everyone would prefer you to wear a dress that brings out your beauty rather than a stuffy suit.


    My eye twitches in my irritation.


    So basically you could have worn a suit, but I wouldnt let you is what shes saying.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar agrees, sounding slightly fearful himself as he sits on my shoulder. Something the maids at Leonidass pce never allowed but is apparently fine here.


    The maid and I walk through the pce, myself feeling rather exhausted from having to put on another dress just like the one at the ball but different this time before taking it off again after finishing the portraits, and her just as much a model of a perfect maid as ever. Which just makes her even more terrifying considering how terrifying she can act while still looking like the model maid.


    Especially considering that when I tried to refuse putting the dress on, she simply snapped her fingers, making my body freeze stiff with a light wave of electricity running through it before she started getting to work changing me with my body somehow acting against my will. Which ording to her, was because she had a skill to control the bioelectrical signals in other peoples bodies, letting her directly control their movements.


    Absolutely terrifying.


    And no matter how hard I fought against it, I couldnt do anything. Which proved to me that this woman really doesnt care about treating me as I wish to be treated like all of the other maids Ive seen so far. She only wishes to protect me and have me respected by the other demons.


    And to dress me up apparently.


    As there is no tradition for formal wear when taking the magical imprints, you may wear your armor as you wish for all of them, Your Highness, the demon in a maid outfit  literally  cleanly states as we walk down the hallway of the castle, passing by other maids and servants along the way, many of whom run far away from Raiden in terror. These magical imprints should only take but ten minutes at most, unlike the paintings. So they will be out of your way soon, and well be able to visit mother after them.


    I let out a sigh of relief at that.


    This woman really is terrifying.


    Shes honestly making me wonder if I chose the wrong n to visit after all.


    We continue down the hall as she says, When you meet with mother, make sure to give her the impression of yourself that you wish for her to have. She nces at me with a serious look on her face, one that actually surprises me since she hasnt shown that since she was with Gramps. She has a habit of judging people right away, and she has very little impulse control, just like the majority of my n.


    I blink at that before asking, What about you?


    My words seem to catch the demonic maid by surprise for the first time since meeting her before she returns to her regr smiling face and says, I am different. Then she faces forwards again, stopping at a door and adding, Were here.


    The abruptness of the change of subject catches <em>me </em>off-guard this time, but I walk inside the room after she opens the door for me. And the room I find myself entering is ratherrge, with various little scenes set up akin to a recording studio on Earth. Except without the Earth technology, and with some magic thrown in.


    Overall, a rather bizarre looking setup to have in a medieval castle.


    Right this way, Your Highness, the maid says as she walks into the room and begins heading to a corner where a man is standing, seemingly waiting for us.


    I cant help but grimace.


    The portraits were bad enough, but I really hate pictures


    And thats thest one, Raiden says, still with that picture perfect smile on her face. Now we can go visit my mother before the rest of the day is yours.


    I sigh at that in relief, only to frown and ask, Raiden, why are you acting like my personal maid when youre a Duchess?


    She looks surprised again, and the man who was taking my photos starts sweating as if he were about to die or something. And the head maid doesnt say anything for a few seconds. Then she bows slightly and says, My apologies, Your Highness. She stands straight again. Forgive my silence as I wasnt aware you knew our customs for names.


    I blink at that, both at the fact that she deflected my question and what her deflection was in the first ce.


    Deciding that Im actually a little more interested in this than why shes acting as a maid, for the moment at least, I answer, Earth used to have a nation that had using a persons given name as a much more intimate affair, instead having people who werent closer to you calling you by your family name. And since they also had their family names going before their given name, I guess I just automatically went with that instead.


    Well, that and Im used to calling people by the first name I hear when they list their names, but Ill leave that part out.


    She looks surprised before a look of remembrance appears on her face and she says, The nation that used to be Demon Isle. I believe I remember Satan telling me that it used the same naming sense as us in most ways.


    I blink, surprised that she knows about that. But then again, shes the Demon Kings head maid and a Duchess. So I guess it would make sense that shed know it, among a lot of other things about Earth.


    She looks out the window of the room before bowing slightly and saying, Let us head to the gardens, Your Highness. Raiden stands up straight again. That is where my mother will be right now.


    I frown for a second before nodding my head.


    Guess its time to see her mother. And I can get the answer to my questionter.


    Scarlet''s Formal Portrait


    <em>Note: If you are reading this on a website that is not Royal Road or on my Patreon, you are reading a pirated version and that website does not have the permission of the author to host the story. Please instead read the story on Royal Road, here, as it ispletely free to read on Royal Road.</em>

 Book 3: Chapter 80: Fracture and Surprise Greeting

    Book 3: Chapter 80: Fracture and Surprise Greeting


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The two of us walk through the halls of the pce in silence for a little while until we reach a hallway covered entirely in windows on one side overlooking a garden. Likely the garden shes taking me to.


    But right as were walking through the hallway, I feel a sudden surge of some sort of energy sh outside, and along with it I see cracks beginning to form in the air.


    <strong>A Fracture, </strong>Tar exins before I can even ask, making my eyes widen in surprise.


    Ive heard of a lot of Fractures forming throughout my time here on Tartarus, but this is actually the very first time Ive seen one so close. Mostly because all of the Fractures on Tartarus appear close to demons just like the Fractures on Earth appear close to humans. Something that Seraphina said was due to the reality energy inside of us, which as it turns out is actually something the System coined for the name and not those bogus researchers from Earth.


    And I was kind of avoidingrge groups of demons in my travels.


    When I follow the cracks with my eyes, I can indeed see the actual Fracture on Tartaruss side. The thing is in the form of arge rift in reality with what looks like a random hallway in a building on Earth with some humans running away screaming shown inside of the rift. Which is clearly the other end of the Fracture on Earth.


    I stop walking through the hall as I watch the Fracture and all of the ss III demons gathered around it that are now flooding inside. But instead of just passing through the rift, its like theyre just vanishing. And sometimes I find some of the demons randomly appearing somewhere on the other side of the rift, proving that their passing through simply teleports them near the Fracture Core on Earth and not at it.


    Not that that was in question or anything.


    I nce at the demons around me to find all of my bodyguards surrounding me while looking around with vignce, none of them looking directly at me. Meanwhile the head maid is just staring directly at me, as if she were watching my every move.


    Guess they are being vignt to make sure I dont cross over.


    <strong>Well, your Grandpa isnt going to make things easy on you to get back, </strong>Tar says, and I cant help but agree with him. <strong>If youre going to be getting back to Earth, you will have to work for it. To be smart or strong enough to pull it off. Only then will he let you.</strong>


    Wouldnt I have already made it to Earth by then though? How would that be letting me go?


    <strong>You should know by now that he can see everything that happens on the if he wants, </strong>Tar says, making my eyes widen slightly as that little fact sets in. <strong>So if you do slip away from your guards, he could simply teleport you back to them within moments. But he wont.</strong>


    Holy shit, how didnt I realize that before?


    <strong>I meant it when I said he would let you go if you could get away from your guards, </strong>Tar says with a shrug from his ce draped across my shoulders ratherzily. Something I notice seems to be getting on Seraphinas nerves. <strong>What he cares about is your happiness and safety. So he wont just lock you away simply to protect you. Hell keep you guarded until youre able to take your independence and freedom into your own hands.</strong>


    Huh. Interesting mindset.


    <strong>Its amon one amongst blood lycans, </strong>Tar adds before I nce at the head maid and begin walking again, surprising them until they join me.


    Oh, right. Wasnt that the thing that The Reaper hated about Gramps and Leonidas? About blood lycans in general?


    <strong>Yeah, it was, </strong>Tar answers as I ignore the looks sent my way by the guards and the head maid to watch the Fracture from here.


    Something I find interesting about the rift shown from this side of the Fracture is that the reality energy making up the Fracture is clearly visible here as a purplish-red colored energy floating around the rift. And the color is fading the more demons pass through the Fracture. All the way till the rift closes itself despite not disappearing. As if the Fracture was rejecting any other demons from entering.


    Probably reached the maximum number of demons this Fracture could handle in terms of reality energy, with the rest of the reality energy likely going to be put to use bringing them back after the core shatters. Or forming the Gate if it doesnt shatter.


    Speaking of a Gate, despite the rift being closed, it does look like its shifting slightly in form. Almost as if the Fracture was trying desperately to take on another form.


    Is this what it looks like when the Fracture is trying to gradually turn into a Gate?


    <strong>It is, </strong>Tar answers my thoughts as we continue walking into the garden. But soon enough my attention is stolen by a beautiful woman with simr features to Raiden. What with the pair of fox ears, ck tails, and amber feline eyes.


    But unlike Raiden, this woman has ten tails instead of nine. All the same color as Raidens though.


    Although the part about her that terrifies me the most are the eyes that look just like her daughters. Terrifying. Like Im a ything.


    Except she isnt hiding it as she grins at me like a cat.


    I identify her.


    <strong>|Raiden Amaterasu  Kitsune  Level 1882|</strong>


    Oh shes a higher level than White.


    Well thats well then.


    I dont show any of my fear on my face though, instead keeping up a serious and calm front. Mainly because of what Raiden Junior said to me earlier about her mother being quick to judge.


    And not even a secondter, I find myself being hugged before getting raised into the air as my eyes widen in surprise.


    Our Princess is sooo cute!!! The terrifying woman who is probably stronger than White exims as she holds me by my armpits for a moment until she pulls me in and squeezes me into her chest, smothering me in the process.


    My eyes go as wide as saucers.


    What the fuck is happening?!

 Book 3: Chapter 81: Cute and Terror

    Book 3: Chapter 81: Cute and Terror


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Im quickly yanked out of the crazydys arms by my bodyguards who pull me into their midst while surrounding me as Vincent says with a hint of warning in his voice, n Head Amaterasu, please keep your impulses under control.


    The woman pouts at me for a moment before turning her gaze to the guard, the gaze shifting to a cold one in the process that has shivers running down my spine. And when she speaks this time, I swear I hear thunder striking somewhere the moment the first word leaves her mouth, Duke Vincent Lacroix de Argus, I very well understand the consequences of going too far. Please mind your words when youre speaking to me. She then turns her gaze back to me, softening again in the process as she continues, And I know very well that I cant have the Princess, no matter how much that pains me.


    I feel a shiver run down my spine. Again.


    This woman is even more terrifying than her daughter. Can I go choose a different n now?


    <strong>They would take that as an offense, </strong>Tarments, sounding slightly frightened himself.


    Right. Of course they would.


    And offending the woman who is even stronger than my own mother is not a good idea. Not as strong as Leonidas though, nor anywhere near as strong as Gramps.


    <strong>Also, the leader of the Subi n is only about a couple dozen levels below her anyways, </strong>Tarments, giving me pause for a moment. <strong>And as for the oni n, here if the demons lose control to their instincts all you have waiting for you is being hugged and treated like a dress-up doll. Over at the oni n you could be killed if they lost control of their Wrath. Like that arachne did before.</strong>


    Ugh. Youre right.


    Doesnt mean I have to like this.


    Maybe I shouldve gone to a different continent after all


    <strong>The ghouls would eat you if they lost control, and the arachnae live in spiderwebs, </strong>Tar continues, crushing that thought. <strong>And unless you want to live in magma-filled volcanoes, I dont suggest the mindeaters. Those demons tend to live in caves.</strong>


    Yeah, I doubt the mindeaters would be very happy to help me anyways considering that it would interrupt their sleep.


    Your Highness, it is lovely to meet you, Raiden Senior says with a terrifying smile on her face. And its only now that I start paying any attention to her attire, which is kind of like a cross between Japanese traditional clothing and armor.


    Not something I expected to see on Tartarus, thats for sure.


    I put on a serious face as I nod and return her greeting, I appreciate you letting me stay here, and you letting me use your ns hunting grounds.


    Her smile grows wider, and she spreads her arms out as if weing me in for a hug, but doesnt approach, instead just saying, Why, of course I would help a little cutie like you, Your Highness! She closes her arms again, crossing them under her chest as she tilts her head. And dont worry, I wont let any of my little kits lose control of their Greed. You have my word.


    Raiden Junior clears her throat, bringing both of our gazes to her as she says, Excuse me mother, but I will be handling the Princesss wellbeing in the pce and the other n members. There is no need for you to step in yourself.


    The two then start staring at each other with smiles on their faces that look a tad bit too forced, making me nce at Vincent and Seraphina, who are standing in between me and them, the two of them both frowning. But they just mouthter without giving me a hint at whats going on.


    I look back at the Raiden duo again before focusing on Raiden Junior, whose smile has returned to normal again, no longer seeming forced.


    Why do I get the feeling this mother-daughter pair doesnt like each other?


    <strong>Well, it would certainly exin why the daughter of the head of the Kitsune n is acting as the Demon Kings head maid, </strong>Tarments, making me subtly nod my head in agreement.


    I return my gaze to Raiden Senior to find her staring at me with that creepy smile of hers again. One that looks like a mothers smile, but with a bit of greed and some longing mixed in. And I cant help but notice her hand twitching slightly.


    Okay, yeah, the other demon ns have it worse in terms of their curses.


    Although why do I get the feeling she thinks of me as a pet of sorts? Or a ything that she wants?


    <strong>Because she probably does, </strong>Tar says, almost making me grimace. But I hold it in. <strong>She clearly thinks youre adorable, and judging by the staff in the building</strong>


    Right. All of the staff members were cute and young looking girls. Not a single older looking person in the castle that we passed by.


    Although I just kind of thought that was because of coincidence. Since all ss II and above humanoid beings improve their appearance to what they and reality believe to be perfection for their body.


    But the fact that theyre all cute girls without any that arent cute in particr.


    <strong>Guess we found her Greeds fixation, </strong>Tar mutters, making me wish that I didnt look as I did.


    Am I really cute though? I never really thought of myself as cute.


    Cool, definitely. But not cute.


    Tar snorts in my head without saying anything.


    Hello?


    He still doesnt say anything.


    I hold myself back from crossing my arms under my chest and frowning. Specifically due to the pervert staring at me.


    Well now that greetings are over with, Raiden Senior says with a light p of her hands, apparently noticing that me and Tar are done talking considering her repeated looks towards the tanuki. That or she is just interested in him too since he <em>is</em> rather cute. A thought that has the tanuki shivering slightly on my shoulder. Lets head over to the hunting grounds, shall we little one?


    Damnit, she thinks Im cute because Im short, doesnt she?!


    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar mutters, only to sigh and not say anymore.


    Wait, so thats not it?


    He doesnt answer.

 New Story Release Announcement!

    New Story Release Announcement!


    The new story has finallye to Royal Road!


    Wee Reaper''s Resurgence, and I hope you enjoy it!


    Synopsis:


    <strong>What would happen in a world governed by the Ascendants, the highest level people in the System, when the System itself resets due to the death of its creator? When the levels, sses, skills, and even Legendary Feats of every user are wiped, and everyone is sent to a new dimension to start all over again?</strong>


    Alexia, on what shouldve just been her very first Dungeon dive in the Royal Dungeon, finds her life, her body, and her entire world changing after the Creator of the System itself forces her to kill him, resetting the System entirely. But after being turned into a quantum reaper and given the powerful quantum element as a prize for her Legendary Feat, will she thrive?


    Or will she fall?


    If you''re interested, click here!

 Book 3: Chapter 82: A Goal

    Book 3: Chapter 82: A Goal


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Tar never answers my question, not even after the Raiden mother-daughter pair both create clouds filled with mostly orange and red lightning and have us get on them. In fact, he just falls asleep on my shoulder to avoid answering.


    Stupid tanuki.


    The cute thing has to do with me being short wait a second, now that I think about it, am I really that short? Compared to a lot of the demons here, to Leonidas, my grandfather, and to the Raidens, yes. But Im pretty sure five foot eight inches tall is actually above the average height on Earth for women by a few inches.


    I think.


    <strong>Doesnt change the fact that most of the demons are taller than humans, and youre not a human yourself, </strong>Tarments, making my head jerk around to find him with an eye cracked open, the damned tanuki apparently having been awake after all. <strong>So as a blood lycan, you kind of are rather short.</strong>


    Damnit, stupid tanuki.


    But that has to be the reason.


    He doesnt say anything again.


    My eyes narrow, only for me to be distracted by the sight of arge cave in one of the Ashen Mountains were flying to. A cave surrounded by a small fortress with kitsune manning the walls. Kitsune who are all above level one thousand six hundred.


    After examining the fortress for a few seconds, I hear Raiden Junior call out from the front of therge storm cloud she and I are on, leaving her mother to a storm cloud of her own, This cave is one of the ss II and III training grounds we have. It doesnt have any ss IV or above demons in it, nor does it have any intelligent demons in it beyond base instincts akin to a more intelligent animal.


    Sounds a lot like the hunting grounds in the Bloody Duchy.


    Youre probablyparing it to your familys hunting grounds, and while there are simrities, this hunting ground has demons that are more at home in the desert, caves, and the Ashen Mountains in general, the woman says, somehow knowing just what Im thinking without even turning around to look at me. Which is honestly kind of frightening. And dont worry about my mother, Your Highness. She will behave and will not go too far in her actions.


    Thats nice to know but doesnt exactlyfort me much when shes already picked me up and spun me around like a child before smothering me. An incredibly unpleasant experience.


    I dont say this out loud, of course. Because the devil of a woman is within earshot.


    And I dont want a round two.


    We continue floating towards the fortress until we make it directly above it, following which the storm clouds begin to slowly drift down to the ground before dispersing. Then I immediately find myself being the center of attention for all of the kitsune here, likely due to my crest being on disy.


    A single look from Raiden Junior, followed by another one from Raiden Senior makes them begin shivering slightly in fear before they each bow towards me, saying in unison, We greet Her Highness, First Princess Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, and wee her to the First Ashen Hunting Grounds.


    I look at Raiden Senior in surprise for a moment, only to nod my head towards the kitsune who are all bowing towards me.


    Guess Raiden Senior does at least care about her subordinates showing me respect. Just that she doesnt care about herself respecting my boundaries.


    All of the kits are out of the training grounds as you requested, n Leader, a male kitsune wearing a full set of red and orange armor that I swear still looks Japanese, just like all of the other armor around here.


    Why is it that all of the kitsunes style clothing, armor, and buildings all look Japanese?


    <strong>From what Ive heard, they actually had this style beforeing to Earth, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly curious himself. <strong>In fact, the kitsune were rather surprised to find Japan when they took it over as Demon Isle, since it looked quite a bit simr to their own culture in some ways. Although still very different in others.</strong>


    It is rather bizarre that there are so many simrities despite the twoing from entirely differents. But then again, I dont really care right now.


    The n Leader turns to look at me with that creepy smile on her face as she says, You may use our hunting grounds as you see fit, but please do see that you dont drain it dry of demons. Leave at least half a dozen of each type of demon in it before you move onto the next hunting ground, since they dont just reappear from nothing.


    I nod at her with a brief, Thank you, n Leader.


    Her smile widens, growing even creepier when she answers, Of course, my dear Princess. Pleasee visit me when you find the time.


    Then she begins flying away, making me let out a sigh of relief once shes far enough.


    Please forgive her, Your Highness, Raiden Junior says with a light bow. I know she can be a bit much sometimes.


    My eye twitches at just how hypocritical she is being. Since she isnt all that much better than her mother. Just a lot more restrained.


    I let out a sigh before answering, Sure. Just to pacify her for now. Then I swiftly change the subject, Ill be heading into the training grounds now.


    She bows again with a quick, Of course, Your Highness. And once more, congrattions on your etched skill slots.


    I blink at that before nodding. Then I begin to walk into the cave, soon finding some sort of scorpion demon. A ss III one thats several levels above me.


    Without any hesitation, I grin while entering my Beast Form and rushing forwards, using all of my skills, and testing out Crimson Overdrive in the process. The very same Crimson Overdrive that I just got this dusk, when I woke up, and leveled to level ten on the flight over here using up all of my saved Skill Points.


    And all of this ends up surprising the level 301 ashen scorpion so much that it barely even puts up any sort of defense, letting me kill it incredibly quickly.


    After finishing it off, I cant help but let my grin grow even wider as I feel just how much power Crimson Overdrive gives me. How much stronger it actually is than Blood Sacrifice at the same level and for the same price in blood.


    Absolutely worth being called a legendary skill.


    I clench my fist before looking at the scorpions corpse, then at the entrance to find the head maid standing at the entrance looking out at the fortress as if watching the other kitsune and acting as a barrier to block them from entering. So I turn to look deeper into the caves again.


    Alright. I think Ive decided.


    <strong>What did you decide? </strong>Tar asks.


    I nce at him, finding him flowing in the air above me, no longer lying on my shoulder due to not wanting to get in my way mid-battle.


    On what my n is.


    I look deeper into the tunnel again.


    First, Ill fight my way to ss IV here and in their other training grounds, hopefully getting the mythic Title-Bearing Skill along the way.


    And then?


    Then Ill take The Reaper up on his offer and head home.


    <strong>Sounds like a n, </strong>Tar says, sounding genuinely excited.


    And I cant me him. Because I feel the same.


    I sprint forwards, deeper into the mine as the ck, red, and blue electricity arcing along my armor and skin illuminates the cave around me with a faint glow.


    Time to get to work, I mutter, my grin still ever present on my face.

 Book 3: Epilogue

    Book 3: Epilogue


    <strong>Allens Office</strong>


    <strong><em>When Scarlet Woke Up</em></strong>


    Allen groans as he sits at his desk with his head down on it, missing both his wife and his adopted daughter who he hasnt been able to adopt yet. Mostly due to the daughter in question not being on Earth while his wife is on the frontlines battling.


    Please dad! I want to go to the frontlines when I reach ss III! Belle exims from the other side of his desk, adding yet another problem to his list of things stressing him outtely.


    Unlike a lot of the other ss IV Guardians, Allen was told to stay at the capital since his help was more beneficial in making magi-tech than he was in directbat. Which left his wife to go to the frontlines without him.


    And now his daughter wants to as well.


    Allen sighs while sitting up again, looking at his daughter, who is looking at him with her signature pleading and yet stubborn look.


    You know you dont need to ask me for permission, right? he eventually mutters, reaching up to rub his temples. And she just nods. But youre doing it anyways.


    She nods again.


    Allen sighs once more.


    Ill give you my blessing as long as you take the magi-tech equipment I give you and you stick to your mother like glue while youre there, understood? Allen states, deciding that she just wants to make him less worried about her since shell be going anyways.


    Sure! Belle exims, a smile on her face. But before either of them can say any more, a dinging sound echoes in their head, followed immediately by the appearance of a Universal Notification.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>[REDACTED] has obtained an etched skill slot through reaching ss III under the age of twenty years old!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Both Belle and Allen stare in silence at the notification, neither of them saying a word.


    Then, right as Allen is about to drop his head back to the desk with a groan, another notification reces it.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>[REDACTED] has obtained an etched skill slot through defeating a being one hundred and fifty or more levels above them with no assistance!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    This time he just stares nkly ahead with a slightly dead look on his face.


    At the same time, he notices Belle smiling across his desk from him.


    <em>Its just one thing after another, isnt it?</em>


    Several seconds pass in silence before Allen slumps in his chair while staring up at the ceiling, muttering, She really killed something a hundred and fifty or more levels above her and I thought shed be watched more carefully over there


    Belle snorts at that, only to go into a full-on bellyugh, making him realize just how optimistic that belief was.


    Look at the bright side, Belle says, trying and failing to contain herughter, her shenanigans arent your problem to deal with right now. Its her father and grandfathers.


    Allen turns his eyes to his daughter with a tired look in them as he says, Thats the problem. Can you really see the De- he falters slightly, rewording his sentence, Can you really see those two admonishing her for this? Its more likely that theydpliment and congratte her instead


    That has Belles mouth parting slightly in surprise before she closes it again, seemingly realizing that fact herself.


    Just how Allen mutters while leaning back in his chair and once again staring up at the ceiling, is it that Im still stressing out over her actions when she isnt even here


    Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his daughter sitting down on one of the sofas in his office, not saying anything in response.


    <em>I guess it was a good thing for White to leave the frontlines and redact her name when she did else every user in the universe would know who Scarlet was just from her full name alone. That shes a demon.</em>


    He sighs once more, finding it to be amon thing where his adopted daughter is concerned.


    <em>I need a drink.</em>


    <strong>Purples Tower </strong>


    <strong><em>Moments before the Universal Notifications</em></strong>


    Amelia appears in a sh of white light in the middle of the dome atop Purples tower, quickly finding all of the other Knights of Humanity already present. And without wasting any time, Red says, Good. Now that youre here, lets get this-


    Before he can finish talking, all of the Knights are distracted by a Universal Notification appearing in their vision. One thats followed almost immediately by another one.


    Then silence fills the dome for several seconds as Amelia smiles.


    Well that deals with one of our problems, Red says with a brief nod of his head towards Amelia. Assuming that was your daughter?


    Amelia just smiles even wider at that.


    <em>Of course it was her.</em>


    ck  who Amelia has been ignoring since getting there as he is currently floating around in the air on a cloud of shadows, just lounging around like nothing was happening  raises his head from the cloud of shadows and says, Then shespleted some of the requirements after all. Then his eyes narrow. But she hasnt gotten the skill yet. The one everything you did was meant for her to get.


    Amelia res at the man, only to notice that her brother and Red are both looking towards her, Red with a conflicted look on his face and Blue with apathy. So she sighs and says, Its only a matter of time for her to get the achievements mentioned by the prophecy thatre needed for her to be able topletely nullify all curses, including blood ritual curses.


    None of them say anything in response, simply waiting for her to continue. And she does, You all know by now that we stand no chance against the Demon King, much less the Voided Overlord. Scarlet is the only hope for both worlds to survive. And for the war to end, she will need that skill upgraded to Mythical. Something that cant happen without the skill. Her gaze alternates between each of the Knights. And ording to the prophecy, everything should be set for her to get the remaining achievements for it.


    She pauses, only to look at Purple and finish, All Scarlet needs to do is to wait for an opportunity.


    Purple finally opens her eyes for the first time since the meeting began before saying, An opportunity that she wont find on Tartarus.


    All three of the other Knights turn to stare at her in surprise.


    You mean Amelia asks, and Purple nods her head in agreement with her unasked question.


    She then stands up from her ce seated at the center of the dome and says, Before the child turns twenty years of age, she will return to Earth, where everything will follow through as predicted.


    Amelias eyes widen in both happiness and surprise, meanwhile she sees cks mouth parting open as the man is shocked into silence. And Red is just smiling at Amelia, happy with this news as well.


    The White Knight of Humanity doesnt bother looking at her brother as she knows what face hell be making already.


    Instead she just smiles and looks up at the top of the dome, her eyes closing in her happiness.


    <em>It wasnt for naught thank the moon. Thank the fucking moon</em>

 Book 4: Glossary

    Book 4: Glossary


    <strong>World:</strong>


    There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.


    The Terran Republic: Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.


    Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.


    Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.


    Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.


    The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    Currency: Credits and Skill Points.


    10 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    4 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    30 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong>Tartarus:</strong>


    Blood Lycans live in the Bloody Duchy.


    Oni live in the Oni Citadel.


    Mindeaters live in the Mindeaters Lair.


    Ghouls live in the Caverns of Death.


    Arachnae live in the Spider Burrows.


    Kitsune live in the Ashen Mountains.


    Subi live in the Mesa of Illusions.


    <strong>The ranks of Nobility include:</strong>


    Baron/Baroness {1001-1200}


    Viscount/Viscountess {1201-1400}


    Count/Countess {1401-1600}


    Marquess/Marchioness {1601-1700}


    Duke/Duchess {>1700}


    Prince/Princess{Sons or Daughters of the Demon king} and Demon Lord{Four highest level demons}


    Demon King


    <strong>Social Contact Outside of Cities:</strong>


    Demons are perfectly fine with killing any other demon they see outside of cities. However, they will generally avoid killing other demons who have crests showing clearly on their body, designating them as members of a Nobles family. Unless the demon in question is also a child of a Noble or a Noble themselves.


    The demons ce absolute trust in the Royal Family thanks to the entire Demon world of Tartarus being controlled under his absolute power, and their entire society having been formed by him alone. Additionally, he solves all of their problems, and is by far the oldest demon living to this day. One of the very few demons who survived long enough to know the truth of the world.


    <em>One gold coin -> Ten silver</em>


    <em>One silver -> One hundred bronze</em>


    <strong>System:</strong>


    There are two types of skills. Inherent skills and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.


    Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.


    However, there are also skills known as Achievement-Locked skills, which have to be purchased through skill points before they then turn into inherent skills which level up just like any other inherent skill. These skills cannot use Skill Points to level up. Achievement-Locked skills are always the higher rarity versions of an etched skill the user has from an ancestor.


    The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.


    Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users skills and capabilities take. Especially in their inherent skills.


    At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.


    ss I multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9.


    ss II multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.2, D a multiplier of 0.4, C 0.7, B 1.0, and A has a multiplier of 1.4.


    Total Mana: Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.


    Total Mana Regen: Average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat.


    <em>Note: Scarlets mana regen does not follow this due to Blood Regeneration!!!</em>


    Strength in arc: Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch.


    The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 arc on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.


    (Scarlets multipliersbined is 1.2x)


    The stats everyone starts out with is 10 but their starting stats vary after contracting depending on both their reality warp, their magic, and their physical fitness at the time of contracting.


    <strong>ss I Demons  1-100</strong>


    <strong>Demon Spawn</strong>


    Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.


    Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8


    <strong>Demon Hound</strong>


    Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.


    Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15


    <strong>Demon Huntsman</strong>


    Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.


    Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20


    <strong>Demon Knight</strong>


    Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.


    Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100


    <strong>Demon Breeder</strong>


    Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.


    Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50


    <strong>Demon Captain</strong>


    Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.


    Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100


    Known Captain Species so far: Smanders and Trihearts.


    <strong>ss II Demons  Levels 101-250</strong>


    <strong>Demon Fomorians</strong>


    Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.


    Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150


    <strong>Demon Acolytes</strong>


    Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.


    Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155


    <strong>Demon Wraiths</strong>


    Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.


    Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160


    <strong>Demon Berserkers</strong>


    Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.


    Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200


    <strong>Demon Defenders</strong>


    Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.


    Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200


    <strong>Demon Summoners</strong>


    Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.


    Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210


    <strong>Demon Commander</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250


    <strong>ss III Demons  Levels 251-500</strong>


    <strong>Vanguard</strong>


    Description: These demons are almost as intelligent as humans and are capable of basic speech. They are the lower echelon demons who have climbed their way up to ss III from the less generally powerful species of demons.


    Subspecies Shown So Far:


    Taracht: Massive spider with ck hair streaked with red.


    <strong>Changelings</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves and spreading throughout parts of old world China.


    <strong>Demon Generals</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss III Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Their weakness is dependent on which subspecies of demon they are.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 500


    <strong>ss IV Demons  Levels 501-1000</strong>


    <strong>ss V Demons  Noble Demons  Above level 1000</strong>


    There are only seven demon species that have a cemented ce amongst the Noble Demons. All other Noble Demons are simply other demons who have managed to reach ss V.


    Furthermore, Noble Demons who do not have a humanoid form are granted one upon reaching ss V.


    The reason for this will be toldter on in the story.


    The following seven demon species are the Seven Noble Demon ns.


    <strong>Blood Lycans</strong>


    Description: Blood lycans are known by many to be the most powerful species of demon in existence. They can partially and fully transform into a powerful beast form, have the strongest regeneration in existence, and are born predators in every way, whether ites to their physical prowess, magical, or senses. They are also known to fight in a more berserk manner, often sacrificing hits on themselves to return just as much pain to their enemy as they regenerate their own wounds.


    Blood lycans are known to be very proud and protective of their family and care far more for their family than anything else. However, this care is mostly limited to direct family as indirect family, while it is known that they still protect them viciously from any outsiders not of their species, they may not be treated very well depending on their circumstances by other blood lycans. Or they may just treat indirect family as they would others albeit with a bit more respect.


    It is a breach of their pride for any other species to ever kill a blood lycan.


    They have the most humanlike appearances out of all demons when they are in their lycan forms, with glowing red eyes and wolf ears on their head, along with red and ck hair and a tail that can be absorbed into their body at will. However, their beast forms tend to vary depending on the blood lycan in question. But most of the blood lycans have the form of a ck furred werewolf with streaks of blood red running through the fur.


    Weakness: Blood lycans have a minor weakness to Mental Magic and another weakness to sound magic. However, their weakness to sound magic can be solved through lowering their senses or protecting them with magic, making that weakness go away.


    Magic: Blood magic, with a unique power to metallicized blood.


    Sin: Pride


    Oni


    Description: Oni aremonly known as the demon with the most brute force magical power out all demons in existence. While they cannot truly match a blood lycan in fighting prowess, they have them beat in pure magical attacks. These demons are also theplete opposite of the blood lycans in terms of family as their wrath is too great for them to be bound by family, as most of those who try end up tearing themselves apart in the end in a bloody fight before splitting up.


    They have a humanoid appearance with a crown of horns on their head, each glowing red with heat. They have crimson skin, with equally crimson eyes, and red ws on their hands and feet with no heart, instead having a me inside of their chest.


    Weakness: An onis weakness is holy magic.


    Magic: Hellfire magic, with a unique power to cause direct damage to someones reality(their soul) with their hellfire.


    Sin: Wrath


    <strong>Mindeater</strong>


    Description: Mindeaters are perhaps the most reclusive of the demons amongst the seven demon ns, with only one other ning anywhere near close to them in that regard. Most Mindeaters simply spend their days sleeping or watching over their territory with their reality detached from their body. However, should a Mindeater ever be truly angered, they will devour a persons reality whole, turning it into life energy instead and feeding the life force in them to the System entirely.


    They have the appearance of arge insect with very little carapace shielding them from physical harm and ten legs, with three segments to their body and two incisors at the front of their mouths.


    Weakness: A Mindeaters weakness is their physical strength.


    Magic: Mind-eater magic, with a unique power to disconnect their reality(their soul) from their body when asleep.


    Sin: Sloth


    <strong>Ghoul</strong>


    Description: Ghouls are the only undead demons in the ranks of the seven ns, and they are known to be even more unkible than a blood lycan because of their ability to substitute mana for life energy. They often specialize purely in magic and their body, making them powerful foes who have the mana to long since oust most foes they will fight.


    However, fire magic will make regenerating damage done to the physical body of a ghoul more difficult, and so ghouls hate fire magic users more than anything. Including the oni n.


    Ghouls are also ravenous creatures whose appetites know no bounds, leading to them eating both living and nonliving things almost every chance they get.


    They have humanoid bodies with pitch ck eyes, pale skin with veins of ck and purple energy running underneath, and ck ws.


    Weakness: A ghouls weakness is fire magic.


    Magic: Death magic, with the unique power to substitute mana for life energy, allowing them to continue living as long as they have mana regardless of the state of their body.


    Sin: Gluttony


    <strong>Arachnae</strong>


    Description: Arachnae prefer to live in the dark and are known to be the strongest assassins in all of Tartarus. They are often hired by other demons to assassinate noble demons that are too powerful at arge price. However, they only work during the night as their eyes are sensitive to the light.


    Arachnae live in nests with at least a dozen arachnae in each nest, and their kingdoms are all underground.


    These Nobles are some of the most aggressive demons towards other species out of pure envy. If there is something the other species has that the arachnae wishes to have, their envy will lead them do disliking the species.


    Thanks to this, most arachnae tend to live outside of the public eye, not interacting with the other demon species of Tartarus if they do not have to.


    Weakness: An arachnaes weakness is light magic.


    Magic: Corruption with the unique ability to absorb, recreate, mix, and experiment with any type of corruption using their own body that is immune to any corruption(poison, acid, viruses, etc).


    Sin: Envy


    <strong>Subi</strong>


    Description: Subi are known as one of the few demon species who can and will impregnate any other species. However, these creatures are also distant at the same time, as are all seers. They never create permanent ties with other creatures outside of their own species, always leaving them to wander. They never create kingdoms of their own or rule in any manner.


    If a subi is seen in a city, most demons inhabiting that city know that the subi will most likely only leave after sleeping with over a dozen different demons in the city. However, they also know not to ever anger the subi. Because entire citys poptions have been known to go missing after such an event.


    It is simply in their nature to feel lust over anything they deem beautiful.


    Weakness: A subis weakness is pain and fighting someone whos mind is protected from charm magic.


    Magic: Charm with a unique ability to divine anyone whose exact name they know and enter their dreams, thereby finding their location and being able to manipte them in their dreams.(can be warded against if someone is powerful enough)


    Sin: Lust


    <strong>Kitsune</strong>


    Description: Kitsune are known across Tartarus as the rulers of the most powerful association of thieves in all of Tartarus known as the Thieves of Tartarus. They are greedy creatures who are not able to keep their hands to themselves should they ever see something they like. Regardless of the consequences.


    However, despite their thieving nature, kitsune specialize simply in support andbat magic, with no stealth or illusion rted skills known to date.


    How they managed to create the Thieves of Tartarus to this day has alluded even the Demon King himself.(mostly because he doesnt care enough to simply order them to answer)


    Weakness: A kitsunes weakness is water magic.


    Magic: Foxfire, which is abination of fire and lightning and is solely unique to kitsunes, with the ability to enhance any skill that uses foxfire depending on how many tails the kitsune has.


    Sin: Greed


    The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.


    A new glossary will be postedter on with updated demons for the remaining sses.


    Note: Noble demons only include Blood Lycans, Oni, Arachnae, Subae, Ghouls, Mindeaters, Kitsune, and any demon above level one thousand.


    Meaning that there are no noble demons outside of those seven species who are not ss V already.


    No exceptions.


    <strong>Characters:</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet Asger:</strong>


    Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, has ck hair before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.


    The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public.


    <strong>Allen Silvester:</strong>


    Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.


    He was contracted by White to create the orphanage in the first ce and raise Scarlet as an orphan. And he knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how he feels about her.


    Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.


    <strong>Cynthia Sylvester:</strong>


    Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.


    Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.


    And she knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how she feels about her.


    <strong>Arthur Barnes:</strong>


    A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.


    Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.


    But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.


    <strong>Arabellia Silvester:</strong>


    Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.


    She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.


    Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.


    Title: Mystic Guardian


    <strong>Michael Winters:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet at twenty years old and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.


    Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.


    Title: Druid


    <strong>Denise Harley:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet at twenty one years old and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.


    Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.


    Title: Inferno


    <strong>Emily Winters:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet at eighteen years old and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.


    Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.


    Title: Little Reaper.


    <strong>Leonidas Val Art de Archeron: </strong>


    Demon Lord of Tartarus, Scarlets father, and the son of the current Demon King. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan who had a child with White, the current most powerful human being, and his father was not happy about it. He cares about Scarlet a lot and can get protective of her in strange ways. However, if she is on a hunt, he will not disturb her as is the way with blood lycans.


    <strong>Amelia Asger: </strong>


    White, the most powerful amongst the Knights of Humanity, and Scarlets mother. She is also the brother to Blue and aunt to Aria. Amelia loves both her daughter and Leonidas and went with the prophecy due to her fear of losing the two of them. Fear that was imnted into her by past prophecies that had gone horribly wrong after she didnt follow them.


    <strong>Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron: </strong>


    Demon King of Tartarus, Scarlets grandfather, and the father of one of the current Demon Lords. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan and does not approve of his son having had a child with a human. However, he doesnt hold this against the child and cares about Scarlet very much. Even if he has only met her once when she was a baby. He also didnt approve of Leonidass n to bring Scarlet to Earth but had no way to go against it since hismand as Demon King doesnt work on a Demon Lord and his son conducted his n without telling him first. The man has constantly been searching for Scarlet and anything that may lead him to her so that he can bring her home and protect her as his only granddaughter.


    After Scarlet was brought to Tartarus, he prioritizes her over most things, including his own work as the King sometimes. He also has a habit of patting her on the head, to her displeasure.


    <strong>Aria Knight: </strong>


    Aria is Scarlets cousin and the daughter of Blue. She is one of the youngest Guardians in recorded history, a famous child actress, and is emotionally stunted in her development just like Scarlet. However, she is fine with physical contact as long as its with Scarlet, who she quickly grew to like after meeting her and begins to think of as an older sister.


    Aria has long ck hair with unnatural blue eyes and two wings that she can summon whenever she pleases. The wings look like those of an angels.


    Aquatic Divine: Arias magic that lets her use both water and holy magic in tandem.


    Aria also has a few etched skills from Alexander but doesnt know what all of them are or how to use most of them except for a single one. One that allows her to shapeshift a part of her body into a tentacle tipped with a w. And this one she only knows about due to identally using it.


    <strong>Alexander Knight: </strong>


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, Blue. He is an insane psychopath with water rted magic that can also transform him into a kraken, and is tied with Red as the second most powerful human being. He is Scarlets uncle and White  Scarlets mother  brother. He is Arias father despite practically abandoning her to the government immediately after having her through the first willing gene donor he could find just to get the government off his back.


    <strong>Will Wright:</strong>


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, ck. He has a split personality with one of his personalities being a yful prankster, and the other a pseudo psychopath. The man both wishes to take Scarlet in and adopt her but also doesnt at the same time. One side of him wishes to do it out of actual worry and care, while the other just wants to spite Amelia, Scarlets biological mother.


    ck uses a shadow rted magic that makes him the most powerful human assassin in the world.


    <strong>Noah Walker:</strong>


    Noah is the Red Knight of Humanity and tied for the second most powerful human being, being evenly matched with Blue. He has a son named ke Walker, who he raised on the front lines like a soldier.


    <strong>ke Walker:</strong>


    ke is the son of Red and is a ss II Guardian. He also admits that Scarlet is his type but adamantly refuses to let that develop into any form of romantic interest.


    <strong>Lucius Tor de ckheart:</strong>


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and a Ghoul. He has the titles Lord of Death and The Reaper. He uses death magic and is close to the Demon King. He is the oldest of the four Demon Lords even if he isnt the strongest and has family issues.


    He dislikes the way blood lycans treat their family sometimes.


    <strong>Sylver:</strong>


    A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.


    <strong>Sage:</strong>


    She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.


    Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.


    <strong>Alfred Raynsford:</strong>


    The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.


    He is one of the few people who remembers what White looks like and still meets with her regrly.


    <strong>Jacob R. Ashton:</strong>


    He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart. However, not much else is known about him beyond his being familiar with White.


    <strong>Julian: </strong>


    Son of the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city. He was the new Guardian Scarlet saved in a Fracture. He has silver hair to match the tail that pokes a hole through his pants along with two silver eyes, the same glossy shade of silver as his tail.


    <strong>Anthony Wilson: </strong>


    Contracted partner of Artoria  Tars sister  and a user of death magic. Part void spawn due to human experimentation. Can use a powerful legendary skill that drastically increases all of his stats for the price of taking an explosive amount of damage if hurt while using the skill.


    <strong>Lucas Walsh:</strong>


    Lucas was the second ce finisher in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament that Scarlet won. He is a student at Aquatic Pride Guardians University, and has a strong magical sense of smell, leading to him noticing Scarlets scent and pointing it out in a creepy manner.


    Lucas is not able to understand the nuances behind things spoken to him or by him, making him miss the small details that are meant to be left unsaid and leaving him to say things that can be taken as creepy or strange.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Shifter


    <strong>Abigail Kim:</strong>


    Abigail was defeated in the quarterfinal round of the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. She is a student at Yggdrasil Guardians University, goes by the nickname Abi, and is the only mental magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Abigail and Sam are dating.


    Her Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Lost


    <strong>Samuel Lewis:</strong>


    Sam was defeated in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. He is a student at Hunters Peak Guardians University, goes by the nickname Sam, and is the only blood magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Sam and Abigail are dating.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Crim


    <strong>Ethan Davis:</strong>


    Ethan was defeated by Scarlet in the Tower Siege secondary tournament and is a student at Scorched Halls Guardians University. He uses a magic that locks him in ce while he absorbs the damage dealt to him before he eventually releases is all at the target in an uncontroble wave ofva.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Molten Angel


    <strong>Caroline Winters:</strong>


    Carol is a ss III Guardian and the number one ranked student currently at Lions Heart Guardians University. She is also the older sister of both Emily and Michael, two of Scarlets former teammates.


    Carol uses spatial magic that lets her cut apart space itself.


    Title: Rift


    <strong>Anthony Wilson:</strong>


    A death magic user and a ss I Guardian who is the second strongest in Scarlets ss.


    Title: Necro


    <strong>Raiden Akuma:</strong>


    The daughter of the n Leader for the Kitsune n and the head maid of the Demon King. She is also currently tasked with helping Scarlet navigate the kitsune n.


    Akuma is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike other kitsune, she holds herself back most of the time. And the rest of the kitsune are terrified of her because she is often the one dealing out punishment for members of the n who lose themselves to their Sin of Greed.


    <strong>Raiden Amaterasu:</strong>


    The n Leader for the Kitsune n and Akumas mother. She is also stronger than White.


    Amaterasu is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike her daughter, she does not hold herself back unless she has to. Because she has the power to back her actions.


    The only time she ever holds herself back is from going too far with Scarlet as she does fear and respect the Demon King too much to go any further than mere ying.

 Book 4: Chapter 1: A Race Against Time

    Book 4: Chapter 1: A Race Against Time


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    A loud hissing sound fills the cavern as I stand opposite the two-dozen-meter-long snake, watching as it hatefully res at me while covered in wounds. Meanwhile all of my own wounds quickly regenerate, Blood Regeneration having climbed all the way to level neen over the past few months Ive spent training here.


    I growl back at the basilisk, flexing my ws a little as the tips of my fingers, which had been scraped raw after myst sh with the serpents scales, finally finish regrowing.


    The basilisk itself is only level four hundred and sixty, an entire thirty-one levels beneath me. But it has skills that put a lot of the other demons here to shame, along with an incredibly durable set of scales over its body. Scales strong enough that even my Metallicized Blood barely cuts through them, and thats only while damaging both my ws and fingers in the process.


    A rather terrifying defense for something that much lower level than me.


    Its to be expected though, considering that the basilisks are the strongest demons in the Ashen Mountains hunting grounds belonging to the kitsune.


    Unfortunately there arent really any ss IV hunting grounds, with the exception of the Demon Kings continent at the center of the world. Or the oceans themselves. The rest are all just for ss IIs and IIIs.


    The basilisk lets out another loud hiss, prompting me to rush forwards while covered in ck, red, and blue electricity from Crimson Overdrive as I drive my spread out ws straight into the wounded creatures head. My hand drills into its eye now that its too wounded to cover its head or move fast enough to dodge it, following which I dig my other hand in and begin wrenching its eye apart in two directions. Then, as the creature lets out a very loud screeching hiss, I finish ripping its eye in two and dig my way straight inside of its head to find its brain.


    But the thing dies before I can.


    <strong>{Level 460 Basilisk defeated. A massive EXP penalty has been extracted for killing a creature thirty or more levels below your level.}</strong>


    Damnit, I swear before scowling at its corpse and walking away, finally having learned how to speak from Leonidas while in my Beast Form about a month ago.


    I need to find something else to hunt. Something stronger.


    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him as I start to sprint through the tunnels of the cave system, searching with very little sess for something close to my own level.


    Damnit! Where are the highest level ss IIIs?!


    <strong>Scarlet, </strong>Tar says louder as I continue running faster and faster, ignoring all of the weaker demons in the area without even giving them a second nce after identifying them.


    I have to reach ss IV before the end of the night, Tar. You know very well why I have to do that!


    <strong>I understand you want to reach ss IV before you turn twenty, but youre not going to find anything high enough in level here to do that, </strong>Tar says slowly and carefully, as if I were a time bomb waiting to explode. <strong>It might be best to ask your grandfather to take you to the central continent</strong>


    That has me gritting my teeth, but I do consider his suggestion.


    Ive always hated asking for help with a passion. But this time this time I might not have a choice.


    Not if I really want to make that deadline. To reach ss IV before I turn twenty.


    I continue running through the cave for another five minutes, only to finally give up on finding anything close to high enough level to give me the EXP I need.


    So I ask out loud, Gramps! I need your help!


    And not even a secondter, a swirl of blood appears in front of me, following which Gramps appears in his usual royal-looking ck, red, and gold armor with his long ck hair streaked with red highlights flowing down behind him as if fluttering on a breeze. He has a warm smile on his face and is holding a head? Holding a severed head.


    Why are you holding a head? I ask, utterly stunned by that fact for a moment.


    Apparently he didnt realize he was holding one as he quickly engulfs it in ck blood thatpletely corrodes the head into nothing but a red and ck ash that falls to he ground. Then he says, I was dealing with a bratty Noble. Nothing you need to worry about.


    I look at the pile of ashes for a few seconds before deciding that I dont have the time to question it as I meet his eyes and ask, Can you bring me somewhere that has ss IV demons for me to fight? I want to reach ss IV by the time the sun rises.


    He blinks at that in surprise, only to frown.


    That isnt a good sign.


    Even if you do reach level five hundred today, you wont be able to get all of the Catalysts needed to reach ss IV by the time the sun rises, he inly states, making my eyes go wide in shock at the realization that hes probably right. I can still bring you there if you want, but dont get your hopes up if thats the goal youre shooting for.


    Please take me, I ask him, sincerely asking someone for help for the first time in my life.


    <strong>Wait, this is the first time? </strong>Tar asks, sounding incredulous about that fact.


    Yes. It is.


    Every other time Ive gotten help it was never due to me asking for it. It was from someone else giving it to me without me asking, either doing it just to help me of their own ord or doing it as a favor that I would returnter on.


    Ive never personally asked someone for help before.


    <strong>Wow </strong>Tar mutters, meanwhile Gramps scratches his chin for a moment before shrugging.


    Alright, he says, picking me up into a princess carry secondster as my transformation suddenly reverses. Likely his own doing. He then looks down at me with a smile and says, Lets go.


    Everything turns red.

 Book 4: Chapter 2: A Search for Prey

    Book 4: Chapter 2: A Search for Prey


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After a period of timepletely unknown to me, since it felt both like just seconds pass but also as if entire days passed both at the same time, I find myself reappearing on a cliff with some sort of strange red ground beneath us, feeling very disoriented. To the point of stumbling out of Gramps arms and vomiting on the ground.


    Fucking hell, please, lets not do that again I mutter, only to realize what I just said and look back up, not that Im not appreciative of your help.


    Gramps justughs while waving away my words, I wouldve been surprised if you didnt react like that.


    I narrow my eyes on the man for a moment, only to act like he didnt just say he expected me to vomit as I look around our new surroundings.


    The terrain here is very much what I remember seeing when I was flying through the air before over the central continent, but unlike then, I find us on top of arge cliff overlooking a wastnd. One filled with, in simple terms, nothing but chaos.


    Everywhere I look, all I can find are demons fighting each other. Some intelligent, some not. All of them are ss III or ss IV, with the ss IVs closer to the center and the ss IIIs at the very edges.


    The majority of the demons are ss IV though.


    And theyre of all different kinds. Literally just thousands and thousands of different species all battling it out here.


    This is the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin, Gramps says in exnation as he steps up to the edge of the cliff, bringing my attention back to the ground beneath us as I hear sshing sounds. And the ground itself is covered in puddles of blood with dead ck soil stained in red all over it. Its a ce where demons go to either die or grow stronger. He nces at me. The only people whoe here are those who are aware that they may very well die in this ce yete anyways in the search of power.


    Ive never heard of this ce before, I tell him honestly as I step up to the edge of the cliff as well.


    Gramps snorts before looking back out over the battlefield and saying, Of course you havent. All of the information the human world has on Tartarus came from those irritating Knights, and there was no way they would evere anywhere near the central continent.


    I blink at that, only to realize that hes right.


    The only reason I wasnt able to track them when they first arrived here was because of those damned Purple and ck Knights hiding their presence from me and my seers, he continues, sounding rather irked by the Knights in general. And right before I found a solution to find their locations, they retreated back to Earth.


    Huh. Was wondering why he let them run around through Tartarus killing his people.


    Turns out he didnt.


    Anyways, I transform back into my beast form, bringing his gaze to me for a moment until he looks out over the battlefield again and says, My dear pup, please keep in mind that the demons down there are stronger than any of the other demons at the same level than youve faced thus far. Theyre also perfectly willing to die out there in their hunt for more powerful achievements. His voice grows slightly darker. So do not let your guard down. And if I see you going after something too powerful, I will not hesitate. I will pull you out of there myself before erasing the one you try to fight personally in order to clear the slight.


    While his words do surprise me a little, Im far too focused on searching the battlefield below for a target to care about his warning.


    I dont need something <em>that </em>high a level to bring me up an extra nine levels.


    Just something maybe about a hundred levels above me?


    <strong>Remember that theyre ss IV, so theyll have the multiplier of one, </strong>Tar warns me. <strong>These are also more powerful demon species as well. Ones with higher capabilities in general.</strong>


    I nod my head at that, deciding to lower the bar a bit to seventy levels above me this time.


    Strictly because I dont need to kill something as high a level above me as Ive done before just for nine levels.


    So instead of searching deeper into the battlefields, I look to the outer edges of it for ss IVs. And after searching for several minutes, identifying one demon after another after another, I eventually manage to find a ss IV demon at about level five hundred and sixty. Which will probably give me enough EXP to reach level 500 myself.


    Hell do, I mutter, bringing Gramps attention to where Im looking. And as soon as he nods, giving me the go-ahead, I immediately burst into action, jumping straight off of the cliff and soaring through the air towards the demon I am targeting.


    A revenant, which is a type of demon that uses spectral magic. One that lets them go in and out of the physical world and into the ethereal world where ghosts and phantoms live.


    But a revenant, unlike ghosts and phantoms, can only stay fully on one side of the ethereal barrier, not being able to fully traverse it at will and only when theyre outside ofbat. With the exception of its ability to partially traverse, making a hand or w partially ethereal.


    Which makes it the perfect target for me as while they are powerful, theyre also weak to blood magic.


    All stuff I learned from my time at the kitsunes castle. A rather unpleasant time, to say the least. If for no other reason than the kitsune in general, not to mention their leader.


    I push that out of my mind as I continue flying through the air straight towards the demon in question.


    Time to hunt.

 Book 4: Chapter 3: A Demon King’s Pondering

    Book 4: Chapter 3: A Demon King¡¯s Pondering


    <strong>The Cliff Overlooking the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin</strong>


    Arkaz crosses his arms as he watches his granddaughter soar through the air straight towards a revenant before surprising it with a punch to its face in the middle of its battle with a weaker demon. Which is ironically an arachne.


    The arachne clearly doesnt enjoy the interruption to their fight, and neither does the revenant. But Arkaz just snorts and waves his hand, turning the level five hundred and forty-one arachne into a bloody mist in the process without even looking at it. Which seems to shock the revenant for a moment only for it to regain its senses and begin fighting his granddaughter with all of its strength.


    <em>Lets see what you can do, beloved granddaughter of mine</em>


    Arkaz watches as Scarlet fights the demon, considering every move she makes and marking all of the mistakes she makes in his mind to tell herter. Mostly the ones involved in their familys fighting style that shes been learning over thest few months from him while at the Kitsune ns castle.


    The fighting style is centeredrgely around four different aspects of the blood lycans. Their regeneration, their senses, their ws, and their tail.


    Although it took Arkaz a while for him to convince Scarlet to actually use her tail in her beast form, since the girl doesnt like using it for some reason. Which is fine and preferred when shes not in battle but in her beast form, but when shes in battle, Arkaz and her father both believe she should use every advantage she can.


    And after a while, they managed to convince her of that very thing. Even if they focused solely on the lycan form training without the tail before that.


    Arkaz rubs his chin slightly as he watches her using the fighting style he himself developed. As she repeatedly moves in closer to the bipedal ghostlike creature whose slightly ethereal skin is glowing with a ck light and repeatedly drives the creature to attack her in spots that wont disable her in any way, letting her get a free hit in on the creature over and over again. And with each and every blow the revenantnds on her, the revenant finds its purplish ck blood burning in the process, rising from its skin in the form of steam.


    <em>No its not just its blood burning.</em>


    The Demon King smiles slightly as he focuses on the revenants body, watching as some of its blood simply vanishes with each and every blow.


    <em>That blood nullification skill of hers is just as impressive now as it was when I first saw it she may very well be able to clear the curse when she grows up.</em>


    Arkaz would never put all of the responsibility of the entire universe on a child as young as her, but he admits that its looking optimistic that shell reach her goal of being able to remove the curses herself. Which has Arkaz feeling a little conflicted.


    In the end though, he cares more about her happiness than his hatred of humans.


    All he can do is me his son and the White Knight for sending her to be raised amongst them as he prepares for her possible ending of the war.


    He cant just end the war right away since theres always the chance she wont manage to remove the curses, but after seeing that she had a decent chance of doing so, he at least decided to spare the civilians and change his goal from extermination of the humans to upation of them instead.


    That way he will be able to kill them all should she fail to achieve her goal, and free them all if she seeds.


    <em>If only the humans would just lie down and ept upation</em>


    Arkaz frowns at that thought, understanding just how nave it is. But he still cant help but wish they would do just that, if only to make Scarlet happier.


    The Demon King continues watching as Scarlet fights the revenant, slowly taking it over inbat while using a few of the new skills she managed to get over thest few months.


    Something hes noticed when thinking about her chances of being able to cleanse the curses is how few inherent skills she seems to be getting as she levels. Which means that shell be getting higher rarity inherent skills with each one.


    <em>I wonder could she potentially get a mythic rarity inherent skill at some point when shes ss V?</em>


    The thought lodges itself into his head and he cant get it out. His granddaughter, being the very first being to get a mythic inherent skill.


    Something not even he got.


    <em>Judging from the Universal Notifications, I wouldnt be surprised if she was close to getting a mythic skill soon. Although which one I cant be sure about.</em>


    He continues to watch her as she fights, using each and every one of her skills to eventually take down the revenant all on her own. A feat that many people her age would never even dream of doing. Something most her level wouldnt do either.


    And yet, Arkaz raises a brow at the frown on her face.


    <em>Was that not enough to get her to level five hundred?</em>


    Scarlet looks in his direction before nodding and turning around to attack another demon.


    <em>Guess it wasnt.</em>


    Arkaz takes a momentary nce at his inner System clock before finding there to only be a couple hours left until the day ends.


    <em>Shell probably still make it. But she wont be able to get the Catalysts she needs in time. Those will probably take her at least a couple weeks to gather. And thats not even considering the requirements to be able to ascend in the first ce.</em>


    The Demon King almost sighs in a brief bout of sadness at the thought of seeing her disappointed. Because he knows that she was for some reason rather determined to make this goal of hers.


    <em>I wonder why?</em>


    From what he understands, tomorrow isnt a special day in any way at all. Although he very much remembers her birthday that is in a little over a month from now.


    <em>Wait a second</em>


    Arkaz scratches his chin as he furrows his brows in her direction.


    <em>does she know when her real birthday is?</em>

 Book 4: Story Art 1

    Book 4: Story Art 1


    The first three images you''ve already seen as I''ve posted them in the author''s notes prematurely before the post they were originally in.


    But thest three you haven''t seen. And it has the full names and Titles of the Demon Lords in it with their pictures.


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron:</strong>


    <strong>Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron, the Beast of the Apocalypse, the Blood Immortal, the Sovereign of Blood, the Demon King, and Scarlet''s Grandfather:</strong>


    <strong>Leonidas Val Art de Archeron, the Blood Cmity, the Blood Lord, and Scarlet''s Father:</strong>


    <strong>Xyvandra Vyx Yxethra, the Lady of Devouring and The Devourer:</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong><strong></strong>


    <strong></strong><strong></strong>


    <strong>Vorgrim ckthorn of the ck me, the Lord of Hellfire:</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong><strong></strong>


    <strong></strong><strong></strong>


    <strong>Lucius Tor de ckheart, the Lord of Death and The Reaper:</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong><strong></strong>


    <strong></strong><strong></strong>

 Book 4: Chapter 4: Level Cap of Class III

    Book 4: Chapter 4: Level Cap of ss III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It ends up taking me killing a second demon, this one being only twenty levels above me and some sort of insect demon that I didnt recognize, before I get the System Messages Im looking for.


    But instead of making me happy, the requirements to reach ss IV make me grow rather depressed.


    <strong>{Level 520 Blood Revenant defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over twenty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 500. Four Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to- Level up canceled due to you being at the cap of ss III. Please ascend to ss IV. To do so you must find and absorb three ss III catalysts and have one skill at its max level.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the epic inherent skill, Blood Absorption.}</strong>


    Are you fucking kidding me?!


    I open my status as I stop moving in the middle of the battlefield, only to feel myself teleported back to the cliff. But I ignore Gramps as I focus on my list of skills.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 500</strong><strong>SP: 67</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 1,446</strong><strong>Mental: 1,445</strong><strong>Magical: 1,446</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 2,507,364/2,507,364</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 4</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 22</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 21</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 14</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 16</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Empowerment</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Form</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 25</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 25</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 18</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Aura</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Sense</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    I feel the strength leave my body, making me drop to my knees as I realize I wont be able to make my goal by the end of the night, even if I were able to get the Catalysts I need. Since there is no way Ill be able to bring one of my inherent skills to level thirty in a single night, nor do I have any Skill Points to spend on bringing a purchased skill to level fifty.


    Damnit I mutter, nkly staring at my status.


    <strong>Hey, its fine if you dont get to ss IV before turning twenty, </strong>Tar says flying next to me and patting my head.


    But if I dont, then Ill miss out on the achievement that would give. And if I miss out on that, I might not be able to upgrade Gradual Corruption Nullification


    If thats all youre worried about, then dont be, Gramps suddenly says, making me lift my head to find him standing there with his arms crossed. You dont turn twenty for another month and several days after all.


    I blink at him. He stares back at me.


    Several seconds pass in silence.


    ording to your father and the System Logs, you were born on the thirtieth of the ninth month of the year, he says, breaking the silence after a while. Although the exact date of your birth was probably muddled up somewhere because you were born in an illusion where time was slowed down.


    But why wouldnt I I mutter, only for the answer toe to me as I remember that Allen simply guessed at my birthday instead of knowing the exact date.


    How did I forget about that?


    I stare down at the ground for several seconds before sighing and climbing back to my feet again. Then I nod my head at Gramps and tell him, Thanks for the help, Gramps.


    He smiles brightly at that and, with a nod, says, Anytime, sweetheart. And now that that issue is dealt with, would you like to deal with the Catalysts?


    Of course, I answer him with a slight incline of my head while ncing at the battlefield behind him. Then I focus on him again as he snaps his fingers, making arge pile of hearts appear out of nowhere.


    This time you need fifty ss IV demon hearts to get a single Catalyst, and since you havent killed all that many ss IV demons, you only have enough for one Catalyst right now, he says, breaking the bad news. But then he snaps his finger again, making a pool of blood appear in the air with some sort of image showing in it of a glowing red, blue, and ck crystal underground as he adds, What I suggest is to not waste your time killing a hundred ss IV demons and instead go grab these. Theyre a powerful ss IV Catalyst, and there should be two of them in the same cave system.


    I blink at that before asking, Where is this cave system?


    Another pool of blood appears but with some sort of map this time. And within the map, two locations are marked. Both with two marks at each location.


    This is a map of the Battlefield, Gramps states before pointing at one set of marks, this is where we are, and then moving his finger to the other marks, and this is where the cave is with the crystals. He snaps his fingers once more, making my mind nk out for a brief moment as the pool of blood suddenly rushes at me, only to vanish, following which our exact location somehow bes etched in my mind. Like Id stared at a map for who knows how long and memorized it. This shouldst for about a day or so.


    I look up at him for a moment before nodding with a smile and saying, Thanks!


    Then I jump off of the cliff again, rushing straight towards the location marked on the map in my head.

 Book 4: Chapter 5: New Skill

    Book 4: Chapter 5: New Skill


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As I rush through the battlegrounds, ignoring all of the demons in my way, I quickly open the description of my new skill.


    <strong>{Blood Absorption  This skill passively absorbsmon rarity blood magic skills thate into contact with the users body used on the user, converting the skills into mana for the user instead.}</strong>


    The skill almost makes me stumble in my run, but I manage to continue without stumbling despite it.


    Holy shit, thats a good skill.


    Although its static.


    <strong>If I had to guess, itll probably make it passively absorb umon rarity blood magic skills along with themon skills at legendary rarity, and rare rarity blood magic skills at mythic, assuming it ever gets to those rarities, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather impressed with the skill himself. <strong>Although its also possible the mythic version could skip rare entirely and go to skills up to epic rarity instead.</strong>


    That would be very nice. Although its still just one type of magic, even if its one of the more powerful types of magic.


    <strong>Most ss Vs barely even use anything that isnt rare or higher in rarity anyways, </strong>Tarments, making the skill a little useless at its current rarity.


    I am quite happy with all of these epic rarity inherent skills Im getting though. Blood Aura alone is very helpful since its a passive skill that always boosts my stats by a tiny amount while decreasing the enemys stats. Although the amount is smaller than a single percentage of our total stats, so its not absolutely amazing or anything like that.


    <strong>Your favorite of the skills you got over thest few months is Blood Empowerment, right? </strong>Tarments as I continue sprinting through the battlegrounds while ignoring all of the demons thanks to my crest being on disy. <strong>The one that lets you burn your life energy in exchange for increasing the effect of one of your skills?</strong>


    Yeah, that one is almost as useful as Crimson Overdrive. Except that its only epic rarity and not legendary.


    Plus I can recover my blood without having to do anything simply through Blood Regeneration, but I cant do the same with my life energy. Not without pulling it from others through either Life Drain or Sanguine Effect.


    Blood Swarm is kind of a meh skill for me though. It doesnt exactly fit in with my current set of skills.


    Im not really much of a summoner, so summoning a bunch of homunculi made out of blood to fight alongside me isnt really my style of fighting.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find a ss III demon for some reason trying to attack me despite my crest being on disy, only for me to realize that they are an unintelligent one. So I simply whip my tail out of my body towards them, hardening it the moment it arrives, and cutting them in two with it. Then I pull it back inside, not wanting the thing to be out any longer than I need it to fight.


    <strong>Im still surprised your grandfather managed to convince you to use it in battle, </strong>Tarments, making me grimace.


    Well, Im not going to let the disgustingments made by those on Earth stop me from using it when it really is useful inbat. Since while the tail doesnt actually help with bnce on a blood lycan, it does help in terms of the range it gives, along with the fact that its like a hidden weapon.


    Overall, Im not gonna act like a natural weapon in my beast form doesnt exist just because of my pride.


    Tar gasps at that and exims, <strong>You finally broke past your pride in something! Im so proud of you!</strong>


    I quickly try to grasp at the tanuki on my shoulder, only for him to vanish right before my hand reaches him, making me grasp air instead of the furball.


    Thats rude.


    Tar doesnt say anything in response, instead just sending a feeling of smugness across our bond.


    I roll my eyes at his actions despite the smile inching its way on my face. Then I fling my tail out to cut another ss III unintelligent demon in half as I continue charging across the battlegrounds.


    <strong>You seem to be in a better mood now, </strong>Tarments after several minutes of running.


    Probably because Im no longer pressed for time and should have plenty of time left to get the achievement now. An entire month just to get these two crystals and finish bringing one of my skills up to level 30.


    Actually, on that note, do you think I should try bringing Life Drain to level thirty or Metallicized Blood ws?


    As Tar answers, I kill another two unintelligent ss III demons that try to attack me, <strong>Either one works. Youre generally using both at the same time anyways.</strong>


    You have a point.


    Guess Ill use both then.


    I can train them here in the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin as well. After I get the crystals, of course.


    <strong>You know your grandfather isnt just gonna let you grab those crystals without a fight, right? </strong>Tar asks, and I nod my head.


    Of course not. He made me gather all of the Catalysts before, so hes gonna make me do it again. Its the blood lycan way after all. Making the members of the pack fight for their own improvement, even if theyre pointed in the right direction in the process.


    If I had to guess, theres probably a powerful demon or a nest of demons located where the crystals are. But thats only a guess.


    <strong>Youre probably right, </strong>Tar says, still not appearing in case I decide to swat him or something. Which is likely a good idea.


    He snorts.


    I continue charging my way through the battlefield until I finally find myself at the cave that is marked on the map in my head. And the moment I reach it, I hear the sounds of skittering inside of the cave.


    Yep. Judging by the number of demons I hear inside, this is a nest.


    Which means its time to clear out another nest.


    I sprint inside of the cave entrance.

 Book 4: Chapter 6: The Rift

    Book 4: Chapter 6: The Rift


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The very first thing I find inside of the cave is a bunch of insects. Large ones spanning a meter in height with six legs, twopound eyes, and a hard carapace and shell.


    Basically giant beetles. With a glowing green liquid dripping from their mouths.


    <strong>|Drone #406  Tricidic Beetle Spawn  Level 501|</strong>


    <strong>|Drone #405  Tricidic Beetle Spawn  Level 501|</strong>


    <strong>|Drone #400  Tricidic Beetle Spawn  Level 501|</strong>


    <strong>|Drone #404  Tricidic Beetle Spawn  Level 501|</strong>


    <strong>|Drone #415  Tricidic Beetle Spawn  Level 501|</strong>


    Well thats an interesting set of names.


    <strong>Its not nice to judge, </strong>Tarments, but I ignore him as I begin using Life Drain on the creatures. And at the same time, I use Blood Empowerment on Life Drain to increase its effect using the very life energy the Life Drain skill drains from them in the process.


    Which makes a really nicebination.


    Ya know, maybe I should just focus on leveling Life Drain to level 30. It might go faster just because of Blood Empowerment.


    <strong>Maybe, </strong>Tarments as the beetles begin growing berserk while charging at me and flinging around what I can only assume is poison from their mouths. An assumption that grows increasingly likely when said poison sshes on the stone of the walls  stone that isnt covered in blood like the ground is  and it begins to burn through the walls with ease.


    Right. So dont let the acid touch me.


    Got it.


    Tar snorts in my mind as I rush towards the beetles, but I pause after a second.


    Wait. Or <em>should </em>I let the acid touch me?


    <strong>Its acid, </strong>Tarments. <strong>Youre not going to get any Gradual Corruption Nullification training from it when the acid will be gone by the time you nullify it.</strong>


    Oh. True.


    I continue sprinting towards the beetles before beginning to tear into them with abandon, the creatures being quite weak inparison to me despite them being a higher ss. If only barely.


    At one point I do end up getting acid on my arm, but it doesnt seep through or even harm my armor very much, so I ignore it. And as I continue fighting, I notice the armor repairing itself not muchter from the minimal damage it received.


    Which is a nice boon. Although that only happens after it drains a tiny bit of blood from my blood storage.


    It doesnt take long after that to finish off the rest of the beetles, and after I do, I cant help but smile at my armor. Because unlike my old armor, this one actually repairs itself automatically by drawing on my blood storage. Something Leonidas added inter on.


    So I dont have to waste any time or mana using repair on it, and its automatic. Not to mention the under armor that lets damage go straight to me when hit directly instead of damaging the under armor.


    Its veryforting knowing that even if my armor is destroyed, I at least wont be naked afterwards.


    I stretch a little before continuing further into the cave.


    Lets see if we cant find these crystals.


    <strong>Its too bad the map doesnt include their exact location, just the location of where they are aboveground, </strong>Tarments, and I cant help but nod.


    Then again, maybe there will be something interesting to hunt in this cave.


    It doesnt take long before I find more beetles and immediately begin to battle them.


    <strong>The Void</strong>


    Tarankar, otherwise named by Scarlet as Tar, watches Scarlet fight the demons through a half-formed portal in the In-between, otherwise known as the Void. But after watching her for several minutes, he purses his artificial bodys lips and sighs.


    Ever since Scarlet had entered his life, he has been conflicted. He loves Scarlet like a best friend  since he doesnt actually love most of his siblings, he wont say he loves her like a sister. At the same time though, she reminds him of painful memories.


    Memories of his previous contractor and how he died after trying to reach too high.


    Right when hes about to sigh again, a loud ripping sound echoes across the In-Between, making him blink in surprise. Then his father appears next to him in his artificial dragon form as he deres, <strong>Son, the prophecy is starting toe to its next arc. Make sure the girl is prepared.</strong>


    Tarankar blinks again at that, only for his father to vanish again.


    Then Tarankar turns towards where the ripping sound came from, only to find a small, jagged line running across the ckness that is the Void. And out of that jagged line, a single void spawn  a grotesque being made up of insect-like chitin and tentacles  attempts to make its way through, only to fail and get stuck. Then it gets electrified by the rift in the Void itself.


    <em>Oh thats not good</em>


    From Tarankars lessons as a child, he understands that the Void is separated into various areas, with some areas being able to connect naturally to the mortal realm and the Farshore, and others not being able to. And for as long as the fae have existed, the void spawn have all been in the areas of the void not connected to either.


    But now Tarankar cant help but look on in fright as more void spawn reach the rift from the other side, only to join the first one in death.


    <em>If father is right and the next arc of the prophecy is starting soon, then the void creatures will begin to break through the rifts into the other areas of the void where they will then make their way into the mortal universe.</em>


    Tarankar watches the rift for several minutes in silence, not paying much attention to Scarlets battles as he does so. And it isnt until he is absolutely sure that its only the beginning of the prophecys arc and that the rift isnt going to grow anyrger for a very long time does he return his attention to Scarlet.


    <em>I hope she can reach ss IV before turning twenty because if she doesnt get that achievement, shell never be able to upgrade Gradual Corruption Nullification. And if that doesnt happen the universe and the Farshore might be done for.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 7: Greed

    Book 4: Chapter 7: Greed


    <strong>Somewhere on the Bottom Level of the Cave</strong>


    Vyxylor rubs the two crystals located in her main den with loving affection while muttering, Dont worry, pretties, I wont let anyone take you from me.


    Therge tricidic beetle stands at three meters in height and has arge shell on their back as they stand in a bipedal position, letting their other legs wave about their sides. But after hearing skitteringing in a rush from the entrance to her main den, her head jerks around to look, an expression of pure hatred appearing on it.


    Stay out! she shouts, a hoarse tone entering her voice the moment she sees one of her spawn entering the cavern, feeling like the very act of something entering the den threatens her precious crystals and everything else in her collection.


    The tricidic beetle spawn at the entrance skitters in ce for a moment, seemingly unsure of what to do before it just stays outside and rys the information it came to ry to its mother. And immediately, Vyxylors eyes widen in absolute rage as she shouts, An intruder?! Come here to steal from <em>me</em>?!


    Vyxylor lets go of her crystals while rushing to the entrance and grabbing the spawn by the head, her otherwise green eyes taking on a pale white color as she looks through its memories. But the sight she gets is not what she was expecting, and she ends up stumbling backwards, a conflicted look on her face. One of fear, awe, hatred, and greed all wrapped up in one expression.


    The giant beetle plops down onto the ground, her legs making cracking sounds as they shift back to her monstrous form out of her bipedal one, and she immediately begins skittering around her den back and forth, asionally rubbing up against some of the items in her collection to calm herself down.


    <em>The Princess. But my treasure but the Princess but treasure</em>


    Conflicting thoughts fill the simple creatures head as she rushes back and forth, but after severalps around her den, the creatures eyes begin to sh with a green light as greed fills them. Then a horrific word echoes in her head repeating the word mine over and over and over again until she eventually stops at the entrance and screams a scream that would cause humans on Earth to have nightmares, MIIIIINEEEEE!!!!


    As soon as her Demonic Curse of Greed takes over her mind, making her collection her absolute priority over any sort of intellectual thought, she rushes out of her den, ughtering her own spawn for being too close to it in the first ce. Then she continues through the nest while mentally giving out a single order to each and every one of her spawn.


    KILL!!!


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    With my current set of skills, it doesnt actually take me very long to get through the upper levels of the cave. And all of the demons in the cave arent much of a problem either.


    At least, not until I reach the lower levels of it where I end up finding demons averaging about thirty to forty levels above me. But even then, the creatures are all unintelligent, so they dont put up too much of a fight. And thanks to my rather vast set of legendary and epic skills, I take care of the things just like the other demons.


    Im starting to wonder where the challenge is in this, I mutter to myself, Tar having vanished at some point during my travels.


    I continue to make my way through the cave for a while until things start to get a little odd. All of the demon beetles here begin acting rather berserk. As if something riled them all up into a frenzy.


    Guess something doesnt like me being here.


    These things arent a demon I recognize though, so I dont know what Sin they are bound to. And Tar didnt recognize them either when he was here.


    <strong>I still dont recognize them, </strong>Tar suddenlyments, appearing again out of nowhere.


    Wee back.


    <strong>Thank you, </strong>he says with a nod, only to vanish from sight when more beetles begin to appear charging down the tunnels of the cave. <strong>Im guessing you havent found the crystals yet. Considering how youre still searching the caves.</strong>


    Unfortunately. If I had to guess, theyre probably located somewhere closer to the bottom of the nest.


    Wouldnt be surprised if the evolved demon leading the nest is the one with the crystals.


    <strong>They probably are, </strong>Tar agrees as I begin tearing through the beetles with the martial arts Gramps has been teaching me. Something that is made increasingly easier by just how stupid these things seem to be. Theyre also the perfect level above me for Predator V to work at full capacity without them being any higher than that.


    I continue tearing the creatures apart until I finish off thest of the bunch, briefly feeling a slight amount of sadness at the thought that all of the life force from this nest wont be given to me. Since you dont get EXP while capped in level.


    A rather annoying aspect of reality.


    I wish the System made things easier on us. Why couldnt it just let us stockpile the life force, or rather, EXP we take from other creatures when were level capped and just use it up all at once after ascending?


    <strong>Because a mortals body isnt capable of holding life force without actually absorbing it, </strong>Tarments, making me frown as I continue walking through the tunnels of the cave. <strong>So the excess life force just goes straight to the System itself instead, powering it."</strong>


    Well thats just annoying. It also makes this feel like a waste of a hunt when Im not getting anything from these things. Except for training, that is.


    And from what Gramps has said over the time Ive been here, a wasteful hunt is not one blood lycans should go on. There always should be a goal to a hunt, whether that be to feed the blood lycan with what they hunted, gathering EXP, training, or finding something.


    <strong>Well, me the universe, not the System for that, </strong>Tarments, making me pause for a moment. <strong>After all, the System isnt whats making you grow stronger or ascend. All its doing is guiding you.</strong>


    I blink at that.


    What?

 Book 4: Chapter 8: The System

    Book 4: Chapter 8: The System


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>This information is generally locked until youre ss V, but father gave the okay to tell you, </strong>Tar says as I slowly begin continue making my way through the cave. <strong>Everything you believe the System is doing, its not the one doing it. Absorbing life force is a natural process in your universe, although the System altered it to only give you the life force of things of a different species from you centuries after it was introduced just to stop people from murdering their own species to grow stronger.</strong>


    Thats huh. If thats the case, are there instances of people growing strong without the Systems help?


    <strong>Well, from what I learned in my lessons as a child, Tartarus used to have mages before the System was created, </strong>Tar exins. <strong>They were far weaker than the System users of today though. Mostly because they had to figure out how to use their magic without any assistance, not to mention figure out what their magic was in the first ce and how to absorb life force.</strong>


    Yeah, that makes sense. But if thats the case, then-


    <strong>No, the System restricts its users from using their magic outside of their skills, </strong>Tar answers my question before I can even ask it. <strong>Thats never really been an issue though. Some users tend to get a skill that lets them directly manipte their magic in a way, such as your grandfathers Blood Domain skill, which lets him do anything with blood as long as its within the domain.</strong>


    Interesting does White have a skill like that?


    <strong>No, she doesnt, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>I think there are only a few domain skills in existence right now. The Blood Domain for one, then theres The Reapers Death Domain, and the Lady of Devourings Domain of Devouring.</strong>


    A shiver runs down my spine at the exact magics connected to the other two domains. One made simply from death magic, and the other a magic that lets them literally eat the minds and even the realities of other beings.


    More beetles round the corner and I quickly begin to fight them as I grunt out loud, But what about ascensions?


    Tar seems to understand my question as he answers, <strong>All the System is doing for ascensions is telling you how to do it. Technically someone without System ess can do them as well, but they would have no way to know if theyre ready for an ascension, or how to do it themselves.</strong>


    I tear through the three beetles without much trouble before looking up at him and asking, And the reality warps? Specifically the first one?


    <strong>This one I only learned recently, but its because the System inserts reality energy into your body, giving it a bit of a jumpstart and making you enter ss I, </strong>he exins, making me frown a little. <strong>You can consider any regr person ss Zero. But entering ss I is what gives you ess to your magic in the first ce. Not the System.</strong>


    Huh. Thats rather interesting.


    I wonder why this isntmon knowledge on Earth?


    <strong>From what father said, it was because everyone who is told about it isnt allowed to talk about it since it might make some humans and demons less willing to form a contract with a fae, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>And we fae kind of need contracts to survive.</strong>


    I cant help but raise an eyebrow at that, but I dont say anything. Because even if its kind of sneaky and absolutely withholding information from us, its for his people. So I cant really me him for it.


    Not to mention that it sound like you cant get very far without the Systems help anyways. Or at least, nowhere near as far as the System can take you.


    Certainly something to think about. How things wouldve developed without the System, that is.


    Although, that makes me wonder. Why cant the fae absorb life force on their own?


    I start walking again through the cave as the tanuki stays silent. And I cant tell if he isnt sure if he should answer, or if hes asking permission.


    But I get my answer soon enough as he says, <strong>Father just gave me permission to tell you. To keep things simple, there are three types of beings in existence. Mortals. Spirits. And Void Creatures.</strong>


    I blink at that but otherwise stay silent, letting him continue, <strong>The humans and demons and any other species living in the mortal universe are creatures that live off of biological processes, with their reality being powered by their life force. Meanwhile spirits, such as us fae, live solely through life force. And our magic is based on spirit instead of mana, which is a resource that doesnt exist in the mortal realm. But at the same time, life force doesnt exist in the Farshore, or any of the other Spirit Realms either. So while were gifted with long lifespans, were also left without any way of getting stronger or extending them without the help of mortals who we contract with.</strong>


    Wait a second, youre talking as if there are other types of spirits besides the fae is that true?


    Tar appears in front of me with a serious look on his face as he nods, <strong>Yes, that is true. But every Spirit Realm only has a connection to a single each, and not every has a Spirit Realm anchored to their own. Including Earth.</strong>


    That has me pausing mid-step.


    <strong>Thest of the three types of beings, </strong>Tar continues, taking my silence as his cue. <strong>The creatures of the Void. They do not have any life force in them at all and run solely on Void Energy, both in terms of their nutrients, their lifespan, and their magic. But they generally are only found in certain locked pockets inside of the Void that nothing can escape from, so we dont know very much about them beyond that none of the void creatures we have seen have had any sort of intelligence.</strong>


    I stare at him for several seconds without saying anything, only to eventually mutter, This is a lot to take in.


    <strong>You dont seem all that surprised by it though, </strong>Tarments, pointing that out to me.


    Yeah, probably because Im getting rather used to having what I ept as normal blown out of proportion by now. First with all of the other secrets kept from the public, then the whole Princess thing, and my emotions, my parents and Gramps, not to mention the prophecy.


    I dont really think theres much that <em>can </em>shake me anymore.


    <strong>I dont know if I should feel pity for that or not </strong>Tar mutters, and I just shrug before beginning to walk through the tunnel of the cave again, only to hear a loud screeching from deeper into the cave.


    Looks like Ive finally found the evolved demon in charge here.

 Book 4: Chapter 9: Burnout

    Book 4: Chapter 9: Burnout


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The screech continues to grow louder and louder as I move closer to it, only for the screeching to turn into what sounds like words. But theyre too quiet for me to clearly understand just yet. So I increase the sensitivity of my ears  something I had rather low while in this ce since I dont like being underground with my ears  as I continue walking closer and closer until I can hear them rather clearly.


    <em>MINE!!!! MIIIIIINEEEEE!!!! MIIIIIIIIIIINNNEEEEEEE!!!!</em>


    I blink at that.


    Well, thats not creepy at all.


    <strong>It answers what Sin the demon has at least, </strong>Tarments, and I almost subconsciously nod my head in response as I mutter, That it does


    Wasnt expecting a Greed Sin demon here, but at least it makes things simple.


    Kill the thing, take the crystals.


    When someone threatens a demon with the Greed Sins personal possessions, they tend to lose their minds to their Greed if they arent very evolved demons like the kitsune. Although as Ive learned over thest few months, even the kitsune lose control sometimes. Like when one of the Noble kitsune demons decided they wanted to possess me themselves and attacked my guards only to be put down like a rabid dog.


    Rather pitiful, but it did serve as a lesson that made that sort of thing only happen a few other times besides that one.


    Anyways, the words continue getting closer and closer until a giant beetle begins rampaging down the tunnel towards me, its eyes shing an eerie green the moment its eyes lock onto me as it screams, <em>STAY AWAY FROM MY PRESCIOUSES!!!!!</em>


    Again. Not creepy at all.


    <strong>|Vyxylor  Tricidic Beetle  Level 601|</strong>


    Well, on that note, I sent my Blood Shadow rushing forwards as we both use Life Drain, Blood Boil, and all of our other ranged skills on it, making the thing begin letting off little waves of blood as it charges through the blood chains trying and failing to bind it in ce. But right when Im about to start using Blood Empowerment on Life Drain, I realize something and instead use it on Blood Thirst, making a massive amount of power fill me from the over a hundred stacks of Blood Thirst I have built up all being increased in efficiency at once.


    My eyes widen at the beautiful rush it gives me as I seriously question why I never considered doing this before, only to throw that thought to the wayside as I make use of this high  and thats really the only way I can describe it  to break the sound barrier and sh directly with the giant beetles mandibles. And just as I expected, the creature holds strong, but it doesnt manage to push me back either, the boost from Predator V and Blood Thirst being enough to make us a match for each other. Which is certainly saying something considering how its an entire ss and a hundred levels above me.


    MIIIIINE!!!! The creature shouts again, all of the intelligence it may have had not being there anymore in the slightest as its Greed fully controls it, making the creature begin to stand up on half of its legs  the back half  as the rest of them make creaking noises and shift around to better match arms instead of legs. Then they all swarm towards me, only for my Blood Shadow to intercept them immediately.


    But my Blood Shadow doesnt have the Blood Thirst boost that I have, so it only manages to send them off course before getting sent flying in the process.


    I ignore my Blood Shadow as it struggles to get up, instead focusing my attention solely on therge beetle whose mandibles are starting to let off a little smoke from the electricity making contact with it from Crimson Overdrive. And I dont hesitate to burn more and more of my blood, activating Blood Sacrifice on top of Crimson Overdrive, which has me grimacing in extreme difort as entire droplets of blood form on my skin from the burnt blood. But the pain  part of which Im diffusing with Pain Diffusion  is worth it since it gives me the strength I need to lift the beetle partially into the air before mming it into the ground to stun it. Then I yank my right wed hand back and send it flying straight towards the creatures head while using Metallicized Blood to create a de of blood metal sticking out of my knuckles that I stab straight into the things head.


    The beetle lets out a shrill screech filled with pain as its body convulses all over, knocking me from side to side in the process until I twist my arm once and rip the de out, making the creature finally stop moving.


    And as soon as I get the System Message telling me that I cant gain EXP while at the level cap and the message about skills leveling, I copse onto my back while breathing heavily,pletely drenched in my own blood as if I were sweating buckets of it. Until I use the Clean skill on myself, that is.


    Despite my pain, despite the fact that I can barely breathe with how little blood I have left right now, me having burnt way too much of it to do that, I cant help but grin up at the ceiling as I lie t on my back panting hard enough that Im sure I wont able to say anything for a little while.


    <strong>You pushed yourself a little too far that time, </strong>Tarments, sounding a little annoyed. <strong>Any more than that and you mightve ended up burning all of the blood in your body and killing yourself.</strong>


    Yeah, sorry about that. I learned my lesson about using Blood of Ruin underground in an enclosed space when I almost drowned myself with my own blood a few weeks ago. So I didnt think there were really any other options to take it down.


    Plus it did the job rather quickly, wouldnt you say?


    Tar sighs before lying down next to me as we both wait for Blood Regeneration to regenerate enough of my blood for me to continue moving again. In the meantime I just have my Blood Shadow, that is still alive somehow, watch over us.


    <strong>Just try to be more careful, </strong>Tar mutters, but he doesnt sound mad. Just a little worried.


    Roger that, captain tanuki.


    He snorts.


    Now if only I could transmute blood with blood pull, then this blood loss wouldnt be an issue.


    Instead I have to wait.

 Book 4: Chapter 10: A Loophole

    Book 4: Chapter 10: A Loophole


    <strong>The Cliff Overlooking the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin</strong>


    Arkaz frowns as he watches Scarlet through a blood mirror, unsure of if he should praise her for winning or scold her for almost killing herself to do it. He almost stepped in himself if it wasnt for his noticing her slowing down the amount of blood she burned at the end to keep herself alive.


    <em>She knows what shes doing.</em>


    He continues watching her for several seconds in the cave.


    <em>But if she ends up killing herself by ident Ill be grounding her from hunting for a month after bringing her back to life.</em>


    Arkaz really hates using Blood Resurrection, because the skill costs him all of his mana and stops him from regenerating mana for an entire week. But theres no way he would let his granddaughter die, much less to a freak ident where she ended up overusing a skill, killing herself.


    The Demon King shakes his head before using Blood Transcendence and switching ces with a droplet of his blood he has inside of the witches abode in the Mesa of Illusions. And the moment he appears fully in front of the head witch, he notices her eyes widening in shock. But she doesnt let out another sound, unlike the other witches in the area who all let out fearful yelps before bending the knee to him.


    He scoffs on the inside as he res at the head witch, still wondering if only ughtering ten of them was holding back too much after he found out about the prophecies, much less the witches act of locking his only son in an illusion for five years with a Knight and causing them to get together. But he calms himself down again at the thought of how if that hadnt happened, his beloved granddaughter never wouldve been born.


    So his re lessens a little as he asks, Have you an answer yet?


    The head witch immediately answers without any hesitation, still clearly afraid he will finish off the rest of the n should she displease him, Yes, Your Majesty. Our divination has informed us that Her Highness will be going back to Earth soon.


    Arkazs eyes widen in shock at that, the man never having expected her to have any chance of making it back on her own until she reached ss V, giving him at least another few years to be with her before she goes back. Not to mention a few years for the war to progress until she enters the fray.


    <em>But how</em>


    The man blinks as an answeres to him, then he immediately vanishes from his spot, leaving a drop of blood there so he can reform his body at the witches abode whenever he pleases as he appears in the middle of the Caverns of Death, inside The Reapers own bedroom where he finds him sitting on a chair reading a book. And all the man does when he notices the Demon King is nod his way and continue reading without getting up from his seat.


    Answer me this, Lucius, Arkaz states with a frown on his face, are you nning on helping my granddaughter?


    Lucius just remains silent, but after several seconds, he nods his head. And thats all Arkaz needs.


    <em>Looks like Scarlet will be going to Earth sooner than I expected</em>


    The Demon King cant help but feel saddened by that news, but despite that he just sighs and tells The Reaper, Do as you please, before vanishing again to reform his body where he left a drop of his blood in the Battlefield, soon finding Scarlet to have recovered enough to sit up against the wall while he was busy. But not enough to start moving around.


    Arkaz watches her for several minutes, not doing anything other than that, until he eventually lets out a sigh.


    <em>If she can escape from her bodyguards, she can handle herself on her own. It was the same thing I did with Leonidas, and Im not going to break whats be tradition now. Even if shes getting help to escape.</em>


    Out of the corner of his eye, Arkaz notices a kitsune Noble beginning to approach the cave system Scarlet is in. So his eyes narrow and he instantly appears in front of them, moving far faster than even the speed of light in the process and scaring them into jumping straight into the air andnding on all fours with their six tails sticking straight into the air. But he ignores that to reach down and grab them by the neck, raising them into the air as he asks, What do you think youre doing?


    Arkaz can tell that the kitsune is lost to their Greed. That theyre hunting his granddaughter to keep for themselves.


    But Arkaz dislikes killing his own Nobles for losing themselves to their Curse, so he gives the Noble a chance.


    The kitsune scratches at his hand without managing to even ruffle his clothes despite the Nobles level of 1607, clearly not capable of clear thought right now. So Arkaz slowly begins to constrict his hand while being careful not to pop the kitsunes head clean off in the process. And slowly, ever so slowly, rity begins to return to the kitsunes eyes as its being suffocated.


    After he deems the kitsune coherent enough to speak, he releases the pressure on its throat, dropping it to the ground as he asks again, What do you think you are doing?


    The woman  a prodigy from a younger generation of the kitsune if Arkaz remembers correctly  coughs out loud a bit before she kneels down and exims, Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I havemitted a terrible Sin!!!


    Arkaz watches for a few moments as the woman repeatedly bows her head over and over again towards him until he eventually snaps his fingers, making her vanish in a swirl of blood before she ends up deposited several dozen meters above the kitsunes castle halfway across the world where she falls with a yelp down through the air. Then he reappears on the cliff he was originally on and continues watching over Scarlet, ignoring his duties as the Demon King and leaving them to his son to handle for the moment.


    <em>Serves him right for sending Scarlet to Earth.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 11: War Conference

    Book 4: Chapter 11: War Conference


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The rest of the cave isnt very difficult to deal with after killing the evolved demon in it as all of the remaining beetles grow frenzied and uncooperative with each other. So I end up finding the crystal just a couple more hours of searching after managing to regain my mobility. Then I bring it straight to Gramps whopresses the things into orbs that I absorb along with the hearts.


    Which just leaves me with one final requirement for reaching ss IV.


    For this requirement, youre not allowed to hunt unless youre doing it solely to level this skill, Gramps warns me, reminding me of how much blood lycans despise wasting a hunt. But then his face freezes for a moment, only for him to get a creepy grin the next that has shivers running down my spine. Actually, I just thought of a perfect way for you to level Life Drain to level thirty in a short period of time.


    Oh please dont be something Im going to hate.


    <strong><em>Two hourster</em></strong>


    I re at Gramps from my throne next to him as I continue using Life Drain on him and Blood Empowerment on Life Drain with the life energy the other skill is taking from Gramps. All while he ignores the skills, using himself as a way to level the skills. Because apparently skills level faster when used on higher level beings, and the System only stops you from getting credit for the skill if you have no intention of killing the person youre using the skill on. So to train Life Drain on him, all I had to do was convince myself I was gonna kill him with Life Drain as I started using it, and it worked.


    Even though my skill isnt doing anything to him at all as the man continues talking war talk with the various dukes and Demon Lords scattered around the long table beneath us from where were sitting on the raised dais.


    As of yesterday, we managed to im the Eastern half of the Earths Eastern Continent, gaining a major foothold on the world, random duke A deres as I continue Life Draining the Demon King. Although I keep an ear on their conversation since it will probably be helpful to have insider information like this when I go back to Earth.


    Which does kind of make me wonder why Gramps is letting me listen in like this. Does he really care more about me than his own war effort?


    Because I kind of find it a little hard to believe that a man who has spent thousands of years hating humans would suddenly prioritize his granddaughter who he has known for not even half a year over that hatred. But then again, I guess he was already doing that when he ordered the demons not to kill civilians.


    It is a little disheartening to know that the world has lost all of the continent that used to be called Asia though. Because that was a massive continent, even if it wasnt a major one in terms of the Republic. Since most of the Republics biggest cities are stationed in what was called America in the old world. The Western continents.


    And the civilians? Gramps asks, ncing at me in the process, something I can see out of the corner of my eye as I focus on the other demons. While still Life Draining him, of course.


    As you requested, Your Majesty, the human civilians have all been corralled into their cities under guard, random duke B answers Gramps question with a bow of his head. There were no civilian casualties during the offensive thanks to the Earthen Republics desire to keep them out of the fighting along with our own. However, arge majority of the human civilians from the territories weve conquered were evacuated to other human territories on Earth.


    As expected, Gramps mutters while rubbing his chin. Then random duchess C chimes in, At this rate, the humans will never be able to retake the continent. Not now that we have dozens of Gates opening up of sses I through III all around the continent.


    Gramps nods at that, and I cant help but grimace a little.


    Thats not good.


    Random duke D nods his head as he says something in affirmation of random duchess C, but my attention is brought to the tanuki as he asks in my mind, <strong>Why are you calling them that? They have names, you know</strong>


    Yeah, but Ive never been good at remembering names. And remembering the names of hundreds of dukes, only a few dozen of which could attend, is not something I n on doing in my lifetime.


    <strong>But you could just identify them </strong>Tar mutters.


    True. And Ill do that if I ever speak to them.


    Too much trouble to do that when Im just thinking about them in my head though.


    Tar stops talking, and I cant help but notice Gramps lips quirking up ever so slightly.


    Actually,e to think of it, why exactly arent the demons questioning Gramps sudden decision to ban the demons from killing the civilians?


    <strong>Because they have absolute trust in him, </strong>Tar answers rather inly. <strong>The demons evolved rather uniquelypared to the human. I guess you could say the Demon King is like a god from old world Earth to them. They borderline worship him since he was the one who raised them up from nothing, taught a lot of demons how to control their instincts back in the early days, created the nation they have, the power they have, and is by far the strongest amongst them. Strong enough to be known as the strongest being in the universe, and not just out of Earth and Tartarus either. Hes the strongest being in the universe atrge, including the others as well. The closest mortal to ever reach ss VI.</strong>


    Oh. So its blind trust then.


    They dont bother to question it because theres nothing to question in their eyes. Hes never wrong to them. And if he is, then hes strong enough to be right despite that.


    Is that what youre saying?


    <strong>It is, </strong>Tar answers, making me purse my lips a little, only to be distracted by a System Message.


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 26.]</strong>


    Oh. Nice.


    My attention is reimed by the Demon King as he continues talking, although what theyre talking about right now is mostly logistics and their numbers. Not whats actually happening right now on Earth.


    So its less interesting since Im absolutely sure I wont remember most of this after this meeting.


    Doesnt change the fact that Im gonna listen though.


    Because I might just remember some of it.

 Book 4: Chapter 12: Maxed Out Skill

    Book 4: Chapter 12: Maxed Out Skill


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My face lights up with a smile the moment I finally get the System Message Ive been looking for after an entire week of constantly Life Draining Gramps. A week that I ended up spending more time with any other single person than any other time in my entire life.


    <strong>[Skill Life Drain has leveled up to level 30. It is now at the max level for the skill.]</strong>


    <strong>[You leveled a skill to the max level and therefore meet the third of the three qualifications for breaking through to ss IV: Have one skill at its max level.]</strong>


    <strong>[You havepleted all the requirements to reach ss IV. Would you like to ascend?]</strong>


    Not right now, I whisper out loud before ncing at Gramps, who pauses in his lecture at the sound of my voice. Then an incredibly wide and proud smile stretches across his face as he asks, You did it?


    I nod my head, a proud smile of my own on my face.


    And its about time too. Over thest week, all Ive been doing is going through lessons with Gramps along with some of his strategy meetings for the war and other politics for Tartarus in general. Most of which has been rather boring.


    At the start, I was a little interested in hearing how the war was going. But after he started teaching me history lessons on the world, along with sociology lessons on the different demon species and history on the Royal Family  my family  I started caring less and less. And when he had mee to the political gatherings, including another two balls during this period that I was thankfully allowed to wear my armor to instead of a stuffy dress, I was starting to lose it.


    Especially since I was life draining him the entire time and he never showed an ounce of care towards that.


    In hindsight, I cant help but feel that he was keeping me by him this whole time more so that he could interact and spend time with me than he was to train my skill. Which makes me wonder if he knows Ill be leaving Tartarus soon. Something that I guess is entirely possible if he bothered the witches.


    Speaking of the witches, Im a little surprised I havent run into any yet. Even if the witch species of demon is rather reclusive.


    Lets put this lesson on indefinite hold then, Gramps says while standing up from the chair across the little table from me in the outer gardens of the Demon Kings Castle. Im sure youll want to get to your ascension as soon as possible, knowing you.


    Now <em>that </em>has me smiling even wider before I stand up from my chair, give him a light salute, and begin heading towards the doors leading inside of the castle. But after only making it three steps away from the table, I feel someone pulling me into his chest in a hug. And it doesnt take me long to realize its Gramps. Just the very fact that it doesnt make my skin crawl with difort is enough to tell me that.


    Pleasee back and visit he whispers with his chin on top of my head while holding my head to his chest, making my eyes widen slightly as I understand that he does, in fact, know Ill be leaving after all. Then he steps back while moving his hands to my shoulders and grins, And try not to kill too many of my forces when you join the war.


    I roll my eyes at that but smile regardless.


    Also, your authority as the Princess of the nation is still beneath that of a Demon Lord during the war effort, so the demons wont listen to you even if you reveal your crest, he continues, confirming what I had already suspected. And if you do find a ss IV demon who is trying to kill you but is too strong for you to take on, simply show them your crest and they wouldnt dare so much as touch a single hair on your head. Or anyone you consider dear who is around you at the time for that matter. His face takes on a slightly disgusted look. Including that <em>human family </em>you have on Earth.


    I smirk at that.


    Something I learned over the past week was that Gramps feels very conflicted about the Sylvesters, since he knows that I consider them family and that they basically raised me in a slightly roundabout way, even if I was still treated as an orphan at the start. So he doesnt hate them, and he even seems to feel some respect for them because of it. But he still dislikes them.


    Whether thats out of jealousy or because theyre humans, Im not sure.


    He absolutely hates White and everything about her though. In fact, Im pretty sure that if she wasnt my biological mother and Leonidass wife, hed kill her the exact instant she steps foot on Tartarus again.


    On the other hand, when I told him about Aria, I think he actually seemed to be happy for some reason. Which was rather interesting.


    Until the topic got to Blue and he was pissed again.


    If you want, we could have ast dinner tonight after my ascension, I suggest, surprising both Gramps and Tar considering the emotions he sends my way. And after some brief hesitation, I add, And Leonidas cane too.


    Which seems to shock the two of them even more than my original suggestion did.


    Despite my being on Tartarus for several months now, Ive never actually shared a meal with them. Balls not included, since while I am eating there, there are just way too many people roaming about, and its not at a table or any sort of dinner setting. Actually, most of the time during the balls I was preupied with trying my absolute best at avoiding everyone so as to not get asked to dance.


    Since not only would that be torture, but I dont know how to dance, and it would be embarrassing.


    Dont n on learning how to either.


    I would love that, Gramps says with an actual tear in his eye.


    I smile and nod at him before heading on my way, not even pausing as I tell the maid waiting for me at the entrance of the outer garden, Prepare the bath. Im going to ascend to ss IV.


    The maid looks overjoyed at that and immediately sets about doing so.


    Well, time to torture myself again via ascension

 Book 4: Chapter 13: Class IV and a Surprise

    Book 4: Chapter 13: ss IV and a Surprise


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I smile up at the ceiling as I enjoy the water in the bath for several minutes before eventually taking a deep breath.


    <strong>[You havepleted all the requirements to reach ss IV. Would you like to ascend?]</strong>


    Yes, I would, I state out loud in response to the System, my voice echoing through the bath chamber after I let out the breath.


    <strong>[Confirmation received. Ascension to ss IV will now begin.]</strong>


    Several seconds pass in silence before I feel the extreme pain from the past ascensions return. But this time is different. I can tell almost immediately that it is.


    Instead of the absolute burning pain across my body, this one feels more like that of a papercut. But all over. A simple, sharp, stabbing pain everywhere that has me instantly screaming out loud.


    And I already know why its so different. Its because this ascension is directly changing my reality itself. My soul as humans used to call it in old-world Earth.


    A process that is making me want to tear my own skin apart just to feel something else, because not only does it hurt, but its fucking ufortable. Like I have an itch everywhere on my body and dont at the same time.


    But I dont do anything. I just stay stiffly underwater.


    Because I know better than to scratch myself at this time. All thatll do is end up tearing apart my skin and further extending the process of the ascension to repair that damage.


    The stabbing pain and difort continues for who knows how long as I scream my voice hoarse, only to vanish out of nowhere. Then I hear cracking sounds along with the feeling of severe difort and some minor pain all over my body, causing me to look down just to find my bones shifting back and forth between my beast form and my lycan form on their own with no usage of the skill. Which surprises me a little.


    Not to mention the fact that judging by its appearance, it should hurt quite a bit. But its just ufortable with only some pain instead.


    Strange.


    The difort grows more when I feel my face elongating into that of the muzzle I have in my beast form, only to turn back. Then to do it again and turn back again.


    Please make this stop.


    As if responding to my thoughts, everything stops. And I briefly wonder if the System actually listened to me, or rather the universe since ascension isnt actually the Systems doing.


    Only for a sh of pain to echo throughout my body as the shifting suddenly starts again, but this time joined with my size growingrger. Andrger. Andrger, only stopping when I reach about three meters in height, at which point I feel my entire form shifting along with it.


    Then everything just resets, and I end up back in my lycan form while panting heavily, unable to move as my head rests on the edge of the bath, some of the water having overflowed thanks to my increase in size.


    That was weird.


    <strong>It looks like youre probably going to get a major upgrade to your beast form skill this time, </strong>Tarments. <strong>And yeah, the ss IV ascension focuses more on the reality than your physical body. So the pain is more spiritual in form than physical, with a lot more difort than the others rather than actual pain.</strong>


    A lot of difort. I really hope I dont have to go through anything like that again.


    <strong>You will for your eventual ascension to ss V, </strong>Tar says, crushing my hopes rather brutally. <strong>ss IV just partially merges your reality and your body. ss V fully merges them, so its a lot worse than ss IVs ascension.</strong>


    Im starting to wish you kept that to yourself.


    Well, at least Im not passing out from exhaustion this time. There wasnt as much pain after all, and the type of pain felt less exhausting somehow.


    So I let my System Messages flow.


    <strong>Ascensionplete.</strong>


    <strong>User is now ss IV.</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 501. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, on ount of ascending to ss IV, your stat multipliers have been increased.}</strong>


    <strong>{Your Species has changed from 75% blood lycan, 25% human to 87.5% blood lycan, 12.5% human.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss IV. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred and fifty Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss IV within a year of being initialized into the System. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred and fifty Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss IV while less than twenty years old. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Rare rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws may now evolve into the epic rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing three levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Rare rarity inherent skill Partial Shift will now evolve into the epic rarity inherent skill Partial Shift while retaining any previous effects. There is no cost in levels due to the skill being static.}</strong>


    <strong>{Rare rarity inherent skill Beast Form will now evolve into the epic rarity inherent skill Beast Transformation while retaining any previous effects. There is no cost in levels due to the skill being static.}</strong>


    <strong>{Rare rarity inherent skill Life Drain may now evolve into the epic rarity inherent skill Life Absorption while retaining any previous effects. There is no cost in levels due to the skills level being maxed out.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the legendary rarity inherent skill, Blood Nullification. Rejoice as you have earned one of a significant few full multi-element skills in the world.}</strong>


    Thats a lot of Skill Points, and the new legendary skill is looking very nice. Although dont I already have a multi-element skill? Bloody Thorns?


    <strong>Im guessing its not counting that one for some reason, </strong>Tarments, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Then something I knew was going to happen happens.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>[REDACTED] has obtained an etched skill slot through reaching ss IV under the age of twenty years old!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    And another one follows right after it, making me wonder if Im the only one with four etched skill slots without a single mythic skill.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>[REDACTED] has obtained an etched skill slot through reaching ss IV within a single year of initiating into the System!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Yeah, that was kind of to be expected. I only barely made that mark though, for the within a year thing. Since Im pretty sure itll have been a year since I was initiated within a few days. But then again, the days between Tartarus and Earth are confusing to line up. Something I learned during my lessons with Gramps over thest week.


    And its a good thing I ascended before going to Earth, because I wouldnt be surprised if the redaction on my name is cleared when I head back since the redaction on my full name was taken away when I went to Tartarus in the first ce.


    Although there isnt a notification about Predators upgrade getting any progress, meaning reaching ss IV wasnt one of the requirements.


    But it apparently was a requirement for a different possible mythic skill considering the notification that reces the universal one.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted FIVE out of SEVEN of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss IV while under twenty years old.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being one hundred and fifty levels above you without any assistance.</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss IV within a year of having been initiated into the System.</strong>


    <strong>By being the descendant of the Demon King who is the original etcher of the skill Blood Domain or having obtained an inferior version of the skill yourself.</strong>


    <strong>By having both blood magic and null magic or being descendant from a user with them that has etched their skills.</strong>


    <strong>Complete the final two achievements in order to attain the Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    Or not a mythic skill?


    Huh?

 Book 4: Chapter 14: Powerful Skills

    Book 4: Chapter 14: Powerful Skills


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Um Tar are there any skills with a rarity


    I trail off at that thought as I notice Tar just staring at the notification, clearly not registering anything Im saying. Even after the notification disappears.


    Um, Tar?


    He doesnt respond.


    I snap my fingers in front of his face, sshing some water on him as I do so, reminding me that Im still in the bath. But I dont feel like getting out, so I stay in. The waters automatically cleaned by the magic in the bath anyways, so theres no reason to leave thefort of the water right now.


    The tanuki snaps out of it after getting hit by water, making him look at me as he asks, <strong>What does redacted rarity mean?</strong>


    Why are you asking me? I ask out loud in return, my voice echoing in the bath, making me switch to our internalmunication again for the silence of the bath chamber.


    Shouldnt you be the one with all of the information about the System?


    <strong>Ive never heard of a rarity above mythic, so dont ask me! </strong>Tar exims while shaking his paws in front of him, only for the tanuki to nce at the wet fur on his side as if he hadnt noticed getting wet.


    He raises his gaze to me again a secondter, seemingly deciding not to care about the wet fur while he says, <strong>I should go inform father about this. You enjoy the rest of your bath.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that, only for the tanuki to vanish. And when I reach out for our bond, I find him no longer on Tartarus or in the Void.


    Wow. I just got ditched.


    I cross my arms in irritation at that, only to sigh and focus on the new skill upgrades and the new skill that I got. Although first I focus on the skill upgrades, bringing up their descriptions and finding them to be rather pleasant.


    Overall, Beast Transformation changed to allow me to transform into a second form. One that isnt bipedal. Which is kind of all its saying, but I think I get the gist just from what happened during the ascension.


    Meanwhile Metallicized Blood ws and Partial shift now has no limit on what parts of my body I can shapeshift or use the ws on and how many parts I can use it on at once.


    But Life Absorption that one is an entirely different skill now. A real evolution.


    <strong>{Life Absorption  Creates an aura around the user that automatically drains the life energy of any nearby creatures that the user designates as targets into themselves. Costs mana to use. Life energy drained can be manipted by the user to heal themselves all over or at specific locations, flow into other skills, heal others, or pushed out of their body again to leave in the open.}</strong>


    Wow. Thats good.


    Now I dont have to keep an eye on each demon when using the skill anymore. I can just activate Life Absorption and itll drain everything I consider an enemy around me.


    A very useful upgrade.


    But Blood Nullification


    <strong>{Blood Nullification  Allows the user to nullify any blood in a set radius around them for a significant price of mana dependent on the distance between the user and the blood, the obstructions between the user and the blood, and any reality that the blood may be attached to.}</strong>


    Thats good. Thats very good.


    Then again, its legendary. Of course its good.


    As for the strange skill that may be a rarity above mythic if I had to guess, one of thest two requirements is probably to get the Blood Domain skill myself. But that would also mean that the skill is upgrading a mythic skill.


    I frown as a thoughtes to me.


    Blood Domain lets the user have absolute control over blood in the domain, and it even lets it manifest blood that isnt fully set in reality like the manifested blood I have in my blood weapons. But it doesnt let them actually erase blood that is already in the world. Only blood they manifested personally.


    Maybe maybe the upgrade will give me absolute control over both the creation, destruction, and maniption of blood? Since Blood Domain only has absolute control over creation and maniption of it?


    That would be cool.


    Either way, time to rx and enjoy the rest of my bath while I wait for the furball to get back.


    I go ever so slightly deeper into the water with a sigh while resting my headfortably on one of the rxing, cushion-like edges of the bath. Then I close my eyes, simply feeling the magical water soaking into me.


    These baths are amazing.


    Ill miss them when I go back to Earth.


    My eyes shoot open at that thought.


    Right! I should absolutely ask for a mobile one from Gramps before I leave!


    <strong>Inside of Allens office at the Silver Association</strong>


    Allens head falls down and hits his desk the moment he sees the two universal notifications that appear in his vision. Meanwhile White, who was heading the massive group call he is currently in along with all of the other important people in terms of the wars progress, pauses for just a moment, letting silence fill the call.


    <em>Shes caught up to me in ss in just eleven and a half months what am I doing with my life anymore? Can I even protect her now? I wouldnt be surprised if shes catching up with </em>me <em>in strength by now, if not soon</em>


    The silence in the call continues for several more seconds before almost everyone begins talking at once, making no one able to hear anyone. Not until White forcibly mutes everyone except herself and says, Be quiet.


    Then ck suddenly unmutes himself and says, Congrattions.


    Allens eyes widen in shock at the absolute stupidity of what he just did. At least, until he realizes that it was probably on purpose.


    <em>Shit.</em>


    While everyone is muted right now, Allen <em>knows </em>that theyre all thinking the same thing. That the [REDACTED] who everyone on Earth has been searching for was actually Whites daughter. Something they know simply because of cks one word, since she was in the middle of speaking in the call with her clearly visible in the video, meaning it wasnt her and therefore only leaving one person it could be meant for.


    <em>Scarlet, when youe back, youre going to be under a lot of pressure by the press I hope youre ready for it.</em>


    Allen grimaces as he thinks about how Belle might be taking this news, since she was already worried about how far Scarlet was leaving her behind. And if Scarlet is already ss IV while Belle only recently reached ss III herself, Allen knows shell see her own progress as subpar inparison.


    <em>Although this might help morale amongst the Guardians, knowing a neen-year-old is already at ss IV. Since shes meeting the expectations of that silly title they gave her of the Apex Predator of the Human World.</em>


    Then Allen remembers that shes a demon. Probably mostly demon by now.


    <em>Thats a future problem to deal with. For now</em>


    Allen looks around, furiously searching for a bottle of wine only to fail to find any.


    <em>I need a drink</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 15: Dinner

    Book 4: Chapter 15: Dinner


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    To Scarlets ascension to ss IV and her two Etched Skill Slot Achievements! Gramps says while raising his ss to the air from his ce at the end of the long table with me and Leonidas on either side of him. May she find victory wherever she goes and be given luck for her hunts forevermore!


    Leonidas and I follow suit, deciding that since this is gonna be myst meal in Tartarus, at least for now, I might as well have a drink myself. Especially since the alcohol in this shouldnt affect me.


    I cant help but smile at that. Partially out of happiness, and partially out of amusement that he just wished that Id find victory when Im about to join the war fighting <em>against </em>him.


    After taking a sip of the wine, I turn my attention to Leonidas as he says, So what are your ns from here on out? Are you going to the Battlefield? Or moving to a different ns hunting grounds?


    That has me stiffening up ever so slightly before I nce at Gramps with a <em>look </em>on my face.


    Why didnt he tell Leonidas about my leaving Tartarus? It kind of makes this farewell dinner awkward if one of the people in the dinner doesnt even realize its a farewell dinner.


    Gramps just averts his gaze while calling over a maid to bring him more food.


    Coward, I mouth towards him the moment he looks my way, but all he does is grin widely at that and begin eating his food, alternating his gaze between me and Leonidas now.


    Hes not the Demon King, hes a damned chicken!


    I awkwardly turn to face Leonidas who has clearly noticed somethings up considering how hes sending suspicious nces between me and Gramps, likely at our silent interaction. And as Im trying to figure out what to say, his eyes go wide and they lock on Gramps as he slowly asks, Shes not Gramps just nods without pausing in his food devouring, the man seeming to enjoy his meal. Then Leonidas turns to look at me again with a look of sorrow on his face.


    Wait, what? Did he really just guess it from out brief interaction?


    How? Leonidas eventually asks me, only to shake his head with a sigh and mutter, Never mind.


    I watch him as the man raises his head to look up at the ceiling for a few seconds before he brings his gaze back down with even more sorrow in his eyes, Just please stay safe, okay?


    The pure emotion in his tone puts me off guard for a moment as I blink in surprise, only to dumbly nod my head in response, making the man smile.


    Then he nces at Gramps as if trying to be sneaky before looking at me and making a very quick Blood Domain between us while covering his mouth and saying, And tell Amelia I said hello and that she should visit!


    I heard that, Gramps growls from the front of the table, seemingly startling Leonidas. Although Im not surprised. Its Grampss skill that he just used to do that after all. I wouldnt be surprised if he had some way to counter it.


    I smile a little at the humor that, ignoring the dark look Gramps is giving his food as I mouth back at Leonidas drawing his gaze to me again, Alright.


    He smiles and I turn back to Gramps to ask him, Hey Gramps, whats the Blood Immortal title of yours for?


    Gramps turns his focus away from his food to look at me with a smile as he puts his fork down and answers, Its from a rather special and unique Title-Bearing Mythic Skill that I got just a couple centuries ago, not long after the Demonic Assaults began. The skill itself is called Blood Transcendence, and it makes it so that I can transform my entire body into blood.


    I frown a little at that, not really understanding why thats a mythic skill. Mostly because the Bloody Valkyrie has a skill just like it that is only legendary in rarity.


    Then he smirks and adds, And as long as so much as a single drop of my blood remains, I cannot die. My eyes widen in shock. Ill always be able to reform myself no matter what with no penalty at all anywhere I have blood, even if its only a single drop of it.


    Holy shit. He really is immortal then.


    The only way someone can really kill Gramps is if they wipe out all of the blood he has scattered around the entire and kill him before he can scatter any more blood, Leonidas continues for Gramps, voicing a rather scary fact. Although that was assuming someone could even kill him in the first ce.


    Right. And thats probably impossible unless its the ss VI threat from the Void foretold in the prophecy.


    Come to think of it, that ss VI threat I wonder if itll even appear near Earth or Tartarus when it does appear? Its entirely possible it could appear somewhere else in the universe when it appears. Which wouldnt be a bad thing for us since it would take time to get here.


    Considering how Gramps is easily able to destroy entire worlds on his own from what I can tell, a ss VI could probably eat them whole or something. Which is kind of terrifying to think about.


    Wait, I wonder


    Did you etch that skill? I casually ask Gramps, making him let out a shortugh as he answers, Of course.


    Makes sense. But that also means that I could potentially be immortal myself that way.


    A very nice sounding skill to get.


    On that note, I turn to Leonidas, then Gramps, before eventually saying, Thank you both for all the help youve given me over the past few months. I wouldnt have been able to level this fast if it werent for you.


    Both of them look surprised at my sudden deration, but not as surprised as Leonidas is when I meet his eyes and tell him, Leonidas, I dont know if Ill ever truly consider you my father, but I will at least say this. I smile. Youre at least on your way in the right direction.


    Actual tears of happiness begin to form in his eyes, making me chuckle a little before I take another sip of the wine.


    This stuff actually tastes kind of good. Still not a fan of alcohol though.

 Book 4: Chapter 16: Freedom

    Book 4: Chapter 16: Freedom


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I share one surprised hug with Gramps and Leonidas before leaving the dinner hall about an hourter and heading towards my room. But about halfway there, I take a deep breath and then whisper as quietly as I can, Lucius. Nows the time.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I notice some of my bodyguards growing confused at my words, only for everything to suddenly grow pitch ck with flickers of purple energy. Then I find myself appearing in the middle of some bedroom in front of The Reaper who simply asks me, not even raising his gaze from his book that hes holding in a single hand to his face, Where do you want to go?


    Can you ce me directly next to a Gate so that I can enter straight away? I ask, looking around his room a little and finding it rather dark.


    I can, but you would have to navigate your way through Demon Isle or the Arctic and past all of the demons and the frontlines of the war, The Reaper answers, bringing my gaze back to him to find him still with his nose buried in his book, which looks to be a small ck book made from leather. It would be better for you to pass through a Fracture. Ill send a zombie with you that you can dispose of on the other side after it helps you through the Fracture.


    I purse my lips for a moment, briefly considering just how random the Fractures are in terms of where they end up. Then I decide that this is the best option and nod my head, following which The Reaper just snaps his fingers, making me appear right next to a Fractures rift in a very cold area alongside a ratherrge zombie that quickly picks me up and pulls me through it, ignoring all of the other zombies and revenants passing into the Fracture alongside us. Not to mention the Noble that I suddenly see appearing nearby with a shocked and frightened look on their face.


    But theyre toote, and before I know it, Im back on Earth again, in the middle of what looks like a park. Although I have no idea what city its in. Just that the park is a lot smaller than the ones Im used to in the Tier 1 Capital City of the Republic, and that it seems to becking in some technological departments, appearing more along the lines of old-world technology with no magi-tech outside of the barrier around the park.


    A park. Nice.


    I knew I wasnt going to have to worry about security cameras seeing me appear out of nowhere, since everyone would just assume it was Whites doing or that she gave me some sort of magi-tech item with a skill of hers imbued in it to do it. But this park doesnt seem to have any cameras at all in it, which makes things simpler.


    Wont have to lie if theres no one seeing me appear out of nowhere to lie to.


    On that note, I quickly activate my Metallicized Blood ws while partially shifting my arms and legs from my elbows and knees down before tearing into all of the zombies that appear around me.


    Since Im here, might as well help deal with this ss IV Fracture. Something that Im kind of surprised ended up in a Tier 2 city in the first ce. Or at least, Im assuming its Tier 2 considering theck of magi-tech.


    Then again, Tier 2 cities still have plenty of people in them. So I guess it shouldnt be that big a surprise.


    Anyways, I end up having to focus on going towards the people to save them instead since the demons grow too strong too fast. And I start the little trip off by heading to the closest group of people who are screaming rather loudly in response to some undead.


    Thanks to my speed, it only takes me a few seconds to appear there and throw my fist directly into the face of a ss IV Zombie Revenant. Then I quickly take to identifying the other zombies in the area.


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Zombie  Level 508|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Revenant  Level 525|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Zombie  Level 516|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Zombie  Level 507|</strong>


    <strong>|Demon Spawn  Subspecies: Revenant  Level 549|</strong>


    Ah, back to the old identification system.


    Since theyre undead, they dont exactly have much if any blood for me to manipte, and as I learned from my lessons on Tartarus, while they do have life energy, theirs is different in nature from humans and is permanently stuck to their body. Which is part of what makes them undead.


    So I cant drain their life energy either.


    Which leads me to simply punching them to pieces. A rather simple task considering that theyre only a little bit above my level.


    <strong>If Allen heard you say that a demon forty-eight levels above you was only a little above your level, Im pretty sure hed pop a blood vessel, </strong>Tarments, but I ignore him. Although I am curious why hes been so quiet since the dinner. <strong>I was discussing things with father about the redacted rarity skill again. But nothing important hase up yet about it.</strong>


    Ah. Right.


    That.


    Yeah, Im just gonna consider it some sort of super skill thats above the mythic rarity thats so rare its never been seen before. Probably because it requires more than one magic to get the skill, like the skill in question apparently needs with both blood and null magic.


    <strong>I wouldnt be surprised if youre right about that </strong>Tar mutters as I continue killing the zombies and revenants, none of them really being much of a match for me.


    I nce at the humans behind me to find them all staring at me in shock and recognition. But I turn my attention back to the demons again right after that nce, finishing them all off by tearing them apart. Literally.


    After I do that though, my nose twitches slightly.


    These demons stink.

 Book 4: Chapter 17: Result of the Order

    Book 4: Chapter 17: Result of the Order


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I look at the dead and shredded  in the case of some of them, quite literally as there is one torn in half  demons onest time before turning back to the humans, only to get a camera sh shining in my eyes. But to my surprise, it doesnt blind me.


    Probably something to do with my advancement to ss IV.


    Its The Scarlet Wolf!!! Shes back and shes in our city!!! Scarlet Wolf, can I have your autograph!! Please look here!


    A bunch of the humans begin shouting, seemingly forgetting where we are. So I let out a sigh before saying, Stop. And to my surprise, they all immediately shut up. Not that Imining. Follow me to find a bunker.


    Not like I can do much else aside from hunt the demons in a ss IV Fracture. But in hindsight, itll make for a good hunting ground.


    After dropping the people off at a bunker while politely declining the people asking for an autograph or a handshake, and the one who asked for a hug for some reason, I make my way to the next group of people. Then I save them, go through the same process of them recognizing me, and guide them to that very same bunker. And I repeat this process one more time before I run out of people to save. Which was surprisingly fast.


    Or at least, it was until I remembered thew the Demon King passed about killing civilians. Which is probably only being vited a little right now because these are undead, some of whom were probably made after the order was given by Gramps.


    Guess I should mention that to him the next time I see him. Whenever that will be.


    That he should repeat his order to the undead after new ones are made.


    Still. As I run through the Fracture, I barely find any infected humans at all. And most of the humans seem to be safe in the bunkers.


    Which means the order is still helping a lot, even in an undead run Fracture.


    Anyways, I turn my focus purely on the demons in the Fracture, dealing with the weaker ones until backup can arrive. And I immediately feel that this Fracture is rather awkward inparison to the ones I had been in before going to Tartarus. Mostly because theyre not trying to kill the civilians. And they absolutely could, even inside the bunkers. After all, ss IV demons can destroy the bunker shields if they really try.


    But theyre not. Theyre just wandering around the park aimlessly, as if waiting for Guardians to appear and attack.


    Which definitely supports the intel I got while sitting in on the strategy meetings. That the demons really dont care much about the Fractures right now, simply using them to lower the number of Guardians on Earth now.


    Then again, what works, works. The humans cant exactly ignore the Fractures that appear since theyd turn into Gates if they did. So they have to send people to fight in them.


    The order by the Demon King just makes it so that they arent as rushed anymore and dont have to worry anywhere near as much about saving lives rather than just killing the demons.


    <strong>Its certainly an interesting change of pace, </strong>Tar mutters from his ce lounging on my shoulder.


    That it is.


    <strong>Somewhere on the Outskirts of the Tier 2 City</strong>


    Marcus Andersson, otherwise known as the Dimensional Drifter, appears in the middle of a street in the city called Argos. And the first thing he does is open up a rift in space to pass through it again, making him reappear in the middle of a park.


    <em>These ss IV Fractures thatve been appearingtely are getting annoying.</em>


    Ever since a few months ago, ss IV Fractures have been getting more and moremon on Earth, and since Marcus is one of the few ss V Guardians with a spatial magic allowing teleportation, he is often the one sent to deal with them. But right as hes about to step through another rift towards the core of the ss IV Fracture, he pauses.


    <em>What the is someone else in here?</em>


    Marcus frowns as he closes his eyes and locks his senses on a powerful mana source zing with absolute puritying from the other side of the park. But before he can open a rift to check on who it is doing the fighting, he feels a buzzinging from his terminal, making him raise it to his face while opening his eyes.


    What is it? he asks the moment a womans face appears on the terminal. A face familiar to most Guardians working on the frontlines as Sage, the second inmand of the Silver Association and arge yer in the war.


    An unexpected ss IV Guardian has already saved all of the people in the Fracture and has been hunting the demons in it for a couple hours now, Sage states, her voice still as cold as Marcus remembers from theirst talk.


    Marcus frowns at the other Associations foresight and intelligence expert before asking, Who is it? And do they need assistance?


    Negative, the woman answers right away. They appear to be a newly ascended ss IV, but there is no need to assist them.


    The Dimensional Drifters eyes widen in shock at that, and he almost immediately teleports over there to help, only to stiffen up when Sage finishes, The Guardian is known as The Scarlet Wolf.


    <em>Shes out of her training?! Was White waiting for her to reach ss IV before she released her? I already know from the meeting not too long ago that the girl is behind those Universal Notifications, even if White wouldnt admit why she redacted her name at the time beyond a simple privacy answer.</em>


    A few seconds pass in silence before he shakes his head.


    <em>No use worrying about that monster of a girl. I need to stop this Fracture.</em>


    The man hangs up the call with Sage with a simple, Understood, and steps through the rift to the center of the Fracture.


    <em>Then I can meet the famous wolf girl after I finish up here.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 18: Unknown Guardian Transportation

    Book 4: Chapter 18: Unknown Guardian Transportation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I notice it right away when I hear the sound of ripping echo from the other side of the Fracture, so I momentarily pause in my killing of the demons to nce towards the noise. And just momentster, I hear a conversation including a very familiar voice.


    Sage?


    Thats a surprise. This is nowhere near the capital city so why is she here?


    I dont get much time to consider it since the conversation between the two doesntst very long before the man whose voice I dont recognize steps through what Im assuming is some sort of rift in space and instantly appears at the core.


    Oh, well thats annoying. Obviously wasnt gonna be able to destroy the core myself considering that its guarded by a level 1000 demon, but I did want to keep killing the lower leveled demons here for a while.


    I quickly rush to kill as many demons as I possibly can before the Guardian who Im assuming is a ss V Guardian destroys the core, only to barely manage to kill another half a dozen in time, the red tint in the air fading not even an entire minute after he appears at the core.


    Damnit, there goes my training area.


    <strong>This is a Fracture, not a training area, </strong>Tarments, but I ignore him.


    I quickly sprint out of the park as quickly as I can to avoid running into any fans, but only moments after I step out onto the street, a rift in space appears in front of me. Then a man walks out of the rift. One I vaguely recognize, but not enough to know what his name or title is.


    He looks me up and down for a moment in surprise, likely due to my new armor, only to focus on my face again with a look of respect on his own.


    Scarlet Wolf, its a pleasure to meet you, he says with a nod of his head, and I quickly return it while examining him. The man has purple eyes with hair spanning about a few inches in length tipped a little in a deep purple color, and hes wearing a ck and purple trench coat for some reason. One glowing with purple particles of energy. Congrattions on reaching ss IV!


    I blink at that, slightly surprised that he <em>isnt </em>surprised at my ss, but answer with another nod of my head as I respond, Thank you.


    We share an awkward moment of silence before I ask, Is there anything you need? Otherwise Imma go now.


    He looks surprised by that as he blinks and says, Oh, Sage wants to know if you need help getting anywhere.


    Now <em>that </em>has my attention.


    That I do, I tell him with a nod of my head.


    A terminal would be nice to have as well, but I cant really tell him that. Not when everyone on Earth believes Ive been training with White on Earth this whole time. So me not having a terminal and needing to ask for one would sound rather suspicious.


    Best to bug Allen with that. Or Amelia.


    Probably Amelia. Ive bugged Allen enough over the years. In fact, I should probably give him a break.


    Hes probably enjoyed the past nearly half a year or so I spent on Tartarus with a lot less stress now that Im gone. Maybe its helped with the stress that had been building up in him ever since I contracted?


    I should leave him to his peace after saying hi.


    Belle on the other hand is probably gonna try glomping me when I see her next. And the others from our team might not be very happy that I vanished for so long without a word to them.


    <strong>Not very happy might be an understatement in Emilys case, </strong>Tarments, making me grimace a little.


    Emily might just be a tad clingy ever since I saved her life. Which makes things a little awkward.


    Also, I still dont know who this guy in front of me is. Other than the fact that hes able to contact Sage when he wants. Like right now.


    Yes, she would like help, he says into his terminal call. One that he opened as I was lost in thought.


    Then thats your next assignment, Amelias voice suddenly says from the other side of the call, making my eyes widen ever so slightly in surprise. And he clearly wasnt expecting it either, considering the way his mouth parts open ever so slightly.


    After a few seconds pass, he closes his mouth and answers, Understood, Lady White.


    Then the call drops out.


    An awkward silence ensues. Again.


    This guy is clearly not much of a talker.


    Where would you like to go, Scarlet Wolf? the man whose name I still dont know asks after who knows how long passes.


    I purse my lips at the thought before tapping my chin a few times and eventually answering, Wherever Allen is.


    The awkward silencees back.


    By Allen, do you mean Cipher? the unknown man asks with a slight frown on his face, and I nod. Cipher is in the council currently in charge of the logistics back in the capital. Ill take you to the Silver Association base.


    I blink at that in surprise, only to realize that it would only make sense for the Republic to be under martialw right now. The only reason why Guardians would form the councils for the war, taking over the power of the government.


    Although Im kind of surprised the government let that happen wait a second


    My eyes go wide as I remember the over a hundred ss III and IV changelings that were killed during the ss V Fracture. Not to mention Fredrickas actions, which either got her killed or exposed her identity.


    Meaning that the government might not be as strong as it was before. Especially if Allen managed to tell people that there were changelings in it.


    A very interesting development.


    Either way, the man in front of me begins to raise one of his arms, but as hes doing that I cant help but ask, By the way, who are you?


    And out of all of the things thatve happened since I met him, <em>this </em>one is the thing that surprises him the most.

 Book 4: Chapter 19: Spending Spree

    Book 4: Chapter 19: Spending Spree


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After some more awkward silence, the Guardian eventually introduces himself as the Dimensional Shifter before practically shoving me  figuratively  through the portal. Which kind of makes me think they dont like me for some reason.


    No idea why. Not my fault I dont know the names and appearances of every ss V Guardian in the world.


    Anyways, I end up in Allens office after passing through the rift. But Allens not here, so I look around for a moment in the familiar room that Ive been to who knows how many times. Probably less than Im remembering. Then I head to the door of the office and walk out into the hall before walking through the base to find someone.


    And the first person I find is Sage as she walks down one of the halls of the base directly towards the office, meeting me partway.


    Wee back, young miss, the woman says with a light bow of her head, seemingly a lot more respectful to me now that Im the same ss as her than she was before. Allen will be here soon, so please make use of your suite until then.


    I nod my head back in respect before catching something she throws at me, soon finding it to be a terminal that I quickly attach to my forearm.


    Have a nice day, and congrattions on your many achievements during your training, she says with one more nod before beginning to walk away without another word.


    Brunt and to the point as ever, I suppose.


    I continue walking down the hall in the direction of my suite, asionally nodding my head to some shocked people who dont seem to have expected to see me here. With good reason, considering that Ive been missing from the public on Earth for months now.


    When I reach my suite, I find it in perfect condition. The exact same as when I left it.


    Which kind of makes me wonder if itll be the same for my suite at the university. Also, the next semester began, so I wonder how they dealt with that? Mostly the whole ranking tournament thing.


    Did I lose my rank, or was I seeded for a rank?


    <strong>You should probably remember that youre ss IV, </strong>Tar points out, making me blink for a moment.


    Right. Im the only ss IV student attending the university. Of course Ill be ranked number one.


    Guess my stuff at the university is safe then. Not that I really had anything there that I cared about, otherwise I wouldve asked Amelia if she couldve brought it to me at some point. Just like how I had her send a message to Belle, Allen, and Cynthia while I was on Tartarus.


    The only personal item that I have any attachment towards is my jacket. Everything else is just a bunch of objects with no real value to me.


    And my credits are stored in my bank ounts, not physically anywhere. So those cant go missing.


    Anyways, I continue walking through my suite, just making sure no one else is there before I jump onto my bed and lie back while finally opening my Skills Store to see if there are any new legendary skills for me. And to my surprise, there arent.


    Huh. Odd. Was kind of expecting to unlock a new legendary skill for the two etched skill slot achievements I got for reaching ss IV so soon.


    <strong>Well, generally those types of achievements are only an additional requirement and not the main requirements for skills, </strong>Tarments, making me frown a little. <strong>After all, what sorts of skills could you get simply because you reached ss IV at a really young age? Not many. The only one that reaching a ss at an early age really matters for seems to be Predator, which makes some sense when you think about it.</strong>


    Yeah kind of disappointing though.


    <strong>Itll open up new paths for you at least, </strong>Tar says, seemingly trying tofort me. <strong>After you get the required achievements for the skills, that is.</strong>


    I nod my head at that with a sigh.


    Yeah, youre right on that front.


    Although I guess this isnt all bad. Not at all. After all, I can finally spend the entirety of my Skill Points on leveling skills. And I have five hundred and six Skill Points to spend right now.


    I sit in ce staring at my status for several minutes, just doing math in my head until I eventually mutter, Screw it, and start calcting it in my terminal instead. Because legendary skills are expensive to level up with Skill Points.


    Overall, it takes me almost ten minutes of chugging calctions until I figure out what I want to level up.


    Since the skill I use the most is Crimson Overdrive, I spend one hundred and eighty-five Skill Points to bring it straight from level 15 to level 20. Then I focus on one of my skills with the most potential and the best for my fighting style and bring that skill, Bloody Thorns, from level 10 to level 15 with one hundred and thirty-five Skill Points.


    Lastly, I turn my attention to the skill that will eventually rid the demons of their curses, bringing Gradual Corruption Nullification from level 15 to level 20 with another one hundred and eighty-five Skill Points.


    Which all totals up to five hundred and five Skill Points spent out of my five hundred and six total Skill Points.


    A rather costly set of upgrades, but certainly worth it. I hope.


    To prove that it was worth it, I quickly focus on the skills new descriptions, finding two of them to have changed.


    Gradual Corruption Nullification now only needs three minutes to remove any corruption from myself, whereas Crimson Overdrive lets me burn blood that doesnt belong to me as well instead of just my own. Meaning I can now use the blood in my Blood Bank skill for it.


    A very nice benefit.


    And Bloody Thorns didnt change at all, so Im kind of just hoping that it raised the base amount of damage that the skill deals to the enemy in blood nullification.


    All that aside, Id say the spending spree was worth it.


    Now then.


    I get up from bed and begin heading in the direction of the training room.


    While I wait for Allen, Ill just train a bit.

 Book 4: Chapter 20: Reunion Part I

    Book 4: Chapter 20: Reunion Part I


    <strong>The Logistics Council</strong>


    -and so, in conclusion, we need to send more- the ss V support Guardian pauses when a screeching soundes from one of the chairs around therge table as Allen shoots to his feet with his eyes wide in shock and glued to his terminal. The Guardian then narrows her eyes ever so slightly at him and says, Cipher, if youve got important intel, please share it with the group.


    Allen immediately looks up from the terminal, having been too shocked by the message he had gotten from Sage to even consider his current location. But even now that hes considering it, he still wants to simply ignore her and rush out the door.


    He doesnt though. Instead, he disys extreme patience as he says, The Scarlet Wolf is back in action!


    Then he begins running out of the room while all of the ss IV and V Guardians in it express their shock at the news, with several of them looking rather interested in meeting her. But by the time most of them recover enough to ask questions, the man is already running down the hallway towards the entrance of the building.


    <em>Shes home!!!! Finally!!!</em>


    Allen rushes straight out of the building before waving his hand as he runs, creating a hoverboard made solely out of nanomachines that he jumps on and begins flying through the air towards his base. From there, it only takes him a few minutes to reach the base, following which he startles each of his Associations members that he passes by, only for some of them to show happy and knowing expressions. As if they know exactly what it is that has him so excited.


    But Allen doesnt care about any of that. He just keeps running through his base until he reaches Scarlets old suite and pauses outside of the door, panting a little from the exertion that it took to get there so quickly. Then he hesitates for several seconds outside of the door, briefly reaching for the knob only to pull his hand back again. Reach for it, pull it back again.


    Right when hes about to repeat the process once more, the hall around him begins frosting over and his wife appears next to him, practically pushing him out of the way as she opens the door and rushes into her suite.


    <em>Shit.</em>


    Allen quickly follows after her without a second thought before finding a surprised Scarlet being held in his wifes arms.


    Then he pulls both of them into his arms, lifting the two of them up into the air himself as she exims, Youre back!


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It ends up taking me nearly ten minutes to get the two overprotective parents to stop smothering me. And just minutester, Belle rushes in and does a repeat of her parents actions.


    Belle, please let her talk, Im sure theres a lot she wants to say, Cynthia says, being the hypocrite that she is as shepletely ignores the fact that she literally just did the same thing shes warning her daughter not to do.


    I raise a brow at her for a moment, only to shake my head lightly after Belle draws back a little.


    Then we all settle down on my bed as I begin to describe to them everything that had happened on Tartarus, after a white field is ce around us of course. Starting with how I was pulled there and ending with the different ns and the hunting grounds I used to grow stronger.


    My exnation takes quite a while and by the time Im done, the family in front of me  each of whom had been patiently listening the entire time without interrupting even once  looks like their minds have been blown by all of the information Ive given them. So while I let them digest it all, I turn my attention to Amelia, who had finally shown herself about five or so minutes into my exnation. After I mentioned hearing Leonidas say that he missed her once.


    Something I mentioned mostly to get her out of hiding, since I could tell she was here just by the prickling sensation on the back of my neck even if she was still erasing my sense of sight of her with her Sense Nullification skill. Something that doesnt really work on a sixth sense of sorts. Unless its just a in sense mana.


    From my understanding, Im able to tell when people are looking at me purely through instinct.


    It was getting annoying. Not to mention that she covered us with something to block eavesdroppers, not that anyone would be able to eavesdrop in the middle of my suite inside of the Silver Associations main base.


    Well, not anyone but Knights, that is. Like White.


    Anyways, Amelia has been dazed ever since she heard that, and especially thanks to my descriptions of the Demon King since I met the guy. Probably because the guy almost killed her once. Maybe twice.


    Not sure why Amelia thought it was a good idea to go back to Tartarus a few times over the years since she had me. It was all but asking for him to grab her the moment she did.


    I frown at that, only to lightly shake my head.


    Never mind. She doesnt know all of Gramps skills, so she didnt know just how good his senses were.


    Actually, most of humanity doesnt know just how powerful he is despite everyone recognizing that hes the strongest being in the universe.


    A rather scary thought, to be honest.


    Oh, right. One more thing to tell them.


    After the Demon King learned about the prophecy and my Gradual Corruption Nullification skill, he gave an order to all of the demons to no longer target civilians and only target the Guardians, I tell them with a smile on my face, honestly proud of making that happen even if it was entirely due to the Demon Kings will and not my own.


    None of them seem surprised by this.


    I blink at that.


    Why arent they surprised by this?


    <strong>Its not exactly hard to figure out that youre the one responsible for your grandfathers sudden change in attitude, </strong>Tarments. <strong>Especially when it happened soon after you went to Tartarus in the first ce.</strong>


    Oh. Yeah, I guess thats true.


    I scratch my head a little.


    Yeah, this is awkward now, but I think I at least broke them out of their stupor.

 Book 4: Chapter 20.2: Reunion Part II

    Book 4: Chapter 20.2: Reunion Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It wasnt very hard to figure that out, Allen says with a faint smile on his face. Then Cynthia chimes in, Pretty much everyone that knows who you are also knows it was you whos behind the change.


    Yeah, very awkward.


    Aaanywaays, I drawl a little bit as I change the subject, what all has happened here on Earth since my impromptu vacation to hell?


    Amelias lips quirk slightly at my name for what was essentially me being kidnapped to the demon world before she answers, Quite a few things have happened since you were here. To start off, ck managed to expose Fredricka as a changeling to the world after he threw you in his attempt to save you. So the people have lost significant trust in their government, and even ck and Purple both withdrew their support of it.


    My eyes widen a little in shock at that.


    After that, the government started losing its power little by little until it no longer has more power than the Associations themselves, Amelia continues with a rather pleased gleam in her eyes. They cant really do much anymore to force anyone to do anything, and to top it off, the rest of the changelings were sniffed out after Ciphers father figured out how to detect these higher ss changelings that were previously undetectable.


    I nce at Allen at that, finding him with a smile on his face as he nods in confirmation. Then I look back to my biological mother again who currently has a rather smug look on her face. And I find out why rather quickly.


    The top Associations began to take charge of the Republic and the war effort in their entirety after the government nearly copsed entirely thanks to the cleansing, and the first thing I had them do was significantly improve the treatment of the orphans, Amelia exins, making me smile a little at that. It turned out that the changelings equated to everyst councilmember and government official who was severely opposing the orphans rights acts that kept being rejected. So the opposition pretty much vanished from the rest of the government. The womans lip quirks up a little. Not that theyd have the power anymore to stop us even if they did oppose it.


    Thats good. Thats very good.


    I flop back letting my head hit the pillow with a smile on my face.


    No more poor treatment of orphans.


    The Republics been cleansed but we still have a war to fight, Cynthia says with a stern look on her face in the corner of my eye. And with this new information about the Demon King, I really dont think we can do much of anything to win it beyond stalling their progression until Scarlet can upgrade that skill and remove those curses.


    Everyone nods at that, and I do so as well despite lying down t on my back on the bed.


    Cant forget the war. The cleansing of the Republics leadership was only one major step in the direction we need to go. It isnt the end by any means.


    I sigh at that thought before rising to a sitting position again and turning to Amelia to ask, Where do you think Ill be able to hunt the most on the frontlines?


    Amelia smiles at that and answers, The Eastern continent. Her smile fades a little. You wont be able to fight as well in the Arctic since the demons there are all mostly undead, unlike the demons in the Eastern continent.


    The demons on the Eastern continent are also stronger since theyve been here on Earth for longer than the ones in the Arctic, Allen chimes in while rubbing his chin a little.


    Then the Eastern continent is where Ill go, I dere with a nod of my head, making Belle only look briefly worried before she calms down. Which is rather surprising considering how protective she can be sometimes.


    Ill be going with you, Belle says, surprising me a little. But before I can say anything in response to her, she continues, Dont try to stop me. Im already assigned to go by the logistics council.


    I purse my lips for a moment before sighing again and saying, Alright. Just be safe, okay?


    She looks surprised by my answer as she dumbly responds, Y-yeah of course. You too.


    I raise a brow at that and chuckle, only to notice that the others seem a little surprised as well.


    Wonder why?


    Tar appears in the air and goes down to myp as he says out loud, <strong>Scarlet matured a bit during her time in Tartarus, so dont be so surprised.</strong>


    I blink at that, simply staring down at the tanuki in myp while everyone else does the same.


    Matured? Belle asks before ncing at me and looking me up and down, making me frown at her.


    <strong>Not in that way, </strong>Tarments, sounding slightly exasperated at Belle, who only shrugs a little at his words. <strong>Id say that shes be morefortable with people in general, with no little help from the kitsune.</strong>


    I shiver at the mention of those demons. Terrifying creatures, the kitsune. Far scarier than the demons Ive been hunting for a long time now.


    Especially the Raidens. Theyre just straight up terrifying.


    Also, the others look skeptical. Why do they look skeptical?


    Actually, what do you mean by saying that Ive matured?


    Tar turns to look at me as he answers my question out loud, <strong>You didnt even react when they all hugged you and you exined everything clearly to them instead of glossing over the details of what happened on Tartarus. Thats not something you wouldve done before.</strong>


    I stare at him for a second before looking at the others and finding them slowly beginning to agree with the tanuki.


    Huh. Was I really that bad?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers in my head this time. <strong>You were.</strong>


    Oh. Uh, thats oh.


    Well, anyways, would you mind bringing me to the frontlines? I ask Amelia, only for her to get a rather terrifying smile on her face. And shes not the only one, as its mirrored on both Cynthia and Belles faces.


    Meanwhile Allen starts quietly making his way out of the room.


    I have a bad feeling about this.

 Book 4: Chapter 21: War Registration

    Book 4: Chapter 21: War Registration


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a sigh after getting to the frontlines, feeling more than a little exhausted by the shopping spree I was just put through. Which was apparently required because I grew a little over thest half a year. And apparently my old clothes dont fit me anymore. Which I highly doubt, but I go along with them anyways just because its nice to see them again before I go straight to the frontlines.


    Plus they were worried about me, so I decided to go ahead and humor them a little.


    <strong>Be honest, </strong>Tar says from his ce on my shoulder, <strong>you just became numbed to it because of those kitsune doing it to you so much, didnt you?</strong>


    I have no idea what youre talking about.


    Anyways, I look around the base camp I find myself in after Amelias rather interesting method of travel. Some sort of skill that nullified the boundary between space itself between where we were before and where we are now. A rather interesting way to make a portal or teleport.


    The base camp is full of Guardians without a single non-Guardian here, and it makes for a rather interesting sight. There are also quite a few buildings set up with power lines going through the base, somerger buildings where a lot of people are moving in and out, and arge ck and white wall made out of neon blue barriers going around everything. All with a single gate down a straight-line path between the buildings on the other end of the base.


    I nce at Amelia to find her motioning towards me with a faintly glowing white light shining around her. And when I look down at hand, I find that same light shining around me.


    Which would certainly exin why no one is looking at us right now.


    Speaking of, I activate my armor as we walk through the street towards a building at the back of the base. One that Im guessing is probably the main building of the base. The strategic center or something.


    Ameliapletely ignores everyone as we walk, but I cant help but look around out of curiosity. From what Ive been told, the frontlines has moved from the far Eastern coast of the Eastern continent all the way to about the center of it, bordering the ce that used to be called Europe. And everyone is wearing their armor, which would look odd to a random passerby considering the heavy snow falling down around us.


    At least, odd until they realize theyre all at the very least ss III in terms of power.


    We continue walking through the base until we enter the main building to find more people in it. But once again, Amelia just ignores them all and continues walking until we reach a fancy looking door closer to the back of the building. Then she opens the door and continues in, surprising the man inside who I quickly find to be a man I recognize from the news.


    White, the leader of the Golden Retreat says, the man having golden hair and glowing golden eyes just like the name of his Association would suggest as he stands up from his seat behind the desk. Youre back.


    I nce at Amelia to find that she hasnt actually stopped cloaking us. Meaning this man saw through her nullification of her senses.


    Of course, its possible that shes not hiding us from him. But I dont get that feeling from the way hes looking at us. Not to mention that Ive recently noticed a very faint white line shining from Amelia towards anyone that she is nullification the senses of thanks to my Life Sense skill. And theres a line going towards him.


    Although I wouldnt be surprised if I can only see this because shes letting me.


    <strong>It could also be because you have some minor null magic yourself, </strong>Tar says, stating another likely possibility.


    Yeah.


    Im here to register my daughter with the Guardian Assault Forces, White says while undoing her Sense Nullification skill, making the white energy vanish from around the two of us.


    The man nces between me and her for a moment before sitting back down as he says, Very well. I know you want it done quickly, so hand me your Guardian Identification Number and Ill hurry this up.


    I blink in surprise at how polite the man is, simply because I was expecting him to be a little rude. After all, ording to the inte, the man created the Golden Retreat Association just to spite the woman he cheated on. The Bloody Valkyrie.


    Then again, its not really a good idea to judge someone by their public persona. Or by what the public thinks or says about them.


    I reach into my pocket to grab my ID before handing it to the Golden Rider, and he epts it before beginning to type away at theputer in front of him. Then just half a minuteter, he looks up at me and says, Scarlet Asger, as a member of the Assault Forces, you will be required to kill a certain number of demons during your time serving. Unlike the Defense Forces or the Main Forces, you wont be required to serve under a leader or follow orders. You will be able to roam through the frontlines with absolute freedom as long as youre contributing to the war for the humans. He looks at theputer screen again as he finishes, But I doubt Ill have to give you any warnings over maintaining your contributions.


    Thatstment has my lips quirking upwards slightly in amusement.


    He types something into theputer again before handing back my GID and cing a nk white paper in front of a camera next to theputer. The camera then projects an image onto the letter-sized page, printing out what looks like some sort of paper of identification. Probably something I need to have permission to move through the frontlines.


    The Golden Rider looks up at me again while handing me the paper before nodding his head slightly and saying, Good luck with your hunt, Scarlet Wolf.


    I nod back as I grab the paper, then we begin to leave the room, and the ss V Guardian, while shutting the door behind us.

 Book 4: Chapter 22: Reality Energy

    Book 4: Chapter 22: Reality Energy


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Amelia leads me out of the base entirely and into the snowy mountains around it before we stop and she turns to me while saying, As a member of the Assault Force, you can go wherever you want and fight as many demons as you want. I figured this would be the most desirable position for you. You dont have to fight on the main battlefields, dont have to listen to the orders of the higher ups or the councils unless an emergency is happening, and most importantly, you can fight away from other humans.


    My eyes widen slightly at that, only for a grin to make its way onto my face.


    The frontlines expand for basically the entire span of the continent from one edge of the water to the other, and any points in the continent on the demons side are free reign for battles as well. So there should be plenty of ces where demons are passing through the continent towards the frontlines from the Gates that I can fight without having to worry about humans seeing me.


    Although it isnt a guarantee that I wont be seen, so I should still be careful. But with my hearing, I dont think there should be a problem. Not unless I have some sort of ss V stealth Guardian stalking me. And if that was happening, then Im pretty sure Id have more trouble than them finding out what I am.


    Keep your identification papers on you as they absorb a miniscule fraction of the life force let off by the demons when theyre killed before the System can get it in order to keep track of the total number of kills you make, Amelia says as I flex my ws slightly, already having shapeshifted my right arm just from the thrill of the hunt running through me right now. Youre going to be fighting far more demons than is required, so I wouldnt bother paying attention to the number it shows on the paper. Just dont attack any demons that are too strong for you, and youll be fine.


    She hesitates for a moment before adding, And if you do end up facing off against a demon thats too powerful for you to take on and you cant escape, just make sure to show them your crest.


    I nod my head at that. But then I purse my lips for a moment and ask, How many Noble demons are on Earth right now anyways?


    Amelia frowns for a moment before her eyes sh white and she answers, There are currently about three hundred and forty-eight Noble demons on Earth, along with nearly twenty thousand ss IV demons. But the ss III and below demons number in the hundreds of millions.


    Doesnt sound to be too far off what I was expecting. The strategic meetings that I attended never mentioned the exact numbers, but they did make ns revolving around an estimated number of demons. A number that is constantly growing as more demons pass through the Gates and Fractures into Earth.


    Do you know the levels of those Noble demons? I ask out of curiosity.


    Overall the Noble demons dont concern me until I can actually deal with them. After all, Noble demons should all recognize my face, so they wont attack me. Even if I go ughtering their forces.


    From what Gramps said to me, theyll only either try to capture me before letting me go after whatever n theyre carrying out, or theyll leave me alone, canceling whatever ns they have. Mostly will just depend on the Noble demon in charge of the horde of demons and how important whatever n theyre carrying out is.


    This intel isnt confirmed, but there should be two dukes, sixteen marchionesses and marquesses, sixty counts and countesses, one hundred and one viscounts and viscountesses, and one hundred and sixty-nine barons and baronesses, Amelia answers, making me grimace a little at the mention of the significant number of marchionesses and marquesses.


    I already knew about the two dukes, those being Satan and Damien, but I didnt know about there being that many marchionesses and marquesses


    More areing through the Gates and Fractures as we speak, so the number isntpletely urate, Amelia continues, sounding rather annoyed by that. But you shouldnt have to worry about them. Just go do what you want, and if you do end up in a situation where you cant show them your crest and youre in trouble, then simply press the button on the device I gave you.


    I pat the device thats in my pocket at that before nodding.


    Alright, I have to go back to the major battlefields now, she says with more than a little reluctance. So please stay safe.


    She seems to hesitate for a moment before quickly rushing in a hug and then vanishing, surprising me for a moment.


    Hmm. Okay then.


    I look around for a moment before closing my eyes and listening to my surroundings, raising the sensitivity of my ears in the process. Then, after figuring out the direction that has the least humans and the most demons, I begin heading there right away.


    From what I can understand, the demons estimate the reality energy in the Gates with a unit of measurement simply called one unit of energy per level of the demon withing to pass through to the power of their ss. So a level one thousand five hundred demon would take about seven-point-six quadrillion units of energy, with the amount of energy use up being about the level of the demon or human to the power of their ss. Meanwhile the Gates only regenerate an amount of energy depending on the number of creatures both demon or otherwise that die near the Gate. But from what they mentioned during the strategy meeting, it sounded like it regenerates around one trillion units of energy a day at an incredibly rough estimate. Some days more, some less.


    Generally enough to let a Demon Lord cross the Gate once every eight or nine decades. But <em>only </em>if the Demon Lords are the only demons crossing through that gate. And theyre not.


    Thats also not considering that the Demon Lords are a significant part of the ruling of Tartarus and cant be gone for all that long simply fighting, nor are they absolutely controble by the Demon King. Most wont even want to cross the Gate even if they were let to do that.


    Then theres the fact that other Demon Nobles have passed through over the years as well. In fact, Im pretty sure the only reason there are two dukes on Earth in the first ce is because they passed through when the Gate was still a Fracture, after it was just formed and filled to its maximum capacity with reality energy.


    Overall, the Earth is screwed in this war. We have no chance outside of stalling it long enough for me to upgrade my skill and remove the curses.


    Otherwise Earth will end up subjugated under the demons, and I doubt Gramps would relinquish control back to the humans even if he does free them. After all, hes fought a two hundred year war against us. He wont just leave after he wins.


    He did say that he would leave if he doesnt win though. So we just need to stall him.


    Meanwhile I have to grow stronger.


    As strong as I can be.


    I clench my fist before increasing my speed and running through the snowy mountains in search of my first prey for the day.

 Book 4: Updated Glossary

    Book 4: Updated Glossary


    <strong>World:</strong>


    There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.


    The Terran Republic: Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.


    Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.


    Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.


    Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.


    The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    Currency: Credits and Skill Points.


    10 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    4 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    30 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong>Tartarus:</strong>


    Blood Lycans live in the Bloody Duchy.


    Oni live in the Oni Citadel.


    Mindeaters live in the Mindeaters Lair.


    Ghouls live in the Caverns of Death.


    Arachnae live in the Spider Burrows.


    Kitsune live in the Ashen Mountains.


    Subi live in the Mesa of Illusions.


    <strong>The ranks of Nobility include:</strong>


    Baron/Baroness {1001-1200}


    Viscount/Viscountess {1201-1400}


    Count/Countess {1401-1600}


    Marquess/Marchioness {1601-1700}


    Duke/Duchess {>1700}


    Prince/Princess{Sons or Daughters of the Demon king} and Demon Lord{Four highest level demons}


    Demon King


    <strong>Social Contact Outside of Cities:</strong>


    Demons are perfectly fine with killing any other demon they see outside of cities. However, they will generally avoid killing other demons who have crests showing clearly on their body, designating them as members of a Nobles family. Unless the demon in question is also a child of a Noble or a Noble themselves.


    The demons ce absolute trust in the Royal Family thanks to the entire Demon world of Tartarus being controlled under his absolute power, and their entire society having been formed by him alone. Additionally, he solves all of their problems, and is by far the oldest demon living to this day. One of the very few demons who survived long enough to know the truth of the world.


    <em>One gold coin -> Ten silver</em>


    <em>One silver -> One hundred bronze</em>


    <strong>System:</strong>


    There are two types of skills. Inherent skills and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.


    Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.


    However, there are also skills known as Achievement-Locked skills, which have to be purchased through skill points before they then turn into inherent skills which level up just like any other inherent skill. These skills cannot use Skill Points to level up. Achievement-Locked skills are always the higher rarity versions of an etched skill the user has from an ancestor.


    The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.


    Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users skills and capabilities take. Especially in their inherent skills.


    At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.


    ss I multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9.


    ss II multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.2, D a multiplier of 0.4, C 0.7, B 1.0, and A has a multiplier of 1.4.


    Total Mana: Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.


    Total Mana Regen: Average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat.


    <em>Note: Scarlets mana regen does not follow this due to Blood Regeneration!!!</em>


    Strength in arc: Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch.


    The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 arc on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.


    (Scarlets multipliersbined is 1.2x)


    The stats everyone starts out with is 10 but their starting stats vary after contracting depending on both their reality warp, their magic, and their physical fitness at the time of contracting.


    <strong>ss I Demons  1-100</strong>


    <strong>Demon Spawn</strong>


    Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.


    Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8


    <strong>Demon Hound</strong>


    Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.


    Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15


    <strong>Demon Huntsman</strong>


    Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.


    Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20


    <strong>Demon Knight</strong>


    Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.


    Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100


    <strong>Demon Breeder</strong>


    Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.


    Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50


    <strong>Demon Captain</strong>


    Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.


    Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100


    Known Captain Species so far: Smanders and Trihearts.


    <strong>ss II Demons  Levels 101-250</strong>


    <strong>Demon Fomorians</strong>


    Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.


    Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150


    <strong>Demon Acolytes</strong>


    Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.


    Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155


    <strong>Demon Wraiths</strong>


    Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.


    Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160


    <strong>Demon Berserkers</strong>


    Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.


    Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200


    <strong>Demon Defenders</strong>


    Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.


    Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200


    <strong>Demon Summoners</strong>


    Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.


    Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210


    <strong>Demon Commander</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250


    <strong>ss III Demons  Levels 251-500</strong>


    <strong>Vanguard</strong>


    Description: These demons are almost as intelligent as humans and are capable of basic speech. They are the lower echelon demons who have climbed their way up to ss III from the less generally powerful species of demons.


    Subspecies Shown So Far:


    Taracht: Massive spider with ck hair streaked with red.


    <strong>Changelings</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves and spreading throughout parts of old world China.


    <strong>Demon Generals</strong>


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss III Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Their weakness is dependent on which subspecies of demon they are.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 500


    <strong>ss IV Demons  Levels 501-1000</strong>


    <strong>ss V Demons  Noble Demons  Above level 1000</strong>


    There are only seven demon species that have a cemented ce amongst the Noble Demons. All other Noble Demons are simply other demons who have managed to reach ss V.


    Furthermore, Noble Demons who do not have a humanoid form are granted one upon reaching ss V.


    The reason for this will be toldter on in the story.


    The following seven demon species are the Seven Noble Demon ns.


    <strong>Blood Lycans</strong>


    Description: Blood lycans are known by many to be the most powerful species of demon in existence. They can partially and fully transform into a powerful beast form, have the strongest regeneration in existence, and are born predators in every way, whether ites to their physical prowess, magical, or senses. They are also known to fight in a more berserk manner, often sacrificing hits on themselves to return just as much pain to their enemy as they regenerate their own wounds.


    Blood lycans are known to be very proud and protective of their family and care far more for their family than anything else. However, this care is mostly limited to direct family as indirect family, while it is known that they still protect them viciously from any outsiders not of their species, they may not be treated very well depending on their circumstances by other blood lycans. Or they may just treat indirect family as they would others albeit with a bit more respect.


    It is a breach of their pride for any other species to ever kill a blood lycan.


    They have the most humanlike appearances out of all demons when they are in their lycan forms, with glowing red eyes and wolf ears on their head, along with red and ck hair and a tail that can be absorbed into their body at will. However, their beast forms tend to vary depending on the blood lycan in question. But most of the blood lycans have the form of a ck furred werewolf with streaks of blood red running through the fur.


    Weakness: Blood lycans have a minor weakness to Mental Magic and another weakness to sound magic. However, their weakness to sound magic can be solved through lowering their senses or protecting them with magic, making that weakness go away.


    Magic: Blood magic, with a unique power to metallicized blood.


    Sin: Pride


    Oni


    Description: Oni aremonly known as the demon with the most brute force magical power out all demons in existence. While they cannot truly match a blood lycan in fighting prowess, they have them beat in pure magical attacks. These demons are also theplete opposite of the blood lycans in terms of family as their wrath is too great for them to be bound by family, as most of those who try end up tearing themselves apart in the end in a bloody fight before splitting up.


    They have a humanoid appearance with a crown of horns on their head, each glowing red with heat. They have crimson skin, with equally crimson eyes, and red ws on their hands and feet with no heart, instead having a me inside of their chest.


    Weakness: An onis weakness is holy magic.


    Magic: Hellfire magic, with a unique power to cause direct damage to someones reality(their soul) with their hellfire.


    Sin: Wrath


    <strong>Mindeater</strong>


    Description: Mindeaters are perhaps the most reclusive of the demons amongst the seven demon ns, with only one other ning anywhere near close to them in that regard. Most Mindeaters simply spend their days sleeping or watching over their territory with their reality detached from their body. However, should a Mindeater ever be truly angered, they will devour a persons reality whole, turning it into life energy instead and feeding the life force in them to the System entirely.


    They have the appearance of arge insect with very little carapace shielding them from physical harm and ten legs, with three segments to their body and two incisors at the front of their mouths.


    Weakness: A Mindeaters weakness is their physical strength.


    Magic: Mind-eater magic, with a unique power to disconnect their reality(their soul) from their body when asleep.


    Sin: Sloth


    <strong>Ghoul</strong>


    Description: Ghouls are the only undead demons in the ranks of the seven ns, and they are known to be even more unkible than a blood lycan because of their ability to substitute mana for life energy. They often specialize purely in magic and their body, making them powerful foes who have the mana to long since oust most foes they will fight.


    However, fire magic will make regenerating damage done to the physical body of a ghoul more difficult, and so ghouls hate fire magic users more than anything. Including the oni n.


    Ghouls are also ravenous creatures whose appetites know no bounds, leading to them eating both living and nonliving things almost every chance they get.


    They have humanoid bodies with pitch ck eyes, pale skin with veins of ck and purple energy running underneath, and ck ws.


    Weakness: A ghouls weakness is fire magic.


    Magic: Death magic, with the unique power to substitute mana for life energy, allowing them to continue living as long as they have mana regardless of the state of their body.


    Sin: Gluttony


    <strong>Arachnae</strong>


    Description: Arachnae prefer to live in the dark and are known to be the strongest assassins in all of Tartarus. They are often hired by other demons to assassinate noble demons that are too powerful at arge price. However, they only work during the night as their eyes are sensitive to the light.


    Arachnae live in nests with at least a dozen arachnae in each nest, and their kingdoms are all underground.


    These Nobles are some of the most aggressive demons towards other species out of pure envy. If there is something the other species has that the arachnae wishes to have, their envy will lead them do disliking the species.


    Thanks to this, most arachnae tend to live outside of the public eye, not interacting with the other demon species of Tartarus if they do not have to.


    Weakness: An arachnaes weakness is light magic.


    Magic: Corruption with the unique ability to absorb, recreate, mix, and experiment with any type of corruption using their own body that is immune to any corruption(poison, acid, viruses, etc).


    Sin: Envy


    <strong>Subi</strong>


    Description: Subi are known as one of the few demon species who can and will impregnate any other species. However, these creatures are also distant at the same time, as are all seers. They never create permanent ties with other creatures outside of their own species, always leaving them to wander. They never create kingdoms of their own or rule in any manner.


    If a subi is seen in a city, most demons inhabiting that city know that the subi will most likely only leave after sleeping with over a dozen different demons in the city. However, they also know not to ever anger the subi. Because entire citys poptions have been known to go missing after such an event.


    It is simply in their nature to feel lust over anything they deem beautiful.


    Weakness: A subis weakness is pain and fighting someone whos mind is protected from charm magic.


    Magic: Charm with a unique ability to divine anyone whose exact name they know and enter their dreams, thereby finding their location and being able to manipte them in their dreams.(can be warded against if someone is powerful enough)


    Sin: Lust


    <strong>Kitsune</strong>


    Description: Kitsune are known across Tartarus as the rulers of the most powerful association of thieves in all of Tartarus known as the Thieves of Tartarus. They are greedy creatures who are not able to keep their hands to themselves should they ever see something they like. Regardless of the consequences.


    However, despite their thieving nature, kitsune specialize simply in support andbat magic, with no stealth or illusion rted skills known to date.


    How they managed to create the Thieves of Tartarus to this day has alluded even the Demon King himself.(mostly because he doesnt care enough to simply order them to answer)


    Weakness: A kitsunes weakness is water magic.


    Magic: Foxfire, which is abination of fire and lightning and is solely unique to kitsunes, with the ability to enhance any skill that uses foxfire depending on how many tails the kitsune has.


    Sin: Greed


    The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.


    A new glossary will be postedter on with updated demons for the remaining sses.


    Note: Noble demons only include Blood Lycans, Oni, Arachnae, Subae, Ghouls, Mindeaters, Kitsune, and any demon above level one thousand.


    Meaning that there are no noble demons outside of those seven species who are not ss V already.


    No exceptions.


    <strong>Characters:</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet Asger:</strong>


    Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, has ck hair before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.


    The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public.


    <strong>Allen Silvester:</strong>


    Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.


    He was contracted by White to create the orphanage in the first ce and raise Scarlet as an orphan. And he knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how he feels about her.


    Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.


    <strong>Cynthia Sylvester:</strong>


    Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.


    Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.


    And she knows that Scarlet is a blood lycan, but it doesnt change how she feels about her.


    <strong>Arthur Barnes:</strong>


    A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.


    Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.


    But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.


    <strong>Arabellia Silvester:</strong>


    Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.


    She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.


    Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.


    Title: Mystic Guardian


    <strong>Michael Winters:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet at twenty years old and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.


    Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.


    Title: Druid


    <strong>Denise Harley:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet at twenty one years old and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.


    Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.


    Title: Inferno


    <strong>Emily Winters:</strong>


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet at eighteen years old and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.


    Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.


    Title: Little Reaper.


    <strong>Leonidas Val Art de Archeron: </strong>


    Demon Lord of Tartarus, Scarlets father, and the son of the current Demon King. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan who had a child with White, the current most powerful human being, and his father was not happy about it. He cares about Scarlet a lot and can get protective of her in strange ways. However, if she is on a hunt, he will not disturb her as is the way with blood lycans.


    Leonidas is known to be both honorable and kind towards all blood lycans regardless of their position in the pack, and ruthless towards any who would dare harm any member of the pack in any way.


    The man is also known to spend the majority of his time working on and improving his enchanting, both in terms of his Blood Runes level, and his actual skill in using the skill itself to enchant. He is an avid craftsman just as much as he is a powerful warrior and a beast in his own right, just like his father.


    <strong>Amelia Asger: </strong>


    White, the most powerful amongst the Knights of Humanity, and Scarlets mother. She is also the brother to Blue and aunt to Aria. Amelia loves both her daughter and Leonidas and went with the prophecy due to her fear of losing the two of them. Fear that was imnted into her by past prophecies that had gone horribly wrong after she didnt follow them.


    She has aplicated rtionships with the other Knights, and an even moreplicated rtionship with Leonidas, her mate.


    Very little is known about her by the public thanks to her wiping her information except set bits that she knew needed to remain known in order for her to continue on as her role as the White Knight of Humanity.


    However, from the few remaining traces, the humans know her to be a kind and powerful woman who is extremely socially awkward and dislikes being near other people. And while there are a very small number of people who distrust her solely for her erasing her information from the world, the majority trust in her simply due to her continuing the fight against the demons. Even leading it in some ways.


    But just like a lot of spection about people in the world, not all of it is true. Amelia Asger is indeed an extremely socially awkward person who dislikes being near others, and she has more power than any other human.


    But she is nowhere near as stable, understanding, and calm as most would choose to believe.


    <strong>Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron: </strong>


    Demon King of Tartarus, Scarlets grandfather, and the father of one of the current Demon Lords. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan and does not approve of his son having had a child with a human. However, he doesnt hold this against the child and cares about Scarlet very much. Even if he has only met her once when she was a baby. He also didnt approve of Leonidass n to bring Scarlet to Earth but had no way to go against it since hismand as Demon King doesnt work on a Demon Lord and his son conducted his n without telling him first. The man has constantly been searching for Scarlet and anything that may lead him to her so that he can bring her home and protect her as his only granddaughter.


    After Scarlet was brought to Tartarus, he prioritizes her over most things, including his own work as the King sometimes. He also has a habit of patting her on the head, to her displeasure.


    Arkaz lost both his wife and his unborn daughter due to the emperor of the old Empire that he and his people had helped conquer for them after they had turned them into demons. He has an immense distaste towards any humans, but the man himself refuses to give into his hatred unless there is a usible reason for him to kill.


    And Scarlet took that reason away from him, leading him to favor his love for her over his hatred, blotting it out in the process.


    Arkaz is known to travel the world when he is not dealing with the runnings of the Demon World of Tartarus, even if he has already seen everyst inch of the world itself. He is generally a carefree spirit on the outside, always actingidback and more than a little arrogant. Something that every demon believes to be natural given his overwhelming power.


    But be warned, when it manages to leak out of hisidback and carefree nature, his anger has been known to take millions of lives in a single swipe of his ws.


    <strong>Aria Knight: </strong>


    Aria is Scarlets cousin and the daughter of Blue. She is one of the youngest Guardians in recorded history, a famous child actress, and is emotionally stunted in her development just like Scarlet. However, she is fine with physical contact as long as its with Scarlet, who she quickly grew to like after meeting her and begins to think of as an older sister.


    Aria has long ck hair with unnatural blue eyes and two wings that she can summon whenever she pleases. The wings look like those of an angels.


    Aquatic Divine: Arias magic that lets her use both water and holy magic in tandem.


    Aria also has a few etched skills from Alexander but doesnt know what all of them are or how to use most of them except for a single one. One that allows her to shapeshift a part of her body into a tentacle tipped with a w. And this one she only knows about due to identally using it.


    <strong>Alexander Knight: </strong>


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, Blue. He is an insane psychopath with water rted magic that can also transform him into a kraken, and is tied with Red as the second most powerful human being. He is Scarlets uncle and White  Scarlets mother  brother. He is Arias father despite practically abandoning her to the government immediately after having her through the first willing gene donor he could find just to get the government off his back.


    <strong>Lucius Tor de ckheart:</strong>


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and a Ghoul. He has the titles Lord of Death and The Reaper. He uses death magic and is close to the Demon King. He is the oldest of the four Demon Lords even if he isnt the strongest and has family issues.


    He dislikes the way blood lycans treat their family sometimes and had a troubled childhood where he was almost eaten by his own father. But it didnt end there as he himself almost ate his own father, instead opting to eat a random demon outside of the room to barely save his father from that fate.


    Lucius pities Scarlet and sympathizes with her, so he helps her for those reasons to break free from her Grandfather and Fathers control. But his real thoughts on Scarlet are unknown to everyone beyond his trust in the Demon King.


    Lucius is widely known as a fervent reader of books and searcher of novels of all kinds, both educational and otherwise. Many people suspect this to be his way of smothering his hunger under fantasy outside of reality. Something many other ghouls are known to do, each in their own ways whether that be pleasure, sleep, or even illusions.


    <strong>Vorgrim ckthorn of the ck me:</strong>


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and an oni. He is aplete battle maniac who cares only about honor andbat prowess. If someone has none of those qualities, he believes them to be worthless and will kill them if he doesnt believe they deserve their status. And if he does believe they deserve his status, then he ignores their existence entirely.


    Whereas the other Demon Lords aside from Leonidas mostly respect her because of who she is, Vorgrim respects Scarlet on a fundamental level beyond her status as the First Princess of Tartarus and the Demons. He respects her power. Her strength. Her magic. And her willpower to move forwards and grasp deadly achievements for herself.


    Vorgrim is widely known to ept any and all challenges from any demons and takes in demons to train amongst those challengers who he believes show promise as a warrior.


    <strong>Xyvandra Vyx Yxethra:</strong>


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus, the Lady of Devouring, and a mindeater. She is disinterested in the war between the humans and the demons but assists in the war purely out of her respect and loyalty towards the Demon King.


    Xyvandra thinks of Scarlet as a young girl and the granddaughter of the most trusted person in the world to her. However, her respect and care for Scarlet is still not enough to arouse her from her slumber lest the Demon King ask for her assistance, or Scarlet or Leonidas is in severe danger and need help.


    However, Xyvandra doesnt show herself in public enough for demonkind to know of her nature as a demon, because just like all other mindeaters, she sleeps the day away detached from her body whenever she isnt needed by the Demon King.


    <strong>Will Wright:</strong>


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, ck. He has a split personality with one of his personalities being a yful prankster, and the other a pseudo psychopath. The man both wishes to take Scarlet in and adopt her but also doesnt at the same time. One side of him wishes to do it out of actual worry and care, while the other just wants to spite Amelia, Scarlets biological mother.


    ck uses a shadow rted magic that makes him the most powerful human assassin in the world.


    <strong>Noah Walker:</strong>


    Noah is the Red Knight of Humanity and tied for the second most powerful human being, being evenly matched with Blue. He has a son named ke Walker, who he raised on the front lines like a soldier.


    <strong>ke Walker:</strong>


    ke is the son of Red and is a ss II Guardian. He also admits that Scarlet is his type but adamantly refuses to let that develop into any form of romantic interest.


    <strong>Sylver:</strong>


    A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.


    <strong>Sage:</strong>


    She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.


    Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.


    <strong>Alfred Raynsford:</strong>


    The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.


    He is one of the few people who remembers what White looks like and still meets with her regrly.


    <strong>Jacob R. Ashton:</strong>


    He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart. However, not much else is known about him beyond his being familiar with White.


    <strong>Julian: </strong>


    Son of the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city. He was the new Guardian Scarlet saved in a Fracture. He has silver hair to match the tail that pokes a hole through his pants along with two silver eyes, the same glossy shade of silver as his tail.


    <strong>Anthony Wilson: </strong>


    Contracted partner of Artoria  Tars sister  and a user of death magic. Part void spawn due to human experimentation. Can use a powerful legendary skill that drastically increases all of his stats for the price of taking an explosive amount of damage if hurt while using the skill.


    <strong>Lucas Walsh:</strong>


    Lucas was the second ce finisher in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament that Scarlet won. He is a student at Aquatic Pride Guardians University, and has a strong magical sense of smell, leading to him noticing Scarlets scent and pointing it out in a creepy manner.


    Lucas is not able to understand the nuances behind things spoken to him or by him, making him miss the small details that are meant to be left unsaid and leaving him to say things that can be taken as creepy or strange.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Shifter


    <strong>Abigail Kim:</strong>


    Abigail was defeated in the quarterfinal round of the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. She is a student at Yggdrasil Guardians University, goes by the nickname Abi, and is the only mental magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Abigail and Sam are dating.


    Her Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Lost


    <strong>Samuel Lewis:</strong>


    Sam was defeated in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. He is a student at Hunters Peak Guardians University, goes by the nickname Sam, and is the only blood magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Sam and Abigail are dating.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Crim


    <strong>Ethan Davis:</strong>


    Ethan was defeated by Scarlet in the Tower Siege secondary tournament and is a student at Scorched Halls Guardians University. He uses a magic that locks him in ce while he absorbs the damage dealt to him before he eventually releases is all at the target in an uncontroble wave ofva.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Molten Angel


    <strong>Caroline Winters:</strong>


    Carol is a ss III Guardian and the number one ranked student currently at Lions Heart Guardians University. She is also the older sister of both Emily and Michael, two of Scarlets former teammates.


    Carol uses spatial magic that lets her cut apart space itself.


    Title: Rift


    <strong>Anthony Wilson:</strong>


    A death magic user and a ss I Guardian who is the second strongest in Scarlets ss.


    Title: Necro


    <strong>Raiden Akuma:</strong>


    The daughter of the n Leader for the Kitsune n and the head maid of the Demon King. She is also currently tasked with helping Scarlet navigate the kitsune n.


    Akuma is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike other kitsune, she holds herself back most of the time. And the rest of the kitsune are terrified of her because she is often the one dealing out punishment for members of the n who lose themselves to their Sin of Greed.


    <strong>Raiden Amaterasu:</strong>


    The n Leader for the Kitsune n and Akumas mother. She is also stronger than White.


    Amaterasu is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike her daughter, she does not hold herself back unless she has to. Because she has the power to back her actions.


    The only time she ever holds herself back is from going too far with Scarlet as she does fear and respect the Demon King too much to go any further than mere ying.

 Book 4: Chapter 23: Demons’ Struggles

    Book 4: Chapter 23: Demons¡¯ Struggles


    <strong>Somewhere in the Mountains</strong>


    Yetara clenches his fist as the yeti looks out over his camp at the hundreds of other yetis move around, many of them preparing to head to bed for the night while the others take their ces during watch. And he cant help but feel <em>honored </em>at the esteemed privilege that he  a level 731 yeti  was given, being ced inmand of an entire battalion of yeti. ss III and IV yeti at that!


    Everything has been going well for the demon world recently. They managed to reim their lost Princess, the frontline was broken in the war and the stalemate along with it, and to make things even greater for Yetara, he was designated a General even without being level 1000!


    Even if it was because of his Noble father.


    But Yetara doesnt see that as a downside. His need to use his fathers connections. Because everyone, even Yetara, needs a chance to achieve greatness.


    And if he needs to rely on connections to do that, then he will.


    Yetara unclenches his fist, showing a smile on his face that reveals the sharp fangs on his white-fur-covered face. The yeti has, unlike the other yetis around them, a set of glowing red patters on the fur in his face that are unique to his ancestors etched skill. Patterns that spread onto his tusks as well. Meanwhile the rest of his two-and-a-half meter tall body is covered entirely in stark white fur as he flexes his ws a little.


    Also unlike a lot of the other yeti here, Yetaras armor consists of blood metal, making a stark contrast in color from his fur.


    The yeti continues looking out over the base camp from his ce on a cliffs edge, ignoring all of the snow falling down around him until he finally turns around and begins to enter his tent. But right when hes doing so, he feels a slight itch in his body, followed by a twitch in his head that both give him pause.


    Yetara turns around and looks at his surroundings for a moment before studying the yetis below the cliff, only to turn around again and head back into the tent.


    <em>Mustve been my imagination.</em>


    <strong>A few hourster</strong>


    Yetara grimaces as he gets up from his bed in the tent, feeling a dull pain radiating throughout his body, along with another stabbing pain in his head. Then he walks over to the entrance and leaves the tent before shouting, Again!


    One of the healers now currently busy healing any other demon in the area rushes over to him and uses a healing skill on him that grants him relief from the faint pain, and more importantly, the stabbing pain in his head. But they once again fail to do anything about the fogginess he feels in his mind.


    <em>Just what in the Demon Kings name is going on?! Is some sort of major disease running through this camp? Or did the humans release a disease on us? But how is iting back every time we heal ourselves?</em>


    The yetis grimace growsrger as he steps up to the cliff and looks out over the base camp, finding all of the demons under hismand in various degrees of sickness all over the camp. And along with that he notices all of their water, their food, their resources, and even the air around them filled with a very faint reddish-ck tint to it.


    His eyes narrow at the sight of the mist. A mist that he didnt see until this time leaving his camp.


    <em>Looks like its a skill, and whatever it is has been building up for a while now. Since it wasnt visible when I first used Magic Sense to check out the camp.</em>


    Search the nearby area for any humans!! he shouts despite having already given that order once before. And pack up the camp! Were moving locations!


    <em>The enemy will just find us again and continue their assault after moving, but well at least move out of the heavily contaminated area.</em>


    Yetara continues using his Magic Sense skill to search through his surroundings for any sort of sources of mana or magic at all, but no matter how hard he tries to search within the few kilometers surrounding the base camp, he cant find anything out of the ordinary. Except for the disease in the air itself.


    <em>Damnit, they have to be somewhere nearby!!!</em>


    The yeti grabs a potion crafted by the witches  an incredibly expensive item on Tartarus that costs thousands of gold coins  and downs it to recover his mana.


    Yaltal! Yetara shouts, making a female yeti standing just a bit shorter than him approach from her post outside of his tent. Send forces outside of the base camp to search for the enemy as well. I suspect theyre trying to wear us down and drain us of our mana to give them an easy time when they assault in mass.


    As youmand, General, the woman states before rushing off to do her job.


    <em>I have to prepare for an army of humans. Theres no way whoevers targeting us has any less than a force of a thousand Guardians with them, and if they attack us while were weakened like this</em>


    Yetaras grimace returns at that thought as he considers the ramifications for him if he were to lose his very first campaign on Earth. One that he was given control of simply due to his fathers rank and no actual achievements on his part.


    <em>If ites down to it I can just give out my stock of potions.</em>


    His father had given them to him for a reason, but he really didnt believe hed have to use them all this early on.


    Just the thought of burning dozens of potions on the campaign this early on irritates the man enough to finally rouse him from his Sloth.


    <em>Whoever this bastard is, I will make them pay tenfold for what theyve done. They cant keep this up forever after all.</em>


    Yetara immediately redoubles his efforts into searching for the enemy.

 Book 4: Chapter 24: The Demon Army

    Book 4: Chapter 24: The Demon Army


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a rxed sigh as I continue lying down on the mostly dead and snow covered tree, simply listening to the sounds of the demons panic due to the seven different gues I let loose in their camp. Something that is probably a little cruel, but considering that were at war, not something I need to care about. And since the gues only infect those I consider my enemies, I let them spread into the air and basically in any way possible.


    Each of my gues created by Blood gue is highly contagious, and since theyre magic based, they dont exactly build up any sort of immunity to the gues. And while Im not really sure how that works, I dont really care either.


    <strong>Its magic, </strong>Tarments from his ce lying on my chest.


    True.


    Anyways, this is a rather easy way to hunt an entire battalion of demons. After all, theres no way Id be able to deal with several hundred ss III and IV demons on my own without whittling them down first.


    They also cant find me considering that Im several hundred kilometers away from them. Something that they dont even consider to be possible thanks to how active my gues are and how theyre getting reinfected after being healed.


    Now if only I could target those with healing skills from here. That would make this rather easy.


    <strong>Well, the demons wouldnt die just from your gues, </strong>Tar says as he stretches a little. And I admit, hes right. My gues I currently have arent really designed to kill. Theyre mostly to weaken the infected targets.


    Although you said that the skill should give me fatal gues at the higher levels?


    <strong>Yeah, but those will probably cost a lot more mana to spread, </strong>Tar answers, making me hum a little in response.


    Sounds about right.


    The gues they have right now should significantly decrease their fighting capability, both in terms of focus, physical strength, mental strength, their speed, and basically any possible way. They do have seven different gues after all, even if they keep healing them.


    Its also burning their mana while theyre healing. Which is a win-win situation.


    I just have to sit here as they spread the gue more, because the only way they could possibly get rid of itpletely is by healing everyst person there at once. Since every infected individual literally breathes and coughs out the gue into the air around them, not to mention that theyre spreading it to everything they touch.


    And from what I understand of their forces, which are mostly made up of a bunch of ice and cold focused magic users, they arent going to be able to heal that much at once.


    While sitting in on Gramps strategy meetings, I learned the structure of the demon army. They have squads which are their lowest groups of troops consisting of just about ten or so demons with one captain leading them. Then they have a toon consisting of about fifty demons, apany with about one hundred demons, apany with about two hundred and fifty demons, a battalion  which is what the demons Im spreading the gue through are  with about five hundred to a thousand demons, a brigade, which is controlled solely by Nobles and has tens of thousands of demons, andstly, the legions.


    Overall, the legions are the main forces of the war. Theyre each army as a whole, so I guess I could just call a legion an army on its own.


    Meanwhile each level has their own ss along with one ss below them serving in them. Except troops, which are just ss I demons. And legions, which are basically everythingbined into one.


    toons have ss IIs and Is and are led by a Demon Commander,panies have ss IIIs and IIs and are led by a Demon Elite, battalions have ss IVs and IIIs and are led by a Demon General, and brigades have ss Vs and IVs with a Demon Marshal leading them. And all of those groups are a part of a legion, which is led by a higher ranking Noble demon, with the current n demons on Earth controlling all of the legions.


    But because of the size of each force growing exponentially, I cant exactly run in and attack. These are all organized forces of demons, each with magic of their own. And this particr battalion has about seven hundred and thirty or so demons in it. Not a force that I can take on without some extra precautions.


    I look down at my skin to find the faint white glow still there, shining in the darkness of the snowy night.


    Good thing Amelia used a skill of hers to nullify the sight of any human or human technology from seeing me. So I dont have to worry about humans seeing me transform, nor do I have to worry about them recording it.


    And as long as I transform before attacking them, the demons wont know what I look like in my human form. Although theyll be rather confused as to why a blood lycan is attacking them.


    The only ones wholl know the truth are the Nobles who will just ignore me since they should know Im on Earth and will be fighting them. Well, ignore me as long as I dont cause too much trouble. Which Im nning on doing. But I can deal with them when that happens.


    Although this particr skill of Amelias onlysts for about three or so months. So Im going to have to get it refreshed periodically.


    But three months is a pretty good amount of time.


    <strong>Have you decided what youll do for <em>that </em>particr issue? </strong>Tar asks, making me purse my lips with a sour look on my face.


    I dont have much of a choice. Im going to have to get a skill simr to Amelias to redact my own name from now on, since hers is running out of uses on me quickly.


    Something I find rather annoying. That she can only use that particr skill on someone a few times.


    Then again, its not a mythic skill shes using to redact my name. Its a legendary one.


    Also one that she doesnt have etched, unfortunately. So it doesnt have the boost that the original etcher of a skill gets for etching the skill.


    <strong>If you get another etched skill slot, the current redaction on your name wont be able to hold it and will shatter, </strong>Tarments.


    Yeah and then my identity will be revealed to all of Earth in the process.


    So my only option really is to get a skill to redact my own name before that happens.


    I nce in the direction of the battalion as I listen to whats happening over there once more.


    Although maybe it wouldnt be the worst thing in the world if I were no, never mind.


    I let out a sigh as I look up again and close my eyes.


    Those demons sure are taking a while to tire out.

 Book 4: Chapter 25: The Dawn of the Hunt

    Book 4: Chapter 25: The Dawn of the Hunt


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Nearly four entire days pass in silence as Ize around asionally hunting a random demon that gets close before moving again. And throughout that time, the battalion has grown weaker and weaker to the point that Im pretty sure I can take them now.


    Their healers in particr seem to be out of mana entirely at this point, considering how they stopped healing and started focusing all of their attention on searching for me. Which lets my gues grow more severe.


    Something else that I find rather nice is that Im getting life energy just from the minor damage my gues are doing to them. A very nice benefit that I hadnt realized was a thing at first.


    <strong>Its a little too powerful if you ask me </strong>Tarments before suddenly snorting from his ce on my shoulder as I stand atop a tree. <strong>I just realized you might end up getting more gue and corruption rted skills and achievements just from this rather cruel method of warfare youre conducting.</strong>


    Maybe. Probably. Okay, yeah, Ill absolutely be getting achievements rted to this. But skills? I doubt it.


    Anyways, I think it should be fine to attack soon. Ill just give it a few more hours to make sure they dont heal up again before I attack.


    <strong>You going all in right away? </strong>Tar asks, sounding a little bit excited for this fight. Which I understandpletely, considering how I havent really gotten much hunting in even aftering here.


    I purse my lips for a moment at his question before shaking my head.


    No. Ill fight personally to whittle them down and maybe let them gain some confidence before I use Blood of Ruin to wipe out the rest of them.


    It should make for a good n.


    Start off by frightening them with my sudden appearance while theyre so weak, take out a lot of them in the midst of their surprise, then finish them off when theyre gaining confidence and wont just run the moment they see Blood of Ruin.


    <strong>Sounds like a n, </strong>Tar says with a nod of his head. Then he vanishes and I stretch my arms a little.


    Looks like its about time to start the hunt.


    I transform into my beast form before stretching a little again to get any kinks out from myzing around.


    Lets go.


    I jump from the tree to the next one in the direction of the battalion, then the next, and the next.


    <strong>The Demons Second Base Camp</strong>


    Yeta lets out a sigh as she leans on her spear while looking around the trees at the edge of the camp, only to look back and find the rest of her team all exhausted around her just like she is. But all of them are mostly out of mana by now thanks to the diseases that have been going around the camp for thest several days.


    <em>I dont even care anymore please just make this end</em>


    At first, Yeta, just like all of the other yetis, wendigos, and frost smanders were all livid at whoever spread the diseases through the battalion. But now shes just exhausted and hoping to go home. To get out of this ce and recover from the diseases.


    If it werent for the Demon Kings orders, Yeta suspects several demons wouldve already deserted by now. But thats not a possibility. Not with his orders.


    Yeta feels the exhaustion in her body still growing thanks to the gue. And even if she knows that it wont kill her just based off of instinct, shes not stupid enough to believe that the culprit behind the diseases will simply leave them be after theyre weakened.


    <em>Im surprised the force of humans hasnt attacked already several hundred humans should easily be able to wipe us out at this rate with us in this condition. So it means they probably only have a few hundred and are waiting for us to get at our absolute breaking point.</em>


    The yeti feels real fear at that thought before she shakes her head and stands up straight, using all of her strength to stand rigid and with the power that she has shown in the form of ice coating her skin. But when she reaches her full height, she frowns. Because a sh of red catches her eye in the snow-covered trees.


    Everyone, watch out, I see something in the trees, she tells the others, her voice carrying through their teams antinols telepathy skill. It might-


    Her words are cut off when a <em>blood lycan </em>of all things rushes out of the trees in it, no, <em>her</em>, bipedal beast form, making Yeta physically jump in surprise as abject terror appears on her face.


    <strong>|[REDACTED]  Hu/bl-ood-ma/ly-/cann  Level 532|</strong>


    The blood lycan, or at least, Yeta <em>thinks </em>its a blood lycan, has blood red eyes that shine with an eerie light in the dark of the snow-covered night. And that red light is joined by the red, ck, and blue electricity running across the blood lycans body and armor. She  and Yeta can clearly tell its a she considering the blood lycans figure despite her being in her beast form  is wearing armor made out of blood metal and radiating with enchantments and blood runes that Yeta can sense with her own rune magic.


    Yetas eyes are drawn to the ck and red ws that are quickly covered in blood metal as the blood lycan rushes out of the trees towards them. Then, as Yeta raises her spear to block the strikes of the blood lycan, she sees the blood lycan suddenly change direction towards one of her team members. And under her eyes, the blood lycan draws her ws straight across the chest of Icefang, one of the wendigos in her team.


    No! Yeta shouts, but the blood lycan just ignores her as she tears the throat out of her teammate. Then the girl  Yeta is assuming the blood lycan is a child since its only ss IV and is as small as she is  sprints towards another one of her teammates while seemingly drawing blood from the corpse of Icefang.


    Right when the girl is about to tear the throat out of her other wendigo teammate Frostmoon, Yeta shouts, Why would you help those <em>disgusting</em> humans?! Why would you betray your own n?!


    The girl pauses for a split second before proceeding to tear apart Frostmoon, followed soon after by every other member of Yetas team, each of whom are too exhausted from the diseases to put up much of a fight against her. Then she finally walks up to Yeta while flexing her ws a little and controlling the blood dripping off of them to absorb into her ws and harden.


    <em>I dont owe an exnation to a pawn whos just attacking on the orders of someone else out of blind devotion, </em>the blood lycan answers, her voice having a terrifying note to it despite the voice itself sounding beautiful. Like she didnt have the head of a wolf right now and were still in her lycan form.


    Yetas eyes widen in shock at that, only for everything to go ck right after the blood lycan sprints at her, making thest thing the yeti ever sees be the blood lycans ws meeting her gaze.

 Book 4: Chapter 26: Eavesdropping

    Book 4: Chapter 26: Eavesdropping


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I frown at the corpse lying near my feet before shaking my head and sprinting through the trees to find the next group to hunt.


    Sorry, yeti, but youre on the wrong side of the war. And Im sure Ill find plenty of other demons that are not necessarily bad people, even ording to the biased opinions of the humans. Just that theyre obsessively devoted to Gramps and dont even care about what theyre doing. They just believe the humans are disgusting and should be killed.


    Then again, even if they were on Tartarus, theyd likely end up attacking me anyways just to grow stronger. When my crest isnt shown, that is.


    Tartarus is just that sort of world after all.


    A rather sad thing, but there wasnt much Gramps could do considering the demons instincts, and thecking intelligence of most of the demons.


    Not to mention the fact that most of the demons are purely carnivores until they reach ss V, so most of their food consists of other demons. One of the many things the mutation turning them into demons in the first ce did to them. Made it so they didnt need a significant amount of the vitamins and nutrients humans needed.


    I grimace at the thought before reaching the next team of demons and tearing them apart just like the first. Then I move on to the next, and the next, and the next. And soon enough, it bes a bit of a routine with me taking on any demons that are a part of this battalion, including the ones nearly two hundred levels above me. Simply because theyre all weakened too much by my gues to put up anywhere near as much of a fight as they would before.


    In fact, the only demons that are actually able to fight me well are those who are about two hundred or so levels above me.


    Im kind of surprised by how weak this battalion is though, since the vast majority of them are all in the first couple hundred levels of ss IV or not even ss IV in the first ce. There are also quite a few demons in these teams that arent even sapient.


    Time passes and by the time Ive hunted nearly a hundred demons, all of the teams finally form up on the base, no longer leaving it to scout. Which makes it even easier for me to spread the disease through their groups. Something I honestly wonder if they even considered.


    Then again, they seem to be on theirst straws now.


    I climb a tree on a mountain looking over the valley their base is located in before standing at the top of it with my arms folded under my chest, my finger tapping from time to time on my elbow as I listen in on their leaders conversation with his troops.


    <em>Im telling you, we need to leave! But we cant! Were under strict orders to- His Majesty wouldnt want us to just sacrifice ourselves to a filthy human, would he?!</em>


    <em>The target isnt a human, </em>the leader eventually speaks up, interrupting the other demons in his tent and making me raise a brow as I stand on the tree in my lycan form. <em>One of our scouts has returned with intel that the attacker in question is a blood lycan.</em>


    Silence fills their tent for several seconds, only for each of the several demons in it to blow up at once into shouts.


    <em>A blood lycan?! Why is it here?! Why is there a blood lycan on Earth!? How did it get here?! There hasnt been any news of one of the Lords of the Blood Lycan ning to Earth! Who is it?!</em>


    <em>Silence, </em>the leader deres, shutting all of the demons up immediately. Then he continues, <em>We arent sure about who the blood lycan is as they have their name redacted somehow. And their species is also messed up as well, likely due to whatever is redacting their name.</em>


    I raise my other brow at that rather convenient excuse served up to me on a silver tter.


    <em>What about recognizable features of the blood lycan? </em>one of the other demons asks, breaking their silence.


    The leader doesnt seem to mind this time as he answers, <em>All we have is that the blood lycan was in their bipedal beast form, was small and most likely a child blood lycan, was ss IV, and is the most likely culprit behind the blood gue. Which means theyre our enemy.</em>


    All of the demons go silent after that. And they stay silent for a while.


    <em>What can we do? </em>one of them finally asks.


    But all the leader does is answer, <em>The only thing we can do. Follow our orders and fight it. Were on Earth, and the blood lycan doesnt have her crest showing. Theres nothing else we can do but fight to survive.</em>


    Looks like my identity really is safe.


    <strong>Well, extremely few ss IV demons have ever actually seen your grandfather or your father, and even fewer know that youre on Earth, </strong>Tar states some good points. <strong>And while blood lycans never exile children, they will probably just assume youre some blood lycan child that ran away and ended up on Earth while deciding to rebel or something by damaging the war effort.</strong>


    I blink at that.


    They will really think Im some sort of entitled brat having a tantrum? Seriously?


    Wow.


    It makes for a really good coverup, but at the same time, its kind of sad that theyd truly believe a blood lycan child would just throw a tantrum by ughtering hundreds of ss III and ss IV demons on Earth.


    Also, Im getting sick of being called a child. I thought I was done with that shit after leaving Tartarus.


    Its infuriating.


    <strong>Well, technically by demon terms you are a child, </strong>Tarments, and I just let out a huff at that and begin walking towards the base.


    Ill be turning twenty years in just a few days. I am <em>not </em>a child.


    Anyways, time to finish off this base.

 Book 4: Chapter 27: The Princess’s Rain of Destruction

    Book 4: Chapter 27: The Princess¡¯s Rain of Destruction


    <strong>The Demons Second Base Camp</strong>


    Yetara grimaces as he looks out over the remaining four hundred demons of his battalion. A meager forcepared to how many demons he had under him in the beginning.


    And all of it was caused by just a single demon, not even a human, much less the force of thousands of humans he was expecting.


    <em>Even if its a n demon, isnt this too much?! How can a single demon handle so many shouldnt they have run out of mana by now? Or were they using some sort of extremely powerful legendary skill to do all of this?!</em>


    The yeti lets out a short growl of frustration before suddenly jerking his head to the side as he sees a sh of red through the snow. Then he growls louder for a moment and shouts, Blood lycan child! Why are you doing this?!


    All of his men move to their feet, pushing themselves through the exhaustion and pain of their diseases as they turn to face the lone female blood lycan in her beast form. A form of only two-and-a-half meters in height. Maybe not even that much.


    <em>Damnit, they really are a fucking child! Even if we manage to kill them and get home alive, therell be hell to pay if this childs death is ever learned about by the blood lycan n!</em>


    Yetara nces around his men for a moment beforeing to the decision that hell kill off all of his own men after dealing with the blood lycan child, just to make sure no word of it reaches the higher ups.


    To Yetaras surprise, the blood lycan girl doesnt stop moving even to talk. Instead she just continues walking towards them until she is in the middle of the sickened demons, some of whom are beginning to tense up in order to attack her. And right when Yetara is about to order them all to attack her at once, she stops moving and raises her hand into the air.


    Then a chill runs down Yetaras spine. And hes not the only one considering the fear he sees on the other demons faces around him.


    Under his and all of the other demons eyes, blood begins to rip itself out of the blood lycans body by the droplets. And to top it off, more blood begins to rush out of a pocket dimension space that opens above her hand. But the girl herself just ignores this all as she watches the blood rise into the air to form an orb.


    An orb that swiftly starts turning a corrupted ck in color.


    <em>Oh no</em>


    The blood orb begins to spin, slowly at first, and then faster and faster until its moving too fast for Yetaras eyes to keep up with it. Then little droplets of blood start to appear all over therge base camp and even in the forest around them. And the moment Yetara sees those droplets, he begins running for his life.


    <em>By the grace of the Demon King, why the fuck is Her Royal Highness here on Earth killing her own forces?!?</em>


    Yetara quickly thinks back to the troops he had already sent to exin his battalions situation to the legion hes a part of, but he knows reinforcements wont being quickly enough to matter.


    Abject terror fills the demons hearts as he runs through his base, passing straight through the hundreds of demons who are too terrified to move and dont recognize what it is theyre looking at. But out of the corner of his eye he finds several other demons running just like him.


    His diseased condition makes him too slow though, and by the time he reaches the outskirts of the base camp, hes left staring at lines of blood that are quickly turning ck after theyd connected to the orb in the sky without his notice, blocking his escape route. So he turns back around to find the many droplets of blood having turned into orbs themselves.


    Yetara looks around the area in terror, only for his gaze to eventually settle on the Princess.


    <em>If I can just knock her unconscious without killing her, the skill should stop!</em>


    With this thought in his head, he begins running through the other demons towards the girl who is now on one knee due to the mana drain of the skill. But he doesnt manage to make it before he feels a powerful tugging sensation in his blood that makes him stumble. And while the tugging sensation is only barely not strong enough to rip his own blood out of his body, its not the same for many of the other demons around him as dozens of demons end up with their blood being forcefully ripped out of their body through their skin and fur before it rises to the orbs above them along with the blood on the ground.


    <em>No! I cant let it end like this! I was supposed to make a name for myself in this war! Supposed to raise my status on Tartarus!</em>


    Yetara fails to climb back to his feet after falling to the ground, and by now the orbs are cracking and droplets of ck blood are all starting to fall all over the base camp and beyond.


    Screams immediately fill the camp as the blood of ruin corrodes anything and anyone it touches, including the snow around them and in the air as it starts to turn the base camp into a barren wastnd of blood and red ash. And Yetara isnt an exception to that as he screams until his throat is too corroded to scream anymore.


    Despite his screaming and pain though, Yetara cant help but look onest time at his Princess. And despite it all, despite everything shes done to him, he cant help but feel proud to have a Princess as strong as her. Even if shes acting out right now and fighting against the wrong side, likely due to her human genes.


    <em>At least my death will mean something and when shes returned to the right side of the war she can rain destruction on the filthy humans</em>


    These are thest thoughts Yetara has before he dies, thest image engraved in his mind being that of his Princess rising to her feet again as she looks out over the destruction she had wrought.

 Book 4: Chapter 28: Aftermath Part I

    Book 4: Chapter 28: Aftermath Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I watch in silence all the way till thest demon of the battalion dies before letting out a sigh. But I dont regret anything. I dont feel bad for them. Because these demons all signed up voluntarily toe here and dominate the human world. All just for their own advancement and for their own prestige.


    Even if a few of the demons in the battalion did show some rather human emotions by the end of it.


    <strong>Well, they were all human once, </strong>Tarments as I turn around and quickly sprint out of the area. <strong>Or at least, their ancestors were.</strong>


    Yeah.


    I continue running until Im several kilometers from the base camp before I transform out of my beast form and stretch a little. Then I control the blood covering me to push it into my blood storage as I slowly start walking through the mountains towards the human headquarters. A ce that should be located a couple thousand kilometers to the East.


    After spending almost a week outside in the snow while waiting for those demons to weaken, itll be very nice to get back into my bed for a night.


    I continue walking for a while before eventually letting my System Messages flow. Something thats been a longtimeing since I havent done it since the start of this hunt.


    <strong>{Level 542 Frost Smander defeated. A small EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 652 Frost Smander defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 522 Yeti defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 671 Yeti defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over a hundred levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 530 Wendigo defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>{Level 649 Wendigo defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over a hundred levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 731 Yeti defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over a hundred levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Thirty Skill Points are awarded for killing three hundred creatures in a single use of a skill.}</strong>


    <strong>{Thirty Skill Points are awarded for spreading multiple gues through a vast area so that anyone targeted who enters the area will immediately be infected.} </strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for infecting over five hundred creatures with multiple gues.} </strong>


    <strong>{Twenty-five Skill Points are awarded for infecting over five hundred creatures with a gue.} </strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for infecting over one hundred creatures with a gue.} </strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Yeti.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Frost Smander.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x187</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 532. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 599. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 15.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Empowerment has leveled up to level 11.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Empowerment has leveled up to level 12.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood has leveled up to level 17.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood ws has leveled up to level 26.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Nullification has leveled up to level 4.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Life Sense has leveled up to level 16.]</strong>


    A hint of a smile stretches across my face as I walk, proud of my achievements. And I dont have to worry about the gues I let loose either, since they were eradicated alongside the rest of basically everything thanks to Blood of Ruin.


    So win-win.


    Also, that was a lot of achievements over my use of gues. Which was kind of expected.


    What wasnt expected was the whole getting ny Skill Points for it thing.


    Not that Imining. The more Skill Points I get, the happier I am. And with this recent hunt, I now have three hundred and eighteen Skill Points to spend.


    I also didnt expect Blood of Ruin to be able to kill them all with a single use of the skill. Although I guess that was probably because of Blood Empowerment, which Im pretty sure expanded the range of Blood of Ruin and made it stronger. Even if it drained me quite a bit of life energy.


    Sanguine Effect restored that quickly enough, considering how I massacred an entire battalion, but it was still rather ufortable.


    And looking at how Blood Empowerment leveled up in the process,pletely worth it.


    I stretch a little and yawn. Something that doesnt happen very often considering that I dont actually need sleep anymore. Not since reaching ss III.


    At least, not if I dont stress my body out like I did in this battle. Not to mention that Ive been hunting mostly nonstop for days now.


    I continue walking as I consider whether or not I should spend the three hundred and eighteen Skill Points I have right now on leveling up skills or on getting new ones. Because if I keep taking every new legendary skill I get, I wont really be able to level up my current ones very high. But at the same time, I think a new legendary skill is worth more than a few levels on an old one.


    What do you think, Tar?


    <strong>I think you should just look at the new legendary skills even if you dont buy them, </strong>Tar suggests, and I admit hes right.


    If there isnt a legendary skill Im interested in enough to buy over leveling skills, I just wont get it.


    Although I doubt Ill get any new legendary skills with these achievements alone. With the exception of the killing three hundred creatures with a single use of a skill achievement.


    That one I can see maybe unlocking a legendary skill.


    Maybe.


    It should at least be counted towards a legendary skill, even if it doesnt unlock one just yet.


    With that thought in mind, I open the Skills Store to look for a new legendary skill. And I find nothing.


    Well, thats disappointing.


    In that case, time to figure out what to level up with Skill Points.

 Book 4: Chapter 28.2: Aftermath Part II

    Book 4: Chapter 28.2: Aftermath Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The first thing I do is bring both Blood gue and Blood Thirst to level 15 by spending two hundred and seventy Skill Points total, following which I stand in ce while staring at my status  after allocating my free points, of course  for several seconds. Then I eventually settle on spending the remaining forty-eight Skill Points on bringing Blood Retribution to level 12 from level 10. Or rather, I use forty-six of the forty-eight remaining points on doing that.


    Thest two points are just gonna sit there gathering dust until the next time I get Skill Points. Which shouldnt be long considering Ill probably go out on another hunt either tomorrow or the day after.


    Probably tomorrow.


    Anyways, after making sure everythings done, I take another look at my status overall.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Age: 19</strong><strong>Level: 599</strong><strong>SP: 2</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 1,743</strong><strong>Mental: 1,743</strong><strong>Magical: 1,743</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 1,312,033.9/ 4,532,355</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 22</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 21</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 4</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 17</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Empowerment</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 6</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 18</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Aura</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Sense</strong><strong>Skill Level: 16</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Predator V</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    A very nice looking status, if I do say so myself.


    <strong>Humble, are we? </strong>Tarments, making me smirk in amusement. But then the smirk vanishes as I focus on the descriptions of Blood gue and Blood Thirst, only to find that the change was basically the same as it was thest times. Blood gue got another three gues added while Blood Thirst increased the amount of bonus per stack by a very small amount again.


    Nothing overly new, but Blood Thirst is definitely useful in this war, so its best to raise its level a bit. Especially since its a lot more useful at higher levels.


    And if Im gonna be using Blood gue to wipe out battalions like this, I might as well go ahead and level that skill up too.


    Very nice to see the fast progression again though, since it always slows down the further I get into a ss. A rather annoying facet of the System. Or I guess the universe, since the System isnt what decides how things work. For the most part.


    Considering how that battalion only had about a third or a fourth of its numbers in ss IV, I dont think Ill be able to level up as quickly with the next battalion. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if I end up only getting half as many levels with each battalion I wipe out. Not to mention how itll probably get harder as I destroy more of them, since I wouldnt be surprised if the battalion here had a teleporter or two who managed to escape and warn the other demons of my actions.


    At least I know none of them saw my use of Blood of Ruin. I wouldve heard them otherwise, not to mention sensed them with Life Sense.


    Im pretty sure its safe to say that I should expect the other battalions to have more healers amongst them when I attack. But that wont be an issue. Just means I have to sit there longer waiting for them to wear out.


    Especially considering that I have more mana now than before thanks to therge influx of levels I got from this first battalion. Not to mention more gues.


    Actually,e to think of it, I need to test out the three new gues I got ess to with the level-up of Blood gue. Because if theyre good enough, I might be able to make quite the use of them in the next battles.


    I continue walking through the snow-covered mountains until I find a wild animal and quickly try to use Blood gue on it, making the different types of gues appear in my thoughts as I do. And just momentster, I find myself smirking.


    Not bad. Not bad at all.


    Two of the gues are meh. Not much better than the others.


    But the tenth gue of the ten gues? That one seems to make use of my null magic a little by nullifying a very miniscule amount of the targets mana when they use their mana. A gue thatll reduce the amount of time itll take for me to wait out their healers, seeing as theyre gonna be burning even more mana every time they cure each other of my gues.


    The only thing I need to worry about is the possibility that they may have a demon who can somehow cleanse the entire area at once of my gues. But theyd have to have a ss V demon to do that, and I cant see them bringing one to a mere battalion. Especially not this early on.


    I continue sprinting through the mountains again in the direction of the base with a wide smile on my face.


    One nights resting up soon, then the next hunt begins.

 Book 4: Chapter 29: Report

    Book 4: Chapter 29: Report


    <strong>In a Mountain Range far to the East of the Frontlines</strong>


    Silgar heaves in exhaustion as he appears once more after teleporting dozens of kilometers in a single go, only to teleport again and again until he finally arrives at the teleportation hub in the secondary line base of the demon army on Earth. A base fortified with blood metal walls created by a couple lower level blood lycans who had recently crossed the Gate into Earth.


    But Silgar ignores the grand sight that is the massive base and its equally massive walls surrounding it as he rushes through the base, teleporting in between the various other demons inside of it who are all going about their own business for the war effort. He even ignores the attention he begins to gather both from his weary appearance, the asional popped blood vessels and other blood rted diseases visible on his body, and his obvious hurry while rushing straight towards the main building.


    The cosmicmpyrid doesnt manage to make it far into the main base before hes stopped by two Nobles, both of whom are vampires who grab onto him with their darkness magic.


    <strong>|Draven von Nightborne  Vampire  Level 1201|</strong>


    <strong>|Aurora von Nightborne  Vampire  Level 1202|</strong>


    I have an urgent message for the legion marshal! Silgar shouts loudly in the base, seemingly uncaring of the bindings made out of pure darkness holding him in ce.


    The two vampires share a nce before the female of the two looks back at him and sniffs, only to grimace.


    Youre gued, the vampire states, her voice being slightly high pitched, matching her appearance that humans would associate with a sixteen or seventeen year old girl. Then the other vampire next to her, a male with the same aged appearance that looks like he could be her twin adds, And youre already spreading your filth to the rest of the army.


    Silgars eyes widen in shock at that, but he doesnt get a chance to say anything before the darkness envelops him entirely, following which hes left in absolute silence for a period of time unknown to him. And when the darkness eventually goes away, he finds himself in a medical center being cared for by a dark dryad  a demon he doesnt see very often that is very simr to the dryad spirits a lot of summoners summon.


    The dark dryad is currently healing him with a strange light thats a mixture of ck, red, and light green colors, making all of his injuries and fatigue quickly fade away.


    This is your only warning. Do not to carry in highly contagious gues to the base ever again, the female vampire, who Silgar now notices standing at the entrance of the medical center deres with a cold look on her face. And its only now that Silgar notices her attire, which is a set of ck and red armor using arge amount of blood metal in its design with a ring skirt over pants and several tes of armor over silk on the top.


    Silgar quickly gets off the bed and bows as he exims, Viscount and Viscountess Nightborne, Im here to report the loss of the ny-eighth battalion!


    Silence fills the medical center, making Silgar tense in anticipation of their response. But none everes, so he peeks up to find the two vampire twins staring at each other, likely using some sort of telepathy skill to speak privately. Then after nearly an entire minute, the two look back at him and the sister asks, There wasnt any advanced intelligence of a force of humans anywhere near the ny-eighth battalion, so taking into ount your condition when you arrived, is it safe to assume this was done by a Knight?


    Silgar immediately shakes his head, surprising both vampires along with everyone else who is watching as he answers, No, your Ladyship. It was done by a single demon.


    The Nightbornes share a shocked look as whispers spread throughout the medical center, but they only grow worse when thempyrid continues, A blood lycan.


    Just secondster, a wave of blood washes into the room before forming the shape of a humanoid creature. The blood then fades to reveal a blood lycan as the woman adorned fully in blood metal armor with long mostly red hair with streaks of ck tied back in a ponytail asks, What did you just say? A blood lycan? Describe the blood lycan to me now.


    <strong>|Crystal Varter del Argus  Blood Lycan  Level 1401|</strong>


    Every demon in the room including the vampire Nobles immediately take a knee without saying a word with the sole exception of Silgar who begins to tremble ever so slightly despite him answering without a single shake to his words, I never saw the blood lycan myself, but from the descriptions I heard, it was a female blood lycan <em>child </em>who never left her bipedal beast form. And she was wearing a full set of blood metal armor with blood runes.


    Crystals eyes re slightly with particles of blood and a bright red light before she narrows them and looks down as she mutters, A runaway? But there should only be a dozen blood lycan children at a level strong enough to fight a battalion


    The blood lycan continues muttering to herself for a few seconds while ignoring all of the demons in the room, only to eventually look up and ask, Was there any other information about the child?


    Silgar, who has managed to calm down thanks to the blood lycans muttering, answers clearly, No, Countess Varter. I was sent back to the base before the battalion was eliminated, so all I know is that the blood lycan had spread various different gues through our numbers and let them fester and continuously renew over a few days time until she began attacking personally, taking out team after team while escaping before any reinforcements could arrive. The only reason I know the battalion was eliminated was due to my bond with them being severed.


    Crystal grimaces at the news before waving her hand and dismissing the cosmicmpyrid and then turning into blood a momentter to move through the base.


    <em>His Majesty wont be very happy about one of the pack turning on the demons forces, even if theyre simply having a tantrum. But he will absolutely be livid with whoever managed to let a child sneak onto Earth in the first ce.</em>


    The woman continues rushing through the base for several seconds before ending up at the war chamber of the base where she finds several Nobles lined up, some of whom are more powerful than her in terms of level despite not being n demons. But Crystal knows the only reason she was sent to Earth and givenmand was because the higher leveled blood lycans took too much reality energy for them to spare just yet, and they needed representatives of the n on Earth. Both to represent the n itself and to create blood metal and help build the bases.


    Listen up, she deres, making all of the marquesses and marchionesses in the room turn to look at her. A blood lycan child is currently attacking our forces and has destroyed an entire battalion on her own. With the power vested in me by His Majesty and the Argus branch of the Blood Lycan n, I hereby order the legion to search for and capture the child <em>without </em>causing her any harm! Her eyes then narrow as she sees the shocked looks on the various Nobles faces. If any permanent harm shoulde to the <em>child,</em> then you will be hearing from my father himself.


    Understood, all of the Nobles dere, following which Crystal leaves the room again to appear in her own chambers with a sigh.


    <em>Just which of those children woulde to Earth to have a damned tantrum right now?</em>


    She cant help but frown at the thought as she walks over to her bed and sits down on it while leaning with her elbows on her knees. Then she sighs again and lies back on the bed.


    <em>At least Her Highness, the First Princess, is back on Tartarus and already proving just how worthy she is of her bloodline. I just wish the others of her generation could be the same.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 30: The Next Morning

    Book 4: Chapter 30: The Next Morning


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next morning  something that Im still getting used to saying again after spending several months on Tartarus where the day and nights are swapped  finds me quickly going to take a bath with one of the baths I may or may not have taken from Tartarus and stuffed in my pockets. Which is rather odd to think about, considering the whole thing of me carrying around a bath with me in my pocket. But worth it considering how lovely those baths are.


    Although its awkward taking a bath outside, seeing as I dont exactly have anywhere to put the thing indoors. Even if the bath itself is indoors and has walls and a ceiling with a lock on the door, its still off-putting to know that someone might try knocking on the door if they found this ce in the middle of the mountains while Im bathing.


    Then again, I know some Guardians straight up bathe in rivers andkes out here just for the fun of it. So having an actual building is good enough for me.


    Most Guardians dont bathe outside here though, simply because its too cold. Only those with a heat rted magic that can heat up the water and area around the water tend to do that.


    Coincidentally, those people also happen to often be more bold. In general.


    <strong>I cant say whether its weird one way or the other, </strong>Tarments as I step out of the bath and put the small building back in my pocket.


    Right. Almost forgot that you dont have a physical body, so you probably havent ever actually taken a bath.


    <strong>Well, Ive taken some with you before, </strong>Tar says, causing me pause for a moment before I start walking towards the frontlines.


    Dont say that anywhere near Leonidas, Gramps, or Amelia. Im pretty sure theyd skin you alive for that.


    Tar doesnt say anything in response, but I notice a hint of fear creeping through our bond despite it that has me smirking.


    Allen probably would as well.


    He still doesnt say anything, so I just continue walking through the woods in the mountains while quietly enjoying the snow falling down around me. Because Ive always been partial towards the snow. Its just beautiful, and I love the cold.


    Although I cant really feel much cold anymore, considering how tough my body has gotten over my time as a Guardian.


    <strong>How long do you think itll take for the demon army to realize its you hunting down their forces? </strong>Tar asks as he appears and sits on my shoulder, pretty much just perching himself like a cat on the pauldron there.


    I nce at him before looking forward again.


    Eh, I think a month is a good amount of time to give them. Maybe two.


    Ill probably be able to destroy at least a few battalions by the time they realize its me attacking them.


    After all, Gramps never actually announced that I was going to Earth, nor did he say that I was going to be fighting against the demons. Which makes sense considering that it would demoralize the troops if they knew theyd be fighting to the death with me while not actually being allowed to kill me themselves. Not that any of them except the Nobles even know what I look like.


    Although if they knew a blood lycan Princess was going around fighting them, and saw a blood lycan girl attacking them, I doubt it would be hard to reach the right conclusion.


    <strong>Theyd have to be stupid to not realize it was you at that point, </strong>Tar says, sounding vaguely amused.


    Yep. And demons arent okay, the higher ss demons arent stupid.


    I blink at that thought.


    Most of the higher ss demons arent.


    Tar sends me an amused nce as hements, <strong>Took you three tries?</strong>


    Shut up, I state out loud without deigning to look at the furball covered in snow.


    The tanuki actuallyughs at that, making me purse my lips. But I still dont look at him as I walk through the snow.


    At some point during my walk, I begin to hear signs of arge force a few dozen kilometers to the Northeast of me. So I change my direction to head there. But after I make it about halfway there, I hear signs of anotherrge force near them, along with some signs of what sound like the start of a battle.


    Which means that other Guardians are already attacking that battalion.


    Unfortunate.


    I change my direction again to head deeper into demon territory in search of a battalion that is further away from the frontlines and not engaged inbat. Preferably one like the first one I took down that was simply on the move towards the frontlines from their base.


    <strong>You realize that sooner orter theyll start putting a Noble in each of the battalions, right? </strong>Tar points out, making me frown a little.


    Yeah, I know that. But Ill keep milking these battalions for EXP for as long as I can before that.


    Then I can go to the frontlines themselves, where the Nobles and ss V Guardians are fighting with the main forces and continue my hunt there. I might actually be able to help a bit as well with Blood gue, since I can target just the demons.


    Too bad it wont do much against the ss Vs though. Wouldnt be surprised if they were somehow immune to the gues altogether actually. Simply due to being too powerful. After all, there is a vast gap in power between ss IV and ss V. To the point that ss IVs only get five free points to distribute each level while ss Vs get ten. Something about the power of the contractor growing exponentially due to their reality and body being fully merged.


    But it should help a lot against everything else.


    On that note, I nce at my army identification paper to find the number of demons Ive in currently standing at a little over eight hundred, with a fourth of those being ss IV and the rest ss III. Which is already far more than my actual quota.


    Not that I actually care about that rather tiny quota.


    I look around for a moment before speeding up in my run.


    Lets see where the next battalion might be.

 Book 4: Chapter 31: A Month Part I

    Book 4: Chapter 31: A Month Part I


    <strong>Somewhere on the Frontlines</strong>


    <strong><em>One Month Later</em></strong>


    Zephyr shouts, The Warden is here!!! And almost immediately, everyst demon in his battalion of griffons, wyverns, and drakes starts roaring their defiance at the sight of the blood lycan child as she slowly walks towards the battalion standing at eight hundred demons. Meanwhile all around them blood can be seen falling down from dark rainclouds filled with an evil crimson glow, blocking out any sun that would otherwise mark the day.


    But the roars dontst long before the gues spread by the Warden of the Red gue, an unofficial title created by the demons who had survived their battalions being assaulted by the blood lycan gave the dangerous girl, begins to ravage their bodies at a much faster speed than it had when the girl first started ughtering her fellow demons.


    The windstorm griffin narrows his eyes at her with a grimace at the sight of her level, uncaring about the blood raining down around him being blocked by a barrier of wind surrounding his body.


    <strong>|[REDACTED]  Hu/bl-ood-ma/ly-/cann  Level 742|</strong>


    <em>Shes been terrorizing us for a month now, and we still dont even know her name! And her level oh Demon King, her level she was brand new to ss IV at the start of this, right?</em>


    His fae nods its head from atop Zephyrs ownrge head in agreement as he answers in his mind, Yes, she was. This advancement is downright terrifying.


    Zephyr watches with a mild amount of horror in his gaze as the girl suddenly sprints forwards while lines of life energy suddenly stretch out from every demon within thirty meters of her straight towards the girl. And she doesnt stop there, tearing straight into the demons with abandon, bubbles of blood forming and popping on dozens of demons skins around her, des of metallicized blood forming andunching at all of the demons, and a ck, red, and blue electricity running across her skin with some steam along with it.


    After watching the Warden tear through his demons without much struggle for several seconds, Zephyr finally snaps out of his daze and lets out a loud screech while rearing back on his hind lion legs, letting his tworge wings p behind him as the screech echoes out of his eagle head. Then he sends dozens of des of wind magic towards the girl who is nearly two hundred levels below him.


    But to his surprise, the girl just performs a backflip, ignoring the des to instead go after other demons of Zephyrs battalion.


    <em>Shes ignoring me? Why?</em>


    Zephyr decides to take that as an invitation and rushes straight through the air, his wings folding up against his body to let him move faster through the air towards her. But when he gets close to the girl, she just jumps straight into the air and turns to face him, a wolfish grin on her wolf-head. One that sends a chill down his spine.


    Despite her clear smug arrogance, she doesnt attack him like he was expecting, instead rushing to kill off more of his demons.


    Face me blood lycan!!! he shouts, his voice resonating over the battlefield of several hundred sickened demons versus one blood lycan. And once again, the blood lycan surprises him by ignoring him.


    <em>What happened to her curse of Pride?! Is she somehow ignoring it?!</em>


    The two continue their game as the girl rushes around killing hundreds of demons in his army, starting with the ss IIIs, and moving onto the ss IVs. And it isnt until over half of Zephyrs battalion is already wiped out that he realizes through the blind rage his Wrath had begun driving him into that the girl is growing stronger with each kill.


    <em>Thats why!</em>


    But the moment he slows down and considers fleeing to head back to the base instead, the girl changes directions and rushes straight to him with her fist raised.


    Zephyr lets out a loud screech when the fist directly hits his wing that he brings up to defend himself, sending him falling to the ground.


    <em>I need to escape!</em>


    Before Zephyr can even get back up from the ground though, the dust and blood in the air clears up enough for him to see the girl grinning widely while falling through the air towards him, her glowing crimson eyes illuminating the blood as a terrifying power builds up within her, making Zephyr realize that its toote.


    Then Blood of Ruines for the battlefield.


    <strong>A News Station in the Capital City of the Terran Republic</strong>


    <strong><em>Days after the death of the Battalion</em></strong>


    Chloe Martinez smiles widely at the camera pointed at her as she exims, And news has juste to us that the great Scarlet Wolf, the Apex Predator of the Guardian World and the newly dubbed Warden of the Red gue has destroyed a <em>fourth </em>battalion in just a month! This is extraordinary news as this one ss IV Guardian is making more progress towards the progression of the war than any of the ss Vs on the frontlines except the Knights!


    But Chloe, dont you think this is to be expected from the Guardian whos managed to reach ss IV before even turning twenty years old? Chloes cohost and brother, Jackson Martinez says with a wide smile of his own as he sits across a table from her. He, unlike his long-haired sister, has short ck hair elegantlybed to one side and is wearing a ck suit just like his sister. Not to mention the White Knight of Humanitys daughter.


    I guess youre right there, Jack, Chloe answers with a smile and a shrug, using her brothers nickname. Ever since the Warden made it back from her training, she has been fighting directly on the frontlines of the war. Fighting so long that the demons themselves dubbed her the Warden of the Red gue thanks to her usage of a type of corruption magic to spread gues through the battalions of demons in order to weaken them.


    But why do you think they call her the Warden? Why not Bringer of the Red gue or something like that? Jackson asks while tilting his head, acting as if he doesnt already know.


    I believe its because shes acting as a Warden, keeping the demons locked away on their side of the frontlines and away from our territory, Chloe answers with the prewritten script.


    Oh, I think that fits her rather well, Jackson says with a wide smile. Even if she has never been particrly known for being the most social of Guardians, the Warden <em>has </em>always loved going out and defending the world against demons, hasnt she?


    <em>Probably not. I think she just likes fighting.</em>


    Chloe doesnt speak her thoughts out loud and instead answers, Of course! Who else would keep those disgusting demons in check while the main forces push them back?


    But Jackson starts before hesitating as nned, have you heard the rumors?


    Chloe tilts her head this time and asks, What rumors?


    Rumors that the Warden may not be what she seems, Jackson says in a whispered voice.

 Book 4: Chapter 31.2: A Month Part II

    Book 4: Chapter 31.2: A Month Part II


    <strong>A News Station in the Capital City of the Terran Republic</strong>


    Oh, you mean <em>that </em>rumor, Chloe ys along while shaking her head. The one where some people are beginning to wonder if the Warden is entirely human herself.


    Right! Jackson says while pointing at his sister. Im particrly fond of the rumor of her being some amalgamation of the White Knights genes and a void creature.


    Why not a demon? Chloe asks with a frown, but her brother just shakes his head and says, Thats not possible. There have been records of a human and a demon trying to have children before, and each and every time the child died or became a full-blooded demon soon after childbirth. Some of them even before they were fully born.


    Ah, right, Chloe says with a look of understanding on her face.


    So whats your favorite rumor? Jackson asks while leaning forwards in his chair as if conspiring against something.


    Chloe purses her lips before looking back behind her chair for a moment and then back at her brother, Well, I know this rumor ispletely impossible, but I personally like the rumor that she is the daughter of the White Knight of Humanity and a blood lycan.


    Her brother gasps at that, making his sister quickly bring her hands up to say, Its not a very founded rumor. Just one that people made jokingly online because she resembles a blood lycan with her wolf-like features. She lowers her hands again. I just really like the whole star crossed lovers thing that it would mean between the White Knight and a demon. Its just, she pauses as she gets a dreamy look in her eye, one that isnt actually nned by the production as she truly feels this way, romantic! Dont you think?


    Jackson smirks slightly and says, Yeah, but it could nevere true. And if it did, the White Knight would draw a ton of ire from the people.


    You dont think the Warden would get any hatred? Chloe asks with a faint look of feigned surprise as she tilts her head.


    Her brother shakes his head and says, Probably not. Shes fighting on the frontlines against the demons after all and helping quite a bit at that. Its not her fault who she was born to.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I stare nkly at the TV screen as the two news reporters continue talking, but I dont really pay much attention to what theyre actually saying. Not after hearing them say that even if I was exposed, the humans would probably direct their anger towards Amelia instead of me.


    <strong>Thats actually not all that surprising, </strong>Tar says from his ce in myp. I look down at him from my ce seated on the couch before he exins, <strong>Well, its what theyve already said. Youve made your position on Earths side of the war clear for all to see, even if the demons are too stuck in their ways to realize it. So sure there will probably be a lot of people who are afraid of you if you get exposed, the majority probably wont be. And even amongst those afraid of you, I wouldnt be surprised if a lot of them still consider you a weapon that theyre pointing towards the demons.</strong>


    Oh. Right.


    Id basically be a n demon turned traitor, helping the humans with their sorelycking manpower.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says with a nod of his head before lying his head back down on my legs. <strong>Amelia wont be getting off that easily though.</strong>


    True. But she probably wont care.


    Tar hums in agreement.


    Im pretty sure Amelia doesnt care about her public image at all.


    Its too bad she cant just erase that memory from everyones minds though. If it were ever revealed that is.


    <strong>She mentioned something to you about it before, right? </strong>Tar asks as the news reporters move on to talking about ke, who is apparently fighting on the frontlines at the main battlefield.


    Yeah. She said that it would be too much information to remove from too many peoples minds. That she doesnt have the mana for it, and even if she did, she would end up turning a sizeable chunk of the worlds humans into walking vegetables by doing it.


    <strong>How did she wipe out all of the other information on her that she did before? </strong>Tar asks while raising his head to look at me again.


    Well, apparently she was unconscious for nearly a year after that. On and off, of course. With her waking up and doing the removal process bit by bit with each tiny detail about her one at a time before going back unconscious.


    But she cant do that with onerge and very prominent piece of information that will be at the forefront of everyones minds.


    A ratherrge restriction on that skill, but I guess its still just a skill. And all skills have to have their limits.


    Even a Title-Bearing Mythic skill like Erase.


    I think theres also a level limit on the skill. That she cant Erase anything or anyone who is a higher level than her at all, and the higher level the being is shes trying to erase or erase something about, the more mana it costs to do it.


    <strong>Its the skill she got for her White Knight of Humanity Title, right? </strong>Tar asks, making me nce at him with a raised brow.


    I thought you already knew all this?


    He stares at me for a few seconds before slowly lying down to take a nap.


    You forgot, didnt you?


    He doesnt answer.


    I snort while shaking my head.


    It is the skill she got from that Title, youre correct. And its an incredibly powerful skill. The ability to erase anything from existence for an incrediblyrge amount of mana as long as its a lower level than you. Including a concept itself, although it would only be for a like a few meters cubed in volume.


    <strong>Oh, right, couldnt she erase something like gravity entirely in a small amount of space, as if that concept didnt exist in the first ce? </strong>Tar asks, acting like he hadnt forgotten.


    Yeah. But it costs more mana than she has to erase someone whos even just two hundred levels below her, so she doesnt use that particr skill often. Might actually cost more than she has to erase someone who is three hundred levels beneath her.


    I lean back against the couch in the middle of the living area of my rather small suite of only a few rooms at the base. Something thats supposed to be a privilege for someone at my ss, but just feels small. Probably because I kind of got a tad used to the Princess treatment on Tartarus in terms of rooms and stuff. Not to mention that it wasnt much different on Earth before that considering my suite at the university.


    Anyways, that news station actually made me rx a little bit.


    Before I can really getfortable though, I immediately sit straight again and pull out my terminal.


    I forgot to check.


    How are the online forums responding to this news?

 Book 4: Chapter 31.3: A Month Part III

    Book 4: Chapter 31.3: A Month Part III


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Are you sure you want to do that? You do remember thest couple times you checked online chats, right? </strong>Tar asks, sounding slightly amused.


    This is different. This is about how theyd act if I was exposed.


    <strong>[ShadowWalker#11  The Warden? A blood lycan? Pfft, thats hrious.]</strong>


    <strong>[PirateSoul_73  Really? A blood lycan? Thats just impossible. Why would a high and mighty blood lycan deign to lower themselves to mate with a human, even if its one of the Knights? Its just not possible. No use talking about it.]</strong>


    <strong>[DreamWeaver&19  Yeah.]</strong>


    <strong>[AlphaWolf987  I think it would be kinda cool to have a n demon on our side of the war though, dont you guys?]</strong>


    <strong>[MysticalMuser  A n demon on our side is that even possible?]</strong>


    <strong>[TechNinja_42  I know I wouldnt be upset if she was a blood lycan. At least, not at Scarlet. Shes too cute to be upset with.]</strong>


    <strong>[AlphaWolf987  Agreed.]</strong>


    <strong>[SilverSurfer66  Really, dude?]</strong>


    <strong>[ShadowWalker#11  Well, if it <em>were </em>actually possible, then I guess its not Scarlets fault who she was born to. White would be a traitor though.]</strong>


    <strong>[DreamWeaver&19  Oh, without a doubt. But theres nothing anyone can say or do about her. She doesnt care about the publics opinion towards her.]</strong>


    <strong>[PirateSoul_73  I still say its impossible.]</strong>


    <strong>[TechNinja_42  Come on, dude, were just speaking theoretical here. No need to get your hair in a knot.]</strong>


    <strong>[TechNinja_42  But yeah, the White Knight of Humanity wouldnt be much of a savior of humans if she was having a kid with a n demon.]</strong>


    <strong>[ShadowWalker#11  She cant call herself a Knight of Humanity if she bangs a blood lycan. Period.]</strong>


    I close out of the chat discussing the news station before leaning back against the couch again.


    Huh. They really are just pushing the me off onto Amelia.


    <strong>Well, technically you have no responsibility in this, </strong>Tarments, making a rather good point.


    Im just kinda surprised is all.


    Although what would happen if they knew I was the granddaughter of the Demon King?


    Tar looks up at me again and answers, <strong>If they hear how you convinced the Demon King to stop attacking civilians, then they will probably ept you. Most of them, at least.</strong>


    I blink at that before remembering that that had happened.


    Right. Theyll see that Ive used my position for the betterment of humanity.


    Or at least, the logical people will.


    And not everyone is logical.


    <strong>True, </strong>Tar mutters as he lies his head back down and goes to sleep judging by the feeling our bond sends me.


    I pet the little guy, my hand stroking his back while thoughts of what could happen in the future fill my mind. But after several seconds of that, I let out a sigh.


    No use worrying about the future.


    I probably wont be able to attack any more battalions after thisst one, so I should shift my focus to the main battlefield. And Rain of Blood should help with that a lot.


    A skill that basicallybines with Blood gue by pouring down a bunch of gues from the sky that I can control who gets infected by them. Something I got as an inherent legendary skill at level seven hundred.


    I smile as I remember getting that skill.


    Then I frown at the thought of how it was the <em>only damned inherent skill Ive gotten since starting this hunt</em>.


    Completely stupid, but I guess thats what I get for getting so many achievements. And since my achievements influence my inherent skills direction, it ended up being rted to gues.


    At this point I really wouldnt be surprised if I ended up with a gue rted Title sometime in the distant future.


    Come to think of it, I did get that unofficial Warden of the Red gue title. I wouldnt be surprised if I ended up getting that as an official Title in the distant future, since from what Gramps said, the exact name of a Title is influenced by how people view the one who is getting the Title.


    Actually, the same with the Title-Bearing Mythic skill for the Predator line of skills, since people already call me the Apex Predator.


    Interesting thought.


    I wonder how Gramps would feel if I got a Title called The Apex Predator? Sounds cool to me. Id be very happy with a Title like that.


    Warden of the Red gue is cool too though. Although I never particrly cared much about gues in games, and its not exactly a happy thing to be thought of alongside, but considering that I use blood magic in the first ce not to mention that I go around tearing things to shreds with my ws.


    <strong>So you finally admitted to being a- ouch,</strong> Tar shuts up with a quiet and exaggerated ouch when I bop him on the head with my hand.


    Im a perfectly reasonable and elegantdy, thank you very much.


    <strong>Sure you are, </strong>Tarments but doesnt say anything else when I pause in my petting. And after a few seconds of silence I continue petting him again.


    I stare up at the ceiling for a bit, just thinking about the future of the war until I hear a loud explosion ringing out in the far distance, from the direction of the main battlefield. Which is close enough for me to hear from here if I raise the sensitivity of my ears.


    Come to think of it


    My eyes narrow as a skill that I havent really used much despite it being an epic rarity skilles to mind.


    Actually, Blood Swarm could be very useful in a war setting. In arge battlefield.


    <strong>Youre finally gonna put that skill to use? </strong>Tar asks, and I nod my head after seeing him raises his own to look at me.


    Summoning a swarm of blood homunculi would be helpful in fighting the weakling demons in the main battlefield. And I can rain down gues through both Rain of Blood and Blood gue to spread my gues throughout the entire main battlefield. Which would be arge boon for the humans, even if theyll have ss V demons there that will likely try to stop it, not to mention heal the gues.


    But aside from their usage in the main battlefield


    Tar waits a moment before asking, <strong>What?</strong>


    I look down at him with a grin.


    The main battlefield will serve as a rather nice ce to level up those skills with all of those demons there to hunt!


    He groans.

 Book 4: Story Art

    Book 4: Story Art


    And here we are with some more story art!


    Now, the first few images you will have already seen before if you''ve looked at my glossaries or my author''s notes. But the rest are new and you haven''t seen them before.


    First off, an image you may have seen if you looked at the glossary, but not something I have shown separately from the glossary, a new image of Amelia/White:


    And we have the new sleeping Scarlet images as well, which I''ve shown in an author''s note:


    And some stickers I turned two of those images into that are on my Discord server:


    Now the images that you haven''t seen before:


    Amelia/White in her armor on Tartarus:


    Raiden Akuma, the Demon King''s head maid and the daughter of the leader of the Kitsune n:


    Raiden Amaterasu, Akuma''s mother and the head of the Kitsune n:

 Book 4: Chapter 32: Arrival at the Main Battlefield

    Book 4: Chapter 32: Arrival at the Main Battlefield


    <strong>The Main Battlefield</strong>


    ke is pissed the hell off as he sends pir after pir of ck mes straight at the masses of demons down in the snowy ins below him and the rest of the spell-casters of the Human Army. Hes pissed because not only did his game friend in Hunter XI vanish several months back, leaving him to fend for himself again in the game and making him struggle to bring back the guild they had made to power after their loss, but Scarlet Asger has already eclipsed him in level and ss in less than a year of his knowing her.


    <em>Its absolutely fucking ridiculous, thats what it is.</em>


    And to make matters worse for him, the girl in question vanished for several months only to reappear again!


    He doesnt want to admit it, but he missed her over the time shes been gone. Even if he knows he doesnt even have the slightest chance of being with her in a romantic setting, not only because of her ownck of interest, but because she isnt even human. And her father and grandfather are terrifying enough.


    ke shivers at the thought of going out with the granddaughter of the Demon King.


    But despite that, he still cant help but miss her.


    <strong>Love does some strange things </strong>his fae mutters, but he ignores them to instead continue sting balls of ck hellfire straight at the demons down below, killing dozens at a time despite those demons being the weaker ss II demons. And the demons in question let out hoarse screams filled with horror and pain from the soul-burning hellfire killing them.


    Son, ke hears his fathers voice, but he refuses to turn around and look at him. Because he knows exactly what hes going to say. If you want to catch up to her in strength, youre going to have to do better than hunting mere ss II demons.


    Fuck off, ke says, still not looking at him. And right when hes expecting to be hit in the head for talking back, he sees his father stiffen up for a moment out of the corner of his eye. So he stops sending fireballs at the demons and turns his head to look at what his father is staring at.


    And the first thing he sees has his lips parting in surprise.


    Out of nowhere, blood started to rain down over a corner of the battlefield without his noticing. And that blood is only continuing to spread as ke watches it through to the rest of the battlefield, blocking out the sun in the process.


    Then ke hears whispers echoing from the demons side of the battlefield.


    <em>The Warden! Shes here! Everyone prepare your cures! Get ready to use your potions!! Healers!!</em>


    ke feels his heart almost stopping in his chest as he finally turns his gaze to the edge of therge ne of snow down beneath them  snow that is currently being dyed red with the blood rain  to see the girl he has not been able to get out of his mind for months now walking up to the battlefield with her arms and legs shapeshifted into that of a werewolf with silky ck fur streaked with crimson. And he cant help but feel a little surprised at the sight of her armor. Because while he knows that the media hasnt so much as been able to get a single recording of her battles since she arrived  likely due to Whites interference to let her go all out  he didnt realize she had gotten entirely new armor.


    <em>And that new armor it looks really nice on her</em>


    ke shakes his head to get rid of the blush on his cheeks before looking at his father, only to find the man looking at the girl with a fire in his eyes as well. Except that the fire in his eyes is simr to the one his father gets towards Scarlets mother, but without the love and lust part of it, only the desire to battle part.


    <em>He cant be is he really thinking of her as a possible rival for himself now?</em>


    <strong>Well, shes only twenty years old and should be halfway through ss IV already judging by her mana level, </strong>his faements, making ke grimace as he turns to look at the girl again. <strong>I wouldnt be surprised if she ends up stronger than the Knights of Humanity within the next couple decades.</strong>


    kes grimace grows more severe at that, but he takes a deep breath and nces at all of the Guardians he can see along with the demons they were fighting, only to find everyone within sight of her having stopped moving to watch the girl. And both sides show surprise at her appearance. The humans likely due to her new outfit just like ke, and the demons because ke doesnt know why the demons are surprised.


    <strong>Maybe she hasnt shown them her human form yet? </strong>his fae suggests, making his eyes widen slightly.


    <em>Possibly.</em>


    He listens to some of the conversations held by the demons before realizing that his faes suggestion is the truth. She had never shown her face to the demons before during the war. Not in this form.


    ke turns his attention back to Scarlet right when she raises a hand and grins, making red particles begin sparkling very faintly around everyone as she no doubt spreads her gues along with the blood rain.


    <em>She really has be a monster on the battlefield, hasnt she?</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Well this is fun.


    I cant help but grin as I spread twelve different gues through the demon army with both of my skills, which, in turn, gives me at least a little bit of participation in each and every demon kill on the battlefield. Meanwhile my blood rain makes the terrain harder for everyone but me to move in as I quickly rush through the demons and begin my ughter.


    Its too bad I cant use Blood of Ruin here without attacking the humans too, but at the very least Life Absorption is doing its job, draining dozens upon dozens of demons of life energy all at once. To the point that Im pretty sure I canpletely let loose without a care in the world about my own health out here. Because my own regeneration in addition to Life Absorption will keep me from staying hurt, and my armor is made so that even if the entire thing is destroyed, Ill still be clothed with the silken under armor beneath it.


    A wild feeling of glee enters my mind as I let loose, even if Im not in my fully transformed beast form and only have my arms and legs shapeshifted.


    This is going to be fun!!

 Book 4: Chapter 33: Slaughter and Unexpected Visitor

    Book 4: Chapter 33: ughter and Unexpected Visitor


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Over time I almost lose myself in the massacre; in the hunt. But I manage to maintain myself every time thanks to Tar.


    The main battlefield is filled with millions upon millions of demons with nearly a quarter of that in Guardians. And while the Guardians are mostly stationed up on the mountains and cliffs overseeing these ins, the demons are spread out everywhere.


    So I just kill demons back to back, ignoring all of the wounds I get from these lowly ss I and II demons as I tear them limb from limb, the vast majority of them not even having the sapience to understand whats happening as they toss themselves at me like fodder. But because theyre such low leveled demons, I dont bother checking my System Messages since Im not expecting any EXP from them.


    That is until I get a strange System Message that forces its way through.


    <strong>{For killing ten thousand demons back to back, you are awarded with a tenth of a levels worth of EXP.} </strong>


    I pause in my killing, leaving me standing still in the middle of a pack of hounds that Ipletely ignore as half of them try to bite my arms and legs with no sess. Then after the message finally registers in my mind, I simply snap my finger, boiling the blood of the hounds in an instant andpletely ridding them of blood before I continue chasing after more demons.


    This exins how Gramps got so strong.


    Guess the System really does encourage massacres.


    <strong>Its not a good way of doing things, </strong>Tar says as I continue killing demons. <strong>Your Grandfather setws in ce to disallow ughter outside of war, so the demons Nobles on Tartarus arent allowed to simply go around ughtering every demon they see for the levels it could give them. And generally the System does at least limit it to only a couple battlefields with a time limit of generally half a day spread across the kills. So there are limits at least.</strong>


    Yeah. But at least this way Ill be getting progress even from killing the small fry here.


    With that thought in mind, I raise on hand in the air and create two dozen des of blood that I send through the demons before summoning more des andunching them as well. Then I repeat this while rushing through and ughtering more demons, tearing them apart with my bare hands. Literally, in some cases where I literally tear them in two.


    Those cases also make me really happy that I use blood magic, since its very easy to clean myself up of their blood. Especially when I can just use their own blood to attack the other demons around me.


    Too bad I cant use my Metallicized Blood skill here, since thats a blood lycan only skill that would expose me in an instant to the humans.


    A pity.


    Also, looking around this battlefield, most of the ss III and IV demons are all closer to the very front of the battle at the mountains themselves, shing with the ss III and IV Guardians over there. Meanwhile the few dozen Noble demons here are all flying around the battlefield with abandon while locked inbat with some ss V Guardians.


    And of the demons here, only those Nobles actually recognize me as the Princess. Which also kind of gave their opponents an opportunity to strike during their shock.


    But theyre all too busy to even consider going over to try kidnapping me, so yay for that.


    <strong>Sometimes I really question your sanity, </strong>Tarments, making me scowl as I continue ughtering demons like ants in an ant hill. <strong>That is the exact reason why I question your sanity. You just thought yay while going around ripping demons limb from limb and literally popping some of them like bubbles as you spread a dozen gues across an army of millions of demons. What part of that is sane?</strong>


    I tilt my head.


    Every part of it.


    He snorts.


    No, seriously. I am perfectly sane.


    <strong>For a blood lycan, but not really for a human, </strong>Tar points out, making me freeze in ce as some of the demons around me try and fail to do any damage to me again.


    But my thoughts are too focused on Tars words.


    For a blood lycan not a human.


    I blink at that thought.


    Thats huh. That actually doesnt bother me much if even at all.


    <strong>I mean, youve said from the start that you didnt really care if you lost your humanity, </strong>Tar says from the in-between. <strong>Why would that change now?</strong>


    Well, youre right about that. But I also didnt think that my thinking was all <em>that </em>different from a humans.


    <strong><em>Really</em>? </strong>Tar asks, sounding perhaps a <em>bit </em>too incredulous there. <strong>Your thoughts have never been particrly normal amongst humans.</strong>


    Huh. If you say so.


    I continue ughtering demons without a care in the world, asionally getting more System Messages about the EXP until I eventually get a level-up notification.


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 743. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    Nice.


    My killing spree is halted when I sense a powerful force approaching from the East, making me turn my head only for five more powerful forces to join the first. And what I find is the sight of six Nobles all flying straight from the direction of the demons closest base to me.


    Well, shit. Looks like my hunt might be taking a turn.


    That thought also goes on halt when I feel another powerful force approaching from the West, where the humans base is. And when I turn to look this time, I find a very unexpected ally arriving to help me.


    My ally makes it here before the Nobles do, mming his fist on the ground and sending arge wave of ck mes straight across the ground to incinerate everyst demon here while also avoiding hurting me. Then he stands up and gives me a stern look mixed with battle lust. A look that resembles but is still different from the one the Lord of Hellfire always gives me. Just a lot less happy meathead and more stoic and broody at the same time.


    Red turns his gaze from me to look at the Nobles who are all slowing down to fly directly above therge cleared out area around us before he asks, So who would like to be my sparring partner for the night?


    All while my blood rain is still falling down around us.

 Book 4: Chapter 34: The Nobles

    Book 4: Chapter 34: The Nobles


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The fighting for as far as the eye can see around uspletely halts to a standstill with the exception of the ss Vs while the Noblesnd in the clearing around me, sshing a little in the blood puddling up on the ground from my blood rain since the hellfire burnt all of the blood that had been there before from the ughter. But before anyone can say anything, the Noble in front of the others snaps her fingers, sending a wave of blood out from her that quickly forms a giant wall of blood metal all around us.


    I keep a warry eye on the blood lycan whose gaze hasnt left me since the moment she first arrived. Not even when Red showed up.


    Another Noble next to her, a siren ording to identify, suddenly opens her mouth to reveal razor sharp teeth  something that looks incredibly off-putting on what otherwise looks like a beautiful human woman with pointed ears, white pupils, and unnaturally blue irises  as she lets out a short chirping sound. Then I hear a ringing sound that gives me a brief headache, following which a dome of pure soundwaves forms all around us, blocking anything said in this dome from getting out to those outside.


    A staring contest ensues for several seconds, during which I take the time to study the other Noble demons of the group.


    Of them, theres the siren and the blood lycan, but theres also a dragonoid with tworge red wings, a draconic head, and red scales across his body, a wraith who ispletely cloaked in shadows with the only visible feature being their glowing green eyes, some sort of spider demon called a red death who is standing in their humanoid form with eight ck spider legs each tipped with sharp ws and a red liquid coating the ws with two pitch ck eyes making it impossible to know where she is looking, and a vampire. None of whom  with the exception of the blood lycan  are above level one thousand three hundred.


    Red apparently doesnt care much for the silence as he breaks it with a blunt, So when do you want to battle?


    I cant help but send him an incredulous look, briefly wondering if thats all he thinks about. But then again, hes helping me here. So its fine.


    He should be able to take them all on despite them being demons. Which is also probably why the Nobles havent moved an inch towards me yet.


    The man should be in the early 1800s I believe, meanwhile the highest level of this group is the blood lycan who is only level 1400 or so from what I can tell from her mana level. But since shes a blood lycan, I cant identify her. And while a blood lycan is far superior to a human, and she likely has Predator at a high rarity, she will most likely only be as strong as a level 1550 human judging by the mana level. Maybe up to a level 1600.


    Which is still a good bit weaker than he is.


    All we want is the Princess and we will leave this battlefield afterwards, the blood lycan says with a scowl towards the Red Knight of Humanity. This does not concern you, <em>Knight</em>.


    I cant help but raise a brow at that.


    The other Noble demons here are all between level 1200 and level 1300, so they wont put up much of a fight against him either. Although I have heard that Red likes to draw out battles to see everything the opponents can do. Which is another thing he has inmon with the Lord of Hellfire, who from what I heard is known throughout Tartarus for taking on any challenger and if they can impress him hell take them in as a student to teach. If not he just burns them alive. But mostly he just wants to find talent and good people he can foster so that he can battle them himself someday.


    A true battle junkie right there.


    But I really cant tell what is giving her confidence to talk to Red like that.


    Is it just demon arrogance? She is a blood lycan. Could be her Pride Sin talking.


    Oh? You go trying to kidnap my rivals daughter right in front of me, the girl who also happens to by my sons crush- I blink at that -and expect me to stand here doing nothing? Your Pride truly knows no bounds, blood lycan, Red says with a cold yet somehow still excited look on his face.


    Wait a second, whats this about a crush?


    Then well have to take things into our own hands, the blood lycan says, still scowling and seemingly looking down her nose ever so slightly at the Red Knight despite the level difference. And no human could ever be worthy of Her Highness, much less a Knights whelp.


    No, seriously. Whats this about a crush?


    Tar chuckles in my head before saying, <strong>I think you have more important things to worry about.</strong>


    I blink at that, only to nod my head.


    Youre right.


    Guess it doesnt really matter anyways. I have no interest in romance.


    <strong>I think I pity that boy </strong>Tar mutters, making my eyes narrow before he goes silent.


    Morgrain, send Lunara and Her Highness away from the main battlefield, the blood lycan states, a cold look in her eyes as she pulls out some sort of potion from her pocket. A potion that is absolutely overflowing with mana and pure power.


    Morgrain? The wraith?


    And Lunara was the red death spiderdy.


    I begin moving backwards when I see some sort of shadow portal opening in front of me, but Im toote and it envelops me entirely before I can do anything about it. And after just a few seconds, I find myself appearing in the mountains what sounds like several dozen kilometers away from the main battlefield.


    But I dont appear alone, as the red death walks through the portal after me, leaving me face to face with a Noble demon.

 Book 4: Chapter 35: The Voice

    Book 4: Chapter 35: The Voice


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The portal of shadows vanishes the moment she steps through, following which the two of us stand in silence just staring at each other. And during this silence, I take the time to identify her again.


    <strong>|Lunara Val Lunid  Red Death  Level 1201|</strong>


    At least shes the weakest of the six Noble demons.


    The spiderdy gives me the formal bow that I got used to seeing from Nobles during my time on Tartarus as she says, Its a pleasure, Your Highness. Then she stands up straight and narrows her eyes slightly. Please eithere with me or leave the frontlines of the war.


    I cant help but raise a brow at that as I point out, You do remember that my grandfather told me I could do whatever I pleased, right?


    Although I dont actually know if she knows this or not.


    The red death just nods her head once and answers with a simple, Yes, I do. But he also said were allowed to force you to leave the battlefield should you prove a threat to the war effort.


    Of course he did.


    Then theres no chance youll just let me go? I ask before activating my beast form the moment she shakes her head in denial of that question. Then Ill have to put up a fight, now wont I?


    <strong>You youre not actually </strong>Tar begins, but I stop him with a quick thought, I just need to dy her long enough for Red to get here.


    The tanuki lets out a relieved sigh in my mind before he says, <strong>Be careful that you dont cross her Envy.</strong>


    Right. Because she might lose control and actually try to kill me if I do.


    Well, without wasting any time out of the two minutes remaining of my originally five-minute-long set of stacks from Blood Thirst, I begin using all of my skills at once one her. And almost immediately, the spider woman jumps back in surprise as all sorts of things begin to happen to and around her. Including des of blood metal appearing in the air and flying towards her, my Blood Shadow separating from me, a line of life energy leaving her, tiny little red spots appearing on her skin from Blood Boil and the many gues I dump on her, and chains of blood appearing to lock down her limbs. Chains that are quickly shattered without much effort on her part.


    Stupid weak skill.


    <strong>Remember. ss V, </strong>Tarments, but I ignore him as I activate both Crimson Overdrive and Blood Sacrifice at the same time while sprinting straight towards her, tearing up the ground beneath my feet in the process. And halfway towards her, my blood rain starts to fall all around us as well.


    Despite her quick reaction to my Blood Chains, I can tell shes still incredibly surprised by my choice to attack her. Which I dont me her for. A ss V is leagues above a ss IV in terms of strength. Even a level one thousand would have extreme difficulty fighting against a level one thousand and one, and thats assuming that would even be a possible fight for the level one thousand despite that.


    My ws quickly reach her, but despite me burning a lot of blood and using it as fuel for Crimson Overdrive, and despite all of the numerous stacks of Blood Thirst I have up right now, she manages to instinctively react to my attack by quite literally swatting me with one of her spider limbs, sending me flying straight through hundreds of trees until I m into a mountainside with a cough of blood. But since it was only a brute force attack made half-heartedly on instinct, I manage to get back up with a grunt as the internal injuries brought by the attack begin to heal already.


    Please forgive me, Your Highness! the spiderdy quickly exims after appearing just meters away from me without showing any signs to have moved at all before she bows with a slightly panicked expression on her face. Just, please leave the battlefield, Your Highness. I dont want to hurt you-


    My Pride res up, making me let out a snarl before I rush at her again only to pause right when shes about to instinctively attack me again, once again not expecting my strike. Then I have my Blood Shadow attack from behind as des of blood rain down on her. Each of which, including the Blood Shadow, she sends flying with her spider limbs ws. But this time I manage to rush in myself and swipe my own blood metal ws straight into her shoulder.


    Only for my ws to ping off of her armor and not so much as scratch her beyond a very faint nick in her armor.


    Shit, I mutter, my mind clearing from my Sin of Pride due to the sheer difference in our abilities.


    The red death shakes her head with a light sigh before saying, Please, Your Highness. There has never once been a contractor below ss V who has evene close to defeating a Noble. Not even a level 1000 demon who had challenged a level 1001 demon was anywhere near their level and stood no chance. Please just give up now and either leave this battlefield ore with me back home.


    A literal pain radiates from my chest and my head as I feel anger and embarrassment from this, my cheeks glowing with a bright red color that cant be seen thanks to my blood rain. But no matter what I do, I cant see there being any possible way for me to win this battle. Not only is she a Noble, but shes four hundred and fifty-eight levels above me.


    Despite that understanding, a whispered voice echoes in the back of my mind.


    <strong><em>Pride. Pride. Win. Never lose. Priiide. WIIIN!!!</em></strong>


    I grab my head at the voice before narrowing my eyes on the red death, my eyes beginning to glow even brighter as I see the crimson light reflecting off of the blood rain falling all around us in the darkness of the night.


    <strong>Uh, Scarlet, </strong>I hear Tars voice in between the other voices, but they quickly begin to drown him out.


    Until a loud explosion echoes from the battlefield with a massive st of ck mes that I can see from here, following which Red once morends in between me and the Noble, mming his fist into the ground.


    But for some reason, the sight of this of Red''s interruption... only makes the voice grow louder.

 Book 4: Chapter 36: Play

    Book 4: Chapter 36: y


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The red death looks away from me to show a look of terror directed towards Red as I try as hard as I can to ignore the voice, holding my head with both of my hands and covering my ears. But despite that, the voice continues echoing along with Reds voice, Looks like I made it just in time.


    I grimace and barely hold in a grunt of pain, only for Red to suddenly vanish for an instant before reappearing again where he was standing. And this time hes holding some sort of amulet that I had seen around the red deaths neck while turning it one way and then another as if examining it.


    Give that back! the red death shouts, a hint of panic and anger entering her voice, her eyes widening to show both emotions.


    Red just ignores her before smiling and ncing once at her, then at the amulet. Then he crushes it in the palm of his hand and says, Oops.


    The red deaths eyes suddenly take on a reddish hue in her otherwise pitch ck eyes as she hisses.


    Oh, the little spider is upset? Red says, seeminglypletely unaware of my struggle over here. I wasnt really able to y with the others before killing them because of you, so how about you make up for that?


    Lunaras eyes widen, now beginning to take on more anger than panic. Probably because of the casual mention of him killing the other Nobles and toying with them too.


    Oh, I know! Red exims, a smile finally cresting his face before he raises a hand with his fingers held like hes about to snap them. Youre an Envy demon, right? Lets see if I cant make you lose control!


    My eyes widen in shock.


    This mans even worse than Blue!!


    <strong>I dont think thats it </strong>Tars voice echoes in my mind in between the screaming voice thats only continuing to get louder. <strong>It looks like he wants to help you by-</strong>


    <strong><em>Priiiide. Kiiiillll! MAKE UP FOR YOUR FAILURE!!!!</em></strong>


    Whatever Tar is saying getspletely blocked out by the voice as I let out a grunt and drop to my knees, my eyes ring once more.


    Pride.


    I have to I have to make up for this loss.


    I have to.


    <strong>The Mountainside Scarlet is at</strong>


    Noah Walker, the Red Knight of Humanity, cant help but grin when he sees both the girls in the clearings eyes starting to re. The first sign of them beginning to lose control to their Sins.


    <em>Now to put the cherry on top of this little dessert.</em>


    So what Ive heard from your little dead pals, youre a rather big fan of the Lady of Devouring. What would you say if you knew Ive met her before? Noah asks with his arms crossed. Oh, and your little Princess has as well. I believe the Lady of Devouring even took a liking to her.


    <strong>Noah, youre starting to cross the line again, </strong>his fae, one whose name is Jepard, says with more than a little warning in his voice. <strong>If you keep this up and the girl is really injured, or even worse, killed, you <em>will</em> end up pissing off White enough for her to actually try killing you.</strong>


    Noah snorts at that as he watches the red deaths eyes begin slowly glowing with a brighter and brighter red color until he says onest thing.


    Ive heard the Lady of Devouring likes Scarlet so much that shes willing to return the Blue Knight of Humanitys emotions back to him. What do you say about that?


    A loud screech echoes throughout the area as the red deaths eyes being zing red and she loses her sanity while shouting, <em>STAY AWAY FROM MY LADY!!</em> Then she transforms into her spider form consisting of arge arachnid spanning ten meters in length with streaks of red running through her fur and glowing red eyes as the red poison dripping off of her massive ws begins to kill the grass and vegetation it touches in just a single instant.


    Noah then nces at Scarlet while therge spider rushes straight at him, only to find his beloveds daughters eyes also ring with a bright red light. One far brighter than her usual glowing red eyes.


    <em>Perfect. Theyve both lost it.</em>


    He turns back to therge spider the exact moment that Scarlet jumps straight from where she was standing towards the massive spider that is charging towards him. But since therge demon was clearly nning on targeting him first before moving onto her, and she herself is far weaker than it, it wasnt expecting her attack. And now that shes not wearing any armor, the girls ws actually manage to damage some of her fur and even draw a tiny scratch on the surface of her leg.


    Then the red death swipes one of her wed legs straight at the hybrid girl, sending her flying several kilometers away into a mountainside, destroying all of the trees along the way.


    <em>Good thing it was the mountains in the opposite direction of the battlefield.</em>


    Noah nods his head, proud of his work and feeling more than a little smug right now before he begins walking towards the mountainside the girl was sent to. And right when therge spider sends a glob of red poison his way, he casually moves his hand in the way of it and devours the entire ball of poison with some ck mes.


    The red death then continues to attack him over and over again as he walks, simply toying with the thing and even grinning while he does it until he makes it to the girl. And what he finds is her getting up from the ground despite being covered in injuries so bad that her bones are sticking out of her body and even her armor.


    Noah winces at that before turning to the red death again, deciding that hes yed enough.


    <em>I dont want White to </em>actually <em>kill me after all. Plus this girl is interesting. Would make a great sparring partner in the future.</em>


    <strong>And this is why most people dont like you, </strong>Jepard grumbles, only making Noah smile as he raises his hand towards the red death. But right when hes about to wipe out the thing with hellfire, Whites daughter rushes past him despite her injuries and uses a skill that sends shivers down even his spine.


    Blood of Ruin, Noah mutters while tilting his head and lowering his hand out of pure curiosity.


    <em>Lets see how this ys out first.</em>


    <strong>White is going to kill you, </strong>Jepard says with absolute certainty.


    <em>Yeah, yeah, Ill deal with it after this. Its too good a chance to miss seeing ruin myself.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 37: Prophecy

    Book 4: Chapter 37: Prophecy


    <strong>Purples Tower</strong>


    Gabrie Silva, otherwise known as the Purple Knight of Humanity, opens her eyes for the first time in days before slowly raising a hand to brush some of her purple hair over her shoulder. Then she blinks once. Twice. Three times.


    <em>Something big is happening.</em>


    After a couple seconds, the forty-something year old looking woman once more blinks her pupilless and scyleraless purple eyes before finally raising her hand and making a pool of purple liquid appear in front of her. The liquid then takes the form of a viewing screen, showing the side of a snow-covered mountain as the Blood of Ruin skill activates with a badly injured Scarlet Asger only barely standing, her eyes glowing with a red light brighter than they should be. Meanwhile the Red Knight watches from the side while the Blood of Ruin skill forms, deciding to apparently continue blocking the attacks of the red death demon that has also lost control.


    <em>Something very big.</em>


    Gabries eyes suddenly begin glowing with an even brighter purple light right when the Blood of Ruin finally runs through, dealing real damage to the red death even if it doesnt amount to much more than flesh wounds. Then the girl copses to the ground, somehow still conscious.


    Without waiting for the prophecy to begin, Gabrie presses buttons on her terminal, making it start livestreaming herself without showing the screen she has in front of her of the battle the moment she begins speaking the prophecy.


    <strong><em>The birth of the savior is here. Wee The Apex Predator and rejoice, for she shall lead the two worlds to peace. To unity. And to their next war against the threat to all, both in this universe and beyond. Rejoice, because she is the only hope. The Princess of night and day. Of blood and null.</em></strong>


    Gabries eyes return to their usual brightness in the purple glow they give off before she nces at her terminal, finding millions of people already watching the livestream. Then she faces the screen again while ending the livestream despite hundreds of thousands of people joining every second with tens of thousands ofments appearing in the chat debating on the prophecy that was just foretold.


    The woman puts her terminal back in sleep mode again as the blood of ruin left behind by the skill sweeps through the forest. But the Red Knight of Humanity simply ignores it as he grins at the red death and raises his hand.


    <em>White is going to attack him soon.</em>


    Gabrie watches for several seconds while the Red Knight burns the red death alive without risking the Demon Princess any longer, following which the Demon Princesss eyes start dulling in their radiance, her curse calming down.


    No longer can you hide, child, Gabrie whispers without taking her eyes off of the hybrid girl. Not anymore. Apex Predator.


    Then she closes the screen, and her eyes along with them.


    Returning once more to her meditative state.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I blink in confusion after the fog lifts from my head, only to feel extreme pain all over that has me letting out a scream. But even that pain doesntst long before I feel a warmth flooding my body, letting me open my eyes to find Red having apparently shoved a potion down my throat.


    Wouldnt want you keeling over on me, he says with a nod. I still want to fight you in the future. And White would kill me.


    That just leaves me even more confused.


    I stare at him for several long seconds, not really sure what exactly is happening. Then I blink again and turn to look at our surroundings, finding everything to either be burnt and still burning with a ck me, or covered in red ash signifying blood of ruin.


    But when did I use that skill?


    <strong>You dont remember? </strong>Tar asks, sounding slightly surprised. <strong>You lost yourself to your Curse of Pride and began attacking the Noble without any care for your own wellbeing.</strong>


    Oh.


    And Im guessing Red stepped in and killed it before it could kill me?


    <strong>He did, </strong>Tar says, sounding more than a little pissed off. <strong>After taunting it and making it lose itself to its own Curse of Envy so that it would truly try to kill you.</strong>


    Wait, he did <em>what?!</em>


    <strong>Exactly what I said, </strong>Tar grumbles. <strong>Out of his desire to see you grow stronger, he wanted to help you get some experience for this fight and maybe an achievement. And he probably seeded because he truly had no desire to save you beyond a passing whim. That and you had no idea what was going on.</strong>


    This guy is insane.


    <strong>Yes, that he is, </strong>Tar says, appearing in the air and ring at the man who is merely admiring the carnage around us.


    I knew Red had no desire to help others, but for him to actually just toy with us like were well toys


    Thats just sick.


    <strong>He seemed perfectly willing to let you die until his game finished, and that is something I will be telling Amelia about, </strong>Tar practically growls in anger.


    At least I shouldve gotten something from this.


    Tar freezes for a moment at my words before I notice his eyes widening in shock. Then he slowly turns his head to meet my eyes directly and mutters, <strong><em>Something </em>might be a bit of an understatement. Try I would rmend you check your System Messages where no one else can see you. Because this is different.</strong>


    Another Universal Notification?


    <strong>Yeah </strong>Tar says. <strong>And this one wont be held back for long. You have no choice. The messages will y out on their own within the next ten minutes even if you dont check them.</strong>


    Oh.


    Wait the redaction on my name


    <strong>Wont hold up, </strong>Tar says rather grimly.


    You might as well check your System Messages now, little fiend, Red says, bringing my attention to him. Theres no escaping it now. White wont be able to block your name this time.


    The smugness in his voice makes me want to punch him. Not to mention that little pet name he just gave me which isnt exactlyplimenting, and the excitement I can see clearly in his eyes.


    I turn my re away from him, simply because he is a Knight.


    Amelia? I ask with some trepidation in my voice, but to my surprise, she doesnt answer. Although now that I think about it, Im pretty sure she said she was going to the Arctic to back up ck. Which exins why she didnt help me out in this battle.


    So I take a deep breath and let my System Messages flow.

 Book 4: Chapter 38: Exposed Part I

    Book 4: Chapter 38: Exposed Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Firstes the Messages from before my fight with the Noble. Which dont really amount to much more than a bunch of demon defeated messages with no actual EXP given to me. Meanwhile the tenth of a level messages and the level-up I had from them already forced themselves to y without my permission earlier.


    Then the messages for the battle with the Noble arrive.


    <strong>{Level 1201 Red Death defeated. An enormous EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over four hundred levels above your level. A massive penalty has been taken from your earned EXP for barely assisting in killing the creature.}</strong>


    <strong>{Seventy-five Skill Points are awarded for killing a creature two hundred and fifty levels or more above you with or without help.}</strong>


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for spreading gues to millions of different beings all at once.}</strong>


    <strong>{Two Skill Points are awarded for killing a ss V.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 743. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 798. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 16.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 21.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Nullification has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Swarm has leveled up to level 7.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Swarm has leveled up to level 8.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Empowerment has leveled up to level 13.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 23.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood ws has leveled up to level 27.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood has leveled up to level 17.]</strong>


    And the moment those messages stop ying, the notifications Im expectinge.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted all of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss III while under twenty years old.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being one hundred and fifty levels above you without any assistance.</strong>


    <strong>Have the Predator V Skill.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being two hundred and fifty levels above you with or without assistance.</strong>


    <strong>As this is a Title-Bearing Mythic Skill, you will be given the skill at no charge.</strong>


    My eyes widen as I feel a rush of power flood through my body, and at the same time, red and ck light shines from every pore of my skin, illuminating the surroundings so brightly that I have to close my eyes. Then I hear a voice echoing in my head along with another notification.


    <strong>System anomaly recognized upon Title Assignment.</strong>


    <strong>Resources diverted towards determining source</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Source confirmed.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Anomalys true name was interfered with by a system user known as the White Knight of Humanity.</strong>


    <strong>True name has now been returned to normal.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Anomaly has been repaired.</strong>


    <strong>System resources returning to appropriate responsibilities.</strong>


    Yeah, this isnt good.


    <strong>Rejoice, user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, for you have earned the Mythic Skill known as Apex Predator. And along with it, you have been assigned the Title of The Apex Predator!</strong>


    <strong>Apex Predator:</strong>


    <em>It grants the user a 100% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least one hundred levels. It grants the user a 50% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least ten levels. It grants the user a permanent 30% boost in stats no matter who they are fighting.</em>


    <em>These bonuses do not stack together with each other.</em>


    <strong>All hail the Apex Predator.</strong>


    My jaw drops open in silent shock.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has attained a new title-bearing mythic skill!</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet has now attained the title The Apex Predator.</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    I grimace at the mention of my full name.


    Well, the cats out of the bag now.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding grim.


    Meanwhile I just hear Redughing his heart out as I open my eyes again to find him still standing in front of me.


    Okay, despite the fact that he technically helped me right now, hes aplete asshole.


    I scowl at him, only for the man tough even more at that before he calms down again and gives a light bow, Wee to politics, Your Highness.


    My eyebrow twitches in irritation.


    Then he vanishes in a flurry of ck mes.


    That guy is hard to get a read on.


    I turn my attention back to the battlefield dozens of kilometers away from here when I realize that its actually gone silent. Probably due to me.


    The mere fact that I managed to silence a battlefield of hundreds of millions of people, both humans and demons, is a ratherrge feat in and of itself.


    I nce at my terminal, feeling apprehensive about checking any online chats or news stations before shaking my head and deciding to go ahead and check my status instead. Because its a nicer ce to look right now.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator</strong> <strong>Age: 20</strong><strong>Level: 798</strong><strong>SP: 182</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 2,374</strong><strong>Mental: 2,373</strong><strong>Magical: 2,373</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 2,402,133/ 8,728,249.95</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 23</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 21</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 16</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 2</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 17</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Empowerment</strong><strong>Skill Level: 13</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 8</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 27</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 18</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 21</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Aura</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Sense</strong><strong>Skill Level: 16</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Well at the very least my status looks cooler now. What with the red skill there and the Title.


    Although


    I nce at Tar who still seems to be a little dazed before smiling brightly  perhaps a little too brightly  and asking, So when are you going to eat your tail?


    His head jerks around to stare at me with horror on his face, only for the tanuki to vanish without a hint of hesitation.


    Coward, I mutter while lying down on the ash-covered ground.


    Then I just stare up at the sky in a daze of my own for who knows how long, ignoring the buzzing messages I feeling from my terminal.


    This is going to be a long day.


    At least the skill is incredibly good.

 Book 4: Chapter 38.2: Exposed Part II

    Book 4: Chapter 38.2: Exposed Part II


    <strong>The Main Battlefield</strong>


    <strong><em>Moments before the Universal Notification</em></strong>


    ke smiles to himself as he looks at his status, reveling in the new skill he had just bought. But his joy is cut short when a Universal Notification appears in front of his vision, following which everyst demon and human stops battling at the same time all throughout the battlefield.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has attained a new title-bearing mythic skill!</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet has now attained the title The Apex Predator.</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    He stares nkly at the notification, meanwhile all of the humans and demons in his view do the same without a single one making a sound. Then, after an unknown amount of time passes, the demons and humans both have entirely different reactions to the notifications.


    Fear, shock, betrayal, and a barrage of other emotions appear on all of the other humans faces, meanwhile ke finds all of the demons celebrating. With the exception of the non-sapient demons who are being held back by their holders as said holders celebrate, cheering for their Princess.


    <em>She got a Title. While still a few years younger than me.</em>


    ke feels despondent at that thought. The girl who he used to be far stronger than has already eclipsed him in every way, both in Title and in personal power.


    After a few more seconds for this realization to settle in, ke sits down on a nearby bench located at the top of the mountain. Then he sees his father appearing again exactly where he had disappeared to deal with the Nobles with a wide grin on his face. Something ke only ever sees when the man has had his fill of fun, both in battle and his sadistic tendencies.


    ke watches his father walk over to the edge of the cliff before he looks out over the battlefield where a cheer has risen up from the demons. All while the humans are still in shock.


    <em>All hail the Princess! All hail the Princess! All hail the Princess!</em>


    And after over a dozen rounds of this cheer with everyst sapient demon joining in, it changes to a different cheer.


    <em>All hail The Apex Predator! All hail The Apex Predator! All hail The Apex Predator!</em>


    But ke just continues watching in stunned silence along with every other human there.


    <strong>The Middle of a Fracture in the Capital City </strong>


    <strong><em>Minutes before the Universal Notification</em></strong>


    Julian Arc, otherwise known by his Guardian title the Silver Fox, spreads his arms out while creating a dozen copies of himself to distract the ss II demons of the Fracture. And at the same time, the Guardians in his team spread out to attack the demons.


    The battle only ends up taking a few minutes to finish before he and his team head towards the closest bunker, opening the door and letting the kid they were escorting inside. But a Universal Notification appears in everyones vision right when theyre about to close the bunker door again.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has attained a new title-bearing mythic skill!</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet has now attained the title The Apex Predator.</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Julian somehow manages to trip in ce, making him fall on his face. Meanwhile all of his teammates and the people inside of the bunker go silent from the shock of it. But their silence doesntst long as they quickly begin muttering amongst each other.


    <em>Archeron? Isnt that the Royal Family name of the Demons? Archeron?! Shes a demon?! But isnt that-</em>


    The muttering continues for several seconds while Julian climbs back to his feet, unable to speak as his eyes are glued to the notification. He then just stares at the notification all the way till it disappears, and even after that.


    <em>Shes a demon but how? How could she be</em>


    Eventually the muttered conversations take a turn when a buzzing sound echoes from everyones terminals along with a ringing noise or a vibration from the civilians phones. So Julian numbly checks his terminal, only to find a surprise on it.


    <em>Huh?</em>


    Written on his terminal is an emergency message sent by the Five Knights of Humanity in bold letters with a link to Purples previous prophetic livestreams and a picture of Scarlet Asger.


    <em>Or I guess shes not Scarlet Asger damn, thats I dont know how to take this. But she saved my life. She deserves my trust.</em>


    Julian, with his eyes filled with determination despite the notification, quickly begins reading the emergency message.


    <strong><em>The Princess of Both Worlds has been found!</em></strong>


    <em>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, daughter of the White Knight of Humanity and the Blood Cmity Demon Lord, granddaughter to the Demon King and Beast of the Apocalypse, has been designated the Princess to both worlds foretold by the Purple Knight of Humanity!</em>


    <em>For over a year now, she has toiled to bring peace to both worlds, defending the humans from the demons, fighting on their side of the war, and changing the Demon Kings mind about killing human civilians. She has made the first step forward towards peace against the undefeatable and immortal Demon King that has ever been taken before.</em>


    <em>While she may be part blood lycan, she also has a kind heart and is the only one who can prepare both worlds for the threat that is toe!</em>


    <em>Foretold by both the witches of Tartarus and the Purple Knight of humanity, a threat wille from the void to wipe out the universe. And to face that threat, humanity must work together with the demons.</em>


    <em>But be warned, for the demons are strong enough to take control of Earth entirely should they wish it in the next few years.</em>


    <em>Earths only hope of survival and independence is the Princess.</em>


    <em>We, the Knights of Humanity, hope you make the right choice.</em>


    Julians mouth parts open as he stares at the announcement after finishing reading it. Then his eyes move to the video after the livestream after the announcement. One that has the White Knight of Humanity, the ck Knight of Humanity, the Purple Knight of Humanity, and even the Blue Knight of Humanity. Then, after several seconds pass with muttering growing stronger from the civilians and his teammates around him, the Red Knight of Humanity eventually joins them.


    The Heir to the Magic Arc Corporation narrows his eyes slightly as he sees the livestream begin.

 Book 4: Chapter 38.3: Exposed Part III

    Book 4: Chapter 38.3: Exposed Part III


    <strong>An Office within the Governmental Building at the Center of the Capital City </strong>


    <strong><em>Right after the Universal Notification</em></strong>


    Jacob R. Ashton stares nkly at the livestream feeling unsure of how he should be right now. Because he knew White had been hiding something, but the government official who had overseen Scarlets registration as a Guardian still trusted her absolutely and didnt think whatever she was hiding would be this severe.


    But now, as he watches the livestream, he cant help but wonder


    <em>Was this all nned? Did she have Scarlet with the Blood Cmity just to bring the worlds together? Or does she truly love the blood lycan Demon Lord?</em>


    Jacob continues staring at the livestream until White finally steps forward and begins speaking.


    Hello people of the Terran Republic, my name is Amelia Asger, but most of you may know me as the White Knight of Humanity. To start things off, I did in fact have a child with the Blood Cmity Demon Lord, and that child is the Guardian you all know as the Scarlet Wolf. What many of you might find hard to believe is that not all demons are bad. Most of them are simply following the orders of the Demon King, who wishes to take over Earth in order to clear the curses from the demon race. But after his granddaughter, my daughter, and the Princess of the Demons asked him to stop, he decided to ban his demon forces from attacking the civilians. White clenches her fists. My daughter did that. She has already saved millions of lives just from that act alone, and she has been saving countless more over her time as a Guardian both on and off the frontlines. So please


    Jacobs eyes widen in absolute shock when the White Knight of Humanity bows down before the camera and says, Pleasey any and all of your hatred towards me and leave her out of it. Please do not hate her for her demon blood. I beg of you.


    And Jacobs shock doesnt end there as the ck Knight of Humanity steps forward and joins her in bowing as he says, All five of us Knights knew about this, so pleasey your me on me as well. The Scarlet Wolf deserves none of it. She had no choice in any of this and was left in fear ever since she found out she was part demon a little over a year ago. So please. Dont hate her.


    Then the Purple Knight of Humanity simply nods her head, her eyes still closed when she says, They speak the truth, and nothing more.


    Yeeeeaaah, the Red Knight of Humanity says while smiling with his arms crossed and moving up close to the livestream, I personally want to fight the Scarlet Wolf when she reaches my level of strength, so dont you dare go harassing the little fiend.


    Jacob feels a chill run down his spine at that deration, but hes too surprised by the sight that follows to care as the Blue Knight of Humanity slowly steps forwards and says, Demon or not, the Scarlet Wolf is the only one who is capable of saving the Earth. Believe of her as you will, but know that when you make your decision.


    The Knights let nearly an entire minute pass in silence before the ones bowing finally raise their heads, and following that, White begins speaking again, Now, I would like to exin the prophecy to you all to help you make a decision.


    <em>They had this all prepared beforehand. Its obvious. Theres no way they couldve prepared this all within moments of the girl getting her Title. Absolutely no way. Which means theyve been holding off, waiting for the girl to get exposed so that they can immediately flip public interest and promote their own ns.</em>


    Jacob smiles ever so slightly at the thought. That White hasnt changed all these years.


    Then he blinks and his smile grows wider.


    <em>No. She has changed. The White I know would never make a public speech and apology like that. And it must be because of her daughter. Just what type of girl can change her to this extreme? I wonder</em>


    Jacobs smile grows even more as White begins exining the prophecy.


    <em>I think I might want to meet with Scarlet.</em>


    <strong>Youre going to be meeting with her soon anyways, </strong>his fae, Juliette, says with some amusement in her voice as the fox appears on his shoulder. <strong>Not like you could avoid it, eh, head Chairman of the Governmental Council?</strong>


    Jacob chuckles at that but keeps watching the livestream, nheless.


    <em>Things are getting interesting again.</em>


    <strong>Allens Office</strong>


    How is it? Allen asks with some trepidation as he watches Whites livestream while pacing back and forth in his office. Something hes been doing ever since he saw the Universal Notification exposing his adopted daughters identity.


    He suddenly pauses his pacing.


    <em>Wait, can we even legally adopt her now that shes officially the Princess of the Demons, daughter of the White Knight of Humanity and the Blood Cmity Demon Lord, and the granddaughter of the Demon King?!</em>


    That thought has his nerves getting even worse, only for Belle to answer from her ce seated on one of the sofas in his office, Its looking good so far.


    Allen lets out a short sigh of relief as he starts pacing again. But after only a few seconds, he gives in to his nerves and finally opens the livestreams chat for the Knights broadcast.


    <strong>[BlueSkyDreamer  Well, Scarlet has always been helping the people.]</strong>


    <strong>[Firestorm23  Right? And Ive never seen her do anything bad. Is she really a demon?]</strong>


    <strong>[AquaMarine  Well, she would have to be considering that she has the Royal name Archeron. But she isnt a bad person. Not like White who hid this all from us and even her own daughter.]</strong>


    Allen winces slightly at thatst one. Something he no doubt believes is directed towards the beginning of the prophecy that White had begun to exin. The part about abandoning her daughter to leave her at an orphanage without telling her anything about her heritage or the prophecy.


    Shes doing a good job of redirecting any hate away from Scarlet, but does she have to redirect it all to herself? Belle asks, sounding a little sad but also happy that Scarlet is being epted so far.


    I think shes trying to do it as a way to repent for what she did to her own daughter, Allen mutters while scratching the back of his head with his arm not attached to his terminal.


    Allen continues reading more of the chat, finding it hard to keep up due to the millions of messages passing through it at a time, forcing him to dy the chat just to be able to read them.


    <strong>[Thunderbolt87  I think Scarlet is fine. There cant be anything wrong with a cute girl with wolf ears!]</strong>


    <strong>[StarryNight  Scarlet is a nice girl with a dark past. Theres no reason to hold her mothers actions against the daughter.]</strong>


    <strong>[MoonlitGarden  But what if she goes all demon on us and starts attacking people at random?]</strong>


    <strong>[GoldenEagle99  Thats not possible. The majority of the sapient demons are just as intelligent as a human, and Scarlet is a Pride demon. Her curse wont make her lose control and attack people at random. The worst it might do is make her attack an enemy she was already attacking and losing against. Nothing more than that.]</strong>


    <strong>[Celestial_9  Wait, really? I thought all demons attacked indiscriminately]</strong>


    <strong>[StarryEyes123  No, the only reason the demons in the Fractures and in the Demon Army are attacking us is because of the Demon Kings orders.]</strong>


    <strong>[Maverick89  The same Demon King that is the grandfather of the Scarlet Wolf? Are you sure we can trust her?]</strong>


    <strong>[StarryEyes123  She already convinced the Demon King to stop attacking civilians, so I say we trust her.]</strong>


    Tears build up in Allens eyes as he continues reading the chat, even if a lot of it appears to target White rather harshly. But their n seems to have worked.


    He then looks to the East in the direction of the Eastern continent where Scarlet is before muttering, Now its all up to you, sweetie.

 Book 4: Chapter 39: Planned

    Book 4: Chapter 39: nned


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I nkly stare at all of the messages in the livestream as Amelia finishes up her exnation of the prophecy, basically just outlining the thing without telling any of the specifics except for what has already urred up till now. But no matter how long I stare, I cant wrap my mind around how everything has transpired.


    The way I thought this would y out is all of the humans immediately turning on me and hating me for being a demon and the granddaughter of the Demon King. And now? Now most people at least publicly seem fine with me again while theyre instead hating on Amelia


    Just how?


    <strong>If I had to guess, Amelia probably had everything nned out to thest detail about your reveal, </strong>Tarments from his ce on my shoulder as I continue sitting on a tree near the ash-covered crater I made with the Red Knight.


    Yeah. She had to have. Theres no other possible exnation.


    But to take all of the me on herself? Did she really have to do that?


    <strong>There mightve been other ways to handle it, but this was the fastest and most efficient method, </strong>Tar says. <strong>Its also a way for her to punish herself for what she did to you.</strong>


    A way to punish herself


    I purse my lips at the thought before leaning back on the tree and staring up at the full moon in the sky.


    This is a lot to take in at once.


    <strong>You can think about how to treat Amelia after thister, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me nce at him with confusion etched onto my face. <strong>For now itd be a good idea to head to the main battlefield, otherwise the demons and humans will start fighting again after the demons calm down.</strong>


    Right. I almost forgot about that.


    Cant waste the momentum Amelia just made.


    With that thought in mind, I begin running towards the main battlefield. While in my lycan form, of course. Because I dont want to aggravate the humans there.


    I arrive on a mountainside overlooking the main battlefield, only to find the demons and humans having separated on both sides of the battlefield. And while the humans are all discussing things amongst themselves, mostly about Amelia and how she betrayed both humanity and her own daughter, the demons are all cheering for The Apex Predator and Princess of the Demons.


    Overall a rather odd sight to behold.


    Particrly because they arent attacking each other.


    All of the sapient demons are tightly holding the reigns of the non-sapient ones, meanwhile the Nobles are holding the reigns of the sapient ones likely to lose control of themselves in a battlefield to their Sin.


    Not that the Nobles need to restrain them considering how even those demons are cheering their hearts out.


    So you came? I suddenly hear a familiar voice, making me look over to find both Red and his son ke standing several meters away from me, the two of them somehow having arrived without my knowing. And the sight of Red being there makes me quickly look at the livestream, only to find that the only Knight still there is Amelia, who is calmly answering questions from the chat.


    I look back up at the battlefield again as I mutter, Yeah. Cant waste the opportunity Amelia gave me.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a smirk stretching across Reds face. A smirk that honestly makes me want to punch him.


    But I cant. Because that would be a death sentence.


    I can punch him when Im strong enough to not have to worry about his retaliation in the future.


    <strong>Wow, greatpromise there, </strong>Tar says with a snort. In my head, of course.


    Yes. That it is.


    He snorts again.


    In that case, let me help you, Red suddenly says, making me blink in surprise before turning to look at him. Apex Predator.


    Then a geyser of ck mes suddenly shoots up from beneath my feet, carrying me up into the air without harming me somehow. And at the same time, it manages to gather quite the number of gazes. And the owners of those gazes then point me out to everyone around them, making me the center of attention from almost everyone after just a short period of time.


    Silence soon fills the entire battlefield, following which the geyser holding me upes back down and Ind firmly on my feet back on the ground. Then, as if he hadnt just done that, Red just walks up with a smirk on his face and hands me a microphone while patting a massive speaker that had appeared out of nowhere. Probably a spatial storage.


    Although why he had one on hand I dont know.


    I take the microphone before turning to look at the hundreds of millions of people who all have their eye on me. And despite all of their gazes, I dont feel nervous at all. But then again, I was never particrly shy. Just that I dislike dealing with other people, so I avoid them.


    If I were to get shy though, this is probably the time Id expect it.


    But nope. Nothing.


    I step forward with the mic in my hand, the eyes of millions of people following my every move from all across the massive battlefield. A battlefield thats so massive that the only reason I can even almost see the other end of it is because of the veryrge mountain were standing on.


    Being nervous and knowing what to say are two entirely different things though.


    Tar snorts, making the corner of my lips quirk up ever so slightly.


    I let out a short sigh before raising the microphone to my mouth and narrowing my eyes before saying, Hello, my name is Scarlet, but many of you here now know me as Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, The Apex Predator, Daughter of the White Knight of Humanity, Princess of the Demon World, and Scarlet Wolf. My voice resonates throughout the entire massive valley and the mountains beyond, whatever speaker Red is using obviously being a piece of magi-tech equipment.


    But I ignore that as I smirk slightly and say, And I have a proposition for you all.

 Book 4: Knight Story Art

    Book 4: Knight Story Art


    Starting with one you know, White:


    Next up is her brother, Blue:


    Then we have ck:


    And Red both with and without his helmet:


    Andst but not least, Purple. Both in her young and her old form. Also, I made an edit to an earlier chapter to specify that Purple ages whenever she divines a prophecy. And then she gets younger again as she kills more demons afterwards.


    So here is her older form(mid thirties in appearance):


    And here she is in her younger form(mid twenties in appearance):

 Book 4: Chapter 40: A Bet

    Book 4: Chapter 40: A Bet


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Oh? This ought to be interesting </strong>I hear Tar mutter in my mind.


    First, would a representative for the humans and for the demonse up here? I ask, my voice echoing throughout the battlefield. Then in just a single instant, someone appears next to us. Someone that I recognize from TV.


    Satan.


    And Im not the only one as everyone down on the battlefield starts muttering to themselves as well, the demons out of loyalty and fear, and the humans out of fear and, well, fear.


    Red steps forwards with his helmet held underneath his arm, the man still wearing the same red armor he has been wearing all night as he says, Ill be the representative for the humans. He nces at the people down below while adding, If thats alright with you lot.


    Hundreds of thousands of people begin reassuring him that its alright, to my amusement. Then I realize that he just spoke to everyone without a microphone.


    Is this microphone even necessary?


    No, its not, Red says, bringing my gaze to find him staring at me with a smirk on his face, his eyes alternating between mine and the microphone.


    Asshole.


    It would be my pleasure to serve as the demons representative, Your Highness, Satan says, bringing both my and Reds attention back to him to find the man bowing slightly. And something I just noticed is that he looks rather simr to Vorgrim, the Lord of Hellfire.


    <strong>|Satan ckthorn of the ck me  Oni  Level 1773|</strong>


    Oh, wow. This guy really is strong enough to take down Red without much trouble. Even if there is a level gap of a few dozen levels between them, the simple matter of him being an oni is enough to make that level gap obsolete. To the point that hes stronger by a fair margin.


    And that name thats the exact same family and n names as Vorgrim. Vorgrim ckthorn of the ck me.


    Does that mean


    As you may have surmised, Your Highness, my father is the Lord of Hellfire, Satan says, making my eyes go wide in surprise. And even Red looks surprised at that, much less ke who is just standing here for no reason at all by the looks of it.


    It also seems to surprise our onlooking humans, but thats to be expected.


    Whats also surprising me quite a bit is how civilized Satan is beingpared to his father who probably wouldve started a fight or at leastughed by now. Theyre like night and day so far.


    Then representatives of Earth and Tartarus, I would like to propose a little bet, I tell the two, making both of them focus their attention on me. Meanwhile all of the noise throughout the battlefield goes silent as my voice echoes out across the vast expanse of valley. One that I believe my Grandfather would be okay with taking.


    Satan looks at me for a few seconds before slowly stating, I would need to check in with His Majesty before anything would be official.


    I nod at that with a brief, Of course.


    I doubt humanity has much of anything to lose in this gamble, so Im happy to hear you out, little fiend, Red says, making my eye twitch at the sound of that pet name hes given me echoing throughout the battlefield.


    Deciding to ignore Reds annoying behavior since were speaking to hundreds of millions of people right now, probably even more as Im sure there are some people livestreaming this, I spread my arms out and state, How about this. If Earth is able to push the demons all the way back to Demon Isle and keep the demons from the Arctic Gate in the Arctic, my Grandfather will give up on subjugating Earth until it is proven without a shadow of a doubt whether or not I will be able to remove the demon curses myself.


    Both Satan and Reds eyes widen in shock, neither of them apparently expecting such a bold bet from me right now. But the humans down below seem to be considering it. And it doesnt take long for some cheers to break out, making the hint of a smile appear on my face.


    Then most of the human Guardians down there all begin cheering.


    Which makes sense. Everyone at this point realizes that Earth, the humans, we have absolutely no chance at victory against the demons. All weve been doing is fighting in desperation to survive ever since the ss V Fracture that opened up in the capital and brought me to Tartarus.


    The only real progress weve gotten was when I got here, and that was partially because they didnt want to hurt the blood lycan attacking them, couldnt send their ss V forces away from the main battlefield and from dealing with our ss Vs, and didnt know where I would strike. Not to mention my gues.


    After several seconds filled with nothing but the Guardians cheers, Satan finally regains hisposure and asks, The bet doesnt sound too outrageous, but it is missing something. His eyes narrow. Youve stated what the demons will do if you manage to seed, but what will the humans do if you fail?


    That silences the Guardians watching us rather quickly.


    Then everyone just watches on without saying a word as I smirk.


    I saw this oneing a while ago. If theres one thing I <em>know </em>the demons want, its that.


    <strong>Youre really going to bet that for this? You cant exactly take it back, you know that right? </strong>Tar says, not actually sounding worried despite his words. Probably because he believes in me to win this bet. <strong>I mean, something could always go wrong</strong>


    Yeah, but I believe in myself.


    You asked what the humans will do if we fail? I ask, still smirking and tantly ignoring the camera sh I see out of the corner of my eye. Thats simple.


    I cross my arms as I answer, If we fail, then I will move to live in Tartarus permanently as the Princess of the demons and will no longer assist the humans. Then I tilt my head, still smirking at the shocked look on the demons face. That enough for you?

 Book 4: Chapter 41: Tentative Agreement and Rejection

    Book 4: Chapter 41: Tentative Agreement and Rejection


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Whispered conversations begin to echo throughout the entire battlefield both from the demons and the humans. And while the demons sound extremely happy with this arrangement, as I thought they would, the humans sound conflicted. Some of them are saying that I shouldnt be the only one bearing the burden of humanitys loss in this bet, while others are saying its only right since Im a demon and need to earn their trust. Most are saying that it wouldnt be right though, leaving the others to be a minority.


    <strong>Im surprised you just went out and did that, </strong>Tarments from his ce on my shoulder.


    Yeah, well, I dont really have the right to bet anything of humanitys, and this is something I know the demons, and especially Gramps, all want. Pretty sure Leonidas wants it too.


    There would have to be some rules to the bet, since it would be unfair if you all just continued sending more and more Nobles to Earth and eventually brute forced your way to victory, I add, still with a smirk on my face. But Im sure we can work those details out, right?


    Satan finally smiles and reaches his hand out, saying, Yes. I believe we can. But when I grab his hand in return he frowns slightly and adds, Well have to speak with your Grandfather for you to negotiate this, so I would prepare for that if I were you, Your Highness.


    Negotiating with Gramps thatll be interesting.


    Also, why do I feel like there are millions of res locked on us right now? And why is Satan looking so awkward right now as he looks behind me?


    <strong>Because everyst demon out there with any sapience is ring at him for daring to touch their Princess, </strong>Tar says, sounding more than a little amused. So I let go of the mans hand, giving him a break from the death res his own army is sending him.


    Regardless of the fact that none of them could actually harm him, being red at that way by your own army under yourmand is probably not a pleasant experience.


    I will prepare for the meeting with His Majesty, so please be ready within the next few days, Satan says with a nod of his head before vanishing in a wave of hellfire. And Red just looks between me and the fading hellfire before eventually staring at me and asking, Why did you need a human representative again?


    I blink at that question, only to shrug and answer, To make it look official?


    He just stares at me, meanwhile more than a few of the humans below all startughing.


    The man shakes his head after a few seconds before vanishing in a wave of hellfire, exactly like Satan just did. Which I find rather ironic, and judging by the look on his sons face, Im not the only one.


    Also, he kinda just ditched his son here. Did he forget about him or something?


    <strong>Maybe? </strong>Tar half asks, half states.


    I nce to the side, finding that the speaker is gone as well. Although Im not sure when he took it.


    So, ke suddenly says, his voice not echoing through the valley like all of our voices were doing before, bringing my attention to him. Long time no see.


    Long time no did he stay behind to talk?


    <strong>Looks like it, </strong>Tar says before yawning and closing his eyes as if he were going to sleep. And he actually does go to sleep after a few seconds.


    Guess so, I answer ke while pulling up my terminal and turning it off sleep mode to then search through forums online. And right away, I find recorded videos and livestreams both of my negotiation with Satan and of me just standing here right now. Which has me ncing towards the angle of the camera recording me before narrowing my eyes and finding a ss III Guardian with his terminal pointed my way. And almost immediately after noticing my gaze, they all turn their cameras away from me.


    So I look back at the livestreams and the chats on the videos to find that all of it is actually positive. Everyone seems okay with me still.


    Although I wouldnt be surprised if the government or Amelia were managing any people with harsh words. Just to direct the public opinion.


    PR aside, they also appear to like that I made a bet with the demons to make them give up on Earth if we win. One that doesnt involve any risk on Earths part for losing. Unless they consider losing me a risk.


    It looks like I made the right decision. Although whether we can actually back it up and win this thing Im not too sure about that.


    There are over a hundred thousand ss Vs on the other side of the Gate, and theyll be sending more over on a regr basis. So even if theres only about a hundred and fifty something now, there will be more in the future. And the ones here now already outnumber the ss Vs from Earth.


    Meaning its not looking very good.


    Ill have to reach ss V myself if I want a chance. Because at that point I should be able to take arge majority of them even if only due to Apex Predator alone.


    Skills are still far more important in battle than level after all. And a mythic skill is at the, well, apex of all skills.


    Im d Tar was asleep for that. Probably wouldve said something snarky about it.


    I nce at him to find that he really is asleep this time, so I return my attention finally to ke who had been silent as I was looking at my terminal.


    Did you need something? I ask him while tilting my head slightly, my hair falling over my shoulder a little and making me nce down at it.


    Yeah, I need a haircut. Too bad my hair is too strong for scissors that arent specially made or enchanted to cut.


    A ratherrge pain if Im being honest. Especially since my hair just grows right back not too long after anyways. Like an entire foot of length in just a month.


    Ridiculous.


    I raise my head to look at ke after finding his silence odd, only to narrow my eyes slightly at the sight of what I think is a blush.


    Um, I utter, not really sure about what to say before remembering the whole crush thing Red mentioned. Oh. Right. That. Sorry, but I have no interest in dating or ever having any sort of romantic rtionships.


    His face lights up like a candle.


    Thought so.


    I-Its fine, he says with a slight stutter before taking a deep breath and then calmly finishing, would you like to walk with me to the base? I can catch you up on some things thatve gone down at the university along the way. And keep anyone else away, if youd like.


    I blink at his proposal.


    That doesnt sound half bad.


    A little surprising hed suggest this after being rejected though.


    Sure, I answer with a shrug before we begin walking across the mountain in the direction of the main base. And as we walk, I cant help but notice both the human and demon armies retreating for now.


    Good.

 Book 4: Chapter 42: Family

    Book 4: Chapter 42: Family


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    You are going to be the death of me one of these days, you hear that? Allenins as soon as the call connects, making me blink in surprise before tilting my head slightly in confusion. And to make matters worse? You dont even know why Allen trails off only to shake his head and mutter, Oh, whatever. Im d youre safe and that things turned out well.


    I frown for a second, unsure of what he was gonna scold me over, only to shrug myself and smile as I say, Same.


    Is it safe to say you saw Whites livestream? Allen asks, and I nod my head. I was pretty surprised by that, not gonna lie. But I knew she cared about you, so probably not as surprised as you were.


    I hum in response, not really sure what to say to that as I lie down in my bed back at my suite in the base with my terminal being disyed on arge screen on the ceiling above the bed.


    Amelia has always, from what Ive seen since meeting her, cared about me in her own strange way. She tends to make decisions on her own without talking to others, and often ends up regretting those decisions in the future. At least, as far as Im concerned.


    But she also takes responsibility for the decisions, so she means well.


    It was a shock, I eventually say before closing my eyes.


    I bet it was, I hear Belles voiceing from the other side of the call, making me open my eyes again for a moment to see her poking her head over her fathers shoulder and pushing his head out of the way, to his irritation. Howre things going miss Apex Predator?


    Better than I expected, I answer honestly. Far better than I expected.


    When are you nning on going to meet with Satan? she asks, only to start fussing when Allen pushes her away and instead seemingly switches the call over to a TV so they can both be in the screen.


    I raise a brow at their antics before closing my eyes again and answering, Ill be going first thing tomorrow morning and meeting up with Red to head to Demon Isle, where were going to be speaking with my grandfather through a skill of one of his subordinates. Since Gramps cant actuallye here personally.


    Silence follows for a few seconds, so I open my eyes to find the two of them looking slightly surprised for some reason.


    You call the Demon King Allen begins, following which Belle finishes while covering her mouth, Gramps?


    Then the two startughing, making me feel a slight blush reach my cheeks. Something I will never admit happened.


    I turn my head, lying on my cheek instead to look away as I mutter, So what if I do?


    They justugh even harder. Which has my blush growing a deeper shade of red.


    Idiots, I mutter quietly to myself, not that it stops them from hearing andughing even harder.


    But despite the situation, I cant help but smile a little as well. Since I havent been able to talk with them much sinceing back to Earth. Even if thats my own fault for focusing on hunting over spending time with them. Much to Belles chagrin.


    The main problem though is that I just dont have the time. Not when I need to be strong enough to deal with the void creatures.


    And while Apex Predators +100% stats wille in extremely useful in the future, stats are not the main source of power for a person. Skills are. Both skill levels, high rarity skills, and a variety of skills.


    Not to mention that ss V gives vastly different stats out per level than the sses prior to it give. Gramps actually mentioned that blood lycans get 5 points in Physical, 4 in Mental, and 5 in Magical, along with 10 free points <em>per </em>level, unlike right now where I only get 2 in Physical, 1 in Mental, 2 in Magical, and 5 free points per level.


    A ratherrge jump.


    And thats not even considering how the multipliers for a ss V are over twice the multipliers for a ss IV, making them over twice as strong even at just a single level above a ss IV.


    All because ss Vs have their body and their reality fully merged into one unlike ss IVs who only have them partially merged, and any ss below that who doesnt have them merged at all.


    I honestly cant wait to reach ss V for no other reason than the massive difference in power it gives.


    <strong>It might not be as far as many would suspect, </strong>Tarments, making me smile even more.


    Yeah. As long as I continue hunting demons on the battlefield.


    Someone looks happy, Allen says, making me turn back over to face the ceiling as I smother my smile rather quickly. Too quickly, apparently. Toote for that.


    I roll my eyes.


    Hows the university been anyways? I ask Belle, feeling rather curious about it. Because despite her fighting on the frontlines as well, shes still attending university. Something I kinda just stopped doing due to myck of time.


    Belle smiles at that and answers, Boring.


    I chuckle at that blunt answer.


    I mean it! she exims while swinging her hands out wide, barely missing her father who ducks under it before ring at her. But she just ignores him while continuing, The university is just teaching us battle tactics and strategies now! It isnt what a university is supposed to be! Were supposed to be having fun and enjoying college, not training and learning battle tactics every day all day long!


    Excuse me, Allen interjects with a frown as he crosses his arms and says, youre the one who asked to go there. And youre also the one who wanted to go to the frontlines, which is probably whats eating up your free time!


    Belle opens her mouth for a second before casually looking at me and smiling. Ah, its gettingte. You should head to bed, Scarlet. Im sure youre tired.


    Allen narrows his eyes at her, but Belle quickly reaches over to his arm and hangs up the call, leaving me smirking at the ceiling with more than a little amusement on my face.


    Several seconds pass in silence as I stare before I eventually yawn and slowly begin to close my eyes.


    Maybe I should go to sleep even if I dont biologically need it anymore, it does still help with stress.


    And a lot has happened over the past day.

 Book 4: Chapter 43: Knight’s Foray into Tartarus

    Book 4: Chapter 43: Knight¡¯s Foray into Tartarus


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After meeting up with Red, we both rush through the sky straight towards Demon Isle in arge ck fireball that doesnt actually feel hot. Not even in the slightest.


    When I asked why it wasnt Amelia going with me, I was told that she was busy in the Arctic and since he was the representative for the humans during the bet  even if he didnt do anything  he was responsible foring with me to see it through. Which makes sense, even if I dont really like the guy.


    I look around at the many demons we pass over, each of whom that are actually able to keep up with is with their eyes bow to me as we pass. Which wouldve felt strange and awkward a year ago, but thanks to my time on Tartarus feels normal now.


    Theres only so much bowing and scraping you can ept from people before you be numb to it after all.


    <strong>And there was a lot of bowing to you, </strong>Tarments offhandedly from his ce in the in-between.


    Yep. That there was.


    We continue flying through the air with the two of us just floating in the middle of the fireball with nearly a meter in between us until we finally cross into the ocean. Then not too long after that we make it to Demon Isle. And despite being called Demon Isle, its actually not a half bad looking ce. Rather tropical in a way. Nothing like Tartarus.


    Also full of demons. But unlike Tartarus, the only demons on Demon Isle seem to be the sapient ones. Which is an interesting sight to see.


    Kind of reminds me of a more civil version of the cities on Tartarus.


    Come to think of it, I nce at Red and ask, Youve been to Tartarus before, right? What all did you do there aside from hunt demons?


    He looks at me, seemingly surprised that I actually spoke to him before he looks down again and says, Run for my life.


    I blink at that answer, unsure of how to take it from the guy obsessed with fighting even more than some people I know.


    <strong>Did you just refer to yourse- </strong>Tar starts but I cut him off by asking, I thought you had ck and Purple covering your location from the Demon King?


    Red looks even more surprised by that until he seems to realize something and says, The Demon King told you about that, did he? And when I nod he just looks back down at the ground again and says, Our time on Tartarus was a lot moreplicated than just that. Will and Gabrielle both hid us from the Demon Kings sight, along with an entire continent. So it wasnt hard for him to guess where we were.


    Oh, so he was hunting you all down the whole time through the continent? But wouldnt he have been able to find you pretty quickly just from running across the continent or moving between blood deposits? I ask, genuinely curious about what went down. And Red seems inclined to answer me despite his rather sadistic and terrible personality. Something I king of appreciate but also have no idea why hes doing this.


    <strong>Its possible hes doing it to endear his son to you, </strong>Tar points out, surprising me for a moment before Red looks at me again and mutters, The Demon King really does just tell you whatever, doesnt he? Likely due to my knowledge of Gramps skills. Then he shakes his head and faces forwards as he answers my question, The five of us split up to go our own ways through the Southwestern desert continent, and even if he is fast enough to pass through the continent from one end to the other in just minutes, it doesnt mean hell be able to search everyst person. He would also be making it obvious what hes doing if he tried, so it wouldnt be that hard to hide when his magical senses are blocked.


    Oh. So thats how they did it.


    Probably a massive pain though, since they wouldve been on edge the entire time wondering if the Demon King was gonna suddenly charge through the continent at any moment in time.


    Of the five of us, your mother went to the Mesa of Illusions where she ended up meeting your father, and I went to the Oni Citadel and snuck into the onis hunting grounds just to check the ce out, Red says, sounding slightly stiff as he does. Which is where I met a few oni and had some wonderful sparring matches with them.


    Yes, my father still speaks of that to this day, I suddenly hear another voice, one I recognize as Satan from the battlefield yesterday. And when I turn around, the fireball were in stopping immediately, I find Satan floating in the sky with his own ck me covering him, except not in the form of a fireball like Red. Although I get the feeling Red doesnt need the fireball and is only using it to carry me. Wee, Your Highness. It is a pleasure to see you again.


    Meanwhile he just ignores Red. Which I find rather amusing.


    At least, he ignores him until Red smugly grins at him and says, Your father said I was more talented in hellfire than you were. His own son! How embarrassing.


    Satan immediately res daggers at the man, making me briefly wonder if Red has too many screws loose in his head.


    Then I remember that he does indeed have screws loose in his head, just like the other Knights.


    Actually, now that I think about it, if he spent time with some of the oni on Tartarus, doesnt that exin why he is as he is? Also, why didnt the Demon King do anything about it?


    I guess its possible the oni just never reported him. Or they may have never known who he was at that point. I dont think the Knights had their Titles yet then after all.


    My line of thoughtses to a halt when I notice that ck mes are literally leaking out of Satan and Reds eyes as they re at each other.


    Yeah, I should stop them from fighting. It wouldnt end well for Red when he doesnt have another Knight backing him.

 Book 4: Chapter 44: Negotiations

    Book 4: Chapter 44: Negotiations


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After breaking the two up, which took a lot of work to do, the three of us continue flying through the air for a few seconds until arge castlees into sight. One clearly made out of blood metal and designed in a style simr to the nation that used to upy Demon Isle before the demons.


    Satan brings us through an open window of the castle into arge throne room where a three-meter-tall pool of blood stands in front of the throne like a mirror. The oni then walks up to the raised dais and kneels in front of it, following which the pool of blood begins shifting until it turns into some sort of screen showing Gramps throne room. And the very moment he sees me, Gramps begins smiling.


    I also notice Leonidas standing off to the side of Gramps throne, likely not sitting on his own throne due to it being too far for the screen to show.


    Leonidas smiles at me as well and nods before Gramps says, Young ckthorn says you wish to make a bet, Princess?


    His formal mode is clearly activated, so I nod my head in return and answer, Yes, I do. Is it safe to assume you already know the basic contents of the bet?


    I do, he answers, his eyes narrowing slightly. If Im to understand this correctly, you wish to make a bet with us that you will return to Tartarus to fulfil all of your duties as the Princess of the nation should Earths forces fail to push us back to Demon Isle and the Arctic, and that we will retreat from Earth should you manage to do so?


    Yes, you understand it perfectly, I tell him with another nod. But in addition to that, I would like to add onto it a little bit.


    Gramps starts rubbing his chin a little bit, leaving both throne rooms in silence before he lowers his arm to his throne and says, Very well, and I, of course, will be doing the same.


    Of course, I respond with a nod, still feeling rather unused to speaking with Gramps in such a formal manner. Especially considering how doting he tends to be.


    I nce at Red, who has been silent this entire time, simply looking between Gramps and Leonidas without saying a word. Meanwhile the two of them are ignoring his existence entirely.


    And Satan still has his head lowered in a kneeling position.


    To start off, we should set a limit for the number of ss V demons that can pass through to Earth each year, I state, making Gramps eyes narrow further. Id say about three Nobles passing through a year would be fine, since were already limited to only about seventy ss Vs ourselves and you have more ss Vs than we have by over double currently on Earth.


    Gramps taps his thrones arm rest a few times before raising a brow and saying, Ten Nobles a year. Remember that you have your <em>Knights </em>on Earth as well as yourself.


    I hold back my wince as I retort, Seven Nobles a year. You have Satan and Damien here, and Im pretty sure youve sent over another two n Noble demons since those two came as well.


    He frowns, his gaze turning to the Red Knight finally while he says, Nine Nobles a year. Your Red Knight has already killed one of those two n Nobles.


    Rest in peace Aurora.


    Or not, I guess. She was kind of trying to capture me after all.


    Not to mention force me out of my hunting grounds.


    An unforgiveable sin indeed.


    Tar snorts in my head, bringing Gramps attention to me again as his eyes narrow a little and he looks around me. As if searching for something.


    He can hear Tar from all the way over there, across whatever skill or item were using to talk to him?


    Wow.


    Eight Nobles a year. The demons far outnumber the humans, and the humans are less structured as well, I state my final counteroffer, which I know is a little weak, but should still work, nheless.


    He raises a brow again but smiles anyways and says, Agreed.


    I let out a mental sigh of relief. Not an actual sigh, of course. Because that would be bad for negotiation.


    Even if he is my grandfather.


    Now, my turn, Gramps says, making me stiffen up ever so slightly. You have a clear winning condition attached to the bet for the humans, but how will we know if we win? There doesnt seem to be a time limit yet.


    Shit, he noticed.


    Then again, of course he would. Hes over two thousand years old and has probably been in negotiations longer than Ive been alive. And thats just the time hes spent in the negotiations themselves.


    He is a King after all.


    How about in ten years time, if you havent forced us back to Demon Isle and the Arctic yet, then you will lose this bet and return to Tartarus where you will fulfil your duties as Princess, Gramps says, making a chill run down my spine at the short deadline. Since I was hoping more along the lines of three decades to a century.


    Theres no way wed be able to do it within just ten years.


    But how could I


    My eyes widen as an ideaes to me.


    Counteroffer, I state while folding my arms under my chest, If we havent forced you back to Demon Isle and the Arctic yet by the time the void forces arrive on Earth, we will lose the bet. Does that work?


    He blinks once, then smiles and nods.


    I rx ever so slightly at the oue.


    Good.


    From what Amelia has hinted, the void forces shouldnt arrive on Earth first when they do reach our universe. Theyll arrive on others and begin spreading across the universe before eventually making it here.


    Which should give us a lot of time to force the demons back.


    Then, after winning the bet, we can deal with peace with the demons and talking about joining together in the war effort against the void.

 Book 4: Chapter 45: Two Hot Heads

    Book 4: Chapter 45: Two Hot Heads


    <strong>The Throne Room of The Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    It was nice talking to you again, little Scarlet, Arkaz says with a warm smile on his face, and his son, Leonidas, says, Stay safe on Earth, okay?


    Then, after getting a smile in response with his granddaughter raising one hand with her thumb sticking up, Arkaz cuts the link with the magical item he had Leonidas make and send to Earth. Something that lets him contact those over there.


    The screen vanishes, turning back into blood again and leaving the throne room inplete silence.


    Her negotiating has improved, Arkaz says while ncing at his son, finding him to have started walking over to the balcony already. So he gets up and follows after him.


    Once he makes it out there with him, Leonidas asks, You know what you just did.


    Arkaz snorts as he leans against the balcony railing.


    Do I now? he asks with a smile on his face.


    Leonidas turns to look at his father with a conflicted look on his face as he says, You lost that negotiation on purpose.


    The Demon King just hums at that, turning to look up at the blood moon high in the sky.


    Silence fills the balcony with the only noise being that of the fighting demons in the distance visible from the balcony.


    And if I did? Arkaz says while leaning over on the balcony railing with a faint smile on his face.


    Arkaz sees his son staring at him for several seconds before Leonidas sighs and turns to look out at the Battlefield while muttering, If you just let her win, then she may nevere back here again.


    I doubt youll have to worry about that, Arkaz says while putting a hand on his sons head, to the boys obvious displeasure. Shelle back. Even if she wins the bet, shelle back one day.


    <em>Shell probably being sooner rather thanter, considering how the void creatures are supposed to reach Tartarus before Earth.</em>


    Arkaz doesnt say that part out loud, keeping silent even though his son already knows this.


    Youre right though, she has improved her negotiation skills, Leonidas says, bringing Arkazs gaze back to his son right when the boy pushes his hand away from his head. Leonidas then turns to look at Arkaz, meeting his gaze as he asks, That your doing?


    The Demon King smiles and turns back to look out over the battlefield again and answers, She probably picked it up when she was shadowing me for a week draining my life energy.


    His son snorts at that out of the corner of his eyes before leaning over the railing himself, cing his head on his arms as he seemingly sulks.


    <em>Is he jealous?</em>


    Arkaz snorts in amusement and just pats his sons back, saying, Shell warm up to you eventually.


    <em>Probably.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a sigh of relief the moment the connection ends.


    That went well I think.


    <strong>You realize he let you win that negotiation, right? </strong>Tarments, and I nod my head with a frown.


    Yeah, but I kind of bet on that a little just to help the humans a bit. After all, we need every advantage we can get to win this.


    I focus on Red to find him looking between me and the pool of blood thats still floating there with astonishment on his face. Like he didnt expect me to actually be able to get that bet confirmed with the Demon King.


    Well, Ill leave it to you to bring news of that bet to the people, I tell him with a smile, snapping him out of his shock.


    You he mutters before suddenly grinning at me and appearing right next to me in a blur to p my shoulder, sending me down to my knees in his enthusiasm, you mayve just saved the human race!


    And he doesnt stop with one p, instead pping my back in what I think is supposed to be a congrattory or thankful pat but is instead rather painful.


    We should head out, but know you have my gratitude for giving my son a future, he says as he finally finishes pping me, making me stand up straight again while reaching back to rub my shoulder and back. Meanwhile out of the corner of my eye I notice Satan giving Red a death re. On that note, why dont you marry-


    Not happening. Not on your life filthy human!


    I blink in surprise before focusing solely on Satan, who had just spoken at the same time as me. And Red does the same, looking at the oni with disgust.


    Please tell me Im not going to have to break these two up again?


    Looks like the oni still hasnt learned his lesson yet, Red says, his voiceing out with a rather dark note in it. One that has a shiver running down my spine.


    <strong>Youre going to have to break them up again, </strong>Tar says rather dryly, making me let out an internal groan.


    Are you really going to pick a fight with me right now, <em>Red</em>? Satan says, his voice taking on a gravelly tone as ck mes begin building up around both him and Red. Meanwhile a ball of ck mes surrounds me, probably for protection.


    Are you kidding me?


    Please stop fighting you two, I tell the two with a scowl on my face. Or at least wait till Im back at the frontlines. I want to go hunt.


    While Red looks hesitant, Satan immediately stops and bows towards me with a polite, Yes, Your Highness. As you wish.


    And now Red just looks awkward instead.


    Red, please take me back to the frontlines, I state while crossing my arms. And to my surprise, he actually does what hes told.


    How nice of him.


    Now if only he wouldnt go getting into fights with people who could kill him when hes one of the strongest fighters we have on humanitys side. Then things would be much nicer for us.

 Book 4: Intermission 1

    Book 4: Intermission 1


    <strong>The Main Square of the Capital City of the Terran Republic</strong>


    Breaking news! A news reporters voice echoes from the massive screen showing front and center on top of the massive building at the back center of the Main Square. The Apex Predator, Princess of the Demons and the daughter of the White Knight of Humanity Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron hase to an agreement with the Demon King! If humanity is able to push the demons back to Demon Isle and keep the rest of the demons in the Arctic by the time the void creatures attack Earth, the Demon King will cease all hostilities and retreat back to Tartarus for good! And the demons have been limited in how many Nobles they can bring to Earth each year to just eight Nobles!


    Meanwhile various other screens showing simr scenes repeatedly y throughout the city and all other cities of the Republic.


    She really did that? I guess she really is on our side. We have a Princess!!! All hail the Apex Predator! Shes done it! Now we just need to fight!


    All throughout the city, cries of joy can be heard from the people. Both those who know the Apex Predator on a personal level, and those who dont. Those who have fought against her, and those who have lost to her.


    And on top of the City Hall of the Capital City, the White Knight of Humanity can be seen with her legs dangling over the edge of the roof talking into a small, red rock.


    Looks like everythings worked out as nned, she says, more than a little relief in her voice. Then a male voice belonging to the Blood Cmityes through the stone, Thats good. Now she wont be ostracized by the humans.


    Amelia looks out over the celebrating city with a smile on her face without saying a word for severalfortable minutes.


    Its going to be tough on you these next few years, you know that, right? Leonidas asks, a hint of worry in his voice.


    His mate smiles even wider and asks in a slightly teasing tone of voice, Oh, you worried about me?


    Of course I am, Leonidas bluntly answers, making the slightest hint of a blush appear on Amelias face.


    But she just smiles even wider as she lies back down, facing up at the moon hanging high in the sky as she quietly says into the stone, Ill be fine. Scarlet can finally live a happy life without having any secrets to hide. She wont have any burdens lying on her that someone might hate her if they knew about. Shes free to do what she wants.


    And if she eventually chooses to not fight the void creatures? Leonidas asks out of mere curiosity.


    You know she wont choose that, Amelia said with a chuckle. Its just in her blood to fight. She nces at the stone. And I me you for that, by the way.


    Its just as much your fault as it is mine, oh great White Knight of Humanity, Leonidas says with a snort before growing serious again, But seriously. What if she doesnt be strong enough to take on the Voided Overlord?


    Amelia sighs at that and stares up at the sky again as she answers, Ill support her in whatever decisions she makes. If she chooses to abandon humanity in the future to run away from the void creatures, I will stay with her the whole way. She smiles a sad smile. I will never abandon her again, no matter what.


    Her mate goes silent for a few seconds before saying, Likewise, my dear heart. Never again.


    Both of them stay silent, simply listening to the seemingly endless cheers of the humans all around the capital, along with the news still ying out from the various news stations broadcasting on the sides of buildings. Meanwhile various flying cars all fly past Amelias spot on the roof, but none of them notice her thanks to her Sense Nullification.


    Amelia knows that there will still be a rare minority that will still irrationally hate Scarlet. But thats for Amelia to handle, not a problem for Scarlet.


    The silence continues for several minutes.


    Is it really almost time though? Amelia eventually asks, a sad look on her face.


    It is, Leonidas answers immediately. ording to the prophecy, the void spawn will be breaking through into the in-between any day now, and then theyll move onto the other side of the universe to begin their assault under the Voided Overlordsmand.


    Amelia lets out a sigh at that and mutters, Its always something but the void spawn wont make it here for another several decades, right?


    You already know this, Leonidas says quietly.


    She sighs again and nods her head, wishing that she didnt.


    I dont know why we call it a prophecy, Amelia mutters. Its not like it was told in some poetic gibberish or anything.


    Even if the prophecy was shown as a recorded vision, its still a prophecy, Leonidas says, sounding like he doesnt believe what hes saying himself. The witches said so after all.


    Amelia snorts at that and nces at the stone as shements, The witches that had a tenth of their number exterminated by a certain angry grandpa?


    Silence fills the roof for a few seconds before Leonidas says, They deserved that.


    Amelia snorts again in amusement while shaking her head.


    It may also have been a bit more than a tenth Leonidass muttered voicees through the stone, making Amelia break out intoughter before she wipes a tear. And afterughing for nearly an entire minute, she finally calms down and says, I dont think Iveughed that much since before Scarlet was born


    Best get used to it, Leonidas says, a happy note to his voice. Youll beughing a lot more from now on.


    I hope so, Amelia says, her voice sounding small as she looks up at the stars and the moon in the night sky. I hope so


    The two fall into a happy silence once more, just letting the air between them be filled up with the cheers of the humans down below and the voices of the many news reporters echoing from the variousrge screens on the sides of the buildings. And after a while, Amelias eyes begin to close and she falls asleep with a smile on her face despite the hatred being directed towards her by many of the humans on Earth right now.


    Sleep well, my heart, Leonidass voice echoes around the roof.

 Book 4: Chapter 46: Aftermath and Requirements

    Book 4: Chapter 46: Aftermath and Requirements


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After we get back to the base again, I find everyone extremely excited to see me and full of praise. Or at least, almost everyone. There are still a few people who I hear talking about me behind my back, but even they arent considering doing anything against me or anything like that. Just insulting me for being a demon.


    And for the first time since bing a Guardian, I actually answer the peoples questions as everyone asks them. Strictly so that I can stay on their good side instead of pissing them off or something.


    Then I can go back to ignoring people tomorrow.


    Tar snorts andments, <strong>A single day of being polite. How gracious of you.</strong>


    I know, right? Very gracious.


    He snorts again.


    After everyone finishes talking and lets me finally leave to go do my own thing nearly two hourster, I find myself in my room flopping onto my bed with a sigh and a groan mixed into one.


    <strong>Lots of emotion in that one, </strong>Tarments but without the sarcasm from before.


    Yeah it was a lot to handle today.


    Even if I knew Gramps wasnt going to do anything that would harm me, and that he would likely help, that bet was the only thing I could seepletely finishing the shift in public opinion towards me. Even if it didnt shift everyones opinions, it did what it needed to. It shifted the majority, and thats all that was necessary.


    But if we didnt manage to get that agreement established, then I dont think the majority of the humans wouldve been so happy with me. Even if most of the hate was moved to Amelia instead of me. Im still part demon, and Im still the granddaughter of the Demon King  the man who has been massacring the human race for centuries now.


    Since it isnt the favor of the majority though, even those who still think of me as a threat and are insulting me  like those I hear doing just that right now, saying things like the apple doesnt fall far from the tree and other such bullshit  wont say anything or make anyints directly or publicly. Not when it would simply hurt their own image.


    And the only Guardians who are strong enough that their image doesnt matter to them are also strong enough that theyve reached the point most Guardians begin to stop caring about the human race as a whole anyways. That they just care about their own leveling instead.


    Meanwhile the illogically insane Guardians never make it to ss IV, so I wont have to worry about those crazies. Not that there are many of them in the world in the first ce.


    Being a Guardian is very stressful and dangerous, and often breeds some rather questionable individuals by the time theyre powerful. But the ones who actually make it to power are all intelligent and sane enough to understand things that would get them killed from things that wont. And attacking me would just mean their death. Meanwhile attacking me verbally would kill their own image.


    I wouldnt be surprised if some people try to attack me online anonymously though, but I feel like the government will handle that. Or Amelia will just erase the traces of it before I ever even so much as hear of it.


    <strong>Im d everythings turned out alright, </strong>Tar says as I roll over onto my back and he lies down onto my chest. Then I deactivate my armor, leaving me in a simple T-shirt and pants. <strong>Do you know what youre nning on doing here on out?</strong>


    Hmm, just gonna try to reach ss V as fast as I can. Which, unfortunately for those demons who were just cheering me on not too long ago, means massacring more of them when the war continues on the main battlefield.


    <strong>Brutal, </strong>Tar says rather inly, but he doesnt seem to really care considering his tone.


    Yeah, well their conflicting ties aside, Im still with the humans and theyre with the demons. Were at war. Theyll just have to suck it up and continue being killed by their own Princess.


    Tar snorts, likely at the way I put that.


    Now, I would also like to get more SP so I can focus on getting Gradual Corruption Nullification to as high a level as I can get it. Preferably at least level 30 by the time I reach ss V. So that itll have the highest possible chance of being upgraded.


    <strong>About that </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me raise my head, bringing my chin to my corbone to look at him. <strong>The prophecy has information directly rted to upgrading your skill. And I think now would be a good enough time for you to hear them now that you arent preupied with anything urgent.</strong>


    I stare at him for several seconds, seemingly making him nervous before I tell him, Well, go on.


    <strong>First, you can treat upgrading the skill in the same way as you would any other Title-Bearing Mythic skill, because thats what the upgraded version will be, and itll tell you when you meet a certain number of the requirements for upgrading the skill that youve met them, </strong>Tar says, making my eyebrows rise briefly in surprise. <strong>For those requirements though, one of them will easily be fulfilled as long as you just keep using the skill on a regr enough basis. And by that, I mean you get someone to poison you and you heal yourself over and over again.</strong>


    Tar, I slowly state out loud with a frown. That isnt something Id call easily fulfilled, much less something I would aplish from using it on a regr basis.


    <strong>I mean, you would be using it on a regr basis if you were being poisoned all the time, </strong>Tarments, making me open my mouth to say something, only to close it again. Then he continues speaking after seeing my silence, <strong>Anyways, youll have to remove a curse ced on you by a ss V being, cure a poison given to you by a ss V being, and cure a disease given to you by a ss V being, each while still being at ss IV. And thats the main requirement for upgrading the skill.</strong>


    I stare at him for several seconds before grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and throwing him across the room. Then I take off my shoes and climb under the covers to go to sleep.


    Since Im just too mentally exhausted right now to hunt.

 Book 4: Chapter 47: Morning

    Book 4: Chapter 47: Morning


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next morning, I wake up to my usual routing of getting out of bed, using the Clean skill, then changing clothes and activating my armor before heading out of my room towards the cafeteria. And along the way, I ignore the many gazes locked on me as I walk. Most of which seem a little too passionate for my tastes. Like a lot of them are treating me as some hero.


    Then theres the rare gaze that is hostile instead. Which has me making a mental note of those people, just to be safe.


    I continue walking until I reach the cafeteria and immediately order food. Then I wait at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, simply being stared at by pretty much over half the cafeteria.


    Tar appears out of nowhere, apparently having woken up from his own nap where I left him on my bed to leave on my own, before he floats down and sits on my shoulder.


    <strong>Morning, </strong>he mutters, his voice echoing in my head.


    Morning.


    Several seconds pass in silence.


    <strong>Everyones staring at you, </strong>he points out the obvious.


    I know.


    Silence befalls us once more.


    Eventually I turn to look at a table several tables away when I hear the people at it getting up and beginning to walk my way, my eyes trailing them the entire way. And to my surprise, I actually recognize all of them from university.


    Necro. I believe that was his title.


    <strong>The guy with void spawn genes, </strong>Tar adds, sounding interested now.


    The man is finally wearing some actual armor instead of what he was wearing before, which was just a regr T-shirt and shorts enchanted to be magi-tech armor. But unlike before, his eyes now kind of remind me of a ghouls, what with them beingpletely pitch ck with no whites at all. No pupils either. Kinda creepy in a way.


    His armor is pitch ck, which fits his death magic motif, and its also a little simr to The Reapers armor. But with some modern day artificial fibers woven in instead of demon parts.


    On the other hand, his friends that are with him are all students I recognize the faces of from university, none of which I was particrly close to. Although I do see one of Belles friends amongst them. I dont remember her name though.


    Half of them are wearing their armor right now while the other half isnt, probably because were just in the cafeteria even if this is on the frontlines.


    I wonder what Necro wants though?


    <strong>The Cafeteria</strong>


    <strong><em>Moments before Scarlet walked in</em></strong>


    Anthony Wilson, otherwise known by the public as the ss III Guardian known as Necro, stares at his beer in front of him as his friends all talk amongst themselves.


    What do you think about the new terminal update that just came out? Angel asks with a smile on her face, the girl still looking just as young as she did when she first entered university with the appearance of a fifteen year old despite her age being twenty. I love it! Just being able to-


    The girl cuts off out of nowhere with her mouth held open in a mixture of happiness, awe, and surprise that has Anthony turning his head to find the Scarlet Wolf walking into the cafeteria. And Angel isnt the only one who goes quiet, as most of the cafeteria joins her in silence with everyone simply watching the girl move to order before sitting at a table in the corner.


    Anthony feels conflicted at the sight of the girl. Because while he once wanted to join a team with her just because of her power, he knows now that she is far out of his league. Not only in etched skills, of which she must have more than he can count from the Demon King, but also in her own level. And while he cant see her exact level, he knows that her mana level is far above his own. Even higher than a lot of the professors at the university already.


    At first he was shocked when her identity as a part demon was revealed, much less her being the Princess of the demons. But after talking with his fae, Artoria, and being reminded of the strangely demonic feeling she got from the girl every time she saw them, he realized the truth was right in front of their nose the entire time.


    Now, though, he wonders what it means for them as friends.


    <strong>Did she ever consider you a friend though? </strong>Artoria asks, sounding genuinely curious.


    Anthony chooses to ignore her.


    After watching the Apex Predator and everyone watching her for several seconds, Anthony nces at Angel, who still has stars in her eyes. Something that reminds him that the girl has always been a major Scarlet Wolf fan, which clearly hasnt changed after figuring out what the girl is.


    And after making eye contact with him, Angel quickly motions toward the Apex Predator with her head.


    <em>Yeah, guess it couldnt hurt to say hi.</em>


    Anthony looks at everyone else and nods before getting up from his seat and beginning to move in the Apex Predators direction. And he doesnt miss how the girls eyes immediately lock onto them the moment he stands up from his seat, making a chill run down his spine at the sight of her glowing red eyes meeting his pitch ck ones. Eyes that he can feel real power behind.


    <em>Shes grown. A lot.</em>


    He continues walking without breaking his stride towards her alongside his friends until he finally reaches her and looks her over, including her armor and everything else.


    Although his eyes stray to a few different areas, particrly her ears, powerful looking armor, and the changes he finds in her body since thest he saw her. But he averts his eyes right away to be polite, finding her narrowing her eyes slightly on him as he waves and says, Heya Scar, howre things?

 Book 4: Full Second Art Style Story Art Post

    Book 4: Full Second Art Style Story Art Post


    There isn''t going to be a chapter today due to me having a rather bad day today, but I decided to post this to make up for it.


    All of the story art for Wolf of the Blood Moon from <strong>just the newer art style</strong> in one post. So this doesn''t include the older art style.


    Since there hasn''t been a post with all of the art in it before. Just separate posts for every time I get new art.


    Also, there will be new art soon for all of the characters with art that never got art in the new art style, such as Allen, Cynthia, Belle, Michael, Emily, Denise, and Arthur. Not just yet though.


    <strong>Starting with art of Scarlet:</strong>


    This is the only new piece of art for this post, the rest are pieces you''ve already seen before:


    Book 1 Cover Image:


    Book 2 Cover Image:


    Book 3 Cover Image:


    Book 4 Cover Image:


    <strong>Tar:</strong>


    <strong>Art of the Knights of Humanity:</strong>


    Amelia/White:


    Noah/Red:


    Will/ck:


    Alexander/Blue:


    Gabrielle/Purple:


    <strong>Art of the Demon Lords:</strong>


    Leonidas/Blood Cmity/Blood Lord:


    Lucius/The Reaper/Lord of Death:


    Vorgrim/Lord of Hellfire:


    Xyvandra/The Devourer/Lady of Devouring:


    Arkaz/The Demon King/Blood Immortal/Beast of the Apocalypse/Sovereign of Blood:


    Raiden Akuma:


    Raiden Amaterasu:


    <strong>Map of Tartarus:</strong>

 Book 4: Chapter 48: An Interview With the Princess

    Book 4: Chapter 48: An Interview With the Princess


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>He totally just checked you out, </strong>Tarments from his ce on my shoulder, but I just let out a short huff of air at that, not wanting to respond.


    Instead I nod my head towards Anthony and politely answer, Its been okay. You?


    Good here too, he answers before ncing at the seat next to me and asking, Mind if I sit?


    Sure, I mutter as I begin to smell my food, bringing my gaze over towards the kitchen. And at the same time I hear them saying my name, mentioning where to bring it.


    I really wish I could reach ss V faster, because eating so much food is a hassle. Itll be so much easier when I be ss V and dont have to eat anymore. At least, not unless I need regenerating.


    Which I guess means Ill still have to eat a bit, but not anywhere near as much. At least, if I dont want to end up struggling to regenerate as quickly as I wouldve otherwise in the middle of a fight. Or grow anemic.


    Neither of which sound like very pleasant options.


    I nce back at the table when all of Necros group begin taking their own seats around it. And the one person I recognize from their group aside from Necro is the girl I know who is friends with Belle.


    Although I still cant remember her name.


    Her stare is creeping me out though. Because its very starry eyed. To the point that I wouldnt be surprised if she asked for an autograph.


    I blink as I remember something just like that happening before. But where do I remember it from


    Oh, right! This girl asked me for her autograph a while back!


    Maybe that means she wont ask now?


    The girl tries to talk to me only to fail rather miserably and end up a stuttering mess instead, so I just kinda ignore her to focus on my food that is currently arriving. Food that ends up taking nearly half the table to hold, making the others appear more than a little awkward.


    Theyre the ones who moved over here though, so not my problem.


    I begin to dig into the food in silence for several minutes, trying to rush the process a little so I can go back to hunting. But then Necro finally speaks up, bringing my attention to him.


    Did you always have wolf ears? Or was it just after your reality warp like everyone thought? he asks with a genuinely curious look on his face.


    That has me pausing for a moment, and I cant help but notice the dozens of eyes on me as the majority of the cafeteria, all people who can easily hear a conversation from across the room thanks to their sses being at least II, listen in, clearly waiting for my answer.


    So I let out a sight and put down the food I was about to eat before focusing on him and answering, I didnt awaken to my demon genes until after I contracted. Before then, I was just a regr human with dormant blood lycan genes.


    Whispered conversations immediately erupt from all around the room while Necro and the others at my table look surprised without saying anything.


    <em>Did you hear that?! She wasnt always a demon! No, she was. She just wasnt awake. Does that mean there could be other part demons living dormant amongst us? How did-</em>


    I decide to nip that in the bud right away by saying, Its not possible for another part demon child to be born. Not without a royal demon or the White Knight of Humanity there to put the demon genes into a dormant state so that they dont eat the human genes. And even then, if the child were to enter a Fracture at all, they would die unless they contracted then and there.


    That shuts them all up right away.


    Only for Necro to bring my attention back to him as he asks, Does that mean you were dying in your first Fracture?


    A tense silence fills the cafeteria. One that makes me feel incredibly awkward, because I can tell most of them genuinely seem worried for some reason. Which is weird to know.


    Although the tiny minority of people against me here just seem curious.


    Yes, I was, I answer before picking up my food again, until I formed a contract which safely awakened me, using some of the reality energy to pacify my demon genes.


    I begin eating as they all go back to whispering amongst themselves.


    This feels strange. Im not used to being so open about everything thats happened to me over thest year or so.


    <strong>Yeah, it feels weird to me too just seeing it, </strong>Tar says while patting my neck once with his paw. <strong>But not bad?</strong>


    That has me smiling ever so slightly as I reach for another sandwich.


    Not bad.


    Then a sh goes off, making my head snap to the side to find someone having just taken a picture of me. But they just smile and wave before turning to their friends and whispering, <em>I got a picture of her smiling! This might just be the first picture of the Apex Predator smiling in history!</em>


    I grimace at that and turn back to my food again, deciding that Im better off acting like that didnt just happen.


    <strong>Well, considering that hes happy about getting a picture of you smiling, it at least means he still cares about you and isnt disgusted by what you are, </strong>Tarments, sounding more amused than he should be despite his words. <strong>Right?</strong>


    Yes, youre right. But youre still enjoying this too much right now.


    <strong>I have no idea what youre talking about, </strong>Tar says, his voice full of snark.


    I almost snort but stop myself after considering where I am.


    Yeah. Sure you dont.


    Can you tell me what its like to be part demon? Necro asks, making the whispers clear up again.


    I nce at him, then at the rest of the people in this room. Many of whom are actually recording this right now.


    This is just going to be like an interview, isnt it?


    After a few seconds of silence, I decide why the heck not.


    Guess Im spending the next couple hours answering questions instead of hunting.

 Book 4: Chapter 49: A Pointless Argument

    Book 4: Chapter 49: A Pointless Argument


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>A few hourster</em></strong>


    So youre absolutely sure they wont send more than the agreed upon amount? That they will abide by the agreement? the General of Humanitys Military, a ss V Guardian by the name of James McCall whose title I dont remember asks again. And just like thest two times, I answer with a blunt, Yes, they will abide by the agreement. Stop asking already.


    The old looking man who fits the description of a gruff looking army general from the old world movies frowns at me and says, Youngdy, the entire war is depending on this agreement. I have to make sure there are no possible betrayals involved.


    I cross my arms as the various Guardians in the room, both young looking to the point of them looking in their mid-teens, all the way to old with them looking in their natural fifties and sixties, ss IVs and ss Vs, and even a few non-Guardians who were just very smart and managed to get promoted to strategic work without the use of skills all bob their heads back and forth between me and the General.


    And I say that even if the demon forces are on average stupid and non-sapient, they will still listen to the Demon King and the Nobles without question, I repeat, ring at the General in the process. And the Demon King would never renege on an agreement struck.


    The General and I continue ring at each other for who knows how long, the argument practically repeating itself over and over again until one of his aides  at least Im guessing theyre his aide  rushes inside the room, drawing everyones attention to them in an instant before they exim, Purple has made a statement!


    Silence fills the strategic meeting room of the main headquarters for the frontlines as everyone stares at the aide, making them sweat rather noticeably. Both in looks and in the smell.


    Tell us, the General says after ncing at me with a re onest time and focusing on the aide.


    The aide doesnt waste any time as he says, Purple has dered that we are to trust the agreement, and all of the Knights agree with this decision.


    I immediately notice a shift in the Generals posture. As if just the name Purple made a major difference.


    He lets out a sigh and nces at me once more, this time without as much heat as he says, Fine. We will do things your way.


    My mouth parts open in surprise, but he quickly turns to the other strategic officers and higher ranking Guardians to speak before I can get a word out, From now on the Apex Predator will be a part of our strategy council, whether she shows up to the meetings or not. Furthermore, I will be granting her the rank of a colonel during this war, so make sure you listen to her orders should you find yourself approached by her. He turns back to me and nods his head politely. We will shift our war effort from holding them back to pushing them.


    I let out an inaudible sigh at that.


    Sess. Finally.


    This old badger was way too much trouble to convince.


    No matter what he was dead set on sticking to the safe manner of warring where we basically were just sticking our feet in the ground in an attempt to not lose any more ground. Which wouldve been a smart move, if the demons were going to continue getting more and more reinforcements as they were doing.


    But now theyre limited in their reinforcements. Or at least, their ss V reinforcements.


    And Red killed off several of their Nobles who showed themselves in thest battle, one of which being a blood lycan  which surprisingly doesnt bother me despite the supposed pride of our species that other blood lycans feel when other blood lycans are killed  so the war effort is moving along a bit safer now. I cant help but wonder if Satan and Red will be pitted against each other at some point in the future though.


    Probably.


    The General turns to his aide and says, Please send a letter to each of the top Guardians Universities asking for assistance from the students. Tell them that they will all be thoroughlypensated and given Captain ranks within the military and a full schrship for their remaining years if they assist.


    Without any hesitation, the sweating aide nods his head, bows once to me for some odd reason  something Ive seen quite a few people doing, not just him  and rushes out of the room.


    The General nces at me with a brow raised in amusement as he asks, A bow? You really are a Princess.


    I roll my eyes at the jab, the old man being one of the most annoying people Ive met in quite a while. A whole different type of annoying than those creepy kitsune whock boundaries.


    Yeah, yeah,ugh it up, I tell him before narrowing my eyes on the man. That is, if you want me telling Gramps about a certain General who I would love him to meet.


    That shuts him up rather quickly as his eyes go wide with more than a little fear, the Demon Kings name turning out to be a very nice scare tactic.


    <strong>If he knew you were using his name to scare people </strong>Tar mutters.


    He would be proud.


    Tar stares ahead from his ce on the table for a few seconds before slowly nodding his head and saying, <strong>He probably would be.</strong>


    Yep.


    I cant help but notice some chuckles around the room as well, making me smile at them.


    Well, Im gonna go start hunting, I tell the General, still smiling at the fear on his face, even if it is rapidly dissipating. Then I wave at the people in the strategic meeting room and add, Ciao!


    Time to hunt some more.

 Book 4: Chapter 50: The Princess of Humanity

    Book 4: Chapter 50: The Princess of Humanity


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After leaving the headquarters, I immediately leap out over the walls, ignoring them in their entirety thanks to them being set to allow me through before Ind with my fist striking the ground outside, sending a cloud of snow all around me. Then I rush through the snowy mountains, passing straight by quite a few Guardians along the way, some of whom try to take pictures of me as I run.


    And after several seconds, I suddenly start grinning and activate my Beast Transformation skill, turning me into the other form that the skill unlocked this time.


    My quadrupedal beast form.


    The transformation takes a few seconds before I find myself shaking my wolf head slightly to reorient myself. Then I begin running across the snow on all four feet, my three-meter-tall and four-meter-long wolf body moving through the snow far faster than my bipedal form wouldve. And if any normal human were to see me right now, one that isnt at least a ss IV or V Guardian, they would probably only see a blur of ck and red passing by them as the wind from my movement blows the snow and trees I pass.


    So freeing. I like this form.


    <strong>You havent really used it much if really at all since you got it though, </strong>Tar points out.


    True, but thats because I never really got much chance to. I only got it after reaching ss IV, and Ive spent most of my time since then fighting on the frontlines of the war here on Earth.


    And unlike my bipedal form, this form doesnt let me just change out of it after changing into it. It takes at least ten minutes of rxing for the skill to stop running, since it doesnt let me use the skill again to cancel it like the bipedal form does.


    A rather annoying thing, but at least cheaper in terms of mana.


    I already know how to speak in this form too thanks to Leonidas, but before, back when I was hiding my identity, I couldnt just change into that form where I might be stuck in it and mistaken for a demon.


    <strong>Well, it wouldnt have been a mistake </strong>Tar mutters, making me narrow my eyes slightly.


    You know what I mean.


    Anyways, now that I dont have to worry about anything like that, since my identity as a part demon is already known to everyone, I can go ahead and move around in this form all I want. Its actually stronger than my bipedal form, even if Im still not entirely used to it yet.


    And from what I have heard, the legendary version of the skill has the beast form at four meters in height and almost five in length, and the mythical version  the version etched by Gramps  has it at five meters in height and almost six in length. A massive as hell wolf.


    Which makes sense considering that the mythic version is called Beast of the Apocalypse.


    Gramps only showed me it once, and even then it was terrifying. Despite the fact that I knew he would never harm me.


    Just his paw wasrge enough topletely cover me.


    In fact, he couldve just turned me into a pancake by stepping on me with that paw.


    I shiver at that thought as I continue running through the snow.


    That man really is terrifying.


    <strong>And a doting Grandpa, </strong>Tarments, sounding more than a little amused.


    Yes. And a doting Grandpa.


    <strong>The Frontlines</strong>


    Roxanne wipes the sweat from her brow after sending another barrage of ice spears straight at the demons down below in the valley. But no matter how many times she attacks, the demons never seem to lower in number.


    <em>So many of them is it even possible to win?</em>


    Dont give up now, Roxy! Roxanne hears her brother, Christopher, call out to her from several meters away, bringing her attention to him where she finds the man raising both hands into the air while sending des of water down at the demons. Things are finally looking up with Her Highness on our side!


    Roxanne rolls her eyes at his statement before turning her attention back to the demons with a frown.


    That Princess happens to be the Princess of the demons, not our Princess, she corrects him, only for the man to chuckle. And its not just him as many other people around them respond in some way to her statement, confusing her.


    But before she can say anything, she hears her brother say, I mean, shes the daughter of the White Knight of Humanity, and the niece of the Blue Knight of Humanity. What more could make someone the Princess of Earth? Shes already the Princess of the demons, so why not the Princess of the humans too?


    Ive heard shes already got a following of people calling her that! Yeah, some people at the HQ are bowing to her and treating her as royalty already! But I thought there was still a group who were afraid of and hated her? Most of those types were sent packing after seeing the recorded and live interview with the Princess in the HQ cafeteria.


    Roxanne stares nkly at the various Guardians around her who are having an idle conversation in the middle of a battlefield.


    Before she can yell at any of them though, a loud howl rings out through the night, stopping the chatter from the Guardians and bringing their gazes to the trees behind them. And in the darkness of the trees, beyond the falling snow, they all see two glowing red eyes growingrger andrger until a massive wolf with ck fur streaked with crimson bursts out with a murderous yet still elegant and noble look on its face.


    Roxanne immediately feels her knees growing weak at the sight of it. That is, until the idiots around her start cheering for the massive wolf.


    Princess Scarlet!!! The Princess is on the battlefield! Go Princess!


    That has Roxanne blinking before she realizes something and tries identifying the massive wolf, only to not get any result.


    <em>No result means the wolf is at least part human. Meaning this is the Apex Predator.</em>


    Roxanne feels the weakness in her knees going away as she watches the massive wolf ignore them all to jump straight down into the battlefield, making red clouds appear in the air before blood begins to rain down on the battlefield.


    Then another howl rings out through the night, for some reason making Roxanne feel invigorated.


    And full of pride.


    Pride for the Princess of humanity.

 Book 4: Chapter 51: Return to Battle

    Book 4: Chapter 51: Return to Battle


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I quickly begin tearing apart the demons down in the battlefield, not wasting a single second as I have everyst one of my skills going full st. And right away, hundreds of demons begin to die a second, most of whom are ss IIs and IIIs. But despite being the same ss as me, some of them are ss IVs, proving just how powerful my quadrupedal beast form is.


    And all throughout this, I continue spreading my gues throughout the entire demon army through both Blood gue and Blood Rain. gues that begin to me some credit for almost every single demon death in the battlefield, even if its only a bare minimum amount of credit.


    My rampage continues on for who knows how long, and at multiple points I begin to lose myself in the ughter. But every single time it happens, Tar manages to quickly shake me out of it. At which point I just continue my hunt, making absolutely sure that I dont kill any humans on ident.


    Because that would reverse all of the goodwill Ive garnered from the humans over the past day.


    From time to time I get System Messages mentioning me killing ten thousand demons, but I ignore them to continue my hunt. Just like Im ignoring all the thousands of attacks Im receiving, most of which are healing in an instant.


    What I dont ignore though is when I feel my regeneration increase in speed, meaning Blood Regeneration just leveled up. Not that Im going to check my System Messages to make sure.


    I dont have the time for that.


    The ughter continues for who knows how long, the vast majority of the demons Ive been killing being non-sapient ones, but every time I do find sapient demons they try to take me on with looks of awe in their eyes. And even as theyre dying by my own ws, the awe never fades.


    Which I guess I should take as apliment?


    My thoughts slow to a halt when I finally focus on my hearing and the words being chanted from the human mages on the cliffs bombarding the demons.


    Princess of Humanity! Princess of Humanity! Princess of Humanity!


    I stop moving through the many demons around me with a random demon hound half crushed beneath one of my paws as I stare up at the humans with a look of bewilderment on my face.


    Okay, I know I was garnering goodwill from them, and that a few humans started calling me that on the inte and even in the base, but seriously?


    <strong>You do remember the prophecy Purple told while you were on Tartarus, right? </strong>Tar suddenly says from the in-between. <strong>The Princess of both worlds.</strong>


    Right. I guess this was kind of prophesized to happen.


    <strong>I think this was a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, </strong>Tarments as I resume my hunt, feeling very happy about being able to actually hunt freely in my beast form and use my blood lycan skills out in the open. <strong>After all, Purple indirectly called you the Princess of Humanity, so it only makes sense that it would catch on to the people.</strong>


    Yeah, looks like it.


    After several more minutes of hunting go by, I jump straight up to the cliff before looking back down at the battlefield. At the carnage I have wrought in my wake.


    The entire battlefield at this point is covered in blood, and I can smell the scent of my gues all over it, with clear signs of it being all across the battlefield. And the ss I demons out there cant even handle my gues themselves and are keeling over dead without even being attacked. Meanwhile the ss IIs are almost reaching that point as well, leaving only the ss IIIs and above able to fight still.


    Meanwhile the humans are only picking up the pace, which is actually making the demons begin moving backwards, letting the humans gain ground for the first time since the start of the war.


    And Im still only a ss IV. Makes me wonder just how much damage I can do at ss V.


    <strong>Considering how most people your level only have a few legendary skills at most and you have ten legendary skills and a Title-Bearing Mythic, Im pretty sure you might be the only person who could possibly stand up to a Noble while still at level 1000, </strong>Tar says, soundingpletely honest and bbergasted because of it.


    Oh, right. Apex Predator is more than just a Title.


    <strong>You </strong>Tar says, sounding shocked, only to blow out a breath and mutter, <strong>nevermind.</strong>


    So I forgot it had a skill attached to it. I was a little busy dealing with the fallout of the Universal Notification to think about it much.


    Now that I am though, it certainly exins why Im able to tear through everything down there like paper. Even the demons at higher levels than me out of the ss IVs. Which areting me quite a lot of EXP, if I had to guess without opening my System Messages.


    Not enough to bring me to ss V within the next week though, simply because there arent enough ss IVs here to do that, and the ss IIIs and below arent giving me any EXP outside of the tenths of a level that Im getting from ughtering enough of them.


    <strong>If someone else heard you thinking that Im pretty sure theyd pop a blood vessel, </strong>Tar mutters, but I just shrug hisment off.


    Their loss.


    Anyways, where can I find some better prey from what I can tell, this battlefield only has about a third to half of the demons ss IVs in it. And the Nobles are finally starting to eye me up as if they were just waiting for me to get back out there and continue hunting them on the battlefield.


    So in that case


    I grin.


    how about I go back to hunting battalions instead?


    They wont be expecting that.

 Book 4: Intermission 2

    Book 4: Intermission 2


    <strong>The Throne Room of the Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    <strong><em>One Month Later</em></strong>


    Lucius, otherwise known as The Reaper, sits in silence with a book open in one hand as one of the many dukes in the room  he forgets their name  speaks of the most recent war update from Earth to the Royal Court, As you all are well aware, we have been pushed back over two dozen kilometers during the past month thanks to the Princesss interference in the war. During this time, we have lost over ten million ss I through III demons to her gues and the rest of the humans taking advantage of Her Highnesss kindness. However, we have also managed to send another fifteen million ss I through III demons through the several hundred Gates that have opened up all throughout the continent we have imed.


    The Reaper nces at the Demon King, who he finds sitting on the throne with an indifferent look in his eyes. The same look that hes had since he made his agreement with the Princess.


    <em>His motivation for seeing this war through seems to have decreased.</em>


    While Her Highness has caused a vast number of casualties amongst our numbers, she isnt the only one, some duchess Lucius cant remember the name of and doesnt feel like bothering to identify them to find out says from the other end of the long table from him. Amongst the humans, all of the ss Vs are taking down just as many of our number, even with our own Nobles keeping them in line. Luciuss eyes narrow slightly when she nces towards the Lord of Hellfire and adds, But their Knights are dealing too big a blow to our Nobles every time we send them out. At this rate we wont be able to keep up on the high level ying field for long.


    Your Majesty, might I make a request? another duke asks, bringing The Reapers gaze towards the King, who is finally narrowing his eyes, showing more attention to the matters at hand.


    You may, duke Varner, the Demon King states, his voice echoing coldly through the throne room.


    I would like to request we send one of the Demon Lords through the Demon Isle Gate once it charges up enough energy in five years time, duke Varner suggests, piquing Luciuss interest just a little bit. And its not just him as the mans suggestion raises whispers from all around the throne room. But each of the whispers cut off the instant the Demon King taps a single extended w against his throne, filling the room with nothing but silence.


    Lucius watches his old friend for a few seconds, finding the man seemingly seriously considering the mans request.


    <em>It would take at least five years of not using the ss V Gate in Demon Isle at all to build up enough energy for it. The man would never have considered that if it werent for the deal, but now that he cant send as many Nobles anyways, and we have the other Gates all over the continent opened for the lower ss demons to pass through</em>


    Very well, the Demon King deres, his eyes narrowing on Lucius and the other three Demon Lords sitting at opposite edges of the long table set ce at the center of the throne room and stretching across the hall with ease. Then, after a few seconds of consideration, the Demon King finally turns his gaze towards Lucius, making him stiffen up ever so slightly before he states, Lucius Tor de ckheart, I am hereby ordering you to travel to Earth the moment the Gate gathers enough reality energy to make it possible. Will you obey?


    Lucius meets his Lieges eyes directly for several seconds, his own pitch block orbs staring into the glowing red abyss that is His Majestys gaze, before he eventuallyes to a decision and closes his book with a snap that echoes throughout the throne room. Then he slowly stands up from his seat, his gaze remaining locked on the Kings the entire time until he finally says, I will, Your Majesty.


    Whispers run throughout the throne room until Lucius runs his eyes over the dukes and duchesses, making each of them shiver in fear from the hunger ever present in his gaze. But after making eye contact with thest duke, he turns his gaze back to the Demon King.


    Your goal when you arrive on Earth will be to eliminate three out of five of the Knights of Humanity, the Demon King says, surprising many in the room judging by the looks on their faces. Something Lucius guesses to be due to his targeting only three of the Knights and not all five. You are to kill the ck, Purple, and Red Knights of Humanity, and capture the White and Blue Knight alive. His eyes narrow slightly as his Blood Domain begins spreading through the throne room. No permanent incurable harm is toe to the White Knight of Humanity, but you can do as you please with the Blue Knight as long as he is alive when he arrives.


    <em>The Princesss uncle and her mother. Understandable.</em>


    Before The Reaper can respond, he turns to look at The Devourer, who had stirred slightly from her nap at the mention of the Blue Knight of Humanity.


    <em>Right. If Im not mistaken, the Lady of Devouring was the one responsible for devouring that Knights emotions.</em>


    Luciuss eyes narrow for a second before he focuses on the Demon King again and says, Very well, Your Majesty. Your will be done.


    <em>I do wonder though, will Her Highness return to Tartarus to find her mother and uncle living well and with her uncles emotions back? Or will the Blue Knight fall prey to the Devourers maw once more?</em>


    The Reaper ponders over this for little more than a brief second before looking around the room once more and then reopening his book in a lethargic motion, denying his hunger throughout the process.


    Then he begins reading once more, ignoring the rest of the Court Session.

 Book 4: Chapter 52: Slowed Progress

    Book 4: Chapter 52: Slowed Progress


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wipe the sweat from my brow as I walk through the streets of the city that was made into a temporary base out on the frontlines after we recovered it from the demons and freed the humans in it. Then I blink, realizing that I have Clean and instead use that.


    <strong>You must be tired if youre forgetting Clean, </strong>Tar points out, and I just nod my head in response.


    Well, Ive been trying to get to ss V as quickly as I possibly can over the past month, even if thats only left me at level eight hundred and fifty. Much lower than I was hoping for.


    <strong>I mean, it makes sense considering that most of the demons youre killing arent even ss IV, and the ones that are? Theyre only levels five hundred and one through seven hundred for the most part, </strong>Tar says, making me numbly nod my head again.


    At this point the only reason Im still gaining EXP is because of the whole tenth of a level thing that I get after killing a certain number of beings.


    And inching up to a thousand through that alone isnt helping me much.


    I tried taking on a Noble over the past month but lost spectacrly despite Apex Predator and all of my other skills. So I wont be trying that again until Im at the cusp of breaking through to Tier V myself.


    <strong>Allen gave you a real scolding for that one, </strong>Tar says with a chuckle. <strong>Amelia as well. And pretty much everyone else you know.</strong>


    Yeah, yeah, everyone was mad. But I had to try it.


    And Ill be trying it again when I reach level 1000.


    <strong>Hmm, yeah, I think you should be able to handle a Noble at that level as long as the Noble is only level 1001, </strong>Tar says after a short pause to think about it.


    I nce at my shoulder with surprise visible on my tired face as I walk.


    You actually approve?


    <strong>Yes, I do, </strong>he says with an amused snort at my surprise.


    Nice.


    Anyways, I walk into the base located near the wall of the city, only to pause in ce when I hear a familiar voice from within the building now that Im actually paying attention. One belonging to Emily.


    Then I hear Michael and Michelles voices next after hers.


    Theyre finally here?


    Belle made it to ss III very quickly thanks to her unique mental barrier magic, since its a known fact that mental magic users often level faster purely due to them having one of the easiest magics to attack and involve themselves inbat out of all known magics. Since theyre directly attacking or blocking mentally from a distance without even having to get up close and personal.


    So from what Ive heard, Belle snuck her way to the frontlines while still at ss II and participated in the war by using her mental barriers on everyone, giving her a little bit of the EXP of everyone they killed.


    A rather sneaky way to get EXP, but it worked in the end for her. And she survived, albeit with an earful from her father. So thats all that matters in the end to me.


    <strong>Like youre one to talk about recklessly endangering yourself for levels, </strong>Tar grumbles, but I, of course, ignore him.


    I close my eyes for a second and focus my senses on the building itself before narrowing in on where I hear their voicesing from. Then I open my eyes again after finding the group to all still be at ss II, but theyre at least in their low 200s, so theres that.


    Its the beginning of November right now, so its been a little over a year since we all contracted. Close to a year and three or four months. Although closer to a year and two months for me.


    Also, why does it feel like its always snowing wherever I go? I dont mind the snow myself, in fact I like it, but it always seems to be snowing.


    <strong>Does it really matter? </strong>Tar asks, and I shrug the shoulder hes on, making his ws dig into my armor to stay in ce.


    Not really.


    As I walk, I nce at my status to find all of the improvements Ive made over the past month of demon ughter.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator</strong> <strong>Age: 20</strong><strong>Level: 850</strong><strong>SP: 4</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 2,547</strong><strong>Mental: 2,547</strong><strong>Magical: 2,546</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 300,133/ 11,996,624.7</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 24</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 13</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 21</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Empowerment</strong><strong>Skill Level: 18</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 29</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 22</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 18</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Aura</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Sense</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Everything is really shaping up to look quite nice.


    Although Im still annoyed that I havent gotten another inherent skill for who knows how long.


    Just when am I going to get my next inherent skill? Thest time I got one was over a hundred levels ago, and thest time before that two hundred and fifty levels before it.


    <strong>Youll probably get one at level one thousand, </strong>Tar says, giving me an answer I really didnt want to hear. <strong>Hey, its either get really good and powerful legendary inherent skills once every blue moon, or get a bunch of low rarity run-of-the-mill skills every couple dozen levels. Id rather have the legendary ones.</strong>


    I mean, you have a point. But still. Its annoying.


    My thoughtse to a halt when I enter the hallway that Emily and them are walking down, making me smile at the sight of their faces. Faces that look pleasantly surprised to see me.


    Now this is a reunion thats been long in the making.

 Book 4: Chapter 53: Reunions Aplenty

    Book 4: Chapter 53: Reunions Aplenty


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Scarlet!!! Emily practically screams as she bursts into a sprint straight towards me. And I just roll my eyes before deciding to let her glomp me. Mostly because I havent been able to go to the university where theyve been since I got back to Earth. So I havent seen them since the ss V Fracture.


    She tackles me with her hug, and I just stand still to let her squeeze me rather tightly.


    Then a second person joins in the hug, making Emily grunt when <em>she </em>is tackled this time from behind by Denise.


    I roll my eyes again but still dont move. At this point I can tolerate some physical contact. To the point that it doesnt absolutely disgust me anymore.


    Now its just a bit of difort. Nothing more.


    A very nice improvement from not even a year ago.


    After ten seconds of it though I push them both off of me. Because boundaries.


    The three of them all look surprised still despite me pushing Emily and Denise away, with Michael even asking, You are Scarlet right?


    And for the third time, I roll my eyes as I say, Ha, ha, very funny. Then I look at Emily and pat her on the head once to her delight. Its nice seeing you all again.


    For some reason that shocks them just as much as my allowing their physical contact.


    Meanwhile I just hear Tarughing his ass off in the in-between.


    You should stop that before I find another window to throw you out of.


    He, of course, does not stop. Instead the furball justughs even louder.


    I huff out a breath of air at that before beginning to walk past the trio as I call out, Im gonna go get some food. Wanna join me?


    The three quickly catch up with Emily smiling so brightly that it has me looking away just out of the pure innocence on her face.


    <strong>You do remember that she uses corruption magic, right? </strong>Tar points out the obvious point that I am ignoring and will continue to ignore because she is innocent.


    He snorts, showing just how he thinks about that.


    Anyways, looking at Denise and Michael, the two are still getting along great, their rtionship going strong. Or at least, their holding hands as we walk seems to imply that it is.


    Weve talked a couple times over calls since I made it back, but never seen each other in person. So weve already dealt with the whole them finding out about my identity thing, and none of them particrly cared.


    Emily still seems to think of me as if I were her big sister, Michael just doesnt care, and Denise doesnt really care about that sort of thing, only about whats in front of her.


    Why do I feel like every time I worry about having to talk to someone about something important they always end up blowing it-


    My thoughts cut off when I hear someone running down the hall were about to cross. So I tense up slightly as I walk, only to rx and smirk slightly when I eventually recognize the sound of a certain butler shouting for a certain young girl to slow down.


    Then I continue walking for a few seconds before immediately rushing forwards and catching the girl who crosses the crossroads in the hallway the moment she enters our hallway, lifting her up as she giggles into the air.


    Scarlet! Aria exims while wrapping her arms around me tightly.


    I chuckle as I lower her back down, only for her to not let go. So instead I just carry her in my right arm instead.


    Howre you doin, Aria? I ask her with a bright smile on my face. One that quite literally stuns a few of the passing Guardians into simply staring. And instead of ring at them, I just turn towards Arias butler as Aria pulls back a little, making me move my other hand around her to keep her bnced while she says, Im doing great! I finally get to see you again!


    The butler, who is only now making it to us and is catching his breath, smiles and tries to speak between his breaths, only to fail.


    Im happy to see you too, little pup, I tell Aria while nodding my head at the old butler and then looking at her face, only to push a lock of hair behind her ear, making the girl giggle.


    Then I nce back at Michael, Emily, and Denise to once again find them acting bbergasted along with the other spectators we have in the hallway. So I wave my left hand at the spectators  some of whom are starting to take pictures  and tell them, This isnt a show. Please move along.


    Fortunately they all do as I ask, leaving Denise and Michael to continue in their shocked silence. Emily, on the other hand, frowns and looks the other way, making me frown too.


    She cant be


    <strong>Looks like shes jealous of Aria, </strong>Tar says with a snort of amusement. <strong>She really does consider herself your younger sister, doesnt she?</strong>


    Looks like it.


    Im notfortable enough to do anything this touchy with Emily though, and shes not my family even if shes a friend. So while I feel sorry for her, Im not gonna treat her like Aria.


    Anyways, I turn back to Arias butler when I hear his breathing return to normal, the old man finally straightening again and saying, Its nice to see you again, Young Miss.


    You too, Roger, I say with a smile while patting Arias head as the girl leans up against me, putting her head in the crook of my shoulder and neck. Have things been going well for you?


    He nods his head with a smile and says, They have, Young Miss. But then he grows serious, making my smile turn into a frown. Young Miss, I have a request from Master Knight asking for you to visit the Knight House soon.


    I stiffen up slightly.


    What?

 Book 4: Current Skills List

    Book 4: Current Skills List


    <strong>Skills List:</strong>


    <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 26


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to temporarily nullify up to 80% of the pain felt by the user. However, the pain nullified must be felt at some point within the next month, and the user may diffuse that pain over a set length of time or feel it all at once at ater time.</em>


    <strong>Null Magic Field</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 24


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to set up a temporary null magic field that will require any magical skill requiring mana to use twice as much mana as the skill originally intended to be sessfully used. The user is only partially affected by their own null magic fields, requiring them to spend 1.1 times as much mana for any magical skills while inside of them.</em>


    <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 20


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill unleashes the power of blood to bring ruin to the designated location.</em>


    <strong>Blood Nullification</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 15


    Description:<strong></strong><em>Allows the user to nullify any blood in a set radius around them for a significant price of mana dependent on the distance between the user and the blood, the obstructions between the user and the blood, and any reality that the blood may be attached to.</em>


    <strong>Rain of Blood</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 13


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill brings with it clouds of blood, raining down three different gues on those deemed targets by the user.</em>


    <strong>Blood Swarm</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 12


    Description:<em> Allows the user to summon blood homunculi that obey every order the user gives.</em>


    <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 21


    Description:<em> Allows the user to have a limited amount of control over their own blood once it leaves their body and allows the user to metallicize their blood, turning it into blood metal.</em>


    <strong>Beast Transformation</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform into a humanoid wolflike beast or a quadrupedal wolflike beast for the price of five percent of their mana on use.</em>


    <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 29


    Description: <em>Allows the user to coat their hands and feet with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana, drained from the body of whatever the user has their ws in, supplied by another skill of the user, supplied by blood in the open, or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana. The user may also metallicize the blood ws into blood metal.</em>


    <strong>Life Absorption</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 30


    Description: <em>Creates an aura around the user that automatically drains the life energy of any nearby creatures that the user designates as targets into themselves. Costs mana to use. Life energy drained can be manipted by the user to heal themselves all over or at specific locations, flow into other skills, heal others, or pushed out of their body again to leave in the open.</em>


    <strong>Partial Shift</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform four limbs into that of a beast for a medium and one time price of mana each use.</em>


    <strong>Blood Pull</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 22


    Description: <em>Allows the user to drain the blood of nearby creatures and to pull unattached blood from the air and the ground and use it for various purposes, including transfusing the users or others blood or using the blood for the users skills to substitute 60% of the required blood the user would have to personally use.</em>


    <strong>Blood Chains</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Umon


    Current Level: 20


    Description: <em>Allows the user to conjure chains made of blood, whether hardened, metallicized, or liquid blood, which bind and constrict enemies, restricting their movement, draining their blood, and draining their life energy along with it.</em>


    <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Common


    Current Level: 18


    Description: <em>Allows the user to set up a faint magical barrier around their own body. This barrier will cause any attack below a certain level to burn the blood of the user instead of causing direct damage to them. The amount of blood burned is dependent on the level of the user and the power behind the attack dealt. The barrier does not work very well against affliction-based attacks.</em>


    <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 20


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to slowly nullify any sort of corruption in their body over the course of two minutes. The two minutes does not have to go uninterrupted, however, the user may not use any other skills during this time. Usage of this skill requires a steady stream of mana.</em>


    <strong>Blood gue</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 15


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to infect every being in sight that they choose to infect with one of twelve different gues, each of which will spread through physical contact, virally, or through contact with bodily fluids to anyone the user wishes it to spread to.</em>


    <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 20


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to push their body into overdrive using their blood as fuel, forcing their blood to pump faster, their muscles to grow stronger, pushing their bioelectricity into overdrive, and overall increasing their physical strength, speed, regeneration, and senses by the amount of blood used as fuel.</em>


    <strong>Blood Shadow</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>This skill can be used to create a clone made out of shadows and blood. It uses the users own blood and their shadow in the process of the skills use, and when the clone is destroyed, the user loses the blood and takes mental damage as bacsh. 20% of the blood used can be substituted through skills or mana. The clone summoned can use basic, level 3 versions of each of the users skills at the cost of the users mana.</em>


    <strong>Blood Retribution</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>Any damage dealt to the user while this skill is active is returned to the one who dealt the damage in the form of blood burning. Activation of this skill costs 9% of the users total mana. Each activationsts for thirty seconds.</em>


    <strong>Blood Armor</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>Allows the user to create an armor purely out of congealed and hardened blood with mana. This skill may only create ten tes of armor at one time. Each te of armor created removes a small portion of the users mana pool until the skill is dispelled or the armor ting is shattered.</em>


    <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>The user may summon up to twenty-five weapons of blood that they may control through their will. These weapons will stay summoned for one minute and will cost ten mana per weapon.</em>


    <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities. This boost willst for fifteen seconds after the blood was burned. The more blood burned, the stronger the boost will be.</em>


    <strong>Blood Boil</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>An attack skill that slowly makes the blood of the target begin to boil, causing gradual internal damage that builds up while slowing down the reaction speed of the target.</em>


    <strong>Blood Bank</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 10


    Description: <em>A storage skill that allows the user to store the blood of either themselves or other creatures in the void for use at ater time.</em>


    <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong>


    Passive


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 26


    Description: <em>The second most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. This skill tremendously increases the natural regeneration of the user, both in terms of life energy and mana. It also allows the user to regenerate lost limbs over a short period of time.</em>


    <strong>Blood Aura</strong>


    Passive


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Static


    Description: <em>Passively spreads an aura of blood around the user whenever they desire it that decreases the stats of those they designate as enemies while increasing the stats of themselves by a miniscule amount. </em>


    <strong>Blood Absorption</strong>


    Passive


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Static


    Description: <em>This skill passively absorbsmon rarity blood magic skills used by other users thate into contact with the users body, converting the skills into mana for the user instead.</em>


    <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong>


    Passive


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Static


    Description: <em>This skill grants all attacks of the user dealt through blood magic a life draining aspect, absorbing a small sliver of the targets life energy into the user of the skills. The life energy drained cannot be controlled and it cannot be put into other targets.</em>


    <strong>Life Sense</strong>


    Passive


    Inherent


    Rarity: Rare


    Current Level: 20


    Description: <em>Grants the user the ability to sense life force in their surroundings.</em>


    <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    Passive


    Upgraded Title-Bearing


    Rarity: Mythic


    Static


    Description: <em>It grants the user a 100% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least one hundred levels. It grants the user a 50% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least ten levels. It grants the user a permanent 30% boost in stats no matter who they are fighting. These three bonuses do not stack together. However, they may stack with other skills.</em>


    <em>All hail the Apex Predator.</em>


    <strong>Blood Thirst</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>On ount of the users absolute blood thirst and utterck of a self-preservation instinct, you have learned to grow stronger through each kill. This skill passively increases all of the users statistics by a t 0.85% bonus for each enemy in for a period of one minute and thirty seconds after their death. This effect is stackable. The timer resets with every new stack.</em>


    <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 15


    Description: <em>This skill deals a set amount of damage to any individual who causes damage to the holder of the skill no matter who it is regardless of their defense in the form of blood nullification.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 54: The Knights

    Book 4: Chapter 54: The Knights


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Isaac Knight wants to see me? I ask with a frown. One that only grows deeper when the butler nods his head politely and says, That is correct, Young Miss.


    This I dont know how to feel about that.


    Isaac Knight is a rather famous person in the world. Hes the oldest living human being despite not being a Guardian himself. And there are also rumors of him being able to fight with demons bare handed even as a non-contracted human.


    Overall, theres a lot of mysteries around the inte about the guy. And rumors galore, many of which not a lot of people actually believe.


    That hes quite a bit stronger than a normal human despite not being contracted. That he looks like hes in his prime even though he has supposedly been using a Guardians skill to keep himself alive all these years. Something that shouldnt continue working like that <em>and </em>keep their youthful appearance.


    And to top it off, hes the richest man in the world, the father of both the Blue Knight of Humanity and the White Knight of Humanity, and kind of a sociopath.


    <strong>And they call your fathers side of the family full of demons </strong>Tar mutters, almost making me snort. But I hold back for the sakes of everyone here not giving me weird looks.


    Also, I can tell just what Aria thinks of this request to see me solely by the fact that she tensed up the moment she heard it.


    From what Ive heard before, Aria doesnt dislike or like our biological grandfather. But thats because the man is like a b of ice. He only thinks logically and doesnt really grow attached to others. Not even his own family.


    All he does for his family is the bare minimum of whats expected of him by society.


    He doesnt hate them though. Im not sure if he can even feel hate, at least from what Ive heard both from Amelia and the inte.


    And Amelia doesnt seem to like talking about him. She did kinda disown herself from her father and brother, which is why she has a differentst name as them.


    Do you know why he wants to see me? I ask, my frown lightening up slightly when Aria nuzzles her face into my neck for some reason.


    <strong>She probably did it to cheer you up or something, </strong>Tarments with more than a little amusement as he appears in the air andnds on my head, bringing Arias attention to him. But then she just ignores him as she rests her head on my shoulder again.


    That I do not, Young Miss, the butler says with an apologetic bow of his head. But he said that he would also like to meet with Young Miss Amelia as well. He raises his head before looking off to the side and asking, Would that be alright with you, Young Miss Amelia?


    My eyes widen as I turn to look where he just spoke, only to find Amelia appearing out of nowhere with a frown on her face.


    Holy donuts in a video game, how did he-


    I see your senses are still just as sharp as always, Bloodhound, Amelia says, making my eyes widen even more.


    Wait, wait, wait a fucking second, this guy is a Guardian?!


    Its a pleasure to see you again, Young Miss, the butler whose title is apparently Bloodhound, a title I recognize from the news and online, says with a short bow. Meanwhile Amelia just rolls her eyes and says rather drily, Why do you insist on refusing to hunt demons? Youre going to die of old age at this rate if you keep it up.


    Wait, so thats why he looks old? Hes just not killing any demons?


    <strong>Whos Bloodhound? </strong>Tar asks, sounding curious as I feel him moving atop my head. Likely tilting his head or something.


    Bloodhound is known as the best Guardian ever to exist in terms of his senses and is a ss V Guardian whose level should be in the thirteen or fourteen hundreds. Which would exin how he was able to detect Amelia.


    Ive heard his physical capabilities are at Tier E though. The worst Tier possible for a capability. And without the life force of another being to keep him youthful and power his reality, he is probably just as strong as a regr old man right now. Just one with incredible senses.


    The man has been a Guardian almost as long as Amelia herself and was the oldest person in existence to be a Guardian, the man bing one when he was in his sixties. Something that both is and was entirely unheard of.


    After the Knights became fully settled into society as the Knights of Humanity though, he stopped fighting demons and just vanished from the face of the public. And since he always wore a mask, no one knew what he really looked like.


    You dont need to worry about that, Young Miss Amelia, I wont let myself go to my final resting ce until I am certain Young Miss Aria can make it by on her own, the butler says as me and Tar talk.


    <strong>Wait, he wore a mask? </strong>Tar asks, sounding surprised.


    Yeah, apparently that wasmon in the initial days of the System and demons firsting to Earth.


    Also, Im still surprised by just how dedicated he is to Aria.


    I nce at Aria to find her actually having fallen asleep in my arms at some point, making me smile a little. Then I look up to find Amelia looking at me with a smile of her own, only for her to turn back to the butler and say, Whether we go visit the bastard will be entirely up to Scarlet.


    Very well, Young Miss, the butler says, making me almost want to tell him to just use our names since there are three young misses at this point.


    Everyone  including the three spectators that are my friends  stare at me, simply awaiting my response. And after a few seconds, Ie to a decision.


    Ive met Gramps, so why not meet my grandfather on the other side of my family?


    Ill meet him, I answer.

 Book 4: Chapter 55: The Knight’s City

    Book 4: Chapter 55: The Knight¡¯s City


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After eating dinner with everyone, Amelia, Aria, the butler and I all begin making our way to the Knights personal city. An entire Tier 1 city belonging solely to their family. And we use some random spatial magic items to get there apparently, making it take mere moments for us to arrive on the other side of the.


    Once we arrive, I cant help but look around with surprise. Since while I have heard that the city is just as big if not even bigger than the capital, I didnt realize just how big it was. Even if Ive seen pictures of it, the city is just too massive for words.


    All of the buildings around us are upwards of a hundred floors, with several towers asionally nted through the city spanning upwards of a couple hundred floors. At least, if my hearing is right. Its hard to tell with the massive number of people that are in this city.


    We all immediately get into an air limo where were driven straight to the very center of the city. A building that stands out from everything rather tantly simply due to the massive courtyard and the miniature forest that surrounds it. Not to mention the private barrier, and the many other barriers throughout the mansion grounds. There is an entire garden at the back of the mansion as well, along with a beautiful water fountain with various statues of different mythological animals spewing out water into it and some smaller water fountains just like it scattered elsewhere in the courtyard.


    Our limo slowly lowers to the ground until were right outside of the main gate before the gate opens to let us in, probably due to the many security measure all throughout the mansion grounds. Which is likely why we didnt just teleport in as well.


    The limo continues to drive until we stop right around the fountain in front of therge double doors of the manor. A manor that is absolutely massive in size. Although still not as big as the castles on Tartarus.


    But those were castles, so


    <strong>Cantpare a mansion to a castle, </strong>Tar says, agreeing with me. <strong>Your human grandfather seems to be far more influential than I thought hed be.</strong>


    Yeah, he is known as the richest person on the after all. Im pretty sure the guy also invested in the original creator of magi-tech, Allens father. So he has thetest in all magi-technology as well.


    <strong>Rich and influential with powerful children, </strong>Tar mutters, following which the doors on the car all open automatically and we all begin to spill out of the vehicle.


    Then the car starts driving away as the butler begins walking towards the double doors. Doors that open before he reaches them, revealing a few maids and butlers who all bow down and say, Good evening, Young Misses. Please enjoy your stay at the Knights Manor.


    I blink in surprise before nodding at them and saying, Thank you.


    The maids and butlers all smile at me for a second, then return to their polite and professional looks a secondter.


    One of the maids steps forwards and bows slightly to the butler as she says, Sir Bloodhound, the Master is in his study right now and is willing to meet his guests.


    Willing to meet wow. Thats the guy invites us over here and then says that hes willing to meet us when we get here.


    I understand that things happen, and he might be busy for random reasons that might pop up but saying it like that makes it sound kind of degrading. Almost like he summoned us and just expected us to arrive.


    <strong>I dont like him, </strong>Tar says, returning to the in-between.


    Well, I cant jump to conclusions just yet. After all, I know how being so busy all the time can affect your view of other people sometimes. And more importantly, your manners.


    Not to mention that Gramps is also very arrogant and Im pretty sure I can easily see him saying that to others himself. In fact, he most of the time does.


    <strong>Hes the Demon King, </strong>Tar ndly points out as we walk through the front doors into a massive entry hall. <strong>The Demon King is a king. Hes supposed to do that. Its his authority and how hes depicted. If he didnt act that way hed be looked down upon. Not to mention that he has the authority and physical power to back any of his arrogance, while this grandfather of yours might have only have the authority and not the physical or magical power. Assuming he really is just a non-contracted human.</strong>


    True.


    <strong>I havent gotten to the most important point yet though, </strong>Tar says, sounding genuinely annoyed with this new grandfather of mine. <strong>The Demon King wouldve never treated you that way. In fact, hed probably rip out your grandfathers tongue if he so much as spoke a rude word to you.</strong>


    That almost has me pausing mid-step, but I continue walking regardless.


    Yeah, you do kind of have a point there. Gramps seems to care about me more than almost anything. Probably because of the daughter he and his wife were going to have before she died.


    I blink at that thought before a questiones to mind.


    Do any of the Demon Lords have children?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers, surprising me a little. <strong>Your father does.</strong>


    Can I p you?


    <strong>I would prefer you didnt, </strong>Tar answers with more than a little sass.


    You know what I meant. Do any of the demon lords aside from Leonidas have kids?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers again, once again surprising me. <strong>The Lord of Hellfire, Vorgrim, has a son.</strong>


    Oh, right. I remember Satan mentioning that Vorgrim was his father now.


    We continue walking through the manor as Tar exins, <strong>Neither The Reaper nor The Devourer had any desire for kids. The Reaper because he was too worried he would end up losing control and devouring them, amon problem amongst ghoul would-be parents to worry about, and The Devourer because she didnt want to give up her sleep time.</strong>


    Thatst part has me stumbling, but I catch myself quickly enough.


    Then Arias butler and all of the other maids and butlers stop in front of a grand set of double doors where the Bloodhound says, The Master is in here.


    Well, time to meet my other grandfather.


    Lets hope this doesnt turn into a shit show.

 Book 4: Chapter 56: Isaac Knight

    Book 4: Chapter 56: Isaac Knight


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My first instinct upon the doors to the study opening is to gape. But I hold myself back. Mostly because of the middle-aged man sitting in the middle of the massive room with a book held open in one hand as he sits on a couch.


    The study itself is massive, spanning the size of an entire library for some reason. And everywhere I look, all I can see are books, bookshelves, somefortable areas to sit, and a single desk at the very far back of the study.


    How is this a study? Its a freaking library!


    But putting that aside Tar? Are you seeing this too?


    <strong>Yes, I am, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding stupefied himself.


    Is this my grandfather? I thought my grandfather wasnt a Guardian?


    <strong>Youre right, </strong>Tar says, sounding like hes having difficulty believing his own words. <strong>That man is not a Guardian. He is not contracted with anyone and is not initialized into the System.</strong>


    Then why the hell does he have mana?! Mana on the level of a ss III Guardian at that?!


    Tar doesnt say anything as I walk into the study alongside Amelia and Aria, the butlers and maids all staying outside and closing the door behind us. And almost immediately, the hall fills with nothing but silence. The man doesnt even look at us. He just continues reading his book.


    I nce at Amelia to find her scowling at him before she says, Were not going to wait for you to finish your chapter. Either speak now or were leaving.


    Are you kidding me?


    I turn a frown towards the man.


    Was he seriously just sitting there finishing whatever chapter he was on as we stood here waiting for him? I mean, I understand not wanting to be interrupted in the middle of something, but hes the one who asked us toe, and hes the one who was apparently ready to see us ording to his maids.


    There is something seriously wrong with this guy. And thats not considering the fact that hes a non-Guardian with mana.


    Amelia Knight do <em>not </em>interrupt me, he says without looking up from his book, making me frown at the usage of his ownst name on her despite it not legally being hers.


    Old man, you know my name isnt Amelia Knight, she says, the anger on her face growing fiercer. But the man just ignores her to continue reading for several more seconds until Im assuming he finishes whatever chapter he was on and ces a bookmark in the book before closing it. Then he turns to finally look at us, making me notice a strange light shining in the middle of his pupil. A tiny little pin prick of a white and golden light.


    The man has ck irises around his pupil, with short ck hair and a tall build. One that Im guessing didnt get passed onto Amelia considering that me and Amelia are the same height and were not as tall as him by a longshot.


    He is wearing a fancy suit absolutely brimming with mana, showcasing just how powerful whatever magi-tech hes wearing is. And its not just the armor. Its everything on him. Literally everything he has on his person is magi-tech. High ss magi-tech for that matter. But despite that, none of it looks overly gaudy or anything.


    His gaze turns to me after passing over Amelia and Aria without much interest before his eyes narrow ever so slightly and he turns to Amelia again to say, So this is the child? And without letting her say anything, he turns back to me and says, She has potential.


    Amelias eyes widen in shock at his words, as if what we just heard was a once in a lifetime thing or something. And shes not the only one as Aria looks shocked as well.


    Okay, whats going on with this guy?


    <strong>If I had to guess, he is someone who has ascended without the help of the System guiding him, </strong>Tar answers, shocking me again.


    I had considered that a possibility after seeing his mana, but hes clearly ss III by his mana level! How could someone reach ss III without the assistance of the System?!


    <strong>I dont know, </strong>Tar answers rather bluntly.


    Amelia quickly nces at me before looking at Isaac Knight  not calling him Grandfather  again as he says, Bring her back here when she reaches ss VI.


    Everyone, including myself, stares at him in shock, letting absolute silence fill the entire study.


    He looks between us and sighs. And without a hint of hesitation, he turns back to his book and says, Leave. That was all I wished to speak about.


    The door to the study opens once more, making me turn around to find the maids standing at the entrance without the butlers this time.


    Just as usual, you may stay in the mansion so long as you pay for rent, Isaac says. And when I turn around to face him again, hes not even bothering to look at us while clearly having begun reading again. Do whatever you please but stay out of my study unless invited. That is the only rule.


    Amelia quite literally growls at him before turning around and walking out of the room, and Aria does the same thing, just without the growling part. She even takes my hand and pulls me with her, only to cling onto me after the door to the study shuts behind us.


    Please make use of us as you please, Young Misses, the maids all say with a collective bow. Then one of them, an older lookingdy, walks up to the front and says, If you wish to stay here, then we will bring you to your rooms and instruct you on how much the rent costs.


    I blink at that before immediately answering, No thanks, Ill be heading back to the frontlines.


    The woman blinks in surprise before nodding her head and answering, Very well, Young Miss. You will be provided with a magi-tech teleport item to bring you back to the frontlines when you leave.


    I nod my head in appreciation as I try to parse everything that just happened.


    Isaac Knight reached ss III without the System, hes an asshole, and he wants me toe back after I reach ss VI very little of that makes any sense.


    Except him being an asshole.


    That I expected.

 Book 4: Chapter 57: The Monster of Humanity

    Book 4: Chapter 57: The Monster of Humanity


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Everyone walks in silence until we reach the main entryway and Aria quickly gives me onest hug before going upstairs, likely heading to her room. Which kind of reminds me that she still lives with the asshole.


    Honestly, if it werent for the fact that I know she barely interacts with him during her stay, and that Im fighting on the frontlines of the war, I would just take her in myself and let her live with me. But Im always on the frontlines. So theres no way I could take care of her.


    In the end I just let out a sigh as I watch her leave with onest wave goodbye.


    Then Amelia and I both walk outside. And as we walk, Amelia randomly begins talking, Im sure you have a lot of questions about Isaac.


    She even calls him by his first name instead of father.


    I do, I answer with a nod.


    Amelia sighs and, without looking at me, says, Isaac Knight is the only human on Earth to have ever reached ss III on his own without help from the System. There have been a few others who have reached ss I and II without the help of the System, but hes the only one to ever reach ss III. And with his magic Amelia nces at me, not stopping in her walk as she lowers her voice and finishes, he would beat you in a battle of only magic, with no use of physical attacks.


    I blink at that.


    The hell? I mutter, unsure how to take that. At ss III? Even with my mythic and legendary skills?


    Amelia nods her head before facing where were walking again and saying, Yes. Even with them. Since he doesnt have the Systems restrictions, he can do whatever he wants and knows how to do with his magic, without the limits of skills locking him down. She pauses for a second as we enter the forest around the manor, using the road passing through it. And Isaac spent far more of his time studying his own magic rather than fighting demons over the past few centuries longer than hes spent seeing his own children in fact. He acted like we were nothing like air when he and mother had us.


    Oh. So his understanding of his magic surpasses his ss by a longshot. And he really doesnt care about family, does he?


    Also, did she just say a few centuries?


    I blink at that before asking, How old is Isaac?


    Amelia nces at me with a sad smile on her face and answers, He is three hundred and sixteen years old.


    Three hundred and sixteen


    Does that mean he reached ss I before the System even came to Earth?! I exim, my eyes widening in shock.


    The White Knight of Humanity just grimly nods her head.


    <strong>Thats </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like he doesnt know what to say. And I dont me him.


    Although this would certainly exin why hes so rich and influential despite not being a Guardian.


    Now I can understand some of his arrogance in there. He probably views everyone else as using training wheels to pass him by in level while he puts in the effort to improve and learn his magic.


    Wait, his magic


    Whats his magic? I ask, focusing on Amelia, only to find her frown to grow at my question.


    He she mutters, pausing slightly, he has eclipse magic.


    My eyes widen in surprise at that.


    Eclipse magic. Its simr to Denises Inferno magic in that its basically two elements in one.


    But instead of her ice and fire elements in inferno magic, eclipse magic is destruction and creation.


    And for him to have magic over those two elementspletely under his control without the Systems restrictions


    <strong>Its just terrifying, </strong>Tar mutters, making me nod my head.


    Creation magic generally involves creating things, although not all that much is known about its limits. And destruction magic is theplete opposite. The two are both some of the most powerful magics known to humans.


    And giving both to a single person and letting them control it themselves he really is a monster. Even if I could crack his skull with a single punch.


    Although,e to think of it, his study now makes sense. And Im pretty sure the book he was reading was over something the old world called Yin and Yang. Which had something to do with light and dark.


    I think.


    Didnt pay much attention to the titles on the books aside from that one though.


    Honestly, Im kinda d I didnt tell him to shove it like I wouldve normally done. I was too shocked by everything that had happened to muster up a response before Aria pulled me out of the room, letting the doors close behind us.


    The thought of fighting someone withplete control over their magic it just sends a shiver down my spine and reminds me of the time Gramps decided to show off in front of me.


    By taking me to the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin during my week life draining him so that he could snap his finger once and literally rip all of the blood out of a million demons without a hint of hesitation and in a single instant. Then he put it back before they could even die, somehow keeping them alive through it all.


    Something that I still cant figure out to this day.


    Although Isaac obviously wont be able to do something anywhere near that level at just ss III.


    But if he continues to ascend he could actually rival the Demon King in a millennia.


    <strong>He doesnt seem to be all that interested in fighting the demons though, </strong>Tar points out, making me nod my head.


    Yeah. So I doubt hell reach it even within a few millennia, much less one.


    Ive never heard of him going to the frontlines before, much less going into a Fracture.


    Makes me wonder where he is getting the life force used to bring him to his current level from.

 Book 4: Chapter 58: Class VI and Emotions

    Book 4: Chapter 58: ss VI and Emotions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Amelia and I continue walking until we leave through the gate of the mansion grounds, then we continue walking a bit more after that as Amelia answers some more of my questions. Specifically the one about me reaching ss VI.


    Isaac has always been very tightlipped about where he learned to ascend without the help of the System, so I dont know much, Amelia says. But I do remember hearing him mention at one point that the System only supports up to ss V. She nces at me. So if I had to guess, youll probably be expelled from the System if you reach ss VI.


    I blink at that.


    Would that mean Id have to learn how to do all of my current skills without the skills help? I ask, not very much liking that idea even if it does mean more power in the distant future.


    Amelia purses her lips at that, but instead of her, Tar appears and answers, <strong>Yes and no. </strong>Both me and Amelia turn to look at him. <strong>Passive skills arent just skills that activate with the System. Theyre ingrained into your very DNA and cells. Meaning you cant lose them even if you lost System support. But active skills? You might lose control over those.</strong>


    Hmm. Not as bad as I expected then, but still not something to look forward to.


    <strong>Although, </strong>Tar adds, <strong>if you manage to get a skill like the Demon Kings Blood Domain, which you should be able to get achievement-locked, then you can start learning how to do everything yourself long before you ever even get close to reaching ss VI.</strong>


    Oh. Right.


    I kinda forgot about that.


    <strong>And then theres that redacted rarity skill too, </strong>Tar adds, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Tars suspicion on that skill is that its an improved version of Gramps Blood Domain skill. Probably one that gives me absolute control over blood including the nullification of any blood in the domain, not just the blood I manifest in it.


    Which would basically just make me like a goddess of blood or something.


    Then again, it could turn out to be something entirely different as well.


    I nce at Amelia to find her frowning slightly with a tiny hint of jealousy on her face. Something I saw when I first mentioned the redacted rarity skill to her.


    She clearly wants a redacted rarity skill of her own.


    Why did he say I have potential though? How could he know that? I ask out of curiosity, making Amelia frown again before she faces where were walking  a long road heading towards the end of arge street.


    That is one of the things I dont know, Amelia says, not happily. All I know is that hes never said that your uncle or I had potential. Youre the only one hes ever recognized in that sense.


    I blink in surprise at that before facing forwards again.


    Is that so I mutter, only to suddenly halt when arge orb of water flies through the air before stopping above the road in front of us. And Amelia stops as well with a frown.


    The orb vanishes a secondter to reveal the Blue Knight of Humanity in all of his psychopathic glory as he stares at the two of us with that emotionless gaze of his.


    And to my surprise, I find myself immediately asking, Would you mind telling me who it was that ate your emotions?


    <strong>Scarlet?! </strong>Tar practically shouts in my head while Amelia turns a shocked gaze to me. Meanwhile the Blue Knight just regards me with his typical emotionless stare, seemingly uncaring of my words.


    But, to the surprise of everyone here including myself, Blue actually answers. And his answer is not to my liking.


    The Devourer. He states, not moving an inch as he does so to indicate his feelings.


    I stiffen up at that answer.


    It was Xyvandra? She did it to him?


    That was unexpected.


    The one I needed to talk to was right under my nose the entire time.


    Although this kinda takes killing her off the table. I just hope shell be willing to return his emotions to him.


    Actually, on that note


    Do you want your emotions back? I ask Blue while tilting my head slightly, making Amelia stiffen up immediately. And at the same time, Blue shows the first reaction Ive ever seen out of him in the form of a simple blink of both of his eyes at once. One of surprise.


    It takes several seconds before he narrows his eyes slightly and says, I dont care. Then he walks past me and Amelia without another word.


    But for some reason, his words seem to shock Amelia even more as she quickly rushes up to me and grabs me by the shoulders as she practically shouts, Are you really able to get his emotions back?!


    I open my mouth to respond, only to close it again a secondter when nothinges out due to my own surprise at her actions. Then I open it again when she lets go to answer, I dont know. Ill have to ask her if shell return his emotions.


    Amelia opens her mouth for a second, only to close it and nod her head.


    Theres a chance shell say yes, and a chance shell say no, I continue with a shrug. Xyvandra seems to care about me, so she might at least consider it. Although I would have to ask Gramps if he could wake her up to see me. Or if I could just tag along during a strategy meeting where Ill find her without having to wake her up.


    The thought of waking up the Devourer isnt a pleasant thought. Its why Blue had his emotions eaten in the first ce after all. Because he woke her up.


    Amelia blinks at me in surprise and tilts her head, Strategy meetings?


    Yeah, I offhandedly mutter while still thinking about how I might bring this up to Gramps. Or rather, when I might. Since I wont be seeing him for a while. Gramps has had me sit in on quite a few of their war meetings. It was rather boring.


    Amelia just stares at me for some reason dumbfounded, but I ignore her as I continue to ponder over the subject of Gramps.


    How should I ask maybe I can ask to visit in a month or two?


    Oh! Wait! I can ask after reaching ss V!


    That should work.


    I focus on Amelia again, finding her still looking dumbfounded. So I ask, Whats wrong?


    She doesnt answer, and for some reason Tar snorts in amusement.


    Did something happen?

 Book 4: Chapter 59: Stalkers

    Book 4: Chapter 59: Stalkers


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After giving Amelia a rundown of my time life draining the Demon King, a very eventful time, of course, the two of us go our separate ways, with me using my teleport magi-tech item right away and her just walking into the city.


    To my surprise, the piece of magi-tech isnt instantaneous, so Im kinda left sitting here as some magic circle looking thingies appear at my feet and start spinning around.


    I look around while I wait.


    My time in the strategy meetings didnt amount to all <em>that </em>much. Mostly just the way the demons assemble their armies, which was mostly alreadymon knowledge to the humans, along with a couple of their future ns and some ns that had already been put into ce before I got back to Earth. Probably on purpose.


    When I mentioned the nned attack on the Tier 1 city of Draco though, Amelia kinda freaked out. Which Im still a little confused about, since I highly doubt Gramps would still attack them after he gave me that intel.


    But I guess it doesnt hurt to prepare.


    The attack wasnt set for another three weeks anyways.


    My thoughtse to a halt when the spell circle beneath me suddenly shes with a purple line running across it, making me frown. Since I dont think its supposed to do that.


    Then a bright white and purple light shines all around me and I end up finding myself in the middle of some sort of clearing in who knows where with trees all around the clearing and sunlight shining down on us. And by us I mean me and the dozen or so Guardians surrounding me.


    I blink in surprise before tilting my head slightly at the sight of the people, all of whom are level 900 or above judging by their mana levels.


    So, I dont really think I need you to tell me whats going on, but Ill ask anyways, I start talking, my voice filling the silence of the clearing as the many people all begin to tense up slightly. But why exactly am I here? And why did you interrupt my teleport?


    To kill you, one of them answers, to my significant surprise.


    You actually answered? I mutter, not having expected an answer. Then I shrug and ask, Well in that case, would you mind telling me how you ended up finding out about my teleport in the first ce? Its not like I advertised where I was going.


    The man who had answered me the first time, someone wearing a ck cloak with a ck cowl over it, hiding their identity, steps forwards while summoning some sort of spear made out of water as he says, We have eyes on you wherever you go.


    That has me pursing my lips and grimacing before I point out, So youre stalkers?


    They all seem to pause in whatever movements they were doing for a brief second, only to tense up again and attack, not responding to my usation.


    <strong>Theyre definitely stalkers, </strong>Tar says, and I have to agree.


    I activate all of my skills at once while focusing my attention on the Guardian who is a little over a hundred mana levels above me, which should hopefully give me thergest boost from Apex Predator. And as blood starts raining down all around us, as bubbles of blood pop on their skin, red and ck lines run across their veins, and lines of life energy draw from each of the twelve Guardians to me, I transform into my beast form, letting out a loud roar after hurrying it up at the cost of more mana.


    All of them look surprised, reaching me just seconds after my transformation finishes, the lot apparently not having expected me to be able to transform that quickly. But I just grin  if I can call this a grin considering my beast forms head  and burst from my spot, sending the grass beneath me flying into the faces of some of the Guardians as I rush the highest level amongst the group.


    The man in question quickly backs up while throwing several des of water at me, only to show surprise when I suddenly change my direction to jump out of the encirclement and rush at the bushes nearby where I chomp down on the bushes edging the clearing. And at the same time, I hear a scream start and cut off just seconds before I spit back out the upper body of the man I had just bit the shoulders and above off of.


    A very disgusting act that I wish to never repeat.


    Didnt know this before, didnt ever want to know this, and never want to experience it again, but human flesh is absolutely disgusting. Even if I wasnt part human and had absolutely no interest in something like that.


    Anyways, the Guardian I just killed aside, I walk over and crush the video recorder he was using to record all of this before turning back around and coldly stating, Now that the onlooker is out of the way, how about I deal with you stalkers?


    What I find is all of the stalkers in question looking rather shaken up about just how badly their n is going. Which I find kinda stupid, because just what were they expecting when they attacked me?


    Although the System Messages that pass by after killing the human do give me a little pause.


    <strong>{Level 901 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing your first Human.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a human.}</strong>


    Huh. I kinda forgot that I got EXP for killing humans, unlike other humans.


    Not that it matters though. I have no interest in going around killing humans for EXP.


    Putting those messages aside for the moment, the other stalkers quickly regather their courage and begin to go on the offensive again, slinging skills of various types at me all at once.


    Guess its time to teach these stalkers a lesson.


    Maybe dealing with these idiots will also nip problems like this in the bud for the future.

 Book 4: Chapter 60: A Genius Idea

    Book 4: Chapter 60: A Genius Idea


    <strong>The Clearing</strong>


    Oliver Stone has never regretted anything in his entire life or his career as the Leviathan more than his decision to attack the Apex Predator.


    <em>How did they underestimate the filthy half-breed so much?! Wasnt she supposed to have only just reached ss IV a little over a month ago?!</em>


    Oliver struggles to fight the blood lycan Princess, but all he ends up managing to do in the end is sit by after beingunched across the clearing into a tree where hends with half of the bones in his body shattered, leaving him to watch the rest of his team get ughtered.


    <em>Shes a monster! Just how! How is someone that powerful?!</em>


    He watches on in fear while trying to use his enhanced regeneration skill to speed up his natural healing, but by the time he hears the cracking sounds indicating his bones realigning themselves, the girl has already finished tearing apart his team.


    And shes heading towards him.


    As she walks, Oliver finds her transforming back into her human form, her armor magically transforming along with her in a much smoother manner than any man-made magi-tech armor should ever be able to do. Which proves the rumor on the inte about her armor being made by a blood lycan and not a human.


    Oliver feels fear freezing every single muscle in his body as his bones continue to heal. But even after theyve healed enough for him to run, he just sits there frozen, watching as the girl over eight decades his junior casually walks up to him while using the Clean skill to clean herself of his teams blood.


    So, stalker, she starts, once more calling him a stalker, I think this is sufficient enough to prove to your employer that Im not to be messed with by now. Dont you?


    Oliver instinctively nods his head frantically in fear, but the girl just continues walking up to him before stopping and kneeling down, sitting on her heels with her head tilted slightly. And Olivers fear rises even more as her glowing red eyes lock with his, seemingly staring straight into his soul despite the nonchnt look the girl has on her face.


    Well thats good then, she eventually says, shing him a rare smile that catches him off guard with her beauty. But then she transforms a single arm into the arm of a beast and begins flexing her ws slightly as she continues, I know your boss will be seeing all of this through a temporal maniption skill to look into the past, so I wont be needing any prisoners.


    Oliver blinks once, only to find himself unable to blink ever again, hisst sight being that of her wed hand reaching for his head.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After crushing the guys skull, which is easier than I expected, I stand up straight again and stretch my arm a bit.


    <strong>Well what did you expect? The guy was over a hundred levels above you <em>and </em>seemed to be a regeneration focused Guardian on top of that, </strong>Tar says, sounding slightly exasperated. <strong>Of course youd crush him with physical prowess alone when your stats are doubled against him thanks to Apex Predator, not to mention the other boosts from Blood Thirst and his own debuffs from your other skills.</strong>


    Hmm, you have a point.


    I dont think anything in ss IV stands a chance against me now.


    Although I still dont stand a chance against a level 1001. But I <em>am</em> hoping to be able to fight one when I get higher in level again. Preferably close to the end of ss IV.


    Tar snorts at that before muttering, <strong>I can honestly see that happening</strong>


    I smirk, only to look around and find my smirk vanishing rather quickly.


    Okay, so I have no idea where I am right now.


    <strong>Check your terminal? </strong>Tar asks, and I do just that. But I soon find my signal blocked. Most likely by some sort of magical barrier the stalkers set up.


    So after setting the corpses on fire with a lighter I had in my armors spatial pockets, I take a quick run out of the area for several seconds before trying again. And this time it does connect.


    Nice.


    I quickly maneuver to the tracking app on my terminal, only to frown.


    Not so nice. If they were gonna teleport me, couldnt they have sent me somewhere close to the frontlines? Its gonna take too long to get there now


    The stalker idiots  my new name for them just because of this annoyance that they caused  sent me all the way to the opposite side of the world from the frontlines. The northern part of the Western continent.


    I cant even just run to the frontlines. Not unless I want to try swimming across an entire ocean.


    Why couldnt they just make my life easier


    <strong>I mean, they were kind of trying to kill you </strong>Tar mutters, but I only shrug at thatment.


    Well, stalkers and murderers or not, they couldve at least made my trip back to the frontlines easier.


    The device I used to teleport was a one-way thing and couldnt be used more than once. A disposable magi-tech item that probably cost them millions of credits to make. Maybe even a hundred or more million credits.


    All wasted because some idiot decided to try killing me with some half-assed job.


    Although, I did at least get some EXP out of it.


    My eyes widen slightly as a grin stretches across my face.


    Hey Tar?


    <strong>No, </strong>he answers right away, not even letting me ask my question.


    Oh,e on! You havent even heard my idea yet!


    <strong>I dont want to hear it, </strong>he says from wherever he is in the in-between.


    How rude. Im sure that luring in more idiots like these would give me more EXP than hunting demons on the frontlines would, so why shouldnt I?


    <strong>Just no, </strong>Tar says, sounding both exasperated and like he wants to be anywhere but here. <strong>Even if you tried that, theyd have to be stupid to send anyone below ss V after you. And Im pretty sure there arent any ss Vs willing to attack you even if they were against your existence. Not with the war going on, and not with your mother. And especially not when itd be easy enough to track them down considering the limited number of ss Vs in the world.</strong>


    I mean, yes, but it would make for good EXP, right? And itd clean up these stalkers too!


    He stops responding, so I just kick a random stone, sending it flying straight through several trees by ident before I start walking.


    Well, youre probably right about the whole no ones gonna likely go after me again after this thing. Doesnt mean I cant hope.


    Anyways, time to start walking towards the capital.


    This might take a while.

 Book 4: Chapter 61: A ‘Short’ Trek

    Book 4: Chapter 61: A ¡®Short¡¯ Trek


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As I run straight across the continent in my bipedal beast form, having shifted into it at one point along the way, I cant help but wonder just how stupid the person who sent those attackers after me mustve been. I mean, I know that Im still just a little over level 850 actually, what level am I?


    I let my System Messages flow.


    <strong>{Level 901 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 902 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 909 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 952 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 971 Contracted Human defeated. A massive EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over a hundred levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 931 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 925 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 931 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 940 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 912 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 914 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 913 Contracted Human defeated. A significant EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a human.} x12</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 851. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 870. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    Oh, nice. Those stalkers actually helped me out in speeding up my leveling.


    <strong>Were not luring more out to kill them, </strong>Tar says, sounding like hes putting his foot down.


    I doubt there are any more of them anyways. Their leader is going to most likely see what happened through time magic and back off after that point. Unless they have a ss V they can send my way, but I doubt that for the same reasons I mentioned earlier.


    And they dont have any evidence they can manipte to make it look like I killed them unprovoked, because its impossible to record or edit a vision of the past. It just doesnt show up on recordings.


    They obviously cant put it in an artificial reality either because that would just get them arrested for trying to nder me, since anything in an artificial reality can be mimicked and created. Its called artificial for a reason.


    I let out a sigh as I run.


    Well, wont really matter anyways. Ill be mentioning this to Amelia, assuming she hasnt already heard about it. And after that


    <strong>There wont be anyone left to attack you from that group </strong>Tar mutters, making me nod mid-run.


    Yep.


    I continue running for a couple hours, asionally passing by cities faster than the people on the walls can blink until I eventually make it to the capital. Then I jump straight up to the Guardian entrance on the wall  a special ce where Guardians can skip any lines to enter a city. And all of the people there look surprised by my appearance, with some seemingly preparing to fight, only to blink and start smiling or even cheering when they see me transforming back to my lycan form.


    But I just ignore everyone, including the few people who are actually kneeling or bowing to me and calling me Princess as I walk through the line, waving my GID over the terminal in the process to prove my identity. Not that thats really all that needed, all things considered.


    After some more annoyance caused by the people at the gate, I make it into the city and immediately jump up to a roof where I begin jumping across more roofs until I eventually arrive at the Silver Associations base. Then I just walk right up and open the door.


    <strong>Its rather impressive to know that you just ran all the way across a continent in just a few hours and are already back at the base, </strong>Tar mutters, reminding me that his previous partner never actually reached my current level of power. I think. <strong>He didnt. And he wasnt a physical focused Guardian either. He focused on magic.</strong>


    Ah, so even if he was at my level, his physical capabilities would still be far lower than mine.


    Gotcha.


    I stretch a little from my long run as I walk through the halls of the base, asionally nodding my head at people I pass by. And when I reach Allens office, I knock on it, finding the thing opening soon after to reveal Allen sitting behind his desk using his magic to open the door without even lifting his head to look at me.


    Whats up Scarlet? he asks, still not raising his head and instead frowning at the documents.


    Out of curiosity, I walk over to his desk and sit down on the end of it while peeking over to see what its about as I answer, Oh, nothing much. Just had a teleportation interrupted by some stalkers, dealt with them, and came here to ask for transportation back to the frontlines. The documents hes looking overlook to be about the supplies to the frontlines. Something about them bing a little thin recently. So I ask, Whats that?


    But he doesnt seem to care about the documents anymore as he raises his head and blinks at me before eventually asking, Did you say stalkers?


    Nevermind that, I tell him with a wave before pointing at the document, Whats going on?


    He blinks again, the man seemingly tired from stress and probably overwork. Then he narrows his eyes slightly and answers, It looks like we have some changelings going after our supplies. He lowers his head to focus on the documents again. The things keep managing to sneak their way into the supply management even after weve tried exterminating them with magical sense Guardians. But there are several of them that seem to be immune to their senses, just like the ones in the government were. So theyre stumped on how to deal with them.


    Changelings Interesting.


    Well, if it wont take long I can always head over there and sniff them out for you, I tell him with a light shrug of one of my shoulders. Wouldnt likely take long, and Id get some free EXP from killing them.


    His head snaps upwards before he ps himself in the forehead and mutters, I forgot you could sniff them out


    Pretty important thing to remember, Iment with a raised brow and an amused smirk.


    Yeah he mutters, only to lower his gaze back onto me with his eyes narrowed again as he asks, What was this about stalkers again?


    Damn. Thought I distracted him.


    He clearly wont be mad at me, but I still dont want to be in here when he hears about them and gets angry at them. Especially when the problem is probably gonna be gone within a day or two anyways.


    <strong>Good luck with him, </strong>Tar says before abandoning me to the Farshore.


    Traitor.

 Book 4: Chapter 62: Relationships

    Book 4: Chapter 62: Rtionships


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    To my surprise, Allen stayspletely silent throughout my entire exnation of what had happened. And all he ends up saying is, Okay.


    But I dontin.


    A few seconds pass in silence, making me feel slightly awkward as he just stares at me. But then he turns his gaze to the side at the same time as me as we both see a sh of white light shining from a couple meters away. Then Amelia appears with a frown on her face.


    Oh.


    Is it safe to assume that youll deal with it, Lady White? Allen asks with a frown on his face. And Amelia just nods her head and vanishes again.


    So when exactly did you call Amelia? I cant help but ask.


    He directly meets my gaze and answers rather inly, The moment you said the word stalkers.


    That answer has me pausing for a second before I try to remember our conversation as a whole. Then I realize that stalkers was one of the first things I said when arriving.


    Meaning he called her almost immediately after we began talking.


    I doubt I have to ask, but what exactly is she doing? I ask, getting up from the corner of the desk and moving over to one of the sofas.


    Allen looks back down at his paperwork again as he answers, Shes going to Sage to find the people involved before she deals with them in her own way.


    Whats her own way? I ask before tilting my head slightly towards him while lounging back on the sofa. Erase everyone involved?


    He looks up again and says, Yes. She will find the first one located by Sage or whoever else she might have searching before digging into their memories and finding all of the others involved as well.


    Yep. Just as I thought.


    Well, putting that aside for the moment, Iment, deciding to leave the massacre of assassins and probably some mercenaries as well to Amelia, about those changelings?


    Allen pulls up his terminal and begins typing away in it as he says, Give me a second.


    Then after a few minutes of him typing, he puts it back down again and says, A teleporter is on their way here. Theyll send you to the supply storage for the war located in the capital.


    Alright, I respond with a nod of my head.


    Thats good. We cant have changelings going around messing with our supplies after all. That would severely damage the war effort.


    I blink at that thought.


    Probably severely damage the war effort.


    Okay, yeah, it would damage the war effort, but not <em>too </em>badly. Not unless they get their hands on the potions. Because the food and supplies arent really as necessary for high ss Guardians as they would be for regr people. But potions are very much necessary.


    Although I feel like its a little ironic? Yeah, guess that word fits. Its a little ironic for me to say that when Ive only ever used a potion twice in my entire life. And those times werent even me using it. It was someone else forcing me to drink it.


    Then again, regeneration is my specialty. And Gramps is probably one of the best healers in existence. If not the best.


    Who else can bring people back from the dead, after all?


    Im pretty sure there isnt anyone else that can do that. But then again, there arent any healers at that high a level, so it makes sense that no one else could.


    I lean back in the sofa as we both wait for the teleporter to arrive. And after several minutes pass, making me wonder just how long the teleporter is gonna take, Allen suddenly speaks up, So, Scarlet


    Whats up? I ask, rotating my head slightly to look at him while still lounging on the sofa. But for some reason I find the guy looking slightly nervous and hesitant.


    Have you seen thetest gossip online? he eventually asks, making me frown.


    What gossip? I ask before adding, Ive been avoiding looking at the inte.


    And now he looks awkward on top of his nerves and hesitation.


    Just what is he trying to bring up? Is the gossip about my species? Gramps? Leonidas? Amelia?


    Well, some people are beginning to wonder if you and ze are in a rtionship he mutters, making my eyes narrow as I realize that he seems to be looking for confirmation on that fact himself.


    Seriously? I mutter with more than a little exasperation. Why the hell would I enter a rtionship with anyone? Theres no point, I dont have the time, and I dont have the interest either.


    To both my amusement and annoyance, Allen lets out a sigh of relief at my answer and mutters, Thank the moon


    I snort at him and return my attention to the ceiling.


    Im not sure why so many people are so attached to the idea of rtionships. Ive always had trouble developing attachments with others, much less caring for those attachments. And a rtionship would only distract me even if I could develop the attachment into anything even vaguely resembling one.


    It would be a waste of time that could be spent doing something productive. Like leveling up and training my skills.


    Or fighting in the war.


    Which is basically the same thing, but still.


    Although I do feel a little bad for ke. Just a little.


    My eyes narrow as a thoughtes to mind.


    I havent yed Hunter XI in a long time wonder if I should get back on that again soon? Been spending almost all of my time fighting on the frontlines recently and havent been able to spare the time to y games.


    But theres still the war should I really take a break to y video games while the war is raging on?


    <strong>Im pretty sure the people would want you to take a break by now, </strong>Tar mutters, apparently having returned at some point. <strong>Did you know that some people online are calling you the workaholic wolf? Just because you never seem to take a break.</strong>


    I blink at that.


    Seriously? And since when did you get on the inte?


    He doesnt answer.


    Tar?


    He still doesnt say anything.


    You forgot to eat your tail by the way.


    <strong>I got on the inte a couple time through your terminal while you were asleep </strong>Tar mutters, making me raise a brow. But I dont say anything.


    Instead I wait.


    <strong>I was curious about what the people were saying about you, and also wanted to find which Guardians my siblings might be contracted to </strong>he gives in and exins.


    Hmm, did you figure it out?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he answers right away, but before he can say more, the door to the office opens and the man whom Im guessing is the teleporter walks in.


    Lets leave that forter.


    <strong>Okay,</strong> Tar says, sounding relieved for some reason.


    You still need to eat your tail though.


    His presence vanishes from my mind.


    I just smirk at that.

 Book 4: Lots of Story Art

    Book 4: Lots of Story Art


    Here is a bunch of new pieces of art for characters! And they''re all wearing their Magi-tech gear btw.


    Starting things off, new art for Cipher/Allen:


    Then new art for Cynthia/Frost:


    And new art for Emily:


    New art for Michael:


    New art for Denise:


    And new art for Belle, finally in her contracted form:


    And new art for Arthur in his contracted form:

 Book 4: Chapter 63: Changelings in the Base

    Book 4: Chapter 63: Changelings in the Base


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The teleporter  a short man with short purple hair that is letting off little blue sparks  quickly brings me over to the supply storage before leaving again through one of his portals without saying a single thing. Which Im perfectly fine with.


    Although this smell


    I frown.


    <strong>Thats a lot, </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but nod my head in agreement as I watch the person who looks to be the person in charge here, assuming the badge on his shoulderbeling him as a general. Someone who is only under that gruff old man in terms of military authority.


    Before the man can even speak after opening his mouth, I shake my head and nod towards the spectators moving through the storage space around us. And he immediately nods back as he says, Wee, Princess Scarlet! Please follow me to my office! We have much to talk about.


    I nod without a word in response before we both make our way through the storage area without doing anything about the people watching us. About a third of whom are changelings.


    Fortunately they all seem to be in awe right now, so they arent doing anything.


    <strong>A rather nice perk of being royalty, </strong>Tar says with more than a little humor in his voice.


    We walk through what I quickly find to be a military base probably located somewhere inside of the city before eventually ending up inside of his office. And the moment we walk in, the door shuts behind us, and I find the room to have some pretty impressive soundproofing. To the point that I can only hear through it if I turn my hearing up to the max.


    Something I quickly regret doing when the general in front of me says, We should be safe to speak in here, making me wince from the pain in my ears.


    I quickly push the pain aside to focus on him as I tell him rather bluntly, A third of the people here are changelings.


    His eyes widen in shock, only for him to grimace and sit down at the desk with a sigh.


    I expected as much he mutters, sounding more than a little despondent.


    Poor guy.


    A few seconds pass in silence before he raises his head to look at me as he says, Therere probably a number of people out there who wont believe you.


    And theres the problem.


    I purse my lips as I try to think of a solution.


    Any chance we could just kill one and let the dead changeling turn back to its original form? I ask while tilting my head slightly. But the general just shakes his head and answers, No. Changelings take at least half a day for their transformation to wear off after death.


    If that wont work


    My eyes suddenly widen as an ideaes to me.


    Did you think of something? the general asks, seemingly perking up slightly. And I just nod my head before turning around to face the door with a grin.


    This might be fun, I quietly mutter while reaching for the doorknob.


    <strong>The Supply Storage</strong>


    <em>The Princess is here! Shes really here!</em>


    Zvral feels overwhelming excitement as he stares at the human generals office with more than a little awe in his gaze. Which is why he notices the Princess leaving his office the very moment she does so. And just the very aura of power the Apex Predator is giving off is enough to make Zvral endlessly proud to have her as his Princess.


    Even if she is fighting on the wrong side of the war.


    <em>But shell return to her own side soon enough. As soon as the humans lose the war, shell be back where she belongs.</em>


    Zvral believes this with all of his heart.


    Then he feels his body tensing up slightly as Her Highness steps up to the center of the main area of the storage zone, following which the general steps up beside her and shouts, Everyone! Assemble in the main storage hub! And Zvral knows without even hearing the echo that his voice is carrying throughout the entire base.


    The demon doesnt hesitate to move to join the assembling quadrant in the massive storage hub. Something that wouldve irked him a while back. Just the mere idea of obeying a human, even if it was to get into this location to be able to sabotage them.


    But now his Princess is here.


    And he would dly do anything for his Princess.


    Silence fills the storage hub for several minutes as all of the workers around the base gather. Then after everyone is in their ce in the quadrant, the general raises his voice once more, We have a guest today. One who will be sharing a few words with a number of you here! He waves his hand to indicate the Princess. Wee Her Highness, Princess Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron! The Princess of the Humans and the Demons!


    Apuse immediately fills the storage hub, mostly from the changelings hiding amongst the humans.


    But then, without even waiting for the apuse to die down, the Apex Predator activates her crest, making all of the changelings in the room flinch as they hold back the urge to immediately bow down to her  the holder of the Royal Crest. And while confusion is beginning to spread amongst the humans at the sight of the Demon Kings Royal Family Crest, the Princess simply raises her voice and deres, Every changeling in this room, I hereby order you to reveal yourself!


    Zvrals eyes widen in shock, but what he finds even more surprising is the feeling of his body beginning to go against himself as he lets go of his transformation in an instant without even realizing it until after the fact.


    <em>She I didnt know she was this close to getting the skill</em>


    Then everything goes dark amidst the shouting humans, thest thing Zvral sees being the Princess appearing in front of him.

 Book 4: Chapter 64: Clearing out the Changelings

    Book 4: Chapter 64: Clearing out the Changelings


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Right after the first amongst the few changelings that transform back into their human forms leave their human skins, shocking the humans around us, I knock that changeling out and turn around while shouting, Fire away!


    And the many Guardians that the general had prepared around us immediately attack the changelings I had previously pointed out, the majority of which are still in their human forms.


    Honestly, I wasnt expecting more than one to change forms at my order. Having four of them change forms was a ratherrge surprise.


    They also seemed to act differently from what I was expecting. Instead of devotion and awe when they transformed back, these changelings seemed to resist it at first and then let go of their transformation.


    Almost as if I had somehow forced them magically to do it.


    <strong>Well, that would make sense, </strong>Tarments, making me blink in surprise before I rush to kill the remaining changelings, most of whom are trying to escape.


    Why would it make sense?


    <strong>Well, the Demon Kings ability that lets him order any demon to do his bidding is a skill called Demon Kings Rule that gives him that Title, and I would be shocked if he didnt etch it, </strong>Tar answers, almost making me pause mid-kill, only for me to continue killing off the changelings again.


    Thats I didnt think about that.


    So what, does the etched skill give me a much weaker version of it?


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tar says right as I finish off thest changeling, leaving the storage hub in silence again.


    It takes nearly an entire minute before one of the workers that had been pushed to the side of the room after being protected by a barrier speaks up, whispering, What what the hell? And his whispered words immediately shatters the silence, leaving everyone else to begin speaking as well until the general raises his voice, shouting, Attention!


    Then everyone goes dead silent again.


    A few seconds pass as I walk over through the changeling corpses till I reach the one I knocked unconscious. Then I grab it by the neck and begin dragging it with me to the general.


    Her Highness came here to sniff out any of the changelings we had suspected were infiltrating the base, the general begins, pausing only slightly when I toss the changeling up against the wall behind him before leaning against the wall myself with my arms crossed. But we were worried that some of you might not believe her. He looks around at the dead changelings. So here we are.


    Silence fills the storage hub again. And after it stretches on for too long, I begin to feel bored and grab the changeling again while saying, If no ones gonna say anything, Ill just take my leave.


    No one says anything. So I just begin to walk down the hall, only to pause as I open my terminal and send a message to Allen for the teleporter toe back. And he does right away, startling me for a second before I pass through the portal into Allens base again without another word to the general or anyone else here.


    Was that the only base holding supplies? I ask, and he shakes his head. Then bring me to the next one.


    This might take a while.


    I nce at the changeling Im dragging along with me. A changeling that the teleporter whose name I still dont knowpletely ignored as if it werent even here.


    <strong>Im starting to pity that demon, </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him as I toss the changeling into the hallway and tell the teleporter, Would you mind telling Allen to pick this guy up while Im gone? He might make for good intel.


    The teleporter guy just nods his head and types something into his terminal. Then he opens another portal and we both walk through, leading to me ending up in another supply area. Albeit a smaller one this time.


    Probably because the first one was the supply hub in the capital whereas this is not.


    Well, time to deal with a bunch of changelings.


    After several hours of clearing out supply hubs, I copse onto my bed with a sigh of exhaustion.


    All of the supply hubs were just like the first one, just with a smaller number of changelings in them. And I deal with each in the same way.


    Unfortunately though, there were a couple hubs amongst them that had their military officer in charge reced by a changeling. Which made things messy. But since they were already suspected by the Guardians, they werent the ones contacted to meet me and deal with the problem alongside me.


    It wouldve been nicer if I didnt have to repeat the process each time, but it wasnt like we could just let the people in the bases I cleared the changelings out of tell the other bases about what Im doing. That wouldve warned the changelings too.


    <strong>It got you some EXP at least, </strong>Tar points out, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Im still surprised there were so many adult changelings at ss IV. From what Earth used to know, there shouldnt have been any ss IV changelings. Meaning the demons hid that very well.


    I wouldnt be surprised if Gramps actually fed the Knights false information about that before they came back to Earth.


    <strong>He probably did, </strong>Tar mutters while appearing as I roll over, letting him lie down on my chest.


    I wonder how Amelia feels about that? Probably not happy.


    Tar doesnt say anything, making me nce down to find that hes already fallen asleep.


    Is it just me, or was he more tired than I was?


    Tar obviously doesnt respond.


    I watch the tanuki for a few seconds before looking up at the ceiling again.


    Well, now that the changelings have been cleared up from the supply hubs, the supply problem should be gone. At least until they try to rece those changelings.


    Although theres always the chance that one of the changelings happened to be missing, but I smelled the entire city around each of the supply hubs for changelings and didnt find any more. And while that isnt exactly the most urate as my senses get worse the further away the thing Im smelling is, not to mention the other distractions amongst them, I can at least hope the problem is temporarily gone.


    It should at least be significantly reduced now.


    Which means its time to go back to the frontlines again.


    I cant help but feel like Im forgetting something though.


    <em>Note: If you are reading this on a website that is not Royal Road or on my Patreon, you are reading a pirated version and that website does not have the permission of the author to host the story. Please instead read the story on Royal Road, here, as it ispletely free to read on Royal Road.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 65: Forgotten and a Plan

    Book 4: Chapter 65: Forgotten and a n


    <strong>Allens Office</strong>


    Allen continues squinting at the changeling sitting with his arms, legs, and tail all bound on the sofa in his office. But neither he nor the changeling, who is now awake, say a word.


    Seconds tick by before the seconds turn to minutes, and then to hours. And at some point during it, Allen simply resumes his paperwork as he coordinates things for the war. All with the changeling still tied up in his office.


    Eventually though, Allen finishes his paperwork and leans back in his office chair with a sigh, only to remember the changelings existence at the sight of it staring up at a sword on the wall. One of Allens fathers first creations.


    So Allen brings his arm up and opens his terminal before typing away in it and eventually calling Sage, at which point he asks, Sage, is Scarlet done dealing with the changelings issue?


    The changeling in his office immediately turns to look at him, the creatures eyes widening at the mention of his Princesss name. But Allen just ignores him as he listens to Sages voiceing from the terminal.


    Yes, the Young Miss has finished clearing out all of the changelings from the supply hubs and is now on her way back to the frontlines.


    Allens eyebrow twitches with irritation before he says, Understood, and hangs up the call. Then he begins ring at the changeling.


    <em>She dumped this changeling on me and forgot about him, didnt she?!</em>


    A snort echoes through Allens minding from his fae, but Allen ignores them as he finally addresses the changeling, saying, How many changelings were infiltrating the supply hubs?


    Just as expected, the changeling simply ignores him. He even throws a disdainful look at Allen.


    Allen sighs once more while ncing around his office for a bottle of wine, only to remember that he decided to hold back on drinking. Because it was quickly bing a bad habit.


    Not to mention that his wife could smell it on his breath and wasnt very pleased about it.


    <em>Why do I feel like my workload always increases when Scarlets around?</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I stand at the top of a mountain looking out over the main battlefield of the frontlines with my hands on my hips and a wide smile on my face.


    <strong>Feeling proud of yourself, are we? </strong>Tarments, sounding amused. But I just nod my head.


    I did manage to clear out a ratherrge amount of changelings today, and word has gotten out about it as well. So not only is public opinion about me rising, but some of it about Amelia is going up as well. Something about her raising me is benefiting Humanity, fulfilling her role as the Knight of Humanity despite the actions it took to get here.


    Not very many people are saying this, mind you, but some are. And thats what matters.


    <strong>It really bothered you that she took the fall after all, didnt it? </strong>Tar mutters, making me purse my lips for a moment.


    I still dont think of her as my mother, nor do I care much about her beyond an associate. But I dont like the idea of someone taking me and scorn for something like that.


    Whether I like it or not, her actions were logical. It was to abandon me when I was young to save me as an adult and free me from my curse of Pride, or to let the universe die with me along with it as I continued to suffer through the curse.


    And while I still dont like the whole abandoning thing, it was, as I said, logical. In a way.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar mutters again, sounding like he understands my thinking. Probably.


    I continue looking out over the ongoing battle for several seconds before crossing my arms and tilting my head slightly as a thoughtes to mind.


    Hey, Tar? I ask out loud, a faint grin recing my smile.


    <strong>Seriously? </strong>he asks in return, likely already knowing what I have in mind.


    Seriously, I retort, my grin growing wider.


    He lets out a long and overly drawn out sigh.


    Dramatic much?


    <strong>When ites to you I have to be, </strong>he mutters, making me raise a brow.


    Well, if youre gonna be like that


    I turn my head to look at the tanuki before quickly grabbing him with one hand and bringing him to my grinning face as I say out loud, So what about that tail? I think nows a good time to fulfil your promise, dont you?


    Panic instantly crosses the tanukis face as he tries and fails to get out of my grip. And he continues struggling for several seconds before eximing, <strong>I give! I give! Im sorry!</strong>


    My grin grows wider, and I let go of the tanuki, returning to crossing my arms again.


    Tar floats back to my shoulder with a tanuki pout on his face as he says, <strong>Youre in a surprisingly good mood today.</strong>


    Well, yeah. Guess I am.


    Anyways, onto that idea. Do you think itll work?


    He sighs again, not overly dramatic this time, and answers, <strong>Probably. There is no way the Noble demons would expect you to strike directly at Demon Isle, far away from the frontlines. Youd have to sneak your way past the frontlines and through all of the demon territory between here and there to do that. And thats no easy feat.</strong>


    Right, right. But going through Tartarus


    <strong>Is a ridiculous idea, but certainly not without merit, </strong>Tar says, his voice sounding slightly exasperated this time. <strong>If you enter a ss IV Gate beyond the frontlines to Tartarus and travel through Tartarus until you reach the ss V Gate in Demon Isle, assuming you manage to make it through the Gate undetected by the demons, you could very well deal a lot of damage to them. </strong>He frowns slightly. <strong>And we both know your Grandfather isnt going to stop you whether he finds you or not.</strong>


    Yeah. Not to mention that Id be using up some of the Gates energy. Although probably not much of it.


    Not to mention that Id be using up some of the Gates energy. Although probably not much of it.


    Now I just have to convince everyone of this n.


    <strong>That might be the hard part, </strong>Tarments, making me nod my head.


    That it might be.

 Book 4: Chapter 66: The Return To Tartarus

    Book 4: Chapter 66: The Return To Tartarus


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    No, Amelia says without letting me exin anything the moment I mentioned my n to her. And Allen just looks at me with a tired frown on his face as he says, Did you really abandon a changeling to me toe up with this ridiculous n?


    Hey! Its not ridiculous! I exim, crossing my arms from my ce back in Allens office as the three of uspletely ignore the changeling that is currently tied up in the corner. A changeling I may or may not have forgotten earlier.


    <strong>You absolutely forgot him, </strong>Tarments, sounding more than a little amused.


    Okay, so I forgot him.


    Sue me.


    He snorts.


    Really? Allen says, taking the lead against me. What part of going to Tartarus where your Grandfather would immediately find you is a sound idea? Youre the only hope we have in this war!


    Well you dont have to worry on that front, because Gramps wont stop me from doing anything, I tell him with a light shrug. And when hes about to argue with that fact, both Tar and Amelia nod their heads in agreement with a short, Yeah, and, Shes right, making him shut his mouth immediately.


    Deciding to exin, I say, I could tell just from our negotiations that Gramps isnt feeling entirely into this war anymore. Not when Ive given him an out that he can take, and not when he knows I want the war to end. So he wont stop me from doing what I want. I purse my lips and nce to the side as I add, Although he might drop by for a visit and talk my ear off for a while


    Tar snorts at that, meanwhile I notice a frightened look showing on the bound changelings face for some reason.


    Allen closes his eyes and rubs his temples with a sigh.


    I mean, its the truth, I add with a shrug. And I notice Amelia trying to smother a smirk of amusement on her face.


    Thats not the issue, Amelia says after calming down. Although I still see the corners of her lips trying to quirk upwards. The problem is if one of the Demon Lords aside from your father find you and capture you. While your father and grandfather wont do anything to stop you, they also wont just let you go if some other demon manages to capture you as long as the demon treats you well. Theyll just make it a challenge for you to escape on your own again.


    I raise a brow at that andment, And why exactly should I be worried about that? Its not like Im nning on being captured, and the same would happen here on Earth. And besides, I grin, you Knights managed to conceal yourselves while on Tartarus, so why cant you do the same to me?


    Amelia opens her mouth to reply, only to close it again when another voice enters the conversation, Why, my lovely pup, I would love to help you!


    Everyone in the room turns to find ck just lying down tossing a ball into the air on one of the sofas, somehow having made it there without a single one of us noticing.


    You can knock, you know Allen mutters without much conviction.


    ck ignores him as he says, Come on out Gabs!


    If this was what you pulled me out here for, I will agree, Purple says after suddenly appearing in the corner of the room. But for some reason I feel like shes been there for a while. Just that we never noticed her for some reason.


    Seriously theres a door Allen mutters once again, but just like thest time, hes ignored.


    Why are you willing to help her? Amelia asks, sounding slightly defensive as she moves between me and ck, apparently not worried about Purple behind us.


    ck just catches the ball once more and looks at her with a raised brow while saying, I mean, I owe her a couple favors, now dont I? He nces at me with an amused smirk on his face. You never did check in on those, little puppy!


    Do not punch him in the face. Do not punch him in the face. Do not punch him in the face.


    I take a deep breath and let it out. Then I make eye contact with him and smile, saying, So youll help me stay hidden on Tartarus?


    Yep! he exims, a bright smile stretching across his face as if my own smile made him happy. Then he nods towards Purple and adds, And Gabs here will to. He leans in towards me and whispers, acting like everyone in the room cant hear him, She owes me a teensy little favor!


    Wait, the Purple Knight owes the ck Knight a favor?


    I nce at Purple, only to find her eyes still closed just like theyve been since we first saw her here. And I only just now notice that shes in her young form, the woman wearing all purple of a very pale shade that matches her long hair, with her glowing purple eyes sticking out under the cowl of her robe even with her eyes closed, proving unable to keep the purple light hidden behind her eye lids.


    Wonder what he did to get her to owe him? Normally the Purple Knight ispletely detached from regr affairs of Earth.


    Out of nowhere, ck appears right in front of my face, the cowl of his cloak up over his face and a mask of shadows covering anything and everything underneath it except the glowing blue eyes that I can see peering through the shadows.


    So are you ready, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, daughter of the Blood Cmity and granddaughter to the Demon King? cks voicees out distorted, and his tone instantly makes me realize that his personality has switched.


    Oh shit.


    Then a wave of shadows spreads out to cover the room before I find myself and everyone else right in front of a ss IV Gate located somewhere in demon territory. And the moment I say, Im ready, I feel myself being pushed towards the gate.


    I turn back around to look behind me, only to find ck and Purple both raising their hands towards me as they begin chanting something.


    A ritual skill.


    ck and Purple magic in the form of shadows and purple light begin to leave their hands before merging as they continue making their way towards me. Then the magic forms a thinyer over my body and fades away as if it never existed.


    May your hunt be fruitful, ck states, his voice devoid of emotion. Meanwhile Purple just nods her head.


    And without a word of warning, I feel myself being pushed through the Gate with Amelia and Allen waving at me and shouting to stay safe.

 Book 4: Chapter 67: A Relaxed Demon King

    Book 4: Chapter 67: A Rxed Demon King


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Several seconds pass in silence as I nce between Tar who is still on my shoulder, then at the Gate thats in the form of arge arc with red, ck, and purple energy running through it, and then back at Tar.


    So, did that just happen? I eventually ask.


    <strong>It did, </strong>Tar replies with a nod of his head. <strong>You also forgot about the changeling again.</strong>


    Oh. Right.


    That guy.


    Well, guess he can enjoy his stay in Allens office for a little while longer.


    <strong>I am starting to pity that poor changeling, </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him. Instead I look around my surroundings, finding it barren of any sort of civilization. Which makes me wonder why theres just an abandoned Gate here.


    Did ck just kill everything here? Hes the one who brought me to this Gate, not the others. So did he just pass though and ughter everything?


    I wouldnt put it past his other personality to do that.


    My thoughts pause as I feel some sort of suppressing sensation along with a <em>gaze </em>passing over me. Like someone is looking past this area from far away.


    Gramps.


    The gaze actually passes by me without stopping, so whatever ck and Purple did worked to the degree that he doesnt know where I am, assuming he even knows its me. Which he probably does.


    If I remember correctly, if this is the same protection Amelia and the other Knights used when going to Tartarus, then it makes it so that while he does know the broad area they were in, he didnt know their exact locations. And he couldnt confirm their exact locations either. Not without actually sending someone or going himself.


    Hopefully hell take the hint and note over here himself. That would be annoying.


    I dont need a doting grandfather on this trip.


    <strong>He would probably cry if he heard that, </strong>Tar mutters, but I shake my head.


    Nah, hes the Demon King. He wouldnt cry from something as small as that. Im sure of it.


    <strong>If you say so, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like he isnt sure he believes me.


    He better not cry from something like that. If his citizens saw it hed lose more than a little okay, maybe he wouldnt lose any respect. Not considering how they all treat him as if he were a god.


    Theyd probably just y it off somehow to make him look good while doing it.


    Fanatics are terrifying like that after all.


    Anyways, I transform into my quadrupedal beast form and immediately begin to run away from the Gate towards the sounds of a city.


    Before I start heading towards the ss V Gate, Ill have to figure out where I am. Then I can make my way there.


    And to figure out where I am, Ill need to enter a city.


    <strong>The Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    <strong><em>Moments before Scarlets Arrival on Tartarus</em></strong>


    Arkaz taps his foot as he looks out from his balcony at the army of demons standing in front of his castle. Each and every one of them is a ss III demon or stronger, and each one has sapience enough to stand in a formal line. But despite that, he feels disappointed by the group. Because he knows his beloved granddaughter will just tear through them the moment they enter the battlefield.


    <em>I cant just stop sending lower ss forces to Earth just because most of them will be wiped out, but at the same time, it feels almost like a waste</em>


    The Demon King taps his chin as he considers his options. He could always just send a couple extra ss Vs, specifically an arachnae, to deal with the gues. And since they cant deal with it everywhere, Scarlet would still be able to rack up her levels.


    His thoughtse to a crashing halt when he feels a familiar mana signature pass through a Gate into Tartarus. One that he hadnt expected to see for years. And one that has him grinning from ear to ear.


    But immediately after sensing it, the mana signature grows hazy. Which makes his grin morph into a frown instead.


    Because its the same sensation he got from those damnable Knights when they were waltzing around Tartarus while hiding themselves.


    <em>So the ck and Purple Knights decided to send Scarlet to Tartarus for some reason while cloaked? The only thing I can think of for her to do here would be to either recover the Blue Knights memories or head to one of the two ss V Gates to cause trouble.</em>


    Arkaz taps his chin a few times before turning around, the cape of his armor flying around him in the process as he snaps his fingers once, sending everyst member of the army bowing before a massive orb of blood envelops them all and then vanishes. And just secondster they all reappear next to various different Gates all around the world, ready to be sent to Earth.


    <em>Ill leave Scarlet be for now, but if she stays too long then I will be paying her a visit. If for no other reason than to say hi.</em>


    Arkaz very much follows the ideology of letting his children, and in this case grandchildren, do what they please. And if Scarlet wishes to traverse through Tartarus through her ns, then she can do it on her own without his interference. But if she expects him to justpletely ignore her and not at least stop by for a visit, then shes sorely mistaken.


    <em>I do wonder if Leon has sensed her as well or not? Probably not. His senses arent as strong as mine. Especially not since hes focused his attention on Blood Runes all this while.</em>


    The Demon King begins humming as he walks, a smile decorating his face at the thought of visiting his granddaughter again. A smile that grows even bigger when he realizes hed be visiting her without Leon knowing.


    <em>I can just leave my paperwork to Leon and go visit her in a couple weeks.</em>


    He nods his head, his mind set on that n as he leaves his room and heads towards his office.


    <em>For now Ill do the work he cant do. Then Ill leave the rest for him.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 68: The Northeastern Continent of the Dead

    Book 4: Chapter 68: The Northeastern Continent of the Dead


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It doesnt take me long to realize where I ended up after going through the Gate. And that realization leaves me rather annoyed.


    Why couldnt ck have sent me to the Southwestern continent, where the Gate to Demon Isle is located? Did he really have to send me here of all ces?!


    I cant help but feel that the man did this on purpose as I charge through the snow in my quadrupedal beast form towards the nearest city.


    Just the mere fact that theres snow here means that Im on the Northeastern continent. The continentmonly known as the Continent of the Dead. Strictly because the mostmon demons who live here are undead, and the others are arachnid-type demons of the Envy Sin. Some of the Greed Sin too.


    So basically a continent full of undead and thieves.


    But more importantly, a lot of my blood magic doesnt work on undead who dont have any blood. At least, my blood magic involved with draining or messing with their blood. My blood gues wont work either.


    A major pain.


    I grimace as I continue running, only to eventually slow down to a stop when I get close to a city. Then I immediately transform back into my lycan form and don a cloak to cover my appearance before making my way through the rest of the snowy forest around me to enter what looks to be a snowy ins. One with arge city smack dab in the middle of it.


    The city is built in a much, <em>much </em>different style from the cities I saw back on the Southwestern continent, with a six meter tall wall surrounding the entire thing made out of stone blocks with a shiny blue light coating it. Likely some sort of magic to add additional protection to the wall and, judging by theck of snow on the wall, keep it clean. Meanwhile the front gate has two undead standing guard, each wearing full body armor that honestly reminds me a bit of the armor Ive seen Vikings wear in video games. Some sort of extremely old culture from Earth I believe.


    Their helmets even have those odd horns on them.


    But because their armor is so thick, I cant really see much of them beyond their humanoid shape and their pitch ck eyes. Amon trait for undead.


    So I go ahead and identify them.


    <strong>|Bjorn Eriksson  Draugr  Level 561|</strong>


    <strong>|Ingrid Freyja  Draugr  Level 580|</strong>


    ss IV guards? Probably means theres a Noble in this city.


    I should be careful not to let them catch me. Which means not letting them see under my hood.


    Although, at the very least, from what Gramps has told me the Continent of the Dead is a lot less strict in terms of their cities. They kinda just let anyone in without asking questions as long as they pay the fee.


    The cities are literally just pots of crime waiting to boil over with the Noble in charge of each region iming some of the spoils from the victor in each bout.


    Its to the point that crime in some of these cities, especially the ones on the Eastern side of the continent belonging to the arachnae, isnt even really crime. Its perfectly normal. To just go and steal someones things right out from under their nose.


    If they didnt catch the criminal, then it didnt happen. The stolen item belongs to the thief now.


    Should help me stay hidden here at least. I should probably keep a close eye on everyone around me though.


    Good thing I use spatial pockets. They cant exactly pickpocket those. Not unless they want Leonidass anti-thief enchantment to snap at them.


    It wont exactly do much damage, but itll hurt and expose their crime so that they will be caught in the act.


    I continue walking through the ins until I reach the line at the gate, briefly reaching into my spatial pocket underneath my cloak to check on my current money situation. Then I remember that I still have all of the coins Gramps gave me when I first set off away from the Bloody Duchy.


    An entire fortunes worth that I never really ended up spending due to my stay with the kitsune.


    Nice. Gramps never cared about getting it back so I never gave it back.


    Although its more like I forgot about it, but whatever.


    Not like he needs money. Hes the Demon King. If he wants something he can just order someone to give it to him and they wont be able to say no. Literally.


    Anyways, I quickly spot several pickpockets amongst the line stealing from other people in the line. But no one else says a word when they try to steal from someone and seed. They only step out of the way calmly when theyre caught and either have all of their own belongings stolen or theyre killed and tossed out of the line by the one they were stealing from.


    A rather brutal scene, but now that I pay attention, most of the demons in this line, including the undead, are all either Greed or Envy demons.


    Not a very goodbination.


    My hand whips around to grab at a forearm reaching for my waist. And before I can even turn around to look at whoever it belongs to, I hear cracking soundsing from their arm from where I grabbed them.


    Oops. Snapped their bone.


    When I get a glimpse of the thief in question, I find it to be another draugr just like the guards. But unlike the guards, this one is only a ss III.


    Which makes me wonder why on earth they thought it would be a good idea to target me. They shouldve been able to identify me and see my level, even if White did redact my name again.


    Wait


    I blink in surprise.


    Did the cover ck and Purple put over me also block identifications for my level? That would be cool.


    Probably possible, considering that its the highest level stealth and divination Guardians in existence. Unlike White who uses null magic, those two are practically made for hiding an identify result.


    Not bad. If thats the case.


    Anyways, the thief whos arm is still in my grasp, tries to break free with a look of both anger and greed on their face without a trace of fear. At least, until I pull them slightly closer and grab them by the neck, raising them into the air before snapping their neck and tossing them out of the line.


    But their look of fear onlysts a second.


    Theres no use pitying or taking it easy on the demons in this continent. They would all just as soon betray me and stab me in the back right after sparing them as they would eat breakfast that morning.


    The one thing Gramps ingrained in me the most about this continent is to trust no one and never give anyone mercy here.


    I focus on the line again, finding that not a single one of the demons around us seem to be paying me any mind despite me having killed a draugr.


    Such a different ce from Earth.

 Book 4: Chapter 69: Another City Gate

    Book 4: Chapter 69: Another City Gate


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Just like with the guards stationed at the first city I visited on the Southwestern continent, the guards here try to charge me extra for the tax to enter the city. And also just like those guards, I ignore them and pay them the correct amount instead before stepping inside.


    Unlike those guards though, the guard in charge of my line tries to stop me while stating, That is not the right amount. If you try to- he stops, his mouth dropping open when I just grab his reaching arm and twist it, snapping the thing before I continue walking. And I dont hear anything from him again after that. Although I do hear absolute silence from everyone in the line when there was previously some chatter.


    An interesting fact Ive learned about undead through my time going through that line and killing a few of them.


    They dont feel pain.


    Although while my pain is reduced significantly through my magic with Pain Diffusion, they seem to just have some sort of biological factor making them not feel pain. Probably has something to do with them being sort of dead. I mean, they dont have any blood after all, so not having nerves makes sense too.


    Its rather hard to tell though, strictly because of all the armor the undead here seem to be wearing. Something I still cant figure out the reason for.


    <strong>I cant help but wonder what the other demons as seeing when they identify you, </strong>Tar mutters, and I nod my head in agreement. <strong>Its like they all seem to think youre a much lower lever than you really are or something.</strong>


    Yeah. I was targeted a lot despite killing quite a few thieves. And they all seemed to be absolutely shocked both by me catching them and me killing them. Even some of the people in the line seemed to have been surprised by my killing them.


    Makes me wonder if ck and Purple somehow made my level look lower than it really is.


    <strong>That could get annoying if its the case, </strong>Tar says, but I just shake my head as I continue walking inside of the city through the gate with the ck jawed guard still staring after me.


    No, it could be beneficial for me. Maybe.


    Would mean the demons wont just run away if we get into a fight, and I wont attract as much attention as I would if I were a higher level. Although killing them with ease at a lower level would attract attention.


    Its a good thing that theres no such thing as an item that can conceal someones level, so no one would assume that I have something doing so. Theyd probably just assume that I am extremely powerful for my level. And likely that Im the daughter of a Noble, considering my redacted name and species.


    Well, regardless of what happens, Im just here to look around and figure out where I am.


    So with that in mind, I lightly pull my cowl down a bit further and continue walking into the city.


    <strong>The Gate</strong>


    <strong><em>A few moments ago</em></strong>


    Bjorn looks at the next person in line, a draugr just like him, but unlike him the draugr is only a ss III. So when the draugr steps up to him, Bjorn deres, Ten coppers or work off your debt.


    The draugr instantly brings out ten coppers, paying right away instead of taking the suicidal choice of working off the debt of trying to enter the city. Because while it would only normally be five coppers  ten in this case  the Viscount lord of the city doesnt like letting poor folks inside and is very willing to work them to death even for a measly five coppers.


    Something everyone trying to enter the city should know if they arent suicidal.


    After handing over the ten coppers, Bjorn lets the draugr pass by unharmed before he narrows his gaze on the next neer to arrive at the front of the line. Someone wearing a cloak covering their entire body making it impossible to tell anything about them other than that their figure is female.


    But hiding ones appearance is amon practice in the Northeastern continent, so that doesnt make him suspicious in the slightest.


    What does make him suspicious is the sight of her identify.


    <strong>|[REDACTED]  [REDACTED]  Level 310*|</strong>


    <em>The hell? Thats not something I see every day</em>


    Bjorn watches the woman approach for a few seconds before deciding that the redaction on her name and species is most likely due to her cloak, if he had to guess. And since hes never seen her before, he decides to charge her his newbie rate.


    Ten coppers or work off your debt, Bjorn says, not changing anything up in his usual manner of speech for the woman. But to his surprise, she just stuffs five coppers into his hand and walks away, making a mild wave of anger fill him. So he reaches for her arm while saying, That is not the right amount. If you try to- but he stops when the woman simply grabs his arm faster than he can react and twists it, snapping his arm to the point that his bone ends up sticking out of his armor. And that act alone leaves him staring dumbfounded at his arm as the woman walks away.


    Several seconds pass before he snaps out of his stupor and looks up at the slowly departing woman.


    <em>What just happened?</em>


    He stares almost till she leaves his sight into the throng of people walking through the interior of the city. That is, until his fellow guard shouts, Snap out of it and do your job!


    So he turns back to the line and says, Next.


    But he cant get his mind off of the woman despite returning to work.


    <em>Just who is she? What is she?</em>


    A metaphorical shiver runs down his spine as the thought that she mightve been the daughter of a Noblees to mind. And he had tried to cheat her.

 Book 4: Chapter 70: Plan

    Book 4: Chapter 70: n


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    It doesnt take me long to find the information Im looking for. Even with the magical items  Ive gotta get used to using that term again since were on Tartarus  covering some buildings with magic to enchant them against eavesdropping.


    Good thing my hearing is just that good.


    <strong>Humble, arent we? </strong>Tarments, sounding amused.


    If its true, then yeah.


    He snorts as I stand up from my ce sitting at the edge of a buildings roof.


    I nce at my arm where my terminal was beforeing here, slightlymenting the fact that it had somehow vanished right as I was being pushed through the Gate. Although somehow is a rtive term considering it was obvious what happened.


    ck most likely took it.


    Then again, thats better than him just pushing me through the Gate with it on, because I would rather not have had to deal with an exploding device strapped to my arm just due toing to Tartarus.


    Im guessing he probably searched me with magic for any other pieces of technology or stuff that would blow up on Tartarus before he sent me through. Or at least he better have. Otherwise I wouldve been pretty pissed off at him.


    Well, if I had anything on me that is. I dont really carry much stuff around me most of the time.


    Just my clothes obviously and my terminal. Theres not really much else that I need.


    Aside from my identification papers and other stuff like that, but those are stored safely in my spatial pocket, and even if they werent, paper exists on Tartarus too. So its not a problem.


    Still would be nice if he didnt just push me here like that.


    I sigh at that thought before turning my head towards the Lord of this domains manor. A rather Im not really sure how to describe the guy. Just that I dont want to meet him.


    From what Ive heard, he encourages stealing in the city, treats people who cant pay the entry fee after entering the line as ves as if the mere action of entering the line itself was part of the fee, and seems to only want wealthy people in the city for any length of time. Ive also heard he likes to toy with people.


    And that hes an undead foxkin  a lesser species of a kitsune, simr to the arachne being a lesser species to the arachnae. Except that its an undead version of a foxkin.


    Unlike the arachne and the arachnae, however, foxkin do share the same Sin as the kitsune. Meaning their Sin is that of Greed, and it manifests in a simr way to the kitsune.


    They like their ythings and money.


    Meaning Im avoiding him at all costs. The maids and n members at the kitsunes pce were bad enough already, I dont need an undead one trying toy im on me as well.


    The Noble aside though, I cant help but sigh at the fact that Im currently in the valley between the two mountain ranges of the Northeastern Continent of the Dead. Right in between the Spiders Burrow and the Caverns of Death.


    Although


    I purse my lips as a thoughtes to mind.


    But then I shake my head, deciding its not worth it. Going to see The Reaper could very well lead to me ending up captured instead of him helping me again.


    <strong>You wanted to see if he could bring you to the Devourer to ask for your uncles emotions back? </strong>Tar asks, and I nod my head with a frown on my face.


    Yeah, I know Amelia really wants that. And if I can make it so that he will actually regret his actions and maybe even care for Aria then I might be able to get her out of that old mans house.


    I begin jumping across the rooftops across the city until I get to the edge of it and jump back down to the ground. Because I know trying to jump over the wall would just set off the rm enchantments inside of it.


    Better to just go through the gate again.


    As I walk into the city street and towards the gate though, I ponder over the nuisance that is traversing the ocean to get to the Southwestern continent. Because that will be a major pain.


    <strong>Are you nning on going through the Demon Kings central continent or through the Southeastern continent? </strong>Tar asks, making me grimace at the thought of ever going to the Southeastern continent.


    I think I should go through the outskirts of the central continent, because the Southeastern continent is ruled by the Mindeaters, and just because theyre asleep doesnt mean they dont know exactly whats going on throughout their continent. So Ill probably be found right away by the Devourer if I go there. They are mental magic users after all, and Id stand no chance against some of the peak ss IV demons there just because of that.


    Stupid mental magic weakness.


    And I cant go to the Bloody Duchy for obvious reasons.


    <strong>Your father, </strong>Tar states the obvious.


    Yep. That and I dont know how I would even get up to the floating inds in the first ce.


    I dont think I can jump that high, and they have enchantments covering every inch of the inds that would detect me the moment I tried.


    So the central continent it is. Meaning Ill be passing through the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin again. And probably seeing Gramps along the way, but considering how he is Id be shocked if he didnte by to pay me a visit no matter where I go.


    <strong>At least youll get in some training at the battlefield, </strong>Tar points out, making me smile slightly at that.


    Earths frontlines were the best ce for me to train against low level ss IVs and ss IIIs of all level, but the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin is still the best ce to go for training against high level ss IVs and ss Vs in general.


    As long as Im careful not to let a ss V annihte me right off the bat.


    I continue through the city until I make it to the gate, pay my toll, and leave, heading to the Southwest in the hopes that I make it to the coast without trouble.


    Which probably wont happen.

 Book 4: Intermission 3

    Book 4: Intermission 3


    <strong>High Above the City as Scarlets Leaving</strong>


    Kitsugami Shirou slowly smirks as he watches the girl stepping outside of his city from the skies, his seven tails fluttering in the wind behind him, the fur on the tails looking a pale white with hints of gray. Meanwhile each tail is tipped with pure ck as bolts of death magic dance along the tips between the tails. But as he continues to watch the girl, the smirk on his face slowly turns manic and light chuckles begin to bubble up from him.


    <em>Thats the one! I will have her no matter what!!!</em>


    He slowly begins tough louder and louder, only to sometimes drop in volume and grow again for no reason.


    <em>Please show me what His Majesty will do! I want to see it!!! With my own eyes!</em>


    Shirou knows perfectly well that going after the Princess is suicide.


    But he doesnt care. In fact, he wants to know just how angry the Demon King will be at him for trying to take his precious Princess.


    Mostly Shirou just wants to see despair on the lovely Princesss face though.


    And if the Demon King doesnt manage to find the Princess thanks to that wonderful stealth magic she has on her, Shirou knows very well how much thatll increase the fun.


    He continuesughing, making some of the demons down in the city who are able to hear him automatically begin heading towards the city gates in order to leave the city. Because no one wants to be around when the city lord, Viscount Kitsugami, is out and about.


    And Shirou is perfectly happy with that.


    <em>Whatever causes the most chaos will always be perfect in my book! And capturing that pretty and adorable little Princess?! What better way to cause chaos!</em>


    Shirou, an undead kitsune who haspletely lost himself to his Sin over the years without a care in the world, spreads his arms out and continuesughing into the sky, sending a shiver down the spines of the many demons in the city below. Each of whom are all hoping against hope that the man decides to turn his insanity outwards, away from the city.


    Unfortunately for them, Shirous gaze immediately snaps downwards, a look halfway between insanity and that of a mischievous kid about to y a prank as he stares at them without blinking. And he just continues staring withoutughing anymore for an entire hour, simply waiting for the Princess to get far away to give her a head start.


    Then he beginsughing again and shouts for all the city to hear, Lets y a little game everyone! A game I <em>knoooow </em>youll all love! Shivers run down the spines of everyone listening, but even as he knows that, all it does is make Shirous pitch ck eyes re with a ck light, a very faint amber slit appearing in the middle of the ck orbs for a split second before vanishing again. How about you all capture the lovely little girl currently running Southwest of here! She is wearing a ck cloak thatpletely hides her appearance, and has a fully redacted Identify result!


    Shirou sucks in a breath of air, simply breathing in the fear he feels the people of his city below feeling. And without a hint of shame or hesitation, he tilts his head, sticks his tongue out of his mouth, and adds, And if you dont, then Ill ughter the lot of you!


    Almost immediately everyone in the city begins to leave, marching towards the Southwest. But only the ss IVs manage to keep pace with the Princess, and even they arent able to gain any ground on catching up to her.


    <em>A, looks like theyre too slooow</em>


    Shirou, what the fucking hell do you think youre doing now?! A voice very familiar to Shirou echoes out in his mind, but he, of course, ignores it by speaking out loud, Oh, lookie there! I hear a voice in my head! I think Ive gone insane, dont you voice?


    Then he bursts outughing again and starts flying around in circles.


    Kitsugami Shirou! Are you ever going to fucking snap out of it and- the voice stops after Shirou sticks out his tongue and points his index finger at his head, saying Boop! as he shoots out a small bolt of death mana straight at his head, using a skill to clear any mental effects on him. Including the telepathy from the familiar voice he is ignoring. Because the voice doesnt exist.


    One, two, Shirou begins, locking his hands together behind his back by the fingers as he sways back and forth from side to side while hanging upside down. Deathes for you. Then he flips around, orienting himself with his head towards the sky. Three, four, he pauses again as a wide smile stretches across his face at the sight of all the demons speeding up slightly like their lives depended on it. Aww, dont you wanna see what happens when ites? Thats too bad.


    He rocks back and forth midair as he watches the army chase after the girl from high up in the sky, wondering just how long theyll be able to y with her before news of this gets back to the Demon King. But it doesnt take long for him to break out into chuckles at the thought again. The thought of seeing the Demon King massacring the entire city for targeting his granddaughter.


    <em>I love this!</em>


    Shirou breaks out into hystericalughter before slowly floating along in the direction that the Princess is running.


    <em>I should let her reach the Battlefield before I attack. It should give me some time to toy with her before His Majesty arrives to kill me.</em>


    Hisughter cuts off and he grins as if he had just won the lottery.


    <em>This is going to be soooo much fun!!! Maybe I can even kill the Princess after toying with her? Just to see what hed do!!</em>


    Shirou starts humming while flying through the air and asionally muttering, One, two, deathes for youuuuu.

 Book 4: Chapter 71: Pursuit

    Book 4: Chapter 71: Pursuit


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>So </strong>Tarments as I sprint across the barren wastnds that are the Northeastern continent with abandon. <strong>You did say you wanted people to try attacking you.</strong>


    I wanted bandits and thieves to attack me, I state out loud, a scowl on my face. What I did not want was an entire fucking citys poption chasing after me because of some damned lunatic!


    I swear that bastard knew that I was listening and was even enjoying it!


    <strong>He seems to have lost himself to his Sin, </strong>Tar adds, making me grimace at the thought.


    For a demon to lose themselves to their Sin is a crime punishable by death should they not recover themselves within a month of losing themselves. Because after that they wont even care about the Demon Kings authority. The most he can do is order them to sit still and do nothing, and thats only if he was there in person to deal with the individual in question.


    To lose themselves to their Sin they end uppletely giving into their Sin, letting it fully drive their actions as they either take a backseat or let it wipe out their consciousness entirely. And in this guys case, he seems to have just taken a backseat to his Sin as his hunger for chaos drives him forward.


    In other words I need to get the fuck off this continent as soon as possible.


    <strong>Couldnt you ask your grandfather for help? </strong>Tar asks, sounding concerned.


    But I just shake my head as I run.


    Not possible. At least not until I reach the central continent.


    He mentioned before that while he could technically listen to everything on the with his sense of hearing, that isnt exactly pleasant so he generally limits his hearing to just around his central continent while using his blood clones and magical senses for the rest of Tartarus.


    Meaning he wont hear me unless I cross the waters to the central continent.


    Especially since he cant sense me with ck and Purples shielding, so all he likely sees is arge swathe ofnd that is invisible to his senses slowly approaching him. Land that includes my pursuers.


    <strong>Thats bad, </strong>Tar mutters. <strong>Very bad.</strong>


    Yep.


    I continue running for my life for who knows how long until I finally reach the waters where a port city is nestled with various ships. But I quickly realize based on the dust and the sounds of running I hear in the distance that a ship wont be fast enough. Especially since Im pretty sure the lunatic is starting to use his own magic to boost the pursuers.


    So I continue running in my quadrupedal beast form, uncaring of others seeing me as I jump straight into the frigid waters and begin swimming through it faster than any ship could likely go.


    And after several minutes of swimming, I throw a quick nce back to find not a single soul following me, making me let out a sigh of relief.


    Then I hear the lunatic cackling again as if he were waiting for me to look back.


    A shiver runs down my spine when arge wave of ck and purple miasma shoots outwards, covering everywhere as far as the eye can see a few kilometers in front of me. And my eyes widen in fear as the sight of the pursuing demons somehow being brought above the cloud of miasma where they then run along its top.


    Are you <em>fucking </em>kidding me?! I shout before turning around again and continuing my panicked swim towards the central continent. But this time the pursuers manage to close the distance a bit.


    I still make it to the central continent with a few kilometers between me and the pursuing forces, but when I jump out of the water onto the red stone that makes up the continents surface, I quickly find the lunatic floating right in front of me while hanging upside down andughing.


    But he doesnt do anything, so I continue running.


    <strong>|Kitsugami Shirou  Undead Kitsune  Level 1381|</strong>


    Just identifying him sends another chill down my spine though, since until now hes kept enough distance that all Ive been able to do is hear him.


    Hes almost a damned count.


    This guy could literally kill me with the snap of his fingers. And I doubt he cares about Gramps killing him in return.


    Just in case though I activate my crest to showcase who I am, hoping against hope that it stops some of the approaching demons.


    But all that happens is that a cloud of miasma forms in front of my chest, blocking my crest from view just like how he blocked my voice earlier when I tried to shout at the demons chasing me as the lunatic clicks his tongue and waves a single finger at me as if I were some child doing something I shouldnt. And that action alone makes the anger and pride within me boil to the surface.


    Being treated a like a helpless child for him to y around with.


    I grit my teeth as I begin to hear those same voices from back on Earth entering my head. But I try a lot harder this time to fight against them now that I know exactly what they are.


    Fortunately I manage to retain my sanity this time, only thanks to me trying as hard as possible to ignore the lunatic who is currently dancing in the air around me like a damned monkey.


    <strong>This guy is just asking for the Demon King to kill him and the entire city hes forced into this, </strong>Tar says, making me grit my teeth even harder as I run across the stone further into the central continent.


    How about we wait until after theyve already roughed you up at least a bit till we let them find out about your little identity, My Precious little Puppy! the lunatic eventually says with a cackle, his voice somehow restricted to our area alone. Then I can see how they react to knowing theyll be killed by His Majesty!!!


    You really are insane!! I exim as I run, but the man just shouts back with augh, I know! Thanks for thepliment!


    Fucking, <em>hell!</em>


    I continue running, wondering if I should just shout for Grampss help. And eventually I decide to throw away my damned<em> fucking </em>pride and shout.


    But when I try the man just silences me in the same way he did before.


    No, no, no, we cant have that, now can we? Shirou says with a yful smile on his face. Lets wait for the grand finale to bring him here!


    Are you kidding me?!


    I swear Im going to get rid of the Sin Curses if its thest fucking thing I do!

 Book 4: Chapter 72: The Game Begins

    Book 4: Chapter 72: The Game Begins


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I continue running through the continent until I arrive at the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin, and around the same time, the demons behind me all start catching up. But some of them seem to grow more hesitant when they see me entering the battlefield. At least, until the viscount shouts with a sing-song voice, If anyone turns around, they diiiieeee!


    So we all charge through the massive Battlefield for nearly an hour until the lunatic finally seems to be satisfied with the chase and ps his hands, making a massive wall of miasma form in front of me and to the sides. And when I try to throw attacks at it, the wall simply eats the attacks without even struggling against them.


    Then I try to punch the wall, only for my hand to be devoured by it entirely, leaving me having to spend nearly an entire minute just regrowing my hand as I turn around to find all of the demons  a number consisting of hundreds of thousands of demons with the vast majority being undead  catching up to me atst.


    And the battlefield around us growspletely silent. As if viscount somehow just silenced everything around us.


    <strong>His magic seems to be death magic, just like the ghouls, </strong>Tar points out, making me grit my teeth. <strong>So silencing an area and blocking senses is very much something he can do.</strong>


    Damnit.


    The demons all re at me as if this whole thing was my fault that the lunatic decided to force them into his little game. And it doesnt take long before some of them charge towards me, attacking after having lost themselves to their Sins on the way here. But the majority continue watching, likely due to me being a blood lycan even if they dont recognize me as the Princess.


    And attacking a blood lycan is never a good idea.


    To the winner goes the spoils in this absolutely spectacr battle royallllleeee!!! the viscount begins shouting as he spins in circles above us all, speaking as if she were some sort of MC for a game show. Then he stops, pointing one hand in my direction as he shouts, On one side, we have the lovely blood lycan whos name shall remain unknown based on her own reeeedacted choice!!! I scowl up at him, but he ignores my anger to instead indicate the other demons. And here we have one hundred and ny-two thousand six hundred and one demons! All here to capture the lovely little blood lycan pup!


    His calling me a pup only makes the demons ring at me grow even more wary. Because if theres one thing engrained in the demons, its that you do <em>not </em>mess with a blood lycan child.


    Buuuut!!! the viscount says, stopping mid-air with a grin on his face and one hand raised. How about we shake things up a bit? Wouldnt you like that?!


    Someone actually whispers no amongst the demons, to myplete surprise. But Im only able to hear them with extreme difficulty even with my hearing pushed up quite a bit right now.


    The demon doesntst long though as the viscount throws some sort of bolt of death magic in the direction of the sound, sting dozens of demons around the one who had spoken and killing them all. Then he tilts his head, How about we make that one hundred and ny-two thousand five hundred and sixty-seven demons instead? What about you! Lets shake things up a bit!


    Okay, I honestly dont think Ive ever seen someone as messed up as this guy before.


    Tar, please make sure I never lose myself to my Sin. Ever.


    <strong>Of course, </strong>Tar says from the in-between.


    So to change things up, how about you all the viscount trails off as a vicious grin stretches across his face and he lowers his voice, <em>kill </em>the pup instead?


    Terror runs through the demons so much that I can literally smell it in some cases. Some rather stinky cases that have me lowering my sense of smell.


    Gross.


    Before any of the demons can say anything about his request, the viscount lets out anotherugh and waves his hands, spreading them both out to the sides while sending some sort of ck and purple dust out all around us. And while the dust seems to ignore me, it immediatelytches onto the other demons, making them let out roars of pain before their eyes start shing with a ck light.


    Maybe I should just tell you to do it instead? the viscount then says as the demons all start turning violent yet empty looking gazes towards me. As if they just had their consciousnesses wiped or something. So go kill the pup.


    Without a single ounce of hesitation this time, the demons who Im pretty sure were just cursed to be undead if they werent already and to have their minds either erased or controlled by the viscount all rush straight towards me in a berserk frenzy.


    Seriously?


    I grit my teeth as I jump back, trying to figure out what the hell I can do against an army of almost two hundred thousand demons. Especially since theyre all undead, so my gues wont work on them.


    Probably why he turned them into undead in the first ce.


    No matter what I do, I cant figure out a way to survive this on my own since if I manage to deal with the army, the viscount wont just let me go.


    So the only way to survive is to wait for Gramps to show up.


    I know hell show up sooner orter. The question is just how long itll take for him to realize somethings wrong.


    The unfortunate truth is that Gramps isnt always paying attention to the entire world or even his continent beyond checking out things that stand out. And all hes seen so far is most likely that Im traveling across his continent.


    My only way to survive is to wait for updates toe to him from the cities we passed by about the situation.


    I grit my teeth even harder before letting out a low snarl, still in my quadrupedal beast form.


    So to survive, I must stall.


    I sprint forwards to meet with the iing army.

 Book 4: Chapter 73: Death Comes For You

    Book 4: Chapter 73: Death Comes For You


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The battle proves to be harder than any other battle Ive done before since I cant use any of my blood magic skills that directly target the opponents blood, leaving me significantly handicapped in this battle. But thanks to Blood Regeneration I manage to hang on even as I ughter thousands upon thousands of demons, taking who knows how many hits from them.


    Fortunately my armor holds out and doesnt take more than a scratch from any demon beneath ss IV with a level at least in the middle of ss IV. And those scratches it heals right away. The attacks end up doing more damage to me than my armor, not that theyre doing much to me either.


    On the other hand, the attacks from the demons closer to the peak of ss IV deal a lot more damage to both me and my armor, making me asionally repair my armor manually through the higher rarity version of Repair meant for magical equipment.


    It helps that none of the demons are currently sane that are attacking me. Assuming theyre even alive in the first ce.


    So they arent using any martial arts or any sort of strategy. Theyre just going at me like berserkers. Like a swarm of zombies. Quite possibly literally.


    Its hard to tell what they are now though since their identify hasnt changed.


    I continue fighting for hours upon hours, the battle seemingly never ending just like the lunatics cackling. And over time I begin to build up some levels, bringing me above level 900 finally. But I also find it a lot harder tost since I dont have my blood magic skills affecting their blood, making Sanguine Effect almost useless in this fight. A skill that has be a major part of my fighting style.


    And Blood Thirst reached its unspecified cap on stacks long ago, making me no longer gaining any more mana from it.


    Gradually my advantage decreases and I find myself panting in exhaustion, using one of myst mana potions that Id brought along with me at Amelias insistence. Something Im very thankful for now.


    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar mutters, sounding a little desperate but not saying more.


    I know.


    Their numbers have been reduced by around half by now, so I think its time.


    <strong>Be careful, </strong>he says, more than a little worry in his voice now. But also confidence. Like he knows Ill pull through somehow.


    My pride res as I re up at the undead kitsune stillughing his ass off in the sky.


    Then I use Blood of Ruin, making the usual orbs and lines of blood appear all around the area filling up the entire closed off section that the undead kitsune made. But unsurprisingly, the undead kitsune justughs even harder as some of the lines straight up break aftering into contact with him, proving that hes too powerful for me to touch even with Blood of Ruin.


    I grit my teeth at the sight, but I didnt expect it to do anything to him anyways.


    The other demons all around us though, they immediately begin dropping like flies to Blood of Ruin before it even finishes. And when it does finish, flooding the area with Blood of Ruin in a massive wave, almost everyst remaining demon is turned to glowing red ash.


    I drop to my knees before pulling out another potion and downing it as well, only to cough out a mouthful of blood.


    You used too many pooootioooons! the annoying lunatic says in a singsong voice, but I ignore him as I feel my mana restoring to about halfway full.


    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar mutters, sounding even more worried now than before.


    Im sorry. I know that if you use too many potions back to back itll lead to some bacsh on your body. But with him still here and Gramps not, I dont have much of a choice.


    Without caring about the blood Im coughing out or the wave of System Messages shing at the back of my mind, I climb back to my feet, my quadrupedal transformation reversing out of nowhere, leaving me standing in my lycan form again. Probably as part of my bacsh.


    By now my armor is in tatters, so I repair it once more, feeling a sh of pain from the use of mana while under bacsh. But I ignore that too while quickly finishing off thest of the demons attacking me.


    Then I turn all of my focus back on the lunatic, who is stillughing, not having stopped even once throughout the entire time.


    Which is why when he finally stopsughing and focuses all of his attention on me, dead eyes meeting mine in the process, I feel a major chill run down my spine.


    I think Ive had enough fun watching, he says, his voice echoing eerily throughout the closed off area surrounded by walls of death magic. How about I join in on the fun now?


    Without warning, the man vanishes from his ce, a massive wave of miasma filling the entire area and making my coughing fit grow even worse than it already was. Then I feel a sh of pain from my side, making me cry out. Something that hasnt happened in a long time thanks to Pain Diffusion.


    But for some reason the pain of this wound is so bad its like I feel it deep down in my soul.


    Tar actually appears around me, making my eyes widen in fear for his life, only for him to fearfully mutter, Hes attacking your reality. Your soul.


    My eyes widen even more at that, but to my surprise, Tar suddenly vanishes and his voice leaves as well, leaving me all alone in the darkness of the miasma.


    One, two, the mans voice echoes through the darkness, following which I feel another sh of pain from my right arm near my elbow that has me crying out again while dropping to one knee. Deathes for you.

 Book 4: Chapter 74: Pain

    Book 4: Chapter 74: Pain


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    What the fuck did you just do?! I shout through the pain as I raise my head to look around, only to find the lunatic appearing right in front of me with a satisfied smirk on his face.


    Why, my dear little puppy, I just temporarily cut off the link between the two of you connecting your realities, he says, making my eyes widen in shock. This way your little pet<em></em>can leave my soul barrier without you and find your reinforcements. His smirk turns into a smile. Eventually.


    Eventually? So he set Tar free to get Gramps but only after dying him a bit?


    The fuck is wrong with this guy?! Aside from the obvious.


    I feel strange not hearing or even sensing Tars presence at all. Like something important is missing. And it makes my already pained chest grow even more painful.


    But I grit my teeth and push myself to my feet, fighting the pain only for another sh of it toe from my leg, knocking it out from under me and putting me onto the ground on my side.


    Have you ever felt your reality being cut? Not just your body, but your <em>reality </em>itself, the lunatic starts speaking nonchntly as I feel tearsing to my eyes. Oh, wait. Youre feeling it right now. Should I bother to exin? He pauses for a second as I grit my teeth and try as hard as I can to push myself through to my feet, feeling the whispers of pride slowly beginning to echo in my mind again. Yeah, I think I will.


    Another sh of paines, but from my mouth this time as I let out a scream, suddenly feeling my tongue no longer in my mouth, making it impossible to speak. And its not growing back like it normally would.


    So damage to the reality is a lot harder and slower to heal than damage to your body, he says, sounding like hes enjoying my pain. Itll heal, and probably within an hour or two considering your significant healing speed, but it wont heal right away like most of your wounds dooo! And itll hurt far worse than anything youve felt before. Till now that is, in feeling this.


    I grit my teeth and begin using the blood spilling into my mouth from my tongue to power my blood magic skills as I push Blood Sacrifice and Crimson Overdrive to their limits and jump to my feet, pushing aside all of my pain. Only to feel another sh of pain from my left calf, making me drop back down in an instant before I realize that he cut off part of my leg at a point hallway down my calf.


    My only break amongst the extreme agony Im feeling is the sound of Pain Diffusion leveling up once to level 27. Then time begins to pass as I feel my pain beginning to overwhelm my mind, to the point that it pushes down my pride. And over time, my only breaks from it are the sounds of Pain Diffusion once in a blue moon leveling until it reaches the max level, level 30.


    Then the pain suddenly vanishes entirely, making me suck in a gasp of air.


    Oh? You retained your senses? I hear the lunatics voice as I quickly check the description of Pain Diffusion, finding it now saying that I can diffuse all 100% of the pain I feel. Something that makes me more than a little fearful for the future when I have to experience that pain some more, but at least its gone for now and I can think. Very interesting. Would you mind letting me test something on you?


    My eyes widen and I immediately try to answer, finding myself vaguely surprised that I can even do so, Fuck no!


    I look down to find that my leg has regrown and my tongue as well. Meanwhile the rest of me is just covered in scratches all over, as if he had stopped doing major attacks like that after I lost my senses.


    But how long have we been here for them to regrow already?


    Looking around, all I find is the same miasma from before. But then the lunatic waves his hand, making it clear slightly to show the sun above us.


    It was dusk thest time I saw the sun, right before he covered everything in miasma.


    I feel my prideing back with a vengeance, the voices echoing in my mind.


    <strong><em>Kill him. Avenge your pride. Tear it apart. Restore your pride!</em></strong>


    I grimace at the voices but try as hard as I can to ignore them.


    You done regaining your bearings? the lunatic says, a smile on his face as he tilts his head slightly. Great! Then I can start with the next little test!


    My eyes widen in both anger and fear, but to my surprise, he doesnt do anything. Or rather, he makes a ck and purple light shine all over me, but nothing happens.


    Now dance like a doll, he says, but still nothing happens. Then he sighs and mutters, Looks like mind control skills really dont work on you.


    He tried to mind control me?


    Thank you Leonidas for Blood Domination, even if its only the lower rarity version I cant even see yet.


    Your fae will probably make it past my barrier within an hour to find His Majesty, so I think you should try to stall for time, kay? he says, making me scowl at him as I climb to my feet and raise my arms while transforming into my bipedal beast form. If you can keep me entertained until he gets here then Ill let you live without a single scar! Then his eyes re with a ck light. But if not, then Ill enjoy your head as myst meal before your grandfather tears off my own.


    I grit my teeth and immediately activate all of the skills I have, surprisingly finding him susceptible to blood magic skills affecting his blood.


    Is it because hes an undead kitsune? That the kitsune blood is just that powerful?


    Im not sure. Blood lycans cant be undead, and I dont have knowledge on the other n demons in that area.


    I narrow my eyes before rushing forwards and attacking.


    Either way, I have to survive.

 Book 4: Chapter 75: Pride

    Book 4: Chapter 75: Pride


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without batting an eye, the undead kitsune lets out augh as he literally swats away each and every one of my attacks, making the whispers of my Sin of Pride grow louder and louder. And each time it happens, I feel myself growing angrier and angrier.


    But unlike thest time this happened, I manage to narrow all of that rage down to just attacking him. I burn as much of my blood as I can, burn my own life energy along with the life energy I drain from him, drain my reserves of blood practically dry to the point that I even start draining all of the blood around us in the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin to power my attacks.


    And yet, he still blocks all of my attacks with ease.


    No matter what I do, nothing manages to even scratch him.


    Not until I finally put in all of my strength, burning so much blood that an incredibly thick fog of red mist covers us with nothing but the lightning coursing through my body illuminating it as I take advantage of his most recentughing fit to drive my head straight into his uncovered wrist, biting down with my transformed mouth. And to my surprise, my fangs actually sink in slightly, drawing naught but a little blood.


    Blood that tastes absolutely disgusting, likely due to belonging to an undead.


    But I still use it because I can sense the life energy filling the blood and absorb it all before spitting the disgusting blood back out in the undead kitsunes face as I draw my hands back and bring them down towards his head.


    Only for him to catch both of my hands with one of his own and lift me up into the air with a scowl on his face.


    You just bit me, he states rather inly, no emotion in his voice whatsoever. You really just bit me.


    Then we stare at each other, him raising me to be just inches from his face, his pitch ck eyes ring once more to show the slit amber in the center as he narrows them to the point of a cat. And after several seconds, he breaks out intoughter again, moving me away from his face as I re at him.


    You actually hurt me! he exims, sounding happy and excited about this. Even as he throws me several dozen meters away, making mend while feeling my bodypletelycking in blood due to my own burning of it, he continues speaking, You are <em>fun</em>!


    His eyes widen with glee and he ps his hands while I struggle to climb back to my feet, hurriedly using the life energy I stole from him to recover my blood enough to do so. You are soooo much more fun than I ever imagined!


    And right when I get back to my feet, I feel the air exploding out of my lungs as Im sent flying from a fist hitting my stomach. All the way towards the miasma wall, the wall only barely stretching outwards when I get near so that it doesnt kill me.


    Lets y some more! the lunatic shouts while appearing in front of me again and grabbing me by my hair to then send me flying again. Then he repeats this process over and over again, sending me flying all around the battlefield within the miasma barriers. But I just grit my teeth and deal with it, because there isnt anything I can do about it right now with my blood as low as it is.


    Aside from feeling my Pride taking one hit after another, increasing the volume of the whispers in my head and the absolute anger filling me.


    <strong><em>KILL HIMMMMM!!! DESTROyTHE Filthy LessEr FOX!!!! KiIIiIiLLlLLL!!</em></strong>


    I grit my teeth as the voices grow to the point that I can no longer hear the lunatic in whatever the hell hes saying. I cant hear anything except the voices. And thats saying something considering that I cant control the sensitivity of my ears right now and theyrepletely unrestricted.


    Although the miasma barrier is blocking me from hearing outside of it.


    The voices continue growing louder and louder to the point that I can no longer even hear my own thoughts. Meanwhile the undead kitsune lunatic continues to throw me around like a ragdoll, yanking me by my hair, an arm, a leg, or even just kicking me or flipping me up into the air. All while his mouth and body motions make him look like hesughing.


    But I still cant hear him. All I can feel is the anger, the <strong><em>Pride </em></strong>coursing through me.


    <strong><em>TEAR IT TO SHREDS!!! RIP IT APaRt AND GIVE IT NO MERCY!!! SHOW IT THE POWER OF A BLOOD LYCAN!!!!!</em></strong>


    Who knows how long passes by as he continues kicking me, and eventually I feel I cant even move at all from it. But thanks to Pain Diffusion, I still dont feel an ounce of pain.


    Theres nothing but the voices. But Pride.


    A loud roar echoes over the voices, but I can only barely hear it. What I see however is the sight of the very air wavering at the roar. The ground shaking. Red lightning crashing down from the skies. And the barriers of miasma dissipating.


    But its toote.


    I finally lose it, my eyes ring with a bright red light that has the undead kitsune pausing for a second before saying something. But Ipletely ignore whatever hes saying as I focus inwards, feeling a <em>pull </em>on me to do so by my instincts and the annoying dinging sounds echoing through my head somehow over the voices.


    I ignore the dinging and whatever messages or notifications it might contain that I feel guiding me despite my ignoring them as I focus inwards, finding a strange ability manifesting to look into my body itself. Into my blood.


    And without hesitation, I <em>pull </em>on that sensation, finding my view immediately scattering everywhere.


    <strong><em>KIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLL THEEEEEEEEEEE KIIIIIITSUUUUUUNEEEEEE!!!!!!!</em></strong>

 Book 4: Chapter 76: The Beasts Rage and the Judgement of the Ages

    Book 4: Chapter 76: The Beast''s Rage and the Judgement of the Ages


    <strong>The In-Between</strong>


    <strong><em>Moments Ago</em></strong>


    Tar panics as he repeatedly ms into the barrier of solid miasma around him, uncaring that each time he does so it wears away slightly at his avatar. Uncaring that it will take him months just to recover after this.


    Because all thats on his mind right now is the image of Scarlets injured face in his vision as he ms himself into the wall with abandon, just like hes been doing for Oberon knows how long now.


    But out of nowhere, the miasma barrier suddenly lifts itself, making him fly straight through it, passing out of the In-Between again and into Tartarus where he finds himself in the Demon Kings throne room. And without a single care for the various dukes in the room, the two duchesses, or even the two Demon Lords, Tar immediately flies straight past them to end up right at the Demon King as he physically grabs and pulls on his hair, to the mans absolute shock along with all of the demons in the room.


    Please help her! Shes dying!!!!! Tar shouts, his voice echoing throughout the room in a panic.


    Then the Demon Kings eyes re red, a flurry of emotion passing through them so quickly that Tar barely manages to catch the absolute rage, hatred, and fear in them before a powerful bubble of blood spreads out from him, filling as far as Tar can see with the Demon Kings Blood Domain. And within that Domain, everything begins to shake. The demons and even the Demon Lords in the throne room all drop to one knee without a word, each trembling in fear, leaving the Demon King to rise to his feet, the ground beneath him cracking as kes of crimson blood fly out of his eyes like mes before vanishing again after getting a few inches away from his face.


    <strong>Take me to her now, </strong>the Demon King deres, his voice echoing throughout the throne room with a sense of power that urges Tar to immediately enter the In-Between after handing the Demon King a piece of his fur to use for tracking. And after mere seconds, he appears back at the Battlefield hundreds of meters above the ground where he looks down to see the lunatic attacking Scarlet and throwing her battered and broken body like a ragdoll.


    All of his beloved best friends armor is shattered, leaving naught but the unbreakable under armor remaining as her own bones stick out of her skin all across her body. Meanwhile her very eyes are crying blood, blood is leaking from every single pore in her body, and he even senses wounds all across her reality through his bond now that hes close enough.


    But before he can move down there in what would be a futile attempt to help her, a loud roar louder than anything he has ever heard before echoes throughout what Tar is sure to be the entire. And as if reacting to the roar, the entire world shakes around them. The air, the sky, the ground, everything. And its not just the world. Crimson lightning begins to fall from the sky like it was reacting to something, the miasmic barriers around the area shatter within an instant, and rain of blood begins to pour down all around them. All around the entire world if Tar had to guess.


    Then the roar is followed by an equally loud howl, and thousands of howls in return.


    And within a single instant, the bubble of the blood domain reaches them and the Demon King appears in his full glory floating in the air with rivulets of blood pulsating all around him in his quadrupedal beast form, floating at over five meters in height and seven meters in length. The King has crimson eyes trailing along red light at an angle following the angle of his eyes that is reflected in the blood rain, sleek ck fur with strips of red as crimson as fresh blood running across it, a tail spanning two fifths of his length thats constantly shifting from a smooth tail, to one made of crimson blood with a hint of silver, to one made entirely of a ckish red blood metal. Meanwhile hes snarling while looking down at the undead kitsune who haspletely stopped paying attention to Scarlet to fully focus his insane attention on the enraged King.


    The very air around the Demon King starts to waver as the blood filling the battlefield floats up into the air joining a massive ocean of blood quickly forming above them, blocking out the crimson lightning shing in the skies. Even as the bolts strike the blood ocean itself, asionally lighting it up with crimson light.


    Then the Beast of the Apocalypses voice echoes throughout the entire world as hundreds of blood lycans begin to appear charging through the Battlefield from all directions until they circle the undead kitsune as a show of forcepletely unnecessary before the Beasts power, <strong>Kitsugami Shirou.</strong>


    Tar finds himself in awe for a faint second as the undead kitsune is bound by a blood metal cor around his neck, manacles around his wrists and ankles, and is lifted up into the air where his arms and legs are stretched outwards as chains of blood metal form in the air to attach themselves to the manacles.


    <strong>You are to face the judgement of the ages for the crime of assaulting a member of the Royal Family and my <em>granddaughter,</em> </strong>the Demon Kings voice continues echoing throughout the entire. And to Tars both shock and pleasure, he finds the kitsunes body separating apart into six unbleeding segments as all of the power slowly fades away in him, the Demon King somehow stealing his very reality energy and draining it from his blood. From his life force. All the way till he is no longer even a level 1 demon. <strong>Demons of Tartarus, repeat the judgement of the ages for all those near and far to hear so that no one repeats this offense.</strong>


    Tars eyes widen as he hears a loud roar of voices answering, as if everyst being on the capable of doing so was shouting at the top of their lungs the exact same words.


    <em>As ording to the Laws of Tartarus, any who uwfully assault a member of the Royal Family should their crest be on disy will face the judgement of the ages. They shall have their body separated into six parts from their extremities to their core and finally their head, their power absolved by the Demon King both physical and magical, and they shall be left to feel eternal torment until the day of Tartaruss end with naught but their ability to feel pain intact.</em>


    But to Tars surprise, the undead kitsune justughs throughout all of this until he can no longerugh anymore, his lips perfectly seamed together by themselves as the blood lycans all around them continue kneeling, their res directed at the undead kitsune.


    Then they continue speaking.


    <em>Furthermore, all family members of the assaulter shall be executed should there be any and have their holdings imed by the crown to be distributed to the Royal Family member who was assaulted. This punishment will thereby be increased in severity for the next one to earn the judgement of the ages as ording to the Demon Kings will. For those who break the Laws of Tartarus deserve no easy death, nor do those who fail to learn from their predecessors.</em>


    Tars eyes widen in shock at that, not having known the Laws himself, only for his gaze to return to Scarlet as he rushes down to her, only to find her wounds having already healed. The Demon King having apparently healed her long before dealing out the undead kitsunes punishment despite not having approached her himself.


    So Tar looks up again just to find six different demon dukes and duchesses appearing before the Demon King, each holding a chest. And without a moment of hesitation, the dukes and duchesses each ce one segment of the undead kitsune  whos eyes still haveughter in them despite the absolute pain he must be in right now  into each chest.


    Then Tar turns back to the unconscious Scarlet again, only to find both the Demon King and the Blood Lord kneeling next to her already, both in their lycan forms.


    But before the other demons leave, everyst demon in the world shouts onest thing, making a chill run down Tars spine despite him being in an artificial body. One that he feels is beginning to lose consciousness.


    <em>The Dawn of the End shall rise only after the Blood no longer Stains the Battlefield, for the Royal Family are all there is. The Bringers of Hope, and the Cmities of the Kingdoms enemies.</em>


    And right when thest word is stated, everything goes ck in Tars vision, the fae prince falling down to the ground himself in a heap.

 Book 4: Chapter 77: Coma

    Book 4: Chapter 77: Coma


    <strong>The Battlefield</strong>


    Arkaz feels pain in his chest for the first time in over a thousand years as he checks over his granddaughter, who by all ounts should be healthy again after his healing.


    But isnt.


    He continues searching over her for wounds, the girl herself being in aa now as he does so, only to hear his sons voice echo through the battlefield, Father, whats wrong with her?


    Arkaz doesnt answer for several seconds, instead just searching for the answer himself. And after a time unknown to Arkaz has passed by, he finally finds the source of the problem, only to grimace when he realizes that its not something he can fix.


    He turns to his son, finding a worried look on the boys face as Arkaz says, There are two problems, neither of which I can fix. Leonidass body stiffens up, his eyes widening in horror. But Arkaz just continues while turning to face his granddaughter, who by now has been lifted so that her head is lying on Leonidassp, The first is that her reality itself has been damaged pretty badly. Not enough to permanently harm or scar her, but enough to keep her to be unlikely to regain consciousness for at least a few weeks. He turns back to his son again. But the main problem is that she seems to have tried forcing her way past the System to use a weaker version of my Blood Transcendence skill.


    Leonidas immediately turns his head to look at his daughter at that, a look of horror on his face.


    Since she tried doing it past the restrictions of the System, she didnt fully seed, Arkaz continues, a sad look reaching his face as he gazes at his granddaughter. But she didnt entirely fail either. So her body is currently part-way separated by each individual atom. He pauses, feeling his throat choking up slightly. And it wont be possible for anyone but her to fix it.


    Silence fills the Battlefield as all of the remaining blood lycans around them, each at least of the Marquess or Marchioness ranking, stand perfectly still with the exception of the one that had walked up to hold his granddaughters fae who had copsed.


    She will have to fight against her own DNA if she wants to survive, Arkaz continues, feeling a tear beginning to build up on the corner of his eye. And to make matters worse, she also seemed to have been lost to her Sin when it happened.


    Leonidas stiffens up at that.


    So its entirely possible Arkaz starts but doesnt finish out loud.


    <em>Its entirely possible she could be too deeply under the effects of her Sin to fight her way through this.</em>


    Before the tear building up in Arkazs eye finishes building, he waves his hand, making a bubble of blood surround and envelop them, following which he, Leonidas, and his granddaughter end up in Arkazs bedroom at the castle. Meanwhile his granddaughters fae appears on his bed next to Scarlet who is already lying there, Leonidas having not wasted a single second of time getting her to it.


    Time passes slowly as Arkaz and Leonidas kneel on the sides of the bed, holding Scarlets hands. But the girls eyes never open.


    Meanwhile Arkaz feels tears silently flowing down his cheeks, and sees the same happening to his son.


    After nearly an hour of silence though, Arkaz wipes his tears and stands up, barely managing to let go of his granddaughters hand as his son looks up at him. But Arkaz just answers, I need to make a call.


    <strong>The Frontlines on Earth</strong>


    Amelia frowns as she stands off against a few ss V demons who hade out of their way to attack her while she was dealing with the army beneath them, the four of them including herself floating high above the ground. But she just lets out a sigh and snaps her fingers once, taking away everyst sense the three Nobles have, leaving them struggling to remain flying. Then she snaps her fingers again, making wound after wound after wound appear on their body. Everyst wound they had ever taken within thest decade.


    And all three Nobles fail to retain their flight after that, shouting in pain from the multitude of wounds that make their own faces unidentifiable to anyone who may have known them.


    The White Knight raises her hand, still frowning, only to pause when she feels a vibration from themunicator stone she keeps in her pocket connected to her mates stone. So she quickly finishes off the three Nobles by using a wave of Lesser Erasure, erasing their life energy instead of themselves, and rushes off back to a private location where she takes out the stone.


    But unlike what she expected, when she answers the call, her mates voice isnt the one thates through the stone.


    Scarlet is in aa, so I will permit you toe to Tartarus and bring whoever you believe Scarlet would wish to have by her side, the Demon Kings voice echoes out around her sending a chill down her spine. The contents of what he says quickly hits her though, sending away any thoughts about why and how hes contacting her through hermunication stone with her mate. Enter through the Gate in the Arctic. I will have Damien let you all pass.


    Amelias eyes widen in both terror and dread as she immediately vanishes from her location in search of everyone that she knows Scarlet is close to, including Aria, the Silvesters, and her former teammates. And without even giving them the chance to say anything, she simply snatches each one of them up without a word and continues on to the next until she finally heads straight to the Arctic.


    She only finally pauses to give them a very short exnation when she reaches the Arctic and finds demons there to guide them to the Gate, absolutely terrifying each one of them in the process.


    But no one says a word in response despite their obvious fear and worry.


    <em>Please be okay!</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 78: Gathering

    Book 4: Chapter 78: Gathering


    <strong>The Arctic</strong>


    Cynthia walks through the Gate in a hurry after changing out her magi-tech armor in an instant and leaving behind her terminal and other modern technology as her mind goes wild considering everyst possible even that couldve happened to Scarlet. But she doesnt get long to think about it before the group of people close to Scarlet including herself are all enveloped by arge sphere of blood. And just secondster, the sphere of blood vanishes, revealing arge castle courtyard around them.


    Unlike the rest of them, Amelia doesnt gape at the castle or the incredibly powerful demons around them. She simply begins flying through the air while dragging everyone else including Cynthia with her before passing through a balcony window and entering a bedroom where they all find Scarlet lying unconscious on a bed surrounded by two men. Both of whom are blood lycans.


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    Cynthia barely wastes a second identifying them before she rushes to the bed, uncaring of the results despite the chill that runs down her spine at the sight of them. Because she has more important problems right now than the identity of the two in front of her. And the others are all the same as they rush up to the bed.


    What happened? Amelia immediately asks as Cynthia kneels down next to the bed, her gaze not leaving her adopted daughter who looks incredibly tense despite lying on a bed fit for royalty.


    After a second, the Demon King, whose gaze hasnt left Scarlet since they came in, answers, A Noble who had lost himself to his Sin attacked her, ripped apart her reality to a recoverable extent, and was punished. But not before Scarlet partially lost herself to her own Sin and tried to forcefully turn her body into blood. And the entire time he speaks, Cynthia can <em>feel </em>the anger behind his words despite themcking any form of emotion while also feeling distant. Like hes not addressing them or even considering them as people but merely objects he needed to bring here on his granddaughters behalf.


    Cynthia doesnt care about that though. She just reaches for and puts a hand on Scarlets waist, unconsciously staying away from her hand due to the Demon King holding it.


    I cant do anything more to treat her now, the Demon King continues, his voice still sending shivers down Cynthias spine even when shes not paying attention to him beyond the contents of his words. The only one who can do anything for her is herself.


    Silence fills the room as everyone surrounds the bed, and after a few seconds, Cynthias eyes widen slightly and she whispers, She moved


    Everyone tenses up as they noticed it as well, but Scarlet returns to beingpletely still again and stiff as a board.


    Eventually Cynthia hears Scarlets cousin Aria quietly ask, Did did that movement mean anything?


    Cynthia finally turns her gaze away from Scarlet, and to her surprise, so does the Demon King and Blood Lord. Then the Demon King lightly nods his head and turns his gaze back to Scarlet as he says, It looks like it was the right decision to bring you all here.


    Shes started fighting against her Sin, hasnt she? Amelia asks, making Cynthia feel slightly relieved the moment she sees the Demon King nodding his head in answer, albeit stiffly.


    Everyone returns to silence once more, their gazes locked on the unconscious girl lying on the bed.


    Time passes and seconds quickly turn into hours, but Scarlet never moves again. Eventually the group is interrupted when a maid walks in, filling the room with her aura of power that easily makes her the third most powerful person in the room, even stronger than White. And since so much time had passed, Cynthia has finally managed to recover enough to speak and think clearly now, so she turns to look at the maid fully, finding a kitsune standing at the entrance with her hands held together in front of her as she bows towards the Demon King.


    <strong>|Raiden Akuma  Kitsune  Level 1793|</strong>


    <em>The Demon Kings terrifying head maid that Scarlet mentioned.</em>


    Your Majesty, you are needed to intervene in a dispute between dukes, the maid deres, staying bowed down for a second before she stands up straight again. We understand your need to stay with the Princess, and therefore I would like to stay behind with her as added protection while you are away should you choose to leave.


    Cynthia feels surprised at the sight of the maid trying to tell the Demon King offhandedly what to do, even if she isnt directly stating it. And whats even more surprising is that the Demon King actually vanishes from the room for an instant, following which a scream echoes from somewhere else in the castle and he reappears again at the bed, saying, Its been dealt with.


    The maid blinks, showing a vague amount of surprise before she bows again and walks to the side of the room where she goes silent.


    Cynthia turns to nce at Allen, but her husband doesnt show any interest in what had just happened. Instead Cynthia finds him in a ring match with Leonidas with the two seemingly fighting over holding Scarlets hand and eventually settling on one holding her hand and the other her forearm.


    <em>How long have they been doing that?</em>


    She pauses at that thought for a second before looking at the others and finding Scarlets friends having fallen asleep at some point with the exception of Belle and Arthur, the kids lying on the ground. At least, until the maid takes it upon herself to pick them up with clouds filled with red and blue energy, says, I will be showing them to a guest bedroom, and leaves the room in an instant with them before anyone can say anything.


    Silence once again fills the room, only to shatter when the Demon King slowly says, speaking to Cynthia, Amelia, and everyone else who hade including the ones who fell asleep, This is a one time event. Should you choose toe to Tartarus again in the future, I will not be so amodating. You will be captured and held as a forceful guest in a pce far away in the Bloody Duchy to keep you out of the war.


    He turns to look at Amelia, seemingly not believing anyone else in the room to be any sort of power capable of representing their group as he finishes, Is that clear?


    Amelia nods withoutin and everyone returns their attention to Scarlet.


    <em>Please get better soon</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 79: Darkness

    Book 4: Chapter 79: Darkness


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Darkness.


    All around me, thats all I can see. Meanwhile voices continues echoing through my head almost as loud as my own thoughts. Thoughts that feel cloudy for some reason.


    Then theres the pain. Extreme pain that seems to be bypassing my Pain Diffusion skill as I float in the darkness of whatever void Im in.


    Pain that keeps me from thinking about anything beyond the pain and voices.


    <strong><em>Pride. Regain your Pride. There is nothing more important than your Pride. You deserve death without your Pride.</em></strong>


    The voices continue nearly endlessly, and over time I almost give in to them as they start to overload the pain to the point that I can think a little. Even if I cant really hear my own thoughts. Because whats the point?


    Ive never attached all that much importance to my own life. Never had much attachment to reality itself, if Im being honest. Its one of the reasons I would always just ept my death when it seemed like it wasing.


    The world itself is empty to me. There isnt much in it that I care about on a real level.


    After all, whats the point of everything? Do action A so that you can do action B to do C. There just isnt an end goal to it.


    Unless you count death, that is. And then what would the point of that be? Work all your life, maybe achieve some goals you set, and die.


    Then again, I have always enjoyed achieving goals Ive set for myself. That feeling of satisfaction whenever you achieve your goal. Even if its a rather brief feeling, its a good one.


    Probably one of the reasons I like fighting so much as a Guardian. To get that quick satisfaction of leveling up. Of growing stronger.


    But even then, whats the point?


    The voices begin to grow louder as I feel myself slipping away slightly to them.


    Ive always been great at everything Ive tried. A rather stifling thought, and one that would probably have a lot of people call me arrogant or something.


    The cold of the void slowly turns warm as I feel the pain slowly fading as the voices grow louder. And I cant help but notice just howfortable that warmth is. Not to mention the voices.


    <strong><em>Leave the restoration of honor to me. Let us restore your Pride! The Pride is all that matters.</em></strong>


    If I could just leave everything to someone else and sleep


    <strong><em>Sleeeep</em></strong>


    I feel my eyes waning close ever so slowly.


    But then I hear a voice, making me blink for a moment before I realize its more than one voices.


    Allen, Cynthia, Belle, Arthur, Aria, the others from the team. Even Gramps, Leonidas and Amelia.


    I hear all of their voices as they talk from somewhere outside of the void Im in.


    Huh. How long have they been there?


    I finally begin to notice the odd cool spots on my body. Spots that begin to wake me up a little from thefortable warmth.


    Huh. What was I just about to do?


    I try to move slightly from the difort, only to find that it just makes things even more difortable as the pain returns with a vengeance and the voices start going crazy from my snapping out of whatever was happening.


    Well thats annoying.


    Whats up with this pain though. How is it that itspletely ignoring Pain Diffusion?


    Wait. Why cant I feel any of my skills? Its like theyre all gone.


    Actually, more importantly, wasnt I fighting a lunatic? Im pretty sure I was. So why am I here in this strange void of nothingness?


    I also cant move now that I think about it.


    Why am I only slowly starting to realize all this now?


    Silence answers me. Excluding the voices in my head.


    Didnt really expect an answer, but still sad nheless to not get one.


    Did Gramps finally arrive and save me from the lunatic? Thats the only thing that would make sense.


    Unless the lunatic killed me, but that wouldnt exin everyones voices.


    Also wouldnt exin why Id hear everyone I care about from Earth alongside Gramps and Leonidas. Pretty sure theyd be at each others throats in seconds if they saw each other.


    Or rather, Gramps would have them imprisoned forever since theres no way theyd even be able to reach his throat.


    Just what happened?


    The voices continue beating at my mind, none of whom sound happy. Some of them even sound like theyre trying to tempt me into letting the Sin take over. Or rather, most seem to be doing that.


    Yeah, no thank you. If theres one thing I hate more than most other things, its losing control.


    Well, that and betrayal. I hate betrayal too.


    Oh, wait, I just remembered. What were those notifications I heard before everything went dark?


    I try to let them y, but nothing happens. No notifications greet me.


    Maybe I cant ess the System while in this void?


    Thats rather annoying.


    I try to frown, only to remember that it hurts rather badly to move and instead go still again. Then I remember what happened right before I went unconscious and I do the same thing I did then. I search inside of myself using whatever power I got then, finding that I can still do that unlike my skills.


    And what I find gives me pause.


    This is not what my blood and DNA looked like thest time I saw. Now they just look cracked? Fractured?


    Most of my DNA isnt even connected to each other anymore, with the remaining bits only a little connected but with fractures running through the connecting points.


    And even the ones that arent connected look like theyre <em>wrong </em>somehow. But I cant figure out whats wrong.


    I try very hard to hold myself back from frowning.


    Just whats going on anyways? Did I screw something up before? When I did whatever it was that I tried doing?


    <strong><em>SLEEEEEP!!!!</em></strong>


    And I wish those voices would shut up.

 Book 4: Chapter 80: The Past

    Book 4: Chapter 80: The Past


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Who knows how long passes as Im left listening to the sounds of the voices in the darkness while feeling nothing but pain. And over time, I think I even manage to get used to the pain. Which was rather unexpected.


    I also hear voices every now and then, but they arent very clear, nor are they loud. So I cant make out what theyre saying.


    Eventually I grow bored enough to focus on my fractured DNA  something I suspect is probably the reason for me being here. Wherever here is.


    Might even be in my own head for all I know. Not like I know what my head looks like.


    My thoughts pause as the voices shift for a moment, then vanish, leaving me in sweet silence.


    Until I feel images shing through my mind. Images of the past that have me clenching my fist and feeling my eyes tighten slightly despite the pain.


    Because the images are of a baby girl with gray eyes being held by the White Knight of Humanity as she crosses through a ss V Fracture. Of the Blood Cmity chasing after her while shouting. And of Amelia quickly hiding the baby somewhere while nullifying all senses of her and then returning to the Blood Cmity.


    Then the images show me the sight of the White Knight of Humanity and the Blood Cmity fighting, each using nonlethal attacks with the Blood Cmity clearly holding back to not hurt the White Knight. All the way till the White Knight uses Reverse Healing on the man, making thousands of wounds open up on his body at once, knocking him down to his knees before he eventually copses. Something she never wouldve been able to do if he wasnt holding back.


    A-Amelia the man grunts, barely managing to raise his head to look at her. Then he manages to utter onest word before falling unconscious.


    Why?


    Amelia starts crying after that as she quickly rushes to the Fracture core and shatters it, sending her mate back to Tartarus. And immediately after she rushes over to where she left the baby and brings her with her, disappearing into the night with the baby.


    With me.


    How how did the voices do that? Are they really not just voices?


    As if the first scene wasnt enough, more images begin to y out in my mind. First that of Amelia bringing me to Allen and his mixture of fear, confusion, and pleasant surprise at her offer, then Leonidass return to Tartarus and his exnation to Gramps about how he sent me to Earth, so as to not make his father hate Amelia any more than he already does. And it just continues showing me scenes from the past.


    Eventually I feel tears rolling down my cheek as the voices of my family and friendse to a halt and I feel more cold spots appearing, including a few on my faces as someone most likely wipes my tears for me. Which makes me pretty sure Im just in my mind right now unable to move or open my eyes.


    The Sin shows me scenes from when the demons first invaded Earth, when Earth had its first Guardians, and then it moves on to showing me scenes from my childhood. Mostly ones that stoke my Pride.


    Over time I grit my teeth and try as hard as I can to tell the voices and images to shut up and go away.


    But they continueing. And the only sce I manage to find is searching within myself as I try to study the fractured DNA, hoping against hope that I might be able to find a way to fix it and get myself out of here.


    <strong>The Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    Leonidas feels cold as he holds his daughters hand, unsure of anything anymore. Unsure if hes made the right decisions in his life, the wrong ones, or if he shouldve kept Scarlet close to him from the start. If letting her go back to Earth was a bad idea or a good idea.


    No matter what, he finds himself questioning every decision hes ever made.


    And the man calling himself Scarlets father kneeling next to him by Scarlets bed isnt helping. But Leonidas chooses to maturely ignore the man as if he didnt exist.


    Then tears begin to fall down Scarlets face and she shifts as if in difort, and both Allen and Leonidas immediately reach to wipe her tears, only for their hands to collide inches from her face, making them re at each other for a second. But they both return their attention to Scarlet who is more important than their squabble.


    Only to find that Amelia had already wiped her tears, the woman having taken Arkazs spot on the other side of the bed while he was away for a brief period of time to deal with his work again. Probably to be back again within a few minutes when hell be mad at her taking his spot.


    The room is absolutely silent during all of this with the only noise being that of the demons moving around the castle. Meanwhile Leonidas, Amelia, Allen, and Cynthia all stay are Scarlets side. And Belle and Arthur, two of Scarlets oldest friends who Leonidas actually doesnt mind, lie sleeping while leaning up against the end of the bed, their shoulders up against each other and their heads too.


    Eventually Amelia speaks, her voice quiet as she says, Were going to have to tell the people on Earth.


    Leonidas ignores her since it doesnt matter to him what they do about the humans, but Allen and Cynthia immediately turn to look at her with shock on their faces.


    If Scarlet vanishes for a long period of time, theyre going to question whats happening, Amelia says, her voice little more than a whisper as she stares at her daughters face, caressing Scarlets cheek with her hand. Theyll wonder if their new Princess abandoned them soon after beingbeled as their Princess. She was only supposed to be here for a week after all.


    Her words make Allen and Cynthia grow sullen, but Amelia doesnt stop speaking, Well have to do this carefully, for Scarlets sake.


    Eventually Allen and Cynthia nod their heads.


    Meanwhile Leonidas continues ignoring them, focusing entirely on his daughter as she asionally shifts with difort.


    <em>Please wake up soon, sweetie</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 81: The Global Announcement

    Book 4: Chapter 81: The Global Announcement


    <strong>Earth</strong>


    All around the world, every single tv screen, promotional billboard, and any other kind of video screen changes from whatever they were previously showing to instead show live footage from within Purples Tower. And standing at the center of the tower is the White Knight of Humanity, causing every human on Earth near a screen to pause in whatever they were doing.


    Greetings, citizens of the Republic, as you all know, I am the White Knight of Humanity, Amelia Asger, and I have an important message for you today, White deres, drawing silence from all around the world. Your Princess of Humanity, my daughter, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, has been put into aa and it is uncertain when she will wake up.


    The silence draws on for a single second before chaos erupts all around the world. Shouts echoing throughout the streets, people in their rooms falling into a silent stupor from shock, and other people dropping whatever they were holding at the dramatic change that had just underwent the entire Republic at this news.


    Then the screen changes to show a recording of the Apex Predators sleeping face as she lies down on a king-sized canopy bed, unmoving except for an asional shift of difort with pain visible on her face. And the sight of this screen immediately silences the shouting in the streets.


    Meanwhile the other Knights of Humanity and various notable and important people from the Republic share very different reactions.


    The Bloody Valkyrie grimaces, clenching her fists at the sight of the one girl on Earth who she believed to be her equal lying in aa.


    Golden Rider frowns, disliking the idea of a girl only twenty years of age fighting in the war and being the focal point of both sides, not believing someone that young should hold a responsibility so great. That they shouldnt have to. And now feeling like his thoughts were confirmed in that regard.


    Jacob R. Ashton, the Chairman of the Republics Government, frowns as he takes in the implications of this, only briefly noting the extravagant surroundings of the bed and the faint signs that the recording was taken not by human technology but by magic. Because he knows that this could either make or break moral amongst the humans. Something he knows White doesnt particrly care about and is only doing this to help Scarlet, even if she knows of the consequences of her actions.


    And Isaac Knight just turns away from the tv screen, refocusing on his book again without any care for what he had just seen beyond a mild disappointment.


    But know this, she <em>is </em>fighting, Whites voice continues to echo through the entire world. And she <em>will </eme back to us! Much stronger than before, if her past is anything to go by!


    These words start another wave throughout the world. But unlike the first wave, this one consists mostly of people asking what happened, whether shell be alright, and how it happened.


    White answers everyone almost immediately, The Princess got injured while she was fighting with a Noble demon all on her own, with no way to receive support until it was already toote. But before that, she managed to hold her own against a Noble almost at the Count rank until then, fighting against the demon with all her heart and her own life on the line!


    Whispers start to spread through the people from those feeling awed at an achievement like that. And the ones who were questioning the idea of the Apex Predator growing stronger from this realized that she truly will with achievements like that.


    If she wakes up.


    It doesnt take long before forum threads, chat groups, livestreams, and even news begin to discuss the incident with abandon, wishing Scarlet luck and giving her all their hope.


    Hope that the Princess of Humanity will wake up soon and save the humans.


    <strong>Purples Tower</strong>


    Amelia lets out a sigh of relief after seeing the reactions of the people and ending the livestream. Then she turns to Purple and nods her head, getting a brief nod back before the woman returns to her ce of mediation at the center of her tower.


    <em>Good thing Purple doesnt seem to mind me unlike the other Knights, even if she doesnt like some of my actions. Otherwise I wouldnt have been able to get her to help me do that.</em>


    The White Knight turns around and vanishes before reappearing next to the Gate in the Arctic, where she then gets permission to pass through once more, draining the Gate significantly in the process. Not that Amelia particrly cares.


    She soon finds herself back in Scarlets room within the Demon Kings castle  the only room shes allowed to be in. And just secondster, she hears the Demon Kings voice echoing in her head, <em>You will only be allowed to pass through the Gate back and forth once more after this. I will not let you run down the reality energy in the gate to let you fight on Earth. If you wish to stay with Scarlet, do so. But you will not being back more than one more time if you leave Tartarus again.</em>


    Amelia grimaces at that and nods her head, quickly deciding that shell stay for a week, and if Scarlet doesnt wake up by then, shell leave and return to the war. Then shelle back half a yearter to check on her all while getting updates from Leonidas on her condition.


    She turns to the head maid standing in the corner of the room and says, The magical camera was appreciated.


    The maid nods her head, seemingly deciding not to speak to Amelia or correct her on the correct term for the magical item.


    Amelia focuses on her daughter again, finding Allen, Cynthia, Arthur, and Belle still at her side. Meanwhile the girl herself is still shifting with obvious pain and difort.


    <em>Wake up soon, okay sweetheart?</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 82: The Pattern

    Book 4: Chapter 82: The Pattern


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    A seemingly endless amount of time passes and throughout it I cant help but feel my mind slipping a few times, almost losing to the whispers and memories  memories that had begun to repeat themselves at some point. But I always manage to pull myself back out. And over time, as I focus all of my attention on fixing the issues in my DNA that I have no idea how to fix, the pain does slowly fade a bit, and the memories and voices quiet a little as well.


    Ever since I figured out a little about what I need to do by ident. When I identally broke the fractured areas, separating my DNA further.


    An action that showed me how wrong my original prospective solution was. That I should somehow bring my DNA back together.


    What I really need to do is separate the fractured areas and finish the process I had likely started.


    So over who knows how long, ever since doing that and continuing doing that, splitting DNA strand after DNA strand, my pain has relieved a bit and the voices quieted.


    But the process is not short, leading me into an endless pattern of look at fractured DNA strand, lightly poke at the fractured part with whatever mental magic or whatever Im using to poke at it with, and eventually cleanly break the DNA from each other. Then I move onto the next strand and repeat the process.


    With who knows how many strands, even if its only a small minority of them that need fixing.


    Eventually Ipletely lose track of time. To the point that I cant tell if Ive been doing this for months or if Ive been doing it for years.


    What I do know is that Ive been doing this for a long time.


    Find fracture, poke at fracture, break fracture, find new fracture. The process just repeats endlessly.


    <strong>The Headquarters on Earth</strong>


    <strong><em>Three months after she entered thea</em></strong>


    James McCall, the General of Humanitys Military, grimaces once more as he looks at the map in front of him. One of the current battle zones with the demons.


    The map itself is absolutely covered in red areas designating battle zones controlled mostly by the demons, with very few green areas all across the Eastern continents. To the point that the frontlines of the war have been driven back closer and closer to the West end of the Eastern continent.


    <em>That girl she really was holding up a lot of the war, even as just a ss IV</em>


    James shakes his head at that, finding the very idea that a twenty-year-old girl could affect the war so heavily, Princess or not. A girl that he himself finds infuriating because of the pride she has and holds herself to, even if he knows that its partially due to his Sin of Pride.


    Also a girl he never expected he would miss until now.


    Youre sure about this? James asks his closest aide, Michelle Hardlight, a Guardian at ss IV with corruption magic.


    The woman nods her head without saying a word, her dark green hair falling over her shoulders a little in the process before she straightens up again.


    James sighs, turning away from the smaller woman as he tries hard not to put his head in his hands.


    <em>News that the demons arent sending the quota of ss V demons they were allowed by the Princesss bet and are instead sending fewer than the quota the only reason I can think of for that is that theyre saving reality energy for a stronger demon to pass through. And if thats the case</em>


    Tell every general to prepare their defenses over the next years, James deres, tightening his hand into a fist while raising his head to look at his aide again. We must prepare for a possible Demon Lord Crossing.


    Her green eyes widen slightly at that before she nods her head again and turns around to leave the room. But right before she reaches the door, James adds, And please check in with the White Knight on how her daughter is doing. As much as I hate to say it, we need her.


    The woman turns, nods her head once, and continues out of the room.


    James focuses on the map again as he sits down on the chair at the long table.


    <em>Satan is bing more active as well, and Damien is watching over the Arctic Gate the White Knight used to pass through to Tartarus. Presumably to protect it while he is lower on forces.</em>


    The General of Humanitys Military grits his teeth slightly as he thinks about the White Knights frequent trips she was taking at the start of all of this, just vanishing from Earth without a word. At least until she stopped at random once, probably due to the Demon King not wanting her to drain the Gate dry and no longer being able to tolerate it.


    During her trips, each and every one of them, the demons managed to push further and further across the battlelines under Satans guidance. Since she wasnt there to deal with the Nobles, leaving the already stretched number of ss Vs amongst the humans to deal with each one of the attacks on their own, with only Blue and Red able to fight on a battlefield like that.


    <em>At least cks been able to infiltrate Demon Isle and start assassinating a good number of their Nobles.</em>


    Silence fills the generals office for several minutes before he leans back in the chair and looks up at the ceiling, feeling utterly defeated in how this war has progressed. But what hurts him the most is that he knows the best way to start turning things around is to get the Apex Predator back.


    He didnt realize just how much her gues helped the warfront until she had left it.


    <em>Why wouldnt they help I was just too biased against her to let myself realize it</em>


    James clenches his fists so hard his nails drill into his hands, but he doesnt pay attention to that.


    Because now all he can do is whatever he can while he waits for the Princess to return to Earth.

 Book 4: Chapter 83: War

    Book 4: Chapter 83: War


    <strong>Demon Isle</strong>


    <strong><em>One year after Scarlet entered hera</em></strong>


    Satan steps through the throne room of the castle located in the old capital of the human nation of Japan, now known as Demon Isle. And as he walks, plumes of ck me shoot up from the ground, torching it slightly in the process and making the various Nobles around him tense up out of fear.


    He ignores them though, scowling all the way to the throne where he kneels down in front of it for a few seconds before turning around, having honored the Royal Family. Then he raises a hand and shoots a ball of ck mes straight at the center of the room, making it explode with a loud crackle that makes the Nobles in the room flinch.


    Amongst the types of magics, the types that can damage the soul directly are always the most feared. And even of those magics, hellfire is feared by all as the only directly offensive magic that targets the soul with every attack.


    Even death magic can only branch into the soul, or reality, of a target as a part of it.


    Hellfire can directly burn the reality of an individual, causing near-irreversible damage lest the injured have a life magic user on hand.


    And Satan knows this as he uses hellfire to directly terrify the Nobles in the hall to attention.


    The war has been progressing smoothly for the past year and we have made great progress, Satan begins, standing straight at the end of the hall in front of the throne with his arms crossed. But now we have a chance. A chance to break through the frontlines.


    His eyes narrow and a grin stretches across his face while his gaze looks out the window at the blood moon shining outside, glowing with a bright crimson light with small sparks of mes ring off of it.


    The Demon Moon is approaching, he says, feeling excitement at that knowledge. And the demons in the room all grow slightly restless with anticipation of it as well, even with their fear of Satan filling them. Satan returns his gaze back to them and finishes, And with the help of the Demon Moon, I will directly join the battlefield myself and break past their frontlines while you all attack every other fortress they have, spreading your numbers out.


    Satans grin grows even wider as he feels the thrill of the approaching battle spreading through him. The thrill of the Demon Moons light shining down, empowering the demons under it.


    A ritual skill cast by the Demon King himself centuries ago that magically alters the moon so that once a century, the Demon Moons light shall shine, granting the demons a boost of over fifty levels in power while under its light.


    <em>He may not be able to find any way to pass through the Gates himself, but His Majesty will always find a way to assist us.</em>


    Satan feels proud to be the demon in charge of the war front from Earths end, and without hesitation, he raises his fist, coating it in hellfire as he shouts, We shall win this war within the week!!! We shall return Her Highness to her true home permanently, allowing her to wake up to a peaceful time without war between the races! <em>And</em><em>we shall prove His Majesty right in choosing us to fight!!!!!</em>


    All of the demons in the throne room along with all of the demons spread across Demon Isle who managed to hear him begin roaring out in excitement, filling the entire ind with demon calls, roars, cheers, and all other sorts of noises that terrify any human anywhere near the ind. Meanwhile it immediately has Purple opening her eyes within her tower.


    But Satan doesnt care, knowing the Purple Knight would likely predict their actions.


    Because there isnt anything the humans can do to stop them, short of somehow stopping the Demon Moon from rising.


    Satan grins, now filled with pride as he thinks about how he might be able to bring the war to an end before The Reaper makes it to Earth. Along with the honor an achievement like that might bring him.


    But mostly he just wants to fight with the Knights of Humanity, not having been able to take the threebat Knights and the assassin Knight on simultaneously before without the battle turning to their favor.


    <em>Now its different. Now I will have His Majestys Light on my side.</em>


    At the same time, Satan turns to look at the Gate located not far from the castle as his mind turns to theatose Princess.


    <em>Princess Scarlet, I will make sure not to kill the White Knight or the Blue Knight, but the Red Knight will be brought to heel before I burn his soul to a crisp for daring to suggest you marry a human of all things. And the ck Knight deserves death by fire for his assassination tricks, the pest being a nuisance that I need to get rid of quickly before he festers.</em>


    Satan clenches his fist slightly, his grin fading to a scowl as the cheers and roars of the demons still echoing throughout the ind, their enthusiasm not dying down in the slightest.


    One other reason Satan wishes to deal with the war as quickly as possible, finishing it before the Princess wakes up, is to make sure that she doesnt return to the war where she may get hurt either emotionally or physically. Where she might lose a loved one or kill someone she may regret.


    <em>War isnt for the faint of heart, even for a demon. And Im sure His Majesty doesnt want her fighting against her own people.</em>


    Satans grin returns with a sadistic gleam to it, the mans thoughts returning to tearing the Red Knight of Humanitys reality apart piece by pathetic piece.


    Because the man is not worthy of his hellfire magic.


    Spread the news amongst the army! Satan deres, his voice echoing out far away from the castle. The war will truly begin in earnest tomorrow!!!


    The roars of the demons climb again in volume, but Satan just narrows his scowl in the direction of the humans.


    Where the Red Knight is located.


    The Main Headquarters of the humans.

 Book 4: Chapter 84: Planning

    Book 4: Chapter 84: nning


    <strong>The Main Headquarters of the Republics Military</strong>


    A bright purple light shines out from within the main meeting hall of the Military HQ where the Purple Knight of Humanity frowns, the light shining from her hands as she shows an image of the vision she had just had to all of the leaders of the military along with the other Knights of Humanity. A vision of the Demon Moon rising and of Satan rallying his forces for the war.


    Of Sataning personally to this very base.


    This is bad, the General of the Republics Military states, a grave tone to his voice. And Purple just lightly nods her head, wishing she could go back to her tower.


    But she cant right now. Not when the Republic is facing its worst threat yet.


    Even if the people around her are making her skin crawl due to how close they are in the cramped room.


    Knights of Humanity, a voice echoes into the room before a man Gabrielle annoyingly recognizes as the Chairman of the Republic appears in a sh of purple light indicating his space magic. I hereby request of you, on behalf of the Terran Republic to engage in directbat with Satan and rid our world of the Lord of Hellfires son.


    The man is no longer using his second persona as a government official and is instead wearing his ming purple armor, his brown hair now purple with varying different shades in it and his eyes glowing purple as well. A color that bothers Gabrielle just the slightest bit due to her own Title matching the jerks colors.


    <em>I dont like him.</em>


    Will you ept my request? Jacob, otherwise known as the Spatial Ripper, asks the five Knights gathered around the long table in the meeting hall.


    <em>Why wont he just let me live in my tower in peace?</em>


    Gabrielle sighs internally at his question, but nods her head after Amelia and Will both answer in the affirmative. Meanwhile Noah just grins, seemingly lost in thought about the uing battle with Satan.


    <em>He really does want to fight Satan, doesnt he?</em>


    Jacob turns to look at Alexander, thest one who hasnt agreed yet, just to find the man narrowing his eyes at the Chairman.


    Alexander? Jacob asks, sounding slightly trepidatious as he does so.


    Gabrielle focuses on Alexander as well, genuinely curious about what hes going to say.


    And what he actually says shocks everyone in the room, I think we should consider speaking with father about this.


    Silence fills the room for several seconds, no one in it saying a word. Gabrielle even notices Amelias mouth opening and closing like a fish.


    Then Jacob eventually breaks the silence with a short, Agreed, shocking the others even further. Because itsmon knowledge that the government and the Knight family doesnt get along at all.


    Gabrielle doesnt particrly me them though, since the Knights are the most powerful family in the entire. Even more powerful with more influence than the government itself.


    If Isaac Knight actually cared about Earth, that is.


    As it is, the Knight family patriarch doesnt care about humans or Earth at all despite his vast influence in society, so he never does anything.


    Despite the power gap between her and Isaac, Gabrielle feels slightly fearful of the man. The only man on Earth to have ever reached ss III without help from the System. And if her visions are correct, likely to reach ss IV without the help of the System within the month.


    Unlike people in the System who have to pay a toll to the System in the form of some of their mana every time they use a skill, Isaac doesnt have to pay that toll just to use his magic. And his magic isnt restrained in the way theirs is in the form of skills in the first ce.


    Hes also spent centuries studying his own magic, uncaring of whats gone on around him in the world. Three hundred years spent studying destruction and creation magic till the point that he was capable of countering null magic and beyond that.


    <em>He himself wont be able to help beyond fighting the ss IVs and maybe some of the lowest level Nobles, but if we used him to set a trap and used his resources</em>


    Gabrielle admits that the idea has merit to it.


    And out of the corner of her eye, she finds Amelia eventually nodding her head as well.


    Looks like were all agreed, Jacob deres after seeing the other Knights giving their confirmation as well. He then turns to Alexander and Amelia as he asks, Do either of you know what the monster might want in return?


    Both of the Knights shake their heads, indicating that they dont know.


    Jacob sighs before muttering, He better not ask for too much But then he shakes his head as well and focuses on the general as he says, General, please make sure everything is ready. We need to evacuate HQ lest everyone be killed in the battle merely by proximity.


    Yes, Chairman! the general exims, giving the man a salute.


    The Chairman then turns back to Alexander and repeats, Will you help in the battle, Blue Knight of Humanity?


    Gabrielle finds herself rather surprised when the Blue Knight actually nods his head without another word, not even so much as asking forpensation.


    Then she blinks as she notices something.


    <em>Is it just me, or is his face not as dead looking as normal?</em>


    She stares at him for a few seconds before eventually shrugging, deciding that she doesnt care enough about the Blue Knight to try figuring out if it was just her imagination or not.


    In that case, let us prepare for the start of the real war with the demons, Spatial Ripper deres, his eyes ring purple again. And all of the Knights nod their heads in agreement as the general returns to the room, having given orders to his men for the evacuation.


    <em>I hope I can get back to my tower again soon.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 85: The War Begins

    Book 4: Chapter 85: The War Begins


    <strong>Earth</strong>


    <strong><em>The next day</em></strong>


    Everywhere on the, humans proceed to go about their business as usual. Parents shopping, children going to school, newly minted Guardians fighting in Fractures and going to their Guardian Universities.


    But everythinges to a grinding halt when the moon all over the world  one that has been blood red for days now  finally begins to ze with an eerie ck and red me with droplets of blood seemingly falling off of the tips of the fire. And as if a fire was sparked in everyst demon on the, ck and red mes begin to lightly taste each and every demons skin without harming them in the slightest. And from those mes, droplets of blood start to fall off of every tiny me licking at the air around them, soon covering the ground in any location filled with demons all over the with blood.


    Screams echo from all over the world, but thanks to the nning of the government and the Associations, ss IV Guardians stationed all over the quickly begin to deal with any demons that make it past the Fractures, the barriers no longer responding to the demons and instead letting them pass through. Meanwhile the demons that had all gathered around the frontlines over the past couple days finally let out one synchronous roar before charging straight towards the human Guardians who meet them halfway.


    Lastly, a ball of zing hellfire enhanced by the ck and red me of the Demon Moon shoots across the sky over the demons and humans, making a beeline straight towards the Headquarters of the Republic. And within less than a minute, the ball of ck and red me stops right above arge fortress spanning several thousand meters in radius. It then turns into an oni with medium length crimson hair, glowing crimson eyes, two ck horns stretching in a narrow arc, and glowing ck and red veins covering his bare torso, armor only being on his lower half, shoulders, and hands.


    But hes not alone as above the fortress, three figures can be seen floating in the air, and not a single human aside from them can be sensed from the base itself.


    Of the three figures, one has ocean blue hair and is floating with various tentacles slowly moving around him stretching out of his back, through his medieval styled blue armor. And when his eyes lock onto the oni floating before them, they narrow, his hands turning into tentacles from his fingers up.


    Another of the three figures, a man with wild red hair and glowing red eyes, floats several meters away from the first as he grins widely at the oni with one of his arms holding a helmet to his side. A helmet that he soon raises and puts on over his head, the eye sockets of the helmet soon ring with a deep crimson light as he summons a ck and red sword coated in hellfire to his side.


    And thest of the three figures standing in the middle of the first two, a woman with long stark white hair without a hint of color, stares at the oni without any emotion on her face. Meanwhile white specks of energy appear all around her, simply absorbing anything theye across be it air, light, blood, or even fire or water from those to her sides as the woman summons a ck sword into her hands. One that is made of pure null magic despite its color, matching the ck and white medieval armor she has on and the cape blowing in the wind behind her.


    A single second passes in silence before arge dome of red and ck energy a different shade from the energy and colors of a demon, a darker and more sinister shade, forms all around them and the base, spanning several thousand meters in width. And it only takes a moment for everyone within to feel the sinister energy of the destruction magic filling the dome. One that is blocking a fifth of the Demon Moons light. And at the same time, destruction magic can be sensed from those within the dome from every battlefield across Earth, even if the source of the magic isnt powerful enough to badly harm a ss V.


    The oni grins and raises his voice, So you brought your little monster to the fight, did you? Maybe Ill be able to capture the disgusting creature this time.


    Silence fills the space as none of the Knights feel any urge to defend the patriarch of the Knights despite two of them being his children. Then Satan frowns as he realizes the man in question isnt within the dome.


    Coward, he states, his frown soon turning into a scowl. But it doesntst long because when his gaze turns back to the Red Knight of Humanity, it turns into a bright smile as he deres, Red Knight, we meet on the battlefield again atst! Then his eyes narrow. But this time you wont be making it out alive.


    ck and red mes begin to gush out of the man along with blood sourced from the mes, enhanced by the Demon Moon whose light still manages to shine through the destruction magic dome a little bit, the source of the dome not being powerful enough to block most of the light. And in response to the mes, ck and red mes gush out of the Red Knight as well, along with a pure white light from the White Knight, and torrents of water from the Blue Knight.


    Then shadows start to fill the dome from the ck Knight who is hidden from view at the same time as a bright purple sh thatbats against the Demon Moons light even more, blocking a third of it while letting the remaining light empower the oni.


    Let the true war of the speciesmence!!! Satan shouts, his voice echoing out of the dome and all the way through to the battlefields where his demons are interlocked with the humans. And all across the, demons can be heard shouting the very same thing as Satan shouts with a wave of hellfire directly towards the Knights.


    For the Demon King!!! For His Majesty!!!

 Book 4: Chapter 86: The Conflicted Spectator

    Book 4: Chapter 86: The Conflicted Spectator


    <strong>The Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    Arkaz sits on his throne with an apathetic look on his face as he watches the screen in front of him showing the events going on at the headquarters of the humans military. As the Knights and Satan sh, creating absolute chaos all around them. ck and red fire torching anything in the dome, water rushing to put out the fire and only managing to put out parts of it, white light erasing everything it touches, shadows swallowing whatever they envelop whole, and purple lightbatting with Arkazs own blood red Demon Light. A skill he had created in order to empower his demon forces, imbuing it into the moon itself through a ritual skill.


    But no matter how much destruction Arkaz watches, he cant bring himself to care about it at all. Not even when he sees Satan beginning to slowly push back the Knights even with the humans monster on their side helping.


    Meanwhile various Noble demons, all of the duke or duchess rank, kneel around the throne room, not a single one of them willing to move an inch out of fear of the Demon King taking it as a slight and killing them in an instant with a wave of his hand. Because it wouldnt be the first time hes done that in the past year since his granddaughter had entered hera, and it wouldnt be thest.


    Silence fills the throne room with the only sound being that of the battle from the screen, but none of the Nobles in the room dare even lift their heads to watch it. And Arkaz just ignores them entirely as he apathetically watches the current pseudo leader of the demon forces on Earth fight with the Knights.


    <em>At this rate he may very well beat them.</em>


    Arkaz isnt sure how he feels about that. Because it would make things way too easy on him with his granddaughter still being in hera and unable to help the humans. And that alone burns at his pride.


    Time passes and the battle continues, asionally shifting direction with the Knights pushing back at Satan. But with the power of the Demon Light shining down from the Demon Moon backing him, Satan always pulls it back around on them. Meanwhile Amelias strongest skill cant touch him due to the astronomical mana price it would cost for her to erase him from existence.


    But she does manage to erase a concept from existence in some locations within the dome. Something that Arkaz notices Satan having missed entirely before the man ends up falling into a location where gravity doesnt exist, giving Blue and Red the chance to attack him, distracting him from a blow from ck.


    Satan always manages to recover whenever one of these traps is pulled though, entirely thanks to the Demon Light.


    Arkaz turns his gaze onto his granddaughter, briefly noting that the Demon Light is strengthening her as well. Probably because she has far more demon genes now than human genes.


    And right when hes about to turn back to watch the battle again, he notices her shifting slightly, making him continue watching her with his brows furrowed.


    <em>The Demon Light is it affecting her progress on restoring herself?</em>


    Arkaz watches his granddaughter as she asionally shifts around ufortably for a bit before returning his gaze to the screen and deciding that the Knights and Satan arent going to be finishing with their battle any time soon. So he waves his hand, making the screen shift to show the other human bases and frontline warzones all across the continent, where demons are pushing through the human forces with rtive ease, only slowed down by the destruction magic used by the monster.


    <em>It looks like the war might just end while shes unconscious after all</em>


    The Demon King feels regret at that thought. But he also knows that this is a good thing in the end, even if his pride is burning at him for it. Even if he knows his granddaughter would be pissed off at him for it.


    Out of nowhere though, a bright golden-white light starts shining from various ces all over the warzones across the continent. And Arkaz immediately recognizes those lights as being creation magic.


    <em>The monsters at it again?</em>


    The creation magic soon solidifies into clockwork soldiers, each being at least ss I in strength, many being ss II. And they number in the billions, sending a flood of them straight at the demons all over the world.


    <em>He really knows how to make a mess of things, but I cant see him interfering anymore after this. Its just not that bastards style.</em>


    Arkaz barely knows the man known as Isaac Knight. The only instance he had met him was when Isaac entered Tartarus on a research trip during the very first Fracture to appear between the twos. And at that point, Arkaz was too busy trying to figure out what was going on to pay much attention to the strange anomaly who he couldnt even tell if was human or not thanks to his magic.


    <em>Eclipse magic is frightening even if hes still only nearing ss IV in power.</em>


    The Demon King continues watching the battles across Earth for some time before turning his attention to Tartarus again when a duke shakingly raises his head, making Arkaz immediately ask, What is it?


    All of the other dukes and duchesses tense at his words, feeling a shiver of fear rush down their spines. A fear so instinctive that if they werent all at least a thousand years old, then they wouldve run in an instant.


    Y-Your Majesty, I have just received news from Damien, the duke deres. The undead are now marching across the ice and he wishes to know if he has permission to-


    He does not, Arkaz deres, not even letting the duke finish. Tell the duke that he is to remain standing guard over the Gate.


    The duke who gave the report shivers in fright from Arkazs words, but Arkaz returns his attention to the screen again, uncaring of the mans plight as the duke says, Y-yes Your Majesty. Your will be done.


    Before Arkaz can focus on the battle between Satan and the Knights again though, he notices another strange movementing from Scarlet.


    <em>Did her lips just quirk upwards ever so slightly?</em>


    Arkaz keeps his attention locked on her, but after several minutes decides he mustve been imagining it and turns his attention back to the screen.


    <em>I hope she wakes up soon.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 87: Boredom and Hell

    Book 4: Chapter 87: Boredom and Hell


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Out of nowhere amidst the seemingly endless process of find fracture, poke at fracture, break fracture, and find more fractures, I feel a strange sense of power filling me up. One that energizes me, makes it easier to break the fractures, and overall makes the pain fade a little along with the voices, leaving me feeling a bit confused.


    In the end though I dont look the gift horse in the mouth, instead focusing solely on separating my DNA.


    I took a tiny break earlier to check and found that most of my DNA by now is finished separating, but by now Im so mentally exhausted that I asionally lose consciousness even in theatose state Im in. Something I didnt realize was possible.


    This energizing feeling helps push me forwards though, past the mental exhaustion as I try to make that onest push to finish this damned process.


    I have no idea how long its been since my battle with the Noble that left me in this state, but I am certain that its been way too long. And I cant just keep lying down here doing nothing while everyone else is fighting.


    Not to mention that I still owe that Noble a slow death for what happened, even if I already know that hes been punished by Gramps, from what Ive overheard while in this state.


    At least I started to be able to make out what people were saying around me at some point, around when I was halfway done fixing my DNA.


    It wouldve been hellishly boring otherwise.


    Actually, scratch the wouldve been. It has been hellishly boring.


    After a few more seconds pondering over what the strange boost in power might be, I decide to just return all of my focus to the task at hand.


    Getting myself out of this damneda.


    It shouldnt be much longer now.


    <strong>The Republics Military Headquarters</strong>


    Amelia grimaces as she is sent flying across the dome by a hellfire empowered punch dealt by Satan before shends with a painful cough of white blood. But she quickly drags herself back to her feet with a hand over her gut where the punchnded, nullifying the leftover hellfire there in the process.


    The White Knight nces over at ck, finding him with an emotionless look on his face as he holds his limp arm, seemingly having difficulty moving. Meanwhile the Blue Knight pants in exhaustion as he regenerates three more tentacles in his massive kraken form spanning nearly a dozen meters in height.


    Unlike the other three, the Red Knight is actually in the best situation simply due to his own use of hellfire partially countering Satans. A fact that gets on Amelias nerves.


    But not as much as the sight of Satan grinning at the lot of them with hellfire zing all around him and small amounts of blood still dripping from the mes, seemingly perfectly fine despite the many hits the Knights managed tond on him.


    <em>Fucking demons and their inherent superiority over humans and the damned Demon Moon too.</em>


    Amelia briefly ponders over how Scarlet wouldve probably enjoyed the Demon Moon, but her thoughts immediately return to the battle again when she feels Satans attention turning towards her as spears of hellfire appear around him.


    Amelia Asger, birth mother of the Princess, you shall be spared for that status alone, Satan says, a smirk stretching across his face as he sends the hellfire spears towards her, but you will be punished first.


    The White Knight creates various spears of white null energy and sends them flying straight at the spears of hellfire in return, but her exhaustion makes her miss some of them, leading to some of the spears of hellfire striking directly at her. She lets out a scream of pain and falls back down to the ground, following which Satan summons a sword of hellfire in his hand and blocks a knife of shadows held by ck. And immediately after that he swipes another de straight upwards, cutting all the way through a tentacle sent his way by Blue.


    All whileughing the entire time. Even when Red sends a wave of hellfire directly at him.


    A wave that does little more than make the mans already red skin glow slightly more red, proving the mans resistance towards hellfire being even greater than Reds. But before Satan can say anything to belittle him, Red appears right in front of him with his deing straight down towards Satans head.


    Amelias eyes widen in shock when Satan suddenly glows even brighter with more blooding out of the ck and red mes from the Demon Moon, and pulls his head back to then m it back forwards, smashing the sword back with his own horns. Then he moves in a blur and disengages from ck and sends him flying with a kick, grabs Red by the arm and throws him into the flying ck, and ducks down to avoid a tentacle before grabbing that as well and sending Blue flying to join them.


    <em>What the fucking hell is this bullshit?!</em>


    But to Amelias horror, as she tries to climb to her feet, feeling pain all over her body from the hellfire spears that did a number on her, Satan just floats up into the air and creates a massive ball of hellfire above his arms, feeding it with the ck and red mes coating his body by the Demon Moon. And without giving any time to react, he drops both of his arms, sending the massive ball of hellfire down to crash into the three Knights in a massive explosion that destroys everything in the dome and even causes cracks to appear on the dome for a second before it shatters entirely.


    All four of the Knights in the dome let out cries of pain, meanwhile Amelia senses Purple teleporting several kilometers away to avoid the attack entirely from her original ce right outside of the dome.


    <em>Were</em>


    Amelia coughs out a mouthful of blood, finding that the mans fireball purposefully only hit her at partial strength as if trying to spare her any chance of dying. And at the same time, Satan bursts outughing as the air all around them is filled with ck ash and ck and red embers floating in the air.


    Try all you like, your level advantage means nothing against me and the Demon Kings power!! Satans voice echoes out through the area.


    <em>going to lose.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 88: A Spark to the Flame

    Book 4: Chapter 88: A Spark to the me


    <strong>Scarlets Room in the Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    Raiden Akuma stands at the edge of Scarlets room with her hands held neatly in front of her and her eyes closed, her nine tailspletely stationary behind her, merged so that they appear to be only a single tail as a matter of convenience. And she continues standing in silence as she listens to the ongoing events within the throne room, uncaring about whether or not she might draw Arkazs ire. Because she knows he would never harm her for a matter as simple as eavesdropping. Not when shes been serving as his head maid for years upon years now, and not when her mother is the n leader of one of the seven ns.


    After several seconds of eavesdropping, she frowns ever so slightly, making a perfect mental image of the screen the Demon King is looking at showing the demon forces finally beginning to push past the clockwork golems made by the monster of the humans. Showing the humans beginning to lose the battle, and therefore the entire war.


    And showing the Knights very nearly defeated, ck, Blue, and Red all lying on the ground struggling to get up while White barely manages to stand with her hand covering her gut, her hairpletely unruly and one eye squeezed close from a major burn that runs partially into it.


    <em>This</em>


    Akuma opens her eyes and nces at Scarlet, feeling a strange emotion running through her mind. One simr to her usual Greed making her want to y with the young girl as if she were her own little sister or child, but still different.


    A feeling that has her unsure. One she has never felt before.


    <em>I want to</em>


    She takes a step away from the wall closer to the bed before ncing back in the direction of the throne room, briefly noticing the Demon Kings attention turning to her. And when she notices his brief curiosity, the man not showing any indication that he rejects her current line of action, she focuses on Scarlet again and steps through the room, still maintaining her perfect posture and mannerisms.


    Then when she reaches the bed, she ys a screen showing the current events on Earth and says, Princess Scarlet, humanity will fall today if you do not wake up.


    Scarlet twitches at that but doesnt show much other reaction.


    <em>Hmm a little half-truth couldnt hurt.</em>


    Princess Scarlet, your friends may very well be in danger on Earth, as is your mother, Akuma states, telling only a half-truth.


    But Scarlet clearly doesnt know that as she begins to shift as if in extreme difort, the ck and red mes dancing across her body and the blood dripping from it growing more active as the mes grow and more blood drips, coating the bed. Then bright light shines from several random points on her body where Akuma suspects the girl is fixing her DNA, most of which being in her extremities. And the lights slowly begin to dim as well.


    <em>Looks like my job is done. She should now be using her Sin to control the Demon Light.</em>


    Akuma bows slightly towards the bed, then towards the Demon King who is smiling in the direction of the room, and then returns back to her corner of the room where she closes her eyes and retakes her original position again.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>A few moments ago</em></strong>


    I focus all of my attention on splitting my DNA, determined to finish it while I still have this boost in power. But out of nowhere, I hear a voice speaking. One that I unconsciously fear from my time with the kitsune.


    <em>Princess Scarlet, humanity will fall today if you do not wake up,</em> Akuma says, making me pause for a second in my task at hand. I then continue pushing forwards again with more urgency.


    I dont know why shes telling me this, but if theres one thing I know about Akuma, its that she <em>never </em>lies. Or at least, shes never lied to me.


    Although she has told half-truths.


    I push myself to separate my DNA as quickly yet still carefully as possible.


    Then I hear her voice again and freeze in ce.


    <em>Princess, your friends may very well be in danger on Earth, as is your mother,</em> Akuma states, her strictly polite yet ambiguous voice echoing in my mind. And the moment I hear it, I feel something snap, along with the sound of my Sin of Pride shouting louder than ever before in my mind.


    <strong>DO NOT LET OTHERS TAKE WHAT IS UNDER YOUR PROTECTION!!!!</strong>


    And for the first time ever, I agree with it.


    A shattering sound echoes in my mind as I feel a wave of power flood me along with a wave of heat to match it. Theres also a strange sensation as if my body is getting soaked in some sort of liquid, but I ignore that sensation as I focus on the power and begin shattering the fractured boundaries between strands of DNA back to back at a speed several dozen times faster than before.


    I dont know what the hell is going on out there, but I will <em>not let </em>them die!!!


    Emotions Ive never really felt before fill me from head to toe as memories of times Ive spent with them  memories I didnt care too much about before but now feel are important  fill my mind. And along with those memories, I feel a burning sense of Pride. One driving me to protect all those I consider my pack. My kin.


    And as if driven by my Sin, the power I feel flooding me grows even stronger, finally making me realize what it is.


    The only thing that is fed this strongly by a demons Sin.


    Demon Light.


    For the first time since I fell into thea, I feel my lips quirking up to form a full grin as I push through shattering fracture after fracture between my DNA strands.


    Time to finish this.


    Ive been asleep for long enough.

 Book 4: Chapter 89: Blood Fall

    Book 4: Chapter 89: Blood Fall


    <strong>Earth</strong>


    All around the Earth, demons and humans sh amongst each other, ughtering the other without reservations. Whether through magic, summoned creatures and objects, their bare ws and fists, or any other method they can find, the smell of blood fills the entire world. Demons emerging from Fractures, breaking past the barriers and into the cities thanks to their Kings Demon Light, more demons flooding the warzones and breaking past the human frontlines, and shes between ss V demons all over the ripping up the terrain around them with abandon.


    Screams echo from all corners of the world from both Guardian and demon alike as blood fills thends. And amidst the chaos, one demon stands tall albeit with some exhaustion showing on his face and posture in the middle of a devastatednd whose previous biome is now unidentifiable. Now all that can be seen of thend are random pools of water, scorched earth all around with an asional ck me still flickering on the ground, random portions of thend seemingly having vanished without a trace, and pools of shadow to apany the water.


    All with blood soaking the ground for as far as the eye can see.


    Meanwhile four of the five Knights of Humanity lie beaten on the ground in various states all over thend, with the fifth having retreated far enough away that all she can do is grimace at the spectacle.


    Soon enough, Satansughter echoes throughout the battle-tornnd as the man spreads his arms out with a look of glee on his face and shouts, This war is over!!! Then he lowers his gaze again, narrowing it on the Red Knight of Humanity who is currently lying on the ground with the bones in his shoulders and knees shattered with holes running directly through him. How about I start with the filthy little copycat?


    Satan slowly floats downwards to the ground with a trail of ck and red mes still fueled by the Demon Light silently flowing behind him while dripping blood. And once he reaches the Red Knight of Humanity, he simply reaches down for the man whose ring face hasnt been weathered at all despite his injuries and grabs him by the neck, lifting him into the air.


    All of these years, you were there, taunting me the entire way, Satan says, his voice a mere whisper now as he holds the Red Knight of Humanity in the air by the throat, feeling a rush of glee at the thought that he can finally kill him with but a mere clenching of his fists. Yet I was never able toe out and deal with you without your little Knightly friends around to stop me. A grin stretches across his face. But now? Nows different.


    The oni slowly begins to clench his fist, lightly digging his ws into the Knights neck and drawing blood in the process. Now I have you in my clutches, and you wont be enjoying a slow death.


    Noahs eyes widen with realization before Satan sends a flood of hellfire straight into the wounds on Noahs neck, making the man let out a bone-chilling scream that has the other Knights flinching at the pain filling it. And the scream continues echoing out as Satans hellfire gradually, in a controlled manner, burns away at the Red Knight of Humanitys body and reality.


    While Noah is screaming, Satan turns his gaze towards the other Knights, stating, While Im not allowed to permanently harm or kill the Blue or White Knights, his gaze locks onto ck, the rest of you are fair y.


    Then he just continues to burn the Red Knight gradually from the inside all while making sure the man stays alive throughout the process.


    Out of nowhere, the Demon Moon above them shes once, then twice, and then a third time.


    Satans grin grows wider as he slows down in his act of burning the Red Knight and shouts, Its finally time! The time when the Demon Moon is at its highest!


    Above them, the Demon Moon, resting high at the center of the sky, begins to brighten until the crimson glow of the moon fills the entire regardless of obstacles blocking it. And along with the light, drops of blood begin toe from the moon at a faster pace, with even more drops forming in the air all over the and turning into a rain of blood.


    The end is nigh!! Satan deres, his voice containing more than a little glee in it as he and every other demon on both Tartarus and Earth feel the effects of the Demon Light growing significantly if only for this brief period of time while the Demon Moon is at its highest point. Including theatose girl lying within the Demon Kings Castle.


    The Knights of Humanity all show real fear on their faces, with the exception of Blue whocks the ability to feel most of that emotion beyond a small amount, as they gaze up at the Demon Moon high above, blood raining down all around them. However, Purples eyes begin to shine with a faint purple light, making her widen them before opening her terminal and quickly contacting someone.


    Then, just a few minutester while Satan is still toying with the Red Knight of Humanity, a loud thunderp echoes in the area, following which a storm of red lightning starts thundering all around them.


    Satan raises his head to look at the red lightning before asking the air, You do understand that you stand no chance against me, much less other ss Vs, Monster of Humanity? Why bother with this?


    Isaac doesnt answer, the man neither being within the vicinity nor caring about the onis words.


    Purple nces back at her terminal and smiles at the words, I will buy the time you requested, but one million credits will be charged to your ount after this.


    Right when the red lightning begins to strike at Satan in order to distract him, a bright sh of red and ck light shines out of the Demon Kings Castle on Tartarus. Out of a single extravagant bedroom.


    As the Apex Predator opens her eyes for the first time in over a year.

 Book 4: Chapter 90: Awake

    Book 4: Chapter 90: Awake


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Thest push I needes in the form of a random jump in power from the Demon Light, making me assume that the moon just hit its peak. And as soon as I finish snapping thest fracture, my eyes shoot open and I find myself staring at the ceiling for a single second before everything scatters and I find my body separating into nothing but blood. Meanwhile several dings echo in my head from notifications, but I ignore them all and immediately move out of the room by flying through the air in the form of nothing but glowing red blood.


    Ipletely ignore every demon I find as I rush through the air for a while until I find a ss IV Fracture and scatter myself into droplets of blood that mix into the blood rain. Then I sneak straight into the ss IV Fracture and onto Earth, not even stopping to question how Im able to pass through without the help of a demon now.


    After I pass through the Fracture, I pause for a moment to take in my surroundings, finding myself to be in a random city on Earth. So I quickly kill all of the demons surrounding me in an instant before rushing off through the air as fast as I can towards the frontlines. And as I fly through the air, I finally take a moment to look at my notifications and other System Messages since I dont have anything else to do while flying.


    Although I cut out some of the not important messages because they just flood my mind with unimportant things. Like levelingmon rarity skills and a massive flood of kills.


    <strong>{Five hundred Skill Points are awarded for surviving breaking past System Restraints and forcefully learning the Blood Maniption and Blood Transformation achievement-locked skills. Do not do this again. This is your only warning. The price of the achievement-locked skills was taken directly from the System, leaving it unnecessary for you to spend Skill Points on them.}</strong>


    <strong>{System Restraints have been reapplied to the User.}</strong>


    <strong>{Three hundred Skill Points are awarded for surviving in a fight against a ss V while at ss IV.}</strong>


    <strong>{Two hundred Skill Points are awarded for surviving a major wound to your reality.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred and fifty Skill Points are awarded for ughtering over one hundred thousand creatures in a single battle.}</strong>


    <strong>{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x2500 (Capped)</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 851. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 986. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 21.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 25.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 27.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Pain Diffusion has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 25.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 27.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Nullification has leveled up to level 16.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Nullification has leveled up to level 19.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Rain of Blood has leveled up to level 14.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Rain of Blood has leveled up to level 17.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 27.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Regeneration has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    That is a lot of System Messages. And those two new skills sound really good just by the name alone. Although Im pretty sure theyre what Ive been using to fly through the air in the form of blood.


    Which makes me wonder how Im thinking right now without a physical brain, but I guess Ill just leave that exnation to its magic and leave it at that.


    I continue letting the notifications flow, only half reading most of them since theyre mostly just notifications telling me about requirements being met and requirements that still need to be met to get Mythic and Title-Bearing Mythic skills. But since they arent directly useful for me, I ignore them for now, leaving them on the backburner to check out after this is over as I fly through the air past the ocean.


    Considering the massive amount of Skill Points that I have right now, I go ahead and spend all of it before arriving, raising Gradual Corruption Nullification to level thirty using 520 SP, raising Blood gue to level thirty with 705 SP, Crimson Overdrive to level thirty with another 520 SP, and Bloody Thorns and Blood Thirst to level thirty with another 1410 SP. All totaling to 3155 SP, leaving me with 495 SP remaining.


    Im rather surprised by how many demons in that army were high enough level to actually give me SP, since generally only demons at a certain level below me give me SP. I also didnt realize there was a cap for the amount of SP you can get in a single battle.


    Never killed that many higher-leveled demons in one fight before after all.


    After thinking for a moment I decide to bring both Blood Shadow and Blood Retribution to level 20, spending another 360 SP in the process.


    Which leaves me with 135 SP remaining. And after another nce at the notifications, specifically one of them, I decide to leave it be and not use the rest right now. Because upgrading a skill will reset it back to level 1, and even a skill of that rarity at level one would be worse than the current skill at the maxed level. And I need the skill for this.


    I continue flying across the ocean until I arrive at the maind of the Eastern continent, feeling exhausted for some reason despite not having a body right now. Probably due to holding this transformation for so long.


    So after making it back to the maind, I gather all of the blood making up my form and merge it back together, soon reforming my body as it was before. Albeit with a lot more power after I distribute my free points from all those level-ups.


    Then, after quickly checking my armor and fortunately finding it on my body as it should be, I transform into my quadrupedal beast form and begin charging off through thend while enhancing my hearing to the max,pletely uncaring of the very minimal amount of pain I feel from it after dealing with reality damaging pain.


    It doesnt take me long to find Satan with my hearing that can now span half an entire continent in range, but what I hear along with it surprises me.


    Isaacs fighting him? Thats unexpected.


    I immediately begin rushing in that direction, breaking the sound barrier in my charge.


    As I run though, I cant help but wonder about something. Something thats been bothering me for a while now.


    Where the heck is Tar?

 Book 4: Chapter 91: Arrival and Challenge

    Book 4: Chapter 91: Arrival and Challenge


    <strong>The In-Between</strong>


    This meeting is now over, King Oberon deres as he and everyst one of the princes and princesses of the fae float in the In-Between, in the Void, right in front of arge breach where void creatures are starting to make their way out and into the void. But as they are merely the bottom feeders of the void creatures, they avoid the group of Royal Fae without hesitation.


    Tar feels anxious as he awaits the final words his father gives, wanting more than nothing to return to check on the war between the demons and the humans, since thest time he checked, the humans were losing badly.


    A couple seconds pass as the Fae King looks over the royals before he states, Make sure to inform all of your contracted partners of this news. You are now dismissed.


    Without any hesitation, Tar immediately returns to Earth where he was before his father called for the fae royals. And what he finds is a wastnd in the ce of Republics Military Headquarters, with the Knights all defeated and Satan fighting to get to the Red Knight, who is being protected by crimson lightning. Crimson lightning that Tar cant figure out the source of.


    Tar bounces back and forth in the air, wishing he could help somehow. But he knows that if he were to get too close to the battle, even if Satan noticed him before his magic vaporized Tar, all Satan would likely do is send Tar to the demons for his own safety.


    He wouldnt stop the fighting.


    <em>Please wake up soon Scarlet!</em>


    Ever since she entered hera, Tar has felt lost. And if it werent for Amelia asking Tar if he wanted to go with her while waiting for Scarlet to wake up, he probably wouldve still been at her bedside, lost in his own weakness. Weakness that allowed his contracted partner to get hurt so badly her own soul was almost ripped apart.


    His own failure to get past the lunatics barrier and contact the Demon King sooner.


    Tar continues watching the battle, hoping against hope that <em>something </em>might save the Knights. That <em>something </em>might save the humans before the demons fully win the war.


    Hes already felt his contract with Scarlet weakening over the past year thanks to the reality damage she took, even if its still holding on and merely needs a bit of her mana given to him willingly to repair. And now he has to sit by and watch as what shes been fighting for, for a long time nowes crashing down while she herself isnt even capable of helping.


    Tar feels tears beginning to form in his eyes. Something he didnt even realize was possible.


    Satan continues striking blow after blow against the crimson lighting, gradually pushing the massive force of weaker magic back until it can no longer do anything and simply vanishes, the source apparently deciding to pull back. Then the oni directs his full undistracted attention to Red as he grabs the Red Knight by the throat and proceeds to burn him alive with his hellfire, keeping him alive in the process.


    But Tar can tell it wontst long just by how Reds voice is growing weaker in his screams.


    Everything around him feels like its beginning to slow down to a halt as Tar watches the hope of humanity begin to die. Because he knows that if even one of the Knights dies, especially one of thebat focused ones, humanity will lose any sliver of a chance it had of winning against the demons.


    The other Knights all try to rush to save him now despite their own injuries making it incredibly difficult for any of them to move.


    Even Tar begins to move towards him in a feeble attempt to stop Satan. But he pauses almost instantly when he feels a faint resonanceing from his bond.


    Then a loud howl echoes out through the area, stopping everything and everyone in their tracks.


    Silence fills the area as everyone looks around. Satan even stopped burning the Red Knight in the process while the other Knights all stopped moving towards him.


    No one hears anything for several seconds before finally, a sonic boom echoes through the area and a wave of wind along with it as arge beast appears standing in the middle of the devastatednd. One that has tears flowing down Tars face even faster than before.


    But these tears are happy ones.


    The beast is three meters in height and four in length, with ck fur streaked in crimson. Meanwhile red and ck lightning arcs across its body, its eyes glowing a zing red as it lets out a low snarl.


    As <em>she </em>lets out a low snarl.


    Satan stares at her in shock along with the other Knights, but Tar just reaches out through their bond now that theyre close enough, instantly feeling Scarlet reaffirm their bond by somehow giving him mana without even touching him.


    Thats when he notices a tiny drop of blood leaving his body and returning to Scarlet.


    The oni t out drops the Red Knight of Humanity, making him fall down to the ground while letting off red and ck smoke. Unconscious, but still alive.


    Then Satans face takes a turn as he sighs at the same time that Scarlet deactivates her transformation and returns to her human form, somehow floating up into the air to a point several meters away from Satan at the same elevation. And Satan mutters, Guess I have no choice.


    Tar frowns at his words, only for Scarlet to speak, Did you have fun ying around during my nap?


    And Tar can truly feel the anger behind her words. Anger hes never heard from her before. Not at this degree.


    To Tars surprise, Satan just looks up into the sky with something akin to resignation, then he looks at Scarlet again and says, His Majesty suspected something like this might happen.


    Oh? Scarlet utters, clenching and unclenching her ws slightly in the process as if having difficulty controlling her anger. And what did dear old <em>Grandpa </em>say about this?


    Tars eyes widen in surprise at Scarlets usage of the word Grandpa instead of her usual Gramps.


    <em>Oh shes he pissed.</em>


    If the Princess awakens and arrives before the moon falls and thest drop of blood is shed, she is bound to be a lot stronger than she was before hera, Satan says as if he were quoting the Demon King. So you are you give her a test of your own making. And should she pass this test, Satans eyes narrow. You are to withdraw all forces back for the time being and not strike again until one month after the assault.


    Silence fills the area as shock spreads to everyst person in the devastatednds. Even Scarlet shows extreme shock at the order.


    The silence is eventually broken when Satan states, no longer quoting the Demon King, And I have a test prepared just for you should you wish to challenge it. His eyes narrow. But know this. Should you challenge my test, I will not save you even if you are to die as is the oni way.


    Scarlet stares at him for several seconds before asking, The test?


    Satan grins and spreads both of his arms out as he raises his voice, his words echoing all throughout the continent, throughout the warzones, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, should you manage to defeat a ss V demon whose exact level is of your own choosing, then the demon forces will withdraw and not attack the humans even if a Fracture appears on Earth for the period of one month!!! His grin grows wider and he narrows his eyes. Do you ept?!


    No one says a single word for nearly ten seconds before, to Tars and Amelias horror, and even Satans own horror, Scarlet opens her mouth and answers, I ept.

 Book 4: Chapter 92: Hope

    Book 4: Chapter 92: Hope


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I find it more than a little amusing to see the horror on Satans face at my answer, the man obviously not having expected me to actually ept the offer. But then again, I guess thats normal considering Im a ss IV against a ss V.


    They seem to be underestimating just how much stronger Ive gotten though.


    All of my legendary skills have significantly climbed in level, even if none of the purchased ones are anywhere near max level unlike the inherent and achievement-locked ones. And what matters the most in battle arent levels or even sses.


    Its skills.


    Just that no one, not even the Demon King, ever had powerful enough skills to challenge ss V at ss IV.


    But no one ever had Apex Predator and an entire lineup of thirteen legendary skills at levels as high as I have. Nor did they have a freehand skill like Blood Maniption, or an Elemental Shifting skill like Blood Transformation.


    <strong>You have </strong>Tar mutters, reminding me that our bond reaffirmed as his conflicting sounding voice echoes in my head.


    Dont worry Tar, Im not being reckless. I know exactly what Im doing.


    Just to sate some of his worry, I open my status for him to see. And he immediately freezes and gapes at it when he does.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator</strong> <strong>Age: 21</strong><strong>Level: 986</strong><strong>SP: 135</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 2,994</strong><strong>Mental: 2,993</strong><strong>Magical: 2,993</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 2</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 1</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 2</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 13,884,975.95/ 13,884,975.95</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 27</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 25</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 19</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 17</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Empowerment</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood ws</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Pull</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Chains</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Armor</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Manifestation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Sacrifice</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Boil</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bank</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Blood Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Maniption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Aura</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Absorption</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Sanguine Effect</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Life Sense</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Also, I unlocked another mythic skill, but this one isnt a Title-Bearing one.


    Tar stays frozen for a while as Satan snaps out of his stupor and exims, Are you serious?! I wont be assisting you, even if you die!


    I nod my head in response with a smile, answering rather simply, I know.


    Satan grits his teeth with a look of panic on his face, but he doesnt say anything else. Probably because he knows he cant really say anything else.


    Im betting he made this challenge thinking I wouldnt ept it since I could actually die from it, leaving me stuck to watch as he finishes off the Knights and captures humanity as a whole. But now he probably thinks Im gonna end up dying here because of a challenge he made.


    Sorry but also not sorry.


    I nce at Amelia before looking at Tar. Then I focus on the sounds of the remaining screams I hear all around the continent despite the fighting having halted upon Satans challenge.


    He deserves more than just being afraid of identally leading his own Princess to her death.


    Several awkward seconds pass as Tar begins clinging onto my neck, havingnded on my shoulder. But no one says anything during that time. Not even Tar. He just clings onto me like his life depended on it.


    Poor guy.


    I stroke his fur, making him tense up for a second before rxing.


    Eventually Satan starts speaking again, albeit through gritted teeth and with what sounds like more than a little difficulty, What level Noble do you wish to fight.


    It didnt take me long to do the math, and Ill have an easier time against a demon at level 1086 than I would a demon at level 1001 simply due to Apex Predator giving me a +100% stat boost against the level 1086 rather than the +50% boost against a level 1001.


    So with that in mind, I answer with a rather sinister smile, Give me a demon at least at level 1086.


    Scarlet!!! I hear Amelia shout along with ck. Even Purple raises her voice, which is more than a little surprising.


    Meanwhile Satan gets a dead look in his eyes.


    Serves him right.


    He doesnt even try to convince me otherwise this time as he snaps his fingers, following which several seconds pass in silence. Then a zing ck and red fireball appears over the horizon and quickly arrives, revealing a Noble demon I really wasnt expecting. Almost as if hes trying to make things easier for me.


    <strong>|Atropa gelDrana  Nightshade  Level 1089|</strong>


    The demon that he reveals is a few levels higher than I stated but still close enough that I dont care. Its probably because there wasnt a demon exactly at level 1086 within the army or something, so theres no use mentioning it. But the demon in question is actually a summoner demon.


    I smirk.


    Hes trying to help me out now just to save both his life and my own. Since if its a summoner, then I can build up Blood Thirst stacks. Stacks that are far more powerful now than they were before thanks to the level being twice the level it was before.


    With those stacks along with the +100% boost from Apex Predator I could actually match the ss V in stats, albeit only barely.


    No! I wont let this happen! I hear Amelia shout, only for some sort of muzzle made out of hellfire to appear around her mouth. One that she repeatedly nullifies only for him to reapply it without trouble.


    I dont stop him from doing it either, since it wont be very fun to fight while shes constantly trying to shout at me despite being too weak right now to do anything.


    <strong>Dont die, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding afraid but somehow still certain that Ill win. Because I know hed be literally tearing at me with tooth and nail until he dragged me away if he thought Id lose.


    Dont worry, Im not gonna lose this fight.


    Are both fighters ready? Satan states, only for the nightshade Noble to immediately shake his head and look like he wants to leave. But just secondster, without Satan even saying anything, his eyes start shing with a bright red light, the ck ghostly creature that looks almost like a ck shadow having its Sin of Pride challenged.


    Makes sense. My Sin of Pride would likely go crazy at the mere idea of running from someone at a lower ss than me, even if I knew rationally that Id die if I didnt.


    Eventually the shadowy creature lets out a roar, its mouth opening to reveal sharp, ck teeth, and Satan deres, Then this will be a fight to the death between the Princess of the Demons and the Baroness Atropa gelDrana! He then drops his arm, shouting, <em>Begin!</em>


    Without a hint of hesitation, the two of us rush straight at each other.


    And the real most difficult battle of my life  not that mockery of a battle against the lunatic  begins in earnest.


    A battle that will decide the fate of humanity.

 Book 4: Chapter 93: Stacks

    Book 4: Chapter 93: Stacks


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I first start the battle by testing out the nightshades strength with a wed strike directly meeting its fist, which ends up sending me flying away. But the difference is not insurmountable this time, and I left a single small scratch on the demon with my attack despite my wrist and arm bones kind of snapping.


    <strong>Only kind of? </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like hes starting to get back to his usual self. Albeit slowly.


    My wounds heal almost instantly with my maxed-out Blood Regeneration, proving exactly why Ive met the requirements to advance it to Lycans Regeneration. And at the same time, I transform my body into blood and reform myself instantly a few meters away, avoiding a powerful strike from the nightshade that causes the ash on the ground to rise.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I find all the Knights and Satan all looking rather surprised at my use of Blood Transformation. But then the nightshade finally narrows its glowing red eyes at me and roars, making darkness spread out over the area as beasts of all shapes and sizes rise from the ground made of pure solidified darkness.


    Just what I was waiting for.


    Blood Thirst now resets after three minutes of me not killing anything, and the boost is an entire percent per kill. Although I dont know if the limit on how many stacks I can get is the same as it was before. Which was about two hundred and fifty stacks at once.


    I grin before immediately spreading my arms out and using Blood Maniption on all of the blood in the area to raise it all into the air and form weapons with it. And immediately after that, I use Rain of Blood to pour gue-filled rain down around us that I merge with the weapons, giving each and every weapon every single gue in the set.


    Everyone in the area except for the nightshade who is currently lost to his Pride Sin shows various different expressions of shock at the sight of me using a direct maniption skill. One of the most powerful skills in existence since it lets you directly manipte your magic to a degree. With limits obviously.


    After filling the sky with hundreds of gued des of blood, I send them flying down at the army of creatures made from darkness, skewering them all. But since theyre made by a ss V, my attacks dont kill them. They do severely weaken them though, and I take that chance to transform back into my quadrupedal beast form and attack, tearing them apart now that theyre weakened. And each and every one I kill raises my stats by a single percentage, making it easier and easier to kill the others until Im on par with them in terms of pure brute force.


    Although that wasnt until after taking wounds severe enough to kill a normal person. Wounds that only end up being minor conveniences to my maxed-out Blood Regeneration.


    So I continue ughtering the nightshades minions, asionally transforming into blood and reforming myself several meters away whenever the nightshade itself tries to attack me.


    Good thing Satan sent it into a frenzy, otherwise I wouldnt be able to kite it like this.


    That aside, this is the most fun Ive had in over a year!


    <strong>Well duh, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like hes gotten over his shock at how powerful Ive be. <strong>But uh how?</strong>


    Or not.


    Now isnt exactly the time to be catching you up. Just know that I got two new legendary skills and can upgrade Blood Regeneration to the mythic skill Lycan Regeneration. Although Im waiting on upgrading it till after the battle since itll make the skill weaker at level 1 even if its a mythical. Or at least it probably will.


    <strong>Its hard to tell with mythical upgrades, </strong>Tarments, <strong>Ive heard that some do get worse at level one and significantly better at higher levels again, and others just get significantly better right away.</strong>


    Yeah. Best not to test which one Lycans Regeneration will be when it could make this fight a lot harder.


    I continue to ughter the nightshades summons as it summons more and more of them, seemingly never stopping. And at some point, I start using Blood Swarm  a skill I dont use often  to summon manifestations of blood to fight them when Ive killed enough that my stats almost equal the nightshade.


    Almost being the key word as I still need to use Blood Transformation to get away from it.


    Its just too bad that none of these summons give me any EXP. Although I guess that is probably a good thing in the end, since if I did level up then I wouldnt be one hundred levels below the nightshade anymore. So Id lose my +100% bonus, along with any chance I had to not die.


    I continue ughtering the nightshades summons for a bit, racking up almost all of the stacks possible, only to be stopped when the nightshade finally loses its patience and sends a wave of darkness outwards from it, covering the entire wastnd and sending me flying. But I manage to grit my teeth andnd on my feet, the various wounds I got from it recovering quickly enough as I sprint forwards and continue ughtering more summons.


    Five more.


    A sh straight across the throat of a beast-like beast of darkness.


    Four.


    A head ripped off of another with nothing but my jaws.


    Three.


    One more head ripped off, but with my ws this time.


    Two.


    And another beast shed across the throat.


    One.


    I grin and jump straight over a few humanoid creatures of darkness beforending smack dab on top of a beast-like one and tearing out its throat, finding the message Im looking for appear in my vision. But this time with a surprise.


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 250. You have reached the maximum number of stacks you can have at once. Stacks will not reset for ten minutes regardless of kills made by the user.]</strong>


    Oh? Thats a nice new addition to the skill.


    My grin grows wider, and I finally focus my full attention on the nightshade. Only to quickly realize that there are too many summons to do that.


    Then again, the thing is a summoning focused demon.


    Annoying.


    I sprint forward to continue the massacre.

 Book 4: Chapter 94: What is Common Sense?

    Book 4: Chapter 94: What is Common Sense?


    <strong>High up in the Air Above the Wastnd</strong>


    Satan watches on as the Princess fights the random demon whose name Satan doesnt even remember. And all Satan can feel is a vicious mixture of two strong emotions.


    Extremely strong fear.


    And shock.


    <em>By the Demon King shes actually fighting on par with a ss V while at ss IV</em>


    The demon in charge of the current assault finds himself unsure of how to take this. Because not once in history has a being ever been able to cross the boundaries to kill a ss V while at ss IV. Not even the Demon King could do it, nor assassins who had every possible advantage they could get.


    But now he feels as if hes watching history, a vague spark of hope filling his eyes. One mixed with a small amount of bitterness.


    Because he knows that no matter what happens, he loses. If the Princess dies to his challenge, hell be ostracized by everyst demon on Tartarus and possibly even killed. No, most likely killed.


    And if the Princess wins against his challenge, then he will be required to retreat. All of the work they just did, all of the demons they sacrificed to do so, will be lost. And they wont be able to attack again for an entire month, which is more than enough time for the humans to regain their control. Especially since Satan failed to kill one of the Knights before she got there.


    <em>All because I was messing around</em>


    Satan grits his teeth and res in the direction of the Red Knight, who is only barely managing to retain his consciousness after having woken up due to the battle.


    After a few seconds though he returns his gaze back to the chaos going on down below him.


    All throughout the battlefield, hundreds of creatures made of darkness can be seen running around while battling with thousands of creatures made of blood. Meanwhile the Princess tries to fight against the nightshade without much sess since its now hiding amongst the summons, asionally jumping out and attacking her like a nightshade normally would do against an equal opponent. Unlike what its been doing up till now, which it only does against weaker opponents.


    Satan specifically chose a nightshade as her opponent because of several reasons.


    For one, a nightshade has blood despite appearing to be made out of pure darkness, and so do its minions. Something that nightshades often confuse people about. So the Princesss blood magic will work on them.


    For two, a nightshade is a summoner and stealth focusedbat specialist. They like to summon hordes of shades and hide amongst them while slowly whittling down their opponents, taking any chance they can to assassinate them if possible. Meaning the Princess will be able to use that skill she has that lets her grow stronger from killing enemies.


    Lastly, nightshades are demons of the Sin of Pride, and Pride demons are the easiest to force into a duel like this.


    Satan continues watching the fight as the nightshade asionally moves in and deals a blow against the Princess before backing away again before she can respond. A process that repeats itself over and over again, the Princesss speed still not being a match for the nightshades strongest capability. Even with her seemingly being finished preparing.


    <em>Damnit, just how-</em>


    His thoughts cut off when the Princess  still in her beast form  suddenly raises her front two legs and lets out a loud roar, making a massive field of white energy appear out of nowhere in front of her. And as if they were puppets cut from a string, the shades inside of the field of white energy just copse onto the ground. Then several more of these fields appear all around the wastnd as well.


    But Satan cant help but notice how her own blood summons are also falling to the ground and turning into nothing but blood when they touch the fields as well.


    <em>Right. She has null magic.</em>


    Satan feels a faint wave of relief fill him at that thought.


    Then he notices something he hadnt noticed before.


    Every time the nightshade strikes at the Princess, the nightshade seems to flinch as well. As if it was also taking damage alongside the Princess.


    Satans eyes widen as he remembers one particr skill the Princess has. One that he had somehow forgotten about.


    The one that deals damage back to those who attack her at a fixed rate.


    <em>With that skill she might just pull this off.</em>


    The Lord of Hellfires son almost cant believe he actually thought that, even though he truly believes it.


    A child aplishing what the Demon King failed to do.


    Killing a ss V while at ss IV.


    The mere idea is thought of as an impossibility by everyone, demon or human. With no exceptions to that rule outside of stupid idiots who end up dying in their attempt instead after pissing off a Noble demon.


    But now a blood lycan child of no older than twenty-one years old may very well seed. And not just in killing a ss V while at ss IV, but killing a ss V while not even at the level cap of ss IV. A ss V who isnt even at the bottom of ss V.


    <em>Its just absurd!</em>


    And thats not even considering her new Elemental Shifting and Maniption skills. Something most Nobles never get, much less a demon at ss IV.


    Satan begins to feel himself briefly questioning hismon sense as he watches the Princess continue her fight with the nightshade whose name he still cant remember. But then he blinks as he begins to wonder if His Majesty is watching them right now.


    <em>Probably is.</em>


    The oni briefly nces over at the Knights who he started to float into the air at some point just to keep their disabled selves out of the way of the battle. Then he focuses on the battle again right as the Princess does something unexpected.


    She stops in the middle of the wastnd and seems to just let the nightshade score a direct hit on her. But not before she begins to glow with a bright red light.


    <em>What is she doing now?!</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 95: The Long Game

    Book 4: Chapter 95: The Long Game


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I feel absolutely nothing as Pain Diffusion takes away all of the pain as the nightshades ws cut arge chunk straight out of my back and through around my side. But on the other side of the coin, Blood Retribution and Bloody Thorns leave the nightshade screeching in pain as it hurriedly rushes back again while trailing along a trail of bloody steam. And after just half a minute, my wound fully heals, leaving me back to searching for the nightshade.


    This could work.


    Considering how much the nightshade slowed down after that attack in terms of its rate of attacking in general, its either wounded and recovering slowly, or its smarter than I thought it would be. But despite that, I continue to use Blood Retribution against it every time I sense iting in for an attack, even if its too fast for me to dodge. And every time it lets out a screech of pain.


    But at the same time, I know this wont be enough to kill it. At most Ill be making it anemic. Not killing it.


    Especially a nightshade, whose blood is special in that its body doesnt necessarily need blood to run at all times. Sure itll die eventually without blood, but it canst quite a while without it.


    A random fact I learned at the university back when I actually went that I never thought Id need to know.


    Not sure how that works exactly though. Dont really care either.


    The two of us continue our little dance with the creature very gradually slowing down its speed. Almost to a point that I can actually keep up with it.


    By now though, the creature seems to be beginning to summon fewer and fewer shades to help it. Likely a sign that its mana is starting to run low so its preserving it.


    I on the other hand manage to use a mana potion to restore my mana, giving me an edge over the nightshade who is too-


    My thoughts are interrupted when I see a sh of blue light shining from amidst the shades, following which more shades appear.


    Oh.


    <strong>You spoke too soon, </strong>Tarments.


    It used a mana potion too. How it managed to do that while lost in its Sin is beyond me, but it did it.


    This battle might take longer than I hoped.


    I sigh at that before noticing the Noble approaching again and letting the nightshade hit me right after using Blood Retribution. Then the whole process of it steaming blood happens again, following which it vanishes amongst its shades like an annoying pest.


    The battle continues on and on, but one thing is changing throughout it still.


    I grin as I see the nightshade finally slowing down enough for me to actually dodge it. But I dont dodge it. Instead I turn slightly, letting its w pass harmlessly by me before I grab its arm and toss it, making it hit the ground only for the thing to immediately back away and vanish into a wall of darkness that appears out of nowhere.


    Its still umting gues for days from me.


    The nightshade has to be in severe pain right now from the dozens of gues the thing has.


    We continue our dance for quite a while, me switching back to taking all of its hits and using Blood Retribution. But instead of only taking the hits, Ive also started attempting to counterattack the thing. To very little sess.


    The nightshade is clearly still able to lucidly react, unlike the demons Ive fought before who were lost to their Sin.


    Then again, this is the first Noble demon Ive ever fought or seen lost to their Sin before. So it might just have a different effect on them.


    Eventually I just scowl and push Crimson Overdrive to the max, burning a massive amount of life energy that far surpasses the amount Im stealing from the nightshade and its shades. Then I finally manage to return and attack by doing that when it next strikes, only to not actually do as much damage as I was hoping.


    I definitely deal damage, but only five w marks that drag on across it extending about an inch or so deep.


    A very much nonfatal wound that cost me who knows how much life energy to deal.


    Thats incredibly annoying.


    After that I stop retaliating and instead focus on dodging its attacks when I can since life energy isnt regenerated anywhere near as quickly as my body. So I just dodge and drain its own life energy instead for a while.


    This process continues on for what feels like hours as I gradually restore my life energy while trying to save up my mana a bit too. Because mana potions have a limit. A limit I know all too well.


    From my judgement, I should only be able to use a few more mana potions, and if this battle continues to drag on, I might end up in even worse shape than thest battle. Mostly because I wont have Gramps here to heal me since he cant exactlye to Earth.


    And even if I ended up winning the battle through that, its not exactly worth dying. It would be like winning the battle just to lose the war.


    After all, what would the humans do without me at this point? Theyd lose the war even with that one month window.


    Gramps would be pissed too.


    Oh, and Satan would probably be dead via angry Gramps.


    <strong>Good to see you havent changed much since you fell unconscious, </strong>Tar says, sounding vaguely amused. Then he adds, <strong>And Im d to see you actually have a sense of self-preservation now. Sorta.</strong>


    Yep.


    Also, Im very much not looking forward to when I have to feel all this painter.


    <strong>Its your fault for fighting like that, </strong>Tar says with a snort.


    me Gramps for making the fighting style like this.


    <strong>No, I me you for your skill set, </strong>Tar retorts, making me smirk as I duck under an assassination attempt by the nightshade that goes straight for my throat. Something it started doing when it was losing strength in its attacks and seems to be panicking, rushing to kill me. And making its attacks more sloppy.


    After a few seconds of pursing my lips in thought, looking at my total mana that is just a bit above 70%, and dealing with the surrounding shades, tearing them to shreds, I eventually jump backwards and let out a roar.


    I can recover with a potion after this.


    So lets see how it deals with Blood of Ruin.

 Book 4: Chapter 96: Final Gambit

    Book 4: Chapter 96: Final Gambit


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Blood of Ruin activates just like always, but this time it feels stronger than my previous uses. Probably because I leveled it up quite a bit in my fight against the lunatics mad army.


    Everything proceeds like normal with the power boost, the blood orbs appearing in the air, the spikes, the lines, but despite all of that, I find myself staring wide-eyed in shock as the nightshade actuallyes out with just its arm from the elbow on being cut off.


    Somehow the nightshade managed to dodge almost all of the blood of ruin, with the lone exception of one big line that ended up destroying arge chunk of its arm up to the elbow. And even after watching the entire thing happen, I still cant figure out how it did it.


    By now the entire area is filled with blood of ruin all over the ground, the Knights having been brought up into the air long ago by Satan for their own protection. Which is ironic considering his previous attempts to kill them.


    I pant in exhaustion while reaching for a potion before I gulp it down, restoring my mana to max capacity with the potion that cost more than an entire Association. Then I take in a deep breath and begin chasing after the demon again, soon finding the Noble to have slowed down a bit more thanks to its lost limb. And it also isnt attacking me as often.


    The two of us continue our little dance for a while all the way till my mana goes back to a little above 70% of my capacity again, at which point I reuse Blood of Ruin.


    This time the nightshade loses arge chunk out of its side, making a very dark ck blood slowly flow out into the air. But just like with its arm, the wound seals up and he backs up again, slower than before.


    I barely manage to hold myself up as I reach for another mana potion and down the thing, restoring my mana again with another fortune. Then I push myself back to my feet and find the wound on the nightshade, who actually hasnt left my sight yet, starting to close up a little.


    At the same time though, the shades around us start vanishing, the creatures little army shrinking in the process, especially as my blood of ruin tears away at their feet from the ground.


    I nce at the nightshades feet to find a barrier surrounding them, blocking the blood of ruin from making contact.


    For some reason, I feel as if I cant take another potion. As if my tolerance for potions was reduced.


    Thats not good.


    I grit my teeth at the feeling of weakness all throughout my body before I quickly make a null magic field appear around the nightshade, disabling the barrier around its feet and making the blood of ruin start corroding them. But the Noble quickly vanishes, turning into darkness before it reappears outside of the field.


    We continue this little game over and over again until I realize how pointless it is, since the blood of corruption on the ground isnt condensed enough to do much damage beyond a minor burn.


    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like hes growing afraid.


    And he has some reason to, since I dont exactly have much left to do.


    I pant in exhaustion before muttering, To hell with this battle and rushing straight at the Noble again and activating Blood of Ruin once more.


    <strong>High above the Battlefield</strong>


    Noah slowly opens his eyes again, struggling to keep his attention on the battle as Amelias daughter rushes forwards once more and uses that Blood of Ruin skill for a third time. But just like with the other two uses, it only deals minimal damage to the Noble, even if this use hits it twice instead of just once.


    <em>No</em>


    The Red Knight knows very well just from the sight of the girl who is covered from head to toe in blood, her beast form transformation having been forcibly canceled as she stands in her lycan form. She can barely even stand up straight, and he can sense the beginnings of potion poisoninging from her.


    Despite Noahs demeanor, he knows very well how Scarlet is thest hope of humanity. If she dies here, then all of Earth is doomed, whether its due to the demon threat taking them over or because of the Demon Kings rage.


    <em>Is this how the war is going to end? With a lost duel? One that Im not even a part of?</em>


    Noah grits his teeth, and out of the corner of his eye he notices almost all of the Knights doing the same. Even the Blue Knight can be seen with the vaguest hint of emotion in his eyes. Something that shouldnt be possible.


    He and the other Knights of Humanity all watch on as Scarlet barely keeps herself standing, feeling exhausted, low on mana, and still faced with a Noble in front of her. Even if the Noble is missing an arm and a leg, with a chunk of its other arm having been lost.


    Silence fills the entire area as the two stand off against each other, the only noise being that of Scarlet once in a while killing one of the shades to keep up her kill streak skill. And the silence stretches on for what feels like ages to Noah.


    Then something happens that surprises everyone, including the nightshade.


    Arge screen appears above them made out of blood showing their battle, directly beneath the Demon Moon. As if the Demon King wanted everyone to watch this.


    Right after that, Scarlets eyes begin to glow even brighter. So bright that Noah has to squint slightly as the light shines all over the battlefield.


    And to Noahs absolute shock, all of the blood filling the entire battlefield, both blood of ruin and otherwise, floats up into the air as Scarlet coughs out a mouthful of blood with a determined and extremely pissed off look on her face.


    Noah feels his mouth dropping open slightly at the sight, but it doesnt stop there. All of the blood turns into what must be millions of des, each filled with gues and blood of ruin and even the blood from the Demon Moon, and all pointed towards the Noble.


    With onest cough of a massive amount of blood, wounds opening up all over the Princesss body from the overtaxing of her mind and body, she raises one arm and then drops it again.


    Sending all of the des straight at the Noble under the eyes of the Knights and Satan, along with billions of other people all over the world who are watching through the screen.

 Book 4: Chapter 97: The Start of a New Beginning

    Book 4: Chapter 97: The Start of a New Beginning


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I feel my entire body ripping apart as I expend more of my life energy than Ive ever used before empowering Blood Maniption. And its not just that. I also use up the power from the Demon Moon high in the sky to enhance it, along with the life energy Im draining from the nightshade itself.


    All to control everyst bit of blood in the area and enhance it, pointing it all straight at the nightshade.


    And as my body is ripping apart, wounds opening up all over from my life energy going down below any sort of healthy level making it devour parts of my own body just to survive, I drop my arm, sending everyst de of blood straight at the nightshade.


    The nightshade lets out a horrific screech as it fails to dodge the attack, its body too badly crippled for it to do anything now just like my own. So everyst de breaks through its already corroded skin and body armor, spreading gue after gue along with blood of ruin throughout its body.


    I feel my body weaken more and more throughout the process, but I continue standing strong despite it.


    Its at times like these that Im really d Pain Diffusion reached its max level.


    Still not looking forward to feeling thister though.


    I continue draining my own life energy to power the skill as de after de after de pierce into the nightshade, eventually turning it into nothing but a mass of discolored blood. Like a giant ball of corruption, having colors ranging from red, to ck, to green, and even yellow all in it.


    Rather disgusting if Im being honest. Also probably enough to wipe out an entire city of millions of humans.


    At some point blood literally begins to exit through the pores on my body, but I ignore it. Even after I feel a constant flow of blooding from my mouth, nose, and even eyes, I still push harder.


    I wont stop until it is dead.


    Who knows how long passes as the orb of blood, all of the des having just merged into one giant orb, continues to writhe and ripple as if devouring something. And throughout the entire process, I feel my body growing weaker and weaker, eventually leading to me falling down to one knee and supporting myself with a hand on the ground.


    Time continues to pass with nothing but the sound of writhing liquid mixed with the asional screeching muffled from inside of the orb.


    Eventually my vision starts to grow blurry, then the edges be dark. And slowly the darkness begins to spread inwards.


    Right when everything finally fades from view, I hear a ding echoing in my head, making a faint smile emerge on my face.


    And thest thing I hear is someone shouting my name alongside Tars own voice as he whispers, <strong>You did well, Scarlet.</strong>


    <strong>All over the World</strong>


    <strong><em>Moments Ago</em></strong>


    Everyst human and demon across both Earth and Tartarus watch on silently as the Princess tears herself apart with herst attack on the Noble demon. When they first saw the massive screen appear, they were shocked. But then their shock was overwhelmed by fear for their Princess and  for the humans  fear for the human race as a whole.


    Because they knew this battle would determine the fate of humanity. Both in the long-run and the short-term.


    Eventually, after the battle had extended on for a while, all of the humans and demons watching couldnt feel anything other than surprise. Surprise at how strong the Princess had be. At the realization that she might truly have a chance at winning.


    And now, as they watch their Princess tear herself apart, they cant bring themselves to say anything.


    Wound after wound continues appearing all over her body before she drops to one knee, barely supporting herself. All the way till the orb of blood copses and she too with it.


    But before the humans and demons can despair at their Princesss inevitable death for losing the duel, a Universal Notification appears in front of them all, shocking them.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has be the very first being in the universe to defeat a ss V being while at ss IV.</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Several seconds pass in utter silence before everyst human and demon all across the worlds roar out their excitement, making apuse echo throughout both worlds. And for once, both the demons and humans are united in their excitement. For once, they share the same thoughts.


    Meanwhile one demon floating high above the battlefield lets out a sigh, Satan not having expected this oue when he proposed the challenge. But he at least knows that even if he will have to retreat, and likely wont get the chance to lead the demons against the humans again with The Reapers nned arrival in several years time and theck of any other Demon Moons any time soon, he will at least not be punished.


    And near that demon, all five of the Knights of Humanity show relief of their own, for different reasons. The White Knight lets loose tears as she silently cries. The Red Knight just grins for a few seconds before finally allowing the darkness to take him, making him lose consciousness atst. The Purple Knight just nods her head. The Blue Knight gives the barest hint of a smile for the first time in decades. And the ck Knight gives a short whoop of excitement before falling unconscious right away just like the Red Knight.


    Within a castle on Tartarus located high in the air above a vast ocean of blood, the Blood Cmity cant help but sigh as well. A sigh of relief. Then he grins and transforms into his beast form at which point he lets out a loud howl that echoes throughout the Bloody Duchy. And just secondster, everyst blood lycan on Tartarus joins in the howl, even including the Demon King himself, filling all of Tartarus with the howls of the Wolves of Pride.

 Book 4: Chapter 98: Casualties

    Book 4: Chapter 98: Casualties


    <strong>The Battlefield</strong>


    Satan stares at his Princess for a while before eventually identifying her and finding her level having shot up to level 1000 from that battle. Meaning all she needs are the catalysts and requirements to reach ss V and shell officially be a Noble.


    <em>A twenty-one-year-old Noble if someone so much as suggested that possibility before Id have written them off as stupid.</em>


    After several seconds, Satan lets out another sigh and focuses on the Knights he has flying with him as he raises his voice and uses his bond to connect with everyst one of his demons, I will keep my promise. Everyone retreat. We are moving back to our own fortresses.


    The Noble demon then res at the unconscious Red for several seconds before turning his attention to the Knights as a whole instead and saying, You better thank the Princess for your continued survival and freedom. Then he lowers the Knights to the ground and just leaves them there, not bothering to heal them since he has no healing rted powers.


    <em>They can get healing from other humans.</em>


    And with that thought, Satan sts off in a ball of hellfire heading straight towards Demon Isle.


    In defeat.


    Less than ten minutes after Satan leaves, Amelia senses a couple dozen human Guardians approaching. But she still can barely even lift a finger, leaving her to just watch as the humans enter the wastnd that used to be the headquarters of the human military.


    Fortunately the humans turn out to be the General of the Military and several soldiers along with a couple ranking officers. And they all immediately set about healing Scarlet and the Knights.


    At some point while theyre treating them, Amelia senses a lot more people entering the wastnd, and she also hears the sounds ofrge vehicles moving into the wastnd. The soldiers then move them all to the vehicles and begin driving away towards another base that hasnt fallen while still treating them all.


    Eventually Amelia rxes after hearing that Scarlet isnt in critical condition anymore thanks to Ava, otherwise known as the Bloody Valkyrie, who came to heal her with her blood magic, giving Scarlet some of her own life energy in the process.


    Time passes as the soldiers, doctors, and healer Guardians all fuss around the Knights, doing everything they can to return them to peak condition. And after doing enough to allow Amelia to sit up again, albeit with a lot of pain, the General walks up to her and bows slightly, saying, On behalf of the humans, we thank you for fighting for us. Then all of the other people in the room do the same.


    After a few seconds Amelia says, If anyone deserves your gratitude she turns to look at Scarlet who is lying down on the bed next to her being attended to by over a dozen healers at once including ss V healers.


    We know, and well express our gratitude to her when the Princess awakens, the general says, surprising Amelia with his calling her Princess. Since Amelia knows that he never called her that before.


    <em>Looks like Scarlet earned his respect with this.</em>


    Amelia smiles sadly as she looks at her daughter who is still covered from head to toe in wounds with some of her limbs having been ripped off entirely that are slowly growing back.


    <em>Considering the Demon Kings livestreaming of that final attack to everyone, she mayve just earned the respect of the majority of the humans, even the ones that were against her.</em>


    That thought has Amelia smiling a real smile.


    Then she turns to the general, her face growing serious as she asks, How bad are the losses?


    The general grimaces and answers, All of the Guardians stationed on the bases scattered across the frontlines were eliminated with the lone exception of most of the ss Vs and half of the ss IVs who managed to retreat to a further back base. And the bases themselves were destroyed all the way past the midway point of the Eastern continent pushing the frontline to the border of Asia and Europe.


    Amelia ignores the older generals usage of the continents old world names as she asks, And the civilians?


    We managed to evacuate the majority of the civilians from the cities beyond the frontlines closest to the war zones, but a couple of the cities were taken over, the general says with a grimace. At the very least the demons arent treating the humans there badly from what weve heard, but we should work quickly to take them back.


    The general turns to one of his top officers and asks, Please give the White Knight a full rundown on the casualties of the battle.


    A Guardian Amelia only barely recognizes walks up and salutes before answering, We have lost a total of four hundred and ten thousand one hundred and five ss I Guardians, two hundred thousand and one ss II Guardians, sixty-two thousand five hundred ss III Guardians, and three thousand one hundred and seven ss IV Guardians. He then grimaces and finishes, Along with seven ss V Guardians.


    Amelia grimaces at those figures, especially the ss V Guardians. Because they were already outnumbered as it was on that level. Now the war will only be worse from here on out.


    The demons lost just as many as we did, but the majority of their losses were in non-sapient demons and are receable within the next several years through the Gates, the Guardian continues, sounding extremely grim as he does so. But then his tone goes up a notch as he adds, On the other hand, over two hundred thousand Guardians of various sses managed to ascend thanks to the battle.


    <em>This isnt good except for the ascended Guardians. Well need those in the near future.</em>


    Amelia turns to look at the healers as they finally finish working on healing Scarlet and all copse on various chairs and beds surrounding Scarlets. And at the same time as the general, Amelia asks, Hows she doing?


    She then turns to share a look with the general before focusing on the healers again.


    She was very close to going past her potion tolerance, which made it difficult to treat her, the Bloody Valkyrie says in between exhausted breaths. But shell be fine after a few days of sleep.


    Everyone in the room lets out relieved breaths and the tense atmosphere in the room significantly decreases.


    If it wasnt for her regeneration then she wouldnt have made it, but her regeneration is far stronger than any regeneration Ive ever seen before, Ava says while pointedly ignoring the generals existence as the man res at her, no longer worried about Scarlet. Shell also likely ascend to ss V soon and will need someone to exin the process to her.


    Ill take care of that, Amelia says as her own healers finally finish healing her too.


    <em>Im so d shes okay</em>


    Amelia cant help but smile at that. And not even the unspoken war between Ava and the general manage to bother her.


    Although she is a little surprised those two managed to stay in the same room for so long without going at each others throats. Considering how they both made gender exclusive Associations just to spite the other.


    In the end Amelia just lies down with a sigh.


    <em>Now we just need to deal with the aftermath.</em>

 Book 4: Chapter 99: Aftermath Part I

    Book 4: Chapter 99: Aftermath Part I


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up with a start, finding my eyes opening to the sight of a stark white ceiling above me. And at this point Im starting to wonder if this is bing a nasty habit. Just waking up in a bed after going unconscious.


    <strong>It is bing a nasty habit, and you should stop it, </strong>Tar suggests, making me look down to find him lying on my chest. Which Im not sure is somewhere he should be right now considering I was a patient lying on a bed.


    Then again, I feel perfectly fine right now. So he probably only lied down on me after I was healed.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he answers my thoughts, making me smile for a second before I pat him on the head.


    I sit up and nce down at what Im wearing. Which is the same thing I was wearing under my armor before. A shirt and shorts with a jacket.


    Guess no one changed me. Thats good.


    Then again, they could just have someone using some sort of cleaning skill on me and I wouldnt need to change or anything like that.


    No idea how long Ive been out though.


    Looking around, I seem to be in some sort of medical wing of a military base. Considering the sleeping soldiers.


    I get out of bed while activating my armor, making a swirl of blood cover me for a moment before it appears on me as usual. Then I transform into blood and leave the room without letting anyone know that I even woke up.


    <strong>You arent going to tell anyone youre awake? </strong>Tar asks, sounding curious.


    No, best that I dont. Not before checking my notifications and messages.


    After all, theres a decent chance I got a Universal Notification or something, and I want to know about it before talking to anyone.


    <strong>Well you did get a Universal Notification, but Ill just let you check it out for yourself, </strong>Tar says, confirming my thoughts.


    Time to see whats up.


    <strong>{Level 1089 Nightshade defeated. An enormous EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred levels above your level. A massive EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature above your ss.}</strong>


    <strong>{One thousand Skill Points are awarded for killing a creature of ss V while at ss IV without help.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five hundred Skill Points are awarded for burning several times the amount of life energy you have for the use of a single skill.}</strong>


    <strong>{Three hundred Skill Points are awarded for controlling over five thousand times your own body-weight in blood all at once.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred Skill Points are awarded for spreading hundreds of different gues to a single being all at once.}</strong>


    <strong>{Fifty Skill Points are awarded for controlling several different types of blood all at once.}</strong>


    <strong>{Two Skill Points are awarded for killing a ss V.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 987. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 1000. Five Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to- Level up canceled due to you being at the cap of ss IV. Please ascend to ss V. To do so you must find and absorb five ss IV catalysts, have ten skills at their max level, have at least three legendary skills, have at the minimum Predator III, and have almost died at least once.}</strong>


    <strong>{Rare epic inherent skill Beast Transformation will now evolve into the legendary rarity inherent skill Beast Transformation while retaining any previous effects. There is no cost in levels due to the skill being static.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 26.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood of Ruin has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 28.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Null Magic Field has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Nullification has leveled up to level 20.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Nullification has leveled up to level 26.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Rain of Blood has leveled up to level 18.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Rain of Blood has leveled up to level 24.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Transformation has leveled up to level 11.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Transformation has leveled up to level 18.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Maniption has leveled up to level 11.]</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Maniption has leveled up to level 26.]</strong>


    And the skill level-ups just keep oning, making my jaw drop at the sight of arge majority of my remaining inherent and achievement-locked skills reaching the max level. Then my eyes narrow on the notifications that follow, deciding to put off considering the requirements to ascend till after I read them.


    <em>Warning! This is a universal notification!</em>


    Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has be the very first being in the universe to defeat a ss V being while at ss IV.


    May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!


    Yeah, that one is to be expected. Although I find it interesting that it didnt mention the etched skill slot.


    <strong>Yeah, thats odd </strong>Tar mutters, only to go silent when a System Message appears after that first notification.


    <strong>{Congrats, you have received two etched skill slots for being the first being in the universe to kill a ss V before reaching ss V yourself!}</strong>


    Oh. Guess thats why.


    Speaking of, when do you think I should start making my skills etched skills?


    <strong>Wait until you get mythical skills, </strong>Tar answers right away. <strong>Apex Predator doesnt count since its not etchable.</strong>


    Right. So wait till I have my best skills and know what I want to etch?


    <strong>Right, </strong>he says with a nod of his head as I finally reform myself on the roof of the base I find myself in. <strong>Since etching a skill grants the skill a boost, even if you arent nning on having descendants, you want to etch your best skills to help them the most.</strong>


    Makes sense.


    I let the notifications continue, including the ones I had suppressed from before my battle with the ss V.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted six out of SEVEN of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss IV while under twenty years old.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being one hundred and fifty levels above you without any assistance.</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss IV within a year of having been initiated into the System.</strong>


    <strong>By being the descendant of the Demon King who is the original etcher of the skill Blood Domain or having obtained an inferior version of the skill yourself.</strong>


    <strong>By having both blood magic and null magic or being descendant from a user with them that has etched their skills.</strong>


    <strong>By defeating a ss V being while still not being ss V yourself.</strong>


    <strong>Complete the final achievement in order to attain the Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    Okay, that one is still very interesting to see. Im curious about what the Title will end up being.


    Although thest achievement should be obvious. To get Blood Domain. Since this is obviously an upgrade to Blood Domain, I should have the skill in the first ce.


    Moving on.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted all of the necessary achievements in order to unlock a Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Have Blood Regeneration.</strong>


    <strong>Be a descendant of the Demon King.</strong>


    <strong>Nearly die over one hundred times within a year.</strong>


    <strong>Regenerate from damage directly to your reality all the way to a full recovery.</strong>


    <strong>Have at minimum Predator V.</strong>


    <strong>User may now purchase the Mythic Skill Lycans Regeneration whenever they wish.</strong>


    Yeah, saw that one too.


    Next.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted four out of Six of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>having at least two blood gue rted legendary skills.</strong>


    <strong>By spreading hundreds of different blood rted gues to a single being all at once.</strong>


    <strong>By spreading gues throughout entire armies, contributing to the ughter of millions of beings through blood rted gues.</strong>


    <strong>having both blood magic and null magic or being descendant from a user with them that has etched their skills.</strong>


    <strong>Complete the final two achievements in order to attain the Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    Why do I get the feeling that I know exactly what the Title is going to be for that one?


    <strong>Because you probably do, </strong>Tar says with an amused snort.


    The next notifications are rather confusing though.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>Anomaly detected.</strong>


    <strong>Users Inherent skill Beast Transformation is branching from its designated gic path.</strong>


    <strong>Searching for possible solutions no solutions found.</strong>


    <strong>The Inherent Skill Beast Transformation will now branch away from the designated path of the Beast of the apocalypse and towards a new path.</strong>


    What the heck does that mean?


    <strong>It means you cant get your grandfathers etched mythic skill Beast of the Apocalypse anymore, </strong>Tar exins, sounding rather shocked. Then he pauses right as another notification appears recing the notice.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted seven out of ten of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss IV while under twenty years old.</strong>


    <strong>By having both blood magic and null magic or being descendant from a user with them that has etched their skills.</strong>


    <strong>having the skill Beast Transformation.</strong>


    <strong>defeating a ss V being while still not being ss V yourself.</strong>


    <strong>having the Apex Predator Title and Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>having the ability to directly manipte blood.</strong>


    <strong>having broken out of the bounds of the System before.</strong>


    <strong>Complete the final three achievements in order to attain the Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    Another one? Thats a surprise.


    <strong>Thats seriously all you have to say about it? </strong>Tar exims, sounding bbergasted.


    I just shrug.


    Meh.


    He groans.

 Book 4: Chapter 99.2: Aftermath Part II

    Book 4: Chapter 99.2: Aftermath Part II


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Now. Onto the veryst notification.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted four out of seven of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>having reached ss IV before turning 20 years of age.</strong>


    <strong>By nullifying the curse of a ss V being while at ss IV.</strong>


    <strong>having both blood magic and null magic or being descendant from a user with them that has etched their skills.</strong>


    <strong>By having Gradual Corruption Nullification.</strong>


    <strong>Complete the final three achievements in order to attain the Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    There we go. And if what Tar said before was true, two of those three should be nullifying the poison of a ss V being while at ss IV and nullifying the disease of a ss V being while at ss IV, and nullifying a certain amount.


    Which means Im gonna have to go find a ss V demon or Guardian to poison me and give me a disease. Then Ill go to the Arctic to find poisonous and curse filled undead to fight against.


    I highly doubt Ill be getting the ss V Catalysts any time soon after all, so I have time.


    On that note, its annoying that the shades didnt give me any SP. But at least I got plenty from the achievements, so its fine.


    At least I wont have to continue spending all of my SP on leveling Gradual Corruption Nullification to the max level. Because that would be a pain.


    I take in a deep breath before holding it for a second and then, with a grin, opening my Skills Store with it set to only show Legendary and Mythic skills.


    <strong>Skill Name:</strong><strong>Achievement Requirements:</strong><strong>Descriptions:</strong><strong>ssifications:</strong><strong>SP Price:</strong> <strong>Lycans Regeneration</strong><strong>See Notification.</strong>


    <strong>The most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride and the original etched skill of the Demon King.</strong>


    <strong>All users with this skill are capable of regenerating from almost any wound as long as they still have mana. The skill also significantly increases their mana regeneration.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Achievement-Locked</strong>


    <strong>Mythic</strong> <strong>120</strong> <strong>Vampiric Ascendancy</strong><strong>Unlocked by killing a being far more powerful than yourself through allowing it to mutte you in return for taking damage itself without any assistance, unlocked by killing a being with a skill empowered by a vast amount of that beings own life energy, by being ss IV or above, by using several legendary or rarer berserk skills that cause damage to oneself during use, by having used blood magic to kill over one million beings within two years, by losing yourself to a curse, and by having blood magic.</strong>


    <strong>This skill temporarily transforms the user into a vampiric creature who gains power from the blood of others.</strong>


    <strong>While under the effects of the transformation, the user will have an intense blood lust, making them struggle to hold back from drinking any blood around them.</strong>


    <strong>In return, the user gets power from all of the blood they drink along with an immunity to poisons and the ability to eat anything while transformed.</strong>


    <strong>All blood drank increases the regeneration, physical strength and speed, magical power, and maximum mana capacity for the duration of the transformation.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong> 60</strong> <strong>Scarlet Aegis</strong><strong>Unlocked by killing a being far more powerful than yourself through allowing it to mutte you in return for taking damage itself without any assistance, by taking enough damage to both your reality and body to kill a normal being at your level over a hundred times over, bying closer than most could survive to death at least ten times within a single year, by being known by many as a protector of an entire race, and by having blood magic</strong>


    <strong>This skill allows the user to create a barrier made of blood that protects the user. The barrier can be set topletely surround the users body right outside of their skin or be created in the air as a shield.</strong>


    <strong>Active</strong>


    <strong>Legendary</strong> <strong>60</strong> <strong>...</strong>


    Oh. Wow. Thats a lot of legendary skills.


    There are about seven of them after I focus on the ellipses.


    And at this point Tar just doesnt say anything anymore. Which I find amusing.


    Looking at my status, I currently have a little over two thousand SP to spare. So I go on a spending spree buying up all of the legendary skills along with the mythic one.


    And even after doing all that spending, it only costs me 540 SP in the end. Which leaves me 1547 SP left to spend on leveling up those skills. Or at least, the skills that arent Achievement-Locked skills that were etched by Gramps of Leonidas. Which do number a few.


    After leveling them all up, I bring up each and every one of the new legendary skills descriptions, starting with the three achievement-locked skills and moving onto the four purchased skills.


    <strong>{Blood Control  This skill allows the user to directly control the bodies of other users whose level is at least two hundred beneath their own. However, they may not alter the targets mind in any way.}</strong>


    <strong>{Healing Reversal  This skill allows the user to reverse any healing the target has undergone within a certain span of time dependent on how much mana is spent.}</strong>


    <strong>{Princesss Decree  This skill allows the Princess of the Demons to issuemands to any demon. Thesemands must be obeyed if the demon beginmanded is one hundred or more levels beneath the user.}</strong>


    <strong>{Bloodwell Keep  This skill allows the user to make a special storage within their own blood that they can store anything non-living in.}</strong>


    <strong>{Vampiric Ascendancy  This skill temporarily transforms the user into a vampiric creature who gains power from the blood of others. While under the effects of the transformation, the user will have an intense blood lust, making them struggle to hold back from drinking any blood around them. In return, the user gets power from all of the blood they drink along with an immunity to poisons and the ability to eat anything while transformed. All blood drank increases the regeneration, physical strength and speed, magical power, and maximum mana capacity for the duration of the transformation.}</strong>


    <strong>{Scarlet Aegis  This skill allows the user to create a barrier made of blood that protects the user. The barrier can be set topletely surround the users body right outside of their skin or be created in the air as a shield.}</strong>


    <strong>{Eldritch Blood  This skill allows the user to transform any of their blood spilled outside of their body into eldritch monsters made of corrupted blood gues.}</strong>


    Of the skills, Blood Control is obviously the legendary version of Leonidass Blood Dominion, meanwhile Healing Reversal is the legendary version of Amelias Reverse Healing, which Im not too sure what the difference between the two is, and Princesss Decree is the legendary version of the Demon King Title-Bearing Mythic skill Gramps has. Although Im guessing it changes based on the gender of the user, otherwise I would find it rather amusing to see Leonidass skills list.


    Of the skills, Princesses Decree and Bloodwell Keep are both passive while the rest are active. Theyre also both static while the others arent as well.


    Unfortunately the only ones I can level are Vampiric Ascendancy, Scarlet Aegis, and Eldritch Blood though. Since the others are all either Achievement-Locked or Static skills.


    Thanks to that I end up raising those three to level 20 each, leaving me with 236 SP remaining


    I stare at my status for several seconds before deciding to just go for it and raising Vampiric Ascendancy to level 25 with 235 more points, leaving me down to just a single SP remaining.


    Alright. That should be it for all of the changes.


    On that note, I pull that requirements System Message back up again to look it over.


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to- Level up canceled due to you being at the cap of ss IV. Please ascend to ss V. To do so you must find and absorb five ss IV catalysts, have ten skills at their max level, have at least three legendary skills, have at the minimum Predator III, and have almost died at least once.}</strong>


    Looking over the list of requirements, I alreadypleted all of them but the five catalysts. Although I find it rather surprising by just how difficult those requirements are. Since if it were anyone else other than me, theyd actually have some difficulty with two of those.


    The ten skills at their max level especially. Even I only have eleven skills at their max level right now, if we dont count static as max level.


    <strong>The System doesnt count static skills in it, </strong>Tar answers, proving my point.


    In fact, most people wouldnt be able to get a purchased skill to its max level right now, since a purchased skills max level is 50. And my highest leveled purchased skill is level 30.


    My inherent and achievement-locked skills on the other hand are why I pass the requirement with their max level of 30.


    <strong>Well you have to remember that lower rarity inherent skills are easier to level up than all of your legendary inherent skills, even though youve been blowing straight through leveling them up anyways by almost killing yourself over and over again, </strong>Tar says, sounding more than a little indignant in thatst part. But I act like I didnt notice. <strong>I can hear your thoughts, remember?</strong>


    I still act like I didnt notice.


    Tar snorts, but I quickly turn my attention towards the side of the roof where I find someone appearing out of nowhere.


    ck.


    The man waves with a faint smile on his face as he begins walking over to me.


    Wonder what hes doing here?

 Book 4: Chapter 100: Returning the Favor

    Book 4: Chapter 100: Returning the Favor


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Heya little pup, he says, still smiling. Although I can tell that he doesnt have as much enthusiasm as this personality normally has. Looks like youre awake. Did ya sleep well?


    I look him over for a second, finding it a little hard to match the battered and beaten image I have of him during that battle with his image now as I answer, Yeah. You look worse for wear.


    Even though he physically looks better, he just doesnt seem to have that same spark he had before. And I know hes not in his psychopath personality right now, so that means somethings up.


    He nods his head, his smile turning slightly into a grin. But then he sighs, his grin fading as he mutters, Guess theres no point hiding it. He meets my eyes and crosses his arms, I owed you two favors as I stated a while back but you never tried to cash in on it. Not until I offered to help send you to Tartarus, and we both know how that went. But now a hint of sadness emerges in his gaze. Now youve saved my life and I still havent finished paying back my debt. So please, let me do something to pay you back.


    I frown at his words, only now understanding just how important paying back debts is to ck. Then I shrug and answer, Im not the type to ask for help from others, so unless you have some sort of poison and disease based magic, then I dont think theres much you can do to help me right now.


    He blinks before tilting his head slightly and saying, I do have both a poison and disease based skill.


    Silence fills the rooftop for several seconds before I mutter, Oh.


    Come to think of it, hes an assassin. It makes at least a little sense that hed have a poison skill.


    The silence stretches on for a while until I eventually ask, deciding to act like that didnt happen, Then thatll work. Please use the poison skill on me without holding back.


    He looks surprised but does it without question anyways, making my eyes widen in surprise before I immediately start diffusing all of the pain and focusing on using Gradual Corruption Nullification. And the skill ends up taking quite a bit longer to nullify the poison than I wouldve expected, leaving me sitting here nullifying it for nearly an entire hour nonstop.


    Almost forgot how weak I am without those stacks of Blood Thirst active. Makes me wonder how long it wouldve taken to nullify it with those stacks active.


    After finishing nullifying the shadow-based poison that I still dont understand how works, I open my eyes, finding myself sitting on some sort of chair made of shadows.


    Interesting.


    On that note, the System Notice reappears with the achievement filled in. Although the achievement doesnt give me any SP, irritatingly enough.


    Anyways, I turn to ck and ask, Next up the disease skill.


    He nods, seeming rather surprised that I managed to nullify the skill as fast as I did. Then he raises his hand, making strange and disgusting looking snakes of shadows begin crisscrossing through the air towards me before entering my skin.


    Right away I see my skin taking on a darker and darker skin, getting blotches of ck and green all over as I quickly begin nullifying the disease. But the disease proves to be stronger than the poison, so it ends up taking me longer to do.


    I manage to do it though, so I eventually open my eyes again to find the System Notice reappearing again with just a single achievement necessary.


    And this achievement doesnt require me to be ss IV to do, right Tar?


    <strong>Youre right, </strong>Tar answers, making me smirk slightly.


    Which means I can set about now to get those five Catalysts.


    On that note, what are the ss IV Catalysts?


    <strong>Your grandfather told me that they are, of course, the ss IV Cores and ss IV magical ores, </strong>Tar answers before adding a rather surprising answer, <strong>but thest one is, instead of hearts this time, you need the entire reality of a level 1000 being for each Catalyst.</strong>


    Wait, their entire reality? We need souls?


    Seriously?


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar answers, sounding incredibly serious. <strong>Remember that the ascension to ss V is finishing the process of merging reality and your body entirely. So the catalysts have to be as powerful as entire realities to do that.</strong>


    Right. That.


    This ascension is going to be very unpleasant.


    <strong>It will be, </strong>Tar agrees before adding, <strong>look at the bright side though. You wont ever have to eat, sleep, or do any sort of daily necessities anymore after reaching ss V. Since your body wont really be mortal in that sense of the word anymore. Itll be your reality and body in one.</strong>


    Wait, no daily necessities at all? And no more having to stuff my face with food?


    Okay, Im looking forward to this now.


    Its too bad that I cant just use Pain Diffusion for it.


    I grimace at the thought of Pain Diffusion and the pain Im gonna have to feel at some point within the next couple weeks.


    <strong>You should probably spread that pain out, </strong>Tar suggests, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Anyways, I thank ck before the man vanishes in a veil of shadows. And right after that, Red appears next, making me wonder if he was just waiting there for us to finish or something.


    The man walks up to me and actually bows his head, saying, Thank you for saving my life. I am in your debt.


    Oh. Right.


    Almost forgot the man was about to die when I got there. So I kind of did save his life.


    If your Pride will allow it, I have permission from the Demon King to gift you these, Red says while handing me five different glowing red shards that has my eyes widening slightly. He said that you would have absolutely no issue clearing mere ss IV Fractures, so theres no point making you get these Catalysts yourself. Not when youve already killed a ss V. He raises his head with a light smile on his face. The first real, non-sadistic smile Ive seen on the mans face since meeting him. Dont you admit that killing a ss V was more than enough test to reach ss V?


    To my surprise, my Pride doesnt actually burn at this.


    It even lets me reach out and absorb the cores into my body, following which I get the usual System Message about me being able to Ascend.


    Red then grins and bows his head once more before leaving.


    And without missing a beat, Blue arrives after him.


    Okay, seriously. Is this just a parade of the Knights or something?

 Book 4: Chapter 101: Appreciation

    Book 4: Chapter 101: Appreciation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Blue simply walks up to me after arriving in a ssh of water and says, Ask for my help three times and I will assist you. Then he nods his head and turns around, beginning to walk away.


    I blink in surprise at how abrupt his words were before shrugging, deciding that its normal for him.


    What isnt normal though is how he pauses after taking a few steps, nces behind himself at me, and opens his mouth to say, And But he doesnt say any more than that. He just looks slightly unsure for a second  something Ive never seen from the psychopath before  before he turns around again and says, Nevermind. Then vanishes in an orb of water.


    Uh what just happened?


    <strong>I dont know </strong>Tar mutters.


    Several seconds pass in silence as I stare after him.


    <strong>Oh, I forgot to mention, but Blues been acting stranger and stranger over the past year or so while you were in youra, </strong>Tar says, confusing me even further.


    What do you mean by strange?


    <strong>Hes started acting unsure of himself at times, and seems to be showing the slightest hint of emotions every now and then, </strong>Tar answers, making me openly gape at the spot the man was just standing.


    Thats a surprise. Did Xyvandra let go of his emotions or something? That would be out of ce for her if she doesnt have anything to gain from it.


    After all, he woke her up.


    <strong>Well </strong>Tar begins only to pause. Then he starts again, <strong>Its possible she may have let go some of them. Enough for him to regain his emotions back over time.</strong>


    But why would she do that? Did you ask her to do it while I was in mya?


    <strong>No, but your Grandfather mentioned that you wanted to return Blues emotions to him while you were in aa, </strong>Tar mentions right as I sense another presence appearing on the roof, making me turn to find Purple appearing with her eyes closed, just like they almost always are.


    That was nice of him. From what I know of Xyvandra, if Gramps mentioned it, she would at least consider letting go of some of his emotions.


    Actually, I wouldnt be surprised if she did. After all, letting go of only some of his emotions and letting him slowlye to realize everything hes done while not having his emotions is probably a lot crueler of a fate than just giving him them all at once. And a mad mindeater would probably find that option appealing.


    Blues slowly returning emotions aside, I focus entirely on Purple as she stops a meter in front of me and Tar. Then she just nods her head and says, Should you ever need my assistance, simply ask.


    Without another word, she vanishes, her body clearly having been a projection.


    <strong>These Knights sure dont talk much, </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but nod my head in agreement.


    Youre not wrong there.


    And as expected, thest of the Knights arrives without any fanfare, just appearing in front of me with a smile on her face. One thats somehow sad, proud, and happy at the same time.


    Not sure how she pulled that off.


    She doesnt say anything for several seconds before eventually saying, Im d youre okay.


    I give her a faint smile back along with a nod of my head.


    Silence once again fills the rooftop before she eventually raises her hand with some sort of orb on it and a very familiar voice echoes out of it.


    Scarlet! How are you feeling?! Leonidas asks, his voice filling the rooftop with both worry and excitement.


    I snort in amusement as I answer, Im fine, dont worry. And tell Gramps that as well.


    Thats good, he says with a relieved sigh before adding, and I doubt your grandfather would be satisfied with me telling him. Juste to Tartarus after youve ascended and tell him yourself. He pauses for a second, only to continue with a slightly stressed tone of voice, Hes been antsy since you fell unconscious again.


    Tar snorts at that this time, meanwhile I just raise a brow.


    Why do I get the feeling hes been bullying his Nobles and Leonidas?


    <strong>Because he probably has been, </strong>Tar answers while seemingly trying to hold back another snort.


    Wont that tax the reality energy in the Gates and Fractures? Are you really sure youre fine with me wasting some of that energy? I ask, curious about this decision. Because thats not something hed overlook. I know that for a fact.


    Leonidas answers, sounding more than a little happy, Father hasnt told the Nobles yet, but hes been preparing newws to deal with the loss of humans as an EXP source for a while now. So Im pretty sure hes basically given up on the war by now, leaving it entirely up to The Reapers judgement.


    Seriously? Lucius is in charge of the war effort now


    Wait, does that mean hes going to being to Earth? I ask, my eyes widening at the possibility.


    He will be, although thanks to your mothers visits itll take a lot longer for him to be able to than it wouldve otherwise, Leonidas says, more than a little amusement in his tone as I nce at Amelia, who has a proud smirk on her face at that.


    We can talk about the warter, Leonidas says, his words going serious again. Im sure Scarlet wants to get to her ascension, so we should give her some space for that.


    The smirk fades on Amelias face as she sighs, briefly looks like she wants to hug me, and then says, Yeah, okay.


    I purse my lips for a second, considering about whether I should let her hug me or not, only for her to say, Good luck, sweetie, and vanish without another word, not giving me time to react.


    <strong>So, are you going to ascend now? </strong>Tar asks while moving through the air to stop right in front of my face.


    Yeah, I will.


    Time to be a Noble.

 Book 4: Chapter 102: Class V

    Book 4: Chapter 102: ss V


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    This time I set up the portable bath I got from Gramps in my own room, since its far better than any baths we have here on Earth. Something that I have Leonidas and his Blood Runes to thank for. And unlike the other times Ive ascended, I just go right into it, not hesitation one single bit.


    <strong>[Confirmation received. Ascension to ss V will now begin.]</strong>


    Then, just like the ascension to ss IV, that extremely ufortable and also painful feeling returns. The one where it feels like my body is covered entirely in paper cuts. But unlike with the ascension to ss IV, this time the pain grows more and more and more all the way till it gets close to the amount of pain I felt when I had my reality damaged by that lunatic undead kitsune from before.


    I scream until my throat goes hoarse, all while the lovely soundproofing of the bath keeps my voice from anyone in the base. Because unlike on Tartarus where blood lycans are aplenty  at least at the Bloody Duchy  there isnt anyone at this base that can hear through the soundproofing.


    The pain continues on for who knows how long, but thanks to my battle with the lunatic  which wasnt much of a battle if Im being honest  I manage to at least think mostly straight through the process. Which goes to show how my pain tolerance is developing.


    Not sure if I should be proud of that or not, but meh.


    I continue screaming despite my thoughts going on a tangent, trying to distract myself from the pain. And eventually the pain finally fades.


    Then its reced by a bone chilling cold that has me stiffening up in the hot bath, feeling like everything around me is nothing but ice. But in just a few seconds, it changes to a boiling heat that has me rushing to turn down the temperature of the water to freezing, only for it to turn bone chilling again. And as I cant help but feel tears run down my face at this, I rush back and forth, turning the water freezing cold back to boiling hot tobat the feeling.


    After who knows how long it eventually ends, leaving me sighing in relief as everything returns to normal.


    Is it finally over?


    As if mocking me, I suddenly feel a strange sensation begin under my skin that has me raising my bare arms above the water to find it beginning to ripple a little. Then little red pockets appear. And just like when I use blood boil on enemies, little bubbles of blood begin popping all over my skin.


    Little bubbles that hurt far more than they really should.


    And as if that werent enough, the bubbles soon start to explode, sending tiny little droplets of my blood flying to pierce into the walls of the bath around me, literally destroying the walls until the self-repair feature repairs them. But from what I sensed with Blood Maniption, those droplets of blood continue until they m into the walls of my room, leaving dents in the heavily enforced walls.


    Holy fucking shit those droplets are breaking through Blood Metal and damaging the walls outside of it even after that.


    Then the draining sensation starts. Like something is life draining me.


    I slowly begin to feel like Im losing all my energy, leaving me sinking into the bath, unable to move.


    And by this point, I just want it all to end.


    <strong>Just a little more </strong>Tar mutters, sounding both scared and worried, and even a bit hopeful right about now.


    Everything just stops out of nowhere. All of the bubbles exploding on my skin, the life energy draining, and even the pain. And without missing a beat, I feel my eyes widening as I suck in a breath, seeing ck spots appearing over my skin along with purple, green, blue, and practically every sickly color under the damned moon. Then more bubbles start appearing and the life energy draining repeats itself, just with the bubbles exploding to send what I can only assume is gue infested blood everywhere.


    <em>FUCKING HEEEEEELL!!!! </em>I eventually scream out loud, possibly loud enough for my neighbors in the rooms next door to hear considering the holes repairing themselves in the walls of the soundproof bath.


    And all at once, everything stops again, leaving me slumping on the bottom of the bath while panting in exhaustion, my skin returning to normal. At the same time, the anemic and slightly starved look my body was taking on from all of that suddenly reverses as I feel my body filling with energy. Like Id taken some sort of wonder drug of something.


    But I just continue panting in exhaustion despite the energy, even as System Messages appear in my vision.


    <strong>Ascensionplete.</strong>


    <strong>User is now ss V.</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 1001. Ten Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, on ount of ascending to ss V, your stat multipliers have been increased by over twice the previous amount.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, on ount of ascending to ss V, your stat gain per level for Physical have been increased.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, on ount of ascending to ss V, your stat gain per level for Mental have been increased.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, on ount of ascending to ss V, your stat gain per level for Magical have been increased.}</strong>


    <strong>{Your Species has changed from 87.5% blood lycan, 12.5% human to 99% blood lycan, 1% human. Your species is now cemented and will no longer change.}</strong>


    <strong>{Two hundred Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss V. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five hundred Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss V within five years of being initialized into the System. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five hundred Skill Points are awarded for ascending to ss V while less than thirty years old. Spend them wisely.}</strong>


    <strong>{Epic rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood ws and epic rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood may now merge and evolve into the legendary rarity inherent skill Metallicized Blood while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing two levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{Epic rarity inherent skill Partial Shift will now evolve into the legendary rarity inherent skill Partial Shift while retaining any previous effects. There is no cost in levels due to the skill being static.}</strong>


    <strong>{Epic rarity inherent skill Blood Empowerment, epic rarity inherent skill Life Absorption, epic rarity inherent skill Blood Absorption, and epic rarity inherent skill Blood Aura will now merge and evolve into the legendary rarity inherent skill Power Drain while retaining any previous effects it may have had at the cost of losing two levels.}</strong>


    <strong>{You have earned the mythic rarity inherent skill, Bloodborne Apocalypse.}</strong>


    I blink in surprise, just staring at the System Messages, and more specifically, at the mythic inherent skill, for who knows how long.


    Eventually I turn to look at Tar with a tired smile on my face and ask, You still need to eat your tail.


    Tar just stares at me for a few seconds before, to my surprise, bringing his tail to his mouth and eating it. Without seeming to feel any pain. Because why would an avatar feel pain?


    I snort and lie back down in the bath, staring up at the ceiling.


    ss V.


    Finally here.


    I continue lying here for a while before eventually deciding to check out those notifications that also appeared with the System Messages. Because I hear knocking on my rooms door, probably meaning that either someone was bothered by my screams or I got a Universal Notification.


    Either one would probably do.


    Anyways, the notifications.

 Book 4: Chapter 103: Etched Skills

    Book 4: Chapter 103: Etched Skills


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The first one is as expected.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has obtained an etched skill slot through reaching ss V under the age of thirty years old!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Same with the second one.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has obtained an etched skill slot through reaching ss V within five years of being initialized into the System!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    The third one isnt one I necessarily expected but knew might be a possibility.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has obtained an etched skill slot through bing the youngest being to ever ascend to ss V!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    And thest one is a little surprising.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has obtained an etched skill slot through being the first being in the universe to get a mythic skill from ss Ascension!</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Which brings my total number of etched skill slots to ten. Which is more than I really need if Im being honest.


    <strong>You do know that most people would strangle you for that casual dismissal of etched skill slots, right? </strong>Tar points out, but I ignore the tanuki that just ate his own tail. And regrew it in moments.


    Speaking of etched skill slots, might as well use a couple of them. Since I now have two mythic skills that are actually etchable.


    I think of etching both Lycans Regeneration and Bloodborne Apocalypse.


    <strong>[Please confirm that you wish to etch the skill Lycans Regeneration into your DNA.]</strong>


    <strong>[Please confirm that you wish to etch the skill Bloodborne Apocalypse into your DNA.]</strong>


    I quickly say yes to both, following which I feel a stabbing pain all over that doesntst long.


    <strong>[Skill etching is nowplete. You now have 9 etched skill slots remaining.]</strong>


    <strong>{Lycans Regeneration has now been granted an etched boost and will be passed down to all of the users descendants should they have any  Pre-Etching:</strong><strong>The most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride and the original etched skill of the Demon King. All users with this skill are capable of regenerating from almost any wound as long as they still have mana. The skill also significantly increases their mana regeneration. Post-Etching: The most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. All users with this skill are capable of regenerating from any wound as long as they still have mana. The skill also significantly increases their mana regeneration.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill etching is nowplete. You now have 8 etched skill slots remaining.]</strong>


    <strong>{Bloodborne Apocalypse has now been granted an etched boost and will be passed down to all of the users descendants should they have any  Pre-Etching: The user sends a bloodborne apocalypse throughout their surroundings targeting any the user deems as enemies. The apocalypse includes the boiling of the targets blood, spreading of every gue capable of being spread by the Apex Predator, the draining of the targets life energy, and upon the popping of any bubbles of blood, the further spread of the apocalypse through projectiles made of their blood. Post-Etching: The user sends a bloodborne apocalypse throughout their surroundings targeting any the user deems as enemies. The apocalypse includes the boiling of the targets blood, spreading of every gue capable of being spread by the Apex Predator, the draining of the targets life energy, and upon the popping of any bubbles of blood, the further spread of the apocalypse through projectiles made of their blood hardened into blood metal.}</strong>


    Oh? Thats nice. It listed the changes so I canpare them.


    Looks like the only change in Lycans Regeneration is that it removes the word almost from the capable of regeneration from almost any wound part. Which means Im probably capable of regenerating anything now no matter what.


    Although whether I get the time to regenerate it or not is a different matter entirely.


    As for bloodborne apocalypse, reading through the description of it makes me think its exactly what happened to me during my ascension. So its dangerous as hell for my targets. Especially if thousands of enemies end up sending those projectiles everywhere just like I did.


    I cant help but suspect that itll cost a lot of mana to use though.


    Now that the etching is done though, I focus on thest notification. Which is just one more requirement being fulfilled on that Title-Bearing Mythic skill that Im pretty sure is going to be the Warden of the Red gue. Just a simple Reach ss V achievement.


    Easy enough.


    Tar snorts at that thought but stays silent.


    Well, the knocking is getting louder now. So I should probably finish up my bath.


    Despite that thought, I continue lying here for a while before eventually getting out, putting on my clothes, and activating my armor. Then I finally dismiss the bath altogether and move over to the door where I briefly nce myself over, finding my hair still wet, and open the door to reveal a rather worried and somehow also impatient and annoyed looking general standing behind the door while tapping his foot.


    Howdy, I tell him with a light wave of a single hand, stuffing my other one in my pocket.


    He opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again. Then open it. Then close it. Then open it.


    Finally he decides to give up on whatever he was gonna say and instead says, Hello, Your Highness.


    I blink in surprise before lowering my hand and tilting my head as I ask, Did you hit your head or something?


    Because thats definitely not something the general I know would say. He would be getting into an argument with me right now.


    Also, I think I just saw a vein pulse on his forehead. Or maybe Im just imagining that?


    Does that actually happen outside of tv shows? Where a vein on someones forehead pulses out of anger? Or is it just fiction?


    Might also be that my senses are strong enough now to really pick up on things like that if it does happen.


    <strong>I think </strong>Tar begins, but I just shrug, deciding its not important, making him trail off instead of finishing whatever he was gonna say.


    Anyways, my thought tangents aside, the general takes a deep breath and then says, Congrattions on making it to ss V, Scarlet.


    Ah, hes calling me my name again.


    <strong>Scarlet, is it just me, or are you acting a bit more carefree now? More like how you acted when we first me, </strong>Tarments, making me frown for a second before shrugging. <strong>Almost like the curse doesnt have as strong a hold on you now that your ss V.</strong>


    Its possible. But Im me no matter what, so I dont care all that much.


    As long as I dont end up losing myself to my Sin or something like that again. Because that would suck.


    Putting that aside for the moment though, I do wonder just how strong I am now.


    I really want to go test it out.


    Miss Archeron, the general says, making me briefly wonder if hes just trying out different things to call me at this point, please dont destroy our training facility. If you wouldnt mind, go find your mother and ask to use hers or something.


    I find my jaw dropping open at that.


    Tar justughs.


    Rude.

 Book 4: Chapter 104: Tower in the Ocean

    Book 4: Chapter 104: Tower in the Ocean


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    In the end I do as the general suggests and find Amelia. Which doesnt take very long considering I can smell pretty much anyone and everyone within a veryrge radius around this base, not to mention hear everything.


    A rather unpleasant factor of my advancement only dampened a bit by the fact that I have more control over it. Since I can lower my sensitivity.


    Good thing too, considering the fact that base or not, were still near the frontlines. Even if theres a ceasefire right now.


    And battlefields dont tend to smell very good.


    Anyways, the main reason I manage to find Amelia though is probably because shes not hiding herself. So the moment I arrive at the cliff shes staring out from, she turns around and smiles at me, saying, Congrattions on reaching ss V, Scarlet.


    I give her a nod of appreciation and a brief, Thank you, then I move on to ask, Would you mind if I used your training facilities? The general doesnt want me breaking his.


    Amelias eyes widen and she covers her mouth at my blunt statement, as if shes trying to smother augh. But I swear I hear a snort anyways. And after a second she manages to return her gaze to me, uncovering her mouth to reveal not a hint of amusement there as she says, Of course.


    Then everything turns white around us, leaving me stumbling slightly from the sudden change.


    What the I mutter, only for us to appear in some sort of dome at the top of a tower in the middle of the ocean.


    I quickly walk to the edge of the tower to get a better view outside, and for as far as my ss V enhanced vision can see theres absolutely nothing but ocean. Just water, water, and more water.


    Holy shit, this is


    <strong>It actually looks pretty beautiful, </strong>Tarments, making me blink for a second before I nod in agreement.


    Its currently dawn outside, so the sun is rising. And the sight of the dawn in the middle of the ocean is rather breathtaking.


    I smile a little at the sight.


    Yeah. It is beautiful.


    I dont think Ive ever seen the ocean at this time of day before. And the only times I crossed the ocean on Tartarus were when I was crossing the Bloody Duchy with the help of those bodyguards  which I kind of wonder where are now  and when I was being chased across the ocean by the lunatic.


    Neither really gave me time to actually enjoy the beauty of the ocean. And neither were at dawn either, considering Tartaruss inverse day and night cycles.


    Several seconds pass in silence as I look out into the ocean before I smile even brighter.


    <strong>Whats up? </strong>Tar asks,nding on my shoulder.


    Nothing much. Just thinking about everything thats happened over thest years.


    About my trip to ss V.


    I reach up to pet him as Amelia walks up beside me to look at the ocean and says, This is my tower.


    It is a really nice location for a tower, I have to admit.


    <strong>Well, </strong>Tar begins, responding to my thoughts before Amelia spoke as his gaze focuses on the horizon as well, <strong>you have been through a lot.</strong>


    Yep. And Im sure Ill be going through even more in the future.


    Although hopefully I wont be tortured again by another lunatic.


    Tar doesnt snort at that, instead showing a dark expression on his face that tells me that I probably shouldnt joke about that subject.


    You mentioned before that thest requirement ording to the prophecy to upgrade Gradual Corruption Nullification is to just use the skill a bunch?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar says, his mood shifting again now that the topic has changed. <strong>I cant say the exact amount, but you have to nullify a certain amount of corruption.</strong>


    Thats not bad.


    Im assuming theres no time limit? No requirements on that either?


    <strong>You assume correctly, </strong>Tar says with a nod.


    Hmm.


    In that case, I should probably head to the Arctic. Since undead often love their corruption.


    Thats also where most of the spider demons are too, and those love corruption just as much. Maybe even more, considering the arachnae.


    Although the ce will be tougher to handle since a lot of undead dont have blood. Which will limit my offensive capabilities by quite a bit.


    Then again, some of my new upgraded and merged skills should be arge help with that.


    I smile at the thought of the merged skills. Something that doesnt happen often.


    On that note, I open my status and stare at it for a bit. But with my rare and lower rarity skills hidden, since my status is starting to be a little full. And only after I distribute my free points.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator</strong> <strong>Age: 21</strong><strong>Level: 1001</strong><strong>SP: 1201</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 3,048</strong><strong>Mental: 3,048</strong><strong>Magical: 3,047</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 5</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 4</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 32,505,396/ 32,505,396</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 10</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Bloodborne Apocalypse</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 28</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Power Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 28</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 24</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 18</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Healing Reversal</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Control</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 22</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Vampire Ascendancy</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Scarlet Aegis</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Eldritch Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Lycan''s Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Maniption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Princess''s Decree</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloodwell Keep</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    <strong>That is one monster of a list of skills </strong>Tar mutters, sounding more than a little bbergasted.


    I just smirk at his response.


    And my total mana it very nearly tripled from its previous amount. Somewhere between two to three times its previous amount.


    A very nice benefit to reaching ss V.


    Not to mention the new stats per level.


    It is a nice looking status.


    The two of us stare at it for a few more seconds before I close out of it and return to staring at the ocean for a little while.


    Then I eventually turn to Amelia and ask, So wheres the training hall?


    Its time to test out my new power.


    And then Ill be trying to advance Gradual Corruption Nullification.


    Because I will end this war.

 Book 5: Story and Cover Art

    Book 5: Story and Cover Art


    <strong>Scarlet in her quadrupedal Beast Form Cover:</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet a littleter on in the book in her normal lycan form Cover:</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>And Scarlet and Tar:</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>

 Book 4: Epilogue

    Book 4: Epilogue


    <strong>Amelias Tower</strong>


    Amelia smiles as she watches her daughter testing out her new power on the devices in Amelias training room. A training room far more advanced than any shes sure her daughter has ever seen before. Simply because itbines Earth technology and Blood Runes, with workbining the efforts of the greatest magi-tech engineer on Earth and the greatest enchanter on Tartarus.


    And the sight of her daughters new power  power that would win out over demons of over fifty levels above her  makes it impossible for Amelia to stop smiling.


    <em>Shes grown so much</em>


    Amelia continues watching her daughter for several minutes before her happy and proud smile finally begins to turn into a sad one.


    <em>Its still not enough though. Shes going to have to go through even more if she wants to save the universe.</em>


    That thought leaves Amelia feeling dread. But unlike with the start of the prophecy, she can help her daughter this time.


    And thats just what shes going to do.


    <em>I wont let Scarlet die. No matter what.</em>


    Amelia clenches her fists at her sides.


    <em>Even if I have to sacrifice my own life to save her.</em>


    <strong>Throughout the Universe</strong>


    On the other side of the universe from Earth, a named Arese, full of turmoil, stands on the edge. One that is home to humans and various species of demihumans who have mutated over time into strange variations on humans, many of whom include elves, whose magical power is greater than humans, dwarves, whose physical strength is greater than humans, and halflings, whose dexterity is greater than humans. Meanwhile the Grand Council, led by the council of the three demihuman races, leads the war against the human races who vastly outnumber them in sheer poption.


    But the majority of these beings are no further than ss I in their ascension. Even the leaders of the Grand Council stand only at ss III in power.


    And out of nowhere, in the middle of arge battle between the Grand Council and the United Nations of Humanity, a loud sound akin to ss shattering echoes around the entire world, making the conflict stop in an instant.


    Above the, under the eyes of all of the humans and demihumans living on it, strange cracks begin to appear in reality itself. And within these cracks, nothing but the pitch ck void can be seen.


    Silence fills the for several minutes, only broken when strange creatures start falling out of the cracks in the sky. Creatures that look like eldritch abominations made of nothing but bug parts, carapaces, and tentacles.


    First it starts with just a few across the-spanning cracks. Then dozens more.


    Eventually an entire swarm of creatures, all of ss I at minimum, begin to flood out of the cracks, causing mass panic throughout the.


    The strongest beings on the quickly rush out to fight the creatures, but they quickly find something strange about them.


    None of the creatures have any life force to absorb after killing them.


    This quickly decreases the motivation of the denizens fighting against them. Until they begin seeing ss II creatures leaving the cracks as well. Muchrger creatures over twice the size of the first.


    And their newfound motivation turns into panic when the ss III creatures start to swarm over the.


    Soon enough, the bespletely overrun by the void creatures, with thesst hope being killed by the first ss IV creatures that pass through the cracks.


    The is then left in silence after just a single week of invasion by the void creatures.


    Unbeknownst to the fallens former denizens, a single pitch ck eye radiating an evil light begins to crack open on the other side of the crack, only for it to close again as the creature it belongs to realizes it is impossible for it to cross through the crack just yet.


    And thus begins the invasion of the void.


    Meanwhile, on a known as Tartarus situated halfway across the universe from Arese, the witches all open their eyes as they begin glowing with an eerie light. And without a moments hesitation, the Demon King appears in front of them right when each of the witches begin chanting, their words echoing throughout the entire world.


    <strong>Prepare yourselves, for the Gaze of the Void hasnded on the universe atst. The Void will spread its corruption throughout the universe, tearing apart world after world until its gaze finally lies on the demons within the decade. Prepare yourself for destruction, for the only hope of the demons has yet to grow. Prepare for the end of Tartarus.</strong>


    The Demon King grimaces at the news despite knowing that it wasing.


    At the same time as the witches, the Purple Knight of Humanity starts her livestream, her own eyes glowing purple as she states, <strong>The next era has begun. The Void ising. Prepare now or all shall be lost. Prepare now, Wolf of the Blood Moon, for you are thest true hope for the universe.</strong>


    And all across the universe, various prophecies are told to everyst with sapient life powerful enough to reach ss III for their seers. Some with the same level of detail as Purple and the witches prophecies, most with far fewer details.


    But all with enough to cause panic across the worlds.


    Meanwhile on Tartarus, the Demon Lords grow tense as they consider the ramifications of this on themselves and their own ns.


    On Earth, the Knights of Humanity all show various different reactions, each considering the effects of the prophecy on the war, and on who the Wolf of the Blood Moon is without a single one not being able to guess their identity. And Scarlet simply narrows her eyes as she pauses in her testing of her new powers, faintly surprised by the timing but not by the events currently happening.


    Chaos reigns on boths, but far moreso on Tartarus than on Earth due to the shorter time frame for them than the humans.


    And finally, the Demon King turns his gaze to space around the, his eyes narrowing.


    Then the chaos grows more when the suddenly shudders, the Demon King raising both of his hands, expanding his blood domain around the entire and beginning to move the itself away from the direction he senses the void creatures.


    But all across the universe, everyone recognizes one thing.


    The old era hase to a close, and a new one has begun.


    An era of the end.

 Book 5: Glossary

    Book 5: Glossary


    <strong>World:</strong>


    There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.


    The Terran Republic: Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.


    Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.


    Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.


    Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.


    The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    Currency: Credits and Skill Points.


    10 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    4 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    30 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong>Tartarus:</strong>


    Blood Lycans live in the Bloody Duchy.


    Oni live in the Oni Citadel.


    Mindeaters live in the Mindeaters Lair.


    Ghouls live in the Caverns of Death.


    Arachnae live in the Spider Burrows.


    Kitsune live in the Ashen Mountains.


    Subi live in the Mesa of Illusions.


    The ranks of Nobility include:


    Baron/Baroness {1001-1200}


    Viscount/Viscountess {1201-1400}


    Count/Countess {1401-1600}


    Marquess/Marchioness {1601-1700}


    Duke/Duchess {>1700}


    Prince/Princess{Sons or Daughters of the Demon king} and Demon Lord{Four highest level demons}


    Demon King


    Social Contact Outside of Cities:


    Demons are perfectly fine with killing any other demon they see outside of cities. However, they will generally avoid killing other demons who have crests showing clearly on their body, designating them as members of a Nobles family. Unless the demon in question is also a child of a Noble or a Noble themselves.


    The demons ce absolute trust in the Royal Family thanks to the entire Demon world of Tartarus being controlled under his absolute power, and their entire society having been formed by him alone. Additionally, he solves all of their problems, and is by far the oldest demon living to this day. One of the very few demons who survived long enough to know the truth of the world.


    <em>One gold coin -> Ten silver</em>


    <em>One silver -> One hundred bronze</em>


    <strong>System:</strong>


    There are two types of skills. Inherent skills and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.


    Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.


    However, there are also skills known as Achievement-Locked skills, which have to be purchased through skill points before they then turn into inherent skills which level up just like any other inherent skill. These skills cannot use Skill Points to level up. Achievement-Locked skills are always the higher rarity versions of an etched skill the user has from an ancestor.


    The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.


    Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users skills and capabilities take. Especially in their inherent skills.


    At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.


    ss I multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9.


    ss II multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.2, D a multiplier of 0.4, C 0.7, B 1.0, and A has a multiplier of 1.4.


    ss III multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.3, D a multiplier of 0.6, C 1.0, B 1.4, and A has a multiplier of 1.9.


    ss IV multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.4, D a multiplier of 0.8, C 1.3, B 1.8, and A has a multiplier of 2.4.


    ss V  Tier E has a multiplier of 1, D a multiplier of 2, C 3, B 4, and A has a multiplier of 5.


    Total Mana: Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.


    Total Mana Regen: Average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat.


    <em>Note: Scarlets mana regen does not follow this due to Blood Regeneration!!!</em>


    Strength in arc: Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch.


    The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 arc on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.


    (Scarlets multipliersbined is 1.2x)


    The stats everyone starts out with is 10 but their starting stats vary after contracting depending on both their reality warp, their magic, and their physical fitness at the time of contracting.


    <strong>ss I Demons  1-100</strong>


    Demon Spawn


    Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.


    Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8


    Demon Hound


    Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.


    Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15


    Demon Huntsman


    Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.


    Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20


    Demon Knight


    Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.


    Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100


    Demon Breeder


    Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.


    Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50


    Demon Captain


    Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.


    Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100


    Known Captain Species so far: Smanders and Trihearts.


    <strong>ss II Demons  Levels 101-250</strong>


    Demon Fomorians


    Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.


    Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150


    Demon Acolytes


    Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.


    Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155


    Demon Wraiths


    Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.


    Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160


    Demon Berserkers


    Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.


    Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200


    Demon Defenders


    Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.


    Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200


    Demon Summoners


    Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.


    Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210


    Demon Commander


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250


    <strong>ss III Demons  Levels 251-500</strong>


    Vanguard


    Description: These demons are almost as intelligent as humans and are capable of basic speech. They are the lower echelon demons who have climbed their way up to ss III from the less generally powerful species of demons.


    Subspecies Shown So Far:


    Taracht: Massive spider with ck hair streaked with red.


    Changelings


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves and spreading throughout parts of old world China.


    Demon Generals


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss III Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Their weakness is dependent on which subspecies of demon they are.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 500


    <strong>ss IV Demons  Levels 501-1000</strong>


    <strong>ss V Demons  Noble Demons  Above level 1000</strong>


    There are only seven demon species that have a cemented ce amongst the Noble Demons. All other Noble Demons are simply other demons who have managed to reach ss V.


    The following seven demon species are the Seven Noble Demon ns.


    Blood Lycans


    Description: Blood lycans are known by many to be the most powerful species of demon in existence. They can partially and fully transform into a powerful beast form, have the strongest regeneration in existence, and are born predators in every way, whether ites to their physical prowess, magical, or senses. They are also known to fight in a more berserk manner, often sacrificing hits on themselves to return just as much pain to their enemy as they regenerate their own wounds.


    Blood lycans are known to be very proud and protective of their family and care far more for their family than anything else. However, this care is mostly limited to direct family as indirect family, while it is known that they still protect them viciously from any outsiders not of their species, they may not be treated very well depending on their circumstances by other blood lycans. Or they may just treat indirect family as they would others albeit with a bit more respect.


    It is a breach of their pride for any other species to ever kill a blood lycan.


    They have the most humanlike appearances out of all demons when they are in their lycan forms, with glowing red eyes and wolf ears on their head, along with red and ck hair and a tail that can be absorbed into their body at will. However, their beast forms tend to vary depending on the blood lycan in question. But most of the blood lycans have the form of a ck furred werewolf with streaks of blood red running through the fur.


    Weakness: Blood lycans have a minor weakness to Mental Magic and another weakness to sound magic. However, their weakness to sound magic can be solved through lowering their senses or protecting them with magic, making that weakness go away.


    Magic: Blood magic, with a unique power to metallicized blood.


    Sin: Pride


    Oni


    Description: Oni aremonly known as the demon with the most brute force magical power out all demons in existence. While they cannot truly match a blood lycan in fighting prowess, they have them beat in pure magical attacks. These demons are also theplete opposite of the blood lycans in terms of family as their wrath is too great for them to be bound by family, as most of those who try end up tearing themselves apart in the end in a bloody fight before splitting up.


    They have a humanoid appearance with a crown of horns on their head, each glowing red with heat. They have crimson skin, with equally crimson eyes, and red ws on their hands and feet with no heart, instead having a me inside of their chest.


    Weakness: An onis weakness is holy magic.


    Magic: Hellfire magic, with a unique power to cause direct damage to someones reality(their soul) with their hellfire.


    Sin: Wrath


    Mindeater


    Description: Mindeaters are perhaps the most reclusive of the demons amongst the seven demon ns, with only one other ning anywhere near close to them in that regard. Most Mindeaters simply spend their days sleeping or watching over their territory with their reality detached from their body. However, should a Mindeater ever be truly angered, they will devour a persons reality whole, turning it into life energy instead and feeding the life force in them to the System entirely.


    They have the appearance of arge insect with very little carapace shielding them from physical harm and ten legs, with three segments to their body and two incisors at the front of their mouths.


    Weakness: A Mindeaters weakness is their physical strength.


    Magic: Mind-eater magic, with a unique power to disconnect their reality(their soul) from their body when asleep.


    Sin: Sloth


    Ghoul


    Description: Ghouls are the only undead demons in the ranks of the seven ns, and they are known to be even more unkible than a blood lycan because of their ability to substitute mana for life energy. They often specialize purely in magic and their body, making them powerful foes who have the mana to long since oust most foes they will fight.


    However, fire magic will make regenerating damage done to the physical body of a ghoul more difficult, and so ghouls hate fire magic users more than anything. Including the oni n.


    Ghouls are also ravenous creatures whose appetites know no bounds, leading to them eating both living and nonliving things almost every chance they get.


    They have humanoid bodies with pitch ck eyes, pale skin with veins of ck and purple energy running underneath, and ck ws.


    Weakness: A ghouls weakness is fire magic.


    Magic: Death magic, with the unique power to substitute mana for life energy, allowing them to continue living as long as they have mana regardless of the state of their body.


    Sin: Gluttony


    Arachnae


    Description: Arachnae prefer to live in the dark and are known to be the strongest assassins in all of Tartarus. They are often hired by other demons to assassinate noble demons that are too powerful at arge price. However, they only work during the night as their eyes are sensitive to the light.


    Arachnae live in nests with at least a dozen arachnae in each nest, and their kingdoms are all underground.


    These Nobles are some of the most aggressive demons towards other species out of pure envy. If there is something the other species has that the arachnae wishes to have, their envy will lead them do disliking the species.


    Thanks to this, most arachnae tend to live outside of the public eye, not interacting with the other demon species of Tartarus if they do not have to.


    Weakness: An arachnaes weakness is light magic.


    Magic: Corruption with the unique ability to absorb, recreate, mix, and experiment with any type of corruption using their own body that is immune to any corruption(poison, acid, viruses, etc).


    Sin: Envy


    Subi


    Description: Subi are known as one of the few demon species who can and will impregnate any other species. However, these creatures are also distant at the same time, as are all seers. They never create permanent ties with other creatures outside of their own species, always leaving them to wander. They never create kingdoms of their own or rule in any manner.


    If a subi is seen in a city, most demons inhabiting that city know that the subi will most likely only leave after sleeping with over a dozen different demons in the city. However, they also know not to ever anger the subi. Because entire citys poptions have been known to go missing after such an event.


    It is simply in their nature to feel lust over anything they deem beautiful.


    Weakness: A subis weakness is pain and fighting someone whos mind is protected from charm magic.


    Magic: Charm with a unique ability to divine anyone whose exact name they know and enter their dreams, thereby finding their location and being able to manipte them in their dreams.(can be warded against if someone is powerful enough)


    Sin: Lust


    Kitsune


    Description: Kitsune are known across Tartarus as the rulers of the most powerful association of thieves in all of Tartarus known as the Thieves of Tartarus. They are greedy creatures who are not able to keep their hands to themselves should they ever see something they like. Regardless of the consequences.


    However, despite their thieving nature, kitsune specialize simply in support andbat magic, with no stealth or illusion rted skills known to date.


    How they managed to create the Thieves of Tartarus to this day has alluded even the Demon King himself.(mostly because he doesnt care enough to simply order them to answer)


    Weakness: A kitsunes weakness is water magic.


    Magic: Foxfire, which is abination of fire and lightning and is solely unique to kitsunes, with the ability to enhance any skill that uses foxfire depending on how many tails the kitsune has.


    Sin: Greed


    The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.


    Note: Noble demons only include Blood Lycans, Oni, Arachnae, Subae, Ghouls, Mindeaters, Kitsune, and any demon above level one thousand.


    Meaning that there are no noble demons outside of those seven species who are not ss V already.


    No exceptions.


    <strong>Characters:</strong>


    Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron:


    Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, 22 years old now, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, has ck hair before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants when not in her armor. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.


    The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public when she started out.


    She has the Title Apex Predator and is known as the Princess of both the Humans and the Demons due to being the granddaughter of the Demon King and the daughter of the White Knight of Humanity. She is also known as the Warden of the Red gue.


    Allen Silvester:


    Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.


    He was contracted by White to create the orphanage in the first ce and raise Scarlet as an orphan.


    Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.


    Cynthia Sylvester:


    Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.


    Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.


    Arthur Barnes:


    A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.


    Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.


    But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.


    Arabellia Silvester:


    Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.


    She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.


    Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.


    Title: Mystic Guardian


    Michael Winters:


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet at twenty years old and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.


    Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.


    Title: Druid


    Denise Harley:


    A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet at twenty one years old and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.


    Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.


    Title: Inferno


    Emily Winters:


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet at eighteen years old and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.


    Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.


    Title: Little Reaper.


    Leonidas Val Art de Archeron:


    Demon Lord of Tartarus, Scarlets father, and the son of the current Demon King. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan who had a child with White, the current most powerful human being, and his father was not happy about it. He cares about Scarlet a lot and can get protective of her in strange ways. However, if she is on a hunt, he will not disturb her as is the way with blood lycans.


    Leonidas is known to be both honorable and kind towards all blood lycans regardless of their position in the pack, and ruthless towards any who would dare harm any member of the pack in any way.


    The man is also known to spend the majority of his time working on and improving his enchanting, both in terms of his Blood Runes level, and his actual skill in using the skill itself to enchant. He is an avid craftsman just as much as he is a powerful warrior and a beast in his own right, just like his father.


    Amelia Asger:


    White, the most powerful amongst the Knights of Humanity, and Scarlets mother. She is also the brother to Blue and aunt to Aria. Amelia loves both her daughter and Leonidas and went with the prophecy due to her fear of losing the two of them. Fear that was imnted into her by past prophecies that had gone horribly wrong after she didnt follow them.


    She has aplicated rtionships with the other Knights, and an even moreplicated rtionship with Leonidas, her mate.


    Very little is known about her by the public thanks to her wiping her information except set bits that she knew needed to remain known in order for her to continue on as her role as the White Knight of Humanity.


    However, from the few remaining traces, the humans know her to be a kind and powerful woman who is extremely socially awkward and dislikes being near other people. And while there are a very small number of people who distrust her solely for her erasing her information from the world, the majority trust in her simply due to her continuing the fight against the demons. Even leading it in some ways.


    But just like a lot of spection about people in the world, not all of it is true. Amelia Asger is indeed an extremely socially awkward person who dislikes being near others, and she has more power than any other human.


    But she is nowhere near as stable, understanding, and calm as most would choose to believe.


    Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron:


    Demon King of Tartarus, Scarlets grandfather, and the father of one of the current Demon Lords. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan and does not approve of his son having had a child with a human. However, he doesnt hold this against the child and cares about Scarlet very much. Even if he has only met her once when she was a baby. He also didnt approve of Leonidass n to bring Scarlet to Earth but had no way to go against it since hismand as Demon King doesnt work on a Demon Lord and his son conducted his n without telling him first. The man has constantly been searching for Scarlet and anything that may lead him to her so that he can bring her home and protect her as his only granddaughter.


    After Scarlet was brought to Tartarus, he prioritizes her over most things, including his own work as the King sometimes. He also has a habit of patting her on the head, to her displeasure.


    Arkaz lost both his wife and his unborn daughter due to the emperor of the old Empire that he and his people had helped conquer for them after they had turned them into demons. He has an immense distaste towards any humans, but the man himself refuses to give into his hatred unless there is a usible reason for him to kill.


    And Scarlet took that reason away from him, leading him to favor his love for her over his hatred, blotting it out in the process.


    Arkaz is known to travel the world when he is not dealing with the runnings of the Demon World of Tartarus, even if he has already seen everyst inch of the world itself. He is generally a carefree spirit on the outside, always actingidback and more than a little arrogant. Something that every demon believes to be natural given his overwhelming power.


    But be warned, when it manages to leak out of hisidback and carefree nature, his anger has been known to take millions of lives in a single swipe of his ws.


    Aria Knight:


    Aria is Scarlets cousin and the daughter of Blue. She is one of the youngest Guardians in recorded history, a famous child actress, and is emotionally stunted in her development just like Scarlet. However, she is fine with physical contact as long as its with Scarlet, who she quickly grew to like after meeting her and begins to think of as an older sister.


    Aria has long ck hair with unnatural blue eyes and two wings that she can summon whenever she pleases. The wings look like those of an angels.


    Aquatic Divine: Arias magic that lets her use both water and holy magic in tandem.


    Aria also has a few etched skills from Alexander but doesnt know what all of them are or how to use most of them except for a single one. One that allows her to shapeshift a part of her body into a tentacle tipped with a w. And this one she only knows about due to identally using it.


    Alexander Knight:


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, Blue. He is an insane psychopath with water rted magic that can also transform him into a kraken, and is tied with Red as the second most powerful human being. He is Scarlets uncle and White  Scarlets mother  brother. He is Arias father despite practically abandoning her to the government immediately after having her through the first willing gene donor he could find just to get the government off his back.


    Lucius Tor de ckheart:


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and a Ghoul. He has the titles Lord of Death and The Reaper. He uses death magic and is close to the Demon King. He is the oldest of the four Demon Lords even if he isnt the strongest and has family issues.


    He dislikes the way blood lycans treat their family sometimes and had a troubled childhood where he was almost eaten by his own father. But it didnt end there as he himself almost ate his own father, instead opting to eat a random demon outside of the room to barely save his father from that fate.


    Lucius pities Scarlet and sympathizes with her, so he helps her for those reasons to break free from her Grandfather and Fathers control. But his real thoughts on Scarlet are unknown to everyone beyond his trust in the Demon King.


    Lucius is widely known as a fervent reader of books and searcher of novels of all kinds, both educational and otherwise. Many people suspect this to be his way of smothering his hunger under fantasy outside of reality. Something many other ghouls are known to do, each in their own ways whether that be pleasure, sleep, or even illusions.


    Vorgrim ckthorn of the ck me:


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and an oni. He is aplete battle maniac who cares only about honor andbat prowess. If someone has none of those qualities, he believes them to be worthless and will kill them if he doesnt believe they deserve their status. And if he does believe they deserve his status, then he ignores their existence entirely.


    Whereas the other Demon Lords aside from Leonidas mostly respect her because of who she is, Vorgrim respects Scarlet on a fundamental level beyond her status as the First Princess of Tartarus and the Demons. He respects her power. Her strength. Her magic. And her willpower to move forwards and grasp deadly achievements for herself.


    Vorgrim is widely known to ept any and all challenges from any demons and takes in demons to train amongst those challengers who he believes show promise as a warrior.


    Xyvandra Vyx Yxethra:


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus, the Lady of Devouring, and a mindeater. She is disinterested in the war between the humans and the demons but assists in the war purely out of her respect and loyalty towards the Demon King.


    Xyvandra thinks of Scarlet as a young girl and the granddaughter of the most trusted person in the world to her. However, her respect and care for Scarlet is still not enough to arouse her from her slumber lest the Demon King ask for her assistance, or Scarlet or Leonidas is in severe danger and need help.


    However, Xyvandra doesnt show herself in public enough for demonkind to know of her nature as a demon, because just like all other mindeaters, she sleeps the day away detached from her body whenever she isnt needed by the Demon King.


    Will Wright:


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, ck. He has a split personality with one of his personalities being a yful prankster, and the other a pseudo psychopath. The man both wishes to take Scarlet in and adopt her but also doesnt at the same time. One side of him wishes to do it out of actual worry and care, while the other just wants to spite Amelia, Scarlets biological mother.


    ck uses a shadow rted magic that makes him the most powerful human assassin in the world.


    Noah Walker:


    Noah is the Red Knight of Humanity and tied for the second most powerful human being, being evenly matched with Blue. He has a son named ke Walker, who he raised on the front lines like a soldier.


    ke Walker:


    ke is the son of Red and is a ss II Guardian. He also admits that Scarlet is his type but adamantly refuses to let that develop into any form of romantic interest.


    Sylver:


    A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.


    Sage:


    She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.


    Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.


    Alfred Raynsford:


    The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.


    He is one of the few people who remembers what White looks like and still meets with her regrly.


    Jacob R. Ashton:


    He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart and the current general of the Military and leader of the Golden Retreat, an all-male Association made tobat Avas all-female Association. He goes by the title of Golden Rider.


    Julian:


    Son of the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city. He was the new Guardian Scarlet saved in a Fracture. He has silver hair to match the tail that pokes a hole through his pants along with two silver eyes, the same glossy shade of silver as his tail.


    Anthony Wilson:


    Contracted partner of Artoria  Tars sister  and a user of death magic. Part void spawn due to human experimentation. Can use a powerful legendary skill that drastically increases all of his stats for the price of taking an explosive amount of damage if hurt while using the skill.


    Lucas Walsh:


    Lucas was the second ce finisher in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament that Scarlet won. He is a student at Aquatic Pride Guardians University, and has a strong magical sense of smell, leading to him noticing Scarlets scent and pointing it out in a creepy manner.


    Lucas is not able to understand the nuances behind things spoken to him or by him, making him miss the small details that are meant to be left unsaid and leaving him to say things that can be taken as creepy or strange.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Shifter


    Abigail Kim:


    Abigail was defeated in the quarterfinal round of the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. She is a student at Yggdrasil Guardians University, goes by the nickname Abi, and is the only mental magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Abigail and Sam are dating.


    Her Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Lost


    Samuel Lewis:


    Sam was defeated in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. He is a student at Hunters Peak Guardians University, goes by the nickname Sam, and is the only blood magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Sam and Abigail are dating.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Crim


    Ethan Davis:


    Ethan was defeated by Scarlet in the Tower Siege secondary tournament and is a student at Scorched Halls Guardians University. He uses a magic that locks him in ce while he absorbs the damage dealt to him before he eventually releases is all at the target in an uncontroble wave ofva.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Molten Angel


    Caroline Winters:


    Carol is a ss III Guardian and the number one ranked student currently at Lions Heart Guardians University. She is also the older sister of both Emily and Michael, two of Scarlets former teammates.


    Carol uses spatial magic that lets her cut apart space itself.


    Title: Rift


    Anthony Wilson:


    A death magic user and a ss I Guardian who is the second strongest in Scarlets ss.


    Title: Necro


    Raiden Akuma:


    The daughter of the n Leader for the Kitsune n and the head maid of the Demon King. She is also currently tasked with helping Scarlet navigate the kitsune n.


    Akuma is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike other kitsune, she holds herself back most of the time. And the rest of the kitsune are terrified of her because she is often the one dealing out punishment for members of the n who lose themselves to their Sin of Greed.


    Raiden Amaterasu:


    The n Leader for the Kitsune n and Akumas mother. She is also stronger than White.


    Amaterasu is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike her daughter, she does not hold herself back unless she has to. Because she has the power to back her actions.


    The only time she ever holds herself back is from going too far with Scarlet as she does fear and respect the Demon King too much to go any further than mere ying.

 Book 5: Chapter 1: Three Months

    Book 5: Chapter 1: Three Months


    <strong>A News Station Somewhere on Earth</strong>


    <em>Three, two, one and were live!</em>


    Hello everyone, I am Megumi Faltz here with thetest war update! Megumi exims with a bright smile on her face and her microphone held to her face as she stands next to a board with a screen showcasing the current state of the frontlines. As you all know, its been two months since the ceasefire ended and the war resumed, and since then, weve been seeing a vast improvement in our own side of the war thanks to our beloved Princess!


    On the screen, the millions of viewers around the world can see video of the Apex Predator and Princess to both the Demons and Humans charging through the undead in the Arctic, tearing them limb from limb with ease all while not even getting so much as a scratch in return. Then the screen shifts to show her causing pandemonium on the Eastern frontlines against the demons there, the twenty-two year old girl transformed into her quadrupedal beast form and tearing the demons to shreds without even an ounce of hesitation. And to top it off, thousands of des made of the blood of the very demons she is tearing apart repeatedly tear into the other demons, with the only pause in the chaos being the few times a ss V demon tries to push her back only for her to vanish again after transforming into blood and merging with the blood raining down all over the battlefield by her own skill. She then reappears again somewhere else on the battlefield to continue fighting the ss I through IV demons in order to give the vastly lower number of Guardians a break.


    The Apex Predator is the youngest known ss V being on both Earth <em>and </em>Tartarus, beating out even the Demon King himself, and she has been the crux of our battle against the demon forces that have only grown since the eventmonly known now as the Night of Blood that kicked off the True Demonic War, Megumi continues before the screen repeatedly changes from one recording of Scarlet battling to another. Then it starts showing her older recordings from before she had reached ss V, including clips from her battles in the Ranking Tournament back when she was ss I, the first clips of her fighting in Fractures, clips from her time in the annual Interschool Tournament, and even clips from the very first Fracture she contracted in. While the ss Vs of Earth have been recovering alongside the majority of the rest of the Guardians, the Apex Predator and the Knights have been holding their own against the demon threat. A threat that has only grown over the ceasefire as the demonspletely reced all of their losses with the sole exception of the ss Vs through new forces from Tartarus. Megumi pauses with a grin. But the Knights arent who were here to talk about.


    The screen suddenly changes again to show an intimidating image of Scarlet standing in her lycan form covered in blood with her eyes glowing amidst the blood rain falling down around her. And then another image appears alongside it of her standing there looking even more intimidating in her bipedal beast form, and then another in her quadrupedal form.


    Finally, onest image appears where she is simply standing on a rooftop with her hands in her armors pockets while looking out at the night sky above a city.


    Were here to talk about the Apex Predator and only the Apex Predator. The focal point of our side of the war, the granddaughter to the Demon King, daughter to the White Knight of Humanity, and the one many believe to be our hope against the approaching Void Invasion, Megumi says, her voice getting more and more excited as she continues. And to start things off, here is a man some of you may know as the leader of Scarlets old team, the Druid!


    A man wearing a ck and green set of magi-tech armor that looks somewhere between a business suit and a set of armor with half a cape going down behind one shoulder starting underneath one of his pauldrons steps into the view of the camera. He has ck and green hair with vibrant green eyes and a piercing gaze that matches his outfit, and has the mana level of a ss III Guardian.


    How are you doing, Druid? Ive heard your team is the current most-likely-to-win team in the uing Interschool Tournament, so how do you feel about that? Megumi asks as a ck seat rises from the floor alongside a long counter, with another seat appearing near Michael letting them both sit down.


    Im doing well, but well see how the tournament goes when it actually happens, he says with a light nod of his head, resting his arms on the counter.


    Megumi smiles at him and winks, Just as humble as the rumors say.


    The neutral expression on Michaels face almost breaks at that but he just keeps looking ahead without giving anything away about his current feelings.


    Then Megumi leans forward and asks, What do you think about Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron? She was in your team a while back at the same ss as you but has now advanced all the way to the peak of humanity. Do you have anyments on that?


    I think she deserves all of her fame and power, Michael says with a slight crease to his forehead. Shes gone through far more than most people do, even if she was given the etched skills of her bloodlines. So she more than deserves the power. And as for how I feel about her personally? He pauses for a second while ncing at the screen then back to Megumi and the camera again. Shes one of my best friends, and the others in my team all agree with that sentiment fully.


    Megumi instantly grins at that and ps once, saying, Excellent! Its always a sad thing when former teams and even current teams end up having bad blood due to jealousy, so its great you and your team arent like that! Then she leans forward once more, a smirk stretching across her face, But on the subject of your team, have you heard the rumors online about you?


    Michaels eyes widen slightly at that, indicating that he did. But he just asks, No, I havent.


    Well then, in that case, is it true that you used to only ept girls into your team before Scarlet left? And if thats the case, then why was that? Megumi asks, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes that shes sure has Michael wanting to squirm.


    The man simply remains calm and answers with a light shake of his head, That wasnt the case. It was entirely a matter of coincidence.


    Megumis grin grows a little more at that reply but she decides to let it go and move on as the screen behind them changes to show clips from years ago back when Scarlet had to work with Sylver in the Fractures she entered. Then she looks at the camera and says, Well youve heard it here, everyone, those rumors of the Druid being a flirt are nothing more than rumors! But now that weve cleared that up, how about we bring in our second special guest! You all known him as Sylver! A ss IV Guardian from the Silver Association! The same Association as the Apex Predator!


    Sylver walks into the view of the camera, joining the two and taking his own seat, the mans silver hair having grown long as his now equally silver eyes asionally spark with bits of silver electricity.


    So Sylver, how did you used to feel watching Scarlet as her senior member of the Association? Megumi asks while tilting her head ever so slightly.


    The man in question just shrugs and answers honestly, I was rather upset that I had to babysit a neer to the Association.


    Megumi smiles, having fully expected the mans bluntness. Which was part of why they decided to invite him to the show.


    That and she couldnt get a meeting with the Apex Predator herself considering how famous and important she is now.


    So you felt like a babysitter? But how did you feel when watching the rookie you had to babysit shoot straight past you? Megumi asks, her hands resting on the counter now.


    Sylver once again answers honestly, I didnt really care beyond the relief that I wouldnt have to babysit her anymore.


    The shows host blinks in surprise as she almost blurts out what? in surprise but manages to keep her silence.


    <em>I was not expecting that. Then again, he doesnt show up on media much, so there isnt all that much data on how to speak with him.</em>


    Really? Thats a good outlook to have, Megumi says with a nod before moving on to the next question.


    <em>I still wish I couldve gotten the Apex Predator herself toe here. But I understand shes busy. Probably off killing demons in the Arctic or the Eastern Front right now.</em>


    Megumi takes reassurance from that thought as she and the two famous Guardians in front of her continue talking under the view of the camera.

 Book 5: Chapter 2: Odd Hobbies

    Book 5: Chapter 2: Odd Hobbies


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out azy yawn as I continue lying down in the middle of a frozen wastnd in the Arctic while letting the zombies around me take turns chomping on me. All ss IV zombies, of course. And only with me periodically cutting my arms with my own ws to open up wounds for them to get into.


    Seeing as they cant actually pierce my skin and all.


    Its a good thing these undead are almost all unintelligent. They make for a rather nice boat of corruption to get that achievement with.


    Although I will admit, lying here letting mostly dead things chomp on me and infect me with viruses all day for the past few days has been more than a little boring.


    <strong>Im pretty sure youd bebeled as a weirdo with a strange fetish if the inte saw this </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him.


    Theres nothing wrong with sitting here grinding achievements from non-sapient demons.


    <strong>Most people wouldnt cut open their own skin to let said demons infect them with viruses </strong>Tar retorts quietly.


    I act like I didnt hear him.


    More importantly, just how many freaking viruses and diseases am I going to have to cure anyways?!


    Tar doesnt say anything for a second while looking off to the side as If I didnt just ask him a question.


    I know you heard me.


    He sighs and turns to me before pausing a second and eventually answering, You need to cure instances of corruption from one million different beings.


    I sit up straight in an instant after hearing him, sending the zombies piled on top of me flying high up into the air until they leave the sight of normal humans as my gaze locks on the furball.


    You mean to tell me Ive been wasting my time here letting zombies chomp on me? I exim.


    Tar stays silent for a second and meekly answers, Not entirely.


    Right. Because the infections each counted as one different being, right?


    Yeah! Tar exims, suddenly a lot more motivated.


    I grab the furball in an instant and throw him into the air too while standing up with a huff and looking around at the remaining zombies nearby. None of whom havent already bitten me at some point.


    So I wave my hand, sending needles of blood straight through each and every one of their skulls and into their brains. Then I expand the needle to explode, destroying thousands of heads as I begin to walk away from the clearing of zombies.


    I guess it isnt entirely Tars fault considering how he only arrived recently from his five-day-long meeting with the other fae royals about the void threat. But he couldve at least been more specific on what the achievement required.


    The bright side is that, if the past several days are anything to go by, Ive at least cured the corruption of a tenth of the number of beings necessary for the achievement.


    Although its rather hard to keep track, so I might be wrong about that.


    I briefly nce up when I find the zombies I sent flying finally returning to view of a normal persons vision. And without hesitation, I move straight to the other side of the frozen wastnd to avoid the rain of zombies that end up sttering into piles of gore on the ground.


    Then I continue walking through the frozen wastnd with my armor back on, it having been taken off to let the zombies actually reach my skin, leaving me in just normal clothes.


    Good thing the zombies only cared about attacking the open wounds I made, otherwise my clothes mightve been damaged.


    I look up again when I see Tar leisurely floating back down towards me.


    Wee back, I tell him, not upset anymore.


    He just huffs.


    I nce at my terminal as I search the surroundings with my ears for more non-sapient undead, only to pause for a second.


    Theres no reason to look for non-sapient undead if all I need is for each one to infect me once and nothing more. Any undead will work for that.


    So I just begin heading towards the closest group of undead, which isnt much of a challenge considering how the Arctic is practically full of the things. Filled to the brim.


    Undead are like that after all. They multiply and generally win through quantity over quality with vast amounts in each horde.


    A fact that makes finding corruption to cure rather easy. Or at least, a lot easier than it would be otherwise.


    Just have to go from horde to horde letting each undead in the hordes infect me.


    Only problem is that the sapient undead tend to run at the sight of me. Which is rather rude.


    But even thats fixable simply by using Princesss Decree. A rather handy skill that lets me order them to infect me.


    <strong>Im pretty sure that wasnt what the Demon King had in mind when he etched the Demon Kings Rule skill </strong>Tarments, pointing out the Demon Kings likely thoughts on the matter.


    Meh.


    Anyways, I do wonder when Ill be able to talk to Gramps next. Hes been absolutely against me heading to Tartarus ever since the whole void invasion thing, and since hes busy doing something right now  he wouldnt say what  he wont even ept calls.


    Which is very unlike him.


    <strong>Hes the strongest being in the universe, so hell be fine, </strong>Tar says, reassuring me. <strong>The Voided Overlord still cant cross into the universe yet and wont be able to for nearly a century, so theres nothing to worry about right now.</strong>


    Yeah, guess youre right.


    I continue walking for a little while before reaching a ratherrge cier. One that I sense quite a few undead just hanging out inside.


    Time to get infected some more.


    I swear, my days have be rather boringtely.


    <strong>And whose fault is that? </strong>Tarments, making me nce at him for a second before facing forwards again.


    Yours for telling me the requirements of the achievement.


    He doesnt respond.


    I smirk.


    Anyways, undead ahoy.

 Book 5: Chapter 3: Kitty

    Book 5: Chapter 3: Kitty


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>Three dayster</em></strong>


    I stand at the top of a mountain covered in snow somewhere on the Eastern continent. From what I understand, this mountain used to have a name. One that was lost along with a lot of other names forndforms and continents. Mostly because tourism kind of became a dead thing that didnt happen anymore.


    If I remember correctly, it was called Mount Everest.


    But whats more important to me than the rather nice scenery of the mountains is the sight of the army of demons who are moving through the mountains thinking theyre being sneaky.


    Are you sure theyre there? I cant see anything Allen mutters as he narrows his eyes while also using some cloaked drones flying high above the ground to search.


    I nce at Allen, then back at the demons.


    Okay, maybe they are being sneaky.


    <strong>Youre just a cheat with your senses, </strong>Tar points out, making me purse my lips.


    Maybe. Maybe not.


    Anyways, I answer Allen while crossing my arms, Theyre using some type of shadow magic to cloak themselves with some of them using fire and ice magic to hide their biological signatures. And some other magics that I dont recognize from this distance.


    I see Allen nce at me out of the corner of my eye before he shrugs and says, Well, youre gonna be dealing with them yourself anyways. So go ahead.


    That has me grinning slightly before I jump off of the cliff were on and transform myself into blood. Then I control the blood making up my body to fly through the air all the way till I reach them.


    None of the demons are saying a word, stayingpletely silent as they move. And all of them are close to the peak of ss IV.


    To my disappointment though there arent any ss Vs amongst their numbers.


    Throughout my time in the war since its started back up, I havent run into any Noble demons above level 1100. Not even Satan has shown his face since, which probably has something to do with him having lost his position as the head of the army.


    I do wonder whether The Reaper will be heading to Earth as theyd nned after all, considering the void invasion. But right now, he cante, and they only have a couple hundred ss Vs on Earth. Which still outnumbers the Guardians ss Vs by over twice as many.


    That thought has me frowning slightly as I reform myself on the ground right in front of the demons, not really putting my care on them despite their obvious fear at seeing me.


    Its the Princess! How did she find us?! All Hail Her Highness! Please dont kill me


    I blink at thatst one, finding my gaze turning to a small demon in the corner. One thats norger than Tar, and is even fluffier than him.


    Some sort of cat?


    I identify the demon.


    <strong>|Demon General  Subspecies: Sphynx  Level 1000|</strong>


    Well thats interesting.


    And if Im being honest adorable.


    I kind of want it as a pet, but I also know its a sapient creature and not really a pet.


    Anyways, as Im thinking about this, I wave my hand, making chains of blood appear from Blood Chains that I then manipte myself with Blood Maniption to grow stronger. And if that werent enough, I use Blood Metallization on the chains to turn them into blood metal,pletely binding the demons as I frown, raising a finger to tap my lips in thought.


    What do you think, Tar?


    <strong>I think its adorable, but you probably shouldnt keep a demon as a pet, </strong>Tar says, sounding more than a little amused. <strong>Then again, youre a demon, so people might be okay with it. Especially since you have Princesss Decree.</strong>


    But that wont work on the kitty. Its too high a level.


    Tar appears in the air and sends me an incredulous look as he asks in my mind, <strong>Did you just call the demon a kitty?</strong>


    Yes. That I did.


    Got a problem with it?


    He blinks, then shakes his head, answering, <strong>No. But I still find it bizarre how you dont like dogs despite being a blood lycan.</strong>


    Hey! My species has nothing to do with my tastes in animals.


    Dogs barking is one of the worst things in the world.


    Wolves are cool though.


    <strong>Because they dont bark, </strong>Tar says with a sigh, having heard my spiel before.


    Yep. That they dont.


    Cats are a lot quieter, so I like cats.


    Unless you count foxes as cats. Then I dont like them.


    Kitsune ruined them for me.


    <strong>Actually, I believe foxes are considered canines, not felines, </strong>Tar points out something he no doubt learned while watching TV at the base. Something hes started doing from time to time out of boredom.


    Really? Thats kind of surprising.


    <strong>Also, how long are you just gonna stand here pondering over cats and dogs and foxes while holding these demons in chains? </strong>Tar asks, sounding like hes more than a little amused by the situation.


    Oops.


    Well, these demons are all mostly too low level to actually give me any EXP. And there arent enough of them to give me a 10,000 kill boost in EXP either.


    So I dont really see a reason for me to kill them. Might as well just hand them over to Allen and let the people at the base interrogate them.


    <strong>You do know theyre just gonna call you in and ask for you to interrogate them instead? </strong>Tar says with a snort.


    Ugh. I dont like that sort of work.


    Even if it mostly justes down to me telling them to answer questions and them immediately answering them only to prove that they dont know anything important.


    A rather boring process.


    I finally look back to find Allen beginning to catch up with me.


    Then I look back at the sphynx and tap my lips once more while tilting my head slightly.


    Maybe Allen will want the kitty?

 Book 5: Chapter 4: Demons’ Plot

    Book 5: Chapter 4: Demons¡¯ Plot


    <strong>Somewhere Right Outside of the Mountain Range</strong>


    Velron clenches his fists slightly as he narrows his eyes, the Noble foxkins nose twitching slightly at the scent of blood lycan. Then he nces at the two Nobles next to him, one of whom is currently covering them in an illusion to hide them from the Princess. Meanwhile the other spreads a corruption through the air that devours their scents entirely as an added measure.


    It looks like Her Highness took the bait, Velron states, keeping his voice as quiet as possible even with the illusion up.


    Roxanne nods her head without pausing in her spreading of the corruption, and Xylotl nods his head while waving his hands around, constantly constructing and improving upon his illusion.


    The group of Nobles all find themselves tenser than they have ever felt before in their lives as they mentally prepare themselves to go up against the Princess. The Apex Predator.


    They were all hand-picked by the submander of the army on Earth, the leader of the subus n, Lily del Rose, to recapture the Princess and bring her back to Tartarus. And not just for the war effort. But for the sake of the demons themselves.


    Remember, were allowed to harm her just enough to bring her in, Velron states. We cannot seriously injure her in a way that she cant recover from, and if she brings out her crest then we have no choice but to back off.


    Both of the lower leveled Nobles nod their heads, but neither of them show any sort of deference to Velron. Because all three of the Nobles are the same rank of Barons, even if Velron was put in charge of the mission.


    The Princesss exact power isrgely unknown, but we know that she cant take on Nobles above level 1175 since she retreated when fighting Baron Valruthst fortnight, Velron continues, his voice still a low whisper as the three Nobles begin to slowly make their way over towards the mountains. The two of you are to cover our traces until we manage to get as close to her as possible before I link the gate to her and teleport the Princess back to Demon Isle.


    The Nobles dont say anything in response, but Velron knows that they heard. Just that neither the mirage wyrm nor the arachne with to lower themselves into acting like subordinates.


    Lets go, Velron deres, and the group of three Nobles immediately speed up a little.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I tap my foot as I look up at the full moon high in the sky, wondering how long its gonna take for those three Nobles to get here.


    Despite what they think, I found them a while back. The moment they arrived in fact.


    The senses of a blood lycan are just way too powerful. Something the changelings and traitors amongst the humans learned over the month of the ceasefire, when I simply cleared them all out myself with my hearing and smell alone.


    A rather boring process, if Im being honest. And there were more traitors amongst the humans than I thought. Whether they were people betraying us to the demons to be turned into a demon themselves through infection by a powerful undead demon or people just hurting the war effort for their own profit.


    Ever since then, things with the war have proceeded rather smoothly. Especially with the changelings out of the way entirely. From all of the human cities instead of just the supply storage from before.


    The submander of the demon army wasnt exactly very happy about that though. The one that reced Satan.


    And that woman


    I feel a chill run down my spine at the memory of meeting her. A very unpleasant memory. One that makes me extremely d I stayed the hell away from the Valley of Illusions back on Tartarus the times I was on the.


    Subus are scary. And not in a powerful sense, I mean in a creepy sense.


    And supposedly Lily is one with her Sin held in check rather well. But despite that, the look she was sending me sometimes as if she didnt even realize she was doing it


    Another shiver runs down my spine at that as I nce at Allen who is currently taking away the ss IV demons I captured, along with the kitty who Allen decided to take in at my insistence. As long as I use my Power Drain skill on it and Amelia uses her null magic on it to limit its power down to that of an actual cat.


    The kitty is fine with the decision too since it means it wont end up locked up and interrogated. Apparently the thing actually has a lot less sapience than I thought it had. Just about the sapience of a child, although not a human child.


    He even acts like a cat.


    I dont really like the idea of the kitten ending up dead or in a cell locked away, so this is the best situation.


    The kitten aside, I turn my attention back towards the sky again.


    Speaking of Power Drain, that skills probably been one of my most useful skills over thest few months. One that lets me absorb the life energy, blood magic attacks below epic rarity, and a small amount of mana from targets, lets me put the life energy and mana into my own skills to increase their efficiency and power, and lets me passively decrease the stats of those I designate as enemies by a very small amount.


    Come to think of it, I wonder if I can drain the mana from the illusion skill that demon has set up over their group?


    I purse my lips slightly at that thought before shrugging.


    Doesnt really matter considering that I can still hear them despite the illusion. And I have to admit, its a little awkward. Considering how theyre nning how theyre gonna sneak up on me and teleport me to Demon Isle before I realize whats going on.


    Well, either way, I should deal with them.

 Book 5: Chapter 5: Bloodborne Apocalypse

    Book 5: Chapter 5: Bloodborne Apocalypse


    <strong>Somewhere in the Mountains</strong>


    Velron counts to three in his head before initiating the n and teleporting straight through the trees across a mountain to appear right in front of where he senses the Princess at. All while the other two cover his traces and even put up an illusion of him somewhere else to distract the Princess.


    But what he finds when he tries to link the personal portal gate he made to the Princess is the distinctck of a Princess nearby.


    <em>The hell?!</em>


    He quickly looks around in confusion. Because he can sense that the Princess is here, but he doesnt see her and he cant find her presence despite sensing her for some reason.


    Then foxkins eyes finally lock on a drop of blood floating in the middle of the clearing.


    Without hesitation, he immediately tries to teleport away from the clearing, only to find blood raining down from the sky, making a burning sensation begin filling him from the Princesss gues. And one of the gues, a terrifying one known to many of the demons in the demon army by now, starts draining away his mana. Particrly the mana he means to use when trying to activate a skill, making the skill activation sluggish.


    Which leaves him to staring up as the blood merges to form the Princess as she floats in the sky, no doubt using her Blood Maniption to make herself fly. Then her eyes begin glowing even brighter than they already are with a red and ck light with hints of purple mixed in, the light reflecting off of the blood rain with the dark red clouds filled with blood above them blocking out any light from the sky.


    Just a single identify of the Princess sends a shiver running down Velrons spine despite his level being one hundred and eighty-one levels higher than her own.


    <strong></strong>


    <em>Shit, I need to get out of here!</em>


    The Princess slowly grins as she nces in the direction of the other two Nobles, both of whom Velron senses running away. Because why would they stay there to help him? None of the three arebat focused Nobles, even if they outnumber her. And the very fact that shes their Princess means they cant kill her if they want to remain amongst the living themselves.


    Then the Princess turns her attention back to him as she whisper mutters, Lets see what this can do on Nobles


    Velrons eyes widen with fear as her body leaks a faint red light with the ck and purple glow from her eyes shining brighter. And immediately after that, he feels his body growing increasingly ufortable as his skin turns red and bubbles begin to form. Then he feels gues building up all throughout his body, making it incredibly difficult for him to concentrate on teleporting.


    <em>Fuck</em>


    The foxkin coughs out a mouthful of blood ranging consisting of various different colors, none of which are natural, as he falls down to his knees. And his sensitive hearing picks up the other two Nobles doing the same.


    Velron grits his teeth and tries to push himself back to his feet, focusing on his skills once more in order to teleport out of there. But then he feels gue-ridden blood begin surrounding him, spinning in a giant sphere with him at the center and only a small air pocket. One that vanishes within seconds as he feels chains made of blood locking him down. Chains he cant fight against on ount of not being a physical focused demon.


    <em>No</em>


    The foxkin feels his teleportation blocked after the Princess tosses a strange box into the blood and then crosses her arms high above him.


    <em>How is she</em>


    Velrons thought slowly grow more and more sluggish as the gues fill his body from head to toe, and soon enough, his own blood begins leaking out of his pores, his eyes, and his mouth to join the sphere around him. Until no more blood is in his body.


    And right before the Nobles mind goes dark one final time, he has a single thought. One filled with hope.


    <em>Please Princess save the demons save the Demon King</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I frown after clearing away the blood. Because while I managed to kill the foxkin, the other two Nobles got away. Even after using Bloodborne Apocalypse.


    Then again, that skill was made forrge groups of enemies. After all, the blood gue bullets it shoots out dont exactly harm the ones that are firing the bullets. Theyre meant to harm others around them.


    A pity, but I managed to deal with another one of the demon Nobles.


    That should put some more relief on the front lines.


    And it was a spatial magic user too, which makes me extremely d that I took that magi-tech item made by Allens father with me. The one that interferes with the space-time around the area, making teleportation almost impossible unless theyre a higher level than the one who originally helped Allens father to make the item.


    Honestly, that item really is groundbreaking.


    Then again, it figures that the genius who invented magi-tech in the first ce would somehowe through and invent a brand new, groundbreaking device during humanitys lowest hour. Its ssic after all.


    I nce in the direction that the other two Nobles vanished in, not finding any signs of their travel in the process. Which makes sense. After all, while I could find them when they were first here, that was because they were here. They still specialize in this sort of thing after all, so theres no way theyd leave traces to follow.


    Although, Im still rather curious about why they bothered to try kidnapping me out here in the middle of nowhere through an ambush. It just doesnt make sense and risks their own Nobles in the process.


    Normally Lily wouldnt be that reckless with her ns.


    A few seconds pass as I consider their n before eventually shaking my head and heading back to the base after storing all of the foxkins blood in my blood storage.


    I still have other matters to attend to right now. No use worrying about that.

 Book 5: Chapter 6: Home

    Book 5: Chapter 6: Home


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Im begging you, could you <em>please </em>just leave a corpse fully intact for the researchers? Just one will do! the annoying nuisance of an annoying pain in the ass researcher in front of me says for the fourth time as I sit in the chair in the middle of a lovely courtyard located at a home I bought with the money Ive been amassing. A nice,rge house standing at four floors and bordering on a mansion with arge swimming pool in the backyard.


    I shush the guy with a scowl while ncing down at Aria who is sleeping on myp with her head and shoulder resting against me, making sure he didnt wake her. Then I look back up at him and tell him, quietly, of course, Ive told you this once and I will tell you again. I will not waste the blood of the demons I kill, much less Nobles. Despite their attacking of us, they are still sapient beings and shouldnt have their corpses defiled for experimentation.


    The guy just wont learn.


    Im already fighting on the side of the humans and killing the demons that Im technically a princess of. So Im not just gonna go and let the humans experiment and treat the demons I kill as nothing butb experiments.


    That would just be cruel to the demons who practically worship me.


    Besides. Their blood makes for good fuel for my skills, and I know the demons would be happy to know that their blood is being used for my skills even if I kill them.


    A few of them have even said it to me themselves. Which was kind of creepy.


    <strong>Yeah </strong>Tar mutters, sounding creeped out as he no doubt remembers those bizarre times.


    But please, Lady Archeron, the full corpses of Noble demons would advance- the nuisance continues, making me cut him off with a scowl. And to add to my intimidation factor, I make blood rain slowly begin to fall around us at a very light amount before controlling the blood to float around the two of us in the air.


    The researcher from the newly created Researchers Union made up of the remnants of the old union clears his throat, the old looking man saying, Ah-hem, my apologies Lady Archeron, but I need to be leaving now.


    Right. Sure you do.


    I watch him quickly make his way out with a raised brow, then I turn my attention back to Aria who is peacefully sleeping on myp.


    Now that hes gone, I stuff the blood into my Bloodwell Keep, finding the storage skill capable of holding a lot more blood than my old Blood Bank skill could. Even though its not a skill focused on blood.


    Which is rather convenient.


    I always wanted a storage skill, and its really nice to finally have one.


    Speaking of skills, I nce at my status while lightly ying with Arias hair, making sure not to wake her in the process.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid</strong><strong>Magic: Blood</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator</strong> <strong>Age: 21</strong><strong>Level: 1012</strong><strong>SP: 6</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 3,136</strong><strong>Mental: 3,135</strong><strong>Magical: 3,135</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 5</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 4</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 832,396/ 34,398,787.5</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 10</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Bloodborne Apocalypse</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: 3</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 29</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Power Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 28</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 27</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 21</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Healing Reversal</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Control</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 23</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Gradual Corruption Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 35</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Vampire Ascendancy</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Scarlet Aegis</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Eldritch Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Lycan''s Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 3</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Maniption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Princess''s Decree</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloodwell Keep</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Over the past few months I managed to level up my skills quite a bit. Although the two mythic skills have proven rather difficult to level up.


    <strong>Well, theyre mythical skills after all, </strong>Tar says while floating around ratherzily. <strong>Of course theyre harder to level than legendary and below rarity skills.</strong>


    True.


    <strong>By the way, </strong>Tar suddenly adds while looking over at me, <strong>When you thought earlier about having something important you needed to do, was it really just ying around with Aria?</strong>


    I firmly nod my head.


    Of course it was. I basically became her guardian after letting her live at my house, even if the Bloodhound decided to move in as well to take care of her, so of course I need to drop by every now and then to spend some time with her.


    <strong>Tell that to the general, </strong>Tar points out, but I just roll my eyes and look up at the beautiful full moon high in the sky.


    The general can wait. Its not like Im beholden to the man in any way.


    Besides. Ava helped me a while back when I went to her Association for the end of year thingy, so I dont care much for the Golden Rider anyways.


    She also helped heal me after my battle with that nightshade before the ceasefire.


    <strong>You didnt like him before you even realized who he was though, </strong>Tarments.


    Well, yeah, but still.


    I feel Aria shifting around slightly, making me nce down to find her waking up.


    Morning sleepyhead, I tell her, to which she groggily mutters a brief morning back. Then she gets off of me and begins slowly trudging into the house without another word.


    At this point it feels more like shes my daughter than my cousin in some ways. Which feels weird.


    Speaking of, I nce up at the moon again while pursing my lips in thought.


    Blue has been gradually gaining his emotions over the past several months, but not very fast. Right now the man barely ever shows himself in public anymore, and doesnt even fight all that much anymore. Like hes trying to figure himself and everything out.


    Which really does mean that the Devourers tactic is working.


    Then again, hes getting his emotions back in the end, so thats all that matters to me.


    I sigh at that thought before closing my eyes, deciding to just rx in the peace and quiet. Because unlike most other rich people houses, mine is located on its ownnd far away from any cities. Although its covered in defenses to protect the inhabitants, mainly Aria. And since theres only a few people living here, including me, some maids who make the food, Aria, and the Bloodhound, there hasnt been a single Fracture anywhere nearby.


    So its a rather peaceful ce to live.


    But I cant stay here for long since the war needs me, so I stand up from my seat and stretch a little before calling out to Aria, Im heading out.


    After hearing her grumble something, knowing that I can hear it all the way from here, I begin flying through the sky using Blood Maniption on my own blood to do so. A rather convenient method of using the skill.


    Time to go see that annoying general.

 Book 5: Chapter 7: The Blue Knight’s Struggles

    Book 5: Chapter 7: The Blue Knight¡¯s Struggles


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I sigh after I finish dealing with the general, only to blink in surprise when I find Blue after leaving the meeting hall. The man is just standing in the middle of the hallway, still as a statue. And he has this strange look in his eyes.


    One of pain mixed with anger and sadness, but also with apathy somehow. Like hes trying and failing to lock away his emotions.


    Scarlet, he says with a nod of his head, and I nod back out of both instinct and the oddity that is the situation in general.


    Because Blue never calls me by my first name. Ever.


    Its always either my Title or nothing at all. He would just use you instead of any sort of name.


    Well, thats new.


    Would you mind giving me a minute to speak? he asks, making my eyes widen in shock at the mere action of him <em>asking </em>instead of <em>telling</em>. In private.


    I frown at thatst part before shrugging and saying, Sure.


    We then leave the building and I follow him through the sky towards the middle of the ocean. But unlike Amelia, whose little base is a tower in the middle of the ocean, Blue simply snaps his fingers, making the water itself part to reveal arge hole with no water in it. He then starts going down the water-less hole, only briefly ncing up at me as I follow.


    And I quickly find that the ocean right about here is <em>extremely </em>deep. To the point that Im pretty sure theres some sort of fissure under the ocean right here.


    Thankfully I can see in the dark, so its not a problem. So after a long time of falling, we eventually arrive at some sort of metallic door on the floor of the ocean.


    He snaps his fingers again, making the door open itself to reveal a rather grand looking room on the other side. One that I take in as we fall into the room, the door sealing back up behind us.


    The room has arge statue of a kraken at the center of it, with various aquamarine life swimming around over a dozen floating pockets of water. And some of the aquamarine life isnt exactly the safest to have swimming like that, considering the sharks and orcas I see amongst them. Ones just openly swimming in the water bubbles, asionally jumping from one bubble to another.


    Meanwhile the room itself is set up like arge courtyard, with a massive garden around the center which is arge home.


    Holy shit.


    Yeah, Id say Blue has his sister beaten in terms of grand looking secret bases.


    <strong>I wonder if Amelia has been here before? </strong>Tar asks as he appears on my shoulder.


    Probably. After all, I know all of the Knights have been to Purples tower, so I wouldnt be surprised if theyve all been to each othersirs before.


    Although I do wonder what sort of home ck would have.


    Reds home is rather public though, since its in a Tier 1 city.


    Blue leads me to a random littlefortable looking table with chairs and several fountains surrounding it in the middle of the garden. And just secondster, creatures that I have to assume are some sort of water elementals in the form of humanoid creatures walk over to us, serving us tea as we both sit down.


    Then silence ensues for nearly an entire awkward minute with the elemental servants just standing off to the side.


    Fortunately though, Im used to servants. Considering Tartarus and being a Princess. So they dont bother me in the least.


    They are a little surprising though.


    Actually, in hindsight, maybe they arent considering Blues previous emotionless self, having artificial servants to take care of his home just makes sense.


    Eventually Blue finally speaks, I wanted to ask about how Aria is doing.


    My eyes widen in shock at that.


    Hes worried about Aria now? Enough of his emotions havee back for him to be able to worry about her?


    Then why hasnt he gone to visit her? Shes actually been hoping for him to give her <em>some </em>acknowledgement ever since she heard about his emotionsing back. But hes just avoided her even after that?


    She hopes that youll at least try to talk to you now that your emotions are returning, I bluntly tell him, deciding theres no point in keeping that from him.


    His mouth parts open slightly as a pained look spreads across his face before he closes it again.


    Several seconds pass in silence as he looks at the bubbles of water around us.


    I let out a mental sigh, not doing it out loud due to the awkwardness of the situation. Then I join him in looking at the bubbles of water and aquamarine life in the air.


    A few minutes pass like this before I eventually nce at the man and suggest, You could always start out by bringing her here. Blues gaze instantly snaps to me, his eyes widening slightly. Im sure shed like that.


    He opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again. Then he repeats that process once more before finally saying, Thank you. And thank you for getting my emotions back.


    I just shrug and point out, Im just doing this for Aria.


    Blue nods his head in understanding.


    He seems to be really struggling about what to do.


    Then again, not having emotions for decades and then suddenly having them again <em>would </em>probably be a rather major blow to deal with. Especially considering a lot of the things hes done over the years.


    The entire reason why Xyvandra decided to return his emotions this way.


    A cruel fate. To slowlye to understand all of the atrocities youvemitted without being able to do anything to fix them.


    I take a light sip of the tea before leaning back and looking straight up.


    Although I have to say, this is very awkward.


    <strong>Yep, </strong>Tar mutters in agreement. <strong>That it is.</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 8: A Demon’s Pain

    Book 5: Chapter 8: A Demon¡¯s Pain


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next few days end up being rather awkward, since Aria keeps asking me to join her when Blue takes her out. And their interactions arent exactly what Id say normal. Considering that they arent really saying anything.


    In the end, Im just kind of left spending the couple-hour-long outings each time training my Blood Maniption. One of the very few skills that I can train without actually fighting something, considering how its not necessarily a 100%bat based skill.


    Even if its very useful inbat.


    Amelia even joins in on a couple of our outings, my biological mother seemingly rather happy that her brother is getting his emotions back. Albeit with some conflicting feelings about what hes done while he was missing them.


    Especially the time he almost killed me. She doesnt seem to want to let that go, even if he didnt have his emotions then.


    Which, as a result, makes things even more awkward.


    <strong>And I thought your family gatherings on your fathers side was awkward </strong>Tar mutters, making me nod my head as I walk through the falling snow on Mount Everest not long after my most recent dinner outing with them.


    If it werent for Aria asking, I would never go to things like that. Its just too awkward and is honestly a bit of a waste of time considering that I could be fighting instead.


    <strong>And here I thought you were growing more normal after reaching ss V, </strong>Tar says with a sigh. <strong>A pity.</strong>


    Rude.


    Although, I will admit, the Sin of Pride doesnt seem to affect me as much as it did before reaching ss V.


    <strong>Thats probably because of your null magic bing more solidified in your reality after you merged your reality and body, </strong>Tar says, making me look up at the moon above.


    Yeah.


    I search around the mountain for a bit before finding a small outpost made by the demon army. And without hesitation, I crush the outpost with some blood rain and more than a few gues.


    <strong>You do know that the demons are starting to fear you now, right? </strong>Tar points out. <strong>Before they just respected you because of some of your achievements and your bloodline, but now theyre truly starting to fear you just like your father and grandfather. Especially because of your gues.</strong>


    Yeah, a lot of them are defaulting to calling me that title they made for me. The Warden of the Red gue.


    <strong>That title will probably be a real Title soon enough, </strong>Tar says.


    I nod my head in agreement after dealing with the straggler demons before looking around the mountains once more and finally finding thempletely clear of demons. So I send a message to the annoying general about that and quickly begin heading back towards the Arctic through the air.


    Time for some more corruption.


    <strong>The Oni Citadel</strong>


    A woman can be seen standing on the wall of the main Oni Citadel belonging to the Lord of Hellfire himself as it overlooks the ss V Gate leading to Earths Demon Isle. The woman has two bat-like wings with a full figure, a narrow but sharp tail, blood red armor that covers every inch of her skin, and two horns that follow the curve of her head. But despite that, her face is soft and has a soothing look to it. One that doesnt match the image most humans have of subus in the least.


    However, its something shes proud of. If for no reason other than to spite her own Sin that she hates more than anything in the world.


    Lily del Rose lets out a sigh when a pool of purple and red light appears next to her before it morphs into a screen to show two Nobles kneeling in the throne room at Demon Isle.


    Two of the three Nobles she sent after the Princess.


    You dont need to say anything, she states, purposefully not looking directly at the two so that her Sin wont act up.


    <em>They failed and even lost one of their number. I was already prepared for that to happen, but to lose another Noble while were still saving up reality energy for The Reapers passage</em>


    Lily sighs before ncing in the direction of the sky, where arge bubble of blood can be seen blocking out the moon and any celestial objects as the itself slowly moves away from the void invasion. Then she turns her gaze towards the central continent, to the massive pir of blood shooting up into the sky that she can see even from where shes standing on the South-Western continent.


    Several seconds pass in silence before she turns back to look at the Gate, wishing that she could pass through it herself and simply drag the Princess to Tartarus. But the Gate cant handle her right now. It doesnt have the reality energy.


    And even if it did have the reality energy, they need to save it for The Reaper to pass through.


    Now that Scarlet is a Noble herself, as a Princess as well, she has authority over any other Noble demon so long as she has her crest out. So none of the demon Nobles can harm her or even capture her to bring her back. Because if they send too many Nobles or too high a level Nobles, then the Princess will just escape herself or as ast resort use her crest. But if they send too few or too weak Nobles then shell just kill them, making their situation even worse.


    <em>If it werent for that White Knight</em>


    Lily feels her eyes spark with a pink me as her anger and the memory of the womans appearance the time she saw her with Leonidas, not to mention Leonidass appearance, sparks her Sin of Lust for a moment, only for Lily to dig her ws into her own palms to snap herself out of it. Then she takes a deep breath and lets it out.


    <em>Damnit.</em>


    The subus takes another deep breath before ncing at the illusion showing the image of the two Nobles, still purposefully not looking directly at either of them as she says, Theres only one thing we can do at this point. She turns to face the Gate again. Tell her about whats happening.


    Understood, Duchess Rose! both of the Nobles dere before the illusion vanishes.


    <em>Ill just have to hope that Her Highness decides toe back on her own.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 9: Hell on Tartarus

    Book 5: Chapter 9: Hell on Tartarus


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a long and drawn out sigh as I tap my foot in impatience, simply letting the zombies around me each take a single bite out of my arm. On an already wounded spot, of course. Otherwise they wouldnt be able to scratch me.


    Then I blow up the zombie in questions head with nothing more than a tiny needle of blood I made from Blood Maniption.


    A rather long and drawn out process that has me wondering if I can try getting a game console or something out here that the demons wont just destroy. But I eventually drop that n since I dont think it would work out very well.


    Im pretty sure the zombies biting my arms would make ying a game rather difficult.


    <strong>And Im pretty sure anyone passing by would think you need to go see a psychiatrist, </strong>Tar mutters, but I ignore him.


    How many more instances of corruption do I need to clear out, anyways?


    He doesnt say anything for a few seconds before answering, <strong>A lot.</strong>


    I just turn an unamused stare towards him without saying a word.


    The tanuki shrugs his little tanuki shoulders from his ce floating several meters above the ground, outside of the zombies range.


    I eventually let out a sigh before suddenly stiffening up, the process of which sends all of the zombies on me flying before they turn into little pastes on the trees around us as I focus on the powerful life source I sense approaching with life sense. And within seconds, my wounds all heal and my armor repairs itself.


    Then I activate my armors crest, making it appear on my chest as I call out, I know you wouldnt approach me like this to attack. Lily isnt stupid enough to send someone to do that. So why are you here?


    It takes a second, but the source of the life energy and powerful mana enters my sight through the trees, revealing themselves to be a vampire.


    <strong>|Artorius von Nightborne  Vampire  Level 1501|</strong>


    A high level vampire count.


    The man is wearing a set of ck and blue armor and his glowing eyes are radiating through the cold mist around us as he quickly bows down to me and says, I have a message from Duchess Rose.


    I fold my arms before tapping my finger once on my arm, making chains of blood shoot out of the ground to wrap around each and every zombie nearby to stop them from moving. Or more specifically, to stop them as they try to attack the both of us.


    Wouldnt want the Count killing them when they havent infected me yet after all.


    Speak, I tell the Count with a frown on my face.


    Yes, Your Highness, he states without raising his head. Tartarus is in dire condition right now and we need your help. My eyes narrow slightly. His Majesty is in seclusion within his castle as he moves the- I blink at that casual statement -and The Reaper has taken control of the kingdom in his stead. However, the Lord of Hellfire has entered a frenzy due to the actions and demotion of his son and is destroying vast amounts of Tartarus in the process. He finally raises his head with a pleading look in his eyes. We, the demons of Tartarus, beg of you for your aid in bringing His Majesty out of his seclusion and ending this crisis.


    My frown grows deeper as I try to process everything the man had just said.


    Particrly the part about Gramps moving the. Which seems like a bit too big of a fact to simply gloss over like the Count did.


    It does exin what Gramps is doing. Since I knew he was busy doing something, but he refused to say what it was.


    Tar?


    <strong>Hes telling the truth, </strong>Tar answers right away, most likely allowed to talk to me about the subject now that Ive learned about it on my own. Sort of. <strong>Your Grandfather has been busy moving the in the opposite direction of the void invasion ever since the void invasion began. And since its a rather delicate process, hes locked himself away in his castle on his own during it.</strong>


    So hes too busy to pay attention to whats happening on Tartarus.


    Would he notice it if I stepped on Tartarus myself? Or if I tried entering his castle?


    <strong>Its not likely, </strong>Tar says, surprising me. <strong>He haspletely sealed himself in, and no one can enter his castle at all. Neither can he sense anything around him since his focus is entirely on moving the without killing the inhabitants in it or destroying the itself.</strong>


    The very fact that hes worrying about destroying the on ident is a terrifying notion.


    Actually,e to think of it, if he can move the then why didnt he move it towards us?


    <strong>Because he doesnt know where in the universe Earth is, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>He only knows where the void invasion is because of the pure power sent out through the rift from the ss VI voided overlord. Something that can be sensed from halfway across the universe.</strong>


    Oh. Thats rather frightening.


    What could I possibly do to help this situation? I ask the Count in front of me before adding, From what my fae partner has told me, there shouldnt be anything I can do.


    The Count grimaces and asks, Are you sure?


    If you didnt already know, Gramps wouldnt be able to sense me since hes so busy, so the only thing I might be able to do to help is to clear the curse from the demons, I answer with a light shrug. An answer that seems to give the Count some hope before he frowns again.


    Is he


    What do you need to do that? the Count asks, an incredibly serious look on his face.


    A light grin emerges on my face.


    This could be useful.

 Book 5: Story Art

Book 5: Story Art


    Lily del Rose


    Demon King in his Beast Form (look at the trees for size reference)


    The Voided Overlord


    And two desktop background resolution images of Scarlet

 Book 5: Chapter 10: Unique

    Book 5: Chapter 10: Unique


    <strong>Purples Tower</strong>


    The Purple Knight of Humanity, known by all as a wise and mysterious woman whose visible age changes almost every time she is seen, finds herself feeling stumped as she stares at the scrying window in front of her. One that she often uses to check on the progress of the war directly from her tower, making her not need to leave her home. Something that allows her to keep to her shut-in nature.


    But now shes not sure if theres something wrong with her scrying window or if theres something wrong with the Princesss head as she watches the girl standing at the front of several long lines of undead demons, each of whom are just walking up to her, scratching her once, and then being turned into nothing but dust. With four lines moving along at once. All while the girl frequently cures the viruses they give her.


    <em>I what?</em>


    And if that sight wasnt bizarre enough, she finds several Noble demons simply standing around bowing down to her without raising their heads. But she knows that the Nobles are all ughtering every undead that scratches the Princess, as despite their seeming stillness, each of the Nobles is very clearly extremely tense right now.


    As if what is currently happening was treasonous to them or something.


    <em>No, seriously. What is going on?</em>


    <strong>You already know what shes doing, so theres no reason to ask, </strong>Gabries fae, Amethyst, states in a droll tone of voice.


    <em>Yes, but why is she doing it like that?</em>


    <strong>Because its fastest that way, </strong>Amethyst answers, the fae appearing in the air in the form of a tiny, floating penguin.


    Purple purses her lips at that before lightly shaking her head and changing the scrying screen to show Demon Isle, where the demons are currently gathering for a war council. One whose purpose is already known to Purple.


    <em>To think the Lord of Hellfire would go berserk at this time. And all the other Demon Lords trying to fight him to stop him would do is enrage him even more, so there isnt anything they can do without the Demon King.</em>


    She frowns while tapping her chin for a second. Then she just sighs, closing out of the scrying screen as she lies back down on the floor of her tower.


    <em>At this rate the war might end sooner than anyone wouldve ever thought.</em>


    Purple stares up at the ceiling for a bit before Amethyst simply flops down on Purples chest, making the Knight let out a brief breath of air in response. But she doesnt show any surprise since shes used to her behavior after being with the fae for a couple centuries by now.


    <em>One way or another, this is going to mean more work for me soon enough</em>


    The Knight sighs at that thought.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet, Im pretty sure there are people judging you right now, </strong>Tar points out, making me briefly nce at the Nobles around us.


    I doubt the Nobles would judge me. They are too fiercely and obsessively loyal to do that. To the point of them being kind of creepy.


    Theyre even killing off their own undead after letting them infect me as if the mere act of infecting me while my crest is out being sphemy in and of itself.


    <strong>And if someone happens to look at us through scrying magic? </strong>Tar asks from wherever he is in the in-between.


    Meh. Doesnt really matter.


    The only one who is strong enough to scry on Nobles would be a ss V anyways, and the only ss V seer is Purple. And knowing what I know of that woman, she wouldnt care. Probably.


    Shes probably more worried about her workload increasing rather than something like what Im doing.


    <strong>Is she really thatzy? </strong>Tar asks, sounding surprised.


    Yep. I didnt know this before, and most of the humans on Earth dont either, but Purple is a shut-in who absolutely despises leaving her tower and dealing with others.


    Her whole mysterious motif was just built because she doesnt like talking to people, so she stays quiet most of the time.


    Throughout our conversation, more and more undead continue to infect me and I continue using Gradual Corruption Nullification, removing their infections mere instants after theyre given. Largely because theyre such weak infections. Ones that I would probably end up healing on my own naturally within half a minute without even using Gradual Corruption Nullification.


    <strong>That </strong>Tar mutters, pausing for a second before continuing, <strong>doesnt really sound like the sort of behavior a Knight of Humanity should have</strong>


    That has me raising a brow.


    What, so you would prefer she be a psychopath who is now slowly regaining his emotions and grieving over what he did like Blue? Or have a split personality with one being a trickster almost on par with kitsune and the other a psychopath like ck?


    <strong>You have a good point, </strong>Tar responds after a second.


    The Knights are allrgely known for their rather unique personalities. Its just something thats bound to happen to Guardians over time as they grow stronger.


    <strong>Just like yours, </strong>Tar says while appearing in the air and sagely nodding his head, making me narrow my eyes at him.


    Excuse me, but I havent changed the slightest bit since I contracted.


    Tar raises a brow.


    I divert my gaze slightly.


    Okay, maybe Ive changed a little.


    I find him raising his other brow out of the corner of my eyes.


    Well anyways, whats going on with your father these days?


    I smile at the tanuki while acting like our previous topic never happened.


    He scoffs but answers all the same, <strong>Father has been busy running council after council, preparing for something big. But none of my siblings have been allowed to participate in the councils, so I dont know what any of them are about.</strong>


    Secret councils? Thats interesting.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar continues. <strong>But there is one thing I do know. </strong>His eyes narrow slightly. <strong>Whatever hes nning, it wont happen for several years at the very least.</strong>


    I wonder could it be that?


    After pondering over it for a few seconds, I just shake my head, making the Nobles around me all tense up at my movements. But I just raise a hand to stop them from doing anything.


    Then I continue letting the undead take bites and scratches at me.


    Fun.

 Book 5: Chapter 11: The Bane of Corruption

    Book 5: Chapter 11: The Bane of Corruption


    <strong>One week after Scarlet began working with the demons to cure corruption</strong>


    Activity is at its peak throughout the universe. On Earth, humans both Guardians and otherwise can be seen fighting off the demon threat in the war. On Tartarus, demons are doing nothing but fleeing from the Lord of Hellfires rampage, many of them taking to joining the war even if they werent previously nning on doing so. And within variouss all across a single corner of the universe, the void invasion continues wiping out one after another, destroying thes themselves after ughtering every inhabitant of them.


    Meanwhile inside of an office on Earth, the General of Humanitys Military continues strategizing for the war, his teeth gritted as he feels the loss of the Princesss assistance over the past several days. A loss that hade with only a single message of warning telling him that she would be back soon. And no matter how much he contacts the Knights, none of them answer him to tell him what shes doing.


    At the same time on Tartarus, the Demon Lords other than the Lord of Hellfire gather to discuss what they should do with the Lord of Hellfire, his rampage having gone on too long and the Princess still not showing any progress on removing the curse.


    All while the Demon King himself continues carefully moving the, unaware of everything going on around the itself as he does so.


    Until a single Universal Notification rings out through the minds of every being initialized into the System on both Tartarus and Earth, the System itself not having expended anywhere beyond those twos.


    A notification that has everyone immediately halting whatever they were doing, leaving silence to spread across the worlds.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has attained a new title-bearing mythic skill!</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet has now attained the title The Bane of Corruption.</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Then the many important people across the worlds each have different responses.


    The Demon Lords all let out sighs of relief, deciding to put their decision of putting down the Lord of Hellfire aside for now.


    The General of Humanitys Military lets out a pent up breath, wondering why the Princess has to always surprise him every time something happens.


    The Knights of Humanity each show knowing looks as if they had already expected the notification.


    And the many demons and humans across the grow wild in their mutual cheers for their shared Princess. A Princess who is the first being to gain two Titles within such a short period of time.


    Lastly the Demon Kings lips twitch ever so slightly after hearing the notification, his control of the world ever so briefly slipping during that moment of satisfaction, making Tartarus itself shake slightly, startling the demons who are busy celebrating. But the slip doesntst long and the shaking almost immediately stops, so the demons return to cheering almost immediately.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Huh. I dont know if I should be happy about this or upset.


    <strong>I uh probably happy? </strong>Tar says, sounding unsure himself.


    <strong>Rejoice, user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, for you have earned the Mythic Skill known as Bane of Corruption. And along with it, you have been assigned the Title of The Bane of Corruption!</strong>


    <strong>Bane of Corruption:</strong>


    <em>This skill allows the user to nullify any sort of corruption in their body instantly. They may also nullify any sort of corruption outside of their body given they have the mana and time to nullify it.</em>


    <em>Ritual scale corruption requires ritual scale usage of this skill to nullify and a massive amount of mana belonging to the user of the skill.</em>


    <strong>Rejoice for The Bane of Corruptions arrival.</strong>


    Congrattions, Your Highness! everyst demon in the clearing shouts while all of the remaining undead vanish in an instant as ifpletely erased. Then one of the Nobles  the very same that had originally approached me about the development on Tartarus with the Lord of Hellfire  walks up and asks while kneeling down, Your Highness, was the skill what you believed it to be?


    I purse my lips for a second, making all of the nearby demons tense up before I shrug.


    The Nobles blink in surprise, so I answer, Bane of Corruption can indeed nullify the curse. They all immediately begin cheering only for me to raise my hand to call for silence. But I will have to use the skill as a ritual type skill to nullify another ritual type skill, and it looks like Im going to have to have what the System designates a massive amount of mana to use the skill on a ritual. And the amount of mana and time it takes will depend on the strength of the curse.


    No one says a word as everyone digests what I just said.


    From what I can tell, I wont likely be able to nullify the curse just yet still. Its most likely too strong for that. Not to mention that I know the curse is a ritual skill cast by thete emperor of the humans back on Tartarus in the past. So Ill need a bunch of other powerful people to help me use the ritual version of the skill to even attempt removing it.


    But just maybe


    <strong>You think you might be able to nullify the curse from individuals instead of the entire species? </strong>Tar asks, making me purse my lips and nod my head amidst the silence of the demons.


    It may be possible. And while trying it on my own curse might not prove that its possible for other curses since it looks like nullifying corruption on me doesnt seem to cost mana or time anymore, it will at least tell me if the curse can be partially removed or not.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar mutters, his voice quiet as if hes waiting with anticipation for me to attempt it.


    And so, I do.

 Book 5: Chapter 12: The Root of Corruption

    Book 5: Chapter 12: The Root of Corruption


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The very moment I turn the skill towards my Sin of Pride curse, I feel it <em>clicking </em>somehow. Like my skill locked onto the curse.


    And as soon as I activate Bane of Corruption, I hear a shattering sound that echoes throughout the clearing were in, followed shortly by what appear to be red, purple, and ck chains manifesting in the air while locked onto me. Then the chains themselves shatter under the eyes of all of the demons nearby, and along with them all of the powerful urges brought to me by the Sin.


    I blink as I look at the remains of the chains of light falling to the ground before looking at my own hands.


    <strong>Well? </strong>Tar asks while floating down in front of me. <strong>How does it feel?</strong>


    I continue looking at my hands, simply turning them back and forth for a few seconds before eventually raising my head to Tar.


    It feels liberating. My sense of pride is still here, but the uncontroble impulses that came along with it are gone. And the pride itself has been significantly decreased as well. To a level even lower than it was before I contracted.


    <strong>The leftover is probably just your own natural pride, nothing more, </strong>Tarments while floating around me as if studying me. <strong>Does anything else feel different?</strong>


    I purse my lips while looking down and then turning my head around to get a view of my current appearance, but nothing stands out as different physically. Even when I close my eyes and look inwards I dont find anything really different.


    The only real difference is the lessened sense of pride and theck of any impulses.


    I raise my head to look at the Nobles around me, each of whom seem like theyre waiting for me to say something. And interestingly enough, I can tell just from a nce that I would be perfectly fine with running away from them now if necessary. Which its not necessary.


    Interesting. And likely will lead to me being in fewer dangerous situations.


    I nullified my own Sin of Pride curse, I finally tell them, making all of the demons immediately start cheering. But to my surprise, some of them even start <em>crying </em>out of what Im assuming is relief.


    Wow. Theyre happy.


    <strong>Well theyve been dealing with their curses ever since they were born, and a lot of the Sins are much worse than Pride, </strong>Tar points out, making me lightly nod my head in response.


    True.


    Just the thought about what some of the demons have gone through is terrifying. Ghouls eating their own family, oni killing their own family after losing control of their Wrath.


    The Lord of Hellfire going on a rampage through Tartarus after losing control of his own Wrath.


    And now they have hope of getting rid of those curses for good.


    Your Highness, would you please grace me with the nullification of my curse? Artorius von Nightborne, the Noble who first got into contact with me for this, asks while kneeling down in front of me.


    I frown at him before answering, I dont know if Ill be able to erase others curses just yet, but I can try.


    He nods his head, Thats all I would ask of you, Your Highness. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.


    The vampire then lowers his head and closes his eyes as if preparing for whatever Im going to do. So I follow suit and step forwards, cing my hand on his head and closing my eyes.


    Then I activate Bane of Corruption, feeling the skill lock onto a source of corruption in the vampire. But this time I feel a powerful sense of resistance that has my eyes furrowing slightly despite being shut.


    When I nullified my own curse, the curse itself felt like a little root branching from a muchrger tree. And my skill first started by cutting the root from the tree before quickly erasing the root itself.


    But the curse in this vampire feels different. Its still a root connected to a tree, but this time my skill doesnt seem powerful enough to cut the entire root from the tree. And whenever it tries, the root itself somehow regrows back in an instant, repairing the little damage my skill managed to do to it.


    So after realizing that I cant deal with his curse, at least not yet, I follow along the root to the tree itself.


    And immediately regret it as I feel my knees dropping out from beneath me as I cough out a mouthful of blood, my eyes shooting open.


    The vampire quickly gets up and grabs my shoulders as he helps me stand, but I just raise a hand after a second and stand up myself.


    What happened?! he exims. Meanwhile I find all of the other Nobles looking worried. Likely both about me and whether Ill be able to nullify their curses.


    I use my Blood Maniption to grab the blood that had left my mouth and partially covered my lips and chin before storing it into my Bloodwell forter use inbat. Then I look up at the Nobles and answer, It looks like Im not strong enough to nullify other demons curses yet. And when I tried to follow the curse back to its source you saw what happened.


    They all begin to grow a lot more depressed at my words.


    Ill probably be able to nullify individual demons curses in a hundred or two hundred more levels, I tell them, bringing their hopes back up. But without using the skill as a ritual skill I likely wont be able to nullify the curse on demonkind itself. And even with a ritual usage, I probably wont be able to pull it off until Im at least a viscountess.


    They all feel conflicted, but in the end most of them seem happy with the results.


    <strong>Well, none of them really expected to ever be able to erase their curse in their lifetimes, </strong>Tarments, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Yeah.


    Ill go level up a hundred or so times and then head to Tartarus to nullify the Lord of Hellfires curse, I tell them, making the count nod his head before bowing again.


    We have direction now.


    And Im curse free.

 Book 5: Chapter 13: Testing the Skill and a Surprise

    Book 5: Chapter 13: Testing the Skill and a Surprise


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After separating from the demons, each of whom have to return to the war effort just like I do, just on different sides, I test out the new Title-Bearing Mythic skill a bit more. And after trying it on various different types of demons of varying different levels, I find that it is actually easier to use the skill on ss Vs. Although Im still not strong enough to nullify another demons curse yet, regardless of their ss.


    And fortunately their level doesnt matter in the slightest. Only their ss.


    Itll probably take me one or two hundred more levels before I can nullify the curse of another demon. Then another one or two hundred more levels after that to be able to nullify the entire curse. With the help of a bunch of ss Vs in a ritual casting of the skill, that is.


    All that said though, I wonder if I can clear out the other curse yet or not the one blocking anyone from using technology above Tartaruss level of technology from back when the curse was ced. Because unlike the curse on demons, that curse ced on the of Tartarus itself wasnt a ritual curse.


    It might be possible for me to remove it.


    Then again, I should wait to do that until after the war is over. Considering how the demons would just end up bringing our tech back there and upgrading their own technology beforeing to Earth with more advanced technology.


    Which would lead to problems.


    I sigh as I finish testing on thest demon and begin heading back towards the frontlines of the Eastern war front.


    At this point theres no reason for me to stay in the Arctic, since I already have Bane of Corruption. So if I want the best ce to gain levels, the Eastern frontlines is the best ce to go.


    Its too bad those Nobles from earlier couldnt just bring me with them and try to power level me or something. But thats just not how the System works. Itd end up ughtering demons for no reason.


    And while that would help with the war, I highly doubt the demons would be happy about it.


    After running for a bit, I transform into blood the moment I reach the shoreline of the Arctic. Then I fly through the air towards the Eastern continent.


    Ill have to talk to the Knights and the general about heading to Tartarus though. Because at this point, while the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin would definitely make a good training grounds at my current level unlike when I was ss IV, being on Tartarus right now might not be the safest thing. Not when a certain oni is rampaging around the ughtering everything and everyone he finds in his rage.


    <strong>You should stay on Earth, </strong>Tar says, making me purse my lips.


    Maybe that would be for the best.


    There are plenty of Nobles here to fight now anyways, so it might be just as good training here as it is there. Plus there are actually more lower leveled demons here too, and I can deal with those by raising my level with numbers over quality too.


    I might want to talk with a Noble demon about the situation over on Tartarus first though. Before I make a decision.


    With that thought in mind, I continue flying through the air in silence for a while. And the moment I reach thend, I turn back into my physical form so as to not drain more mana than I need to. Then I transform into my quadrupedal beast form and begin charging across thend towards the frontlines, asionally passing by and startling a city in the process.


    Come to think of it, I hope Gramps didnt make any mistakes while he was moving the due to the Universal Notification that I just had sent out.


    <strong>Hopefully he didnt, </strong>Tar says, agreeing with me.


    I continue running for a while until I grind to a halt at the sight of a surprising notification appearing in my vision.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Amelia Asger has attained a new title-bearing mythic skill!</strong>


    <strong>Amelia has now attained the title Bane of Magic.</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Wait a second, huh? Amelia just got huh. Wow.


    That was unexpected.


    <strong>It should help with the war, </strong>Tar points out, making me nod in agreement.


    Bane of Magic sounds a lot like my Bane of Corruption Title that I just got. Makes me wonder if it just lets her nullify magic or something.


    Wait, no, she already has a skill to do that


    I blink as I realize that I can just call her.


    So I do.


    Scarlet? Whats wrong? Amelia asks the moment the call connects between our terminals. And I dont even bother transforming back from my quadrupedal form, instead using the special method of speaking through magic that Gramps and Leonidas taught me to answer.


    I was curious about what your new mythic skill does, I answer her honestly.


    She doesnt say anything for a second before chuckling and saying, It lets me make a field where magic cant be used or affect anything.


    My eyes widen at that.


    Wait, does that include magic that was already in affect before you put up your field? I ask, actually pausing in my run as I do so.


    It does, Amelia answers, sounding smug as she does so. Even though I cant see her face since Im in my quadrupedal form.


    That will absolutely be helpful inbat.


    And considering how powerful it is, shell probably etch it at some point in the future. So I could potentially get it as well.


    <strong>Of course thats what youre thinking about, </strong>Tar says with a snort.


    I ignore him as I tell Amelia, Well congrattions on your new Title.


    You too, Amelia says in response, following which we both share a brief goodbye and end the call.


    Then I continue running towards the frontlines with whatever passes for a grin on my quadrupedal beast forms face.


    Thisll be an interesting turn of events.

 Book 5: Chapter 14: Unpleasant Meeting

    Book 5: Chapter 14: Unpleasant Meeting


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Youre kidding me, I state without a hint of emotion in my face or voice as I stare at the general in front of me. You have to be.


    He shakes his head and nces at the PR representative of the military and the PR council member for the government who are both standing next to him. And he doesnt say a single word.


    Your Highness, the militarys representative says, sounding both formal and respectful at the same time just like most other members of the military Ive seen. People who respect me perhaps a bit too much. The people are finally growing calm once again, and its all thanks to you. But due to the safety of the reporters, we havent allowed any of them near the frontlines. So there are precious few recordings of your leading on the frontlines. Of the hope youre bringing the soldiers.


    We must ask you to lead an army with several reporters amongst them into the frontlines to boost the morale of the people, Scarlet Art Asger de <em>Archeron</em>, the governments PR council member states, not bothering to hide his animosity towards me. A vastly different attitude than the militarys PR rep has.


    Ipletely ignore the governments rep, deciding that the man isnt important enough to even bother caring about as I focus on the general and coldly state, You arent joking.


    The general simply sighs and opens his mouth to speak, only for the governments representative to start speaking instead, saying, You will perform this task lest you-


    He cuts off as I raise my hand, using Blood Control on him directly  something I havent done before on anyone  to force him to shut his mouth. Something he isnt exactly pleased about, but I dont give a shit as I continue to control him, forcing him to walk out of the room. All without even so much as ncing at the ss IV government council member who is only at the low level seven hundreds.


    Exin, <em>general,</em> I state, my voice void of any emotions right now.


    The idea of taking a bunch of reporters into battle and leading a damned army to fight against the demons is fucking ridiculous. Not only is it a waste of my time that could be spent fighting the demons and leveling up, but its also a major security risk in regard to the reporters themselves. Because I have no way to know if they are nning on betraying us in some way to the demons, nor do I feel like taking responsibility for them if they end up hurt or dead during the battle.


    And thats not even mentioning the whole leading an army thing. Something Ive never done before.


    Calm down, Scarlet, the general says with a cating gesture that has my eyes narrowing a bit more. All youre expected to do is lead the charge in the attack. The targets of the operation wont need a masterfully thought-out n to take on. You could probably kill them all yourself if you were given the chance. We just need the reporters to see and record you leading a force of human Guardians against the demons. Recordings of each of your forms, preferably. To show you off to the people.


    I scowl at the man, but I can understand his thinking. Morale has shot up in the army thanks to me, but the civilians dont really see what Im doing firsthand. All theyre getting is second-hand information, being told repeatedly that Im fighting. And while there have been a few recordings of me around, those were all taken by soldiers without anymentary and without any professional recording involved.


    In fact, Im pretty sure Ive heard about some people trying to nder my name again, saying that the government and military are only saying that Im doing all of this but in reality Im not doing anything. That Im just some sort of figurehead made to look pretty for the people and give hope without actually doing anything.


    Which is absolutely ridiculous, considering the Universal Notifications Ive had over the years quite literally painting proof in front of their faces. But some people just have a lower IQ than they have number of brains.


    <strong>I thought normal humans only had one brain? </strong>Tarments from his ce in the in-between.


    Exactly.


    He snorts in amusement.


    Whether I agree to this depends on the operation in question, I eventually state, not even bothering to act like Im under hismand or anything. Since Im under no obligation to follow his orders.


    The only reason Id consider it is if I get something from this.


    The operation is a simple one, the general states, not phased in the slightest by my bluntness. A force off demons under the lead of two noble vampires is marching along the northern coast of old-world Russia towards our northernmost base, which is currently without any ss V Guardians to defend it. And we need you to take on both of the Noble vampires for us.


    I tap my foot for a few seconds, only briefly ncing at the door as I feel the idiot council member trying to break free from my Blood Control skill still before I look back at the general again and ask, Give me details.


    The two Nobles are a viscount and a viscountess, both at the very beginning of their rankings at around levels 1202 and 1204, and theyre twins, the general immediately gets down to exining. The forces under them are all vampires as well thanks to theirck of sensitivity to the cold, and theyre all ss IV demons. Meaning your forces that youll be leading will all be ss IV and III Guardians.


    ss IV Guardians to deal with the ss IV demons and ss III Guardians to deal with any summons or minions the ss IV demons may have.


    I purse my lips for eventually sighing and saying, Alright, Ill agree to this. But my top priority are the two Nobles. Not any of the humans or the ss IV demons.


    Its hard to catch the Nobles off guard to kill them myself, considering how they always tend to run away. Which is annoying.


    So having <em>two </em>of them marked will help. And they should be a low enough level for me to kill them. Even if theyre together.


    Its much appreciated, Your Highness, the general says with a light nod of his head.


    Guess Im going back to a very cold climate then.


    Um, Your Highness, the military PR representative hesitantlyments, bringing my gaze towards him to find him looking at the door before he nces at me. Would you mind setting the council member free?


    I nce at the door myself before snapping my fingers, making the man walk away. Which makes the military PR rep look a little nervous.


    Sure, I tell him. After hes left the base.


    Tar snorts as I feel a small smirk stretching across my face.

 Book 5: Current Skills List

    Book 5: Current Skills List


    <strong>Skills List:</strong>


    <strong>Bloodborne Apocalypse</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Mythic


    Current Level: 3


    Description: <em>The user sends a bloodborne apocalypse throughout their surroundings targeting any the user deems as enemies. The apocalypse includes the boiling of the targets blood, spreading of every gue capable of being spread by the Apex Predator, the draining of the targets life energy, and upon the popping of any bubbles of blood, the further spread of the apocalypse through projectiles made of their blood hardened into blood metal.</em>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 30


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to temporarily nullify up to 100% of the pain felt by the user. However, half the pain nullified must be felt at some point within the next month, and the user may diffuse that pain over a set length of time or feel it all at once at ater time.</em>


    <strong>Null Magic Field</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 30


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to set up a temporary null magic field that will require any magical skill requiring mana to use twice as much mana as the skill originally intended to be sessfully used. The user is only partially affected by their own null magic fields, requiring them to spend 1.1 times as much mana for any magical skills while inside of them.</em>


    <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 30


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill unleashes the power of blood to bring ruin to the designated location.</em>


    <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 29


    Description: <em>Allows the user to have a limited amount of control over their own blood once it leaves their body and allows the user to metallicize their blood, turning it into blood metal. Allows the user to coat their hands and feet with ws of blood. The blood used in the skill is either created through the users mana, drained from the body of whatever the user has their ws in, supplied by another skill of the user, supplied by blood in the open, or drawn from the users body if they are out of mana. The user may also metallicize the blood ws into blood metal.</em>


    <strong>Power Drain</strong>


    Active


    Evolved Inherent


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 28


    Description: <em>Allows the user to absorb the life energy, blood magic attacks below epic rarity, and a small amount of mana from targets, lets them put the life energy and mana into their own skills to increase the skills efficiency and power, and lets them passively decrease the stats of those they designate as enemies by a very small amount</em>


    <strong>Blood Nullification</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 27


    Description:<strong></strong><em>Allows the user to nullify any blood in a set radius around them for a significant price of mana dependent on the distance between the user and the blood, the obstructions between the user and the blood, and any reality that the blood may be attached to.</em>


    <strong>Rain of Blood</strong>


    Active


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 26


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill brings with it clouds of blood, raining down fifteen different gues on those deemed targets by the user.</em>


    <strong>Blood Transformation</strong>


    Active


    Glitched/Inherent


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 21


    Description: <em>Allows the user to directly cut the bonds between their DNA, separating themselves into nothing but blood while transforming their flesh and bones into pure blood.</em>


    <strong>Healing Reversal</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 1


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to reverse any healing the target has undergone within a certain span of time depending on how much mana is spent.</em>


    <strong>Blood Control</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 1


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to directly control the bodies of other users whose level is at least two hundred beneath their own. However, they may not alter the targets mind in any way.</em>


    <strong>Beast Transformation</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Legendary


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform into a humanoid wolflike beast or a quadrupedal wolflike beast for the price of five percent of their mana on use.</em>


    <strong>Partial Shift</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Legendary


    Static


    Description: <em>Allows the user to transform partially into a beast for a medium and one time price of mana each use.</em>


    <strong>Blood Swarm</strong>


    Active


    Inherent


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 23


    Description:<em> Allows the user to summon blood homunculi that obey every order the user gives.</em>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Bane of Corruption</strong>


    Active


    Upgraded Title-Bearing


    Rarity: Mythic


    Current Level: 1


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to nullify any sort of corruption in their body instantly. They may also nullify any sort of corruption outside of their body given they have the mana and time to nullify it.</em>


    <em>Ritual scale corruption requires ritual scale usage of this skill to nullify and a massive amount of mana belonging to the user of the skill.</em>


    <strong>Blood gue</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 35


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to infect every being in sight that they choose to infect with one of twelve different gues, each of which will spread through physical contact, virally, or through contact with bodily fluids to anyone the user wishes it to spread to.</em>


    <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 30


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to push their body into overdrive using their blood as fuel, forcing their blood to pump faster, their muscles to grow stronger, pushing their bioelectricity into overdrive, and overall increasing their physical strength, speed, regeneration, and senses by the amount of blood used as fuel.</em>


    <strong>Vampiric Ascendancy</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 30


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill temporarily transforms the user into a vampiric creature who gains power from the blood of others. While under the effects of the transformation, the user will have an intense blood lust, making them struggle to hold back from drinking any blood around them. In return, the user gets power from all of the blood they drink along with an immunity to poisons and the ability to eat anything while transformed. All blood drunk increases the regeneration, physical strength and speed, magical power, and maximum mana capacity for the duration of the transformation.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet Aegis</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 20


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to create a barrier made of blood that protects the user. The barrier can be set topletely surround the users body right outside of their skin or be created in the air as a shield.</em>


    <strong>Eldritch Blood</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 20


    Description:<strong></strong><em>This skill allows the user to transform any of their blood spilled outside of their body into eldritch monsters made of corrupted blood gues.</em>


    <strong>Blood Shadow</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 30


    Description: <em>This skill can be used to create a clone made out of shadows and blood. It uses the users own blood and their shadow in the process of the skills use, and when the clone is destroyed, the user loses the blood and takes mental damage as bacsh. 35% of the blood used can be substituted through skills or mana. The clone summoned can use basic, level 10 versions of each of the users skills at the cost of the users mana.</em>


    <strong>Blood Retribution</strong>


    Active


    Purchased


    Rarity: Epic


    Current Level: 20


    Description: <em>Any damage dealt to the user while this skill is active is returned to the one who dealt the damage in the form of blood burning. Activation of this skill costs 6% of the users total mana. Each activationsts for thirty seconds.</em>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Lycans Regeneration</strong>


    Passive


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Mythic


    Current Level: 3


    Description: <em>The most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. All users with this skill are capable of regenerating from any wound as long as they still have mana. The skill also significantly increases their mana regeneration.</em>


    <strong>Blood Maniption</strong>


    Passive


    Glitched/Inherent


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 26


    Description: <em>Allows the user to directly control blood around them within limits.</em>


    <strong>Princesss Decree</strong>


    Passive


    Achievement-Locked


    Rarity: Legendary


    Static


    Description: <em>On ount of the users absolute blood thirst and utterck of a self-preservation instinct, you have learned to grow stronger through each kill. This skill passively increases all of the users statistics by a t 1% bonus for each enemy in for a period of three minutes after their death. This effect is stackable. The timer resets with every new stack.</em>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    Passive


    Upgraded Title-Bearing


    Rarity: Mythic


    Static


    Description: <em>It grants the user a 100% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least one hundred levels. It grants the user a 50% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least ten levels. It grants the user a permanent 30% boost in stats no matter who they are fighting. These three bonuses do not stack together. However, they may stack with other skills.</em>


    <em>All hail the Apex Predator.</em>


    <strong>Bloodwell Keep</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Static


    Description: <em>This skill allows the user to make a special storage within their own blood that they can store anything non-living in.</em>


    <strong>Blood Thirst</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 30


    Description: <em>On ount of the users absolute blood thirst and utterck of a self-preservation instinct, you have learned to grow stronger through each kill. This skill passively increases all of the users statistics by a t 1% bonus for each enemy in for a period of three minutes after their death. This effect is stackable. The timer resets with every new stack.</em>


    <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong>


    Passive


    Purchased


    Rarity: Legendary


    Current Level: 30


    Description: <em>This skill deals a set amount of damage to any individual who causes damage to the holder of the skill no matter who it is regardless of their defense in the form of blood nullification.</em>

 Book 5: Intermission 1

    Book 5: Intermission 1


    <strong>The Bloody Duchy</strong>


    Leonidas scowls at the pool of blood in front of him, The Reaper, and The Devourer, all three of them simply watching in silence as the atrocities continue revealing themselves on the pool of blood in the form of moving images. Images of the Lord of Hellfire turning entire cities to nothing but ashes, making screams echo out across vast distances around the cities due to his hellfire burning them all the way down to their realities. All while the Lord of Hellfire himself is zing with a red and ck me with equally red and ck light shining out of his insane eyes as he lets his Wrath lead him around.


    He isnt fully lost yet, so theres a chance to return him to his sanity, Leonidas deres with a grimace. But none of us can do it without killing him.


    Neither Lucius nor Xyvandra say a word as the two watch the atrocities beingmitted.


    At this rate, our only hope to stop him is to either kill him ourselves or hope Scarlet grows strong enough to nullify his curse sooner, Leonidas says with aplicated look on his face at the idea of his daughtering to Tartarus during this time.


    Both Lucius and Xyvandra nod their heads in agreement.


    Silence fills the Castle of Ruin for several minutes before Leonidas eventually sighs and says, Ill try to keep him busy to buy my daughter time.


    Lucius and Xyvandra both send surprised looks towards him, not having expected Leonidas to risk himself like that. Because unlike with most types of magic, hellfire can leave permanent damage. So even though Leonidas is stronger than Vorgrim, the Lord of Hellfire will very likely leave permanent damage on Leonidas. Damage that will remain until the Demon King is able to heal him.


    <em>It''ll be troublesome, but I believe in Scarlet. I know shell be able to clear his curse. And if I want to save as much stability in Tartarus as I can for Father, I have no choice.</em>


    Unfortunately for Leonidas, he knows that neither Lucius nor Xyvandra will be of any help in restraining the Lord of Hellfire, since both of them use magics that will always leave permanent harm to the target. Both death magic and mind-eater magic.


    Leonidas sighs at that thought before opening his mouth to say something more, only to blink and turn to the corner of the room when he finds an unexpected visitor standing in the room. One he instantly recognizes as the leader of the Kitsune n, Raiden Amaterasu.


    Then only secondster, a few more individuals enter the throne room as well.


    The leader of the Subus n, Lily del Rose, leader of the Arachnae n, xius Scythlera de Scy, and the leader of the Oni n, Sartorius ckthorn of the ck me. Father of the Lord of Hellfire.


    We will assist you, the leader of the Arachnae n deres, the man standing in his humanoid form wearing pitch ck armor, with two pitch ck eyes with several spider-like limbs stretching out of his back. Your Royal Highness.


    All of the other n leaders nod their head in agreement with a brief, Your Highness, making Leonidas grin.


    <em>So all the n leaders are here now.</em>


    Leonidas himself, the leader of the Blood Lycan n, Xyvandra, the leader of the Mindeater n, Lucius, the leader of the Ghoul n, and the four standing in front of him. All in one room for the first time outside of a Royal Council in over a thousand years.


    Of the leaders, everyst one of them appears to be dead serious. Even Amaterasu, who Leonidas has never seen so serious before out of the sight of Leonidass father.


    Very well, Leonidas states, his grin growing even wider. We will move out within the hour to restrain the Lord of Hellfire. Then his grin goes cold. Ill be at the front of the battle with Lady Raiden and Lord Scy. Sartorius will deal with putting out all of the hellmes to limit the nearby destruction from his sons rampage, and both Lady del Rose and Xyvandra, Leonidas pauses for a second as he nces at The Devourer, making sure she is fine with participating since he has no real authority over her. And after she nods her head, he turns to Lucius, finding him doing the same. So he turns back to the group as a whole and continues, Lady del Rose and Xyvandra will be in charge of digging into Vorgrims mind and attempting to direct him back to sanity. But if you cant do that, then simply do whatever you can that wont cause permanent harm to him. Finally, he turns to Lucius again and finishes, And Lord ckheart will be in charge of managing the rest of the world, the demons, and the Gates and Fractures while were all out.


    As youmand, Your Highness, the n leaders dere with the exception of the two Demon Lords who just nod their heads towards Leonidas.


    However, right when Leonidas is about to call for a brief pause so that they can all prepare, Sartorius kneels and says, Your Highness, may I make a request?


    Leonidas nces at him with a frown before eventually stating, You may.


    The oni quickly continues, Your Highness, I wish to participate in the battle.


    Leonidas doesnt show any surprise at his words, having almost expected it of the man.


    <em>Vorgrim is his son after all.</em>


    As long as you make sure to keep the hellmes under control, you may do as you please, Leonidas deres, making Sartorius nod his head and answer, Thank you, Your Highness.


    Leonidas looks back at the blood portal next to them before looking up again and raising his voice, Prepare for the battle ahead. We move out in an hour.


    All of the demons vanish in an instant, leaving Leonidas alone in his throne room.


    Silence fills the room for several seconds as Leonidas watches Vorgrim going on his rampage.


    <em>I hope I dont have to kill you in the end, old friend.</em>


    Then Leonidas vanishes from the throne room as well, leaving to prepare himself for the battle.

 Sick Update

    Sick Update


    I apologize, but there won''t be any chapters today for any of my stories.


    Because I woke up feeling sick with a major sore throat.


    Sorry for the inconvenience, but at least know that I won''t have any busy days college-wise until a couple weeks from now, when I''ll be taking my final exams. And next week is mostly thanksgiving break, meaning no sses from Wednesday through Sunday.


    Normally I bounce back from being sick rather quickly, so I''ll probably write chapters as normal tomorrow.

 Sick Update 2 and Story Art/Cover Art

    Sick Update 2 and Story Art/Cover Art


    I apologize for there not being any chapters over the past few days. Turns out I was more sick than I thought.


    While it was just a sore throat and light headedness on Friday, I woke up with a sore throat, light headedness, fatigue, and chills yesterday. And today I woke up with a cough as well.


    That said, chapters <em>should </em>be back on Monday.


    Until then, I have a new cover image for book 1 of Wolf of the Blood Moon. And another cover image for either book 5 or book 6 of Wolf of the Blood Moon. Along with some story art.


    I was originally gonna post thister on, but since I don''t have any chapters for you right now, I thought I''d give you <em>something </em>at least.


    Book 1 Cover Image:


    WBM Book 5 or 6 Cover Image:


    Other Scarlet Images from early on in the series:

 Book 5: Chapter 15: The Eve before the Operation

    Book 5: Chapter 15: The Eve before the Operation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I frown as I stand on a cliff overlooking the camp our forces have set up for the operation along with the snow-covered forest around it. The base camp itself is mostly just tents, but there are also several smaller buildings created by earth magic users and the like. Meanwhile all across the camp there are a total of three thousand one hundred and eleven ss IVs and another fifteen thousand ss IIIs all within the range of my senses.


    The ss IVs are mostly in the inner areas of the camp with the ss IIIs around them. But theres also another ring of ss IVs around the ss IIIs, surrounding them on both sides to make sure the vampires dont attack.


    But Im the only ss V here, with the other eighty or so ss Vs of the human Guardians spread around the world. Although I think only about sixty-five of those ss V Guardians are actually helping with the war against the demons.


    If I remember correctly, about seven of the ss Vs are Rogues, not Guardians. Criminal contractors. Meanwhile the other eight or so ss Vs are uninterested in the war, most of them having ways to hide from the demons even if the demons take the world. Including the two ss V space magic Guardians who can create their own little rifts in reality to live in, secluded away from the world.


    Or, well, some of them are uninterested. Others simply arent mentally fit to join the war. Whether they have mental issues or a friendly fire issue that had them banned from participating.


    Its a pity, but it also means I get both these Nobles to myself.


    I look out over the base camp as the snow falls around us, trying my damndest to ignore the reporters currently pointing their cameras at me from both the bottom of the cliff and behind me. Something that theyve been doing rather often since I started the preparation for this operation.


    The idea of bringing reporters to the frontlines is ridiculous.


    Just why? I understand that the people want to see whats happening, and that it would improve morale and shut up the idiots amongst the citizens, but still its just reckless.


    <strong>Because humans are strange creatures, </strong>Tar answers while in the in-between. Because apparently having a tanuki sitting on my head or shoulder damages the image theyre trying to present of me being cool and all. <strong>They care too much about things that dont matter rather often. And some humans are just in illogical.</strong>


    Yeah at least the demons have the excuse of the curse for their actions. But some people can just be in stupid.


    Worrying about PR while in the middle of a major war that determines the fate of the world. Not to mention a ss IV council member trying to order me around like he has the power to do that.


    Its just sad.


    Thankfully I never saw the idiot again after that. Probably because the government most likely pulled him back after I sent him walking out of the military headquarters as he was shouting his head off.


    <strong>I have to admit, that was funny, </strong>Tar says with augh that has me smirking slightly. Which leads to the reporters taking a picture of me at that very moment.


    I hold myself back from grimacing.


    Annoying.


    Normally I ignore reporters whenever Im in the city. And any fans and the like.


    Its a rather easy and simple thing to do when I can quite literally turn myself into blood.


    But the entire point of this operation is to let them do their jobs. Even if I still draw the line at talking to them.


    Commander, I have a report, the second in charge of the operations voice enters the area as the woman herself appears right next to me, using her spatial magic to teleport. Something I would probably be jealous of if I couldnt already move faster than she can teleport.


    Speak, I tell her while folding my arms under my chest and continuing to look out over the base as the Guardians keep watch, the soldiers not needing anywhere near as much upkeep as normal humans. Which is definitely a benefit for military operations.


    The diviners have determined the enemy forces location, and the vampires arepletely unaware of our presence as nned, the high leveled ss IV Guardian known as Divider states while holding a clipboard to her chest.


    I nce at her for a second, ignoring the reporters in the process.


    Divider from what Ive heard is about fifty-four years old despite looking like a neen-year-old. She has deep blue hair with faint tints of violet in it and violet eyes, with a strange purple light asionally shing from her veins. And her specialization of spatial magic focuses onbat. With her directly splitting space itself.


    I turn away to look out at the base again as I answer, Thats good.


    Looks like Purple is really helping us. I was rather surprised to hear that she offered to help of her own volition for the operation by hiding us from scrying and any other senses.


    She normally isnt exactly the most gung-ho person when ites to well anything. Except when it involves staying held up in her tower by herself.


    <strong>She might be doing it because of you saving her life, </strong>Tar suggests a possibility, and I have to admit, thats the only reason I can think of as well.


    Keep watch on them, I tell her while looking out over the city, having long since decided to take my role asmander of this operation seriously. Wait until they reach the coast beneath the cliff north of us. Wellunch our assault then.


    Understood, Divider states with a nod before teleporting away.


    I sigh as the reporters snap another picture, most of them still recording as well.


    This whole leading an army thing is a pain in the ass. Even if the only responsibility I have ising up with a basic n and leading the charge personally. Thetter of which I do all the time anyways during the war. And the former being something I feel I should do, since while I am detached from people I dont know most of the time, Id still probably feel bad if thousands of people died under my orders.


    Another camera shes, making me struggle to hold back a twitch of my eye in irritation.


    The reporters are still a pain in the ass though.


    I just have to think about how Ill never be dealing with them again after this.


    The corner of my mouth quirks up slightly at that thought.


    Its certainly a nice thought.

 Book 5: Chapter 16: The Ambush

    Book 5: Chapter 16: The Ambush


    <strong>The Northern Coast of the Eastern Continent</strong>


    Draven von Nightborne walks alongside his twin sister, Aurora von Nightborne, as their force of three thousand ss IV demons marches onto the coast from the tundra bordering it. And as the vampire walks, he constantly keeps his guard up, watching for any potential enemies. But no matter how many times he looks, he doesnt find anything across the nearly endless tundra. All the way till they all climb downhill and arrive directly in at the coastline.


    Stay vignt, he shouts at the other demons now that theyve entered an easy ambush location.


    Because no matter how many times the witch assigned to his forces says the humans dont know of their existence, he wont believe her. Not fully, at least.


    Not when the humans have the Purple Knight of Humanity on their side, even if shes not known to directly participate in small-scale conflicts.


    Draven nces at his twin, finding the woman to appear as nonchnt as ever.


    Both of the twins have been rtively detached from others aside from themselves for as long as they can remember, but Aurora is even more detached than Draven. And neither of them have much trust in other demons.


    Not that thats an umon thing amongst demons.


    The two of them both have long white hair with the appearance ofte teenagers despite their level, crimson eyes, and are wearing matching sets of ck leather armor.


    This operation is running too smoothly, Draven says to Aurora through their shared telepathy, making his sister nod her head. Do you think the Purple Knight warned them about us and theyre setting up an ambush? Or do they simply not know of our arrival?


    Aurora purses her lips for a second before shrugging.


    Draven sighs.


    <em>If I had to guess, theyre most likely unaware of our march. The Purple Knight isnt one to care about forces as small as ours even if me and Aurora are leading here.</em>


    The two vampires continue marching across the coast before they split up at the sight of arge cliff overlooking a small stretch of coast, with Aurora heading to the back of the group and Draven staying at the front. And after tightening the demons formation a little, they slowly begin to head across the several-dozen-meter-long stretch of coast in front of the cliff.


    <em>If anywhere would be a good ce for an ambush</em>


    A loud clicking sound echoes throughout the area, followed by a shattering sound as the space in arge cube around them fractures.


    <em>this would be it.</em>


    Draven immediately lets out a hiss as he raises both of his arms, spreading blood out around him with his Blood Surge skill along with making a Blood Barrier over his skin. And at the same time all of the demons immediately begin activating their own defense skills.


    But some of them are toote when bolts of all kinds begin swarming down around them, killing more than a few of the demons in the ambush despite their preparation.


    Draven grits his teeth as he raises his hands, pushing the surge of blood up into the air to envelop a half of the attacks. Meanwhile his twin sends a surge of darkness up to envelop the other half. This gives the other demons time to recover and begin sending their own attacks back up to the top of the cliff, shattering the spatial barrier that was set up there to cover the ambushers presence.


    At first nce Draven begins to grin since all he sees are weak ss III and IV humans.


    Then his grin vanishes in an instant when <em>something </em>jumps down from the cliff, absorbing all of the blood in his attack without even slowing down beforending on the ground and smashing through hundreds of demons.


    Dravens eyes widen in shock and fear at the sight of the bloody mist flowing through the area that used to be the demons the girl just crushed. A girl he recognizes very well.


    The girl has ck hair with lightly glowing crimson streaks, glowing crimson eyes that reflect off of the snow falling down around them, and blood-red armor Draven easily recognizes as being made of Blood Metal. He even recognizes the Blood Runes shimmering in his vision thanks to his own legendary rarity skill rted to blood runes.


    Her Highness he mutters, feeling fear at the mere idea that someone other than the Demon King could simply wrestle control of his own blood magic from him. And that fear only shoots up a notch when the Princess turns to look directly at him and grins.


    <em>Damn it</em>


    Draven immediately feels the royal order flowing through him from the Demon Prince, Leonidas. One he gave to every Noble demon within the level range of his daughter, the Princess.


    An order to fight the Princess to the death should she not have her crest out so that she can continue to grow stronger. Unless its simply just throwing their lives away, since that wouldnt benefit her at all.


    So without hesitation, Draven, driven partially by the royal order, manifests dozens of des made out of blood above him and throws them all at the princess.


    Only for his eyes to widen in both shock and fear at the sight of the des directly striking the Princess and instead of harming her, merging into her skin and making her skin begin to glow a faint red.


    <em>Blood magic used against her empowers her?!</em>


    Draven flinches as the Princess begins ughtering the ss IV demons in between him and herself, only to be sent flying by a bolt of darkness sent by his sister. But she quickly gets back up while a massive hole in her sidepletely heals under his very eyes.


    Then she just shakes her head and frowns, focusing on Aurora.


    All while attacks continue raining down on the force of demons under Dravensmand from the ss IVs above that have gone unhindered thanks to the Princesss presence.


    Draven grits his teeth and begins using his higher rarity blood magic skills, refusing to believe that she could be fully immune to blood magic. And just as he expected, the moment the massive orb of blood from his Blood Fall skill hits her, she grits her teeth and has to push back against it.


    <em>So she can only absorb blood magic of a certain rarity and below.</em>


    He narrows his eyes slightly and makes eye contact with his twin then looks back at the Princess again.


    <em>Thisll be tough.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 17: A Dance with the Twins

    Book 5: Chapter 17: A Dance with the Twins


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wipe the blood from my mouth while absorbing it into my bloodwell as I climb back to my feet after being pushed to the ground by the male twins attack. But despite the attack not being absorbed by Power Drain, I cant help but grin.


    Because while I knew it was a possibility, the fact that one of the two Nobles uses blood magic is perfect for me.


    Vampires are a species of demon that branches off into two different types of magic. Blood magic, which is lessmon, and darkness magic, which is moremon. And by the looks of it, these twins have both magics, with the male twin having blood magic and the female twin having darkness magic.


    But since all blood magic skills below epic rarity are simply absorbed to energize and heal me, the blood magic twin is going to have a rough time here. Most normal people, even at ss V, only have around half a dozen or so legendary skills. The stronger ones having upwards of a dozen. And since its normal to focus on the legendary skills you have, people dont often put in as much time or SP on getting epic rarity skills.


    Guess one of the vampires wont be as much of a threat to me as I thought they would.


    I identify both of them as I jump backwards to avoid a st of darkness.


    <strong>|Draven von Nightborne  Vampire  Level 1206|</strong>


    <strong>|Aurora von Nightborne  Vampire  Level 1207|</strong>


    Both of them are about 190 or so levels above me. Which should actually be a bit easier than fighting that ss V while I was in ss IV. Since they dont have a ss advantage over me, and I have the stacks from the demons in their little army along with the +100% boost from Apex Predator.


    I immediately start using Rain of Blood while also spreading gues around through Blood gue and only targeting the demons, giving the ss IV Guardians attacking from the cliff plenty of openings to kill the demons. And getting myself plenty of stacks until I quickly reach the maximum number of stacks in the process.


    <strong>[Blood Thirst Effect applied. Stack is now 250. You have reached the maximum number of stacks you can have at once. Stacks will not reset for ten minutes regardless of kills made by the user.]</strong>


    From my time fighting against the nightshade before, I learned that it means that it resets to ten minutes after reaching the maximum stack. Every time you get a new stack.


    Which makes the skill pretty much permanent in battle.


    Your Highness, we greet you formally and wish for an honorable battle, both twins dere at once, surprising me for a moment. But I just nod my head respectfully to them in return before sprinting towards the male twin to get the smaller problem out of the way first.


    Vampires tend to have arge focus on magic without as much physical strength. Although they have strong mental stats as well since darkness magic tends to branch into mental magic.


    The male vampire spreads both of his arms out, making his eyes glow red and the two canines in his mouth lengthen as blood begins to form around him. And in just an instant that blood starts glowing as well while moving faster and faster in circles around him so that when my ws reach him, Im sent flying backwards while gritting my teeth.


    So I turn into my bipedal beast form and immediately activate a skill I havent used all that much since getting it.


    Vampiric Ascendancy.


    I feel a powerful hunger immediately filling me as I see the crimson light from my eyes reflecting in the drops of blood falling down around us from my rain. And without hesitation I rush over to the nearest demons, not giving the vampires a chance to attack me before I grab them by the throats and lift them to me where I quickly tear into them with my own lengthened fangs. Then I move back and forth, ughtering several demons until the twin sister raises both of her hands and sends what looks like some sort of necrotic bolt at me that has me frowning. But after realizing what it is I simply ignore it as it crashes into me, seeping through my armor and into my skin.


    Then doing absolutely nothing.


    After absorbing a bit more blood to enhance Vampiric Ascendancys effect, I activate Crimson Overdrive, making crimson lightning flow across my body as I rush straight towards the blood magic vampire.


    The vampires eyes widen in shock at how fast Im moving even in my bipedal form, but he and his sister both gather together and raise their hands, creating arge orb made of both blood magic and darkness magic appear in front of them. An orb that gives me pause for a second before I continue forwards, swiping my right hands ws coated in blood metal straight into the rapidly growing orb. But the orb manages to hold strong as sparks, blood, and droplets of darkness begin flying all over from the point of impact.


    I grit my teeth as I feel the orb pushing me back, growingrger andrger by the second. All while the darkness and blood inside of it continue merging and mixing together to make a pitch-ck blood thats still rather different from blood of ruin. And not long after that I feel the blood metal around my ws beginning to slowly disintegrate, following which my ws themselves also disintegrate.


    Im not the only one taking damage though as with every single disintegrated particle in my hand, the two vampires grimace with bloody mist leaving their bodies thanks to Bloody Thorns. But eventually the orb begins to push past my ws and envelop and disintegrate my hands as well, so I activate Scarlet Aegis, making a blood red barrier appear blocking the orb before I transform into blood and move backwards.


    After reforming myself my hands and ws are already fully healed, but the massive orb is still growing.


    A ritual skill albeit only with two people.


    Thisll be interesting.

 Book 5: Chapter 18: A Clash of Blood and Darkness

    Book 5: Chapter 18: A sh of Blood and Darkness


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Well, if theyre gonna go all out like that then I might as well do the same. So I activate Bloodborne Apocalypse, making all of the demons in the area freeze up as their skin starts bubbling. Including the two Nobles. But the Nobles manage to continue activating their ritual skill, only faltering a little when the bubbles on both them and the demons around them start exploding and shooting droplets of gued blood through the air to pierce into everything except the humans.


    But regardless of the damage done to them by my gues, the ritual skill continues, making the orb growrger andrger. And at some point the orb begins to writhe with what appears to be little serpents of darkness leaping out of the surface and back inside again. All while an enormous amount of mana flows inside of it.


    I grimace as I feel a lot of my own mana drain from my mythic skill. Then I finally transform into my quadrupedal form with a loud roar right as the massive ritual skill orb is sent moving towards me. And along with my roar, I forcefully grab all of the blood in the area including the blood I made from Bloodborne Apocalypse and drag it into an orb to counter the one heading towards me. I even yank out the blood from the nearby demons who are already close enough to death that I can get past their reality to grab it, killing them off too.


    Then I push my own orb of gued and ruined blood to meet with the orb of blood and darkness moving towards me, making the two sh in the middle of the air.


    Shockwaves are immediately sent out from the two orbs carrying along both darkness and blood, and I quickly raise my voice, shouting at the Guardians, Retreat Guardians!


    All of the Guardians are immediately teleported out of the rift made by my second inmand, following which the shockwaves crash into the surroundings, ughtering demons by the hundreds. And its not just the demons, but everything around the area. The ground is being torn up, the trees disintegrated by the darkness, grass corrupted by the gues, and rotting and boiling bodies lying all over.


    Even the spatial walls around this dimensional rift are beginning to crack.


    I grit my teeth as I continue pushing the orb at the other orb, feeling pain from the shockwaves hitting me as well. But Im not the only one as I hear screaminging from the other side of the orbs where I see the two Noble vampires practically shrieking as my gues run rampant through their bodies.


    So after a brief hesitation, I activate Blood of Ruin, increasing the chaos further as I quickly use the blood of ruin formed by the skill to empower my orb further right when my orb starts to move in my direction, losing out to their orb.


    I cough out a mouthful of blood and grimace at the sight of my orb still moving in my direction.


    Damnit, just how fucking powerful is that ritual skill?!


    Well, this fight will be a bit harder than I expected.


    I grit my teeth before letting out another roar while enhancing my Blood Maniption skill along with all of the other skills filling the orb. And slowly but surely, my orb begins to push back against their orb, forcing it closer and closer to the two vampires who are now starting to look panicked along with their pain from the shockwaves.


    Cuts begin to open up all over my body as my life energy is drained by my own skill. But even then, the orbs still manage to reach a stalemate when the orbs make it to the halfway point between us.


    The wounds on my body repeatedly open up and close as my body regenerates and is hurt over and over again. And despite Pain Diffusion stopping me from feeling all of the pain, I still somehow feel tense and stress all over that has me letting out another roar.


    Out of nowhere I hear cracking sounds as blood begins to pour out of my eyes, mouth, nose, and even the pores on my skin. All while I push more and more of my life energy into the skills.


    But then both vampires begin roaring on their own, making my eyes widen as I look through the blood in my vision to find them both sending attacks my way from around the orbs. So I grit my teeth and create two Scarlet Aegis on either side of me, blocking the hits while putting a vast amount of my remaining mana into using a skill I havent used all that often, mostly to keep it a secret from the demons.


    Healing Reversal.


    Both vampires immediately cough out blood as I pour massive amounts of mana into the skill, restoring wounds all over the two vampires. Everyst wound they had gotten in thest year. And that proves to be enough to stop their secondary attacks and give my own orb the chance to push back.


    It starts slowly at first, then speeds up faster and faster before both orbs are sent flying at the vampires.


    Moments before the two vampires are enveloped by the orbs, I glimpse them giving a sad smile through the blood covering my vision.


    Then the orbs merge together and devour the vampires, following which they implode, sending little bolts of blood all over, shattering the dimensional barrier and releasing everything into the natural world around us. And at the same time, I sense the other humans teleporting away to get out of the range of danger.


    I grin before copsing to the ground, heaving in exhaustion.


    Secondster, Divider appears in front of me and pours a health potion down my throat, followed shortly after by a mana potion.


    I smile as the relief fills me. Then, just as nned, I stand back up on all four feet, raise my head into the sky, and howl.


    But for some reason, I still feel strange.


    I frown before focusing inwards and finding corruption there. Likely from their ritual skill.


    So I try to get rid of it using Bane of Corruption, only for it to not work.


    A ritual skill corruption.


    Shit.


    I look back at where the vampiresst were.


    Guess they got onestugh in the end after all.

 Book 5: Chapter 19: Ritual Skill

    Book 5: Chapter 19: Ritual Skill


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Deciding to put it off tillter, I nod my head at Divide and then look up at the cliff, where the reporters are all standing and staring in awe at me. Their cameras shing repeatedly.


    And without hesitation, I order, Cleanup the battlefield!


    Yes Your Highness! The Guardians all shout in unison.


    Then I transform into nothing but blood and leave the battlefield to head back to the headquarters again.


    Secondster Divider appears in the room, only to see me reforming myself into my lycan form with a grimace on my face. And after just a brief look at my hands, I find ck veins beginning to pulse on my skin as heat envelops me.


    Your Highness! Divider exims while rushing over and helping me stand after I almost lose my footing.


    I raise a hand to stop her worrying as I tell her, Its a ritual skill level corruption. And I cant clear it without a ritual skill casting of my own.


    She gasps for a moment before frowning as if recognizing the second part of my sentence. Then she asks, You can cure it?


    I nod my head and let her guide me to a seat in the office were both in.


    Before I can do that though Ill have to figure out how to use a skill in a ritual in the first ce, I mutter, to which she quickly begins making some calls, apparently not having ever done it herself. And to neither my own nor Tars surprise, Amelia appears only momentster with a worried look on her face.


    Makes sense that Amelia would be the first person to call in this situation.


    Then Blue appears after her, which does surprise me. Followed immediately by Red.


    And now Im just wondering what happened to all their jobs, considering that theyre supposed to have missions to bepleting right now.


    We finished earlier than expected, Amelia answers the question that mustve been stered across my face. You need our help clearing the corruption?


    I nod my head as I feel a pulsating sensation spread across my body from the corruption in question. And to my mixture of surprise and horror, I begin to feel pain from the corruption despite Pain Diffusion.


    Pain that I recognize very well as damage to my reality.


    I grunt as I cough out a mouthful of blood, startling all of them and making them worry even more. Including both Blue and Red, who normally dont show worry over things.


    Then again, Red has been a lot nicer to me ever since I saved his life. And Blue has a lot of his emotions back by this point.


    Tar appears in the air, drawing everyones attention as he says, <strong>The corruption is beginning to spread to her reality. If we want to save her then we have to start now.</strong>


    Amelias eyes widen in shock, and she quickly nods her head before sharing looks with the other Knights and then meeting my gaze.


    Scarlet, to use a skill as a ritual skill you simply need to use the skill with the intent of using it as a ritual, Amelia says while kneeling down slightly in front of my spot on whatever chair Im sitting on. The System will then prompt you, asking if you want to use the skill as a ritual skill.


    I quickly do what she said and activate Bane of Corruption with the intent of using it as a ritual skill.


    <strong>[The System has detected the desire to use the skill Bane of Corruption as a Ritual Skill. Be warned that using a skill as a Ritual skill without the assistance of other users is highly inadvised and could lead to the users death. Would you still like to activate Bane of Corruption as a Ritual Skill?]</strong>


    Yes, I say while coughing out a mouthful of ck blood.


    <strong>[Bane of Corruption is now beginning its Ritual Activation.]</strong>


    All of the Knights around me immediately put their hands on my arms or shoulders, following which I feel their own mana entering my body to be devoured by the skill. A skill that makes a bright red and white light shine from my body.


    I let out another mouthful of ck blood as cuts leaking more ck blood start opening on my skin. But they dontst for long as each of them is immediately healed afterwards thanks to Lycans Regeneration. And then the process repeats over and over again until the light shining from me grows too bright to even see whats going on with my own body.


    Soon enough the pain begins to fade, and I feel relief. Then the light starts to fade as well, but not before the skill took almost half of my total mana, along with several times as much mana from the Knights.


    Once I can see again I heave a breath of exhaustion and copse deeper into the chair. As if the chair could swallow me up right now.


    I close my eyes and look inwards at the sensation of my reality healing, proving that it didnt take enough damage to be permanent. Meanwhile the wounds across my body finish appearing as well, and my blood returns to its usual red color.


    But for some reason I head the others gasping and then apuding, making me open my eyes with a confused look on my face. One that grows even more confused at the celebration on their faces, and the pride on Amelias.


    Congrats, Scarlet, Amelia says with a wide smile that only confuses me even more.


    <strong>Scarlet, you should check your notifications and System Messages, </strong>Tar says, making me blink in surprise. Not only at his words but at the exasperation I can clearly hear in them.


    Wonder what wait, did I?


    <strong>Yes, you did, </strong>Tar says with a sigh. <strong>Congrattions.</strong>


    A smile stretches across my face, and I immediately open my System Messages, letting them and the notifications flow.

 Book 5: Chapter 20: Transformation

    Book 5: Chapter 20: Transformation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The instant I read the System Messages, the smile on my face grows even wider.


    <strong>{Level 1206 Vampire defeated. An enormous EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred and fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Level 1207 Vampire defeated. An enormous EXP bonus is awarded for killing a creature over one hundred and fifty levels above your level.}</strong>


    <strong>{Three hundred Skill Points are awarded for nullifying a Ritual Skill based corruption.}</strong>


    <strong>{One hundred Skill Points are awarded for killing a creature of one hundred and fifty or more levels above you without help.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Two Skill Points are awarded for killing a ss V.} x2</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 1013. Ten Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 1029. Ten Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Bloodborne Apocalypse has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Metallicized Blood has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Power Drain has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Nullification has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Rain of Blood has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Transformation has leveled up to level 26.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Healing Reversal has leveled up to level 6.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Lycans Regeneration has leveled up to level 5.]</strong>


    <strong>[Skill Blood Maniption has leveled up to level 30.]</strong>


    It is a little annoying how its harder to level up in ss V, but at least I still have the mass kill EXP carrying me forwards. Although Im not sure how thatll help after the war ends.


    Ill just have to figure that out then.


    Now I focus on the notifications that appear after the System Messages.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted all of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Having at least two blood gue rted legendary skills.</strong>


    <strong>By spreading hundreds of different blood rted gues to a single being all at once.</strong>


    <strong>By spreading gues throughout entire armies, contributing to the ughter of millions of beings through blood rted gues.</strong>


    <strong>Having both blood magic and null magic or being descendant from a user with them that has etched their skills.</strong>


    <strong>By being ss V.</strong>


    <strong>By nullifying one ritual level corruption.</strong>


    <strong>As this is a Title-Bearing Mythic Skill, you will be given the skill at no charge.</strong>


    And immediately after the notification appears, another one reces it. One with the usual description of the Title and skill.


    <strong>Rejoice, user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, for you have earned the Mythic Skill known as Warden of the Red gue. And along with it, you have been assigned the Title of Warden of the Red gue!</strong>


    <strong>Warden of the Red gue:</strong>


    <em>This skill directly alters the users body, turning them into both prison and warden for the most powerful blood gue in existence.</em>


    <em>The Red gue.</em>


    <em>Any being who touches the user and is designated a target by the user either subconsciously or consciously will be infected with the Red gue.</em>


    <em>The user may also release the Red gue within their body to the surroundings through any means, whether through blood, the air, physical contact, or any other possible method.</em>


    <em>The user may recall the red gue back into their body whenever they so desire.</em>


    <em>The users body bes permanently immune to all types of corruption due to the overwhelming strength of the Red gue devouring all other types of corruption.</em>


    <strong>Rejoice for The Wardens arrival.</strong>


    I stare at the new skills description for several seconds before ncing at Tar and asking, Whats the Red gue?


    He just shrugs.


    Huh.


    Out of nowhere, I let out a grunt and feel all of the sensations in my body vanish other than pain. And even when I try to use Pain Diffusion, the pain doesnt go away.


    Scarlet? Are you okay?! Amelia asks while reaching for me, only to yank her arm back when Tar appears in front of her hand and tries to bite it as he shouts, <strong>Stay back!</strong>


    I cant move or say anything as I feel heat building up in my body. Then my skin starts to turn red as my blood metal armor actually begins to melt, making me immediately retract my armor. Which Im surprised Im still able to do.


    <strong>She got a passive mutation skill, </strong>Tar exins, making me want to furrow my brows. But I still cant move, so I dont.


    Whats a mutation skill?


    The heat in my body continues to grow stronger even as the Universal Notification shes across my vision.


    Warning! This is a universal notification!


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron has attained a new title-bearing mythic skill!</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet has now attained the title Warden of the Red gue.</strong>


    <strong>May their achievement ring out throughout the known universe!</strong>


    Everyone in the room steps back towards the walls, but Tar tells them, <strong>I think you should leave. It may not be safe to be near her right now, even if it might not hurt you at your levels.</strong>


    They all frown before nodding and vanishing, leaving me alone in the room with Tar as the heat continues building up and my skin grows redder and redder.


    Tar turns back to me and exins, <strong>A passive mutation skill changes your body itself. Your reality. And they can only be found in Title-Bearing mythic skills. </strong>He grimaces. <strong>Read the description of the skill again and youll understand whats happening.</strong>


    Oh.


    <strong>To be a prison for a gue, you have to experience the gue at least once, </strong>Tar says, his voice growing quiet. And while he does sound worried, he doesnt sound panicked.


    So I guess its safe to say that the gue wont kill me.


    <strong>The skill will keep you alive no matter what, </strong>Tar answers my thoughts.


    That doesnt inspire much confidence.


    Soon enough the heat grows too much, and I feel a strong urge to just take off my clothes to cool down, but since I cant move, I cant do anything about it. Then I see blood beginning to leak out of my pores. Blood thats glowing with a faint red glow that makes me ufortable just looking at it for some reason.


    But as Im trying to figure out whats going on with my blood, more blood begins to flow out of my eyes, along with any other opening in my body. To the point that blood is just flowing everywhere, beginning to fill the room with the glowing blood. Which would normally make me pity the owner of this office, but Im in too much difort to care.


    I continue tolerating the difort as my blood flows out of me until strange red lightning begins to spark within the blood. Then a full-on current of red electricity runs through it, shocking me and making me want to scream from the extreme pain. Only to end up staying silent since everything is still numb.


    And at some point Tar vanished to go to the in-between, leaving me alone in the room.


    Are you sure you dont know what this gue is?!


    <strong>Im sorry, Scarlet, but Ive never heard of the Red gue before, </strong>Tar says, sounding both worried and apologetic. <strong>The lightning running through your blood is not normal lightning. Its directly attacking your own reality. If I were to stay in the room then Id risk either dying or our contract breaking.</strong>


    Fuck.


    The pain grows worse and worse as I feel my own blood electrocuting me alive.


    Then, out of nowhere, the blood stops leaking from my body, making me wonder if its over or not.


    Only for everything to go dark as I hear a loud sshing and warping sound.

 Book 5: Chapter 21: The Red Plague

    Book 5: Chapter 21: The Red gue


    <strong>Within the Building Scarlet is Inside</strong>


    Amelia worriedly paces back and forth in the hallway, wondering how her daughters mutation is going. Because mutation skills are extremely rare. Something that generally only happens with some passive Title-Bearing Mythic skills. And only rarely even then.


    Even though she knows that they never kill the user, she cant help but worry about the pain her daughter is in.


    She pauses for a second to nce at her brother who is looking at the room with a stern look on his face. Then she looks at Red who is simply looking at it with curiosity. Which she understands a little bit, simply because only one human has ever gotten a mutation-based Title-Bearing skill.


    Her gaze turns back to that one single human.


    Her brother.


    Shell be fine, but we may want to- Alexanders words cut off as all three Knights eyes immediately lock onto the door and widen at the sight of the glowing red blood beginning to flow beneath it into the hallway. Set up a barrier! Now! And even as he shouts it, Amelia sees him raising his hands, making a barrier of water cut straight through the walls around the room. But he fails to seal it in time, letting some of the glowing red blood leak out.


    Amelia frowns at the sight of the blood somehow replicating even with the source cut off by the barrier, making it spread further through the base that is now ring an rm. But she works to nullify the blood either way.


    Then she hears a loud stter sound, drawing both her and Reds attention away from the blood back to the office that is now missing any walls thanks to the blood and Alexanders barrier. And what she sees has her eyes widening in both shock and terror.


    Her daughter exploded into a paste that spread across the room with the glowing crimson blood eating away at the remaining parts.


    A terrifying look stretches across Amelias face, but before she can get any angrier, the paste that was her daughter slowly begins to reform into her daughters unconscious form. And now she looks slightly different from what she looked like beforehand.


    Amelia frowns in confusion, only to turn her head at the sounds of screaminging from the base.


    <em>What the hell?!</em>


    The sight that greets her is the glowing crimson blood she and Red had almost forgotten about due to her daughters implosion reaching and touching people outside of the barrier. And the moment it touches them, their own body takes on the same crimson hue her daughters did, but with crimson cracks leaking crimson light slowly spreading from the points of contact. All while the people themselves scream.


    Damnit, Amelias brother shouts before rushing forwards into the crimson blood as the blood itself infects him too, albeit at a far slower pace.


    But to Amelias surprise, its still enough to make him grunt in pain. Something she didnt realize was possible.


    <em>Alex feeling pain? But unless its reality damage</em>


    Amelias eyes widen and she immediately triples her effort to clear out the glowing blood as her brother works to wake Scarlet back up. A process that fortunately doesnt take him long to do before she sits up in confusion for a second. Then after gathering her bearings, Scarlet narrows her eyes, making the same glowing crimson cracks appear all over her own body, the blood on her body making it impossible to see her naked form in the process. And as if fighting against something, the crimson blood thats spread all over the base by now, infecting hundreds of people, both Guardians and otherwise, stops moving and seemingly struggles while being pulled backwards.


    <em>The blood made by the skill is fighting against her.</em>


    Amelia works to nullify the blood as screams fill the base, but slowly the screams begin to end, bringing her attention to the people who were infected, only to find the infection slowly moving out of them through the cracks that are vanishing as well. Albeit not without fighting Scarlet throughout the process.


    Then everyone who was infected slumps to the ground in exhaustion.


    Red quickly moves to check on them, only to turn back to Amelia with a look of surprise on his face.


    Theyre all better now he mutters, surprising Amelia. Not a single ounce of damage.


    Amelia sighs with relief at that as she turns her attention back to whats left of the office Scarlet is inside. And she immediately finds her daughter having already put her clothes back on while thest of the blood slowly moves across the office floor with a struggle until it reenters her body.


    <em>That blood it acted like it was alive.</em>


    Scarlet slumps down towards the ground again and immediately falls unconscious, but Amelia manages to move over and catch her before her head hits the ground. Then she cradles her in her arms while turning to look at Alexander with a confused look on her face.


    Alexander dispels the barrier as the officers in the base quickly attempt to restore order.


    <em>Looks like none of them realize Scarlet was the source of thatmotion thats probably for the best.</em>


    Without hesitating, Amelia snaps her fingers, following which she nullifies everyones sight and hearing of herself, Scarlet, and the other two Knights. Then she focuses on Alexander.


    A mutation skill can be dangerous for those around the one getting the skill, he says while frowning down at Scarlet. But I didnt expect this much damage


    Scarlets familiar appears in the air again, bringing everyones attention to him. But the tanuki just floats down to Scarlet with a worried look on his face.


    So Amelia looks down at her daughter as well and hugs her unconscious form.


    Despite the worry shes feeling though, she cant help but notice something strange as she holds her daughter.


    <em>She feels hot. And its almost as if the blood running through her body is moving without actually moving.</em>


    Amelia frowns, only for her frown to grow deeper at the asional sight of Scarlets veins turning red and then returning to normal.


    Then she sighs and stands up, carrying her daughter.


    <em>We cant stay here.</em>

 Book 5: Intermission 2

    Book 5: Intermission 2


    <strong>All Across the Universe</strong>


    The moment the Red gue temporarily escapes from Scarlet Art Asger de Archerons body, a strange located on the far corner of the universe begins to shift. A that has been still for eons with no signs of change and one made entirely of a strange solid red substance. But now the substance can be seen slowly bubbling and turning back into a liquid, yet somehow still in the form of a vast red ocean. And soon enough the liquid grows thicker and attains a crimson glow.


    Throughout the universe, the most powerful beings all feel a shiver run down their spine at the moment of the liquids reawakening.


    Within the Farshore, the Fae King Oberon focuses his mind on the mortal universe once more, the realm itself being a quantum realm with no real physical bodies. Only spiritual bodies. And the Fae Kings spiritual form quickly turns red in rm at the sight of the Red gue reawakening on the fallen.


    The demon world of Tartarus stops moving for a few seconds as the Demon King senses the Red gue, only for him to immediately reenter his self-induced trance the moment the world begins shaking due to hisck of focus.


    Meanwhile various seers all around the universe begin foretelling visions about the new encroaching disaster.


    Even the void creatures currently devouring one world after another pause as the Voided Overlords gaze shifts on the other side of the rift in the void to look in the direction of the Red gue.


    Then the fallen world itself begins to writhe, the red liquid making up the Red gue shifting and beginning to spread out away from the in small droplets, leaving out into space. However, after only a few seconds, the droplets slow down while shaking as if struggling against something. Only to begin moving in a single direction instead of spreading out. And soon enough the entire begins to shakingly move along with the droplets.


    Towards the known as Earth.


    <strong>The In-Between</strong>


    Tar watches with worry as Scarlet sleeps on a bed within Amelias tower, only to blink as he feels his father calling. So after just onest nce, he immediately moves through the void, pulling on his connection with his father to appear near the royal entrance to the Farshore, where his father is waiting. And just secondster, he sees all of his siblings appearing around Oberons dragon artificial body.


    <em>Whats going on he rarely calls for meetings.</em>


    Tar falls in line at the ninth ce, representing his position based on Scarlets level. And the King doesnt bother waiting for all of his siblings to fall in line, raising his voice over the area, <strong>A universal emergency has been dered amongst the Fae. The Red gue has been reawakened and countermeasures must be put into ce to deal with it.</strong>


    <em>The wait a second</em>


    All of the fae that were just with their contracted partner turn to look at Tar at the mention of the Red gue. Then they turn back to Oberon. And this doesnt go without Oberons notice as he too looks at Tar.


    <strong>Prince Tarankar, do you know something about this?</strong> his father asks.


    Tar takes in a deep breath despite not needing to before he says, <strong>My contracted partner has just earned a new Title.</strong>


    His father doesnt need anymore to be said as his draconic eyes narrow and he says, <strong>Warden of the Red gue. So it meant that in a literal manner then.</strong>


    Tar nods his head, making his father look down in thought.


    Silence fills the void as the various fae princes and princesses reveal confused looks. And after several minutes of silence, one of them, the First Princess, finally asks, <strong>Father, what is the Red gue?</strong>


    Oberon raises his head and mutters, <strong>Right. It was before your time </strong>Then he waves a draconic wing, making a screen appear above them all. One showing a massive filled with a liquid that Tar remembers very well from only minutes ago, when Scarlet went unconscious. <strong>The Red gue is a self-replicating, semi-intelligent gue that runs purely on instinct. It can infect anything, both biological and otherwise, and it is the only gue that can directly rot away reality itself.</strong>


    Tars eyes widen in shock, and hes not the only one as all of his siblings show simr reactions.


    <em>A gue that can directly rot away the soul and its intelligent?</em>


    Tars thoughts return to the red liquid fighting against Scarlets control even after she woke up and tried to recall it.


    <strong>The Red gue is the most dangerous corruption in all three realms, and the only way we managed to seal it away thest time was thanks to your grandmother, </strong>Oberon says, further shocking all of the princes and princesses. <strong>The gue cannot be fully erased, even with null magic. So she sealed it away on the source of the gue. </strong>His eyes narrow a little. <strong>And now that the Demon Princess has be a living prison for the Red gue, it has awoken sooner than it wouldve otherwise.</strong>


    <em>So it wouldve awakened eventually with or without Scarlets new skill. Thats good to know. That she isnt the cause of some sort of cmity.</em>


    Oberon focuses on Tar as he says, <strong>Tell your contracted partner that if she wants to save her from bing like the one in that screen, she must grow stronger. Otherwise, the void creatures will be thest of her worries.</strong>


    <strong>Understood, father,</strong> Tar says with a nod of his head.


    Tar looks at the screen again before his father says, <strong>You are dismissed, Tarankar.</strong>


    He looks at his father and salutes him. Then he returns to Scarlets side in the tower once more.


    <em>Scarlet will need to know about this as soon as she wakes up.</em>


    A frown stretches across his tanuki face at the sight of the crimson glow that asionally surfaces from Scarlets veins.


    <em>The Red gue a frightening thing.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 22: Mutation

    Book 5: Chapter 22: Mutation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I wake up with a gasp, shooting straight forwards and sending the nket that was on me flying off and crashing into the wall, actually leaving a dent in the wall despite it being a nket. Then I immediately look around, finding myself to be in an unknown location. But after sensing and hearing Amelias voice nearby, I rx again and instead look down at myself with a frown.


    What is this feeling?


    I raise my arm, finding myself to be wearing a normal T-shirt and shorts. But what catches my eye isnt my clothes. Its the glowing red veins that asionally appear and disappear across my arm.


    Even that doesnt catch my attention as much as the strange shifting sensation across my body. Like something is moving inside of me.


    As if on instinct, I raise my hand, palm up, and let some sort of glowing red blood leak from the pores in my hand and begin floating in a ball above it, writhing back and forth without me even directing it to. And after just a few seconds the orb of strange blood attempts to stretch outwards, away from the orb.


    Is it fighting my own control?


    Amelia immediately appears just seconds after I summon forth the strange red blood, her eyes wide in a mixture of wariness and happiness at the sight of me. Then she says, Please put away the Red gue for now.


    I frown at that butply anyways, sending what I now realize is the Red gue back into my body. Albeit with a struggle.


    First time Ive ever had a skill fight against my own control


    <strong>Its because your Title-Bearing skill is a unique mutation one, </strong>Tar says while appearing in the air, filled with tension. <strong>And ording to my father, its calling the rest of the Red gue in the universe to you.</strong>


    I blink in surprise at that before my frown grows.


    Tar nces at Amelia, who frowns for a moment in return only to leave the room anyways.


    Wait, did he just kick out the White Knight of Humanity?


    <strong>There are some things that Ill need to fill you in on, </strong>Tar says, sounding like hes not going to enjoy this.


    Oh.


    Tar doesnt end up taking very long to exin the whole Red gueing to devour our own after waking up early due to my presence thing. But I still find the thing a little ridiculous considering how were already dealing with one universe ending cmity.


    I lie back down on the bed, feeling exhausted for some reason.


    <strong>Mutation passive skills are different from normal skills in various different ways, most of which are unique to the skill in question, </strong>Tar exins while floating down to sit next to me on the bed. <strong>They directly alter your body instead of just giving you the ability and knowledge to do something. And while we arent safely able to analyze your body anymore thanks to the Red gue in it, father believes that all of the blood in your body is filled to the brim with the Red gue. So much so that your body practically runs on the stuff now.</strong>


    I stare nkly at the tanuki floating above me.


    Let me get this straight. My body lives on the most dangerous corruption in the universe?


    Tar nods his head at that.


    Wow.


    I quickly open my status to pull up the description of the skill again, only to realize something about my status in the process.


    Huh. My species changed from Human/Blood Lycan Hybrid to Human/Blood Lycan Warden.


    Putting that aside, I open the description as I was going to do.


    <strong>{Warden of the Red gue - This skill directly alters the users body, turning them into both prison and warden for the most powerful blood gue in existence. The Red gue. Any being who touches the user and is designated a target by the user either subconsciously or consciously will be infected with the Red gue. The user may also release the Red gue within their body to the surroundings through any means, whether through blood, the air, physical contact, or any other possible method. The user may recall the red gue back into their body whenever they so desire. The users body bes permanently immune to all types of corruption due to the overwhelming strength of the Red gue devouring all other types of corruption.}</strong>


    Guess the immunity to all types of corruption makes perfect sense now, considering that the Red gue is apparently all devouring and the infecting anything I touch and designate a target part of it is actually rather neat. As long as I dont somehow identally mark someone as a target when I dont mean for them to be.


    Because it would be awkward if I identally killed someone simply by touching them.


    <strong>That shouldnt be possible, </strong>Tar says, making me sigh in relief. <strong>Unless the Red gue decides it wants to fight against you when you touch someone, that is.</strong>


    I try half-heartedly to swat the tanuki, only for him to dodge me.


    Say that first next time!


    Guess that means I wont be touching anyone. And right when I was starting to be fine with physical contact.


    <strong>Well, its highly unlikely that the Red gue would be able to break out of you unless you have too much of it in your body, </strong>Tar exins while lying his head down on the bed. <strong>And the only way for you to take in more Red gue than you would naturally have is to find the Red gue in the universe, or let it replicate outside of your body.</strong>


    Oh. Right. Its self-replicating.


    How fast does it replicate anyways?


    <strong>See for yourself, </strong>Tar says while motioning his paw towards my hand.


    I frown before sitting up and raising my hand, pushing some of the Red gue out of it. Then I just sit here and watch the orb of writhing and glowing crimson liquid.


    Time passes and after a couple seconds, I notice the orb of writhing blood slowly beginning to expand.


    At least it doesnt seem to self-replicate very quickly. Although it does appear to be replicating faster the more there is.


    I blink as I remember something that happened when I was getting the skill. So I reabsorb the Red gue and immediately summon my armor.


    Only to find glowing red cracks all over it.


    Well, fuck.

 Book 5: Chapter 23: Cracked Runes

    Book 5: Chapter 23: Cracked Runes


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I guess I need new armor.


    My armor is currently still technically in one piece, but with one major issue. There are now glowing red cracks running throughout it, and asionally glowing red runes appear over those cracks with the cracks running through them. Which shows that the Red gue managed to damage the runes themselves somehow.


    Runes, unlike crafted items that allow people to put a skill into them, are drilled directly into the reality of whatever is being enchanted. Meaning they normally cant take any damage even if the enchanted object ispletely destroyed. If they dont have a self-repair rune then theyll just float there forever in a sort of quantum space separate or parallel from our own.


    Or something like that.


    If they do have a self-repair rune like mine, then they simply regenerate starting from scratch.


    But this the runes themselves are damaged now.


    <strong>The question is which runes are damaged, </strong>Tar murmurs as he floats over to and begins looking at the armor Im now wearing. <strong>Considering that its not hurting you just to wear it, it shouldnt be too badly damaged. </strong>I blink at that, raising my head from my armor to look at him with a frown at the implication that my own armor could hurt me. <strong>And since you were able to summon it that means the summoning runes werent damaged either.</strong>


    Wait a second, back up to the whole hurting myself by wearing it part please.


    Tar raises his own head from looking at the armor and answers, <strong>Oh, well, inscribing runes is a very touchy process from what Ive heard. If a single rune is slightly off then it could mess with the entire function of the enchantment. So the armor couldve very well exploded the moment you summoned it if the runes were damaged badly enough.</strong>


    And you didnt think to mention this? I ask with a nk look on my face, simply staring at the tanuki in front of me.


    He blinks in surprise and shrugs while saying, <strong>Well, it wouldnt have hurt you at your level. So there wasnt much need. And its not like the furniture in here or the building itself would be damaged by a simple rune discharge. Who made the runes doesnt matter in this case.</strong>


    Uh huh. Still wouldve preferred a warning that I could be blown up by putting it on.


    I sigh and look back down at my armor again with a frown.


    Explosions aside, what do you think doesnt work anymore?


    I see Tar lowering his gaze back to the armor in the corner of my vision as well as he answers, <strong>Well, considering how the amor is in one piece now, the self-repair rune has to be intact. Otherwise itd be in pieces right about now. And the self-cleaning rune as well. </strong>He floats around the armor before moving towards the pockets and frowning as he nces at me and asks, <strong>Can you use the spatial pockets?</strong>


    In response I try to put my hands inside of the pockets of my armor, but nothinges about from it. I just end up putting my hands in some regr everyday pockets with no spatial pocket to speak of.


    Fuck.


    <strong>Oh, dont worry, </strong>Tar says with a wave of his paw. <strong>You have your bloodwell, so you dont really need those spatial pockets.</strong>


    I blink at that and raise my hand, making a portal into my bloodwell open up in my palm. Then I let out a sigh of relief, close the portal, and refocus on the tanuki again.


    <strong>Other than the spatial pockets I cant personally think of anything that might be wrong with it, </strong>Tar says while raising his gaze back up to meet mine again. <strong>Im not an expert on runes though. You might want to bring your armor to someone to get it looked at.</strong>


    Yeah, good idea.


    I lie back down on the bed again and raise my hand before releasing some of the Red gue again and simply watching it writhe around above my head.


    The Red gue seems to dislike being controlled by me, but it also doesnt have any sort of power to disobey me either. Other than stalling ever so slightly and trying to fight back to no avail.


    <strong>Thatll be different when you take in more Red gue, and when you level up, </strong>Tar says while lying down closer to my feet, seemingly avoiding the Red gue like the, well, gue. <strong>Youll be able to control more of it and with a tighter grip the higher your level. But the more youre trying to control, the harder it will be to do so. And if you have too much of it in you at once, then it could leak out.</strong>


    Okay. That might be a pain.


    I continue messing around with the Red gue for several minutes before grabbing something from my bloodwell  a simple white cloth  and lightly tapping the Red gue with the edge of it. And almost right away, the Red gue res with a bright red sh of light and red cracks begin to appear all over the white cloth. Then the cloth itself simply disintegrates into red ash, leaving me narrowing my eyes slightly while trying to dust off the ash from my armor, regretting that I chose to test it above myself.


    Looks like your description of the Red gue was pretty on point. It doesnt waste time and simply attacks whatever its infected right away, eliminating it as quickly as possible.


    I stare at the orb for a little bit, watching as it attempts to get away from me with no sess whatsoever before I eventually get up from the bed. Then I look around for a bit and raise my voice for Amelias benefit, Ill be heading out to test this gue a bit!


    Then I shift into blood and begin moving through the air, only to halt almost immediately as I realize that even the blood I transform myself into is made simply of the Red gue. As if I became the Red gue myself. Or rather, it became part of me instead? Considering how I dont have full control over it still.


    This is getting confusing.


    Anyways, I begin flying through the air in search of some demons to test this new power on.

 Book 5: Chapter 24: Experimentation

    Book 5: Chapter 24: Experimentation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Scarlet, </strong>Tar says amidst the silence.


    I hum, indicating that I heard him.


    <strong>I think this might be a bit overkill, </strong>Tar continues.


    I hum again with a light nod of my head as I look out over the wastnd that Ive identally created.


    What was once a beautiful green forest on the coast of whatever continent I am on right now albeit filled with some spider demons of some sort that I didnt even bother to identify due to their low ss has now turned into a wastnd of red ash. Red ash in the air, red ash on the ground, red ash even <em>in </em>the ground in some parts. In fact, I think the ground was turned to red ash itself.


    Whats worse is the writhing Red gue thats just going over the red ash and devouring that further, using it somehow to self-replicate even faster than it normally would.


    The very instant that I let the Red gue out and directed it to infect the first spider demon near us, the gue jumped straight to it, shooting across the air to the point that I could only see a red streak before it struck the demon, sending it flying in the process. Then the usual glowing red cracks began to spread from the point of impact rather quickly until the demons entire body was covered with the cracks. And then it became like the cloth from earlier.


    All either without feeling any pain, or without being able to show that it was feeling pain.


    Probably thetter, considering my experience with the gue. Which wasnt pleasant.


    I raise both my hands, directing them in front of me as I attempt to reign in the Red gue. But the gue doesnt want to be reigned in, instead fighting against me and seemingly moving away from me instead.


    So I grunt and put in some life energy to enhance the skill using Blood Empowerment, which strengthens my control over the Red gue enough to begin dragging all of the Red gue in the area towards me until it all begins to seep in through the pores on my skin and into my body. Then I let out a sigh the moment all of the gue is back inside of me, almost copsing in the process.


    <strong>You </strong>Tar mutters, making me nod my head as I sit down on the now barrennd that doesnt even have much red ash anymore, the Red gue having devoured most of it leaving only the edges remaining with arge crater.


    Yeah. I cant use this skill on the frontlines or near humans. Not until I get more control over it.


    Because if I went to the frontlines right now and used the Red gue Im sure itd go crazy and most likely kill more than a few humans along with the demons.


    <strong>I think youd have a bigger problem than simply killing some humans </strong>Tar mutters, and I cant help but nce at him with a frown due to it.


    What problems would those be?


    Tar appears in the air and looks at me before stating, <strong>You didnt see it at the time, but even the Knights were having to give the Red gue all of their attention to keep it from spreading. And the moment they stopped watching it, the Red gue managed to slip out and began killing people until you withdrew it back out of them, restoring them to normal again.</strong>


    Wait, wait, wait, I restored them to normal again just by withdrawing it?


    I frown.


    How?


    And if I did that, then how do I return my armor back to normal?


    <strong>That </strong>Tar mutters, only to shrug. <strong>No idea.</strong>


    I stare at him for several seconds. He stares back.


    <strong>Sorry, but Im not an expert on any of this, </strong>Tar says with another shrug. <strong>Im only repeating what Ive been told and have bene able to deduce myself. No one alive other than my father has seen the Red gue active before now. So no one but him would know for sure how the Red gue acts.</strong>


    Okay, can you make any guesses at least?


    <strong>Sure, but they might be wrong, </strong>Tar answers while floating around the air. <strong>If I had to guess, the gue most likely wont harm whatever it infects as long as you withdraw the gue quickly enough. And since the Red gue directly infected your armor immediately, you couldnt fix it.</strong>


    Hmm. That makes sense.


    Maybe I should try testing that out a bit too.


    I frown at that before turning into blood again and flying through the air to a new location. Because this ce doesnt exactly have anything living to test it on.


    After flying for a few minutes, I find another batch of spiders. But unlike thest test, I go ahead and use Blood Maniption and some of my own blood to grab the thing and lift it up into the air. Only to realize my mistake when the small amounts of my blood touching it immediately infect it with the Red gue.


    Oh, right. Forgot it infects in every single way possible.


    Oops.


    Almost immediately after the red cracks begin to appear across the spiders body I yank the Red gue back out of it, immediately making the cracks vanish as the spider lets in a coughing screech and falls down to the ground.


    Looks like you were right.


    I watch the spider lying prone on the ground for several seconds before realizing its got a bunch of broken limbs from the fall.


    Oops. Again.


    Didnt happen because of the Red gue though, so theres that at least.


    Im going to have to start using something elses blood to pick things up like that though. Unless I want to infect everything I do that to.


    Shouldnt be much of a problem though.


    Now I just need to figure out how long it takes for the infection to truly settle into ce.


    So more experimentation is required.

 Book 5: Chapter 25: Council Meeting

    Book 5: Chapter 25: Council Meeting


    <strong>Purples Tower</strong>


    Silence fills the tower as each of the five Knights along with several other ss V Guardians and several chair holders of the Governmental Council watch arge purple screen showing Scarlet in the middle of a wastnd of red ash. And the silence only stretches on when she moves on to a new location one time after another, leaving nothing but a wastnd in her wake each time. All the way till the nearby demons around her begin running as fast as they possibly can simply from the mere sight of her.


    ck feels conflicted as he watches the screen. Since while he is d that the pup got a new and powerful skill that can defend her, he also knows that soon enough, his other side may start shifting its views on the girl.


    <em>Shes bing a real threat. Not just to me but to the world atrge.</em>


    Ill go ahead and say what were all thinking, the PR chair holder for the council says, breaking the silence as the man walks up to the screen and points at it with a scowl on his face. This girl is a threat to the safety of Earth as a whole and must be kept on a leash.


    Before the man can say anything else, a white glow radiates around his body, and he finds himself losing all sensation within his body and copsing. Then White simply walks forward and says, Sorry. Just taking care of the trash.


    The other Knights including ck all nod their heads, not having any disagreement with her actions. Meanwhile the council members tense up in fear, knowing that theyre only in their position because of the chairman, the Purple Knight, and ck himself. And even that rtionship has grown strenuous over the war, threatening to break at any moment.


    Understandable, Jacob states, the chairman of the Governing Council seemingly uncaring of the councilmember. Likely due to knowing full well that the man was biased against Scarlet for her tant disregard of him before her operation.


    If cks being honest with himself, he mightve done much worse to the man if the man had treated him that way. And Red or Blue wouldve simply killed him without a second thought.


    Why he thought he could get away with it just because Scarlet was a newly ascended ss V is beyond him.


    <em>Only possible reason I can think of is that he believed the government would shield him from all consequences.</em>


    A belief ck believes to be the height of idiocy.


    I vote we have someone keeping an eye on her at all times in case the Princess loses control of the Red gue, the General of the Military states, the man also being a part of the council. Albeit one who rarely attends meetings.


    Seconded. Agreed. I agree.


    Agreements run through all of the councilmembers, but ck can feel the anger radiating out of White, even if she is holding it back.


    Amelia, what do you say about this? Jacob asks while focusing on White.


    White stares for several seconds before eventually answering, Keeping watch over her is unnecessary. I will always be by her side and will be able to take care of the Red gue should it lose control. Her eyes narrow as some of the council members begin to open their mouths to retort. And I wont allow anyone to object.


    Everyone goes silent at that, either too afraid of the White Knight of Humanity to object or from being in agreement with her in the first ce.


    ck nces at Jacob and the general as the two share a nce and then turn back to White as Jacob says, Very well, but know that if she loses control, you will be the one to bear the public responsibility.


    That has ck raising a brow.


    <em>At this point there isnt much that could hurt Amelias public reputation after all of the public bashing shes gotten already. This does at least mean that theyll cover up the pups responsibility in it though.</em>


    Im fine with that, White says with a nod of her head. So long as Scarlet doesnt take any of the me.


    <em>The only reason that may be possible is because no one knows what the Red gue is outside of those of us here who were told by our royal fae partners. Most likely just assume the Red gue part of her Title is for show.</em>


    ck frowns at that thought before sighing. Then he turns his attention to the screen again as silence once again befalls the tower.


    Several minutes pass with each of the Guardians in the room simply watching the screen, only for the Guardians who arent Knights amongst them to suddenly find themselves kicked out of the tower. But ck ignores that as he continues watching the screen. Watching Scarlet run around, trying to teach herself to control the most powerful corruption in existence.


    She has the power to destroy the entire world with that gue, ck decides to point out now that the interlopers are gone, without looking at the other Knights in the process.


    Silence fills the tower again for several seconds before Blue says, surprisingly defending the girl, Shes also the only one who can save the from the approaching Red gue.


    <em>True.</em>


    ck concedes that point without a word, and the silence continues to stretch on once more.


    All of the Knights simply stare at the screen, watching Scarlet while she struggles to hold the Red gue in ce. While she goes back and forth between demons and non-living things alike, infecting them and taking the infection back out again.


    Eventually ck hears Red mutter, She might need new armor.


    All of the Knights nod their heads in agreement as they look at the glowing red cracks in her armor.


    <em>I cant help but wonder how much her armor would be worth here on Earth. And despite that, it was damaged that severely in just a single instant by the Red gue.</em>


    ck feels a faint chill run down his spine at the thought of an entire full of the stuff heading to Earth.


    <em>She really is ours only hope. In more ways than one now.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 26: Failed Training

    Book 5: Chapter 26: Failed Training


    <strong>The Grand Station</strong>


    Allen frowns as he stands outside of the Grand Station, the home of the creator of magical realities, Artificios, alongside Scarlet. And both of them cant help but stare up at the massive building thats a mixture of a vast train station that goes all the way across old-world South America from one end to the other and a vast home. One meant for the owner of the station itself.


    He nces at the girl who should soon be bing his adopted daughter in just a week and finds her to be wearing her old ensemble of a ck and red jacket over a ck sports shirt and ck pants. An outfit that matches well with her red eyes and ck and red hair.


    <em>She looks more excited than Ive seen her in a while</em>


    Allen watches her for a second before turning to face the building again and saying, No reason to just stand here. Lets go in.


    He sees Scarlet nodding her head once next to him before the two of them begin walking into the building.


    <em>Then again, were about to meet with the creator of magical realities. And the one who made her favorite video game.</em>


    That thought has a bemused smile stretching across his face.


    <em>One of the most well-known person on Earth now is excited over meeting the maker of her favorite video game. I wonder what the people would say about that if they heard it?</em>


    The two of them walk through the entrance with more than a few gazes directed at them. But they both ignore them with the people shouting in excitement. None of them move up to them despite their excitement, proving the respect both he and Scarlet have earned.


    Eventually they find themselves suddenly disappearing into a rift at the center of the grand station before reappearing inside of a luxurious waiting room. One that people would often find in a grand mansion. And sitting on one side of it is the man himself.


    Artificios.


    The man is wearing a purple and ck suit and tie as he sits with his legs crossed on a chair. Meanwhile the long hair that he had when Allen first met the man is now cut down to just his shoulders in length, with the same purple shade Allen remembers him having from when he was at the tournament Scarlet participated in and won years ago.


    Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, its a pleasure to finally meet you, the man says with a smile on his face and an amused twinkle in his eye. One that implies a sense of yfulness that many know the man has, albeit still tipped with the seriousness of a businessman. As you know, Im Artificios. And Im guessing you already know why I contacted you?


    Scarlet nods her head, piquing Allens curiosity. Because while Allen was the one Artificios chose to get into contact with to in turn contact Scarlet, hes still not sure whats going on.


    He hasnt been able to speak much with Scarlet since hertest Title, and he wishes that he would have had the time to catch up since.


    Then lets, he says while raising a hand, geeeet, he continues, his smirk growing as he snaps his fingers, started!!!


    Then Scarlet vanishes from the room as Allen senses a magical reality appearing around her, following which the room around them starts shifting and arge screen shows up with a chair appearing beneath Allen, knocking his feet out from under him and leaving him falling in the chair.


    Allen blinks with surprise at the sudden changes before ncing up at the screen and finding Scarlet in the middle of arge forest filled with demons.


    Are those Allen begins, only to turn to Artificios when the man answers him.


    Theyre real demons I picked up from a Fracture not long ago, Artificios says while waving the question off. They had the nerve to appear in my Station, so theyre getting whatsing.


    <em>So he isnt just using artificial demons but whats this all about?</em>


    You look confused, Artificios suddenly says, making Allen frown for a second. Guess she didnt tell you what were doing. He pauses to nce at Allen, at which point he sees the confusion quickly spreading across Allens face. Then he faces the screen again. The Princesss new Title-Bearing Mythic skill is incredibly dangerous and is a type of skill called a mutation skill. Itpletely changed her body to be the warden and prison for the most dangerous corruption in existence. One that can even devour reality itself.


    Allens jaw drops open, and he turns to look at the screen, where he finds Scarlet casually walking around, seemingly testing the magical reality for a bit.


    <em>A gue that can devour reality itself? Is something like that really possible? And at her level?</em>


    Because of its power, and the minor detail of the gue in her being intelligent, I decided to help her with training it in a safe ce, he continues, shocking Allen even further with the information about the gue being intelligent. So here we are, having her train her control in my magical reality.


    Allen repeatedly nces between him and the screen before eventually asking, What if her gue manages to damage the artificial reality?


    Artificios simply waves his hand, saying, Theres no way it would be able to damage my artificial reality. Its not a normal reality, and Im certain its too strong for-


    He cuts off when Scarlet begins to release a strange glowing red blood that immediately begins to eat away at the air around her, making holes in reality appear. Holes that reveal strange pitch ck voids on the other side.


    Oh shit, oh shit, ooooh shiit, Artificios exims, his calm having shattered as he snaps his fingers again, leading Scarlet to reappear again in front of the two beforending on the ground with her legs on either side of her. What the fuck is wrong with that gue?!


    Scarlet just blinks in surprise and some disorientation at the sudden shift in location.


    Meanwhile Allen stares at her in shock, then at the magical reality, to which he points and says, Uh, the gue is still there.


    Both Scarlet and Artificios look up at the screen before the man mutters one more time, Oh shit

 Book 5: Chapter 27: Failed Plan

    Book 5: Chapter 27: Failed n


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I nkly stare at the screen for several seconds before raising my hand and clenching my fist, grabbing control over the Red gue that I somehow still sense within the artificial magical reality. And immediately after doing that, the Red gue stops trying to eat through the reality, instead freezing in ce with a struggle. Then a portal to the magical reality opens up next to me, likely Artificioss doing, and I draw the Red gue through the portal back into my body.


    Silence fills the room after that, leaving the three of us awkwardly staring at the copsing magical reality.


    Eventually I hear Allen calmly ask, So what were you talking about?


    I nce at Allen to find him frowning at Artificios, who is simply scratching the back of his neck and avoiding Allens gaze despite him being a ss V and Allen being ss IV.


    Whats he mean?


    I frown and tilt my head slightly.


    Well, whatever he means aside, I was honestly hoping training in a magical reality would work after all, theyre basically the same as our regr reality. Just in a parallel projected universe somewhere else in the void. So it shouldnt have been eaten or anything like that.


    So why didnt it work?


    <strong>Why didnt what work? </strong>I hear Tars voice, bringing my attention to him as he appears in the air and nces at Allen and Artificios, who are now arguing in a rather strange way. With Allen fussing at Artificios for being arrogant and reckless despite Allen being only ss IV.


    A rather odd duo, to be sure.


    I nce back at Tar again.


    Well, Artificios got into contact with me not long after you left through Allen, saying that he wanted to give me a ce to test and get used to Warden of the Red gue. He mentioned that a magical reality should work well for testing, and I agreed with him in that thought.


    But then the Red gue started eating the magical reality instead, leaving us to where we are now.


    I nce back at Allen as he continues fussing at Artificios.


    And yeah, you can see whats happened since.


    I turn back to Tar as he begins speaking, not taking his gaze off of the two Guardians, <strong>It makes sense that the magical reality wouldnt work for testing. I couldve told you as much myself.</strong>


    Wait, really? Whys that?


    He turns to look at me again. <strong>Because the entire magical reality is anchored to our own reality, even if its located somewhere else. Meaning that if the Red gue devours the anchor, the magical reality itself will copse.</strong>


    Oh. That does make sense.


    Wait, why wouldnt Artificios realize that himself? Shouldnt it be something he would know, considering hes the one making the magical realities?


    Tar frowns at that before answering, <strong>Not necessarily. If I had to guess, he either doesnt know exactly how his magic works or what it does, or he simply overestimated how strong his magical anchors are. Or he underestimated the Red gue, which is entirely possible.</strong>


    I nce at Artificios, finding him to somehow look yful and arrogant at the same time despite being chastised by someone weaker than him.


    Okay, yeah, I can see thatst one being true. And maybe even the first one as well.


    Tar and I watch the two continue their antics for a little bit before I raise my hand and bring forth some of the Red gue above my hand. Then I just stare at it for several seconds with a frown on my face as the blood orb writhes and tries to escape with no sess at all.


    If I cant train the skill in a magical reality, then where can I train it?


    <strong>You could try training it on Tartarus, but that would be dangerous, and I doubt the demons would let you go to Tartarus in the first ce, </strong>Tar points out.


    I frown at that but agree, nheless. Because the only way for me to get to Tartarus is through ss V Fractures and Gates now that Im a ss V myself.


    And those are all rather strongly guarded by Nobles and n Nobles.


    The only way I can think of to distract the Nobles away from the Gates or Fractures is with the help of the Knights, who Im sure wouldnt let me go either due to Vargass rampage. Or I could try to spread the Red gue a little bit there to make them rush to deal with it, but that would be counterproductive to the goal Im trying to achieve.


    Besides. Id just end up putting Tartarus at risk instead by going there, even if the demons there are stronger than the humans and demons on Earth.


    <strong>True, </strong>Tarments with a nod of his head.


    Guess Im stuck being extremely careful not to destroy the.


    I let out a sigh at that before ncing at the two idiots again.


    By now the respect that I had for Artificios is not anywhere near what it was when I came here.


    Its kind of hard to highly respect him when hes acting like a child towards Allen, after all. Even if I do still respect his work.


    Tar and I continue watching the idiots for a few minutes before I begin to lose my patience and walk up to them, summoning Red gue above my shoulders to form spikes directed at the two as I re and say, Are you two quite done yet?


    They immediately shut up, looking at the spikes of Red gue that I quickly retract into my body not long after they shut up. Mostly because while they do work as a threat, Id rather not actually hurt them. Or kill them, considering how possible that could actually be if I infected them. Especially Allen.


    Best not to kill my soon-to-be-adopted-father.


    Tar snorts at that, but I ignore him to say, Thanks for trying to help me Artificios, but Im going to go back to my training now.


    He waves at me with a yful smile and says, Alrighty, have fun little red!


    I blink at the nickname he just gave me before deciding to ignore it and turning into blood to leave the ce.


    That guy is not what I was expecting.

 Book 5: Chapter 28: Adoption

    Book 5: Chapter 28: Adoption


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The following passes in the blink of an eye, leaving me finally visiting the governmental building with Allen, Cynthia, and Belle for the adoption. A process that actually moves just as swiftly thanks to Amelias help.


    And of course, after the adoption finishes going through, leaving me finally legally Allen and Cynthias daughter, we immediately head out to a party they nned. One where Belle manages to get me into a dress for.


    I sigh as I stand at the edge of therge room at a table with my old team, wondering why a party was necessary. Especially when I need to keep training my rathercking control of the Red gue.


    At the very least I dont seem to care anywhere near as much about dresses anymore now that my curse is broken. So thats a plus.


    <strong>Never wouldve thought part of your extreme dislike of dresses and skirts was simply from the curses amplification of your own feelings, </strong>Tarments from his ce in the in-between, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Of course, I still dont like wearing dresses or skirts. But Im not gonna get upset just because someone put me in one now.


    Doesnt change the fact that Id prefer my armor though.


    You look so beautiful, Scar! Belle says with a smile for the third time tonight, making me roll my eyes.


    I nce at her, finding the girl to be in a beautiful ck and gold dress herself. And its not just her, but everyone here is dressed up. Michael and Arthur are wearing suits, with Michaels being ck with a vibrant green trim and Arthurs being ck and gray trim. Meanwhile Emily is wearing a ck and green dress, Denise wearing in gold, and Aria wearing blue.


    Sylver is also here, although nowadays Im calling him by his actual name, Collin. And hes wearing a silver suit. Even if hes not saying anything and is just drinking in the corner.


    Come to think of it, pretty much everyone from the Silver Association is here spread out across the room. And not just the Silver Association, but even some people from other Associations Ivee to know over the years. Including Avas association, the general, all of the Knights except Purple, and some of the ss V Guardians Ive met over the years. Including the vice-headmaster of the university I technically go to.


    You all look great as well, Iment while drinking a ss of wine, finding absolutely no effect from it on me due to my immunity to corruption. Which is an interesting aspect of the skill. Especially when I look into my body after drinking the wine.


    Because I can quite literally see the poison that makes up alcohol being squashed in an instant by the Red gue and turned into red ash that is then turned into fuel for the gue.


    Meaning getting drunk is impossible for me.


    Not that I mind. I never liked the idea of being mentally inhibited in the first ce.


    Which is another benefit of not having the curse anymore.


    I smile at that thought, only to frown after seeing a camera sh and turning to see ck for some reason taking a picture of us all. Mainly me.


    What are you doing, Will? I ask him with a slightly exasperated tone of voice.


    He just smirks and gives a salute before vanishing in a puff of shadows.


    I sigh and turn to the others where I find them all rather startled by that whole even.


    Oh. Right.


    ck is a Knight of Humanity, and theyre probably still not used to interacting with them.


    I dont think any of them are even ss IV yet, much less ss V.


    After a brief identify, which has actually be possible ever since I became a ss V and reached 99% demon, albeit with the same glitchyness that others have when they identify me making seeing their species impossible, I find them all to be ss III. Except Belle, who is surprisingly ss IV.


    Oh, right. Her magic makes it easy for her to level up.


    Forgot about that.


    Lady Warden, I hear someone say, bringing my attention to the person I sensed approaching us from behind to find Jacob R. Ashton approaching with a polite smile on his face. Its a pleasure to see you again.


    I nod my head to him before ncing at the others and nodding at them as well, signaling that they could leave if they wanted to. And Belle immediately picks up on it and begins directing the others away to give us space.


    Then I turn back to Jacob and respond, You as well, Chairman of the Republic.


    He gives a small bow before standing up straight and reaching out his hand, making me frown slightly. Then I sigh and give him my hand in return, to which he then kisses the back of.


    Youre also well versed in demon court traditions, as it seems, Iment with a raised brow.


    ording to the demon court traditions on Tartarus, male Noble demons of lower rank must kiss the backs of the hands of the female Nobles of higher ranks. Meanwhile the female Noble demons of lower ranks simply give a bow or a curtsy to those of higher rank regardless of gender, and male Nobles give a military salute to other male Nobles of higher rank.


    Of course, this isnt absolute and not actually all that many demons follow it. Its a much older tradition after all, so many of them just in give a salute or a brief bow to the Noble demons above their station regardless of gender, and no one generally cares. Except some of the traditionalists, that is.


    Thankfully Ive never had to care since Im a Princess. The only person above me even with my level is Gramps, and Im pretty sure hed have a heart attack if I tried bowing to him or treating him like a king.


    <strong>Probably would, if that were possible, </strong>Tar mutters.


    Anyways, onto business.


    Im assuming you arent here for pleasantries? I ask the Chairman, making him nod his head.


    You are correct, Lady Warden, he says, using the Title a lot of people seem to prefer over Apex Predator or Bane of Corruption. Probably because calling me Apex Predator is like admitting theyre weaker than me or just prey or something. And Bane of Corruption doesnt really suit a formal Title as much as Warden does. There is something Id like to discuss with you.


    I nod my head and state, Very well.


    Lets see what he has to say.

 Book 5: Chapter 29: A Mad Ghoul

    Book 5: Chapter 29: A Mad Ghoul


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The Chairman and I excuse ourselves from the party to go speak in a private room at his request. And the moment we both sit down, he immediately asks, I would like to request that you speak with the Leader of the Subus n to negotiate the end of the war.


    I blink at that before frowning.


    Did something happen? I ask in return, feeling like this question came out of nowhere. Considering how long he couldve asked me it, and how he should already know its not possible.


    Jacob grimaces and answers, Damien is beginning to show his face.


    Oh.


    Yeah, I can see that being a problem.


    Damien val Shadowde is currently the highest level demon on Earth, with the exception of Satan who is currently grounded and likely will remain grounded until Gramps can order him otherwise. Considering that the Demon Kings orders are absolute and all.


    But Damien hasnt been directly participating in the war for a while now. Some assume its because hes afraid to get severely injured again like thest time, but most believe he just isnt interested in the war. This being from both the human and demon sides gossip.


    I havent met the man myself, so I wouldnt know what hes like one way or the other. The only thing I have to go on is a brief passing remark Gramps made about him while I was on Tartarus.


    That hes depressed.


    Which isnt an umon thing with ghouls, considering their curse.


    How so? I eventually ask while crossing my arms.


    Jacob looks me directly in the eye and says, He killed the Dark Jester, the Jaded Saint, and the Eternal me.


    My jaw drops open at the blunt deration of the death of three ss V Guardians.


    In a single night, Jacob adds, making me uncross my arms and lean forwards in my seat out of pure shock.


    Was he provoked or something? I ask after taking a second to recover.


    Jacob shakes his head and says, No. They were fighting on the frontlines as usual before he arrived, ignored all of the other Guardians, and killed the three without batting an eye. Then he left, once again ignoring the other Guardians.


    And when did this happen? Has he shown himself again since then? I ask back to back questions, feeling more than a little tense at the idea of Damien going around killing ss Vs when he used to be so inactive in the war other than defending the Gate.


    The Chairman shakes his head, answering, He hasnt shown himself since, and it happened just a few days ago. He didnt even harm a single other Guardian aside from the ss Vs in the area, so we believe hes going around hunting ss Vs.


    Hunting ss Vs


    Also Jacob continues before hesitating, making me frown. he ate their corpses.


    Oh. Well thats normal for a ghoul.


    Gross, cruel, and not something I ever want to see, yes. But normal for a ghoul.


    Their Sin kind of makes them.


    That said, itll probably kill morale amongst the soldiers that hear about it.


    So it sounds like hes going around hunting ss Vs then? What is the general doing to counter it? I ask while tapping my fingers on my leg.


    Your mother and the Blue Knight of Humanity are both patrolling the Arctic frontlines and will notify us immediately should he show up, Jacob says with a frown on his face. Then well send the rest of the Knights to deal with him for good.


    Right, hes almost as strong as Satan. And Satan just about killed all of the Knights while they were working together against him, even if he had the boost from the Demon Moon. So at the very least Satan can take down two or three Knights at once without the help of the Demon Moon.


    Should be safe to assume that Damien can take on two of them at once as well.


    Hes just never really been a real issue thanks to his seemingck of interest in the war.


    I frown as a thoughtes to mind.


    Do you think his actions could have something to do with Vorgrim going on a rampage back on Tartarus? I ask, making Jacob blink in surprise for a second. Then he leans forwards, his elbows on his knees as he seemingly considers the possibility.


    It would make some sense. After all, Damien likely has people he cares about on Tartarus, and if he knew that Vorgrim could very likely kill them, he would be sparked into action even if he dislikes the war. Just to push the war forward and closer to its end so he can return to Tartarus.


    Maybe I should pay a visit to Damien soon.


    Its highly possible, Jacob finally responds to the possibility I pointed out, but he soon pushes that aside as he raises his head and asks, So what do you think about you going to negotiate the end of the war with Lily del Rose?


    I shake my head immediately and answer, Not possible. Even if the demons believe it to be a good idea, without Gramps permission, nothing can happen. Hisst order was for the war to continue, so without him directly saying it cane to an end, even if we <em>know</em> he would say that, Demon Kings Rule wont let them end the war.


    Jacob gets a depressed look about him after hearing my answer, but theres nothing I can do about that.


    Its just an irond rule of the skill.


    Gramps word is quite literallyw for the demons. The only ones that can disobey it are Demon Lords, none of whom are on Earth. And only theyd be able to disobey it. Not the rest of the demons.


    So only theyd be able to ignore orders to fight.


    Its actually something Gramps wouldin about. That there isnt much leeway in the skills usage, and he has to be extremely careful about what he orders demons to do.


    And only he can retract his orders. Although depending on the demons level, both Leonidas and I can also give orders to demons. Just with less authority than he has.


    In that case we can only hope the Demon King returns to demon society soon Jacob says something I never expected one of the leaders of the humans to ever say in my life.


    Then again, that would solve pretty much every problem we have right now.

 Book 5: Chapter 30: The Pandemonium Begins

    Book 5: Chapter 30: The Pandemonium Begins


    <strong>Scarlet<em></em></strong>


    <strong><em>One monthter</em></strong>


    I float several meters above the ground with my arms crossed and my brows furrowed while staring at the demons below me, many of whom I have floating as well through my Blood Maniption skill. A skill that has gained the ability to manipte the blood of others so long as theyre sufficiently weaker than me after it reached level 30. And each of the demons can be seen with glowing crimson cracks stretching across their body and their clothes, for the ones wearing clothes. But unlike how it was when I first got the skill, I manage to vary the speed of the infection amongst each of the demons.


    When I first became the Warden of the Red gue, I could only give a form of guidance to the Red gue that it had to follow. But at this point Im able to do much more than that.


    Ive learned to keep a much stricter control over it.


    And now, after over a month of having the skill, I cant help but grin.


    <strong>You finally did it, </strong>Tarments, making me nod my head as I look at each demon. All of whom are being infected and eventually turned to ash at different rates, following which the ash is used as food for the Red gue.


    That I did.


    The number of demons thatve died from my experiments is ratherrge though. Even if Ive kept the crueler experiments to the nonsapient ones, avoiding doing any sort of experimentation on the sapient demons. Because thats just not something I want to be doing.


    <strong>There are some things you just shouldnt do, even in wartime, </strong>Tar replies to my thoughts.


    Agreed. Especially when theyre technically my people as well.


    At this point I have nearly absolute control over all of the Red gue within a few dozen meters around me. Beyond that though and I lose control of the Red gue.


    I frown as I begin floating a little bit away from the Red gue before suddenly stopping and moving back again.


    Ugh.


    <strong>That radius shrinks when the Red gue itself grows stronger from those it kills, </strong>Tarments on what I just saw. <strong>Guess you cant fix that problem after all.</strong>


    Unfortunately.


    At the very least I can put the Red gue to use without having to worry about destroying the entire world.


    Because that was a close one a few weeks ago.


    <strong>When the Red gue that youpressed got free and began eating straight through the ground until Amelia stepped in and stopped it? </strong>Tar says, pointing out something that absolutely didnt happen. <strong>Uh huh.</strong>


    I frown even harder at that.


    How was I supposed to know that itd act like a damned cannonball and sink like a rock in water?


    It even grew faster and faster the deeper it went instead of slowing down as youd normally expect.


    <strong>Well, it grows when it- </strong>he begins before I mutter, Yeah, yeah, it grows when it devours reality. I know. But that doesnt change that I didnt expect that.


    Tar and I continue watching the demons until the veryst one is gone and I raise my hand, calling the Red gue back to me in a sh of crimson light shining straight towards me. Then I put both of my hands in my pockets and transform into blood to fly through the air towards the frontlines. But when Im only halfway there, I pause and turn back into my lycan form again.


    <strong>What is it? </strong>Tar asks, but I just float down to the ground and raise my arm closer to my face before shapeshifting a single finger into a w on my other hand and drawing it across my arm. And I just let the drops of glowing red blood that flow out hit the ground where they then begin infecting everything they touch.


    After a few seconds I pull the blood back into me again and shake my head.


    <strong>Yeah, that could be a problem, </strong>Tar eventually says, understanding me.


    If I get hurt too much in a battle, and I start to let out a lot of blood I may not be able to control the Red gue that is released as a result.


    Especially if I fall unconscious again.


    But I cant keep avoiding the frontlines. The war has stalled thanks to my absence, and the people are starting to wonder whats going on.


    I grimace as I begin to clench my fist.


    Eventually I look up at where I know Amelia is watching me.


    I really didnt want to rely on her, but


    Amelia, I state, raising my voice slightly. And just secondster, she appears in front of me. Would you help me?


    She nods her head without even asking what it is I need help with. Which still surprises me to this day.


    Can you handle any of the blood that I lose while fighting on the frontlines? I ask her, but once again, she just nods her head and smiles. So I smile back and answer, Thank you.


    Of course, she replies right away before vanishing again without another word.


    Then I turn back towards the frontlines again and take a deep breath.


    Alright. I wont destroy the world.


    With that thought deeply entrenched in my mind, I shift back into blood and immediately make my way towards the frontlines. And the moment I arrive, I look around at the millions of demons and humans fighting each other.


    But the fighting doesntst long as people quickly begin to notice me, following which cheers ring out from amongst the humans and murmurs of The Warden and Her Highness from the demons.


    Despite all of that, I simply ignore them all and rush deep into the demon side of the battlefield where very few humans are before lowering myself closer to the ground and spreading out my arms.


    Release, I mutter quietly as glowing red blood shoots out of my body and begins infecting everything directly beneath me.


    Let the pandemonium begin.

 Book 5: Chapter 31: The Warden

    Book 5: Chapter 31: The Warden


    <strong>The Frontlines</strong>


    Close to the front of the frontlines, Axel Var Del quickly jerks his head around as he senses the approach of a ss V. And he isnt the only one as the ss V human hes fighting breaks away from him at the same time that he jumps back and turns his attention towards it as well.


    Then both of them find a very familiar woman with red and ck hair flowing down behind her with the wind as glowing crimson cracks slowly pulse across her armor, with an asional vein of crimson showing on her skin. Her eyes are pure crimson and, as she spreads her arms out to her sides, slowly lose the whites within them, the crimson spreading out to fill her entire eyes as her whispered voice echoes across the frontlines, Release.


    Her Highness, The Warden Axel mutters, the wolfkin  a lesser version of a blood lycan  gazing up in awe as glowing crimson blood begins to leak out of the Princesss body before shooting down like the humans bullets to hit all of the demons directly beneath her.


    And the sight Axel sees directly after reces his awe with abject terror.


    All of the demons begin to show the same glowing crimson cracks across their bodies as the Princesss armor shows as the demons drop like dominos to the ground with each of them convulsing in the process. Their eyes begin to turn red just like the Princesss, and soon the convulsing goes silent as well while the crimson cracks growrger and brighter.


    <em>The Warden of the Red gue</em>


    Axel watches with fear in his gaze as cheers ring out from the humans. And thest thought Axel has before he sees all of the infected demons turning to crimson ash, only for that ash to then get absorbed by the glowing crimson blood that is left behind, sends a shiver down his spine.


    <em>The power of the Royal Family truly is absolute</em>


    But it doesnt stop there as the Princess quickly raises her hand, stopping the glowing crimson blood from devouring any more of the ash and instead raising it into the air while the blood seems to shake from indignation. Then she pushes her hand out forward while floating ahead, bringing the glowing crimson blood with her to infect more demons.


    <em>Terrifying and without equal.</em>


    By now even the cheering humans have gone silent with the lone exception of murmurs of The Red gue and The Warden throughout the frontlines.


    Entire swarms of demons die as the demons infected by what Axel can only assume is the Red gue die, turning into red ash faster and faster with each demon until they die near instantly upon infection. And Axel soon realizes that the glowing crimson blood is growing thicker and thicker with every kill, only for it to vanish the moment it gets too far away from the Princess.


    <em>A weakness? Or I dont think its her erasing it whats that about?</em>


    Axel cant figure out whats going on as he watches the gue that gets too far away from the Princess vanish without a trace.


    Time passes as he continues to watch, but after several minutes, the Warden floats back up higher while drawing the gue back into her body again with a sigh. Then she simply looks out over the army of demons from her spot located deep within the demon army far away from any humans.


    Soon enough the demons and humans all around begin fighting again, no longer keeping their attention focused solely on the Princess. But Axel senses more than a couple Nobles heading straight over towards the Princess.


    So he returns his attention to the human he was fighting as well.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I grimace after I get high enough, feeling rather ufortable with howpressed and thick the Red gue within my body is right now. After its feasted on tens of thousands of demons. Possibly even hundreds of thousands of demons. Most of whom were lower ss, and many not even sapient. But still demons, nheless.


    And I think it may be a bit too much for me tofortably handle


    It feels like my blood is too thick for my body, and at the same time it makes me feel powerful. But extremely ufortable, and like Im about to burst any second now.


    So without hesitation, I shift into my quadrupedal beast form and immediately begin burning away as much blood as possible using Blood Sacrifice. Which seems to work, albeit not that well.


    I still feel like Im about to burst, so I go ahead and begin using Crimson Overdrive as harshly as I can to burn away my own life energy until wounds begin opening up on their own and my blood vanishes amidst the crimson lightning. And I continue to do this while charging through the demons, ughtering them by the thousands and gradually leveling up from the massacre every hundred or so thousand demons in.


    Meanwhile every time I do get wounded and lose blood, or the blood that is leaking from the open wounds caused by my drain of life energy instead of vanishing in the crimson lightning, vanishes thanks to Amelias interference. All the while I make absolutely sure that none of my blood is left behind.


    This is a major pain.


    <strong>Well, it is a mutation skill, </strong>Tarments as I continue to ughter demons. <strong>And mutation skills oftene with a price.</strong>


    True.


    Law of equal exchange, was it? Something like that.


    Great poweres at a price, or everythinges in exchange for something else.


    Something like that.


    <strong>Youre just making up random stuff to distract yourself, arent you? </strong>Tar points out, but I ignore him.


    I grit my teeth as I feel the difort of burning my own life energy  a feeling that I cant just diffuse with Pain Diffusion. And after a while, I begin to get lost in the ughter.


    So I try to snap myself out of it again, only to have that done for me when something crashes into my side and I find myself sting through demons on my path to m into a cliff.


    After coughing out a good bit of blood that vanishes the instant it leaves my mouth, I turn my gaze to the demon that is responsible for my current state.


    Then I grin at the sight of an outlet to vent my current issues on.


    Five different Noble demons, all around levels 1150 to 1200.


    Lets hunt.

 Book 5: Chapter 32: Interference

    Book 5: Chapter 32: Interference


    <strong>High Above the Frontlines</strong>


    Amelia purses her lips for a second before beginning to fly down to stop the five Nobles. But just secondster, she backs away without any hesitation, following which a twister of miasma appears where she was just standing.


    <em>Miasma? On the frontlines?</em>


    Her gaze quickly locks onto the source of the miasma, which she quickly finds to be someone who shouldnt be here.


    A man with stark white hair just like her own and pitch ck orbs as eyescking any sort of color or even white, with pitch ck ws extending from his fingers as sharp as talons, and pale white skin. And Amelia immediately grimaces at the hungry look on the mans face that he is clearly restraining as he stares at her without blinking for even a moment.


    Amelia immediately presses a button on her terminal, sending a signal to all of the other Knights and the general of the military to notify them of a n demons arrival.


    Then she asks, What are you doing here Damien?


    Damien doesnt say anything for several seconds as small ck and red embers begin to leak from his eyes, making Amelias own eyes widen in shock and fear.


    <em>Shit. Hes losing his sanity, isnt he?</em>


    The man just continues to stare at her for several seconds before looking down at Scarlet and continuing to stare, leaving Amelia feeling confused.


    <em>Is he not attacking me? Wait, hows he even holding himself back from devouring everyone here if hes losing his sanity to his Sin? ck and red embers leaking from the eyes is the first sign of a demons consciousness being swallowed entirely by their Sin, so unless Im mistaken on that</em>


    Despite Amelias thoughts, Damien just continues to look down at the battle in silence, not attacking anyone as he simply floats there.


    <em>Hes really not attacking me but what was with that first attack, then? Does he not want me to interfere?</em>


    Just to test it, Amelia begins moving down towards the battle again, but right when she does, Damien turns his gaze towards her again and sends another twister of miasma at her. One that moves downwards towards the ground after missing her and wipes out tens of thousands of demons before turning most of them into undead. And when Amelia backs up again, he returns his attention to Scarlet.


    <em>He is seriously just trying to keep me away from her but why?</em>


    Several seconds pass in silence before Amelia looks down at Scarlet again, finding her beginning her battle with the five Nobles already. And she quickly begins to lose too much of her blood, with it devouring the nearby demons, growing stronger, and spreading while also digging downwards.


    Amelia immediately tries to nullify the blood, but for some reason Damien sends another twister her way, making her turn a re on the man. But this time he actually speaks, albeit only a single word.


    No.


    And ites out as a growl. One nearing being feral.


    Thats when it clicks in Amelias mind.


    <em>He wants Scarlet to grow as strong as possible, as fast as possible so that she can clear his curse and save him from being lost to it. Even if it means the end of the Earth and the ughter of millions of his own demons.</em>


    Amelia feels panic quickly rising within her and she opens her terminal, wondering where everyone else is and why they havent arrived yet.


    Then she finds that Gabrie had just told a prophecy and is recovering from it, meanwhile Red himself had just barely survived an encounter with Satan. ck is still missing from when he disappeared not too long ago, leaving Alexander as the only remaining option for backup.


    But hes not responding.


    <em>Why the fucking hell did Noah have to have another squabble with Satan right now?! And what was the prophecy Gabby told anyways?!</em>


    Amelia doesnt have the time to find out as she grits her teeth and looks down at the Red gue quickly turning the area around them all to red ash. Even after Scarlet tries to stop using the skill.


    From what Amelia can tell though, Scarlet simply isnt able to handle all of the Red gue that had replicated during the battle up till now and not been dealt with by Amelia.


    <em>Shit, shit, shit, I shouldnt have let here here!</em>


    She quickly sends a message to her brother simply stating, Come here now or the world ends!!!! Then she tries to create a full null magic field down on the field using her Bane of Magic Title-Bearing Mythic skill. But even that does nothing to the Red gue.


    In fact, it even seems to make things worse as it appears to weaken Scarlets control over the gue.


    Amelias eyes widen in further shock, and she immediately cancels the use of her skill while her daughter looks up in confusion and more than a little irritation at her. Only for Scarlets eyes to lock onto Damien as well and a grimace to form on her face.


    And all this happens while the other demons on the frontlines continue fighting with the humans, neither side having any idea about the dangers that areing.


    <em>Scarlet is fighting far on the demons side of the frontlines, away from any humans. But its only a matter of time at this point before the Red gue reaches the parts of the battle where humans are as well.</em>


    Amelia hears a grinding sound from her own teeth as she grits them even harder, but she pays it no mind as she finally returns her attention to the level 1801 ghoul floating in front of her and still fighting back his loss of sanity.


    <em>I dont have a choice. Even if I cant beat him on my own, I should at least be able to push him back so that I can clear out some of the Red gue down there.</em>


    So Amelia raises both of her arms and begins making aplete null magic field around the ghoul.


    <em>Lets just hope this stops him for long enough to act.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 33: Chaos at its Finest

    Book 5: Chapter 33: Chaos at its Finest


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I grit my teeth as I feel the Red gue beginning to go out of control, devouring all of the demons around us and growing stronger and stronger. But thankfully the five Noble demons begin fighting against the Red gue themselves as well, slowing its pace a bit and letting me draw some of it back into me.


    Something strange happens when I draw as much Red gue inside of myself as I can though.


    Almost like Im growing stronger when I pull the blood in.


    <strong>Scarlet, theres something I didnt tell you until now that I think you should know, </strong>Tar says, making me frown. <strong>Father ordered me to keep it from you until you knew how to control the Red gue, but the Red gue is considered a part of your body. And it doesnt just replicate when it devours the realities of other beings. </strong>Tar hesitates a second as I continue pulling in the Red gue until Im at my limit and cant hold any more. <strong>The Red gues own reality grows stronger as well.</strong>


    Wait. Huh?


    I blink as I feel my control ckening ever so slightly in my surprise, only for me to regain my control over it in an instant.


    Doesnt that mean


    <strong>{Level X Being Devoured.} x102397</strong>


    <strong>{Level XX Being Devoured.} x38702</strong>


    <strong>{Level XXX Being Devoured.} x2890</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 1036. Ten Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 1069. Ten Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    Holy cow. Thats a lot.


    This is just broken.


    Do you seriously mean that


    <strong>Yes, the Red gue directly feeds on the life force and reality energy of other beings, </strong>Tar deres. <strong>And your body is entirely made up of the Red gue in question.</strong>


    So I can level up without giving a shit about the Systems restrictions now.


    Although it doesnt seem to give me any SP for the kills I make using the Red gue.


    <strong>Probably because you are devouring them, not killing them, </strong>Tarments. <strong>So the System doesnt get much if any of the life force they give off upon death.</strong>


    Thats just broken.


    But at the same time, I can feel myself growing stronger at an incredibly rapid pace.


    A wide, and probably a little crazy looking, grin stretches across my face. One showing all of my teeth, including my sharpened canines as I float upwards and spread my arms out.


    The euphoric sensation continues filling me up as I feel the Red gue growing stronger and stronger. But I also cant help but question why I didnt feel this before.


    <strong>Its likely that the Red gue needed to satiate itself before it could grow stronger, </strong>Tar exins. <strong>And it didnt help that you kept having your mother erase it from existence, which made it a lot harder for the Red gue to do that.</strong>


    True.


    <strong>More importantly, </strong>Tar says as the Red gue continues to grow beneath me, soon forming arge wave that simply engulfs the humans. <strong>You might be able to nullify the curse within the day at this rate, if you keep leveling up as you are.</strong>


    Youre right.


    So instead of controlling the Red gue toe back to me, I have it devour the armies of mostly non-sapient demons below who have no idea whats happening. Specifically avoiding killing as many sapient ones as possible since the war should be ending soon if my n works out.


    And it doesn''t take long for the valley were in to turn into a damnedke of glowing red blood, all while the ss Vs who know about my skill rush to save any humans who are anywhere near my attack. Which I very much appreciate.


    Then, the moment I reach level 1200, I try as hard as I can to pull all of the Red gue back towards me. With little sess.


    But just momentster, Amelia and Damien  who were both fighting each other high above the frontlines  fly down and begin eliminating theke of Red gue alongside the five Noble demons, none of whom are attacking me anymore. And after the Red gue is back down to a much more reasonable size, and Im about to recall the rest of it, a certain undead ghoul appears in front of me with a crazy look in his pitch ck eyes.


    Cure, he says through gritted teeth with a damned near feral tone of voice.


    My eyes widen at that, but I try to ignore him for the moment to deal with the Red gue.


    He just moves forward and grabs me by the throat, continuing, Cure.


    Just wait a moment! I shout at him, my voiceing out clearly despite his hand on my throat.


    He doesnt wait. And I finally realize why when he pulls my face closer to his, revealing the red and ck embers that are starting to leak out of his eyes faster and faster.


    Hes losing it.


    Help clear out the Red gue down there after this and Ill cure you here and now, I bluntly tell him, and he nods his head without hesitation.


    So I close my eyes, focusing on the physical contact he has with my throat right now. Then I almost immediately find the connection Im looking for.


    The corruption flowing through his body.


    I follow the connection into his body before finding the branch of the root and attempting to follow it to the source. But I soon find that Im still too weak to do that.


    What Im not too weak to do though, is cut off therger branch that connects to arge portion of the other branches it reaches out towards.


    I grit my teeth, feeling blood beginning to fill my mouth. But I stop myself from coughing on Damien so as to not infect him by ident.


    Then I push as hard as I possibly can to cut the branch.


    An act that is immediately followed by a loud thunderp echoing out all around us.


    I open my eyes again in surprise before meeting Damiens eyes.


    Eyes that no longer have the pain and hunger from before in them, nor the embers.


    I did it.

 Book 5: Chapter 34: Truce

    Book 5: Chapter 34: Truce


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Silence fills the battlefield, making me nce downwards from the n Demon in front of me to find all of the demons on the battlefield suddenly no longer moving. Except the ones fighting the Red gue, that is. Theyre still trying to push it back and get rid of it.


    The rest of the demons all act as if theyve been snapped out of some trance though.


    I really did it. I broke the curse on all of the demons, at least on Earth. I dont think I managed to do anything about the demons on Tartarus, unfortunately.


    Id have to actually go to Tartarus to do that.


    And Im sure Gramps will get the message when I break his curse along with the rest on Tartarus.


    All because of the Red gue


    I smile at that thought, realizing it does have some good other than its pure power after all.


    My thoughts are interrupted when howls, roars, shouts, and cheers of all kind echo around the entire frontlines. Then a single voice echoes out over them all, belonging to the man right next to me.


    Attention all demons currently on Earth! The Warden of the Red gue, Princess of the Demons, Apex Predator, and Bane of Corruption has managed to erase the curse that has been terrorizing us demons for ages! She has rid us all of the curse and brought us true peace for the first times in our lives!!!


    I find myself surprised by how enthusiastic Damien is being, considering how he was just moments ago. Then he turns to me and kneels midair, surprising me for just a second as he deres, Your Highness, I swear myself to you now and forever. I will be your knight, your shield, and your sword should you make use of me.


    He raises his head, showing a grin on his undead face that is theplete opposite of his face before.


    And its not just him. Soon enough, demons all around the frontlines are abandoning the battlefield to fly up here and bow before me, reciting very simr lines.


    I hurriedly nce down at the Red gue before shouting, Wait, please, lets deal with the problem at hand first!


    Everyone blinks before the demons look down at the Red gue that is starting to gain a little ground again.


    Oh, right, Damien mutters and flies down to start erasing parts of it with miasma. And I quickly join him, restoring the mana that I spent on nullifying the curse through the Red gue Im absorbing. And gaining levels as I do so.


    By the time we deal with all of the Red gue, Ive already hit level 1220, which seems to surprise more than a few of the demons and humans around me.


    Not as surprised as I am to hear another voice echoing throughout the frontlines. A voice that isnt even supposed to be here. Meaning shes probably talking to us from somewhere on Tartarus.


    Attention all demons on Earth, ording to the order left to me by His Majesty before he entered seclusion, now that the Princess has shown to be able to remove the cursepletely on all demons, we are pulling back, Lily del Roses voice echoes all over. And I can tell its not just the battlefield, cause I can hear it with my strong hearing all over. As if the words are echoing wherever demons are on Earth. You will all retreat to Demon Isle and the Arctic Gates and stay guard there until His Majesty leaves seclusion and is able to give new orders.


    I smile a little when I hear the next sentence she utters, along with the silence after it.


    From here on out, we will be entering peace talks with the humans.


    For the first time ever, absolute silence fills the entire frontlines. Not a single person saying a word, or even moving.


    Not a one.


    Then cheers immediately ring out from both sides.


    My smile grows a little more as I float high above everyone with the Knights all appearing near me, the other Knights apparently no longer being busy now that the demons have been called off from their attack. And all of them look happy.


    Even Purple is here.


    Meanwhile everyst Noble demon on the frontlines moves over beneath me and kneels down, with a third of them swearing fealty to me now. Instead of gramps.


    Didnt know they could do that, but I get the feeling it doesnt stop them from having to obey gramps orders.


    To my surprise, I sense a familiar power edging in on the frontlines, making me nce to the side to find Satan arriving. And the man has a wide smile on his face despite the wounds on his body. Which dont number as many as Red has, making me understand where those two were.


    Soon enough Satan approaches me, joining Damien in the whole kneeling down midair thing that theyre doing. And then all of the other demons on the frontlines do the same thing, except without the flying part. Since most of them cant fly.


    Which leaves me staring at a massive army of millions of demons, all bowing.


    I cant help but furrow my brow at the sight of the demons even forcing the non-sapient demons to bow as well.


    The humans begin to grow quiet and confused at the sight of everyst demon kneeling down with their heads facing the ground. Or at least, kneeling down in whatever way they can, considering that most of them dont actually have humanoid forms.


    And after several seconds of absolute silence filling the battlefield, a single collective and simultaneous sentence rings out throughout the entire battlefield.


    Thank you, Your Highness, for saving us from our curse. You will forever be the Royal we serve, the Moon we follow, and the Warden we trust in. The Apex Predator, our Savior, and our Princess.


    I start to feel my face heating up slightly as I wasnt prepared for that, but I just smile and give all of them a single light wave of my hand.


    And out of the corner of my eye, I spot cameras from the humans side shing, recording and taking pictures of the whole thing.


    Tar even appears andnds on my shoulder during the middle of it.


    <strong>Looks like weve got one obstacle out of the way, </strong>hements, making me nod my head in silence.


    Now we just have to deal with the void creatures.

 Book 5: Chapter 35: Tearful Appreciation

    Book 5: Chapter 35: Tearful Appreciation


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After the little makeshift ceremony the demons decided to do, they all head back to the Arctic and Demon Isle, making the frontlines of the warpletely barren of anyone but humans for the first time since the truce. And soon after that we get word of the demons leaving all of the cities theyve conquered, pulling their territory all the way back to the Arctic and Demon Isle.


    Good job, Amelia tells me with a smile as she, the Knights, and I all fly through the air towards the capital city.


    I nod towards her with a smile of my own, which apparently still surprises the other Knights since theyre not used to seeing me smile. But I ignore them.


    Once we reach the capital city, I immediately find recordings of what happened on the frontlines ying on all of the wide screens scattered across the city on repeat. Meanwhile its almost as if everyst civilian is on the streets celebrating.


    Not just the civilians either, but a lot of Guardians as well.


    And all of them immediately begin cheering even louder the moment the Knights and I fly over the city, some of the more sensitive Guardians noticing us right away and pointing us out. So I wave at them all, making them cheer even louder.


    Things are going to change from now on, you know that, right? Amelia points out.


    I nod my head, knowing full well that things will never be the same again. Not for the humans and not for me either.


    Come to think of it, now that we arent at war with the demons anymore, where will I get the EXP needed to level up?


    <strong>Did you forget? The Red gue devours the reality itself, not just the life force, </strong>Tar says, making me frown.


    What does that change?


    Tar looks at me from my shoulder and exins, <strong>The reason humans and demons cant get EXP from killing void creatures is because void creatures dont have life force. But they do have realities.</strong>


    I blink as that answer settles in. Then a small smile stretches across my face.


    So what youre saying is I can level up from devouring void creatures.


    The tanuki sends me a vicious grin in return, <strong>Yep!</strong>


    Now <em>that </em>is good news.


    <strong>You may be interested in heading to other worlds that are being devoured presently by the void just to deal with the void creatures and level up from them, </strong>Tar points out, but I can help but frown again at that.


    How would I even get there?


    He just smiles at me without answering.


    Something you cant say? Havent seen that in a while.


    <strong>Youll find out soon enough, </strong>Tar says rather cryptically.


    Then I look forward to it.


    The Knights and I all continue flying over the city for a bit, ying to the people a little to give them what they want before we all grab the Chairman and head towards Demon Isle. And once we arrive at the capital of the demons inside of Demon Isle, we find the ce swarming with demons, most of whom are celebrating. The sapient ones at least.


    The Knights, Chairman, and I allnd in the pce located at the center of the capital before entering the throne room where we find both Damien and Satan standing beneath the raised dais, with a strange pool of pink energy floating between them showing Lily on the other side. And as soon as I enter the room, all three of them kneel down and dere, We greet Her Highness, our Savior.


    Lily, I state with a nod of my head towards the currentmander of the Demon Army.


    She raises her head and directly meets my eyes with that terrifying gaze that quickly fills with lust against her will since shes still under her curse.


    I will be heading to Tartarus next to erase the curse there as well, I tell her, in a bit of a hurry to get away from that gaze that sends a chill down my spine just from the way shes looking at me, likely without even knowing it herself.


    The subus immediately bows her head again and exims, Thank you, Your Highness. We await your arrival.


    I nod my head again before quickly heading to the Gate within the capital and crossing through it on my own, the other Knights proving unable to cross due to theck of reality energy in the Gate. And the very first person I find after crossing into Tartarus again is Lily, along with dozens of other n demons all around us kneeling on the ground.


    Other than these demons, I also sense therge blood domain stretching across the entire, along with a powerful source of life energy with a rather loud roar echoing from the Southwest.


    Without hesitation, I walk up to a random n demon  deciding to stay far away from Lily while she still has her curse  and ce my hand on their head and close my eyes. Then I sense for the branch connecting them to the root of the curse, following which Ipletely erase the curse, making a loud shattering sound echo throughout Tartarus.


    And just like with Earth, all of the demons here begin cheering, following which they kneel down and more than a few swear fealty to me.


    I give an amused smile as I look out over all of the demons.


    The pure joy on all of their faces makes it hard not to smile.


    I nce at Lily to find her quite literally crying, with that lustful look in her eyespletely gone now. Just like how the hunger in Damiens vanished.


    <strong>Theyve lived their entire lives with these horrible curses, and now theyre finally experiencing life without them, </strong>Tar says rather quietly as he looks out from my shoulder.


    I nod my head, still smiling at the demons, many of whom are crying. Which makes some sense since these are all Nobles unlike most of the demons on the frontlines before. And the Nobles are the oldest of the demons who have spent the most time with the curses.


    Then, out of nowhere, two things happen that silence most of the demons here.


    First, the roar from the Southwest vanishes while the life energy res once and goes down. As if the source is finally calming down.


    Second, the slight sensation of constantly being in movement that I was feeling gradually slows down, following which the blood domain around the entire begins to fade.


    And only momentster, therge pr of blood I see in the direction of the Demon Kings Castle vanishes.


    Gramps is back.

 Book 5: Chapter 36: The Abdication Begins

    Book 5: Chapter 36: The Abdication Begins


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Right as Im about to begin heading over towards Gramps castle, a very loud and very powerful voice begins to echo seemingly throughout the entire. A voice I recognize as belonging to King Oberon of the Fae. And along with the voice I feel a very powerful life force. As if the King is spreading his entire being across the.


    <strong>Attention all contracted beings of Earth and Tartarus; the time of the new Dawn has arrived. Now that the curse on the demons is no longer amongst the living, I, King Oberon of the Fae, have decided to begin the process of my abdication of the Fae Throne.</strong>


    My eyes widen in shock along with everyst demon here. Meanwhile one fae after another begin appearing all around us. As if every single contracted fae on Tartarus is appearing from the In-Between at once in response to their kings words.


    <strong>The abdication process will begin with a tournament where all of the contracted partners of my children willpete amongst themselves. This tournament will be set ce within the In-Between, in an alternate dimension created by my own hands, and it will determine the heir to the throne.</strong>


    I grow serious as I narrow my eyes slightly.


    So the fae tournament you told me about is finally going to begin.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar mutters from his ce on my shoulder.


    Oberon finishes his little speech up, <strong>The tournament will begin in one weeks time. I bid my children good luck and their partners adieu.</strong>


    As soon as he finishes, his life force vanishes, and everything returns to normal again. Then silence fills the area.


    <strong>Now I can tell you what I wasnt able to earlier, </strong>Tar says, breaking the silence in my mind.


    Wait, really? That wasnt much of a wait.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he says while floating off of my shoulder to move directly in front of me. <strong>What I wanted to tell you is that one of the perks well get if I were to be the King of the Fae is the ability to teleport to any in the universe.</strong>


    Oh. Yeah, thatll help a lot in hunting the void creatures for their reality energy.


    But wait a second, how am I going topete with the otherpetitors for the throne? Most of them are all a lot higher leveled than I am.


    Just the Demon Lords alone could beat me.


    <strong>About that </strong>Tar says, pursing his lips slightly as he looks away, avoiding my gaze.


    What did you do?


    <strong>I asked Father for a favor, </strong>Tar says. And mere moments after he says that, I find myself blinking in surprise as everything around me goespletely ck.


    What the hell is going on?


    <strong>Im sorry, but Father didnt give me a choice in this after I asked my favor, </strong>Tar says, sounding more than a little apologetic. <strong>He said that if he is to help send us to void creatures for you to grow stronger, then he will have to do it right now. And he didnt give me a choice since he forced me to ept his condition before he told me it.</strong>


    Why the heck would you ept his condition before he even said what it was?!


    <strong>Its just how Father is, </strong>Tar says, making me grimace in response. <strong>He wont even give you the time of day when asking favors if you arent prepared for anything in return. And agreeing to his terms before hearing them is the only way to get him to help us. I just didnt expect them to be this rushed.</strong>


    I frown at the tanuki who is still in front of me as strange silver streaks seem to fly through the ckness around us. Then I let out a sigh.


    Whatever. I wanted to talk to Gramps and deal with the ritual part of the curse first, but I guess thatll have to wait.


    Do the others know what happened? That I didnt just vanish out of nowhere with no exnation?


    <strong>Father already told your grandfather about it, </strong>Tar says, reassuring me.


    Very well then.


    The silver streaks continue moving faster and faster through the endless ck around us with more and more streaks appearing as time passes. Eventually all of the darkness is covered in a luminescent silver.


    Then a strange warping sound echoes out and I find myself stumbling onto the sand in a desert.


    I quickly raise my head at the sounds I hear above us, only to find a rather terrifying sight greeting me.


    Completely blotting out the sky, for as far as I can see, there are nothing but ck creatures. All just masses of tentacles and insect-like parts and limbs.


    Absolutely disgusting.


    Whats even more terrifying is that life sense doesnt pick up anything on them at all.


    <strong>They dont have life energy or life force, so of course it wouldnt, </strong>Tar says as the two of us stare up at the void invasion. <strong>Father made sure to send us to a passing without any sapient creatures on it, and far away from the strongest forces of the void creatures. So go ahead and devour them as you please. You dont have to worry about coteral damage.</strong>


    For some reason, a strange hunger fills me from deep within and I feel drool beginning to fill up my mouth before dripping out. But almost immediately realize its not drool.


    Its blood.


    Red gue blood that begins devouring the ground after dripping down.


    That cant be a good sign.


    <strong>The Red gue is hungry, </strong>Tar mutters, making me nce at him with the Red gue drool still building up in my mouth despite me swallowing it. Which isnt actually as unpleasant as Id expected it would be. <strong>You have to remember that the gue is intelligent, even if its not sapient. Think of it like a wild animal that is hungry right now.</strong>


    Right. Makes sense when I think of it like that.


    So its hungry enough that its trying to make its way out of me in any way it can. Which isnt doing much.


    On that note, I raise my head up to the sky and sh a grin.


    Then again, it wont have to soon.


    Its time for a banquet.

 Book 5: Chapter 37: The Dawn of the Banquet of Void

    Book 5: Chapter 37: The Dawn of the Banquet of Void


    <strong>The In-Between</strong>


    King Oberon watches through a portal as the Warden of the Red gue unleashes the Red gue, spreading the enormous mass of glowing red liquid into the air towards the void creatures. Void creatures that are just beginning to notice her arrival and target the.


    The swarm of Red gue continuously spreads out to blot out the entire sky before it shes with the void invasion and quickly begins to devour it, not giving the lower ss void creatures even the slightest chance of fighting back.


    <strong>Are we sure this is a good idea? </strong>ra, the newly designated First Princess of the Fae and contracted partner of the Blood Cmity, asks with a frown as she floats next to her father.


    King Oberon stays silent for several seconds as the Red gue devours the void creatures, with the Warden constantly pulling the Red gue back into her to absorb the reality energy from the void creatures. And every time she absorbs it, her level and total EXP shoot up nonstop.


    <strong>Theres no other choice but to fight a universe level threat with another universe level threat, </strong>Oberon eventually answers. <strong>I believe she wont be a problem in the future.</strong>


    <strong>I agree with you, Father. But what Im worried about is if the poor girl isnt able to control the Red gue. </strong>ra says, making Oberon finally nce at her. Then she pushes on, asking, <strong>What if shepletely loses control of it and it results in the end of both the universe and the Farshore? </strong>She pauses for a second before adding, <strong>What if grandmothers work ends up being pointless?</strong>


    The king doesnt say anything for several seconds, just watching the Red gue devour the void invasion.


    <strong>Then we must prepare for the end of everything, </strong>Oberon eventually says, not even hiding the consequences of that.


    His daughters eyes widen in both shock and fear before she turns her gaze to the one-sided battle below. Where the void army is being devoured whole by the constantly growing Red gue.


    But despite that, the void creatures continue throwing themselves into the Red gue with abandon.


    Unlike what many people might assume, the void creatures have no intelligence. No sapience, no intelligence, no ability to tell apart danger or threats.


    All the void creatures can do is attack the living, with a specific draw towards sapient living creatures.


    Their entire purpose is that of the anti-life. To destroy everything and kill all living beings.


    So the two Royal Fae continue watching as they all throw themselves into the Red gue in a pointless attempt to eliminate the intelligent gue, only for the gue itself to devour them instead.


    <strong>Its terrifying, </strong>ra says while turning her gaze to the apathetic look on the Apex Predators face. A look that shows just how indifferent she is to the current greatest threat in the entire universe. <strong>The Red gue is truly terrifying.</strong>


    <strong>Yes, </strong>Oberon says, sounding quieter than normal as he watches the granddaughter of his contractor nourish herself on the universes direct enemy. <strong>That it is.</strong>


    <em>But no matter how terrifying the gue and the girl are, theyre the only hope of saving the universe.</em>


    Oberon feels more than a little warry by the idea of herpeting in the tournament with the Red gue. Even if he knows that she wont likely use if for offence if she is told how it will kill the otherpetitors even <em>if</em> they choose to turn on the anti-deathw in the artificial universe he made for thepetition.


    <em>At least, not in battles against those with the anti-deathw enabled.</em>


    From what hes heard of the girl from a certain doting grandfather who speaks about her more often than Oberon would like, the girl isnt against using what she has to kill. Even if it basically means shell be devouring them alive in a sense. She would only hold back if she knew they didnt want to die in the tournament.


    Oberon sighs as he continues watching the chaos. But after a while, he begins to notice a shift in both the Red gue and the void invasion.


    Both of them begin to move in the direction of the random, dead the Warden is currently on.


    Oberons draconic eyes narrow slightly at the sight.


    <em>The Red gue is moving towards its Warden, thats clear enough. But are the void creatures moving towards the biggest threat? The only threat that has been able to fight back against them so far?</em>


    He frowns at that thought. Because if its true, then the void invasion does have some minor instincts after all.


    Instincts to target the biggest threat first.


    Of course, not all of the void creatures across the world are moving towards the world. Not even the vast majority of them are.


    Only the void creatures within the gxy she is currently in. One on the other side of the universe to Earth.


    Oberon turns his gaze back to the swarm of Red gue above the, along with the indifferent girl controlling it all and asionally reabsorbing bits of the Red gue. And when he looks at her level through his System ess granted to him by his status as the King of the Fae, he cant help but frown.


    <em>She has leveled up nearly twenty times in just thest hour. If she keeps up the pace shes at now, considering the increase in necessary reality energy per level</em>


    His eyes widen and he begins to turn away from the portal.


    <em>Shell reach around level 1700 by the time the tournament begins.</em>


    A level that Oberon feels is high enough to win. Especially with her Apex Predator skill giving her a 100% boost in stats against the Knights, who are barely a hundred levels above that.


    <strong>Lets go, </strong>Oberon tells his daughter, who quickly follows after him. <strong>We have a tournament to prepare for.</strong>


    <em>At the very least, The Reaper doesnt have a fae topete for.</em>


    Right when theyre about to teleport to the new universe he created temporarily, he nces at his daughter and adds, <strong>And I wish you luck in the tournament as well, young ra.</strong>


    She nods her head, following which they both teleport, making the portal behind them vanish without a trace.

 Book 5: Chapter 38: The Fae Tournament

    Book 5: Chapter 38: The Fae Tournament


    <strong>Earth</strong>


    <strong><em>One weekter</em></strong>


    Emily smiles as she walks down the sidewalk of the main street within the capital, vaguely listening to her friends from Lions Heart talking alongside her.


    Did you hear? Another professor quit teaching. One of her friends, a girl named Julie with long ck hair and a short size, albeit still taller than Emily, says with her usual gossipy tone of voice. This makes twenty professors that have resigned from the university in just the past week!


    Well, what point is there for them to stay now? Elizabeth, another friend of Emilys,ments with a slightly haughty but also gossipy voice, retorts. Most of them stayed at the university for priority on the Fractures. But now that demons arent crossing the Fractures anymore, there isnt much point in working there.


    Dont most of them have a fortunerge enough to live off of now anyways? Another friend points out, making all of them nod.


    Emily just continues walking without saying anything as the four friends walk alongside her talking.


    Im more worried about how were going to continue living without the demons life force to fuel our life spans, Jessica says, making the others grow silent at that.


    <em>That does seem to be most of the Guardians main concern</em>


    Emily looks up at the sky, raising an arm to stop snow from falling into her eyes.


    Ever since the Demon King returned from wherever he was, immediately ordering the end of the war between humans and demons, life has changed all across Earth. The demons even gave Demon Isle back to the humans, although they and the Knights agreed to let the demons keep the Arctic since most humans dont have any interest in living there anyways.


    And to add to that, the demons stopped entering the Fractures that are still opening up across the. The Demon King even made a direct order, banning demons from entering the Fractures and making the only viable ways through to Earth the Gates.


    At this point, Emily is pretty sure everyone is just trying to adapt to the significant changes to society. Since there are no longer any Fractures, and no longer a way for Guardians to get EXP or to extend their life spans, everyone  especially the Guardians  are all trying to figure out what they should do.


    Emily doesnt feel worried about it though. Amelia had already told her and the others in her team that the Demon King was nning on allowing humans to enter the Gates spread across the Earth to fight demons on Tartarus.


    After all, Tartarus already allows demons to kill demons, albeit with some restrictions. Why shouldnt they allow humans to join in as well?


    <em>He did add some restrictions on it though. But they arent any restrictions that the demons there dont already have.</em>


    Emily nces at a nearby skyscraper that has a massive screen on the side of it facing the street right when the screen changes from an ad to show a live news discussion. One that starts with a beautiful woman standing with a mic next to the ck Knight of Humanity.


    Hello, everyone! Im Jasmine with Arcadian News and Im here with the ck Knight of Humanity, one of the prominent participants in the uing Fae Tournament! And I want to address more than a few interesting facts Ive learned about the tournament so far! The womans voice echoes throughout the city street, making more than a few people briefly pause to look up at the screen. But then most of them continue walking to wherever they were going.


    Emily continues watching out of curiosity, and her friends are the same.


    The screen changes to show forty three different images.


    These are the forty three differentpetitors in the Fae Tournament for the Throne, alling from vastly different origins, and all at vastly different levels, Jasmine continues, sounding more than a little excited.


    Emily looks through the list and quickly finds Scarlet at the very top center of it. But she also vaguely recognizes three of the four Demon Lords on the list from the textbooks in ss, along with the Knights of Humanity, and some ss V Guardians, a couple lower ss Guardians, and a couple of her friends. Arthur and Belle for example.


    For those of you who havent been keeping up with the details about the tournament, heres the ck Knight to fill you in! Jasmine exims, passing the baton to the Knight next to her who is grinning from ear to ear.


    Hello everyone! Ill start it short and simple, if thats alright with you all! He says, sounding a little too excited in Emilys opinion. As ordered by King Oberon of the Fae, the Fae Tournament will be shown across all of Earth and Tartarus. The tournament itself will be based on a point building system, where variouspetitions are held and each give points for first, second, and third ce within them. Competitors will have multipliers and handicap free points given based on their circumstances, such as level caps, and can opt in for an anti-death mode that will take away the free multiplier everypetitor gets for having it disabled. Opting for the anti-death mode will make it so that if they die within the artificial universe His Majesty created, they will just be sent back to where they were before entering the tournament.


    Jasmine takes over from here, epting the mic back from ck before she says, But onto what Im sure everyones wanting to hear! A drumroll begins to y from the screen before most of the images of thepetitors disappear, leaving only nine remaining. The rankings!


    <em>Oh. I forgot the various news stations were going around making a list of who they believed would win the tournament, along with the rankings, ranking each of them by an assumption on how theyll ce.</em>


    The remaining nine images, including three of the four Demon Lords  The Reaper not having a fae apparently  and the five Knights, along with Scarlet, begin to spin around the screen.


    The rankings were rather difficult to determine, but I personally think we did as good a job as we could with what information we have, Jasmine says before snapping her fingers, making a sh shine from the screen. Then the nine images reappear descending from the top in the form of a pyramid, with the Blood Cmity on the very top.


    Emily hears more than a few displeased voices from the people watching on the streets, manyining that Scarlet is only around rank number six on the list.


    Now, Im sure youre all not very happy about how we ced our beloved Princess, but please consider her level inparison to the others, Jasmine says with a light apologetic bow of her head.


    <em>If what Amelia told me shes doing is true, then this news reporter is in for a ratherrge surprise.</em>


    As if on cue, a wave of power spreads out from the East, over the ocean. And along with the power is a bright red sh of light that illuminates everything.


    Everyone stops what theyre doing to look in the direction of the light, but no one is able to clearly tell what it is.


    Emily, on the other hand, just grins.


    <em>Right on time.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 39: The Wardens Return

    Book 5: Chapter 39: The Warden''s Return


    <strong>The Arctic</strong>


    Satan immediately turns his head towards the Southwest when he senses a powerful wave of power shooting out from above the ocean. One that he recognizes.


    <em>How is</em>


    He quickly begins to fly towards the origin of the power, deciding to see for himself before jumping to any conclusions. And after he gets close enough to see the crimson light, he finds his body locking up in an instinctive fear.


    Sweat begins to build up across his body, and he feels a strong urge to flee. But he still pushes forwards, deeper into the crimson light. All the way until he is finally able to see the origin of it.


    Floating hundreds of meters in the air, letting off a bright crimson radiance as her hair that reaches all the way down to her mid-thighs in length flows elegantly behind her in the non-existent breeze. Her eyes are closed, but even with that, even with all of the distance still between Satan and her, he can still see the crimson light shining from beneath her eyelids. Meanwhile orbs of crimson blood float all around her as the Princess gradually absorbs all of them.


    But what catches Satans attention the most is the pure instinctive fear that he feels just at the sight of the glowing crimson blood.


    And the sight of the Princesss identify.


    <strong></strong>


    A chill runs down his spine and he fails to stop himself from kneeling midair, shaking slightly in the process despite Her Highnesss eyes not even opening yet.


    <em>She climbed from level 1000 to level 1702 in less than half a year. Shes even more of a monster than His Majesty.</em>


    And hes not the only one to feel this way. Everyst human and demon within sight of the Princess begin to instinctively fear her and the Red gue locked within her, whether they wish to or not. No matter what their level is.


    As the crimson light of the Princess, the Warden of the Red gue, rains down across the world around them.


    And unknown to the Princess of the Demons, a small portion of the humans and demons witnessing the light begin to think of her as a god.


    Hence begins the first religion on Earth in two centuries.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After I finish absorbing thest of the Red gue, I finally open my eyes, only to realize that Im back on Earth again.


    Huh? When did I get here?


    <strong>Father teleported you back while you were finishing up absorbing the Red gue, </strong>Tarments with a yawn, sounding rather tired. And bored. <strong>Ive been watching you do nothing but devour void creatures for a week straight. How could I <em>not </em>be bored?</strong>


    Right. You didnt have to wait for me though.


    He doesnt say anything in response for several seconds before changing the topic, <strong>Youve got a ratherrge crowd of spectators, if you were curious.</strong>


    I blink at that before finally focusing on everything around me, letting the crimson glow finally fade. And what I find is a massive crowd of people covering the entire port of the capital city on Earth, just all staring at me in both awe and fear.


    But its not just them. I also see the Knights floating in the air nearby, along with more than a few of the Noble demons who stayed behind on Earth, including Satan.


    Oh. Yeah, why exactly did your father teleport me here of all ces?


    <strong>Thepetitors for the tournament will all be called in three hours and brought to the artificial universe, so he called you back here now to give you a few hours to catch up on what the tournament is before that, </strong>Tar exins, sounding slightly amused at my difort.


    That aside though, why exactly are the demons all kneeling midair? It looks just as weird now as it did before that little training trip.


    <strong>That should be obvious, </strong>Tar says, making me frown. <strong>You do realize its not normal to level up almost five hundred times in a week, right?</strong>


    Well, yeah. But still.


    Tar floats up in front of me and gives me a look filled with pity. Then he simply shakes his head and says, <strong>I think yourmon sense has finally reached the point where its beyond saving.</strong>


    I frown at him.


    Thats rude.


    Mymon sense is perfectly normal.


    Tar doesnt respond.


    It is!


    He stays silent again.


    I roll my eyes before ncing down and finding that Im currently wearing the little makeshift outfit I learned to make while absorbing the Red gue from the void invasion. A little set of armor entirely made of Red gue.


    The only thing that the Red gue wouldntpletely devour, leaving me without a scrap of clothing.


    A rather annoying side-effect of my strongest skill, but whatever.


    Wouldve been far worse if I didnt realize I could make makeshift clothes out of the Red gue. Even if theyre shabby looking and look like Im wearing a cloak.


    I sigh at the clothes I destroyed rather quickly. Not to mention my magi-tech armor which is no longer with us today.


    Rest in peace armor. You will be missed.


    Tar snorts.


    <strong>Youll get better at making the clothes and armor over time, </strong>Tar says,forting me. Or at least, until he adds, <strong>You kind of have to. Unless you enjoy fighting naked or in such shabby clothes.</strong>


    True.


    Come to think of it, do you think Gramps and Leonidas can control the Red gue with their Blood Domains?


    <strong>Its unlikely, </strong>Tar says, surprising me. <strong>The Red gue isnt just blood. And Blood Domain isnt absolute. </strong>He frowns for a moment before adding, <strong>There are no absolute magic control skills. Only ones that are extremely close to absolute, like Blood Domain.</strong>


    Okay, I get it.


    Its still disappointing though.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar mutters.


    Silence fills the area as I look around.


    So how long do you think theyre gonna stare at me?


    <strong>No idea, </strong>he answers honestly.

 Book 5: Chapter 40: Almost Time

    Book 5: Chapter 40: Almost Time


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Eventually they finally stop staring when Amelia opens her mouth and says, We dont have time for this. Which snaps them all out of the funk they were in. Do you know whats going to happen?


    I blink before tilting my head slightly and answering, A tournament?


    The corner of her mouth quirks slightly at that, showing her amusement. But she answers seriously despite that, Yes, but do you know how itll be handled?


    Nope, I answer honestly with a shrug.


    Amelia nods her head as if expecting that before looking around us at the ratherrge gathering of humans and demons floating in the air. Then at the evenrger gathering of humans in the capital city.


    Lets go somewhere else for this, she finally says after turning her gaze back to me and snapping her fingers, making a bright white shine out from her.


    This time, unlike the other times Ive teleported with her, I can actually sense in a manner what she is doing. And unlike before, the white light doesnt manage to teleport me, instead vanishing the moment it touches my makeshift Red gue armor. With my blood devouring the mana in her skill. Which ends up leaving me still floating where I am while Amelia is nowhere to be found.


    Well, this is awkward.


    <strong>That it is, </strong>Tarments.


    Then silence fills the area for a little bit.


    Come to think of it, I havent gotten around to checking my new skills. I should do that after she exins everything about how the tournament will work.


    <strong>Sounds like a n, </strong>Tar says right as Amelia reappears in front of me and everyone else with a slight blush on her face.


    Good to know that people cant just teleport me away without my permission anymore at least.


    <strong>In all honesty, your makeshift armor, no matter how shabby it looks, is probably the best armor in existence right now, </strong>Tar points out, making me grin slightly. <strong>And thats including your grandfathers armor.</strong>


    Thats nice to hear.


    Would you mind letting me teleport you? Amelia asks, sounding just as embarrassed as she looks.


    I shake my head, telling her, No can do. I cant exactly take off my Red gue armor right now. Not here.


    She stares for a few seconds. The people around us stare for a few seconds, looking at my armor that looks more like a shabby cloak that covers everything important.


    Then more than a few people blush and look away as if realizing what I mean.


    Oh, okay, Amelia says. Then she hurriedly adds, Then lets head to my apartment in the city.


    I nod my head, following which I trail behind Amelia at speeds too fast for the human eye to see to her apartment. So fast that most of the spectators excluding the demons and Guardians likely only saw a blur at most.


    Once we reach her apartment, we both sit down on a sofa and she begins to speak, You dont have to worry about memorizing all of this or missing anything too important since Oberon said that the exact rules will be exined when it begins, but you should at least know the basics. The tournament will be set ce in an alternate universe somewhere else in the void created by King Oberon. It will be split into dozens of differentpetitions, ranging from intelligence challenging ones, skill, puzzle solving, directbat, and evenpetitions directed more at your fae than you yourself. And amongst thosepetitions there will be ones where killing is allowed and ones where it isnt. But even amongst thosepetitions where killing is allowed,petitors can opt to enable an anti-death feature to make it so that they dont actually die.


    Huh. Not how I envisioned it exactly, but also not <em>too </em>different either.


    The anti-death thing is surprising though.


    <strong>What, do you think wed go around killing our food sources for glory or something? </strong>Tar says while going down to myp, reminding me that some fae do view us as food sources. Since we technically are, considering that their nourishmentes from us killing each other.


    Which kind of makes me wonder whatll happen now that the war is over. But thats not important right now.


    Eachpetition gives points for first, second, and third ce, with a t number of points given out for how well thepetitor did in thepetition. The variouspetitions also give multipliers based on various aspects, such as thepetitors age, their level differencepared to the average level in thepetition in question, their ss, and so on. Amelia continues, making me understand that thispetition wont just be a straightforward fight. Its set up so that the weakerpetitors canpete as well. The tournament will be open for anyone with a contracted fae to spectate in person simply by tagging along with their fae to go see thepetition, and itll also be broadcast onrge screens high in the sky for people on Tartarus and Earth to spectate if they wish. But most importantly,petitors cant return to Earth or Tartarus until after the tournament ispletely over. And the tournament willst a couple months, depending on how long each of thepetitions end up taking.


    Oh, wow. Its also going to take longer than I thought it would.


    Wait, is that why King Oberon waited for after the war ended to start this? Or was that a coincidence?


    <strong>No, he waited for the war to end so that the tournament wont have the war hanging over everyones heads while theyrepeting, </strong>Tar answers while stretching slightly in myp.


    That was nice of him.


    Come to think of it, thest tournament Ipeted in it was back in my first year at the university. A university I havent attended a single ss at since.


    Yet somehow I managed to graduate. Rather amusing.


    Tar snorts at that.


    I meet Amelias eyes as she adds, Oh, and the Demon King will be watching with the Fae King.


    Oh, cool. Guess I can see gramps again.


    A smile stretches across my face as I think about the tournament.


    This might be fun.

 Book 5: Chapter 41: Commencement of a Lifetime

    Book 5: Chapter 41: Commencement of a Lifetime


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Amelia continues going over some basic details of the tournament all the way till it begins. But there isnt much else that she says. Nothing all that important at least.


    Just some things about the way for others to spectate, the fact that the tournament will be disyed on massive screens in the sky on both Earth and Tartarus, and mentioning how much the news on Earth is hyping up the tournament. To the point that they made a ranking for who they thought would win.


    The Demon Lords and White being at the top of the rankings.


    Aside from that, she does mention one thing that is useful to know. Apparently, if you try to go easy on someone else or give up without trying, youre automatically disqualified for the tournament.


    Which I find odd, but it doesnt really matter. At least it means the demons wont go easy on me just because Im their princess.


    Soon after she finishes, a loud voice echoes throughout the world. One belonging to the Fae King.


    <strong>All forty-threepetitors in the tournament will now be called to the tournament universe. Prepare for transition urring in ten seconds.</strong>


    I nce at Tar, who is getting off of myp before I focus on Amelia again to find her nodding.


    Good luck, Scarlet, she says, making me give her a nod of my own.


    Then we wait for ten seconds to pass, following which a vivid red and blue light shines over us. And within moments I find myself entering some sort of pitch ck location that I can only assume is the In-Between.


    <strong>Your assumption is correct, </strong>Tar says as he floats alongside me through the In-Between.<strong> Were still far away from the void creatures though.</strong>


    Thats good.


    Why isnt Amelia with us?


    <strong>The In-Between isnt on a one-to-one scale with the mortal universe, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>So a couple of meters in distance on Earth might be a couple kilometers in the In-Between.</strong>


    Oh. So shes just somewhere nearby then.


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>he says while we continue moving through the In-Between, being pulled along by Oberons power.


    While we fly, I cant help but look around at our surroundings. At the asional strange barriers I find us passing by.


    <strong>Those are the natural barriers that seal away the void creatures, </strong>Tar exins without me asking. <strong>Theyre running rampant now after holes began appearing in them.</strong>


    Hmm.


    We continue flying through the In-Between, otherwise known as the Void, for quite a while before finally arriving at some sort of strange wormhole-looking thing. And were not the only ones here as I quickly find other people, many of whom I recognize, arriving right when we pass through.


    My attention quickly turns to my surroundings after entering the wormhole and finding myself appearing in the middle of some sort of za. Specifically the sky, since the sky is weird.


    Instead of a sun and stars, all I find are strange lights growing brighter and dimmer all over.


    After several seconds of staring at the stars, I lower my gaze back down to my immediate surroundings.


    We seem to have been ced in a ratherrge and wide open area, with more than a few grand-looking decorations scattered everywhere. There are five different stadiums, each standing at a height that must be over a thousand meters tall, and each a different color.


    The center stadium is a red and blue color, simr to the one that shone when we were teleported, meanwhile the other stadiums are ck, gray, green, and purple. And there is a path moving through various gardens heading to the entrances of each stadium.


    Please follow me, Your Highnesses, I hear a voice, bringing my attention directly in front of me, where I find some sort of see-through wisp of light in front of me.


    I blink in confusion before tilting my head slightly.


    <strong>Follow them, </strong>Tar says, snapping me out of my confusion. <strong>Thats a fae without a contracted partner thats outside of the Farshore. Its what we look like outside of the Farshore without an artificial body.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    I look around for a moment, finding the other Guardians and contracted demons that are appearing all being confronted with a simr creature. So I turn around to face the fae again and immediately follow after the floating wisp.


    We move through the path for a while until the fae leads us all into the stadium. And after we enter, the fae turns back to us  I think, since its hard to tell with a wisp  and says, His Majesty wishes for you to remain here.


    Do we need to form up into any specific order? I hear one of the ss V Guardians from Earth ask, bringing my gaze to the man. One I dont have much experience interacting with.


    No, his own fae answers, following which all of the fae that were leading us begin to head out of the stadium.


    Then some more people begin to trickle into the stadium along with us. And at least half of them I recognize.


    Theres Leonidas, Amelia, the other Knights, Xyvandra, Satan, Damien, Vorgrim, and a bunch of ss V demons and humans. And the demons immediately turn their gazes towards me, with most of them bowing when they enter the stadium.


    The humans on the other hand just give me a respectful nod, which seems to irritate the demons.


    Leonidas walks up to me during this and ces his hand on my shoulder with a smile on his face. Then he moves to join Amelia, taking her hand as a powerful life source appears in the air above us. One belonging to someone everyone here knows on instinct, even if many of the ss V Guardians have never met him in person.


    Before I look up, I notice a couple of the Knights actually trembling in fear.


    Oh, right. Gramps almost killed them with ease when they went to Tartarus a while back.


    I raise my gaze to the sky where I find Gramps and King Oberon both floating in the sky.


    <strong>Hence forth, the Tournament to decide the next Fae King is officially opening! </strong>Following Oberons words, shes of light begin shining rapidly across the entire universe were on and quite possibly across Earth and Tartarus as well.<strong> Wee those fae and contractors here and beyond, for you will see a once in a lifetime event!</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 42: Introduction

    Book 5: Chapter 42: Introduction


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Very quickly, the stadiums begin to fill up with thousands upon thousands of people flooding into them from the entrances. Meanwhile the entry that we had entered through vanishes and fireworks begin to explode in the air as a vast screen appears high above our heads. One showing each one of uspetitors.


    Right as Im studying everything, I feel something impacting my side, bringing my gaze down to find Aria hugging me.


    I blink in surprise for a second before patting her head and looking up again.


    Almost forgot she was contracted with a royal fae.


    She should be ss II right now, so I hope she doesnt get hurt in any of thebatpetitions.


    <strong>Shes smart enough to avoid danger, </strong>Tarments whilending on my shoulder. And I nod my head in agreement with that.


    I nce around to find the people filling the stadium bleachers cheering and practically screaming in excitement at the sight of their favorite Guardians and demons. Or, most likely in the demons cases, the Demon King, myself, and the Demon Lords.


    Anyways, the screen above us constantly changes to show eachpetitor individually while asionally also showing everyone together, or just groups ofpetitors standing near each other.


    After several minutes of this, letting the stadium fill to the brim, the arena at the bottom of the stadium begins to shift. The ground dips down except around eachpetitor, making towers form beneath each of the 43petitors before the towers move to an equal distance between each of us, forming a vast circle. Then the towers rise in height, bringing us a little above the bleachers.


    Incredibly high in the air.


    I hurriedly look for Aria, but to my surprise she looks just fine.


    Good. Shes not afraid of heights.


    I try to look through the roaring crowds and quickly find that the humans and demons are generally separated with a bit of a divide between them. Although there are some demons on the human side and vice versa. Most are on their own sides, with a bit of a divide of empty seats between them.


    Makes sense that calling an end to the war isnt enough to end all grievances.


    The humans are also sending absolutely terrified gazes towards the Demon King. Which also makes sense since this is the first time the humans have seen him outside of vague depictions made by the Knights.


    When I look at Gramps though, I just find him smiling in my direction and waving.


    An act that sends a wave of flinches and fear through the humans who think hes probably up to something. Not just waving casually at his granddaughter.


    I give a wry smile back, feeling more than a little awkward before I turn my attention back to King Oberon the moment he begins to speak.


    <strong>All across both Earth and Tartarus</strong>


    Nearly everyst demon and human across both Earth and Tartarus turn their gazes towards the sky as a massive screen appears periodically through the air and a powerful voice rings out through thes.


    <strong>Hence forth, the Tournament to decide the next Fae King is officially opening! Wee those fae and contractors here and beyond, for you will see a once in a lifetime event!</strong>


    On the screen, the humans and demons can see arge dragon floating in the air with its wings outstretched in an opening manner. And floating next to the dragon is the Demon King. Yet despite the humans never having seen the man, everyst one recognizes him in an instant on pure instinct.


    The screen quickly changes to scroll through the forty threepetitors who are already on the towers.


    <strong>As ording to my previous announcements, this tournament will decide who I will be abdicating my throne to! It was created personally by the previous queen, Queen Titania, as a method to fairly choose the next fae ruler! </strong>the Fae Kings voice echoes across thes. <strong>There will be a total of thirtypetitions! Ten of them will be to test thebat skill and power of thepetitors fae. Ten of them will be to test the intellect and problem solving of thepetitors fae along with the fae themselves as they work together. And ten of them will be to test the fae alone and determine their worthiness of the throne!</strong>


    Voices begin to whisper all across thes as humans and demons alike talk amongst themselves about the announcement. But they go silent again when the king continues.


    <strong>Of the three types ofpetitions, each will have a single mainpetition at the very end of the tenpetitions for its type, marking the tenthpetition. These threepetitions will give three times as many points as the otherpetitions to the top three winners, and thebat mainpetition will be to the death with no anti-death use allowed. </strong>The screen once again changes, but this time moves to show the entire stadium along with the millions of people now filling the bleachers. With the vast majority of them being demons, showcasing just how much the demons outnumber the humans in both popce and personal strength. <strong>The exact rules and rewards for eachpetition will be dered before thepetition begins. Everypetition will give a participation bonus to all of thepetitors who participate in them through the means of however many points thepetitors earn during thepetition through the specified means in the rules.</strong>


    As the Fae King talks, the demons and humans all around Earth and Tartarus grow more and more excited for thepetition. Meanwhile the contractors who havent already entered the universe through their fae continue to do so, leaving a vast majority of Tartarus barren of people, while Earth only misses its Guardians.


    Then the Fae Kings draconic eyes narrow as he finishes the introduction, <strong>Now, for the moment that you all have been waiting for! </strong>The Demon King begins to grin next to the Fae King, the man feeling amused by how excited his partner is bing. <strong>I will introduce each one of ourpetitors to you all!</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 43: A Long Road

    Book 5: Chapter 43: A Long Road


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Starting at the highest leveled Competitor, we have the Blood Cmity, also known as the Blood Lord, Leonidas Val Art de Archeron!!! The Royal Prince of the Demons of Tartarus and the second highest level being on Tartarus and Earth! </strong>King Oberon deres right as all of the light in the stadium vanishes before Leonidass tower begins to rise into the air a bit, a crimson light shining from the top of the tower where Leonidas is. And the demons in the stadium immediately go wild at the sight of him calmly waving back at them.<strong> And we have his partner, the First Princess of the Fae, ra, floating next to him!</strong>


    Now that he mentions it, I find Leonidass fae floating next to him.


    That aside though, I cant help but send an odd look towards King Oberon. Then I turn that odd look onto Tar.


    <strong>He may be quiet and stoic most of the time, but he really does like dramatics, </strong>Tar answers my unasked question. <strong>And hes been waiting for this tournament for over a century.</strong>


    Wait, is he in that big a rush to abdicate the throne?


    Tar nods, <strong>Yeah, apparently the throne takes a toll after centuries of being King.</strong>


    Interesting


    I turn my gaze back up as King Oberon introduces the next one.


    <strong>Up next we have the newly reached third highest level individual within the System, the Lord of Hellfire who has just recently awoken from his little rampage on Tartarus, Vorgrim ckthorn of the ck me!! </strong>King Oberon deres, making me blink for a moment before I realize that he probably shot up in levels thanks to his rampage. And right as the King is announcing Vorgrim, the light around Leonidas and his tower dim down while he lowers back to our level again with Vorgrims tower recing his own in height and brightness. <strong>And we have his partner, the Second Princess of the Fae, Ruby, floating by him!</strong>


    I turn around to look for Xyvandra, only for him to begin announcing the next one, surprising me in the process with who is the fourth highest level. Them having skipped the second highest level since The Reaper isnt here.


    <strong>Our fourth highest level individual within the System, the most powerful human being in existence also known by the Titles of the White Knight of Humanity and the Bane of Magic, we have Amelia Asger!!! </strong>The King shouts with excitement, making all of the humans in the crowd go wild. But I cant help but feel surprised by her passing one of the Demon Lords in level. <strong>And wee her fae partner, the Third Prince of the Fae, Sylvanus, floating next to her!</strong>


    I nce at Tar, but he just shakes his head, apparently not having known about Amelias rise in level either.


    Interesting.


    That along with her second Title-Bearing Mythic skill is a major boon for her battling capabilities.


    I cant help but wonder if her and Leonidas might end up shing at some point in the tournament.


    <strong>That would be a sight to see, </strong>Tarments, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Also, I know you said a while back, but what exactly can someone do with a faes name? Im kind of curious since your father isnt saying any of your full names in his introductions. Just your first names.


    Tarnds on my shoulder again as he answers, <strong>Since were entirely spiritual beings, bordering on informational beings, our name is our life. If we tell someone our full name, were basically telling them that well be with them forever. Because if they wanted, they could use that name to force a contract of any type they wish with the fae.</strong>


    I turn to stare at Tar as if hed grown two heads.


    And yet you told me your full name when we first met.


    He doesnt say anything in response as his father keeps introducing people, including Xyvandra and the other Knights followed by some ss V demons. Almost all of whom have fae princesses contracted to them, reminding me about the fact that there are only eight princess amongst the forty-eight siblings.


    After several announcements of time, I eventually smile and begin petting Tar while messing with my Red gue armor, shifting it around a bit to something else. Something that is made a lot better than someplicated set of armor, making it a lot easier for me to make.


    Lets go back to my origins a bit.


    Tar nces at me while sending inquisitive thoughts my way. But those thoughts turn amused when he sees what I turn my armor into.


    As if on cue, my tower begins to rise and a crimson light shines on me, revealing my new outfit.


    One that matches the original clothes that I was wearing when I first became a Guardian.


    A ck and red jacket over a ck shirt and ck pants.


    Although the clothes have a slightly crimson tint to them since its, well, made of blood.


    I put one of my hands in my jacket pocket, smirk, and raise the other hand while shapeshifting my arm into that of a beast. And as soon as I do that, the crowd goes absolutely wild. Both the humans <em>and </em>the demons, making me the only one to get apuse from both sides.


    <strong>And the one I know many of you have been waiting for, the eleventh highest level being out of thosepeting in thispetition, the one who has skyrocketed through the levels over the years from a basic mortal all the way to her current position in just a few years, </strong>King Oberon goes on amongst the roaring crowd as Gramps grins at his side. And I see Leonidas and Amelia smiling with pride as well, along with, after some difficult searching, my adoptive family in the stadium grinning broadly and cheering. <strong>The Apex Predator of the beasts, the Bane of Corruption who sessfully ended the multi-century curse on the demons, and the Warden of the Red gue, the most dangerous corruption in existence, I wee Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron to the Fae Crowns Tournament! And I wee her fae partner, the Eleventh Prince of the Fae, Tarankar, alongside her!</strong>


    The roaring in the crowd grows even louder, and even after my tower begins to lower again, the crowd just wont stop.


    And neither will the smile on my face.


    It really has been a long road, hasnt it?


    <strong>That it has, </strong>Tar mutters. <strong>That it has.</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 44: The First Competition

    Book 5: Chapter 44: The First Competition


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The Fae King continues going through each and every one of thepetitors, introducing them one by one with each one getting less attention than thest. Simply because they arent as well known by the audience.


    And to finish things off, right after he introduces Anthony, that void creature hybrid guy, the Fae King ends with thestpetitor, the lowest level one of the bunch, <strong>Andst but certainly not least, Aria Knight! The daughter of the Blue Knight of Humanity, cousin of the Warden, and niece of the White Knight of Humanity! And her partner, Forty-Eighth Princess, Rowena! The former partner of The Reaper!</strong>


    Oh, right. I forgot about thatst part.


    The audience seems to grow confused at Arias age. Which makes sense to me.


    Aria is only twelve years old now. Shes not even a teenager and shes a Guardian and ispeting in the biggestpetition in our lifetime.


    Makes sense that people would be confused.


    The people who already know about her though arent confused. They cheer instead.


    Mostly humans, since the demons only know that shes my cousin. And they seem to feel conflicted about that.


    After Aria is lowered back down to our level, All of uspetitors are illuminated in crimson light and the Fae King shouts, <strong>Now let this tournament <em>begin!</em></strong>


    A massive screen appears beneath the first. One that looks like it changes orientation depending on the angle that you look at it, with the orientation being specific to you. So everyone can look at it and itll be based on their orientation for them. And on the screen itself, the title and set of rules for apetition shows itself to us all.


    <strong><em>Maze Escape</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All Competitors will be ced within a massive maze where they will need to find their way out. There will be monsters scattered throughout the maze that will kill anything in sight, and there will be loot boxes scattered throughout the maze containing points.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Killing otherpetitors is allowed. Anti-death use is allowed. Killing monsters grants thepetitor one hundred points. Loot boxes grant points ording to their rarity. Common boxes grant one point, umon grants three points, rare grants five points, epic grants ten points, legendary grants twenty-five points, and mythic grants one hundred points.</em>


    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> Find and reach the exit to the maze.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> First ce gets one hundred points. Second ce gets seventy-five points. Third ce gets fifty points. And allpetitors may keep the points they rued throughout thepetition.</em>


    <strong>With the exception of the tenth, twentieth, and thirtiethpetitions, allpetitions will give out one hundred points for first ce, seventy-five points for second ce, and fifty points for third ce. They will also all have another way to rue points throughout thepetition, just like this one, </strong>King Oberon exims as the crowd begins to go wild for the description of the tournament. <strong>But dont just take the rules at face value, because <em>every </empetition has a hidden secret! One that youll have to find out for yourself, if you can.</strong>


    My eyes narrow slightly as I fold my arms and watch the King, only briefly ncing to find the smiling Demon King next to him waving at me. Then I look back to King Oberon, deciding not to reciprocate his wave.


    Its too serious right now.


    Thepetition is about to begin after all.


    I ignore the Demon Kings pout, the strongest being in the universe acting like a spoiled child, as King Oberon continues, <strong>These hidden secrets can be a hidden boss that can be defeated for bonus points, a hidden puzzle, secret loot box, or anything you can imagine. All of the hidden secrets will have some level of luck or danger involved, and they will all give arge bonus in points. So tread wisely, young ones.</strong>


    Interesting.


    The Fae King suddenly ps his hands, making all of the towers suddenly vanish while leaving all of uspetitors floating in the air. Then the arena of the stadium begins to shift until it bes a massive maze. One whose paths continue to rapidly change, showing us all that this is going to be harder than we thought.


    <strong>Oh, and I forgot to mention, </strong>Oberonments, sounding amused. <strong>But this maze rapidly shifts itsyout on a regr schedule. So memorizing theyout wont do you any good. </strong>I feel myself suddenly being teleported despite my Red gue clothing protecting me, proving just how powerful King Oberon is here. And without a moments notice, I find myself standing in the middle of a maze. Without even being able to find the location of the exit within the maze. <strong>Oh, another thing I didnt mention. The exit is in the form of a door randomly ced in the maze! Good luck finding it!</strong>


    Okay, seriously, what happened to this guy?


    <strong>He gets excited during things like this, </strong>Tar answers, sounding more than a little embarrassed.


    Uh huh, right.


    Anyways, I couldnt see anything useful while I was up there. And for some reason, what I did see feels blurry in my memories.


    <strong>Father probably put an enchantment over the maze so that thepetitors cant memorize anything about it before entering the maze, </strong>Tar exins as I look around at the moss-covered stone walls around me. <strong>The audience can see us fine though.</strong>


    Yeah, they wouldnt have a reason to be here if they couldnt. But that aside, theres something I kind of want to try.


    Tar appears in front of me with a confused look on his face. Until he reads my mind and understands what Im going to do.


    And to my surprise, he looks excited for it instead of the judgmental look I was expecting.


    Ah, looks like youre finally beginning to understand me.


    He snorts.


    <strong>Guess Ive spent too long around you, </strong>he says, making me smirk in response.


    Then I turn to face the wall and raise my fist closer to my face while transforming it into that of a beast and coating it with Red gue.


    Lets see if this works


    I pull my fist back and m it straight into the wall.

 Book 5: Chapter 45: The Best Way to Traverse a Maze

    Book 5: Chapter 45: The Best Way to Traverse a Maze


    <strong>The Main Stadium</strong>


    <strong>Now that thepetition is underway, let me introduce my cohost! </strong>King Oberon deres as soon as he teleports thepetitors into thepetition. Then he motions to the side when another dragon, albeit smaller than him, appears next to him. <strong>The fae should all know who she is, but the cohost for the Fae Crowns Tournament will be my sister, Elder Princess Nyx!</strong>


    The fae in the audience all begin to apud. But the apuse doesntst long as a loud shattering sound echoes from the screen and the maze beneath them all, drawing everyones gaze immediately back to thepetition.


    And King Oberon opens his mouth slightly at what he finds, only to close it again a secondter. Then he mutters, <strong>Shouldve expected that</strong>


    Everyone within the stadium stares at the aftermath of Scarlet punching one of the walls of the maze with her Red gue-covered fist. An aftermath that leaves the wall with glowing red cracks.


    Then they watch her pull her fist back again and m it back into the wall, making the cracks expand.


    <strong>This </strong>King Oberon mutters, only to pause as she ms her fist into the wall once more, making the wall in front of herpletely fall apart for a few meters around the point of impact. <strong>isnt how thispetition was meant to be yed</strong>


    His contracted partner breaks out intoughter alongside arge majority of the audience. Even Oberons sister, covers her mouth as she looks away from Oberon.


    Eventually he lets out a sigh and smiles as well.


    But that smile goes away when he hears Scarlets mutteredment echoing out through the stadium as the main screen above them all focuses on her, Why bother with finding my way through a maze when I can break my way through it?


    And even that isnt what bothers him. What wipes his smile away is the sound of his son, Tarankars, voice echoing after hers, <strong>Yeah, Father probably knew about this already. I cant imagine him not knowing about it after all.</strong>


    King Oberon grows silent for several seconds as King Arkaz and his sister both share a look before ncing at him with amused looks in their eyes. But neither say a word.


    So Oberon just changes the topic, <strong>It looks like apetitor has found a loot box! Which meeeaans, this is the first set of points given out during this tournament! Give Leonidas a round of apuse!</strong>


    Apuse echoes out throughout the stadium Leonidas stares at the gray loot box for a second before he continues his way through the maze.


    <strong>Now, to get back to what I was going to say before I was interrupted, </strong>King Oberon says, having sessfully driven the topic away from his embarrassment. <strong>A bonus rule for thispetition that thepetitors will be aware of soon enough are that legendary and higher loot boxes announce their location when they spawn. But lets put that aside for now as my sister exins the spectating side of the tournament to you all!</strong>


    Nyx, whose ck scales glitter with starlight, floats up in front of her brother and deres, <strong>For all of you who dont know who I am, now you know. So to keep things simple, the main screen above the stadium will change periodically between thepetitors, focusing on whicheverpetitor my younger brother is focusing on at the time. You may also use the screen that should be appearing in front of you whenever my brother gets around to spawning it- </strong>she pauses has her brother sends her a frown and makes the screen appear in front of everyone, giving them ess to the System Menu without a word <strong>-to view whicheverpetitor you wish to view on your screen. Lastly- oh, looks like Amelia also found a loot box. And Satan ran into a ss V Guardian.</strong>


    The Elder Princess  the only royal aside from the King who isnt participating in the tournament  stops the introduction she was doing as she focuses on the screen and instead beginsmentating on it, making her brother scowl at her in response.


    <em>Im regretting bringing her.</em>


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    This really is a nice method to get around.


    I let out a light yawn as I punch through another wall, only to find a glowing green box on the other side.


    Oh? Is that


    I walk up to it and touch the box, making a +3 show above it in green text. Then I find a count appearing in the corner of my vision, surprising me for a moment.


    Interesting. Looks like the System itself is actually involved in this tournament.


    Although, considering how the System was made by Titania, and this tournament was designed by Titania, it makes sense that it would be.


    Anyways, got my first points.


    I begin walking through the maze a little bit before punching through a wall when I hit a dead end. And through this manner of travel, I manage to find several moremon and umon loot boxes. But I surprisingly never find any of those monsters the king mentioned.


    Wonder where those are?


    <strong>Youll probably run into them soon enough if you keep making so much noise destroying walls, </strong>Tarments, making me nod my head in agreement.


    Thats good. Then Ill be able to take one on and figure out if theyre a good source of points. Or something I should run away from.


    I hope they arent something I should run away from. They would make for good points after all.


    <strong>Considering the Red gue, I doubt theres anything you have to worry about in thebat part of the tournament, </strong>Tar mutters, making me nce at him before I continue walking.


    No, Im not gonna use the Red gue on people who have the anti-death use on. I know itll kill them even with the anti-death use.


    And Im not gonna go around killing people just because of a tournament.


    Demons or humans.


    Although, if they dont have the anti-death use, and Im left to using it as ast resort then itll depend on who Im fighting.


    Im obviously not gonna kill one of the Demon Lords, my own parents, or Aria for example.


    <strong>No surprise there, </strong>Tar says, only for our conversation to end at the sound of a loud roar.


    Guess weve found one of the monsters.

 Book 5: Chapter 46: The Elder Princess

    Book 5: Chapter 46: The Elder Princess


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Not long after the roar, I see arge minotaur-like monster from old world Earth mythology charging down the maze corridor while roaring. The thing just in looks like a humanoid bull, with a bulls head, bulls legs, and fur over a humanoid torso and arms.


    To be honest, the only thing its missing from old world Earth myth is a tail.


    Wonder why?


    I float slightly into the air as the thing lets out a huff of visible air from its nostrils before I identify the thing. Only to find my lips person afterwards.


    Huh.


    <strong></strong>


    Okay. So Im not the only one seeing this, right?


    <strong>Youre not, </strong>Tar answers.


    Right. Thought so.


    This minotaur is as strong as if not stronger than the Demon Lords.


    <strong>Appears so, </strong>Tarments as the minotaur begins charging towards us while making a sound thats a mixture of a roar and a bulls moo.


    I watch the thing for half a second, finding it moving so fast that its almost just a blur with the ground beneath it actually cracking in its charge. Then I raise one hand and let out the Red gue, causing a flood of it to fill the tunnel, sweeping away the minotaur in an instant until it crashes into the next bend in the corridor. At which point I stop it from proceeding further. Meanwhile it attempts to eat through the walls and floor of the maze until I stop it from doing so.


    The minotaur on the other hand wait, really?


    I frown as I realize that its already dead. Just utterly devoured by the Red gue.


    Huh.


    <strong>I told you thebat portions of thepetition arent going to be any trouble for you, </strong>Tar says in an I told you so voice.


    Yeah, guess so. But I still wont be using it against otherpetitors unless they have death allowed.


    Not only do I not want to kill indiscriminately, especially now that the war is over, but I also dont want to waste ourbat potential that could be used against the void creatures. And I dont want to kill family, obviously.


    Well, minotaur aside, I pull my Red gue back into my body, to the Red gues displeasure. And I quickly feel the reality energy and life force of the minotaur filling my body, followed by several level-ups.


    A grin stretches across my face.


    Okay, I could definitely work with this.


    Tar lets out a sigh as I begin flying through the air of the maze.


    <strong>The Main Stadium</strong>


    <strong>Dear Brother, </strong>Nyx says, her sweet voice echoing out over the silence of the stadium as most of the audience stares at the red ash covered maze corridor the Warden had left behind. <strong>Would you mind exining to me how a mortal is able to control the most dangerous gue in existence?</strong>


    Oberon scratches his chin with his w before shrugging and saying, <strong>You know how mothers System works. No one can control someones potential. All the System does is guide you to fulfilling that potential.</strong>


    His sister stares at him for several seconds, only to eventually sigh and turn to look at therge screen again, where Scarlet can be seen flying through the maze with ease. Doing what she can only assume is searching for more of the maze guardians to devour.


    <em>We really are just trading one disaster for another, arent we just that one of them is sapient and the other isnt.</em>


    The Elder princess lets out a slow sigh at that as her brother quickly exins to the audience everything about the Red gue.


    Or at least, everything except that its currently making directly for Earth, targeting the Princess. And that the Princess is the only one that can save them.


    Nyx watches the blood lycan princes for a while, ignoring her brothers exnation all the way until the screen moves to show otherpetitors, many of whom are fighting with or running from the maze guardians.


    Most thetter rather than the former.


    The only people Nyx finds fighting with the maze guardians instead of running are the ones Titled Knights of Humanity and Demon Lords. Ignoring the lunatic going around hunting them down to level up.


    Something that shouldnt even be possible. To level up from the monsters in this universe.


    <em>Just another broken and terrifying aspect of the Red gue. Its simply devouring the energy mother used to make the monsters in the first ce.</em>


    <strong>Is this even still apetition at this rate? </strong>Nyx mutters as she watches the Wardens point count raise with each and every monster kill she makes.


    Her brother shakes his head out of the corner of her eye and answers, <strong>This is why there are three types ofpetitions. And the Red gue wont help her in the duels.</strong>


    Nyx turns to look at her brother with a frown as she asks, <strong>Why not?</strong>


    He just keeps staring down at the maze beneath them, ignoring the screen to look directly at the Princess in question. And after a few seconds, he answers, <strong>Because at the end of the day, shes a good person.</strong>


    Nyx frowns at that answer, finding it difficult to understand.


    <em>If you have the power, why should you hold back from using it?</em>


    Her brother just nce at her with a sad look on his face and answers her unspoken question with a simple statement, <strong>Remember why I was chosen to be the next King instead of you? This is simr.</strong>


    That has Nyx frowning harder, only for her to sigh and decide that its not something she can understand.


    Emotions and empathy were never her strong suit after all.


    So she refocuses her attention on thepetitors down below, trying to find one that interests her and eventually locking onto a mindeater. One of the Demon Lords. And a powerful one to boot.


    The Demon Lord is simply lying still within the dungeon as illusions move all around her, with more rushing through the dungeon. But unlike normal illusions, these can actually interact with things.


    <em>She looks interesting.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 47: A Passby

    Book 5: Chapter 47: A Passby


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Time passes as I continue devouring the minotaurs in the maze. A process that is rapidly shooting up both my level and my points. Even though there arent actually that many monsters in the maze.


    Which makes sense in hindsight, considering that one minotaur gives as many points as getting first ce in thispetition gives.


    Come to think of it, wasnt there something mentioned about a multiplier? How do I know what my multipliers are?


    Tar quickly answers from his spot on my shoulder as we fly, <strong>Your multipliers will be shown after the firstpetition. When the points are being tallied for the publics view.</strong>


    Wait, arent my points in the corner of my vision? Why would they need to tally them?


    <strong>Its just for the crowds entertainment, </strong>Tar answers, making me nce at him with a <em>look</em>. <strong>Yes, this tournament isrgely for entertainment purposes. You can me Grandmother for that. She was big on entertaining herself.</strong>


    Right. That was one of the reasons for the Systems game-like form in the first ce.


    Almost forgot.


    Hmm. Well, anyways, I return my full attention to what Im doing as another monster finally shows its face. And then is devoured without a moments notice.


    <strong>Is that enough? </strong>Tar asks, making me nod my head. <strong>Good. Ill be taking a nap now.</strong>


    I snort at that, but hes not the only one.


    Now that Im familiar enough with the minotaurs, I can directly order the Red gue to ignore anything that isnt the minotaurs. So the otherpetitors arent in danger anymore. At least, so long as I keep moving.


    So without any hesitation, I let out a massive flood of Red gue that moves in a wave through the maze with me resting on top with a yawn, lying down on my back.


    Thats an interesting night sky despite the fact that were supposed to be in a stadium. Wonder how it was made?


    <strong>Somewhere else within the Maze</strong>


    Aria calmly jogs through the maze corridor with her hair flowing behind her and a blue barrier of energy covering her body. One blocking any sound from making it out of the barrier. But after jogging for a while, only asionally stopping to get the points from a loot box.


    <strong>Youre doing well, child, </strong>her fae says with a motherly tone of voice, the fae having basically acted as her only mother figure until Scarlet appeared.


    Although Aria still isnt sure if she thinks of Scarlet as her big sister or her mother. But either way, she doesnt know what she wouldve done if she hadnt met her.


    <em>Then again, Id probably be dead if it werent for her.</em>


    She continues jogging for a while, only to end up running into something when shes about to turn the corner, sending her falling backwards with a yelp. But she quickly climbs back to her feet and readies her skills, only to pause when she sees the man standing in front of her.


    The man looks to be about the same age as Scarlet and is wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts which she can tell are infused with skills and mana. Meaning theyre magi-tech.


    Why someone would make shorts and a t-shirt into magi-tech armor is beyond her though.


    Oh, she mutters, the mans identity finally clicking in her mind. Youre the void weirdo who would always train half naked in the Lions Heart Guardians University training hall!


    Anthony stumbles after hearing that, only having just regained his footing from their collision. Then he rubs the back of his head and asks, Seriously? Is that how she described me?


    Aria shrugs and answers, Its how I remember you from her stories.


    The man opens his mouth to say something, only for a loud roar to echo down the corridor, sending both of thepetitors into a panic as they begin to run away from the sound of the roar. But regardless of how fast they run, they soon feel the shaking of the ground as the roaring grows closer. And soon enough they find the maze guardian charging directly at them with its head down, ready to gore the both of them in two.


    <em>No! I cant lose this quickly in the firstpetition!</em>


    Aria feels more than a little panic at the idea of disappointing Scarlet and losing so quickly. But right when the maze guardian is about to reach them, it suddenly stops moving and copses, face nting into the ground.


    Both Aria and Anthony stop running and turn around in confusion, only to find what looks like an illusionary bug person stepping out of the creatures corpse. One that seems to fade and reappear over and over again.


    The bug person turns their head to look at the two of them, only to turn again to find a vortex of blood appearing right next to them, following which Scarlets biological father appears from the vortex.


    Aria feels uncertain as she stands face to face with two of the Demon Lords. But right when shes in the middle of trying to figure out what to say, a loud ringing sound echoes throughout the entire maze, following which something falls from the sky, somehow ending upnding in the same corridor theyre in.


    And when Aria identifies the creature, she feels a major chill run down her spine.


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>This must be the hidden secret Father mentioned, </strong>Rowena says, making Aria nod her head in agreement as she slowly backs away from the massive creature.


    Even the two Demon Lords next to her look incredibly apprehensive about fighting the creature.


    Then, to her and the other three people alongside hers surprise, arge wave of what looks like glowing red blood suddenly crashes into the massive creature that happened to be crossing an intersection. And within seconds, the creature seems to dissolve into nothing but red ash.


    Meanwhile Scarlet passes by on top of the wave while yawning. As if she didnt even notice what had just happened.


    And just as quickly as she had arrived, she leaves again, moving through a different way in the intersection and bringing the flood of what Arias been told is Red gue along with her.


    Silence fills the corridor as Aria, the two Demon Lords, and Anthony all stare at the red ash left behind in her wake.


    <em>Well, thats Scar for you.</em>


    Then Aria begins jogging through the dungeon again, ignoring the others that are still staring.

 New Story Release

    New Story Release


    Hello everyone! Sorry for theck of chapters today, but there''s a reason.


    What many of you have been waiting for is finally here!


    My new story, Crimson Eternal, is now on Royal Road! It will be getting the first 20k words posted within the next nine to ten hours. Then it''ll get one chapter a day after that.


    Once again, this won''t affect the upload schedule of Wolf of the Blood Moon or Reaper''s Resurgence. They will still get one chapter almost every day just like before. Furthermore, Wolf of the Blood Moon is inching towardspletion on Patreon.


    Now.


    Here''s the first cover:


    If you''re interested, here is the synopsis:


    <strong>Death is an inevitability for all except Aria.</strong>


    <strong>Something she knows all too well.</strong>


    In a world full of war, Aria Crimson finds herself locked in the battlefield, unable to escape the war and the never-ending fighting thates along with it. And as gunfire echoes throughout the world and ability holders of the two Empires fight until the end, both nations find themselves stumped when a strange screen simr to one of the newly createdputers screens but with far higher quality appears in front of everyone on the.


    Screens disying text describing some sort of System meant to guide and empower the people of the when their is invaded by otherworlders.


    Now Aria has a way out of the war. One that involves fighting even harder.


    <strong>How will the world react to the changes, to the invaders, and to the power granted to them?</strong>


    <strong>And how will the only True Immortal in the universe, one dubbed by the System as Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse despite the irony, choose to proceed?</strong>


    <strong>Join Aria as she figures that out for herself.</strong>


    <strong>What to expect:</strong> No romance, a fantasy world with a level of technology equivalent to the 1950s, a world where people have a chance to be born with an ability, the world suddenly being initiated into a System upon the invasion of another world''s people, a true immortal protagonist who cannot die, and arge focus on military and strategy, especially in the early books of the series. Guns will also be used as weapons in this story instead of just dropped like many LitRPGs do.


    Chapters are generally between 1.6-2.3k words, longer than the chapters on my other stories by arge margin. The first chapters will be even longer.


    <strong>If you want to check the story out, click here!</strong>


    Here''s the second book 1 cover:


    And here''s the book 2 cover:

 Book 5: Chapter 48: Sleeping to Victory

    Book 5: Chapter 48: Sleeping to Victory


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>A Few Moments Ago</em></strong>


    I let out a yawn as I stare up at the night sky, letting my wave of Red gue carry me along. There isnt any danger of hurting anyone with it since Im only targeting the minotaurs and the Red gue wont be covering anyone for long. Only long enough for it to pass through.


    At most anyone I pass by will feel rather ufortable as the Red gue passes in and out of their body in less than a second. Without doing any damage in the process.


    The walls and floor of the maze, on the other hand, are going to leave a trail of red ash. Since objects are devoured immediately with or without my guidance, unlike beings who have a reality to protect themselves with.


    At this point I have about five hundred and fifty three points, which is over five times what getting first ce would get me. So if Im being honest, Id rather continue hunting these minotaurs than win thispetition.


    Points are more important at the end of the day. Its going to be what determines who wins at the end of the tournament, after all.


    Out of nowhere, I feel a rapidly approaching and very powerful presence. But before I can even so much as raise my head, I feel the Red gue devouring it within seconds. So I dont bother, instead yawning again and continuing my star gazing at the artificial stars above.


    Although I do feel slightly confused by the sudden sight of my points shooting up by five hundred to reach a thousand fifty three points. Not to mention the sudden jump in a couple dozen levels.


    That secret your father mentioned or something?


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tar answers from his ce resting on my chest, curled up in a ball. Which probably makes the two of us a rather bizarre sight for the viewing demons, humans, and fae.


    Just a young woman in her early twentieszing around on a wave of what looks like glowing blood with a ck and red furred tanuki lying on top of her looking like its asleep.


    <strong>Let them think whatever they want </strong>Tar mutters, sounding just as sleepy as he looks.


    Hmm. If this was before my curse, I probably wouldve cared about my public image right now. But without the curse, I honestly dont care.


    I let out another yawn and close my eyes, feeling myself almost nodding off. Only for another minotaur to be devoured by my wave. Following which my levels begin to shoot up again.


    Now this I could get used to. Its a more pleasant way to level up than having to bother with devouring an army.


    A lot less exhausting too.


    On that note, I begin to nod off. After making sure to lock in the order to the Red gue that is. And then I eventually wake up to the sound of a loud ringing bell along with fireworks.


    I sit up while rubbing my eyes and looking at the sky, only to find the image of a person up there with 1st ce stered next to them.


    Oh, guess someone found the exit.


    The face itself belongs to a demon Im actually not too familiar with. Which is surprising.


    Then again, its possible Im not the only one hunting monsters for points instead of leaving the dungeon.


    Actually, its rather likely. Considering how leaving the dungeon locks you out of getting more points during thispetition.


    A rather tricky way of doing things.


    Right when Im beginning to feel my eyes droop close again, my eyesnd on my total points, making me instantly wake up. Then more fireworks echo out, followed by even more, andstly I hear loud cheering echoing out over the maze. But when someone or something tries to grab ahold of me and teleport me out, the Red gue just kinda devours their attempt.


    I quickly retract the Red gue inside of me before finding them attempting to teleport me again. And seeding this time.


    Despite that, Im too stunned by the sight of my total points to care.


    <strong>And the winner of the firstpetition of the tournament iiiiiiis..</strong> King Oberon draws it out for effects, <strong>Duke Vargas Feltress of the Iron Storm!!!</strong>


    I briefly nce to the side, finding all of uspetitors back on our towers again, with the winning duke in question standing on the tallest tower of them all. But then my gaze turns towards the main screen, which is showing three names.


    The one he just called out with a 1st right next to it, then an Aria Knight with a 2nd next to her name that has me smiling slightly, andstly, Will Wright. The ck Knight of Humanity.


    Kind of surprised he actually went for leaving the dungeon instead of hunting for more monsters or loot boxes.


    <strong>Now, as was announced in the rules, the duke will be receiving one hundred points for getting first ce! And alongside him, the adorable Aria Knight will be receiving seventy-five points, and the ck Knight of Humanity fifty points, for second and third ce within this firstpetition!</strong> Oberon deres, his voice echoing out through the stadium as my mind continues clearing up from my half-asleep state. Then the main screen changes to show a different list. <strong>Next up is the main tournament rankings! Behold, the curreeeeent rankings!!</strong>


    My name is at the very top, with a total of slightly over two thousand points. Then theres Leonidas and Xyvandra who have a little over a thousand points, with Vargas at a thousand points on the dot, Amelia with a little below a thousand points, and the rest of the Knights below her.


    Everyone drops off quite a bit in points after that, likely due to there only being a certain number of monsters in the dungeon.


    And despite getting first and second, the duke who finished first only ended up with a few hundred points and Aria only ended up with a little over two hundred.


    <strong>And to our current first ce duo of the Warden of the Red gue and Tarankar, </strong>I hear my and Tars names being called, making me groggily turn my gaze over towards the fae king. <strong>Please wake up. Were in the middle of a rather important tournament here.</strong>


    Laughter echoes throughout the stadium, but all I do is yawn again.


    Which makes theughter increase in volume.

 Book 5: Chapter 49: A Surprise

    Book 5: Chapter 49: A Surprise


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Now that our resident prince and princess duo are awake again, let me truly set off the tournament, </strong>Oberon says as I watch him spread his draconic wings out to his sides. <strong>The firstpetition is officially over and the tournament begun, but we are nowhere near the heart of the tournament yet! So make sure you keep up, because the secondpetition will be beginning momentarily!</strong>


    Already?


    <strong>I know some of you may be surprised, after all, this is only the first day of the tournament and there are already twopetitions, </strong>Oberon says, almost like hed read my mind. <strong>But dont worry, for all of thepetitions after this will be on separate days, with somepetitionssting for several days instead of the several hours this first one took!</strong>


    Oh. Okay.


    I hold myself back from yawning again, feeling more than a little sleepy still from my nap.


    <strong>The secondpetition of the tournament will be a monster hunt!</strong>


    Monster hunt?


    My eyes narrow slightly.


    Thisll be interesting.


    The Fae King goes on exining about the nextpetition for a little while before putting the rules up for everyone to see. And as it turns out, the rules are actually incredibly simr to Demon Hunt from the tournaments back on Earth. Where we go and hunt demons to get points.


    Just that instead of hunting demons, were hunting monsters.


    And just like the firstpetition of the tournament, this one ends up rather boring as I spend the whole thing surfing around on a tidal wave of Red gue, devouring all of the monsters I find. Although I cant sleep this time, unfortunately. Because the monsters are all different. And Id rather not identally devour someone with my Red gue.


    That would be awkward.


    By now though Im fully awake, no matter how much I want to go back to sleep killing.


    <strong>Did you just say sleep killing? </strong>Tar asks, sounding more than a little bbergasted at my thought. But I ignore him as I continue devouring monster after monster with ease.


    Time passes, I asionally pass by otherpetitors including Amelia, and eventually thepetition draws to a close just like the first one. And to my surprise, Im actually not the one who got the most points this time.


    Huh I mutter in surprise at the sight of Amelia being at the top this time.


    Then again, now that I think about it, Im pretty sure I saw a bright sh of light at some point.


    <strong>It looks like the current first ce in the tournament has somepetition nipping at her heels! </strong>King Oberon deres as he flies up to the leaderboard for thatstpetition. Only for the leaderboard to change to show the overall tournament points instead of just the points for thatstpetition. <strong>But its not enough to knock her from her throne just yet. Will anyone be able to defeat the Warden and her Red gue in thebatpetitions?!</strong>


    Yeah, just like he said, Im still first overall. And I have a four hundred point lead still.


    <strong>Well see in the future if she keeps her lead in the skill and intelligence basedpetitions, but so far she seems to be the most likely to win the entire tournament! </strong>the king continues, and despite the fact that hes offhandedly talking about how they arent winning, Amelia and Leonidas look incredibly proud from the towers theyre standing on. And theyre not the only ones, considering the smug looks on Grampss face. <strong>However! This will all have to wait as the nextpetition of the tournament will begin tomorrow!</strong>


    Nice. I can go take a nap now.


    <strong>Whats with you and sleeping right now anyways? </strong>Tar asks, but I just shrug as spotlights begin shining on me and the otherpetitors. Likely to give us onest moment in the limelight before King Oberon closes out the day ofpetitions.


    Not sure. I just feel really sleepy.


    Maybe its because of how much Ive leveled in just the past week? Ive heard some people develop something called leveling sickness. So that could be it.


    <strong>Hmm </strong>Tar hums. <strong>I guess that would make sense. Never really thought about it before since youre mostly demon now, and demons arent anywhere near as susceptible to leveling sickness as humans are.</strong>


    Well, I did raise my level by several hundred in just a week or so.


    <strong>True, </strong>the tanuki nods from my shoulder.


    Our inner conversation is interrupted when the fae king continues speaking over the roaring audience, finally taking the attention off of thepetitors, <strong>However, for those of you who havent had enough excitement yet, I have a special little event for you all!</strong>


    I blink in surprise at this.


    Hes not closing the day out?


    And Im not the only one surprised, considering the moring in the audience.


    <strong>Im sure you all noticed the other four stadiums around this one, </strong>King Oberon says while snapping his fingers, making images of said four stadiums appear above his head. <strong>Well, since youre all contractors yourself, dont you think itd be a waste? To have you all gathered here during these months and not have youpete in your own little games?</strong>


    The crowd is beginning to grow more than a little excited as he speaks, showing that most people seem to agree with him.


    <strong>Just for the duration of this tournament, any duels undertaken within one of the four arenas and overseen by a fae prince or princess will grant the winner of the duel the EXP they would be awarded should they kill the loser! But dont worry! The anti-death use will always be active during these duels, so even if you die in them, you wont be losing anything! </strong>King Oberon deres, making the crowd instantly shoot to a loud roar in volume, everyone showing extreme excitement and enthusiasm for this new event. <strong>Before we begin that, I should introduce the rules for these duels! </strong>He pauses for a second, following which numbers appear over each stadium representing the sses. <strong>ss I and II Guardians and demons will be dueling in the gray colored stadium, ss III Guardians and demons will be dueling in the green stadium, ss IV Guardians and demons in the purple stadium, andst but certainly not least, ss Vs will be dueling in the ck stadium! Only four duels can be undertaken at the same time within each stadium, and they will be held in unique arenas determined by the fae royal and their contracted partner currently hosting the arena! Meanwhile every arena will have the fae royal and contracted partner swapping out to give them all rest between thepetitions.</strong>


    I nce at Tar with a scowl on my face.


    Can I punch your father?


    <strong>What?! No! </strong>he practically shouts in my mind. <strong>Dont go punching people because they took away your naptime!</strong>


    I let out a huff of air and turn back towards the air.


    <strong>And why dont we start things off with having our current first cepetitor hosting the first ss V arena! </strong>King Oberon deres with a mischievous tone of voice as a spotlight shines on me again.


    So I turn back to Tar again with my scowl only growing on my face.


    <strong>No! </strong>Tar repeats himself, even if his denial is less enthusiastic this time. <strong>No punching!</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 50: Judge

    Book 5: Chapter 50: Judge


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Look at the bright side, </strong>Tar says as I sit on a throne made of blood floating high above the arena while looking down at it with a bored gaze. <strong>At least we dont have tomentate!</strong>


    Uh huh. We still have to be here. And I still have to watch.


    <strong>Well, he said that we either do this, or were disqualified from the tournament, </strong>Tar continues, making me frown as I remember.


    Stupid old dragon man thing.


    <strong>Hes a fae, </strong>Tar corrects me.


    I turn to stare at the tanuki on myp for a few seconds. Then I look back down at the setup down below as the first duelists arrive in the arena.


    Stupid old dragon man thing.


    I can feel Tar staring at me, but I proceed to ignore him.


    The audience in the stadium roars rather excitedly, and from what I can tell, the vast majority of the audience in the center stadium is in this one. Because when there are duels to watch, most people would choose the ss V duels.


    It only makes sense. Theyre the most entertaining, and most people never get to see them.


    Even if most of the people here are demons, considering the very limited number of ss V Guardians in existence byparison.


    Looking down at the duelists in my arena, I find them both to be demons this time. One being a vampire and the other a wolfkin.


    So I raise my hand to mess with the special screen in front of me, choosing the arena environment theyll be fighting in.


    Vampires use blood or darkness magic, and wolfkin use blood or enhancement type magics.


    In which case


    After messing with the screen for several seconds, the arena around the two duelists begins to shift until it forms a singlerge tower over an ocean of blood. And now, with the arena having been chosen, I rest my head on my hand, my elbow on my throne as I wave my other hand and dere, Begin, without any more fanfare.


    Both of the duelists immediately rush at each other, surprising me for a moment. Because by the looks of it the vampire has blood magic and the wolfkin has enhancement magic. But the type of blood magic the vampire is using in particr is to enhance their physical body. Which isntmon amongst vampires.


    Interesting.


    The battle doesnt do much to wake me up, but it is at least interesting enough to keep my attention. So I keep watching as the traitorous tanuki falls asleep on myp.


    My job is rather simple, to be honest. All I have to do is watch the battle and call out the winner. And if I think one is holding back, I call them out on it and disqualify the duel.


    Theyre doing these fights for the EXP anyways, so its not like they lose anything other than the EXP theyd gain from killing the other by being disqualified.


    Oh, and I make sure no one interferes with the duel. Thats probably the most important part.


    But whod be stupid enough to interfere with someone who can actually kill them here? Thatd just be in idiocy.


    I continue watching the two demons down below as they fight. And fight. And fight. And take too long to fight.


    All the way till the fight finallyes to an end with the wolfkin winning to my pleasant surprise. Mostly because wolfkin are the inferior versions of blood lycans. Just like the arachnids and arachnae.


    So I guess I just have an affinity for them.


    Anyways, I announce their victory, which seems to have the wolfkin looking incredibly happy and proudful. Then theyre teleported out of the arena and the next duo are teleported into it. And this time the duelists are actually two n demons. One is a ghoul and the other an arachnae.


    In that case I go ahead and make the arena a massive graveyard withrge cobwebs in it.


    Begin, I announce, making the two immediately begin attacking each other.


    Then I return to my original posture, just looking down at the arena with my face still resting in my hand.


    Out of curiosity, I nce at my status to see where my level ended upnding. Since I was too tired at the end to pay much attention.


    After seeing it, my eyebrows both rise in surprise.


    Im already level 1871? Wow. Im a higher level than the Knights of Humanity.


    Wonder how they felt seeing that?


    <strong>Youre the highest level human now, and their savior, so I doubt theyll have anything to say, </strong>Tarments, having apparently woken up from his nap at some point.


    Yeah, guess youre right.


    I nce to the side with a scowl on my face before lifting my head and snapping my fingers. The idiot human who had just attempted to interfere with the duel under my watch then floats up into the air as I use Blood Maniption directly on their blood, which likely hurts them judging by their screams. Then I simply sweep my hand, sending them flying out of the arena without a care in the world for their safety.


    Theyre ss V after all. A fall like that wont kill them.


    And I continue watching the duel, putting my face back on my hand again.


    Right, so, Tar, how long did I have to stay here again?


    Tar doesnt say anything.


    Tar?


    I look down at the tanuki just to find him looking asleep again.


    Seriously? I know youre not asleep.


    <strong>Shhhh.</strong>


    My eyebrow twitches as I pick up the tanuki and throw him into the sky, making him chuckle, only to float back down again.


    Youre avoiding answering that question, arent you?


    He doesnt say anything.


    Which means that Im gonna be here for a while.


    I better get some rest before the nextpetition.


    <strong>Dont worry, youll have time for rest before it, </strong>Tar says, reassuring me and finally speaking again.


    I let out a huff as I continue watching the battle down below.

 Book 5: Chapter 51: Skill Update

    Book 5: Chapter 51: Skill Update


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After judging several more matches, I decide to do something productive with this time and open my status to check on the skills Ive gained since my leveling spree began.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Warden</strong><strong>Magic: Blood, N/u**ll</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator, Bane of Corruption, Warden of the Red gue</strong> <strong>Age: 21</strong><strong>Level: 1871</strong><strong>SP: 6</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 10,008</strong><strong>Mental: 10,007</strong><strong>Magical: 10,007</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 5</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 4</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 350,490,171/ 350,490,171</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 10</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Bloodborne Apocalypse</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: 9</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 29</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Power Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 28</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 27</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 26</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 21</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Healing Reversal</strong><strong>Skill Level: 16</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Control</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bane of Corruption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 35</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 35</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Vampire Ascendancy</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Scarlet Aegis</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Eldritch Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bond</strong><strong>Skill Level: 5</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Lycan''s Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 11</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Warden of the Red gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Maniption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Lesser Blood Runes</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Nullification Resistance</strong><strong>Skill Level: 1</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Life</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Princess''s Decree</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Apex Predator</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloodwell Keep</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    As the match down below is going on, I open the descriptions of each of my new skills.


    <strong>{Nullification Resistance  The user bes resistant to the effects of magic-nullifying or dispelling powers, ensuring their own magical powers remain intact even within null magic zones.}</strong>


    <strong>{Blood Life  The user gains a pseudo immortality, making it so that as long as they have blood within a five hundred kilometer radius around them, they will always be able to reform their body.}</strong>


    <strong>{Lesser Blood Runes  Allows the user to form and learn the lesser Blood Runes from the Runic Alphabet.}</strong>


    <strong>{Blood Bond  Allows the user to establish a blood bond between individuals by exchanging blood, granting them shared strength, senses, and even the ability to share pain or injuries.}</strong>


    I tap my chin while reading through the descriptions and asionally ncing down at the fighting below.


    Theyre all very good, even if I havent exactly been able to test them out much.


    The Red gue kind of just makes my other skills a moot point right now, since it eats everything. Except really powerful beings, that is. Apparently, ording to the Fae King, if I tried to devour a Knight of Humanity or a Demon Lord, or Gramps for example, it would basically just work as an incredibly dangerous attack that would damage their reality and potential future. But it wouldnt kill them or devour them right away. Especially Gramps. It might not even work on him at all beyond some pain.


    For now at least.


    Im not nning on testing it, though. So this theorizing doesnt matter.


    The match in the arena ends, so I quickly call out the winner, send the twobatants out of the arena, let the next two in, and pick a random arena that ends up being a field of flowers. Which is a little awkward considering the two ghouls fighting each other, but I dont really care. I just focus on my skills descriptions again.


    Lesser Blood Runes is an achievement-locked skill I got from Leonidas, the lesser version of Blood Runes. And Blood Life is the achievement-locked skill that I got from Gramps, the lesser version of his Blood Immortal Title-Bearing Mythic skill.


    That said, Lesser Blood Runes is a little useless at the moment since all I know is a tiny spark of inspiration on how to figure out a rune. Since this skill works differently from any other skill Ive had thus far. Just like those people who have Rune Magic.


    Not something I can just activate because I want to.


    So a pain.


    And I cant test out Blood Life without dying. And dying probably isnt fun.


    Tar snorts at that but doesnt say anything.


    Its too bad that I dont get SP from devouring things with the Red gue. Makes for a waste, if Im being honest.


    Although I do still get the SP from achievements at least.


    I dont get as many achievements though, which is also a waste. Since the Red gue is so powerful, theres not really many grand achievements that I can get through it.


    The System just doesnt work that way.


    Giving me a bunch of really good achievements for that would basically just be giving away free stuff to a powerful person for being powerful. Especially since Im not really doing much to level up right now. Just kinda sitting back and letting the Red gue eat stuff.


    As for Blood Bond and Nullification Resistance yeah, I cant really use those. The only person I know with null magic aside from me is Amelia. So the only use for Nullification Resistance is that I wont have to worry about my own use of null magic affecting me as much anymore. Which is a plus at least.


    But for Blood Bond, I cant use that. Or rather, I cant use it on me. Because I cant exactly swap my blood with someone else.


    Not unless they want to catch the Red gue, that is.


    And I doubt they do.


    I can use it on other people though. But I havent had a chance to try yet.


    Also, since Bane of Corruption is ironically a little useless for me right now, considering my immunity to corruption, I started focusing my Skill Points on Crimson Overdrive. Since its my best purchasedbat skill.


    Once again, not that Ive had a chance to test it out since the Red gue.


    <strong>You almost sound like youreining about the Red gue, </strong>Tarments from myp.


    I tilt my head with a slight yawn.


    Hmm, well, it definitely has its uses, but it is also rather annoying. Imagine having something writhing around under your skin from time to time. Its just in ufortable.


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before muttering, <strong>Yeah, I can see that.</strong>


    A loud bell rings across the artificially created universe, following which I find myself suddenly appearing in the middle of the bleachers. And when I raise my head to look above the arenas, I find a different set ofpetitors overlooking them.


    Cool. My jobs done here.


    I turn around, only to be faced with a bunch of fans.


    Tar


    <strong>You still cant punch him, </strong>Tar says before I can even ask.


    Darn.

 Book 5: Chapter 52: Rise of the King

    Book 5: Chapter 52: Rise of the King


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After a lovely nights rest, sleeping off the leveling sickness, I return full of energy for the nextpetition. Which turns out to be a tower defensepetition. One where we have to defend our towers and the core inside of our towers from a wave of monsters.


    Apetition that ends up being really easy when I make arge bubble of Red gue surrounding my tower, giving me more time to catch up on my sleep.


    Then the nextpetition after that one is, to my surprise, a simple brute force test. One where we simply punch a wall and it determines how much force we put into the punch, and the winner is whoever punches it the hardest.


    Aplicatedpetition for sure.


    I nod my head at that thought as Tar snorts.


    All of the otherpetitors go first, punching the wall and not making even a single crack in it. Not even making it show any sort of reaction at all. Meanwhile most of thepetitors get a number somewhere between three hundred and five hundred, which also represents how many points theyll be getting via dividing the number by three.


    Until Leonidas goes and the entire wall shakes with a couple of cracks emerging, making a number slightly above a thousand show on the wall. Followed by the rest of the Demon Lords and Amelia.


    Although, while Amelia is the only Knight almost on par with the Knights in level, she still focuses on magic. Not physical strength.


    So her physical capabilities are all lower than her mental and magical.


    Which lead to her only getting eight hundred and fifty three points.


    Unfortunately for me, thispetition bans the use of magic. So I cant use the Red gue for this to enhance my strength.


    A pity, but Im already really far ahead on points as things are anyways.


    Once my turnes around, I step up to the wall, pull my fist back, and punch straight at the center of the wall. And my punch ends up being just like the other Demon Lords, except Leonidas. Which makes sense since my level is about the same as Vorgrim and Xyvandra at this point.


    I step away under a wave of apuse and cheering before standing back with my arms crossed as the rest of thepetitors take their turns.


    The rest of thepetition doesntst for much longer, and soon enough the fourthpetition of the tournamentes to a close. Then King Oberon goes over his usual spiel again congratting people for changing in rankings and pointing out that Im still at the top.


    This tournament is beginning to feel rather boring.


    <strong>Dont tell Father that, </strong>Tar says, almost making me snort in amusement. <strong>Hed be rather upset.</strong>


    Yeah, yeah.


    At least things should get more interesting when I cant just brute force my way through everything with the Red gue anymore.


    Tar nods his head from my shoulder as the king finishes up his spiel. Then the nextpetitions rules and description appear high in the air.


    <strong><em>Rise of the King</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All Competitors will be ced in a randomly generated map where a single golden crown will be ced somewhere across the map. Holding the crown will grant the owner game points that do not affect the overall point score of the tournament every second the crown is held, along with a regr point for every ten seconds the crown is held. Thepetition willst for three hours, and various non-lethal traps and loot boxes will be ced throughout the map.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Killing otherpetitors is allowed. Anti-death use is allowed. Common boxes grant one point, umon grants three points, rare grants five points, epic grants ten points, and legendary grants twenty-five points.</em>


    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> Keep the crown for as long as you can. The one who holds it for the longest will win.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> First ce gets one hundred points. Second ce gets seventy-five points. Third ce gets fifty points. And allpetitors may keep the points they rued throughout thepetition.</em>


    <strong>And the nextpetition of the tournament is our very firstpetitor versuspetitor tournament! Competitors willpete for the crown, killing each other or just making the others forfeit the crown themselves, trying to hold it for as long as they possibly can! </strong>King Oberon deres, making the audience grow excited in anticipation of thepetition. <strong>This will be the <emst </empetition of the night! So make sure you stay to see it!</strong>


    Hmm. Basically capture the crown.


    This one could prove more challenging for me. I wont be able to use the Red gue to capture the crown from someone else. Not if I dont want to permanently eat their reality.


    So Im going to be left using my normal skills and actually fighting for the first time in this tournament.


    A faint grin stretches across my face at that thought.


    Although when I do get the crown I can always justze around in a bubble of Red gue.


    <strong>That wouldnt work, </strong>Tar points out. <strong>Your mother can just erase the Red gue and pass through if she wanted to.</strong>


    True. Not sure if she cares enough about this tournament to do that, but she certainly could if she wanted to.


    Of course, I could always make the bubblerge enough that she cant do that. But whered the fun in that be?


    I think fighting the Demon Lords and Knights of Humanity might be fun.


    <strong>Just be careful that you dont lose control of your blood and infect them, </strong>Tar reminds me. <strong>Or the blood making up your clothes.</strong>


    Yep. That would be bad.


    The fae king continues talking for a little bit before he spreads both of his wings out and a vast arena appears beneath us. One with the appearance of arge volcano.


    My eyes narrow slightly at the chosen battlefield. One that favors Vorgrim and Red.


    <strong>Now lets begin! </strong>King Oberon shouts, following which I find myself teleported into the arena in a random location.


    Then a bright golden light shines up into the sky like a pir, showing where the crown is.


    A crown thats located on the other side of the map from me.


    Well thats annoying.

 Book 5: Chapter 53: Race for the Crown

    Book 5: Chapter 53: Race for the Crown


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I quickly turn into blood and begin flying through the air towards the pir. And through life sense, I find several other people rushing in the direction of the crown as well. But before I even make it a quarter of the way there, the pir res, following which a System Message ys out in my head.


    <strong>[Crown has been captured bypetitor Dafid val Ren.]</strong>


    That was fast. And judging by the name, it was taken by a demon. Although I dont know the demon myself.


    I continue rushing through the air towards the pir thats still in the air. But as I fly, I make sure to send some of my blood to the corners of the arena so that its not all with me. Even if I have to make it so that the blood floats in the air, because itd begin destroying the arena if I didnt. Then the pir of light suddenly vanishes, making me narrow my eyes.


    Guess it isnt always active.


    Doesnt matter though. I can hear everything happening in this arena.


    So I continue flying through the air straight towards where I hear the crown holder.


    Im not the only one with powerful hearing or other senses though, and I hear other people rushing straight towards them as well.


    By the time I make it within sight of the crown holder, finding it to be a ghoul with a golden crown floating over his head, I find the man surrounded by three others. Two demons and one Knight.


    Which is to be expected.


    I quickly fly right above them, making all three look up at me along with the holder of the crown.


    Amelia gives me a smile and so does Leonidas, meanwhile Xyvandra just nods her head. Although Im pretty sure this is just a clone of Xyvandra. Not the real one.


    Meanwhile the demon in the middle of all of us looks like hes not having a very good time right now.


    <strong>I wonder why, </strong>Tar says rather sarcastically.


    The confrontation turns a little awkward since none of us are enemies, leaving us all unsure of how to take this. But our decision is basically made for us when the demon Dafid, suddenly says, I forfeit to Her Highness, the Princess!


    His crown vanishes along with him, then I find a golden light shining from above me, making me raise my head to find a crown floating over my head.


    Oh.


    I look down at the others again, finding all of them staring at me.


    Well this just got even more awkward.


    As if it wasnt already bad enough, several others begin arriving as well, including the Blue and Red Knights along with Vorgrim and some demon dukes and duchesses.


    No one says anything for several seconds with the Nobles who arent Demon Lords looking uncertain, and the humans who arent Knights looking the same.


    Then I decide to make a quiet exit.


    Tar snorts.


    I turn into blood and rush off in every direction, spreading myself out.


    Oh, no you dont! ck suddenly shouts as he appears in front of thergest portion of blood. But the de made of shadows that he swings at the chunk of blood just passes right through as I move the blood around it and continue moving.


    Yes I do?


    Too bad I cant really talk in this form. Or at least, not very well.


    Out of nowhere, I find my own blood beginning to act up. Almost like someone else was trying to control my blood but having some difficulty. Likely due to the fact that its not normal blood.


    Its Red gue.


    But despite that, they still manage to slowly drag me back, so I quickly reform therge mass of blood while sending the rest of my blood out to the corners of the arena.


    Say, sweetie, how about we have another round of training now that youre stronger? Leonidas says as he floats up to where I recreated my body. And the look in his eyes has changed from that awkward one he had earlier to a much more interested and slightly excited look.


    My thoughts go back to when he and Gramps would train me during my time on Tartarus. Which was mostly them beating me up until I finally absorbed the martial arts of our family and got more used to fighting beings far stronger than myself.


    A fight to the death with Leonidas where we wont actually did


    I purse my lips at the thought, but despite my Sin of Pride begin gone, I cant help but find the sound of that appealing.


    Especially when I know that I have some of my blood in the corners of the map, so even if I did lose in our fight, he wouldnt be able to take my crown from me. And it would act as a distraction for the others who have aims for my lovely crown.


    Most importantly


    Alright, lets fight, I tell him. Of course, I wont be using the Red gue for this.


    I can test my strength against a Demon Lord.


    Nah, I can handle the Red gue, he says, making my eyes narrow. If you dont believe me, just try using a little of it on me.


    And so I do, sending a drop of my blood over to him.


    To my absolute shock, the Red gue actually struggles to infect him before being killed by him instead.


    If you kill me with it, Ill still be permanently dead, he says. But you can at least defend against me with it all you like, and Ill be fine. So dont worry about that.


    Interesting.


    Very interesting.


    The two of us both grin and I can tell he has the same idea as I do.


    So we both shout at the exact same time, <strong>Demons of Tartarus, I, as Prince/Princess of the Demons,mand you to stand aside and watch!</strong>


    Power radiates outwards from both of us as my Princesss Decree skill works with his Princes Decree skill to force every demon in this ce except for the other Demon Lords to stand aside and watch.


    Then a massive Blood Domain spreads out from Leonidas and he transforms into his beast form right as I coat my skin in ayer of Red gue while using Crimson Overdrive and transform into my own beast form.


    And without any hesitation, we both rush straight at each other.

 Book 5: Chapter 54: A Lesson

    Book 5: Chapter 54: A Lesson


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The moment we sh, a shockwave shoots out from our point of collision, sending the nearby demons and humans flying with the exception of the Knights and Demon Lords. But even the Knights end up being pushed back a bit from it, leaving them all shocked.


    Leonidas and I dont stop with just one sh though. We continue striking each other one time after another, sending shockwaves out with each. Meanwhile Leonidas continuously sends des, arrows, and various other weapons made out of blood flying at me from all over using his Blood Domain.


    I even feel him trying to grab onto the blood in my own body with the domain, but his attempt never takes hold, the Red gue devouring his mana before it can.


    Not bad, he says as we finally break away from each other, neither of us showing a single wound as our Lycans Regeneration skills managed to heal everything weve done to each other. Not bad at all.


    Despite his saying that, I cant help but feel surprised that he even did any damage to me at all. Considering the Red gue armor Im using.


    <strong>It would appear that your father has a true damage skill, </strong>Tarments, making me nod my head.


    True damage. A type of damage that ignores everything and directly harms the one its targeting. Just like my Bloody Thorns and Blood Retribution.


    The question is what sort of true damage skill is it. Is it just like Bloody Thorns, where I take damage when he does? I know its not like Blood Retribution since Ive been taking damage this whole time.


    If Im being honest, it looks almost like every single attack he deals passes straight through my Red gue barrier to hit me.


    Lets see Leonidas mutters before shifting back into his lycan form, to my surprise. You recently got Lesser Blood Runes, right?


    I frown at that but nod anyways.


    Perfect! he exims, a faint grin spreading across his face as he raises a single hand with his fingers held like hes about to snap them. In that case, how about a lesson?


    Without giving me any chance to respond, he snaps his fingers, following which strange runic symbols written with blood begin appearing all around him in the air. And as if that werent enough, his Blood Domain appears to be resonating with the symbols.


    I quickly find even the other Demon Lords and the Knights beating a hasty retreat out of the Blood Domain, giving me a rather bad feeling.


    Then everything begins to turn into blood around us. The trees, the air, the soil. Everything.


    If that were all, Id still be fine. But what follows next is much worse. All of the blood suddenly forms a single hammer and swings itself to m into me before I can even blink, sending me flying across the entire map while coughing out a mouthful of blood.


    Even after Ind and quickly begin to float back up into the air, more bloody symbols appear around me, seemingly teleporting the hammer to m into me again.


    And the same process repeats itself over and over again until I finally let out a roar and attempt to manipte the blood with Blood Maniption. But that doesnt do shit, so I use Blood Nullification instead. Which does affect it a little, but not as much as Id hoped.


    Youre never going to get out of that cycle with those petty skills, Leonidas says, very much reminding me that while I am a lot stronger now, I still cheated my way up here with the Red gue.


    But at the same time


    I scowl as I transform back into my lycan form, briefly ncing at the Red gue thats been loosed onto the environment from my wounds. Then I spread my arms out while the hammer returns for more, only to send it flying when I let the Red gue out of my body, immediately absorbing the runes floating in the air along with my own blood. And just as quickly as it started, I end it by pulling the Red gue back into my body again.


    Relying on the Red gue may work against the void creatures, but it wont get you any achievements, nor will it help your training, Leonidas says while appearing in a sh of red light surrounded by more blood runes. Think about what you can do using something other than the Red gue before relying on it.


    I grit my teeth.


    Seriously? I already tried using


    My mind nks.


    A grin stretches across Leonidass face the moment I use Null Magic Field over a dozen times, each right on top of a blood rune. Then I use Blood Nullification on the rune that suddenly became destabilized by the field, erasing a tiny part of it and messing up the entire rune in the process.


    Despite the runes exploding in his face, Leonidas beginsughing, Thats it! Thats what I was looking for!


    I float up into the air until Im a little over a dozen meters in front of Leonidas. But even when the bloody mist that marks the remains of the blood runes explosion clears, Leonidas can just be seen floating there without a scratch on himself.


    Likely due to Lycans Regeneration.


    Damn, never thought my own skill would be used against me like this.


    <strong>Uh, you do remember that its not <em>your </em>skill in the first ce? </strong>Tar points out.


    Well its not his either. Its Gramps.


    <strong>Thats not- </strong>Tar starts, but I just use Rain of Blood and Blood gue, making extra sure to keep the Red gue out of the skill. Since it always wants to rush into those two skills, what with being my strongest gue by far and all.


    Its a major pain, fighting without being allowed to use the Red gue.


    Quite a few of my powerful skills involve the Red gue after all. Or just gues in general.


    Even just keeping myself clothed involves the Red gue now, since my clothing or armor would just be devoured by my own blood when I get injured. Making for a waste of armor and clothing.


    And more importantly, a hit to my dignity.


    Lets try this again, I tell my father with a grin on my face while flexing my ws slightly to my side.


    He just grins and says, Lets.

 Book 5: Chapter 55: Father and Daughter

    Book 5: Chapter 55: Father and Daughter


    <strong>Within the Stadium</strong>


    Arkaz feels nothing but pride as he ignores his fae partners rambling  what Oberon callsmentating  and watches his son and granddaughter fight it out. The both of them showing off the pride of the royal family.


    Ever since he first met her, hes known that she would be great. Even if he put aside the prophecy nonsense that his son and that human he took were following.


    And just from watching them, he knows that his granddaughter wont take too long to catch up with him.


    But he also understands that itll be harder for her to level up the higher her level reaches, even with her Red gue. Especially since void creatures dont have life force, so shes only devouring their realities without gaining any life force from them to feed her own.


    A process that slows down her leveling speed.


    If hes being perfectly honest, when he first saw Scarlet after she became the Warden of the Red gue, he almost had a heart attack. Metaphorically, since thats physically impossible for him.


    In just a single instant, he understood everything that was different about her body.


    Most other people would never understand the exact difference, and Arkaz is pretty sure even she doesnt realize it. But she is not human or blood lycan anymore. Not entirely at least.


    If he had to guess, shes probably around 0.01% human, 29.99% blood lycan, and 70% Red gue now. Arge amalgamation of pure corruption in the form of a blood lycan and human hybrid.


    And its not just that. He can tell just from her entering his blood domain that she will never age, even if she doesnt kill things and receive their life force.


    What saddens him a little is that she cant have children either, but hes pretty sure she doesnt care about that. From what hes been told by her herself, she has no interest in romance, much less children.


    She may care that the choice was taken away from her though.


    Not that she had much chance to have kids even without the Red gue, considering her status as a hybrid and all.


    But now the Red gue would kill anyone who tried to get with her, much less their child.


    Arkaz does feel secretly pleased that shell never end up taken away by some man though.


    He notices Oberon sending him a strange look, likely having been listening in on his thoughts as hes been bbing his own mouth. But the fae king turns his attention back to the battle again as Arkazs son and granddaughter continue shing, sending shockwaves throughout the arena and turning thepetition that was meant to be for all of them into just their personal duel.


    Leonidas is currently using his blood runes to strike at her from every direction as she repeatedly dances around in the air, nullifying small parts of the blood runes each time, making them explode. And at the same time, they sh one time after another, both in their quadrupedal beast forms.


    Both of their forms are around the same size, with Leonidas being a little bigger. But both of them are near evenly matched in brute force power, each using the same legendary version of Arkazs Beast of the Apocalypse skill.


    Arkazs son shows more skill inbat, and his granddaughter shows a more powerful defense thanks to her Red gue. Especially since every time they sh, his son has to make sure he cleanses the Red gue from his body. A natural process in his body thanks to the Blood Domain, but still a mana intensive one.


    In the end, theyre both evenly matched.


    But Arkaz knows that both of them havent used all of the skills hidden up their sleeves.


    As if on cue, Leonidas jumps backwards with a grin on his face and lets out a roar while using Blood Dominion to directly take control of every demon and human around them of level 1700 or above that have ranged attacks. Likely because the weaker ones wouldnt be able to so much as scratch Scarlet.


    He also doesnt manage to control the Knights or Demon Lords.


    Then he forces each and every one of them to startunching barrages of ranged attacks on Scarlet, who simply narrows her eyes in response.


    So thats how you wanna y it? she asks, to which her father just grins.


    Without hesitation, his granddaughter spreads both of her arms out and activates multiple skills at once. The first one being obvious as wounds begin opening up all over everyst demon and human attacking her, making them all fall to the ground in surprise.


    But thats not all she does as lines of red energy begin to connect her to everyst demon and human in the area, regardless of if theyre attacking her or not. And Arkaz can immediately tell what happens due to those red lines.


    The stats of each and every being in thepetition except his granddaughters cousin, who she didnt target, begin dropping by about five percent. Meanwhile Scarlets stats start climbing, and life energy begins rushing through the red lines along with mana and any other form of energy including mental power, qi, and even soul power. All rushing to fill her as more and more wounds open up on their bodies from his granddaughters healing reversal skill.


    Even Leonidas flinches when he feels his stats dropping by just a single percent, with just as many wounds opening on his body as the others. Wounds that all heal instantly the moment they appear.


    <strong>Looks like things are starting to get a little more serious! </strong>King Oberon deres, Arkaz finding the mans enjoyment of this battle practically flooding his mind through their bond.


    But Arkaz cant me him, since battles on this scale arentmonly seen. Or almost ever seen.


    So he just continues watching, feeling more and more excited to see just how far his granddaughter hase.

 Book 5: Chapter 56: You Did Well

    Book 5: Chapter 56: You Did Well


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Lets finish this, shall we? I state with a grin on my face as the crimson lightning running across my body grows thicker and thicker as I burn all of the life energy being fed to me by the otherpetitors.


    Leonidas grins back at me and answers, If thats what you want, then we shall.


    Then my eyes widen slightly as red lightning suddenly strikes once, twice, and a third time. All around Leonidas. And under everyones gazes, red energy mixed with red lightning and blood all begin to go wild all around him as his body grows twice asrge and his presence and life energy doubles.


    I double down on draining everyone around us, making quite a few people drop down to their knees as my stats continue climbing.


    You asked for this, Leonidas deres, his voice loud and echoing throughout the entire arena.


    My eyes narrow when all of the sound in the entire arena vanishes in a moment, only for a loud warping noise to fill it. One akin to a portal.


    Everyone in the arena immediately focuses on the writhing red orb of blood floating in the center of the arena between me and Leonidas. And before I can so much as wonder what it is or say anything, the orb slowly begins to expand.


    Fuck.


    <strong>Thats the mythic version of Blood of Ruin, </strong>Tar states the obvious as I rush backwards, only for the orb to continue expanding until more and more orbs appear in the air with lines shooting out of them. Then little droplets of blood appear all over. And while the droplets dont do anything to me thanks to my Red gue armor, I see them badly warping anyone they touch down below with the exception of Aria, the Knights, and the Demon Lords.


    Aria because theyre all avoiding her, likely to not hurt her, and the others because theyre blocking the droplets or avoiding them.


    I quickly make a barrier of blood that isnt Red gue around Aria to protect her before spreading my arms out and activating Bloodborne Apocalypse.


    Fighting one apocalypse with another? Leonidas says with a slight grin, but I cant give him any of my attention right now. Not unless I want to slip up and identally send out bullets of Red gue at people. Something that would be pretty damned terrible.


    Soon enough the bullets of gued blood shoot out of me, fortunately free of Red gue. But at the same time, Leonidass Apocalypse of Blood skill unleashes its full might with all of the spheres of ruinous blood bursting before the blood all directly rushes towards me while ignoring gravity.


    And my Bloodborne Apocalypse immediately begins shing with the Apocalypse of Blood as me and Leonidas charge straight towards each other, the mans Blood Ascension skill finally activating with the crimson light solidifying on his body and starting his countdown.


    He has one minute to use that skill. After that minute he faced bacsh.


    So all I need to do is stall him for a minute and this fight will be mine.


    That n is sent down the drain though when we sh midair, sending a massive shockwave out that destroys the ground and kills more than a few of the otherpetitors. And more importantly, Im sent flying like a damned meteor straight past our skills and into the ground, digging far through it in the process as I trail Red gue blood across it, making the blood begin devouring the ground until I manage to take control of it again.


    Fuck, I mutter once I finally stop moving.


    I knew Blood Ascension quintupled his stats, but seriously? Thats how am I supposed to hold out for a minute against <em>that</em>?!


    <strong>Good luck, </strong>Tar says while vanishing into the in-between to watch.


    And honestly? I dont me him this time.


    I hear pops and cracks as my bones  which were pretty much all shattered  fix themselves back together again. And once they finish, I climb back to my feet, only to find Leonidas appearing right in front of me with his fist raised.


    Well, shit.


    Hends his punch before I can even react again, sending me flying through the arena. Then he does this again, and again, and again. All the way till I begin to run low on mana, both of our powerful mythic skill attacks in the air having run out while leaving the entire arena a wastnd.


    I can barely sense the life energies of just a few others, including the Demon Lords, Knights, and Aria, who I sessfully protected only because Leonidas was avoiding hurting her.


    But now I cant get up. All of my energy is just gone, and while my wounds are still healing, theyre healing very slowly.


    Leonidas appears in front of me again and lightly shakes his head before saying, Dont get too overconfident just because of the Red gue. It may be incredibly powerful, but you shouldnt use it as a crutch.


    The crimson light his body is letting off begins to flicker slightly as the red lightning, energy, and blood floating around him slows down, showing the signs of his skill beginning to run out.


    You did well, sweetie, he says with a smile before pulling his fist back and then smashing it right down on my face, making everything go ck as my vision spreads out to the blood I have in the arena. And as I look on through my blood maniption senses, I find that Leonidas is currently looking rather confused. Likely because the golden crown didnt switch from me to him.


    Right when his Blood Ascension runs out, the man dropping to his knees as blood begins to leak out of his pores, I gather the blood I had lost while he was beating me up before reforming myself right in front of him with my hands on my hips.


    He looks up at me before giving me a wry smile and slightly embarrassed smile.


    I cant help but grin as I look at him, only to step up and kneel down next to him while saying, Dont get too overconfident.


    Leonidas lets out a light chuckle at that and shakes his head, still smiling.


    Well, nothing left to do now but finish things.


    I pull my fist back while enhancing it with all of the life energy I still have left before telling him, You did well, Dad, and sending my fist straight at his head right as the shock is spreading across his face from my calling him dad.


    And just like my head no doubt exploded when he punched me, his explodes when I punch him, and I soon sense his life energy reappearing somewhere else in the stadium outside of the arena.


    Then I stand up straight and pop my neck while stretching a little.


    That was a tough battle.


    And a fun one.


    Although I get the feeling I wouldnt have won if he realized Id gotten Blood Life.


    Well, I turn around to face the others who are now approaching me through the barren wastnd.


    I wonder if theyll want to fight as well?

 Book 5: Chapter 57: Well Earned Rest

    Book 5: Chapter 57: Well Earned Rest


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Silence fills the arena as the others approach. And it continues even after they reach me without any of them saying a word.


    We all just kinda stare for several seconds.


    Amelia finally breaks the silence by saying, Well, that was fun to watch. Ill just go find a corner to sit in for the rest of this. Then she walks away under the surprised gazes of me and the others.


    Huh.


    A faint grin begins to grow on my face as a realizationes to mind.


    And so, with absolute dignity and no shame whatsoever, I float into the air and form arge orb of Red gue around me. Which proceeds to repeatedly devour the image of the crown that constantly disappears and reappears over my head.


    Amelia was the only one who can actually nullify my Red gue, so if shes not participating, why not just rest for the remainder of thepetition?


    <strong>Youre shameless, you know that, right? </strong>Tarments from the in-between, not daring to appear thanks to the Red gue that is dangerous even to him.


    No idea what youre referring to. Im an innocent snowke.


    He starts coughing at that, but I choose to ignore him.


    Instead of paying the traitor any mind, I look down below at the Knights who are all discussing amongst themselves about if they can even attack me. Meanwhile Xyvandra gives up right away and finds a corner of her own to take a nap. And Vorgrim walks away too, apparently feeling too thankful towards me to even think about attacking me, regardless of if hed actually hurt me.


    After those two, Purple is the next to walk away. Probably because she isnt exactly abat Guardian.


    Which leaves ck, Blue, and Red. None of whom seem to know how to get rid of my Red gue.


    Not for theck of trying either, since they all attack the Red gue. But it doesnt really result in much other than them burning their mana.


    The only people in the tournament I know can erase the Red gue are Leonidas, Amelia, and possibly Vorgrim. And two of those three decided not to do anything, while thest lost to me.


    Also, something I found rather surprising was that very, and I mean <em>very </em>few people decided to go without the anti-death use activated. To the point that I think only Amelia and Xyvandra did. Everyone else activated it. Even I did for this round, although that was at mom and dads insistence.


    I went with it because Im already in the lead anyways, so theres no reason not to.


    The boost is only a 1.1x multiplier though, so its not much of a difference. And the Red gue has already left me very far ahead.


    <strong>Just be honest, </strong>Tar suddenly says, making me narrow my eyes slightly.


    Honest about what?


    He snorts, <strong>You just had it on because you wanted to fight Leonidas. And you knew he wouldnt go all out if you didnt have it activated.</strong>


    I stare up at the sky where I imagine the tanuki at for a few seconds before averting my gaze without responding.


    <strong>Thought so, </strong>he says with a briefugh.


    So what do you think the nextpetition will be?


    I can practically <em>feel </em>the judgmental stare hes no doubt sending me right now from the void, but he answers anyways, <strong>I can see it probably being some sort of teampetition. Its currently the fifthpetition and we havent had any teampetitions yet after all.</strong>


    Oh, right. I almost forgot that teampetitions were a thing.


    Uh, I honestly have no idea what Ill be doing for those. Im not exactly the best team yer when I can identally permanently kill my teammates just from bleeding on them


    <strong>Thats </strong>Tar mutters, pausing for a second, <strong>true</strong>


    I really wanted to team up with Belle, Aria, Leonidas, and Amelia. A rather unbnced team, but what the heck.


    Then again, we dont know howrge the teams can even be. Dont know any of the rules about the teampetitions.


    <strong>Well, you can at least team up with them in theterpetitions, </strong>Tar points out. <strong>The ones that arentbatpetitions.</strong>


    True. No risk of bleeding on them in those.


    I furrow my brows slightly.


    That sounds wrong.


    <strong>It does, </strong>Tar agrees.


    I nce down at the three Knights when I hear them finally giving up entirely and just going to find their own corners. And then, just as youd expect, the arena suddenly vanishes and everyone but me is teleported to their towers.


    <strong>And the winner of thepetition is </strong>King Oberon trails off.


    Huh? Why am I still here when everyone else-


    <strong>Princess Scarlet, would you mind removing that sphere of Red gue? </strong>the king awkwardlyments, apparently realizing that Im not up on the tower.


    Oh. Guess he cant teleport me when Im covered in Red gue like this.


    So I absorb it all before immediately finding myself teleporting onto the highest tower.


    <strong>And the winner of thepetition is the Princess of the Demons, Apex Predator, Warden of the Red gue, Bane of Corruption, </strong>he briefly pauses to quietly mutter under his breath, <strong>with a lot of Titles, </strong>before finishing just as loudly and grandly as the first part, <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron!</strong>


    I blink as the audience goes wild. But I cant help but focus on the fact that he referred to Princess of the Demons as if it were a Title instead of just a title.


    Thats not a Title. Then again, guess he couldve just grouped it up with the others since it is still something Im known as, even if its not an official System Title.


    Either way, the audience continues going wild for a little while. All while King Oberon shows reruns of my battle with Leonidas on the main screen.


    I just yawn, feeling emptied out of mana during this time.


    Can I just go now?


    Eventually the king finishes going on and on before he says, <strong>And now we have the duels! But since our dear first ce and her father went and gave us such a splendid show for the fifthpetition, what do you all say about excusing them from judging?!</strong>


    My eyes suddenly open wide as my attention fully focuses on him. And when the audience goes wild with cheers, agreeing with that suggestion, I feel actual tearsing to my eyes.


    <strong>Then that decides it! Since they were the only ones fighting during thispetition, theyll be excused from judging duels this time around! </strong>King Oberon deres, making me feel relief. <strong>Now to get the duels started!</strong>


    Now to get some sleep.

 Book 5: Chapter 58: Puzzle House

    Book 5: Chapter 58: Puzzle House


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Wee back everyone, to the third day of thepetition! </strong>King Oberon deres, his voice echoing throughout the stadium as the contractors within it cheer. And from what I heard when I left the universest night, the sapient demons and humans all across Tartarus and Earth are no different. In fact, they tend to be even louder since theyre all regr humans and demons.


    Although there arent very many demons that arent contracted. If any.


    In fact, the only demons I see outside of this little universe are the non-sapient ones who have no reason to watch.


    <strong>Tomorrow will be thest day of the first round of thepetition! </strong>King Oberon continues, surprisingly a little. <strong>We will be having the sixth, seventh, and eighthpetitions today, and the ninth and tenth tomorrow. Then the fae and partner teamworkpetitions will begin three days after that!</strong>


    At least were being given a break between them. Not that it would matter as much considering that the second round of the tournament isnt directlybat rted.


    I nce at Tar who is on my shoulder as I briefly wonder what the third round would entail.


    The king mentioned that you fae already know what will be in it, so are you able to tell me?


    Tar shakes his head without saying anything.


    Darn.


    <strong>Now lets get to thepetition! </strong>King Oberon shouts with excitement clear in his voice right as the rules for the nextpetition appear at the center of the stadium.


    <strong><em>Race to the Finish</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All Competitors will be ced in a puzzle house filled with monsters and puzzles where they must split off into teams of two. They will then be required toplete the puzzle in each room to move on to the next room. Meanwhile other teams may spend points to send monsters to the otherpetitors rooms or increase the difficulty of their puzzles.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Directly killing otherpetitors is not possible. Anti-death use is allowed. Bonus Points will be granted on a speedrun basis, giving those who finish each room faster more points. Bonus Points are granted for killing monsters.</em>


    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> Reach the end of the puzzle house first.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> First ce gets one hundred points. Second ce gets seventy-five points. Third ce gets fifty points. And allpetitors may keep the points they rued throughout thepetition.</em>


    <strong>This time around there will be no directbat between thepetitors! It will also be a <em>team</em>petition, so no one canplete this alone! </strong>the king shouts, making me purse my lips slightly. Then the king snaps his fingers, making arge metal box appear beneath us with the walls partially see through. <strong>There will be a total of fifteen different rooms, each filled with monsters who will try to stop you frompleting the puzzles. And as the description says,petitors will be getting ess to a new menu that they can use to either send monsters at otherpetitors or increase the difficulty of the otherpetitors puzzles. A much more indirect method ofbat than the previouspetitions, if I do say so myself.</strong>


    The audience seems to like it considering the excitement I can practically feel pulsing from them in their cheers.


    But a team puzzle Im not gonna bother spending my points on otherpetitors, but why do I get a bad feeling about this?


    <strong>Because everyones probably going to target you with their points, </strong>Tar points out.


    Right. Yeah. Thats gonna be annoying.


    Theyll probably realize that sending monsters wont be very effective against me rather quickly though, so itll probably just end up being them increasing the difficulty of my puzzles.


    I was wanting to team up with Aria for this. Shes always been good at puzzles, and Id be able to defend her from the monsters.


    But if were gonna be targeted


    <strong>Rowena just contacted me, </strong>Tar says out of nowhere, making me nce towards where Aria is. <strong>She said that Aria doesnt care if youre targeted. She doesnt want to work with anyone other than you.</strong>


    Oh.


    A smile spreads across my face.


    In that case


    I nod my head towards Aria, still smiling. And she immediately pumps her fists into the air in excitement, which I notice Oberon ncing at without saying a word. Just smiling. If you can call that a smile, considering that hes, well, in the form of a dragon.


    Adorable.


    The king seems to be waiting a bit for people to decide on teams, and after a few minutes have passed, he spreads his wings and exims, <strong>Now that everyone has decided on their teams, let thispetitioooooon </strong>Im teleported into some sort of training hall looking room, <strong>begin!</strong>


    I raise my head, feeling slightly surprised that I heard his voice even after entering the arena. But I dont hear anything else from him or the audience, so it was probably just a one-time thing.


    Anyways, I turn to find Aria fidgeting, clearly wanting to hug me but not daring to considering my Red gue clothing. Which has made things a little awkward.


    Thankfully she is a very smart child and knew not to hug or touch my clothes after I started wearing Red gue clothes.


    Even if she doesnt like it.


    I dismiss the clothing on my right sleeve and pat her on the head, making her smile brightly at me.


    This is where you shine, little one, I tell her with a smile on my face. But to my surprise, she just shakes her head and grins rather maniacally.


    As if she has something sneaky in mind.


    I raise a brow in amusement.


    This ought to be good.


    Then again, despite how adorable she is, Aria really does have a devious mind. I know that just from how she fights in the Fractures Ive followed her in just to make sure she knew how to fight. Since she kind of begged me, and the demons wouldnt dare do anything too bad with me being there.


    Even if it meant she didnt get any EXP from it. Just the experience of fighting.


    I wasnt gonna let a child fight against demons on her own though, so it was apromise.


    She was very devious in how she handled it though.


    What do you have in mind? I ask, a grin splitting my own face as well.

 Book 5: Chapter 59: Shortest Competition Yet

    Book 5: Chapter 59: Shortest Competition Yet


    <strong>The Stadium</strong>


    <strong>Now, unlike the previouspetitions, we get to see our belovedpetitors working in pairs to solve puzzles while being assaulted by monsters! </strong>King Oberon deres, feeling incredibly excited for thepetition. <strong>To see them ying whats basically a game together, sending monsters to attack each other and dy them from-</strong>


    <strong>Um, brother, </strong>Nyx suddenly says, interrupting the king and bringing his slightly annoyed gaze towards her.


    Before she even says anything though, he notices that the audience is going wild for something that isnt his words. So he turns to look through therge cube that makes up the arena.


    <strong>I dont think thispetition is going to go how you want it, brother, </strong>Nyxments, sounding unnaturally calm. Almost like shes suppressing how she would normally react.


    King Oberon briefly nces at her to find suppressed amusement on her face that has his eyes narrowing. Then he finally focuses on the onepetitor who could change the rules.


    And when he sees her, all of the excitement detes from his body, his jaw dropping open as he stares without saying a word. Meanwhile the audience continues going wild, apparently enjoying seeing their Princess break the Fae Kings spirit.


    On the screen, King Oberon sees Scarlet and her cousin, Aria, casually walking through the walls of each puzzle room after destroying them with the Red gue. Apparently not nning on bothering themselves with the puzzles.


    <strong>Is this even </strong>King Oberon begins, only to remember the exact winning condition that his mother set for the tournament.


    To reach the end of the puzzle house first.


    It never once said that they had toplete the puzzles.


    And if they finish right away, then the ten minute countdown will start, ending thepetition ten minutes after they pass to give a chance for second and third ce victors.


    But since ten minutes isnt even enough time to finish the first puzzle


    The king stares nkly for several seconds before ncing at his contracted partner, the Demon King. Just to find the Demon King covering his mouth and casually looking away from him. As if hes covering up hisughter.


    He slowly turns back to the cube again, only to look up at the main screen that is now activating to show Scarlet as she casually walks from one puzzle room to another, destroying each wall without bothering with the puzzles. Even devouring all of the monsters inside to raise her level some more.


    <strong>I give up </strong>he eventually mutters, a hint of despair in his words. <strong>The Red gue is unfair and should be banned from this tournament.</strong>


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    But <em>Your Majesty, </em>King Arkaz of the Demons states, hiding a snicker behind his words, your mother set the rules in ce, and we cant do anything about it.


    Such a shame, Nyx says, not even hiding her amusement anymore.


    The Fae King looks between two of the most trusted people in his life before muttering, Traitors


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    So as it turns out, thepetition didnt take very long. We won within just a few minutes of starting it.


    I even got quite a few levels out of devouring the monsters on the way to the end.


    Although I swear the Fae King looks depressed. Or is that just me?


    Tar snickers in my mind as he says, <strong>Its probably just you.</strong>


    But he keeps snickering like he was in the know about some joke that Im not aware of.


    Whatever. Doesnt matter.


    Although I do grow a little confused when I look over at Allen where he is sitting in the same ce he has been in the previouspetitions amongst the audience to find his fae seemingly talking to him, following which the man sends a sympathetic gaze towards the Fae King.


    I frown and tilt my head slightly, wondering just whats going on.


    Which just has Tar snickering.


    <strong>Lets just act like thatpetition didnt happen, </strong>King Oberon says without his usual bravado. Almost like hes sulking.


    Huh?


    Okay, seriously. What is going on?


    Tar just snickers without answering.


    Then the description and rules for the nextpetition appear above our heads without King Oberon doing his usual bbering about the fights and stuff in thepetition.


    I blink as I realize that there wasnt really much for him toment on. Arias idea of just going through the walls proved to work rather well.


    Something not many people know about Aria is that she has a perfect, or near perfect memory. So she memorized almost the entire cube when the king showed it to us before, apparently not thinking it would matter.


    And with that memory of hers, she just led me to which walls I had to break down and we eventually arrived at the end of the puzzle house.


    It did, after all, say that we just had to reach the end. And doing it this way made it so that the others didnt get any bonus points from clearing puzzles. Since they wouldnt have had the time to clear puzzles.


    So we ended up with the one hundred points while everyone else got nothing.


    A rather nice turnout, if I do say so myself.


    Tar continues snickering.


    Okay, seriously. Whats going on?


    He doesnt answer, so I let out a huff and begin reading the rules for the nextpetition. Only to blink in surprise after doing so.


    Interesting.


    <strong><em>Tower Defense</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All of thepetitors will be ced within their own towers. They will then be able to ce a limited number of defenses around their tower, including traps and monsters to defend against the oing monsters that will be sent at them by the otherpetitors. Allpetitors will have a limited number of monsters they can send to attack otherpetitors without spending points, and allpetitors will have a chance to be the tower defender.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Directly attacking otherpetitors is not possible. Directly participating in the attack yourself is not allowed.</em>


    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> Have your tower core survive the longest.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> First ce gets one hundred points. Second ce gets seventy-five points. Third ce gets fifty points. And allpetitors may keep the points they rued throughout thepetition.</em>


    Isnt this just a tower defense game of sorts?


    <strong>I mean, it says it in the title of thepetition, </strong>Tar points out.


    You know what I mean.

 Book 5: Chapter 60: Tower Defense

    Book 5: Chapter 60: Tower Defense


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Now thispetition is a unique one, thats for sure! </strong>King Oberon deres, his voice echoing throughout the stadium while drawing my attention back to him again. <strong>Unlike the previouspetitions, thepetitors are not allowed to participate in thebat! All theyre allowed to do is set up the defenses of their tower through whatever defenses are avable. And they can send monsters to attack the otherpetitors towers during eachpetitors defense stage. </strong>I swear the king turns his gaze to me as he adds, <strong>Meaning no one can break this game. Even so much as using a single skill during it is grounds for disqualification.</strong>


    Is he looking at me?


    <strong>Do you really have to ask? </strong>Tarments.


    All I did was use my Red gue. Its not my fault if the one who made thesepetitions didnt anticipate my blood being a factor.


    Tar snorts at that. In our minds, of course. Not out loud.


    The Fae King continues looking at me  or rather, past me, because theres no way hed be upset with me for simplypeting  for several seconds before moving his gaze again while raising a single w and continuing, <strong>To give everyone a fairpetition, thepetition will be separated into three modes. The first mode will be the building of your towers defenses, and everyone will be undergoing this mode at the same time during the beginning of thepetition. </strong>He raises a second and third w. <strong>Then we have the next two modes that will be ongoing at once, with one person undergoing the defense mode at a time, and everyone else participating in the offense mode, sending monsters at the current defenders tower.</strong>


    This really is just a tower defense game. And since personal strength doesnte into y, Im sure Aria will do quite well here.


    Not so sure about the others though.


    I have no idea how skilled these ss Vs are in strategy.


    <strong>Of course, the defenders wont just be sitting there watching their defenses get trampled, </strong>the Fae King says, a grin beginning to appear on his draconic face. <strong>Every monster killed by their defenses will them a fourth of a point. They can then spend these points to further strengthen their defenses by leveling up the current defenses they have that are still standing.</strong>


    Yeah. Tower defense.


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    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar mutters in my mind. But he doesnt seem to be able to figure out a retort, since it really is just a tower defense game. So he doesnt say anything else.


    He does huff at my thoughts though.


    <strong>Amongst the many defenses they have avable, there will be three different types, </strong>King Oberon says, returning his wed hand to holding up three ws again. <strong>There are traps, towers that attack the monsters passing through such as turrets and the like, and your own monsters that are able to defend your tower for you. All three cost varying amounts of points, with some being far stronger than others. But everyone only gets a certain number of each type of defense for free. Everything else will cost points.</strong>


    Overall, thepetition does genuinely sound a lot more interesting than the previous ones. It also shows thepetitors ability to strategically think their way around a problem. In this case, defending a position from attackers.


    Thepetition also proves that the first round, while focused mostly onbat isnt justbat. Its more like its entirelypetitions directed solely at thepetitor and not their fae, withpetitions focusing on more than just directbat power of thepetitors. The second round ofpetitions is for both fae andpetitor. And the third and final rounds are for just the fae.


    All in all, a rather thorough way to test the potential rulers of the fae and their contracted partners.


    <strong>Last but certainly not least </strong>King Oberon adds, his eyes narrowing slightly as the crowd awaits his final words, <strong>thepetitors will not be allowed to speak with their fae partners during thispetition.</strong>


    As soon as he says that, I feel a strange block appearing within my bond with Tar. Something I didnt realize the Fae King could do.


    I frown slightly, finding theck of the tanukis presence in my mind odd. But at the same time, a little peaceful. Probably because Ive basically been sharing my thoughts with him for years now, the guy only being temporarily gone when he goes to the void.


    The Fae King spreads his wings out as he raises his voice, <strong>Now lets get thispetition under way!</strong>


    Then I find myself appearing at the top of a ratherrge tower with the wind blowing rather strongly around me. Meanwhile some rather amusing music starts ying out. A song that has rather stato notes and gives a feeling of waiting for something to happen. But in a slightlyedic way.


    I cant help but crack a grin at it before shaking my head when a System notification appears in front of my face with a list of possible defenses. Meanwhile the ratherrge core floating at the center of the towers peak right in front of me res with a crimson light once, then twice.


    Hmm. There are a lot more possible defenses than I originally expected there would be.


    I cant even find the end of the list


    Theyre separated into the three types the king mentioned before. The defenders, towers, and traps. Symbolizing the monsters that can move around or can be stationed at one spot to defend the tower. Defenses that are ced and automatically activate to attack monsters. And traps that are, well, traps. Some automatically activate, others dont. Some can only be used once, others multiple times.


    Now its really starting to feel like this is a game. And since we cant actually die or get hurt in thispetition, I guess there isnt any reason not to treat it like a game.


    I find myself grinning when I begin thinking of this round as a game.


    Time to start building my defenses.

 Book 5: Chapter 61: Traps, Monsters, and More!

    Book 5: Chapter 61: Traps, Monsters, and More!


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    To start things off, I ignore the menu for now and take a walk around the tower. Since before I set up my defenses, I need to know what the tower itself is like.


    A process that takes several minutes to do. Less than I wouldve expected, more than I wouldve preferred.


    Considering the countdown on the corner of my vision though, it should be fine. It does list fifty-two minutes remaining, so


    Putting the time limit aside for now, since I highly doubt itll take me that long to set things up, I head to the entrance of the tower while looking at the list of traps and monsters I can use. Because I have a pretty good idea for what I want to do with my tower.


    The tower itself has five floors in it, with two floors being nothing but a long spiral staircase going up to the roof with some outside areas of the tower along that staircase. Where there is no wall. Meanwhile the first three floors vary a little. The first floor has several rooms that go in arge ring around the tower before opening up into the central room, which has arge staircase to the second floor at the back of it and a pool ofva at the center.


    Most importantly, it has no roof. So the second floor is exposed to the first, and its theplete opposite of the first floor. With the central room being the opening and the ring on the outside eventually leading to the stairs.


    Other than the tower, the traps and defenses are pretty interesting. I saw various different types that I generally categorized together.


    There are movement traps that dont deal direct damage but instead try to move the one who falls into them. Like walls that suddenly push outwards to push whatever is in front of it, or traps that blow out air or suck in air like a vacuum. Then there are pitfall traps thatll drop monsters down a floor, traps that blow them into the air with, well, air, and various other types of movement traps.


    After the movement ones are single target damaging traps. Things like towers that throw bolts of fire, ice, poison, and so on. Ones that deal a massive amount of damage and ones that deal very little but attack quickly. They can be hung from the ceiling, walls, or floors in the forms of turrets or even odd monsters that cant move, or they can be real towers set up on the ground.


    Then there are multi-target damaging traps. Things like methrowers that set an entire area aze, lightning shooters that cause chain lightning, and stuff to make the ground shake while covering it with a thinyer of magma.


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    Lastly, there are support traps and towers. Traps and towers that poison, paralyze, slow down, or do any other sort of status effect to the monsters. That dont actually harm them directly but are meant to weaken them.


    All in all, a lot like a tower defense game. And this time Tar isnt here to scoff at that thought.


    I nod my head, satisfied with that thought before I nce down the list at the monsters while still moving towards the entrance of the tower.


    The monsters are just monsters. Nothing more, nothing less. They include some flying ones, but most of them arend monsters. Some have ranged attacks, others dont. And they really are just like monsters in video games.


    Things like goblins, orcs, direwolves, kobolds, and so on.


    And the prices of everything vary depending on how powerful they are. Meanwhile I have a pool of points given to me for free that I can use. A pool that I apparently dont have to use all of ording to the System Notification.


    Stronger monsters, traps, and towers cost more points. Weaker ones cost less points.


    Oh, and I can set up destructible walls that certain monsters can break.


    So, again, tower defense game.


    I grin when I get to the entrance, putting my hands on my hips as I stand there.


    Thisll be fun as hell! I cant help but exim, feeling far happier with thispetition than any of the others Ivepeted in.


    I sit at the roof of my tower with my feet just hanging over the edge of it, swinging back and forth as I just watch the countdown going down after finishing my towers setup.


    Five.


    Four.


    Three


    Two.


    One.


    And I find myself teleported into the sky above some other tower the second it hits zero. Then I surprisingly find that there is no illusion blocking us from seeing the crowd right as the Fae King starts shouting, <strong>And here we have it! The very first tower defense of thepetition! Just as I told you all at the beginning of their tower setup round, the tower defenses will be going through the order of thepetitors starting with the currentst ce and moving up to the first ce from there!</strong>


    Oh. That means Im goingst.


    How boring.


    That aside, I find myself a little surprised but also not at the same time by the sight of the tower beneath me and the otherpetitors I see floating around the sky. Because this tower is very different from my own.


    <strong>Now, some of youpetitors may be wondering about why Argentos tower is different from your own, </strong>King Oberon states as if reading my thoughts. <strong>That would be because every tower ispletely randomized, so no twopetitors will have the same tower! But rest assured! Every tower is very easily defended if you know how!</strong>


    Right. It would be boring for the audience if they had to watch forty-three different versions of the same tower being defended, so


    My thoughtse to a halt when I find my gaze attracted to the monsters currently approaching the tower. Not to mention the System Notification that appears in my vision with the purchase screen for monsters.


    Monsters I quickly realize are just void creatures.


    Interesting.

 Book 5: Chapter 62: The Void Creatures

    Book 5: Chapter 62: The Void Creatures


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My eyes narrow slightly as I look through the much smaller list than we had for monster defenders.


    <strong>Monster Name</strong>


    <strong>Price</strong>


    <strong>Description</strong>


    <strong>Voidling</strong>


    0.1 Points


    The weakest and mostmon void creature in the void. They arepletely unintelligent and chase after the strongest source of life force they can sense nearby.


    Their mostmon method of attacking is through swarming with sheer numbers.


    They are no stronger than a wild animal with the power of a ss 0 being and have appearances that vary from one voidling to another. However, they all have ck scales and tentacles, with no eyes.


    <strong>Void Drone</strong>


    0.3 Points


    The second weakest and second mostmon void creature in the void with the power of a ss I being. They arepletely unintelligent and chase after the strongest source of life force they can sense nearby.


    Their mostmon method of attacking is through swarming with sheer numbers.


    They have the power of a ss I being with the appearance of arge beetle with ck tentacles growing out from beneath their shells and six ck-scaled legs.


    <strong>Void Vanguard</strong>


    1 Point


    The main force of the Voided Overlord, serving at the front of every charge through sheer instinct alone.


    These creatures arepletely unintelligent and always starving, looking to devour life force whenever possible. Therefore they will always rush to the front of any attack in an attempt to find their next meal.


    They have the power of a ss II being with the appearance of arge, flying bug with a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth specially designed to eat as much as possible.


    <strong>Void Broodmother</strong>


    2 Points


    The breeders of the void invasion whose purpose is to constantly produce more voidlings, drones, and vanguard.


    They have very littlebat power themselves and can span over a dozen meters in length, able to spawn hundreds of voidlings every day.


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    While broodmothers have the power of ss IIIs, their bodies are toorge, and all of their void energy goes towards producing more void creatures. Therefore they are unable to fight back when attacked.


    However, they will always be surrounded by tens of thousands of void creatures ranging from voidlings to vanguard.


    Broodmothers have the appearance of a massive insect with three sections to their body, each incredibly thick, covered in ck scales, and connected through rtively thin inparison segments.


    Holy shit I actually remember these things. Hes using actual void creatures for this. Or maybe theyre manifested somehow?


    I remember the creatures described from my time ughtering void creatures not too long ago. Although its missing a couple.


    <strong>Im sure thepetitors have noticed by now, </strong>King Oberons voice echoes out across the stadium of cheering fans. <strong>This tournament was set up by my mother, the previous Queen, Queen Titania of the fae, in preparation for the void invasion. The monsters that will be attacking the towers will not just be regr monsters or ones created by me. They will be manifested void creatures. Ones who act just like the real void creatures outside attacking the universe with a few exceptions to make sure they follow the rules of thepetition.</strong>


    Thought so.


    This is a pretty good idea, to be honest. Although it also implies that Queen Titania knew about the void invasion thousands of years ago.


    I wonder just how strong that queen was. And more importantly, if she was that strong, how did she die?


    Considering that she was a fae, that means she undergoes a different path to power than we humans and demons do. That the mortals of the universe do.


    But Tars never really filled me in on how their method of growing stronger works. Other than the whole eating a small part of the life force we send them through our contract part.


    I nce down at the monsters that are appearing at the entrance of the tower as the Fae King continues speaking, <strong>For those of you who arentpeting, here is a description of each of the types of void creature. </strong>He pauses for a second, making me nce at the audience to find everyone with a System Notification in front of them. So I look back down at the tower again. <strong>As for youpetitors who cant see thest three types of void creatures, Ill go ahead and exin them to you myself while you watch the tower defense down below.</strong>


    That has me ncing at the Fae King again.


    Right. It only described up to ss III equivalent void creatures. There wasnt anything about the ss IV equivalent ones I found while fighting them above that.


    I didnt see any ss V equivalent ones though.


    <strong>The ss IV equivalent void creatures are known to us as void ravagers, and they tend to be the size of a small house, </strong>King Oberon starts off surprising more than a few people. <strong>They often have the forms ofrge blobs of nothing but tentacles, ws, and scales, and try to pull anything living nearby them into their mess of tentacles to absorb them alive. While also shredding them up with the ws within their mass of flesh.</strong>


    That doesnt sound pleasant.


    At all.


    And those are veryrge blobs. Veryrge indeed.


    <strong>Then the ss V equivalent void creatures are known as void heralds, and they have the distinct power to attract other void creatures to them, </strong>King Oberon says, making my eyes narrow slightly. <strong>Just like all of the other void creatures, they have no intelligence. But what they do have is a stronger set of instincts than the other void creatures. They know when to retreat by pure instinct alone for example, and they pull back the invasion forces from a force they dont believe they can take on before merging with another invasion force.</strong>


    That sounds dangerous.


    <strong>The heralds take on different forms for every herald, with the only exception being that they all include ck scales and tentacles, </strong>King Oberon continues, making me briefly wonder why the void creatures are so obsessed with scales and tentacles. <strong>Their sizes can also vary, ranging from the size of a skyscraper to that of a very small moon depending on how much void energy they have.</strong>


    Evenrger than the blobs. Got it.


    <strong>Lastly, </strong>King Oberon states, surprising me for a second before I understand what hes going to talk about next, <strong>the Voided Overlord. A void creature on the level of a ss VI being.</strong>


    The stadium grows silent despite the action going on down below at the base of the tower, which makes me partially realize that the Fae King must be doing this lecture right now on purpose. To give thest cepetitor an advantage over the others due to everyones distraction.


    <strong>The Voided Overlord is asrge as a medium-sized star and looks vaguely simr to a dinosaur from prehistoric Earth, </strong>King Oberon says as a wave of mutters begin going through the audience. <strong>It has arge and powerful body with a long neck, two short arms, and two short legs. Meanwhile tentacles and ck scales cover its entire body. But unlike the other void creatures, this one also has a humanoid form. Even if it still has no real intelligence.</strong>


    A humanoid form without any intelligence?


    Thats bizarre.


    Is it just to get into smaller ces? But then shouldnt it have used that form to pass into the universe by now instead of waiting for the rift to growrge enough?


    <strong>The creature is also the personification of void energy given material form, </strong>the king states, his tone growing dark as an equally dark look crosses his face. <strong>Its very presence once it enters the universe will begin destroying reality around it.</strong>


    Oh.


    Thats not good.

 Book 5: Chapter 63: Offense

    Book 5: Chapter 63: Offense


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>But none of you need to worry about that for now, as the Voided Overlord wont be able to break into the universe for another several years at the least, </strong>King Oberon deres, breaking the tension that had filled the stadium a little bit. <strong>And our resident Warden will be taking care of it when it does arrive, wont she?</strong>


    I cant help but feel quite a few gazes focused on me at that offhanded statement. Not to mention a slightly vindictive look on the Fae Kings face.


    Rude.


    Not my fault thesepetitions werent designed with the Red gue in mind.


    Well, putting that aside for now, I feel I should hopefully be able to reach the cap of ss V within the next several years.


    Probably.


    Depends on if I win thispetition and get the ability to teleport across the universe.


    Anyways, I turn my attention back to the tower down below as I see otherpetitors finally sending void creature at the tower. And its at that point that I realize that we were given a hundred more points to spend on this.


    Unlike with the defense setup phase though, this time it specifically mentions that all points that arent spent will be removed after each tower defense.


    So we dont get to just horde points from not attacking towers.


    I focus on the tower itself. Instead of my tower, this one is a lot narrower with arge portion going outside of the tower and climbing up the sides of it. Meanwhile the interior parts of the tower dont actuallyst for very long before going outside.


    The towers on the other hand dont look anywhere near as well set up as the ones I ced in my own tower. Probably because the demons have never yed video games before. So they dont know as much on how to best ce towers and the like.


    Although Im sure the Demon Lords and other smarter demons would do rather well despite that.


    Also, it looks like the flying demons are limited to only flying through certain portions of the map with little invisible barriers blocking certain areas. So they can skip some traps and portions through flying, but they cant just fly around the entire tower to make it to the top and break the core.


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    The void creatures at this point are still within the tower. But to my surprise, the moment I try to focus on those void creatures, I somehow be able to see <em>through </em>the tower at the creatures inside.


    Interesting.


    The void creatures are on the second floor of the tower right now, with about one more floor above them until the tower reaches the outside portions.


    Considering that the floors of the tower are a lot narrower than my own though, this wont likely take very long for the void creatures to break past the towers defenses and enter the exterior parts. Especially considering that the otherpetitors are finally starting to send void creatures of their own at the tower.


    At least, judging by the muchrger number of void creatures beginning their climb up the tower. Some of which are ss II.


    Also, I cant help but admire those towers and the defenders. Because theyre doing quite well when taking into consideration the fact that theyre attacking ss I and ss II equivalent void creatures.


    From what I can tell, the defenses that cost a half a point are ss 0 equivalent, the ones that cost two points are ss I, and the ones that cost five points are ss II equivalent. With the ones costing ten points as being ss III equivalent in power.


    All a decent chunk expensive than the void creatures were sending at the tower, but at the same time, the defenses are mostly permanent. With the exception of the monsters.


    They will be reused on every creature that passes by.


    Oh, and the makeshift walls too. There were some of those offered along with the traps, but I didnt really use them much.


    Not very many good spots to ce them in my tower unlike this one.


    I watch for a few more seconds before going ahead and spending my points on several ss 0 void creatures, a few ss I void creatures, two ss II void creatures, and a ss III void creature all in a single batch. Then I simply sit by and watch them all move forwards with intrigue.


    The best way from what Ive seen to beat a defense in a tower defense game is for clumped together monsters, or void creatures in this case, with a mixture of strong and weak ones. Generally to have the weak ones take the hits and attention away from the strong ones as they all pass by the stronger towers. Then the strong ones will be set to move on through the tower after having passed by the difficult parts.


    Assuming they dont have their defenses spread out, of course. But this tower has most of its defenses on the interior floors, with only some traps and a singleyer of defense at the end of the towers exterior area.


    And it helps in this case that the ss III broodmothers give birth to a bunch of weaker void creatures to buff up that little wall around them.


    Although I cant help but notice that the babies are far weaker than the purchased ss 0 void creatures. Which proves that they are, in fact, babies.


    Not a hard thing to figure out if you try.


    That babies would be weaker than adults.


    After my little force gets taken down along the way, I go ahead and send another, slightly altered force of void creatures now that Ive gotten a bit more of an understanding of the monsters themselves. And slowly but surely, along with the assistance of all the otherpetitors, the void creatures make it through the tower all the way to the core before shattering it.


    Then arge number shes above the tower stating that a little less than four minutes had gone by before they lost, following which another tower appears with a different surroundings.


    And the process starts all over again.


    This is fun.

 Book 5: Chapter 64: Showing Promise

    Book 5: Chapter 64: Showing Promise


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Onepetitor goes after another, and each one does about the same as the first, give or take. Somest for four minutes, others for six minutes.


    Im pretty sure some of them even pretty much do just the bare minimum in defenses so that they can take with them the extra points from thispetition, apparently deciding theyre going to lose before even trying. Which isnt a bad idea for them.


    After about sixpetitors go, Arias turn arrives, and I find myself smiling when I see her tower.


    Arias tower is a very strange one. Its almost entirely on the outside of the tower with very few parts inside of it. And all across the tower are quite a few traps meant to send the void creatures flying off of the tower and into theva surrounding the tower. Meanwhile the strongest actual damaging traps and towers are at the bottom of the tower in the single interior floor, meant to deal a lot of damage to everything that enters inside.


    A rather good setup with a good tower as well.


    Void creatures enter through the first floor, taking a significant amount of damage from the towers and traps before entering the exterior parts of the tower where they are constantly being pushed off of the tower as they make their way up. Then they join the new void creatures down below that are entering the fray to get attacked by those same powerful defenses within the interior floor. Further eliminatingrge numbers of the creatures before the process repeats.


    And while the numbers do end up building up like that, the exterior tower traps not serving to push down all of the void creatures, the ones that remain end up being stopped by the second round of powerful defenses at the top of the tower. Defenses that are more than just towers and traps this time.


    She has ss III equivalent monsters stationed at the top right at the entrance to the interior, blocking it off in the process. Meanwhile quite a few towers and traps are set up at the entrance as well, meant to fire at the void creatures fighting against the monsters.


    Something that is only really possible thanks to there not being any friendly fire in thispetition. All towers dont deal any damage to your own monsters.


    Honestly, I cant help but feel impressed by her tower. And I dont send void creatures of my own at it, because I want her to seed.


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    Plus I just want to focus on watching the show. Because this is more than a little fun to watch.


    Its obvious she spent some of her own points on this tower, making it as extravagant as possible.


    Since defeating void creatures gives points, shes racking in quite a bit. More so than even getting first ce would give her, and probably quite a bit more than she spent on the tower in the first ce.


    A rather impressive return on investment.


    Time passes as the little loop that is her tower defense continues. The void creatures lose quite a few of their number before passing to the exterior part with the frontrunners injured and the ones behind them fine. Then they gradually get pushed off of the tower as they climb until theyre all back at the bottom, joining with the greater numbers there to get sted by the defenses once more, letting the process repeat itself.


    The strategy of someone well trained in tower defense games.


    I nod my head, proud of getting Aria just as into gaming as I am.


    Which would probably have Tar saying something snarky in response, but hes not here, so too bad for him.


    The process continues repeating as the backlog of void creatures at the start growsrger andrger with all of the void creatures being sent back to the start significantly filling the tower down there. And after it reaches a certain point, it bes too much. So much so that the void creatures  especially the flying ones  finally manage to make it past the traps on the exterior of the tower.


    Then theyre held back by the monsters at the entrance to the top part of the tower, with more and more of the void creatures being sent flying down the tower thanks to the dy.


    I watch the counter above the tower climb higher and higher, past all of the otherpetitors who have gone before now and all the way to the fifteen minute mark.


    Only for the otherpetitors to begin sending more and more void creatures to attack her tower, apparently deciding that shes a real threat enough that some are spending their own points.


    Ah, the power of video games.


    Its wonderful.


    I hear a certain Fae King pointing out the fact that Im not sending any void creatures  something I didnt realize he knew  but I simply ignore him.


    Hmm, I wonder why I ever felt any sort of fear or mystery from that fae?


    The immature Fae King aside, it takes a few minutes before the void creatures finally manage to push their way through thest of Arias defenses and make it to the roof of her tower, destroying her core. Which in the end leaves hersting for about eighteen minutes and thirty-four seconds.


    Over three times as long as anyone who had gone before her.


    <strong>It looks like Competitor Aria Knight has shown her true potential with thispetition, </strong>King Oberon deres, sounding interested and impressed. And the roars of approvaling from the audience appears to agree with him. <strong>Not in directbat, but in strategy.</strong>


    I cant help but smirk, feeling happy for Arias sess. Meanwhile the girl in question reappears with all of us and smiles at me with a wave.


    Then everyone returns their focus to the next tower that appears. One that actually belongs to Anthony.


    The void creature-human hybrid guy.


    And his tower isnt much worse than Arias. Now, its not on her level, but its interesting enough and much better than the demons until now.


    It also takes defense in an entirely different direction from hers.

 Book 5: Chapter 65: Void Hybrid

    Book 5: Chapter 65: Void Hybrid


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Unlike with when I first met the man, Anthony currently has a few flickers of ck scales on his right cheek, the back of his neck, and on his shoulders and knees. Meanwhile a couple of his strands of hair have the appearance of ck tentacles instead. But only if you look very closely. So close that youre practically almost seeing the DNA level.


    Something most people cant see with their naked eye.


    Thepetitors here arent most people though.


    Other than those changes, his eyes are also inverted. The white that used to make up the outer parts of his eyes is now ck, and the pupils in the center of his eyes are now white. With his irises having turned a radiant and rather eerie purple.


    Personally, I dont pay much attention to other people. Never have, likely never will. Except a few important people, of course. Like Aria, Amelia, Leonidas, Gramps, Belle, Arthur, Mom, Dad, and the members of my old team. But Im pretty sure I did hear word of rumors going around about Anthony.


    And they arent nice rumors.


    In fact, hes actually in a simr but also different situation that I was a while back. Where I was outed as a hybrid of a human and the people or creatures humanity was fighting.


    Because while it isntpletely public knowledge yet, a lot of people know that Anthony is part void creature. And more and more people are beginning to know about it as the rumors spread.


    Honestly, I wouldnt be surprised if Anthony and his Association were doing it on purpose. Spreading the rumor slowly instead of telling everyone all at once.


    Just to spread out the blow of the PR impact.


    The main issue and difference between me and him though is that I had already put in quite a few contributions to Earth before being outed as a part demon. I also have a mother who is one of the Knights of Humanity and who tried taking most of the me onto herself.


    Anthony on the other hand doesnt have any of that. And his contributions to Earth arent all that well known.


    Hes mostly known as a Guardian who did well in the Interschool Tournaments, and has contributed to Earth by defeating a lot of demons. But thats really it.


    Nothing particrly special.


    And from what I understand, his parents themselves were the ones who conducted the experiment on him. Although I dont know any more than that.


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    Im not even sure if he was forced into it or not. He may have been, or he may have gone along with it.


    So when someone is outed as being part void creature when were currently facing a cmity of void creatures invading and devouring the universe? A lot of people dont take it well.


    Especially when not much is really known about void creatures.


    I think some people are actually rallying for locking him up, simply because they worry the Voided Overlord might be able to control him.


    Although I get the feeling King Oberons lecture about the void creatures earlier might reassure some of them. Particrly the part about void creatures not having any intelligence, including the Voided Overlord.


    After all, Anthony certainly has intelligence.


    None of the demons seem to care about any of this though, considering the cheeringing from the demons in the audience. But I guess demons are just inherently different from humans in terms of society.


    They are raised in a demon-eat-demon world, and their Princess is part human. So ignoring a part void creature probably isnt a problem for them.


    The humans did go a lot quieter though. But the demons outnumber the humans in the audience by a significant portion, so its not too noticeable unless youre trying to spot it.


    I turn my attention away from the audience back to Anthony again while frowning.


    Maybe should I pay more attention to other people? Ive never particrly cared much about them. If I pass by someone in trouble and it doesnt inconvenience me, Ill help them. But if I cant help them, then its not really my problem to worry about. Or if it inconveniences me.


    Its just how Ive always been.


    But would it really inconvenience me to see if I can help him at all?


    I purse my lips at the thought before shrugging, deciding that I could try talking to him after this whole tournament is over. Just to see if I can help.


    If he pushes my help away though, then I can at least say I tried.


    He seems jovial enough, so I doubt hes taking this too badly anyways.


    Putting his hybrid nature aside, his defense strategy is quite good. The tower itself is built a bit more like my own, but without any exterior parts. Instead, theres the first five floors, each with no center to the floor and a singlerge room with the gaping hole at the center and random holes on the pathway around the center.


    Anthony put in a lot of slowing and binging traps that are meant to keep the void creatures in the center while towers and monsters of all kinds bombard the ones in the pit with their attacks. Meanwhile the upper floors are all about pushing the monsters back down into the center pit, with walls set up to force them into going right next to the pit for the traps to knock them into. Back into the pit.


    And just like Aria, at the very end of the tower, he has another array of defenses set up. Albeit not as strong as Arias, with more of his defenses set up at the pit.


    Overall, a really good strategy. But in the end it doesnt do as well as Arias way of going about the tower defense strictly due to the flying void creatures. Since his traps and defenses are focused mostly on the ground bound ones.


    Especially the slowing and binding traps.


    So unlike Arias eighteen minutes and thirty-four seconds, he made a clean sixteen minutes.


    Which is still a lot better than the demons who went before the two, so nothing toin about.


    I wouldnt be surprised if he got a lot of points in return as well.


    Also, something Ive noticed up till now.


    Neither Aria or Anthony upgraded their defenses much with their points. Only upgrading the monsters at the end of the tower, along with some of the traps. And otherwise not upgrading any of the other defenses.


    Makes me wonder why.

 Book 5: Chapter 66: Towers Galore

    Book 5: Chapter 66: Towers Galore


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The otherpetitors go by just as quickly as the first ones did, with the humanpetitors doing better on average than the demon ones. Which isnt really saying all that much since the demonpetitors outnumber the humans by a significant number. Not to mention that only around half of the remaining humans did better than the demons, likely having yed tower defense games themselves.


    Eventually it reaches the top rankers, beginning with the lowest ranked Knight, Purple.


    And she does terrifyingly well. She does better than Anthony, and I cant help but reevaluate her because of it.


    Is she a gamer and I never knew about it? Or did she just cheat with her divination?


    Either way, she still loses out to Aria by about twenty seconds, even if she dethroned Anthony for second ce.


    Then after Purple is ck, who does just a little worse than Anthony. Still far better than the other demons and humans, but not good enough for the top three.


    Next up is Red. And Red Ill just move on.


    After Red is Blue, who does okay. Not top three though. A bit worse than Anthony.


    Didnt realize he was such a good tactician. Since I would be shocked if he actually yed video games.


    When I entered his tower before he didnt even have electricity, much less video games.


    After Blue is Vorgrim. Who does even worse than Red, which is saying something.


    Two peas in a pod.


    Although if either of them ever heard me saying that Im pretty sure theyd try to pick a fight.


    Next up is Xyvandra, who does better than Red, Vorgrim, and ck, but worse than Blue.


    Then Amelia goes. And I would be disappointed if she does badly, considering how many games Ive yed with her by now. Even if most of those games were me dragging her around since she insisted on ying with me.


    She did eventually get more into them herself though. Which was nice.


    Always good to have a gaming buddy after all.


    What she would think about me calling her a buddy, Im not sure.


    Once she arrives in her tower, I do feel mildly impressed with what shes made of it. The tower itself is actually very simr to my own in structure, although she ced traps in a different way than I did.


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    She seems to be going the monster spawner route. More expensive traps that repeatedly spawn monsters to be used in the defense of the tower, with a maximum number of monsters avable. Meanwhile there are defenses and traps set up around those monsters to target any void creatures that get locked inbat with said monsters. And the monster spawner and defenses duo setup is at pretty much every entryway and exit within the building.


    Lastly, the exterior parts of the tower have the same pushing traps that my tower has, along with a single teleportation trap at the very end right after thest set of monster spawners.


    One that probably sends the void creatures back to the start or something.


    No one really used the teleportation traps much. Probably because they are expensive.


    King Oberon says something about him being surprised that Amelia has both brain and power, but I ignore him to watch the tower. And Im pretty sure most of the otherpetitors are doing the same.


    Unlike with Aria though, I do participate in trying to take down Amelias tower. Because weve already yed tower defense games like this together before. Ones where youre ying against another yer and need to defend and attack the towers.


    Also, while I consider Aria my family, my feelings towards Amelia and Leonidas arent that far yet. Id say I consider them good friends at this point. Not really parents.


    Gramps is different though. Gramps is Gramps.


    I nce up to find said Gramps ring down at the current tower, proving that he still dislikes Amelia just as much as before, curse or no curse. But when he notices me, he smiles and waves, so I just give him a nod and turn back to the tower again.


    Come to think of it, if hes been here this entire time, what happened to the moving the thing he was doing before? Did he just give up? Or did he move it far enough away?


    Maybe he just trusts me to deal with the void creatures now?


    Not really sure. I should probably ask himter.


    Also, I think after the tenthpetition would be a good time to finally deal with thatst issue on Tartarus. Or issues, I guess.


    I still need to wipe out the cursespletely. Since, while I cleared the Sins curse from the demons alive on Tartarus right now, newborns are apparently still being born with the curse. Newborns I need to clear of the curse.


    So to fully erase the curse, I need to use Bane of Corruption on a ritual scale.


    Then theres the technology curse as well. Which I never actually figured out how to remove, since I dont have anything directly linked to the curse like the demons were.


    Maybe if I search into the itself? Or something belonging to the Emperor who cast the curse?


    Actually, maybe Gramps himself?


    Guess I could just ask Gramps about it. He would know more about it than I could likely figure out on my own.


    And it would certainly make things simpler, thats for sure.


    My attention returns to Amelias tower when some of the other demons begin sending a bunch of ss III equivalent breeders at her tower while surrounded by other weaker void creatures.


    Hmm. One other issue with thispetition that leaves the higher rankingpetitors at a disadvantage.


    The demons, who know nothing about this sort of game, learn from the previouspetitors how to attack the towers. Which makes things harder.


    Part of Arias sess is also because she went so early one. Before the demons could figure anything out.


    I continue watching Amelias tower while also sending my own void creatures at it all the way till the tower finally falls, leaving her beating Anthony and taking his ce at third, but still losing to Purple. Something that still surprises me.


    And next up after Amelia is Leonidas.


    Time to see how that old man will do.


    I cant help but grin from the anticipation.


    Thisll be interesting.

 Book 5: Chapter 67: The Warden’s Defense

    Book 5: Chapter 67: The Warden¡¯s Defense


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Almost immediately upon his tower appearing, I find myself rather shocked. Because Leonidas actually did almost the exact same thing with his tower as Belle did with hers.


    Except that his tower is even better suited for this sort of strategy than hers was.


    Belle ended up being ced at about seventh overall, but that wasrgely because of her little obsession. Since I know shes very obsessed with only defending a certain way. Kind of like how Aria defended, actually. With arge focus on sending the void creatures or whatever shes defending against in a tower defense game flying. Winning via pushing them around into traps and the like, or off of environmental hazards.


    But her setup, which was fully focused on that, wasnt very good for her tower, which didnt have that many environmental hazards to begin with. Which Im sure she was rather upset by.


    Leonidass does. And Im honestly shocked that he would go with a strategy like this.


    I was kinda expecting a brute force method. Not a slow but sure method like this one.


    Leonidass tower honestly seems to have been made strictly <em>for </em>this strategy, actually. So maybe thats why he went with it. Its almost like the tower was shouting at him to go about it this way.


    Itspletely filled with hazards likeva, poison pools, and ces to drop void creatures from.


    In fact, Im a little jealous of it.


    That said, regardless of his good strategy and tower, he still doesnt manage to beat out Arias time. Although he almost beats Purples time. And he does beat his wifes time.


    Which ends up leaving the top three at Aria cing first, Purple cing second, and Leonidas in third.


    And if Im being honest with myself, I doubt I can beat Arias time.


    I might be able to beat Purples though.


    So without wasting any time, I immediately begin flying around my tower once my turn starts. Meanwhile the otherpetitors dont waste any time starting their assaults, going all out from the start.


    Which may not necessarily be a bad thing for me, considering the setup of my tower.


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    I watch as the void creatures begin making their way through the traps in the surrounding rooms before they reach the center room with a good chunk of damage done to them. Then they all getunched into theva at the center of the first floors central room. Lava that is set up to deal a lot more damage to the void creatures than it probably should, just for the sake of thepetition no doubt.


    For this room I have monsters stationed at the exit of the room with quite a few traps of all kinds and towers with the express purpose of pushing the void creatures into theva. Traps to slow or bind them so that another trap can push them into theva, other traps that just massively push them in, and some traps that even shoot out harpoons thattch onto them and begin pulling them into theva from the other side of the room.


    Meanwhile, as my points begin going up, I spend some of them on upgrading the monster spawners at the end of the room, following which I upgrade some of my traps on the floor above this one. In the central room of the floor.


    Specifically the ones meant to send the void creatures flying back down to the first floor.


    That said, I also make sure to upgrade some of the defenses against flying void creatures, even though the ones the otherpetitors are sending havent arrived just yet.


    And as I do all of this, I make sure to keep an eye on the void creatures passing through the first floor.


    I repeat this process for a little while until the void creatures finally start inching past the monsters spawned by the spawners and enter the next floor. At which point they are met with the upgraded defenses and fall back down to the first floor, many of them dying by theva.


    So far so good.


    Then troublees in the form of dozens of breeders entering my tower at the same time, creating an army of spawn from them. And its not just breeders either, but also a bunch of flying void creatures alongside them.


    I grimace at the sight of the spawn just rushing the defenses on the first floor and wasting them when they wouldve been far better used against the breeders. But I dont let it get to me, because it takes too long for them to pass through, giving the defenses time to reset for those that are meant to push them into theva. And once they do reset, at least a third of the breeders are sent into the molten depths of theva.


    The rest make it to the second floor while the spawn distract my monsters though.


    But they also get pushed back down on the second floor, making me let out a breath of relief.


    Unfortunately for me, thepetitors dont give in that easily and begin sending more void creatures at me. Proving that theyre rather set on knocking me out of the running in thispetition.


    Which is rather rude, but Id probably do the same in their shoes.


    That said, its also giving me quite the number of points racked up. Points that I then spend on upgrading the second floor defenses again before moving on and upgrading some of the top floor traps.


    I also realize that upgrading the towers now isnt a great idea, with the exception of a few towers. Because their upgrades dont help much at all. Just deal a little bit more damage.


    But the main issue here is that most of the towers are already killing in a single blow, with thepetitors all focusing on rushing the towers instead of using powerful void creatures to attack.


    The set of void creatures avable to send is just built for a rush strategy after all.


    I grit my teeth slightly as I focus all I have into managing my defenses.

 Book 5: Chapter 68: A Demon King’s Pondering

    Book 5: Chapter 68: A Demon King¡¯s Pondering


    <strong>Somewhere on a several dozen light years away from Tartarus</strong>


    Screams echo throughout the world as the many nations try as hard as they can to fight back against the void forces invading their world. But no matter how hard they fight, they continue to lose more and more people against the void creatures. And they dont manage to gain any visible ground on them as the swarm keeps growing, blotting out their entire sun from sight.


    And right when all hope seems to be lost, everyst void creature near the suddenly stops moving with a thinyer of blood coating each one of them. Then they all pop, sending a ck liquid with their insides all filling the bubbles of blood that remain. Only for even those bubbles to move out into space where they are then sent straight into the sun.


    Everyone on the grows incredibly confused, but not a single person amongst the many demi-human races calling the home, not even a single nation can manage to figure out what had just happened.


    Meanwhile the cause of the void creatures death can be seen appearing on another not too far away from the first, where Arkaz simply kills all of the void creatures there with a wave of his hand.


    <em>This really is a more efficient method than moving Tartarus away.</em>


    Ever since the Fae Tournament began, Arkaz has been going from to, ughtering all of the void creatures that are heading in the direction of Tartarus and Earth.


    Since the only void creature he has to fear is the Voided Overlord, Arkaz truly has no reason to just run away from the void invasion.


    All he has to do is dy their approach until his granddaughter is strong enough to defeat the Voided Overlord herself. And until that day, he can continue ughtering the void creatures that begin approaching theirs.


    He is still the contracted partner of King Oberon after all, and so long as his partner allows him to, he can teleport anywhere he wants. So long as he knows where it is.


    Unfortunately he never knew where exactly Earth was before, nor would King Oberon allow him to simply use the ability meant for protecting the universe to ughter a. But now that hes using the ability to protect instead, his long-time partner isnt even restricting it anymore.


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    And of course, as hes teleporting from one to another, ughtering the void creatures invading them, he keeps a livestream open to watch his granddaughters beautiful performance in the tournament. Because none of the otherpetitors matter. Except maybe his son.


    <em>She seems to be doing well.</em>


    Arkaz cant help but smile as he ughters the void creatures.


    Unfortunately, his granddaughter seems to have the same mental disposition of not showing her emotions or even understanding them very well that he and his son have. So he rarely ever gets to see her looking <em>and </em>acting genuinely happy.


    Which is why hes always been extremely curious about this video game thing she goes on and on about sometimes. One of the few things that makes her show off her emotions freely.


    He still remembers the one time that she ended up talking about video games while they were having dinner at the pce. How her wide smile and quite literally glowing eyes shocked every demon in the room including himself.


    And how he recorded it just for memories sake. Not that hed tell her about that.


    <em>Shed probably tear it apart. So thatll be my secret.</em>


    He pauses for a second as he remembers some of the demon servants in the castle doing the same thing without her noticing.


    <em>Our secret.</em>


    He continues ughtering void creatures.


    From what both Scarlet and his contracted partner tell him, this currentpetition that she ispeting in is extremely simr to a video game on Earth. Except that in video games, they generally y it on some sort ofputer screen which Arkaz has only seen through the portals.


    <em>Maybe shell spend more time with me if I y these video games with her when she removes the technology lock curse? I could ask her to bring some over to Tartarus for us to y</em>


    The Demon King ponders over this very serious topic as he continues ughtering billions, even trillions of void creatures while saving more lives than hes killed in his own lifetime despite not really paying any attention to those hes saving. Or how a rare few of them that managed to catch sight of him floating above their world begin to worship a wolf god made out of blood only shortly after he leaves to go to the next.


    Just from what he sees in the livestream, he thinks he could possibly find these video games entertaining to at least try. But hes always been curious about the technology on Earth, so this wouldnt be a first.


    If the Demon King is being honest with himself, he really wants his to get that technology. Its been something hes wanted for a very long time. Being able to see the levels of technology possible through peering through the Fractures and Gates but not being able to actually use any of it.


    Even his own son has been able to try out their technology a little before. During his brief time on Earth.


    Arkazs own personal feelings for his granddaughter aside, he also feels incredibly grateful towards her for saving him and his people from his curse, and soon to be saving his world from the technology curse. He hasnt been able to think as clearly as his is now ever since getting that Curse of Pride those thousands of years ago.


    And thest time he was this happy was when he and his wife had Leonidas.


    Arkaz begins humming with a smile on his face as he continues killing more void creatures while not taking his eyes off of the livestream.

 Book 5: Chapter 69: Time for a Nap

    Book 5: Chapter 69: Time for a Nap


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The rest of my tower defense goes along the lines of what I expected. Ist all the way till I reach third ce, beating out Leonidas in the process, at which point thepetitors appear to grow so anxious that they start spending massive amounts of points just to bombard me with more void creatures. So many void creatures that they have to have been spending their own personal points as well.


    Guess they just really didnt want me getting first. Or even second.


    So the seventhpetition ends with Aria in first ce, Purple in second, and me in third.


    And I cant help but notice the smug look on the Fae Kings face after were all teleported back to our towers.


    Well someones rather immature for a king.


    <strong>Ill pretend I didnt hear that, </strong>Tarments, having returned again now that were done with thatpetition.


    Good. You do that.


    Anyways, did you have fun watching?


    <strong>That I did, </strong>Tar answers, sounding slightly amused.


    Our conversation is interrupted when the Fae King goes through his usual grand announcement of thepetition winners. And this time I actually pay attention other than automatically waving at the audience. Simply because Aria won thepetition this time.


    After he finishes the announcement, he moves on to the next matter at hand.


    Thestpetition of the day.


    <strong>Now, for the climax of the day! </strong>King Oberon deres while pping his wings and flying straight up towards the center of the stadium right as the description of the nextpetition appears. <strong>We will be starting the Knockout Round!</strong>


    <strong><em>Knockout Round</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All of thepetitors will be ced within onerge arena and given five imaginary marks on their body for each of the ten rounds of thepetition. These marks will act as targets for eachpetitor, and everypetitor will be urged to shatter the marks of others. Every round willst for five minutes, and everyone who has not erased the mark of another within every minute of the five minutes will obtain a random corruption on their person at the end of each minute.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Anything goes. Those who have all five of their marks erased will be eliminated from the round, forcing them to wait until the next round to participate further.</em>


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    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> Survive until the end of the Competition without getting all of your marks erased.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> Allpetitors will rue points for every round of thepetition theyst through. Bonus points will also be awarded for every mark apetitor manages to save by the end of thepetition.</em>


    <strong>Thispetition will involve ten different rounds, each of whichsting for five minutes, </strong>King Oberon deres with a grin on his draconic face. <strong>Everypetitor will receive five runic marks on their body every single round that they must defend from otherpetitors. And by the end of thepetition, eachpetitor will receive five points for every mark they still have on their person!</strong>


    I narrow my eyes slightly while crossing my arms.


    Hmm. Sounds interesting. And that bit about obtaining a random corruption


    A grin stretches across my face at that.


    Thisll be fun.


    <strong>Of course, just to make sure everyone fights each other, every minute that you spend without shattering someones mark rues you a new corruption, </strong>the king continues, sounding just as excited as always. <strong>And some of these corruptions, </strong>he begins before ncing at me with a smirk on his face, <strong>can kill in a single instant.</strong>


    Hey, Tar?


    <strong>Hmm? </strong>Tar hums in response whilending on my shoulder, making me adjust my clothing there to make my Red gue clothing move around him.


    Do you think he may be forgetting about my immunity to corruption?


    Tar doesnt say anything for a few seconds before the smug look on the Fae Kings face suddenly crumbles.


    Did you just tell him.


    <strong>No idea what youre talking about, </strong>Tar casually responds without looking at me.


    Uh huh.


    He flies off of my shoulder, letting my jacket and shirt reform over the part of my shoulder he was sitting on immediately, making it so that my shoulder doesnt get exposed.


    I look back up at the Fae King who looks like hes trying not to sulk right now.


    Hmm. Okay, yeah, Im d I was able to see his reaction.


    If he found out when I was already in thepetition then I wouldnt be able to see it.


    <strong>Right! </strong>Tar says immediately, sounding rather amused and joyful about this.


    So you admit you told him.


    He goes silent again.


    I lightly chuckle at that as King Oberon continues talking about thepetition, <strong>Unlike the previouspetitions, there is no winning thispetition. Only points awarded for having marks, with the corruption serving as a motivator forpetitors to break others marks. Just in case some of them decided toze around and do nothing during thispetition.</strong>


    Why do I feel like thatst part was directed at me?


    Actually, why does it feel like the Fae King is purposefully targeting me with his bullying? This is just unfair.


    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar begins, only to sigh and mutter, <strong>Never mind.</strong>


    What?


    <strong>Its nothing, </strong>he says from the void.


    I frown for a second before shrugging. Then I look around the stadium again, only to find Allen with the little sphynx cat that I left him with before.


    Such a cute cat.


    Then I find myself teleported into some sort of dark forest.


    And after searching for a few seconds around me for life sources, I let out a sigh and begin floating up into the air while creating a little lounge chair made out of Red gue beneath me. All with a massive bubble spanning a couple dozen meters in diameter filled with Red gue as I just rx.


    No one should be able to bother me in a bubble thisrge. Not even Amelia or Leonidas.


    Now then. Time for a nap.

 Book 5: Chapter 70: Good Riddance

    Book 5: Chapter 70: Good Riddance


    <strong>Allens Office on Earth</strong>


    Allen lets out a sigh as he looks at the livestream screen floating in front of him, where he finds Scarlet just floating in a bubble of Red gue high above the arena. And when any of thepetitors try to break past the bubble, they end up failing miserably, their attacks being devoured near instantly the moment they enter the bubble of Red gue. Then any of the Red gue that their attacks managed to erase is reced without pause.


    <em>Why must she do the most ridiculous thing she can think of whenever shes given the chance</em>


    He shakes his head at the thought, deciding that she can do whatever she wants since hes not the one cleaning up the messes afterwards anymore. And hes pretty sure no one is able to kill her now anyways.


    Shes be stronger than her own birth parents after all.


    The only one Allen can see defeating her is the Demon King. And Allen really cant see that doting grandfather ever raising a finger to his granddaughter.


    Although every time Allen sees said doting grandfather, her feels a chill down his spine. Hes still not sure why though. The man never so much as looks at him, and Allens sure hes not afraid of him.


    <em>Odd</em>


    Allen lets out another sigh, only to nce at the entrance to his office when the changeling servant working for the Silver Association walks in carrying some more documents for him to look over. And the changeling is still in its demon appearance, not having taken on any new forms since Scarlet brought the changeling and dropped it off at Allens office, only to most likely forget it ever existed.


    <em>Certainly something shed do.</em>


    After dropping the papers off at Allens desk, the changeling bows once and leaves the room to go do other chores around the base.


    It initially took the Association members some getting used to, but they all eventually grew used to the changeling. Although Allen is pretty sure Scarlet still doesnt even remember its existence, much less know that its working at their base.


    She doesnt exactly visit often after all. And when he does see her, its mostly when he visits her, or when she goes to their house. Not the Association base.


    Hes not really upset about this though. He knows shes an adult and very busy, and shes not the only one. Allens just as busy after all.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Although he does wish that she would remember some of the things she dumps on him from time to time.


    With that thought, he nces down at the sphynx lying around in the corner of his room. A demon his adopted daughter had turned into a pet and given to Allen to take care of.


    <em>Come to think of it, she has a house of her own now, so cant she take care of little Rue?</em>


    Allen considers that thought for a few seconds before deciding to go ask Aria at some point what she thinks. Since Aria lives with Scarlet, if Aria wants to look after the level one thousand demon cat then hell ask Scarlet to take it.


    He nods his head at that thought, making the sphynx nce at him and tilt its head.


    The cat demon still hasnt shown any real intelligence beyond just a simple cat despite being on the edge of ss IV to ss V, which Allen finds ridiculous.


    Just the fact that a little pet cat is strong enough to kill him makes Allen feel rather ufortable.


    At least for the changeling, Allen is stronger than the thing by arge margin.


    Allen nces back at the livestream again when he sees one of the humanspeting in thepetition suddenly flying up to the orb of blood. But everyone else at this point is already ignoring Scarlet, acting as if what shes doing is just perfectly normal now. Which seems to be making the Fae King sulk.


    This one human though  a man who Allen actually recognizes as a Rogue, not a Guardian  tries to force his way through the Red gue orb. And Allen can quickly tell that this man doesnt intend to stop with just hurting Scarlet.


    The look in his eyes is the look of someone trying to kill.


    Allen tilts his head slightly before shrugging, deciding that it doesnt really matter.


    From what he remembers, this Rogue is a level 1712 Rogue, and is the highest level Rogue on Earth.


    <em>Hes probably unhappy about the war ending. And he wouldnt be the only one, considering what Ive heard about the Rogues since the end of the war.</em>


    But unlike this one, the others dont have any chance at even getting close to Scarlet. Meanwhile if they dont try attacking her during this tournament, the Rogue likely knows hell never be able to do anything.


    <em>And yet</em>


    Allen cant help but feel awkward just watching the guy attempting to force his way through the orb of Red gue. And then that awkwardness turns a little serious when the Rogue finally goes all in and actually makes it about half of the way through the Red gue.


    Only for him to run out of mana and end up swallowed entirely by the Red gue that instantly causes glowing red cracks to cover his body before everything shatters, leaving him to turn into nothing but red ash. Then even that red ash is absorbed into the Red gue surrounding Scarlet as the orb of Red gue returns to its previous calm.


    As if nothing had happened.


    Silence fills the stadium for a few seconds before King Oberon deres, <strong>Well, now we only have fortypetitors.</strong>


    Allen raises a brow.


    <em>I understand that the Rogues contracted partner wasnt hurt through that, but really? Thats all he had to say?</em>


    The Fae King just moves ontomentating on the otherpetitors.


    <em>It really is all he has to say. Wow.</em>


    Allen continues watching for a few more seconds before shrugging himself and reaching for the paperwork that the changeling had brought in while muttering, Good riddance, I guess.


    <em>He was a Rogue after all.</em>

 Book 5: Chapter 71: A Broken Curse and the Weight of the Years

    Book 5: Chapter 71: A Broken Curse and the Weight of the Years


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I frown as I cross through the Gate to Tartarus, still feeling rather annoyed by the fact that no one bothered to wake me up after thepetition ended.


    <strong>Well, you literally slept through the eighthpetition of the tournament </strong>Tar points out, but that doesnt make me feel any better.


    Someone couldve at least woken me up. Instead I ended up sleeping another two hours in the middle of that damned arena after thepetition had already ended. So now Ive wasted an entire two hours of my free time for the evening.


    Tar lets out a sigh, apparently deciding not to say anything else.


    Its not my fault the Fae King was sulking over my method of winning the Competition. And its also not my fault that your grandmother never considered someone who was immune to corruption of all kinds when she was making this tournament.


    The tanuki just sighs again, so I let out a huff as I begin flying through the air towards the Demon Kings Castle. And the moment I arrive, I join the hundreds of dukes and duchesses there alongside the Demon Lords and Gramps himself at the center of a massive ritualistic circle.


    Are you ready? Gramps asks me, and I immediately nod my head.


    Yes, I answer. I am.


    He nods back and focuses on the ritual circle as he says, Activate the skill with your intent in mind and the ritual circle will do the rest for you.


    Understood, I state while walking to the center of the circle, surrounded by hundreds of demons above level 1700, along with the Demon Lords and the Demon King. And aftering to a halt directly at the center, I spread both of my arms out and close my eyes.


    Then I activate Bane of Corruption while thinking about the Sins curse on the demons.


    Almost immediately, I feel a massive drain appear on my person, followed immediately after by the feeling of Greed, of Wrath, of Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and Lust all attacking me at once. As if the curse was fighting back against me. And just as quickly, a flood of absolute power from the hundreds of demons around me, enough mana to fill an entire damned all at once, pushes back at the Sins, clearing my head immediately before any damage can be done.


    The power doesnt stop there though, instead pushing against the Sins more and more until they leave my body, and I can trace the Sins to their source.


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    And I very quickly realize what the source is.


    The bright red moon hanging high over Tartarus almost all the time.


    All of the power from me and the demons immediately charges straight after the power of the Sins into the moon, making out explosions ring out from high above me. But I cant see anything since my eyes are closed and Im too focused on the ritual. So I cant tell whats going on other than the explosions of power I senseing from high above me.


    Time passes as the power of the curse fights with the power of hundreds of incredibly powerful demons until, eventually, all of the power of the curse finally gives in and fades away. Like the snapping of a string.


    And the very moment it does, I feel breath rushing into me as I realize I had forgotten to breath, making me drop down to my knees while panting in exhaustion. Meanwhile silence fills the air around me.


    Once I feel strong enough to lift my head, I find the other demons having all copsed unconscious, with the exception of the Demon Lords and Gramps.


    But even those five look exhausted, with the Demon Lords all on their knees just like me.


    The only one who looks fine is Gramps, and I can still see some sweat formed on his face as he grins at the sky.


    Even he found this taxing, if nothing else just how much mana did that take?


    At this rate we wont be able to break the other curse today.


    Then again, Im not really in a rush to permanently rid Tartarus of the technology curse, so I guess thats okay.


    They can wait another day or two after all. It wont kill them.


    Also, whats Gramps looking at?


    <strong>Look for yourself </strong>Tar says, making me nce up at the sky before blinking in surprise.


    Huh I mutter when I quickly find what hes looking at.


    The moon.


    Its no longer blood red.


    The moon is now just a regr color again. Just like the moon on Earth.


    Wait, wait, wait, the blood moon had nothing to do with the Fractures after all?! Thats what everyones assumed. That the moon was blood red because of the Fractures.


    But if thats not the case


    I stare up at the beautiful moon hanging high in the sky for several minutes, not even looking down after I feel Gramps putting his hands on my shoulder as he too looks up at the sky.


    Thank you, Scarlet, he says as he stands there behind me with his hands on my shoulders. Then I feel him resting his chin on my head with some drops hitting my face, making me nce up to find Gramps <em>crying.</em> Thank you so much


    After a second, I smile at him and then reach for one of his hands with my own as I continue looking up at the no-longer-red moon.


    Its sweet how much he cares about his people.


    His past actions still arent something that should be forgiven, but he did them for his people. And its been thousands of years since he did them, not counting the further bad actions he did against Earth.


    I think hes been punished plenty already just from having to live mostly alone for thousands of years like this. Constantly tortured by the Sin of Pride, by his own actions, and by the past.


    While others may certainly disagree with this, thats how they feel. And theyre free to feel that way. Even free to hate him and try to punish him for it if they want.


    But I think Ill just enjoy this moment.


    I lean my head into his chest as I look up at the moon with him. And at some point, I think Leonidas joins us. Although Im not quite sure since I didnt pay attention to who joined in on the hug.


    A calm and peaceful silence fills the area as everyone takes in the sight of the moon.


    Of a Tartarus not stained with the crimson light akin to blood.


    And of their home without the curse.

 Book 5: Chapter 72: The Tenth Competition

    Book 5: Chapter 72: The Tenth Competition


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    To my pleasant surprise, and apparently King Oberons displeasure, the ninthpetition is a very simple one, and very simr to apetition that weve already had a little while back.


    Thispetition is to hit a wall as hard as you possibly can. But unlike thest time where we could only use our physical strength, <em>this </em>time we can use only our magical or mental strength. Mental being for those mental attackers amongst us. Meaning that one mental attacker. Seeing as there arent any more than that single one amongst the forty-onepetitors in this tournament.


    <strong>Fortypetitors, </strong>Tar says, making me frown in confusion. <strong>You killed one yesterday.</strong>


    I blink at that before tilting my head, still confused.


    <strong>While you were asleep in the eighthpetition, a Rogue tried to assassinate you, </strong>he says rather nonchntly.


    And you didnt think to wake me up why?


    He just gives me a mental shrug through our bond from his ce in the void as he answers, <strong>He was already dying by then.</strong>


    Oh.


    Well thats awkward.


    He hums in agreement.


    I stare ahead as the otherpetitors all approach the wall and take their turns hitting it with some rather powerful magical attacks. And the one random mental attack.


    The one mental attack being from Xyvandra. Considering how the other mind eaters were all toozy, so apparently the fae royals avoided contracting with them.


    And this time around, Amelia scores above Vorgrim and Xyvandra, and even slightly above Leonidas. Which is a very interesting surprise.


    I knew she was powerful, but I didnt realize her magic was <em>that </em>powerful.


    Then again, her magic is null magic. Enough said.


    Well, anyways, I continue waiting for the others to do their turns before stepping up to the wall as the veryst person. And after stopping about five meters away from the wall, I begin to float up into the air before turning my entire body into Red gue and spreading out. Then I send all of the Red gue making up my body in a constant loop, going faster and faster as I pick up more and more speed.


    All while making sure not to ssh any on the spectatingpetitors and thereby killing them, of course.


    Once I feel Ive built up a sufficient amount of momentum, I begin activating one skill after another to boost my attacking power. And just because the rules dont ban attacking the otherpetitors, I go ahead and activate Power Drain as well just to drain them of some of their life force and mana to put into this attack as well.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Because why not go big?


    Then I release everything all at once, mming into the wall and shattering it to pass through the wall and straight out of the stadium through the sky.


    <strong>And there she goes!!!! </strong>King Oberon deres as ifmentating on one of those old world baseball game sports things. <strong>A homerun straight outta the park!</strong>


    After that I get too far to hear him anymore, only barely managing to stop myself before awkwardly beginning to fly back down towards the stadium. Which, Ill admit, takes longer than I wouldve preferred.


    Actually, now that I think about it, why does the Fae King even know about baseball?


    Tar stays silent.


    Please tell me the King of the Fae hasnt been snooping around on Earths old world sports recordings.


    <strong>The King of the Fae hasnt been snooping around on Earths old world sports recordings, </strong>Tar says, making me sigh with relief. <strong>Fathers been copying them and showing them to all of the fae for entertainment.</strong>


    That almost has me stopping midflight right when Im almost reentering the stadium. But I manage to continue, albeit with a very judgmental look sent towards the Fae King.


    Also, I never actually learned what my points were for that. Other than the fact that I won thepetition.


    The king continues speaking once Im back at my tower with my arms crossed and a scowl on my face. But he doesnt really exin that, making me believe that he already did the usual spiel while I was flying back.


    <strong>And now we are finally moving onto thest of thebatpetitions!!! </strong>King Oberon deres, making the audience go wild with shouts and cheers of excitement. <strong>We have the tournament!</strong>


    As soon as he says that, the rules of the nextpetition appear above us.


    <strong><em>Knockout Round</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All of thepetitors will be randomly paired together for a tournament with four rounds. The first three rounds will each be elimination one versus one rounds, with the fourth and final round being a battle royale between thest five remainingpetitors.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Anything goes. Anti-death use is allowed. Competitors may surrender if they so choose. </em>


    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> Win the tournament.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> Allpetitors will be awarded with twenty-five points for winning the first round, fifty points for winning the second round, one hundred points for winning the third round, and three hundred points for winning the tournament as a whole. These rewards are cumtive.</em>


    <strong>There will be no morebat focusedpetitions after this one! </strong>King Oberon deres, his wings spread out to his sides. <strong>It is the <em>peak </em>of thebatpetitions and will grant the most points out of all of thepetitions so far, just like every other tenthpetition within the Ascension Tournament! Now are you ready!?</strong>


    The roaring of the crowd immediately hikes up a notch.


    <strong>Aaaaarrrrreee yoooooouuuuuu reeeeeaaaaadyyyyy!!!! </strong>King Oberon repeats himself, and the crowd immediately goes absolutely berserk.


    Wow. Someones certainly getting into this.


    <strong>Yep, </strong>Tar mutters, sounding slightly embarrassed for his father.


    But the crowd doesnt seem to feel that way, so


    <strong>Then let us begin! </strong>the king continues while waving his wings once more, recing the rules with what looks like arge tournament bracket but with silhouettes instead of peoples faces in each of the brackets. <strong>How about we make each matchup aplete surprise until the actual battle?</strong>


    The crowd continues to roar their excitement. Excitement that only seems to be building with this little cliffhanger he left them on about who is fighting who.


    <strong>Now, to start things off.. </strong>the Fae King says as the very first bracket on the top left corner of the screen moves to fill the entire screen, pushing the rest away. <strong>Its time to reveal our first two fighters!</strong>

 Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release and Announcement

    Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release and Announcement


    And hello everyone! Wolf of the Blood Moon book 1 is now out on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!


    The book has been fully edited and proofread to fix any typos and the like, and the tables are finally in the format that I had originally designed them to be instead of the quick fix thing I posted to Royal Road in terms of tables! (All the tables I make for my stories are originally made for Amazon before I make a quick fix one that looks okay on Royal Road.)


    Before I link Wolf of the Blood Moon book 1 though, here''s something to think about!


    I have decided that <em><strong>if </strong></em>Wolf of the Blood Moon book 1 on Amazon reaches over <em><strong>5000</strong></em> total ratings <em><strong>at some point in the future</strong></em> then I will <em><strong>start looking into getting a webtoon produced for Wolf of the Blood Moon!</strong></em>


    The cost for a webtoon is not an issue for me, but I would like to know that the eBook would at least make up for the cost of the webtoon before I begin trying to get one produced even if the webtoon itself doesn''t make up the cost. Furthermore, the biggest issue when trying to get a webtoon, for me at least, isn''t even the cost. It''s finding an artist to do the webtoon. One whose art I like and will be trusted to not just drop the webtoon at some point.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Now, when I say some point in the future, I mean it could be within a year, or it could be within a decade. So long as book 1 alone reaches over 5k total ratings, then I will begin looking into getting a webtoon produced. Doesn''t matter when.


    Of course, that''s not a promise that I''ll get one, but that I''ll try to get one. Keep that in mind.


    Now, click here to find Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 1 on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!


    If you liked Wolf of the Blood Moon on Royal Road then please consider leaving a rating or review saying how you felt about it over the time it''s been on Royal Road! It would help me a lot!

 Book 5: Chapter 73: The Battle of Mini Void and Kraken

    Book 5: Chapter 73: The Battle of Mini Void and Kraken


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    As soon as the Fae King finishes speaking, bright shy lights begin to shine from the screen with the lights in the universe going dark. Which sound weird, but is exactly what happened. Almost like he just straight up turned off the sun or something.


    An act that makes me realize just how much control he has over this universe.


    Certainly a humbling thought on how powerful he is.


    <strong>The Fae King has moderation privileges over the System as a whole, whiches with a lot of bonuses, </strong>Tar says, <strong>one of which is the teleportation ability were trying to get.</strong>


    Interesting.


    And only moderation? Not ownership or admin rights?


    <strong>The only one with ownership of the System was its creator, my grandmother, </strong>Tar says, his voice getting quieter as we both watch the nk slots for the two firstbatants flicker with equally bright lights as those around them. <strong>And since she passed away, no one has control over the System, other than some minor moderation privileges that the Fae King has.</strong>


    That doesnt sound very safe for those in the System. To just have the System going on its own, doing what it wants.


    <strong>Grandmother put in plenty of safety measures to make sure it wouldnt go berserk, so it should be fine, </strong>Tar concludes, sounding confident.


    Or rather, as confident as someone saying should can be.


    As if the lights werent enough, some music begins ying across the universe that has me raising a brow.


    Then it all stops at once the moment the two silhouettes turn into pictures of twopetitors.


    My eyes narrow when I find Aria as one of the two. Meanwhile the other is actually Anthony. Which makes me wonder if it is pairing people up based on equal power for a more bnced tournament. Seeing as those are two of the weakestpetitors in the tournament.


    <strong>And we now have our very firstpetitor pairing! </strong>King Oberon deres before his eyes re, and I find myself floating high in the sky over some sort of dueling arena themed with water and what look like sea monsters floating in the middle of some sort of void with a faint purple mist over the water and monsters surrounding the arena. Likely representing the two people fighting, since one uses void and death magic and the other a special type of water and kraken magic. Same as her father. <strong>Lets wee Aria Knight and Anthony Wilson!!!!</strong>


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The crowd immediately begins their apuse and cheers, although most of them seem to be cheering for Aria. If not all of them.


    Which makes perfect sense to me.


    Aria is adorable in every way, is rted to me, and has already made a name for herself in previouspetitions during the tournament. Meanwhile Anthony is mostly just known as the void hybrid. Which isnt something you wanna be known by when being invaded by the void.


    The Fae King lets the apuse continue on for a little longer before he raises one wing and shouts, <strong>Begin!</strong>


    And as soon as he says that, both Aria and Anthony rush at each other.


    I cant help but re at Anthony though. Because while Aria is at the end of ss II, Anthony is at ss III. And hes not at the start either. Hes in the middle of ss III.


    So he better not fucking hurt her.


    Actually,e to think of it, Aria doesnt talk about her skills much, nor does the media try capturing her on camera since shes so young I actually dont know most of her


    My thoughts trail off when I see Aria sending her hair out, turning it into blue and ck tentacles, some of which separate from her head before regrowing, with the separated parts turning into a bunch ofrge squids. Meanwhile a massive amount of water flows out from her skin to cover the arena, giving said squids a perfect battling ground.


    Huh. Kinda forgot she has Blues etched skills.


    On the other side of the field, Anthony actually isnt bothering with breathing in the water. Which is probably some sort of mutation of his, especially considering that Im pretty sure the void doesnt have air to breathe in the first ce.


    Hes also glowing with a pitch ck light, simr to the void creatures. Which means hes starting out with the void magic, not using the death magic yet.


    Unlike with Aria, I do know what hes capable of. Ive fought him before after all, even if thest time we fought was back when we were only ss II. And the skill of his that I remember the most is the one that basically made him temporarily immortal until he eventually growspletely crippled after the usage of the skill. Taking in all of the damage without actually showing any damage on his person until the skill runs out and it all hits him at once.


    From my understanding of the void creatures that Ive fought, along with the ones during that tower defensepetition, void magic is all about devouring. Whereas null magic erases something from existence, void magic devours it, empowering itself. But it takes more mana to devour something than to erase it, and when it is devoured it can also lead to issues with the one devouring it. Like if theyre not strong enough to keep it, it could burst out of them. Like a popped water balloon.


    I watch as the ck light spreads out to form several ck figures around Anthony, some of them humanoid, others not. Some arent even animalistic. Some are just in giant mouths or evenrge masses of mouths.


    Which is just in creepy.


    And without hesitation, both sides send their little forces at each other, making the squids  or I guess Ill just call them krakens  sh with the void things.


    The crowd goes absolutely wild, especially when its shown that Aria isnt actually overwhelmed by Anthony despite their level difference.


    Etched skills really are powerful.


    Both Aria and Anthony look like theyre having fun too, so I guess I wont have to beat Anthony up after all.


    <strong>Lucky him, </strong>Tarments rather dryly.


    I ignore his tone and nod my head.


    Yes, he should feel lucky.


    Tar snorts.


    I ignore him again as I continue watching the battle.


    To be honest, Im rather curious about if Aria has a chance of winning this.


    That would be cool.

 Book 5: Chapter 74: Honor Returned

    Book 5: Chapter 74: Honor Returned


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The two continue shing against each other, using magic alone at first. Then magic and physical attacks, which  to my and everyone elses surprise  Aria doesnt lose at. And after proving that theyre equally matched in term of physical strength, probably because Arias magic has arge focus on physical strength unlike Anthonys, they both back away and begin the next part of their little battle.


    Anthony begins to glow with the light of both void magic <em>and </em>death magic, whereas Aria glows with multiple different shades of blue light. And right after she begins glowing, her body begins to heal any wounds she had received in seconds.


    Im pretty sure I saw it before, but Arias physical capabilities are rather high. Most likely because her and her fathers magic isrgely focused on krakens and transformation, alongside the healing aspects of it. Meanwhile I think I remember hearing that Anthonys capabilities were more like Amelias. With arge focus on magic without as much physical focused capabilities.


    So the sight of them having rtively equal strength isnt too surprising. What is surprising though is their rtively equal magic along with it.


    But that changes when he starts to use his death magic alongside the void magic. The healing she is undergoing quickly begins to fall apart and redo itself over and over again, leaving Aria gritting her teeth in pain as the two continue fighting.


    Now though, the tides have turned. She is on the losing end when the death magic begins to cause necrosis all across her body, only for said necrosis to heal up thanks to her healing or regeneration.


    And the sight of it leaves me clenching my fist so hard my ws pierce into my palms.


    Maybe Ill be having that talk with Anthony after all.


    The blood from my palm drips, but I make sure to catch it and put it back into my hand before it can mess up whatever magic the Fae King is using to keep things together.


    Aria and Anthonys fight continues on for a while until eventually, Aria loses. And I almost lose my patience.


    <strong>Calm down, you know she wouldnt want you stepping in or doing anything, </strong>Tar points out, making me take a deep breath. <strong>Especially since this is a duel.</strong>


    Youre right.


    I must not go kick him in a ce hell feel it next week.


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    <strong>Im pretty sure if you kicked him, hed die, </strong>Tarments with more than a little dark humor. <strong>No, Im serious.</strong>


    Okay, maybe not humor.


    Maybe I can kick him really gently? Like, just nudging him with my toe?


    <strong>No kicking him, </strong>Tar scolds while shaking his head from his spot floating next to me.


    A pity.


    Doesnt stop me from ring at him when he returns.


    Anthony himself seems to shiver, likely from my re, but by the time he looks at me, I turn my attention back to the Fae King, who is currently revealing the next pair of duelists. Which are actually Belle and some random demon. One that is at ss IV, the same as Belle.


    But their duel doesnt reallyst long, considering that Belles a defensive Guardian. Her skills are mostly mental barriers and the like. So her strong suit, while is pretty good at leveling, isnt the greatest at a one on one duel.


    So she is eliminated rather quickly, letting the next pair go up next.


    And then the next after them.


    And the next after them.


    Eventually it ends up being a rather interesting duel, to say the least.


    A duel between a Knight of Humanity, and a Demon Lord.


    One between the Red Knight and Vorgrim.


    An ironic twist if there ever was one.


    This time the duel arena is nothing but some sort of scorched wastnd surrounded by ck mes all around them. Likely because they both have the exact same magic, even if the Demon Lords level is higher along with his capabilities. Both of which give him a clear edge.


    Honestly, this battle isnt even a question of who will win. Its a question of how long it takes Vorgrim to win.


    Noah, the Red Knight of Humanity, couldntst against his son, even if Satan was powered up by the Demon Moon at the time. Theres no way he can take on the mans even stronger father.


    To my surprise, neither of them move once the duel begins. Instead, they both just stand there staring at each other. And Vorgrim is a hell of a lot calmer than Ive ever seen him before.


    Then again, he no longer has his Sin of Wrath driving his anger forward. So it makes sense.


    Gradually, the excitement in the stadium begins to die down as the audience realizes theyre not fighting. And soon enough, all I can hear are whispers and mutters around the stadium.


    Finally, Vorgrim speaks, Noah Walker, Red Knight of Humanity and one of the people who was responsible for my sons demotion. I am here to pay back a debt owed by my n to yours.


    Not too surprising. Hes always been a bit of a-


    I forfeit this duel.


    -hothead what?


    My eyes widen in shock, meanwhile the whispers grow more numerous across the stadium. But to my surprise, a collective roar echoes out, making me look around to find each and every oni within the stadium raising a clenched fist to the air as they let out a roar of support.


    I turn back to Vorgrim as he continues speaking to the equally shocked Noah in front of him, It was because of my son that you were very nearly killed, and even though it was war, the te needs to be wiped clean. He bows his head to Red once and straightens up again. This is the Oni n way.


    Right. I forgot about their obsession with honor. A rather ironic obsession considering their old Wrath.


    <strong>Ive heard their honor came about because of their Wrath, </strong>Tar says as we watch Vorgrim and Red vanish from the arena with the victory going to Red. <strong>It came about from them wishing to restore their ns honor whenever one of their own lost themselves to their Wrath.</strong>


    That makes me think of how apparently Vorgrims father volunteered to help in the subjugation of Vorgrim not too long ago. Before I removed the curse.


    Honor, huh?


    Interesting.

 Book 5: Chapter 75: Mindeater versus a Kraken

    Book 5: Chapter 75: Mindeater versus a Kraken


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The crowd soon returns to normal again after Red is sent back up with us again. Then the next two duelists are revealed.


    And just like thest two, these two get the crowd riled up the moment theyre seen.


    Both the humans and the demons.


    And also just like thest two, these two have a history.


    The Blue Knight of Humanity and Xyvandra both appear in an arena located in some sort of underground cavern filled with both water and bugs, with some sort of massive squid that looks like a kraken from video games asionally swimming around the arena. However, the arena itself, unlike the rest of the cavern, ispletely dry. Other than the asional dripping water.


    The Lady of Devouring and the Blue Knight of humanity. Two people with a history of when Blue identally woke her up and had his emotions eaten in response.


    Overkill? Probably.


    But she was under the Sloth Sin at the time. So I wouldnt be surprised if that was the Sins doing.


    In fact, she may even apologize like Vorgrim did. Who knows?


    Just like with Red and Vorgrim, the two just kinda stare at each other for a while. I think. Its hard to tell where Xyvandra is looking, considering that she has a biologicalyer of natural armor over her face most of the time. And you cant really see her eyes.


    Blue eventually bows his head and says, I apologize for my rudeness the first time we met. I hope you can forgive me.


    Then they both go silent as the audience goes wild with his apology. Although some seem to be rather upset that another duel might end up being nothing but a surrender instead.


    Now, will Xyvandra apologize back to him? She did go overboard with what she did after-


    Xyvandras head armor retracts to reveal her bug-likepound eyes as she looks at him. And after a second of silence, cracking sounds begin to echo from her body and she begins to transform.


    Nevermind. She is absolutely not apologizing.


    The Lady of Devouring gradually transforms into a massive bug standing at eight meters in height with four incisors sticking out around the round mouth at the front of the bug, each as sharp as a de. She has six long legs, with a very thick carapace and two wings concealed partially underneath carapace armor on her back.


    Overall, shes a giant and dangerous looking bug.


    Blue seems to be considering forfeiting for a moment, but then I feel a shiver when I hear Xyvandras voiceing from therge bug, but through some sort of telepathy that Im sure connects to everyone in the stadium, <em>Forfeit if you must, but if you truly wish for forgiveness, fight with all you have, little kraken.</em>


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    Alexander looks surprised for a moment, but he quickly makes a decision and begins his own transformation.


    And soon enough, the battle turns into a battle of giants. One being a massive bug, the other a ten-meter-tall kraken with deep blue scales and glowing bluish red eyes.


    <strong><em>Now </em>we have ourselves a real battle, folks! </strong>the Fae King shouts, sounding more than a little excited. <strong>For a second there I thought wed have another forfeit! But I cant tell you how d I am that didnt happen!</strong>


    King Oberon begins to give a sort of y-by-y of the events of the battle, but I just sorta tune him out to focus myself.


    The fact that Xyvandra called him little kraken likely means she doesnt see him as a worthy opponent at all. Which, in hindsight, might very well be true. She is about a hundred levels above him and is a mindeater, so I dont think he has a chance.


    A chance or not, Blue quickly begins spawning a bunch of smaller krakens all around them while filling the arena with water. Meanwhile Xyvandra just kinda sits there without a care in the world about being submerged underwater. And when the krakens get within a few meters of her in an attempt to attack, they just kinda copse with no warning, the lights fading from their eyes as I sense their life energy vanish.


    And right after their life energy vanishes, I notice Xyvandras sheer presence just feeling I dont know, stronger somehow. Its kinda hard to tell what this feeling is.


    <strong>Its because you use mana and she uses mental energy, </strong>Tar exins to me. <strong>Youve sensed this before, but those with mental energy have a sort of presence that you can sense, instead of the mana you can sense emitting from magic users. Its basically the same thing.</strong>


    Oh. Interesting.


    Wait, so shes taking their mental energy? Do we without mental type magic even have that?


    <strong>You do, </strong>Tar answers with a nod from where hes floating next to me. <strong>But what shes devouring isnt their mental energy. </strong>His eyes narrow slightly as Blues do the same. <strong>Shes devouring their mindspletely.</strong>


    My mouth forms an o at that.


    Lady of Devouring.


    The Devourer.


    Got it.


    Yeah, that would make sense.


    But wait, why would that kill the oh. Its because theyre just magical constructs of Blues that they died from it, right?


    <strong>Yeah, </strong>Tar answers with another nod.


    Doesnt that mean


    <strong>Yep, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather dark despite the upbeat word choice. <strong>If Xyvandra wanted to, she couldve easily made Blue nothing more than a walking vegetable when they had their altercation on Tartarus all those years ago. But instead, she just took away his emotions. Emotions she eventually gave back to him, even if it was because you asked.</strong>


    I focus on Xyvandra at that, feeling more than a little surprised by her now.


    Guess she wasntpletely heartless after all.


    Sure its cruel to take away his emotions and then slowly return them to him, but its not as cruel as turning him into a walking vegetable wouldve been. Just devouring his mind entirely.


    I might have to rethink how I look at her now.


    Blue seems to throw everything into his physical strength as he rushes at Xyvandra, only for her to suddenly use some sort of strange skill. One that makes my mind just nk out for a moment, following which an incredibly powerful wave of power flows off of her, surrounding Blue entirely and then devouring him whole. All stuff I can only sense with my senses, unable to look at it directly with my eyes for some reason.


    And when Im finally allowed to look again, I find Blue lying on the ground, his mind having been devoured as well.


    Good thing he had the Anti-death use active.


    Also, maybe I should take back what I just thought about Xyvandra.


    Shes scary.

 Book 5: Chapter 76: Aftermath of the Sins

    Book 5: Chapter 76: Aftermath of the Sins


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Unlike with the previouspetitions of this tournament, everyone chose to have the anti-death use allowed. Except myself, of course. Since its nearly impossible for one of these people to kill me.


    Plus I absolutely have to win this. I need that ability to teleport to any across the universe if Im going to be hunting the void invasion for levels.


    Although Ill probably enable it for the veryst round. Just in case.


    I nce to the side as Blue reappears near us, perfectly fine and just as he was before entering that battle. Then I focus on the arena again.


    And the next duo who appear on the brackets is Leonidas and some random dude. A random dude who doesntst five seconds before the battle ends.


    Boring.


    Next up is Amelia and some other random dude.


    Which ends up being the same as the battle before it.


    Also boring. Also just a few seconds in length.


    Thenes cks duel with Purple.


    That duel isnt even worth talking about since Purple isnt abat specializing contractor at all. So ck wins that one rather easily.


    A few more boring duels ur now that all of the top hitters other than me are taken out, following which I finally find my time to shine. And to my surprise, I end up facing against Satan.


    I forfeit, he says the moment we appear in the arena, making the humans in the crowd boo him. Although the demons dont. They actually seem to approve of his actions for some bizarre reason.


    I grumble to myself about the unfairness of that surrender option when I reappear above the arena, which makes Tarugh.


    After my duel, King Oberon starts talking about the second round of thispetition beginning. And immediately after that, the brackets are shown in their entirety, moving the winners up to the next position on the brackets. Then the previous level of the brackets are knocked off the screen with the screen growingrger to show the second round.


    Unfortunately, Im just paired up against some random person I have no idea who is.


    That said, since I was thest duel in the first round, apparently Im thest duel in the second round as well. Also, Im rather interested by the fact that this bracket didnt immediately follow the bracket lines. It kinda makes the entire setup a little fake looking.


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    I wonder who set up these brackets?


    My eyes move to look at a certain Fae King who looks pleased with himself.


    Putting the Fae Kings obvious maniption of the brackets aside, the first duel of the round actually looks pretty interesting. Its between Red and the leader of the Arachnae n. An arachnae who is actually around the same level as Red.


    This may just be the most even fight so far in this tournament.


    Arachnae are known more for stealth, kind of like ck. Whereas Red is clearly known for his firepower. Literally.


    And while the arachnae  whose name is Octavia Marce Morgana  is still stronger than him just on ount of her being a n Demon, herck of specialization inbat will bnce the ying field out a little bit.


    Honestly, Ive never met the leader of the Arachnae n before. And I also heard that this is a newly selected leader, having just taken over from her father.


    Then again, I never met her father either. The arachnae barely ever visit the Demon Kings castle, much less the Castle of Ruin in the Bloody Duchy. So I never really got a chance.


    I barely even met any arachnae at all, actually.


    Most arachnae love to stay in their underground caverns, unlike the ghouls who also live in the caverns on the Northeastern continent but dont mind leaving them.


    Actually, Ive heard recently that the Northeastern continent has be a much nicer ce to live nowadays thanks to the Sin curse being gone. Now thievery and murder is a hell of a lot lessmon there, and a lot of the cities are starting to crack down on thievery since its no longer being drivenrgely by their Sins.


    Before now, Envy always drove them to stealing, whereas Gluttony drove them to, well, killing and eating other people. A rather gruesome culture in general.


    Gramps only allowed what was going on because apparently, their Curse would just blow up if they tried suppressing it. It would grow worse and worse with every passing day until whatever atrocity theymitted was far worse than what it wouldve been before.


    Envy and Gluttony certainly do have a way of gradually building up more and more as time goes on after all.


    Rather detestable sins, those two.


    Then again, Im just d I dont have to see those terrifying subus giving me those stares anymore


    I shiver a little at the memory.


    And thats not including the kitsune.


    Id just rather not talk about them.


    Tar snorts at my thoughts that have gone entirely off track while the Fae King has been bbering away about stuff I dont care about.


    Eventually though, the second round of the tournament finally begins, and both Red and Octavia are teleported into an arena. One filled with hellfire and poison.


    Not a very pleasant looking ce, to be honest.


    ck mes quickly jump up all around Red as he prepares, a grin on his face. Meanwhile Octavia  whose humanoid form is that of a beautiful woman with long white hair and lovely purplish green eyes wearing a flowing ck cloak  simply steps forwards while different types of corruption leak out of her skin, forming puddles across the ground shes walking on. Corruptions ranging across pretty much every color, but most of which being green, purple, or ck, making a very distorted rainbow on the ground with a focus around those colors. Then the corruption begins to form little spiders that walk around on eight legs surrounding her.


    Spiders of corruption. Interesting.


    Then Octavia herself begins to shift into her true form. That of a massive, ck spider.


    And the crowd goes absolutely wild when both she and her little spiders rush towards Red while he too rushes towards her with his ck mes coating his entire body and his fist raised to strike.


    Finally! A good fight!

 Book 5: Chapter 77: Duels for Days

    Book 5: Chapter 77: Duels for Days


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The battle proceeds at a quick pace with the spiders and the ck mes shing in the middle of the arena, breaking apart to fill the entire arena with various different poisons and ck mes. Which leads to damage from both sides.


    Except that the arachnae has an advantage in that she is immune to corruption, whereas Red is not immune to his own hellfire.


    So he ends up getting burnt by his own hellfire and poisoned while she only gets burnt.


    Either way though, they both grit their teeth to hold in their screams.


    That said, since theyre both being damaged directly via their realities, Im not sure how much longer this battle willst. Reality damage is a touchy thing after all, and we dont know if the Fae King can reverse their reality damage.


    He cant reverse mine after all.


    Either way, both the arachnae and Red continue fighting, trading one blow after another, each holding themselves back from screaming. Although, while Red isnt immune to his own magic, he does have a significant resistance towards it. So its not doing anywhere near as much to him as it is her.


    So I guess his weakness isnt as big as I first thought.


    Time passes and most of the demons in the crowd  which make up most of the crowd in general  cheer for the arachnae, Octavia. Meanwhile the humans all cheer for Red.


    But in the end, the arachnaees out on top, winning by finishing him off with a stab to the heart, filling his heart with some sort of corruption. Proving that even if humans and demons are at peace now, demons are still superior in power just by nature.


    The next duel of the second round is between a couple duke demons. And after that, a couple more duke demons. Then a duke and a duchess.


    More and more demon versus demon duels.


    Until, finally, some more interesting duels ur. The first being Xyvandra versus Leonidas.


    Only for that duel to turn out not so interesting after all when everyone realizes Leonidas is immune to mental attacks.


    Not really something you expect of a blood lycan. Considering that were weak to mental attacks.


    I honestly didnt realize he was immune to them myself. Then again, Ive never seen him face someone with a mental type magic before.


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    <strong>Its most likely Blood Dominions doing, </strong>Tar points out.


    Oh, right. I almost forgot about that skill.


    Well, anyways, the battle basically turned out to just be Xyvandra smiling at him before closing her eyes and letting him tear out her throat.


    Not sure why she didnt just surrender, but whatever.


    Probably a Demon Lord pride thing.


    Thenes cks duel against a demon, to which he actually wins somehow. Mostly through hiding in the shadows and repeatedly dealing sneak attacks against the demon. Something thats only possible because said demon apparently didnt have any sensory powers.


    So it couldnt actually tell where he would attack from.


    It genuinely didnt matter that the demon was stronger than him in that match.


    And Im honestly surprised by how far ck is going in the tournamentpetition. Considering that hes a stealth focused Guardian.


    Not really the type youd assume would make it far in a tournament.


    Then Ameliaes in and wipes the floor with the demon she faces, quite literally erasing them from existence without batting an eye. Which is probably only something she can do because everyones condition is reset between every round. Otherwise she wouldnt have the mana to do that every round.


    Its kind of pitiful to watch a duel start and immediately have one of the twopetitors vanishing in a sh of white light without them being able to react though.


    And a little terrifying.


    Human or not, Amelia is a monster among monsters.


    <strong>Like mother like daughter, </strong>Tar mutters, making me narrow my eyes at him.


    The tanuki looks away as if the sky above us suddenly became incredibly interesting.


    Uh huh.


    The duels continue, but there arent any interesting ones after that. Just my own. Which isnt interesting either since Im up against a random demon noble who I wipe out just by turning into my quadrupedal beast form and tearing them apart.


    I feel a little bad for the demon who I tear apart, but they seemed to have expected that oue. So everythings fine.


    And right after that, the brackets for the third round of the tournamentpetition arrives.


    Only for absolutely everyone to go ballistic the moment they see one of the pairings within it.


    The very first pairing, in fact.


    Both of thepetitors appear in the arena, King Oberon not dying it whatsoever and clearly showing his own excitement. And the arena itself seems to be a boiling bloodke surrounding apletely white and in arena, with white particles in the air above the blood.


    <strong>And here we have it folks! </strong>King Oberon shouts, his excitement practically <em>pouring </em>into his voice as the wild screams of the audience fills the stadium. <strong>One of the battles everyone has been waiting for, both demon and human! Even a certain Demon King!</strong>


    I nce up to find Gramps genuinely looking interested in this battle.


    Although when he sees me looking up he simply waves at me. And, to my surprise, vanishes only to reappear right next to me, startling me and the otherpetitors here.


    He nods his head with a smile and looks down, apparently deciding not to talk.


    So I do the same, focusing my gaze on the two people down in the arena.


    Two people who likely havent fought for years. Who are both symbols of the absolute strongest in their respective worlds, other than Gramps, of course.


    Both practically royalty in a way amongst their species.


    Gramps and I watch silently as Amelia stands with her hands on her hips and a wide grin on her face while staring at her husband across the arena from her.


    Its the battle between the White Knight of Humanity and the Blood Lord of the Demons.


    The Bane of Magic versus the Blood Cmity.


    And I cant help but feel excited for it.

 Book 5: Chapter 78: Knight of Humanity Versus Demon Lord

    Book 5: Chapter 78: Knight of Humanity Versus Demon Lord


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Under everyones eyes, Amelia begins to float up into the air with white light shining all around her. Meanwhile Leonidas does the same on his side of the arena but with red light and blood around him.


    And faster than Im sure a lot of the audience can even see, the two rush straight at each other, with the Demon Lord quickly throwing all sorts of weapons made of blood at her while trying to use multiple skills on her person. But everyst one of the attacks he uses vanishes the moment it gets within a couple meters of her, the woman grinning at theck of surprise on his face.


    Im sure his direct skills arent doing anything either.


    Because I know exactly what that white field around Amelia is.


    Thats her Bane of Magic Title-Bearing Mythic skill.


    A skill that negates all magic within the field.


    Leonidas grins and mutters, Guess were doing this, then?


    His wife just smiles and gives him a little salute as she says, Yep.


    Then he transforms into his beast form and lets out a roar to the audiences absolute excitement. And the duel quickly turns into a game of chase as Amelia flies around the arena, negating any magic used around her while repeatedly sending bolts of null magic out at him that she manifests right outside of the field.


    Im not entirely sure how shes flying in the middle of her field, but I wouldnt be surprised if she had some sort of control over everything in it somehow.


    But this little game continues for quite a while, showcasing the biggest differences between her and a blood lycan.


    Blood lycans specialize in both physical strength and magical power. Meanwhile Amelia only specializes in magic.


    As for their magics a blood lycans best power is their regeneration. Meanwhile Amelia has a massive amount of mana with the ability to negate other peoples magic.


    So the battle quickly bes one of attrition.


    To see if her mana can oust his regeneration or not.


    Unfortunately for them both, they each know each others skills. So there arent any surprises between the two.


    And I also know that, unlike Leonidass Title-Bearing and other Mythic skills, Amelia only has one she can use. Since the Title-Bearing Mythic skill she has attached to her White Knight of Humanity Title cant be used against Leonidas.


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    Amelia just doesnt have the mana to use it.


    The skill erases someone from existence.


    And even if she had the mana, Im pretty sure she wouldnt use Erase on him. In fact, Im absolutely certain she wouldnt.


    The skill erases the persons existence entirely. Which messes with everyones memories as well, acting like they never existed after that point.


    Time magic is a bit of a taboo in terms of changing the past, so it only affects a certain time before now.


    So her erasing him for example wouldnt erase me from existence due to him being my biological father. But it would still screw everything up.


    Not to mention that she loves him. She wouldnt risk the anti-death use not working for her skill.


    But all that aside, she literally couldnt use it even if she wanted to. Its mana cost is dependent on the one shes erasing and how powerful they are inparison to her.


    And Leonidas is still stronger than her at the end of the day in terms of pure brute force power.


    Their duel continues, with both of them shing repeatedly, Amelia striking him with her null magic and Leonidas punching and wing at the attacks. And throughout the entire battle, not a single person can take their eyes off of them.


    More than a few people in the stadium even mention under my powerful hearing that they cant even see the two of them. That theyre nothing but blurs in their vision due to how fast theyre moving.


    But all thingse to an end eventually, and this battle is no different.


    After Amelia reaches somewhere around half of her mana left, she suddenly res her Bane of Magic field straight at Leonidas, startling him before she dissipates it after he enters it, canceling any buffs he had. Then she rushes in and uses some sort of skill that shines so brightly that Im blinded along with pretty much everyone else in the entire stadium.


    Several seconds pass with no noise whatsoever. As if whatever she just didpletely erased all sounds all around us.


    Finally, the light begins to fade, and I open my eyes again to find a shocking sight.


    Amelia standing alone, visibly exhausted in the stadium with no Leonidas in sight. Following which she is teleported to the rest of us at the same time as Leonidas appears.


    And silence fills the entire stadium.


    The silence doesntst long before everyone begins to question what the hell just happened. And to be honest, I cant help but agree with them.


    But instead of questioning it out loud, I just turn to look at Gramps with a brow raised in question.


    He chuckles and answers my unasked question, Amelia appears to have obtained a new mythic skill, and she used it to surprise Leonidas in their duel. But if you want to know what the skill actually does, youll have to fight her yourself.


    I stare at him with more than a little surprise on my face.


    Excuse me, sir, I thought you hated Amelia


    He doesnt say any more. Just returns to the spot he was above the arena before, next to his fae partner right as said partner begins talking about what just happened. Which is to say that he didnt see what happened either.


    Surprising.


    After that duel, the others are rather boring inparison. Including my own.


    Eventually we all finally move on to the final round of the tournament.


    And the fivepetitors in the final round include me, Amelia, ck  surprisingly  and two Noble demons. A duke and a duchess.


    Neither of whom I recognize.


    Kind of ironic that none of the Demon Lords or the other Knights are here but two random Noble demons are. But thats because they were all pitted against each other.


    Anyways, King Oberon begins to exin the final round of the tournamentpetition.

 Book 5: Chapter 79: The Finale Round of the Combat Competitions

    Book 5: Chapter 79: The Finale Round of the Combat Competitions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Just as stated in the rules, the final round will be a battle royale between the five remainingpetitors! And the first, second, and third ce positions will be based on who is left standingst! </strong>King Oberon deres as every otherpetitor is suddenly teleported away from the arena, in the sky near where King Oberon and Gramps are. <strong>The fivepetitors will be ced inside of arge map made for thispetition. The map itself will be filled with monsters all above level one thousand seven hundred, and thepetitors will have to make their way through the monsters to find and defeat each other! Those defeated by the monsters will be eliminated from thepetition.</strong>


    He snaps his fingers, making the five of us appear floating high above arge map. One with multiple different biomes to it.


    At the very center of the map is arge volcano that doesnt appear to be currently active, meanwhile there is nothing but forest all around the volcano, and mountains surrounding those forests. Really tall mountains that act as a sort of barrier separating the arena and whats not part of the arena.


    Everyone quickly begins trying to memorize the map as King Oberon continues, <strong>But dont forget about the hidden little secret in this map! Because there is one! And you really dont want to miss this not-so-little guy.</strong>


    As he says that, I cant help but notice some movementing from the volcanos crater. But I cant see exactly what it is. Just that its hidden very deep down in theva, that its very massive considering the size of the ripples its sending around, and that it isnt likely being hurt by theva.


    Some sort of massive fire-breathing lizard is my guess. Thats what a video game would do for a boss like that.


    Although I am rather curious about what its level is. Especially considering that I see quite a few monsters down there that are already around level two thousand.


    So if theyre that high already, and King Oberon is warning us about the big one what level is it?


    Level 2200? 2300? Maybe even higher?


    Surprisingly, the first thought thates to mind isnt to avoid it at all costs.


    <strong>Scarlet, thats probably not </strong>Tar begins to deny my thoughts, only to seemingly remember how powerful the Red gue is. <strong>Just dont die, please.</strong>


    Meh. Its fine.


    If I die to the beastie then Ill just respawn afterwards. I have anti-death use activated for thispetition after all.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Honestly dont think anyone has it disabled. Not a single person.


    For most of this entire tournament, in fact. With the exception of a few nonbatpetitions and the ones where enabling it wasnt allowed.


    Like the Tower Defense. Wasnt much point in activating it there when we werent even in danger.


    Would just be a waste of points if they did have it enabled in thosepetitions.


    But for anyone whos made it this far in life, to this level? No ones gonna risk their lives fighting in a tournament. Especially not against allies, and not while the void invasion ising.


    Would be stupid.


    Just a waste.


    <strong>Says someone who killed apetitor in your sleep, </strong>Tar points out, but I just cross my arms.


    That wasnt a waste. And he killed himself.


    I had nothing to do with his decision to jump into my barrier.


    Tar snorts at that, but I just focus on the volcano as the Fae King keeps talking, <strong>Just like with the previous duels, surrender is an option, and so is the anti-death use. Everypetitor will be ced on different edges of the map, and this time theyre allowed to see the map beforehand.</strong>


    Now that he mentions it, the map is basically like a five-sided star.


    I focus on studying everything I can about the map while were still up here. And I see the others doing the same.


    But I make sure to continue listening as I do so, since hes still exining things, <strong>Also, one thing to note is that no one is allowed to fly above one hundred meters above the ground. If you do, youll be struck by lightning and sent crashing back down to the ground. So keep that in mind.</strong>


    That doesnt sound like fun.


    Studying the map well be on makes me realize a few things rather quickly. One, its ratherrge. Something I didnt really need to study it to see. Sorge that itd take a normal human being weeks to walk through it. Although thatd just be minutes to fly through it for me at my level. Two. There are a lot of monsters on the map. And I mean a lot. Of. Monsters.


    Tens of thousands, all scattered around the map. Maybe even hundreds of thousands. Enough that if they were let loose on Earth, itd be the apocalypse. Especially considering that theyre all at a minimum level of 1700.


    Which means that its not a good idea to go rushing around at top speed. Especially since I see some areas that look like traps and ambushes made by the monsters.


    Also, the monsters seem to grow stronger the closer you get to the volcano at the center of the map.


    <strong>However, I feel I should mention that there <em>is </em>a nice point reward for finding and ying a certain hidden beast, </strong>King Oberon adds before quickly rushing to say, <strong>Now lets begin!</strong>


    Wait, a reward? How much?


    I dont get an answer to my question as I quickly find myself being teleported straight down into the map on one of the corners.


    Okay, now Ive gotta kill that beast. Not only would it give me who knows how many levels, but itll give a point reward too?


    How could I just ignore it?


    <strong>You realize hes trying to get you to kill it, right? </strong>Tar points out, and I just shrug.


    Yeah, probably.


    He wants me to seed in this and win anyways, doesnt he? He wouldnt have helped send me to fight the void creatures on that other if he didnt.


    So he most likely wants me to take advantage of the monsters in thepetition as well. Even if the way I go about the rest of thepetition seems to upset him a little.


    <strong>A little? </strong>Tarments, but I ignore him as I proceed through the forest.


    Time to hunt.

 Book 5: Chapter 80: The Climb

    Book 5: Chapter 80: The Climb


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I quickly begin making a beeline straight towards the center of the map, having my Red gue spread out and devour everything I sense around me. Whether its wild animals, monsters, or nts, everything is turned to naught but red ash.


    Of course, I make sure to check ahead of the Red gue for otherpetitors. Because Id rather not devour them.


    Especially Amelia.


    And thanks to my ughter of hundreds of powerful monsters, my level gradually begins to increase. To the point that I almost catch up with Leonidass level in the early to mid neen hundreds.


    Which is rather nice.


    As I fly through the trees, leaving arge trail of red ash in my wake, I nce at the monsters Im devouring. Unlike the void creatures of the Tower Defense tournament, these are all random monsters from old world mythology on Earth. A rather odd choice considering that Titania supposedly died before the System reached Earth.


    Makes me wonder if theres a connection there.


    But I find several things like griffons  arge creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle with its talons on its front legs  drakes rge, scaled lizards with wings  wendigos  pale creatures with glowing red eyes that basically eat anything they see  and more. And as I get further into the forest, the monsters levels just continue to rise without any sort of limit to be seen.


    I make sure to keep an ear out for the otherpetitors during my trek though, and from what I can hear, most of the others are rushing at each other instead of towards the center. Which makes some sense, considering that the only benefit theyd get from going to the center is the points.


    That said, one of the others <em>is </em>going to the center and not towards the other three.


    Amelia.


    Ironic.


    I fought Leonidas earlier on in thepetition and now it looks like Ill be fighting Amelia.


    Meanwhile the other three will be duking it out amongst themselves on the outskirts of the map.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The question though, is whether Ill be able to make it to the center and kill the hidden monster before Amelia gets there.


    And the answer is a rather simple one, to be honest.


    Shes slow.


    Much slower than me.


    Wouldnt be surprised if I finish dealing with the beastie before she arrives.


    And at that point Ill be able to just overpower her with brute force since my level should be high enough. Assuming that new mythic skill of her doesnt somehow manage to cripple or kill me that is.


    Because that would be annoying.


    I am rather curious about if itll be able to break past my Red gue armor though.


    Also, Im not sure if Amelia can erase the Red gue if it starts infecting her like Leonidas could. So I might have to be careful not to let it near her.


    Which would make the battle even harder for me.


    Before all of that though, I want to deal with that hidden monster.


    So I continue rushing as fast as I can towards the center of the stadium, spending hours just to get there because of all of the monsters I have to deal with, not to mention having to make sure my Red gue doesnt just run rampant in here. And as I get to the edge of the forests, I find the area covered in nothing but ash. Just ash all the way from the forests edge to the volcano.


    With some volcanic rock and moreva mixed in closer to the volcano itself.


    Meanwhile the monsters here seem to be more fire andva focused creatures. Like draconic creatures andrge ming birds and the like.


    None of them seem to be dragons though. Just small drakes. And I can tell theyre drakes because theyre just skinny little things and dont seem to be able to breathe fire.


    Well, that and the identify calls them drakes.


    I kill them too though. Devouring them all whole with the Red gue that washes in like a wave, covering arge part of the already-ash-covered-wastnd surrounding the volcano. And without missing a beat, I continue on to the volcano, passing by higher and higher level monsters along the way.


    The monsters reach such a high level that theyre in the two thousands.


    So far the strongest one Ive seen has been arge phoenix at level 2041. Stronger than anything on Earth.


    But the monsters seem to stop growing stronger after that. And by the time I reach the top of the volcano, near the crater, Im already level 1971 myself.


    A higher level than any of the Demon Lords and the second highest level person in the System.


    Not that it matters much to me since this is thest real battle in this tournament.


    I still need to reach ss VI if I want a chance at defeating the Voided Overlord after all. So this isnt a high enough level.


    Not yet.


    After reaching the top, I slow down and withdraw all of my Red gue into my body. Then I gracefullynd on the ground and walk over to the edge of the crater, looking down into the boilingva down below. And at therge ripples moving about.


    The ripples continue as they are for several seconds, not showing any signs of change. So I go ahead and spread my Red gue around before pointing down at the crater, making a flood of Red gue pour down into it, mixing with theva. And immediately after doing that, glowing red mist begins to rise into the air that I quickly absorb. Because Red gue in a steam form sounds dangerous to others.


    And after doing this for a few minutes, the ripples suddenly stoppletely.


    So I stop pouring down Red gue.


    A few seconds pass in silence before theva begins to bubble.


    Looks like itsing out.

 Book 5: Chapter 81: The Apex Predator of the Universe

    Book 5: Chapter 81: The Apex Predator of the Universe


    <strong>The Stadium</strong>


    Arkaz watches as bubbles begin to rise from theva, and without taking his eyes off of the volcanos crater, he asks his contracted partner, Just what did you put in there anyways?


    King Oberon stopsmentating for a moment with a nce at his contracted demon before focusing on the volcanos crater himself. And after a few seconds of not saying anything, he answers, <strong>Lets just say your granddaughter will get a kick out of this.</strong>


    The Demon King narrows his eyes at the Fae King, only for the Fae King to add, <strong>She will also need this to ascend. A gift from my mother.</strong>


    That statement has Arkazs eyes widening in shock.


    <em>She what?! Wait, does that mean-</em>


    His thoughts are interrupted when theva begins bubbling more and more, leading the spectating crowd to go absolutely wild. Meanwhile all of the monsters spread across the arena itself appear to grow agitated, following which they quickly move away from the volcano.


    As if theyre all afraid.


    Including the level two thousand two hundred monsters.


    And for something to frighten a monster at that level, theres no way Arkaz would mistake it for anything else.


    A loud roar echoes from the volcano. One that shakes the very reality theyre in.


    <strong>Watch out for this one, </strong>King Oberon says, sounding slightly wary himself. <strong>Mother barely caught it before stuffing it in here herself. Dont want it breaking out of the reality within the arena and attacking the crowd.</strong>


    The Demon King sends his contracted partner a shocked look as he shouts, Are you mad?! Youre making her fight it alone?!


    Oberon shrugs his draconic shoulders, shaking his wings up and down. <strong>Well, yeah. No one else would survive. And itll be let loose by the System after this tournament anyways, with no one to stop it other than her.</strong>


    As if the battle was scripted somehow,rge pirs ofva begin to shoot up out of the ground, soon blocking off the territory of the volcano from the other fourpetitors. Including Amelia, who was nearing the territory herself but now has no way through.


    Even when she tries using her null magic to break her way through, nothing results from it.


    Because the magic creating the barrier of moltenva pirs is far stronger than her.


    Arkaz almost rushes forwards to stop this now, but he quickly realizes that he cant. And hes not the only one, as he sees his son trying to do the same.


    Neither of them can enter the reality without the original owners permission.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    And that owner is not King Oberon.


    Oberon, exin, Arkaz growls out to his contracted fae. Is she really dead?


    King Oberon frowns for a second before answering, <strong>Yes, mother is dead. But she did leave her will in the System until her task isplete. </strong>He focuses on the volcanos crater again that is shaking so badly that Scarlet had to fly up into the air. <strong>Her task to feed a perfect mana core to your granddaughter.</strong>


    Arkazs eyes narrow, rage filling his mind for a split second until he quickly calms down again.


    The only way for a being to reach ss VI is through their catalyst after reaching the cap of the ss, just like every other ss. But something no one else other than Arkaz and his contracted fae know is that there is another catalyst other than ss V Fracture Cores.


    <strong>With the peace between the humans and the demons attained, the Fractures will slowlye to a stop, </strong>King Oberon exins. <strong>This means that there will never be enough cores for a catalyst to reach ss VI. </strong>His eyes never leave the crater as he talks. <strong>Mother knew this, so she went and found a catalyst herself. A creature living on its own in the core of a secluded thousands of light years away.</strong>


    A creature Arkaz knows well as the creature who almost killed him during his first outing into the universe after he reached level 2500. Before he had many of his mythic skills and Titles.


    Back when he was weaker.


    <strong>Oh, dont worry, its not the same one you fought, </strong>King Oberon adds, hearing his contracted partners thoughts. <strong>This one is a hatchling she found before her death and sealed away the moment it reached adulthood.</strong>


    That makes Arkaz calm down a little as he turns back to the arena again.


    None of the viewers have any idea of whats going on, instead just cheering at the incredible sight of theva within the volcano suddenly erupting and spraying over the entire area within theva pirs.


    Their cheering vanishes entirely when they see the monster that is left behind after the eruption.


    The creature is massive, standing at over two dozen meters in height, and it has a long body, with tworge wings and glowing crimson eyes. Its scales are pitch ck and its mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, asionally emitting pitch ck mes through them. Clearly recognizable as hellfire to the viewers.


    <strong>An ultimate species amongst those born within the universe, </strong>King Oberon continues, his voice now echoing once again through the entire stadium. <strong>A creature captured by Queen Titania before her death and sealed away for this verypetition. But one forever locked from reaching ss VI due to some inherent limitations that even the universe itself cant remove.</strong>


    The massive creature opens and closes its mouth while rising to its full height and spreading its two massive, draconic wings.


    <strong>A dragon, </strong>King Oberon finishes with glee in his eyes. Meanwhile the smoke and steam from the eruption finally begins to clear to reveal Scarlet floating in the air without any damage to her.


    Then the massive dragon and young woman simple stare at each other, the twos gazes locked in ce.


    And the moment the audience attempts to identify the beast, screams begin to fill the stadium. Screams of fear.


    Arkaz does the same, making his eyes narrow when he sees the result.


    <strong></strong>


    Scarlet! Two voices scream out at the same time. One from within the arena and one outside of it.


    Both from Scarlets biological parents.


    Meanwhile another pair of voices are drowned out within the crowd from Scarlets adopted parents.


    Lastly, Arkaz just grits his teeth, clearly understanding that no one is able to break into the arena to do anything.


    <strong>Its all up to your granddaughter, </strong>King Oberon says amidst the newly found silence of the stadium. <strong>No one can interfere now.</strong>


    Arkaz understands that perfectly well. No one can break past the reality of the arena other than potentially his granddaughter and the Red gue.


    So the battle between the Apex Predator of the universe and the Apex Predator of Earth is about to begin.

 Book 5: Chapter 82: Dragon and Wolf

    Book 5: Chapter 82: Dragon and Wolf


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Huh. Well then. This is not what I was expecting.


    I stare at the massive fucking dragon thats currently standing in the volcano while staring back at me. And after a few seconds, it begins to p its wings and fly up into the air, following which we float on opposing sides of the crater facing each other.


    Hmm. Yeah, thisll be harder than I thought.


    Tar.


    <strong>Got it, </strong>he says without any hesitation. <strong>Good luck.</strong>


    Then he vanishes. Because even he can be hurt by my Red gue, and if the battle gets bad enough, then it might even spill into the void where he usually watches.


    And now, with Tar gone and a massive wall ofva blocking the otherpetitors from interfering, I finally let a full-blown grin stretch across my face. I even let out augh, probably shocking more than a few of the viewers.


    My blood feels like its boiling right now. Like it wants out.


    Like it wants to eat the fucking dragon in front of me.


    And what self-respecting Warden wouldnt let their ward eat? Its only natural after all.


    So I let the Red gue out, near instantly filling the sky with nothing but Red gue. Just glowing red blood for as far as the eye can see. Which, for the dragon, cant be very far.


    To my surprise, the dragon  who I can see through my blood since its my own blood  suddenly begins to glow with a dark ck light. Then ck mes erupt all across its body, fighting back against the reality devouring gue with its own reality devouring hellmes.


    What shocks me more than the dragons ability to fight back at all though, is the sight of the ck mes actuallypeting with the Red gue without just instantly being devoured.


    A sight that proves just how much stronger this dragons hellfire ispared to Vorgrim or Red.


    The dragon rushes through the sky full of Red gue before raising a w and striking me faster than I can respond, sending me flying through the sky until I crash into the ground. And when I look back at the creature, the only signs of damage on it from its strike is some small ck mist rising from its body, proving its blood to be ck, along with the slow deterioration on its ws that doesntst long. Deterioration from my Red gue blood it cut through.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    Then, just as quickly as the ws deteriorated, they regrow without the dragon even looking at them.


    My grin grows even wider.


    Its about time I found something that could put up a real challenge again, even against my Red gue.


    Im not holding back this time around.


    The Red gue Ive already released suddenly shes once, then twice, and finally a third time. Then it all rushes back towards me and converges into my body. But it doesnt end there as I quickly begin growingrger andrger, using the condensed Red gue in my body to increase my mass to match the dragons. And, of course, I make my clothes grow too. A benefit of them being made of Red gue.


    Something Id realized during my void creature hunt. I can deform and reform my body in any way I want so long as its my body. So long as I dont create new parts and the like.


    But the skill never specified a size that I had to reform myself at.


    Both the dragon and I end up reaching incredible heights in the middle of the ck me and glowing red blood covered wastnds around us, with therge pirs ofva still blocking anyone from getting near.


    Then I go ahead and push things further by transforming into my quadrupedal beast form, leaving me standing at almost two dozen meters in height, with ck fur streaked with crimson, glowing crimson eyes, and razor sharp ws made out of pure metallicized Red gue.


    I raise my head before howling at the sky once and lowering my head again. Meanwhile dozens upon dozens of creatures made out of my Red gue blood albeit diseased even further with a slightly grayish tint to them appear all around me. The creatures more often than not look like malformed wolves, but with no flesh. Just blood. Although some of them are even made out of metallicized Red gue blood.


    And theyre all ranging from the size of a normal wolf to several meters in height as they all howl or growl at the dragon who is currently looking around at me and them.


    Of course, I also feel the massive boost from both Blood Thirst  which I made sure to max out before arriving here through the wonderful help of the monsters on the way  and Apex Predator. And blood soon begins to rain down from the skies above the volcanic region filled with Red gue that kills off the area around us even further.


    The first time Ive used Rain of Blood with Red gue for a while now, since thest time I did it I had to quickly stop. Because it began to try devouring the entire world.


    Which, even if it was an empty world with no one on it, wasnt a very good idea.


    This time around is different. The Rain of Blood version of the Red gue is weaker even if it can devour a, so it shouldnt break the reality around us. And the others are all far away from theva pir by now, with the exception of Amelia who seems to be attempting to break through it. With no luck.


    And,st but certainly not least, I begin to drain the energy, power, life energy, mana, whatever I can that isnt life force out of every being within my range. Whether thatspetitors or monsters.


    I just drain it all while watching the dragon, who, to my surprise, appears to be waiting for me to finish my preparations.


    How kind of it.


    Looks like dragons really are arrogant in real life too. Not just in games.


    Lets y, I growl out loud using that odd non-speaking speaking thing that blood lycans can do while transformed.


    And immediately after saying it, both me and the dragon rush towards each other, one limb raised to sh.

 Book 5: Chapter 83: Clash of the Ages

    Book 5: Chapter 83: sh of the Ages


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The moment our ws meet, a shockwave is sent out all around us, sending theva flying into the air before the sonic boom echoes across the entire arena. Meanwhile I find myself surprised by the fact that the dragon still matches me perfectly in strength. As if the two of us are equally powerful.


    Seriously? Even with all of my boosts? How is it this strong? I should be stronger physically than a level 2500 so long as its not Gramps, who has a boatload of mythical skills unless the dragon is stronger than level 2500 in reality?


    Also, something I didnt consider before, but if this thing does kill me with its hellfire mes that can devour someones reality will I actually end up dead? Didnt really consider that the hidden monster might have a reality attacking magic.


    The dragon and I repeatedly sh back to back, sending multiple shock waves out all around us. And Im certain that the crowd watching us right now must be going wild with excitement.


    But I cant focus on anything but the dragon, because everyst strike from it feels stronger than anything Ive ever faced before.


    We continue shing back and forth over and over again for so long that I begin to lose track of time. And throughout this battle, neither of us take all that much damage. And the damage I do take ends up healing right away thanks to Lycans Regeneration. With the dragon not taking almost any damage at all, its scales proving to be too powerful for even my Red gue to devour beyond mere scratches when I make contact.


    Im sure Id be able to do more damage if the Red gue had more time to devour it, probably be able to devour its scales whole in fact. But thats the problem.


    This damned dragon is faster than me, and its about my equal in terms of strength. So I dont <em>have </em>the time to do that.


    Even with all of my boosts, with me draining its life energy and mana, and even me trying to boil and nullify its blood. But I quickly realize through the fight that the creature seems to be immune to pretty much all skills below epic rarity. And even with epic rarity skills, theyre a lot less effective than theyd normally be.


    Its almost like the thing is resisting anything of System origin.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Honestly, at this point I wouldnt even be surprised if someone told me this thing wasnt in the System at all.


    We continue shing back and forth for a while with the dragon releasing hellmes from multiple parts of its body every time I try to strike at it with missiles made of Red gue. And each and every time, the two very nearly cancel each other out. Proving that hellmes are really one of the only matches for the Red gue. Well, at least, when the owner of the hell mes is sufficiently stronger than me.


    Seeing as the Red gues strength is still tied to me. Or at least, the Red gue Im carryings strength.


    The Red gue approaching isnt.


    After we continue shing over and over again for who knows how much longer, I finally jump back, surprising the dragon as Ind back on the ground, our battle having been taken outside of the crater at some point. Then I do something I havent really tried before. I concentrate a massive portion of Red gue in my mouth, condensing it more and more until its just a brightly glowing orb of Red gue.


    The dragon, as if knowing exactly what Im doing, suddenly begins to do the same thing. It flies forwards andnds with its hind legs while keeping its front ones in the air as a ball of ck mes suddenly begin to build up in its mouth.


    But unlike the dragon who is using its mana to aplish this, I draw in some of the Red gue that has been multiplying all around us during our battle into my attack as well.


    Then we both release our attacks in the form of two pulses shooting straight at each other. Mine a glowing red flow of blood while its a ck jet of mes.


    When the two attacks sh in between us, they send out another shockwave. But this shockwave is filled with both hellfire and Red gue as it shoots out all around us, tearing up the terrain and sendingva sshing into the air.


    We both ignore theva as we push harder and harder, putting more and more Red gue and hellfire into our attacks that ends up spraying all around us from their points of collision.


    The dragon finally sets its front legs down, pushing its head closer towards me and making the pulses push back towards me a little.


    I dont take it sitting down though as I draw in all of the Red gue thats sttered around us and begun devouring the surroundings before pulling it into myself and recycling it into the attack as well, pushing the pulses right back at it.


    Both pulses continue wrestling back and forth, spewing out the extra to the sides and tearing the surroundings to a bloody pulp. Literally, in the case of my Red gue. Before said pulp turns to ash at least.


    Throughout the battle I make sure over and over again to kill a monster on the other side of the arena with some of my Red gue that I scattered there for revival purposes. Just to keep up my stacks of Blood Thirst.


    And as our attacks continue to sh in between us, I begin to lose my patience.


    So, since the wall ofva is still surrounding us, with no one on the other side for hundreds of kilometers, I finally activate two skills Ive been saving.


    Both skills using Red gue for the first time in my entire life.


    Both Bloodborne Apocalypse and Blood of Ruin.


    My eyes narrow as the dragons begin to widen.


    Lets see if you can take this.

 Book 5: Story Art with link to outside Post in case the art breaks

    Book 5: Story Art with link to outside Post in case the art breaks


    If the art in this post breaks, click here to go to the public Patreon post!


    To start off, I realized that I never got art for a young Scarlet. When she was still a child. Before she awakened as a half Blood Lycan.


    So here we go:


    Next up is a new image of Leonidas with an updated art style:


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Then there''s art of King Oberon in his avatar floating over a stadium with a lot of the bleachers clouded by the mist, as if you were apetitor looking at them:


    Andstly, art of the void invasion on a random world:

 Book 5: Chapter 85: The True Apex Predator

    Book 5: Chapter 85: The True Apex Predator


    <strong>All Across Tartarus and Earth</strong>


    Everywhere across boths, everyst human and demon can be seen looking up at the screen hovering hundreds of meters above the ground, stretching for hundreds of meters in the sky. And on that screen, they all see the sight of a young woman seemingly at the age of twenty-one or twenty-two years old rushing across apletely devastatednd of blood, ash, and ck mes at an enormous dragon. Meanwhile the dragon rushes straight at her in return.


    Both the dragon and the woman are covered from head to toe in wounds, with the girl loosing glowing red blood that leaks out of her deep crimson and tattered cloak, and the dragon missing everyst one of its scales and entire chunks of its arms with one wingpletely torn off of its body.


    All of the viewers, whether human or demon, hold their breath as the two immensely powerful beings sh, sending a shockwave out from their contacting ws despite how weakened both of them are. But, to the horror of everyone watching, the sh ends up sending powerful tremors throughout both of their bodies, tearing them apart.


    Blood spews forth from both dragon and girl, spraying everything around them as they repeatedly sh back and forth, ignoring any and all injuries theyre sustaining.


    Soon the woman ends up losing her left arm. Then the dragon loses its own arm.


    The womans shoulder ispletely ripped out by the dragons jaws that manage to lock around it, with the woman returning it by ripping off the dragons remaining arm by the loose strands remaining of it.


    And one attack after another, both dragon and Warden tear each other apart.


    All the way till they both copse on the ground.


    But even then, the two continue their barrage of attacks.


    And after the viewers watch this horrifying show for several more minutes, watching the hellmes burn away at the Wardens reality while the Red gue devours the dragons own, they all show shock at the sight of the dragon finally letting out a roar and sending onest wave of hellmes at the Warden. At the same time as she uses up thest of the Red gue in her body to pierce into its head to destroy its brain.


    But not before the hellmes cover her already broken body, blocking it from the sight of the viewers.


    The dragon copses, its mouth hinged open as if trying to let out a silent roar but being unable to. Then the ck light finally fades from its eyes.


    No one cheers though.


    Because the ck mes finally begin to fade, revealing nothing in their ce but ck ashes.


    The remains of the Warden of the Red gue.


    Silence fills boths and the stadium watching the fight for several seconds until screams begin to rage across boths from the people. All of whom know very well that death by hellmes is not revivable even through the anti-death use.


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    But some people still manage to cling onto hope. Just waiting for the Warden to reappear above the arena like all the other inpetitors with the anti-death use enabled.


    Their hopes are crushed when even after an entire three minutes pass, no one appears.


    Horror fills even the King of the Faes face as the Demon King simply stares at the arena with a nk look on his face. Meanwhile the Prince of the Demons immediately transforms into his beast form and tries to break out of the arena to attack the Fae King, who he believes to be behind all of this.


    And hes not the only one as many of the demons in the audience and even thepetitors, along with some of the Knights of Humanity begin to attempt to rush towards the Fae King.


    However, unbeknownst to anyone, a few tiny drops of blood begin to slowly  ever so slowly  move towards the center of the arena.


    None of thepetitors notice this, neither do the viewers.


    The only one to notice this is the Demon King, who raises a fist and sends his Blood Domain throughout the entire area and takes control of the blood within everyones body to stop them in their tracks. Then he continues to watch the three tiny drops of blood moving towards the center of the battlefield.


    Everyone goes silent, just watching the Demon King. Only for them all to turn their attention to the arena again as people begin to realize something.


    There is only onepetitor left in the arena, the White Knight of Humanity, yet, thepetition hasnt ended yet.


    So everyone tries to search through the arena for another, but only a rare few manage to spot the three tiny droplets of blood beginning to near each other at the center of the arena.


    But what everyone notices is the sight of the dragons corpse beginning to shift and make crunching sounds.


    The viewers all hold their breath before arge red and ck core bursts out of the dragons corpse and begins to move in the direction of the three gathering droplets of blood.


    Many of the viewers in the stadium try to begin speaking, only to find themselves unable to thanks to the Demon King still controlling their bodies. So they just watch in silence.


    The silence stretches on for nearly three entire minutes until it happens.


    All three droplets of blood finally merge. And after merging, they begin to duplicate themselves. First once, then twice.


    Then they repeatedly duplicate until everyone now notices the droplets of glowing red blood.


    After a tense five minutes, the blood duplicates enough to make a small pool of it, following which the pool begins to merge into what appears to be a humanoid body made out of nothing but glowing red blood. And soon after that, the body starts solidifying into an actual human body.


    Tears begin to flow down the face of many of the viewers, both in the stadium and out of it, at the sight of the Warden of the Red gue, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, lying down on her front without a shred of clothes on her body while submerged almost entirely in Red gue. To the point that no one can see the majority of her body beyond her shoulders and up.


    Finally, therge dragons core stops moving right above her as she slowly struggles to raise her head and look at it, her ck and red hair flowing in the blood around her in the process.


    Then the core turns into a crimson light before shooting straight into the woman.


    And with onest quirk of the girls lips, her head drops to the ground, unconscious, and the smoke around the arena clears uppletely, the System recognizing her as having been defeated now that shes unconscious.


    Before anyone can so much as react, the Demon King vanishes from his spot and reappears right next to her before carefully wrapping her in his own cloak made out of his own blood metal, and picking her up. Then he vanishes again, leaving the viewers all stunned.


    The shock doesntst for long though as everyone immediately begins cheering, filling Earth, Tartarus, and the stadium all with a roaring cheer so loud that some people within the stadium swear dayster that they went deaf from it.

 Book 5: Chapter 86: Rage

    Book 5: Chapter 86: Rage


    <strong>The Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    Arkaz feels panic as he rushes through his castle before stopping in the medical ward and cing Scarlet directly on a bed. Then he begins looking over her body himself as all of the healers in the castle rush over there without even needing to be told. Regardless of if they were in the tournament universe or not.


    And the results he finds while searching leave him feeling conflicted. Very conflicted.


    The physical wounds from the battle are all healed thanks to the Systems automated healing postpetition round. But the damage to her reality is still there.


    Which is why she is still out cold right now.


    However, at the same time, the damage <em>is </em>slowly being healed. Something that shouldnt be possible when entire chunks of your reality, your very soul are burn to cinders.


    And while thats good, Arkaz doesnt know if the method that she seems to be naturally healing it is good. Because the source of the healing doesnt appear to be her own body. But rather, the Red gue itself.


    Not to mention the core she absorbed that seems to be nourishing her reality.


    <strong>Shell survive, and stronger than ever as well, </strong>Oberon states, but Arkaz just res at the Fae King the moment he appears in the air. And for the first time since Arkaz can remember, he raises his voice.


    Dont you ever do something like that again, he roars, frightening everyst demon within one hundred kilometers of the castle. Or I <em>will </em>erase our contract.


    What pisses Arkaz off even more is the sight of his contracted fae acting like he had already expected his reaction.


    <strong>Im sorry old friend, but I will do what must be done for the universes survival, </strong>the Fae King says while bowing his head once and vanishing again.


    Arkaz res at where the Fae King vanished from, only to immediately turn all of his attention to his granddaughter when she lets out a light groan, just lightly brushing some of her hair out of her face. He doesnt even notice when both Amelia and his son barge into the room and join them. Nor when the adoptive family members of his granddaughter enter the room as well, all clearly showing terror at the sight of the Demon King himself.


    He ignores all of it.


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    And if hes being honest, the sight of the core in his granddaughters body making her stronger pisses him off even further.


    Because its a sign that Oberon was right in some sick and twisted way.


    Arkaz drops down to his knees and leans over the bed, just holding his granddaughters hand as he has shbacks of thest time she was injured like this.


    Although thest time wasnt as bad, and she didnt have ways to heal herself.


    He can tell that shell most likely be unconscious for a couple of weeks. Meaning shell be missing the first four teamworkpetitions of the tournament.


    And she wont be very happy about that when she wakes up. But with the points she got from that dragon, she wont have to worry about it. Since they more than make up for not participating in fourpetitions.


    Time passes in silence as Arkaz refuses to leave his granddaughter. First one day. Then two. Then a full week, followed by a second week. And hes not the only one who wont leave her side as both Amelia and Leonidas skip the tournamentpetitions as well to stay with their daughters.


    Even the adoptive parents that Arkaz has been annoyed with for a long while now stay, making him irritated by them a little less for the loyalty theyve shown to her.


    From what Arkaz can hear, seeing as the tournament is still being broadcast live high above the castle, Oberon ended up leaving the tournamentsmentary to his sister entirely. Simply because neither the demons nor the humans wanted to hear a word he was saying after what happened with Scarlet.


    Meanwhile Scarlets contracted fae  Tarankar if Arkaz remembers correctly  left after the second missedpetition to go participate on his own in the second two.


    Which Arkaz understands, since he knows Scarlet would be a little upset if he didntpete in any of them.


    A faint smile stretches across Arkazs face as he reaches over to y with some of his granddaughters hair, wondering when thest time hed done something like this was. If hed ever done something like this.


    Normally Scarlet still avoids making physical contact with others as if on instinct. Its just when shes conscious of it that she lets people touch her and isnt very bothered by it.


    Like an instinctive reaction based on past pain.


    Arkaz looks up to find Amelia doing the exact same thing that hes doing on the other side of the bed, surprising him for a second. But after staring at the woman for a few seconds, he lets out a sigh and nces at his son, who is currently staring intently at his daughter from beside Amelia.


    Meanwhile the two adoptive parents are sitting at the end of the bed staring, simply because the space on either side of Scarlet is filled right now.


    Eventually Arkaz lets out another sigh and begins to get up, prepared to give up his spot to them just for a little while. Since they did spend all this time worried about her.


    But as hes getting up, he sees Scarlets eyelid twitch out of the corner of his eye and he stops immediately.


    And judging by the others reaction, hes not the only one who saw it.


    Then she lets out a groan and her entire face twitches this time, making everyone lean forwards, holding their breath.


    And, as if waking up from a long nap, her eyes slowly flutter open and she sits up in the bed, revealing the nightgown Amelia had put her in at some point without the others watching.


    Arkaz feels a tear building up in the corner of his eye as he says, Good morning, sleepyhead.


    She just tilts her head, seemingly confused for a second before muttering, Morning


    Then Universal Notifications begin to ring out to everyone.

 Book 5: Chapter 87: Ruler of Blood

    Book 5: Chapter 87: Ruler of Blood


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I find myself feeling odd when awareness returns to me. Kind of like how it used to feel when youre really groggy after having slept for waaaay too long.


    But Im not really given very long to think about whats going on or push past my grogginess, because soon enough a wave of System Messages appear in my vision.


    <strong>{Level 2500 Dragon defeated and devoured.}</strong>


    <strong>{Three thousand Skill Points are awarded for defeating a legendary creature.}</strong>


    <strong>{Two thousand Skill Points are awarded for reforming your reality after its almostpletely erased.}</strong>


    <strong>{One thousand Skill Points are awarded for more than five mythic skills.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five hundred Skill Points are awarded for dying more than once and reforming.}</strong>


    <strong>{Five hundred Skill Points are awarded for killing a creature of two hundred and fifty or more levels above you without help.}</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    To my surprise, the messages about points continue on and on and on until I eventually end up with over ten thousand Skill Points. Then the level-up messages begin to flow.


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 2214. Ten Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    <strong>{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 2321. Ten Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}</strong>


    And finally, after the level-up messages, the universal and regr notifications start appearing.


    Starting with an achievement-locked mythic skill that Ive been wanting to have for quite a while now.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted all of the necessary achievements in order to unlock a Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Being a descendant of the Demon King.</strong>


    <strong>By having Blood Maniption.</strong>


    <strong>Having used blood magic to kill a being at least two hundred and fifty levels above you.</strong>


    <strong>Being over level one thousand nine hundred.</strong>


    <strong>By having at least three mythic skills. </strong>


    <strong>User may now purchase the Mythic Skill Blood Domain whenever they wish.</strong>


    I blink at that as the people around me talk, but I still feel too groggy to really pay attention to what theyre doing. Then the next one appears.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted all of the necessary achievements in order to unlock a Mythic Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Being a descendant of the Demon King.</strong>


    <strong>Having Blood Life.</strong>


    <strong>Having been killed and restored from less than five singr drops of blood.</strong>


    <strong>Being over level two thousand.</strong>


    <strong>having at least three mythic skills.</strong>


    <strong>Having been killed by a being two hundred and fifty levels or more above you.</strong>


    <strong>User may now purchase the Mythic Skill Blood Immortal whenever they wish.</strong>


    A faint smile stretches across my face as I instinctively open my Skill Store and purchase both of the mythic skills. Then I go ahead and check the next notifications.


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    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted all of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss V while under twenty-five years of age.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being two hundred and fifty levels above you without any assistance.</strong>


    <strong>Have the Apex Predator Skill.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being two hundred and fifty levels above you with or without assistance.</strong>


    <strong>By having in a dragon.</strong>


    <strong>As this is a Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill, you will be given the skill at no charge.</strong>


    So many notifications so sleepy


    <strong>Rejoice, user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, for you have earned the Transcendent Skill known as Dragon yer. And along with it, you have been assigned the Title of Dragon yer!</strong>


    <strong>This skill is a direct upgrade of the skill Apex Predator and will rece the skill. However, the user shall retain the Title Apex Predator.</strong>


    <strong>Dragon yer:</strong>


    <em>It grants the user a 100% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least fifty levels. It grants the user a 75% boost in stats when fighting a creature at a higher level than themselves by at least ten levels. It grants the user a permanent 50% boost in stats no matter who they are fighting.</em>


    <em>These bonuses do not stack together with each other.</em>


    <strong>All hail the Dragon yer.</strong>


    Dragon yer?


    I suddenly feel a rush of power entering my body, making my eyes shoot open as I wake up fully. Most likely the result of my new transcendent skill?


    Whats a transcendent skill?


    Wait, it said it was one of those redacted skills, or, rather, a new one. So I guess the redacted word was transcendent.


    Another notification appears, making my eyes narrow slightly, now fully awake.


    <strong>System Notice</strong>


    <strong>User haspleted all of the necessary achievements in order to obtain a Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill.</strong>


    <strong>The achievements they havepleted include the following:</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss IV while under twenty years old.</strong>


    <strong>Defeat a being one hundred and fifty levels above you without any assistance.</strong>


    <strong>Reach ss IV within a year of having been initiated into the System.</strong>


    <strong>By being the descendant of the Demon King who is the original etcher of the skill Blood Domain or having obtained an inferior version of the skill yourself.</strong>


    <strong>By having both blood magic and null magic or being descendant from a user with them that has etched their skills.</strong>


    <strong>By defeating a ss V being while still not being ss V yourself.</strong>


    <strong>By having the mythic skill Blood Domain.</strong>


    <strong>As this is a Title-Bearing [REDACTED] Skill, you will be given the skill at no charge.</strong>


    Now thats the one I remember seeing before. And I was right about it being an upgrade to Blood Domain.


    <strong>Rejoice, user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, for you have earned the Transcendent Skill known as Ruler of Blood. And along with it, you have been assigned the Title of Ruler of Blood!</strong>


    <strong>This skill is a direct upgrade of the skill Blood Domain and will rece the skill.</strong>


    <strong>Ruler of Blood:</strong>


    <em>It grants the user perfect control over all blood, whether it be the creation, erasure, manifestation, or maniption of it.</em>


    <em>All blood will be under your control.</em>


    <strong>All hail the Ruler of Blood.</strong>


    And immediately after getting that terrifying skill, I feel a sense of awareness of everything around me. And along with it, an understanding of all the blood in everyone. Everyst person nearby.


    I feel like I can create blood at will. Real blood. Not just manifested blood.


    I can also erase the blood or manipte the blood of anyone near me. Although I can also tell that some of their blood is harder to mess with than others.


    Like the Demon King who I now realize is still holding my hand, with Leonidas holding my other hand, Amelia hugging my head, and Allen and Cynthia both with a hand on one of my legs each. All of whom are crying, not even saying anything anymore while theyre doing it.


    A smile stretches across my face at the sight, and I tighten my grip a little on Leonidas and Arkazs hands as the universal notifications finally starting in.


    One after another, all the way till it ends up hitting around a dozen fucking notifications.


    Probably spammed everyone and confused the tournamentpetitors during theirpe..ti..tion


    I stiffen up as I remember thepetition, only for Arkaz  who apparently calmed down at some point during the notification spam  to say, Youve missed four rounds of thepetition, and your fae missed two.


    That calms me down a little.


    Better four than the rest of the tournament.


    It also means that I wasnt unconscious for as long as I expected I would be.


    I feel very conflicted about having missed thepetitions, but eventually I settle down again at the thought that I should hopefully be able to oh, wait, these arentbatpetitions. So my new powers wont matter


    Fuck.


    Well, rest in peace my points


    Congrats on the three thousand points you got for killing the dragon by the way, Leonidas suddenly says, making my head snap towards him as my eyes widen.


    Huh?

 Book 5: Chapter 88: Return

    Book 5: Chapter 88: Return


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Before I can ask anything about what he just said, I hear the Fae Kings sisters voice echoing out from the screen that is in the sky.


    <strong>Well, well, well, it looks like our resident Dragon yer is finally awake!</strong>


    My eyebrow twitches for some reason.


    Huh. I dont like Nyx.


    No idea why, but I just dont like her.


    <strong>After missing out on four Competitions, shes still the top rankingpetitor of the tournament, </strong>Nyx continues, sounding a lot less motivated than her brother when hesmentating. <strong>But will she be able to keep that lead aftering back?</strong>


    Well, at least Im still at the top.


    <strong>Just a little warning for our resident royals, if you dont return to the tournament grounds within half an hour, the nextpetition will begin without you, </strong>Nyx says, making me almost re up at the ceiling.


    Yeah. I really dont like her.


    Wait a second


    I frown as I look at the people around me.


    Allen, Cynthia, Leonidas, Amelia, Gramps, Belle, and Arthur.


    Did they


    <strong>They all stayed with you for the entire time you were out, </strong>I hear Tar say out of nowhere, right as I feel something plop down on my head.


    I dont even have to look up to know that its Tar.


    But what he said


    You all stayed? I ask while looking around at them. While I was out? Even with the tournament


    They all smile at me and nod.


    Both Gramps and Leonidas pat my head, meanwhile Amelia and Cynthia hold my hands. Leaving Allen to answer, We couldnt leave. Not while you were unconscious. His eyes dont leave me as he speaks. None of us would ever leave when youre in that state.


    I feel a pinch in my chest where one of my hearts are. And along with that pinch, I feel tears beginning to flow down my face as I smile.


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    All of them reach forwards to hug me only to bonk their heads. And Arthur and Belle, who are standing at the foot of the bed, begin tough at what just happened.


    In the middle of all of this, I begin tough as well. A full bellyugh as my voice rings out through the room, surprising them all.


    Then I lean backwards, using my hands stretched behind me, my elbows on my pillows, to hold my weight as I tell them all, I love you guys.


    Pure shock stretches across their faces, but Im not done as I look at Allen and tell him, Dad, thank you for taking me in. Then at Cynthia. And you too Mom. And while those two are still shellshocked, I turn to Amelia and Leonidas and say, And while I still dont like what you did in the past, I can at least understand why you did it. And I do appreciate the results that havee from it.


    Both of them start crying, which makes the corner of my lips quirk upwards.


    I turn to Gramps and tell him, Thank you, Gramps, for everything youve done for me since I came to Tartarus. And for stopping the war.


    He continues patting my head as he says with a sad and slightly guilty look on his face Im sorry for everything youve been put through, sweetie I Im sorry for everything. He nces at Amelia, Allen, Cynthia, Belle, and Arthur. Sorry to all of you as well.


    Now Im not sure if the others are more shocked about what I said or what he said. Because now theyre all staring at both of us instead of just me.


    For the war, for the killing, for all of the humans that were killed over the years Gramps continues while looking me directly in the eye, briefly ncing at Amelia and meeting her in the eyes as well before turning back to me again. And again for not keeping Oberon on a short enough leash.


    The others all share nces amongst each other, but right as Amelia is about to respond, Nyxs voice echoes from the screen again.


    <strong>Can you hurry up? I want to start thispetition if you dont mind.</strong>


    My eye twitches again.


    Then I ignore her and float up into the air simply by controlling the blood in my body directly before patting Gramps on the head with a grin on my face.


    Dont worry, Gramps, I tell him, while what youve done cant be forgotten and wont be, youre still Gramps.


    His eyes widen and begin to fill with tears. But I dont give him or the others a chance to say anything as I tell them, Lets go finish things up.


    Tar, take me to the tournament stadium.


    <strong>Roger that! </strong>he exims, sounding amused.


    Then I find Tar and I traveling through the void until we arrive at the entry square of the universe. And immediately after that, Tar vanishes to go to the void as I float myself up into the air and shoot straight up and over the stadium, stopping high in the air once I make it to the center of the stadium.


    All of the people in the stadium begin to cheer my name or one of my Titles. Meanwhile the otherpetitors all look up from their many towers scattered across the stadiums arena.


    I feel a rush of adrenaline and excitement at the sight of the millions, even billions of people scattered across this stadium and the other four stadiums surrounding it. With those other stadiums having a screen showing whats happening in this one at the center of their arenas.


    Hmm, I wonder just how powerful is my Ruler of Blood skill?


    Just how powerful is a transcendent skill


    And Im apparently not the only one to wonder, since people begin chanting it all across the stadium. In fact, even Nyx looks slightly curious as she watches me without a word.


    So I spread my arms out on both sides of myself, and immediatelytch onto that new sensation that I can feel.


    Then I flood the sky with blood, blocking out the light entirely.

 Book 5: Chapter 89: Show of Power and a Quiz

    Book 5: Chapter 89: Show of Power and a Quiz


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I float right up next to therge screen, which is currently showing just me as the entire sky above me is covered by a literal ocean of blood, giving everything a red tint as the sunlight shines through the blood. And its not just the sky I cover in blood. I make a massive cage around the entire stadium just from blood. Not materialized blood, but <em>real </em>blood.


    Within the massive amounts of blood everywhere, I proceed to create creatures out of the blood. Creatures that begin swimming through it, asionally peeking their glowing crimson eyes out of it to look at the crowd down below.


    Then I make arge throne made out of pure blood metal and sit on it with a smirk on my face before directly taking control of the blood of everyst person in the stadium that I can take control of. Which is most of them. All but Gramps basically. And Nyx.


    I am the Ruler of Blood, the Warden, and I am back, I announce, still grinning.


    I hold everyone still for a few seconds before erasing everything I just manifested in an instant and letting go of everyone, making a wave of gasps echo throughout the stadium.


    Then the gasps are reced with roaring cheers as I float downwards towards the tower thats located at the very center of all of the towers. The one meant for the current top rankedpetitor.


    Nyx stays silent for longer than I was expecting, simply giving the others who were watching over me time to arrive. And once they do arrive, she finally says, <strong>Now that the showoff and her family are back, let us begin with showing the rules for the fifteenthpetition of the Fae Ascension Tournament.</strong>


    As if nothing had just happened, she snaps her ws, and the rules appear high above the stadium for all to see.


    <strong><em>System Quiz</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All of thepetitors and their fae will be ced in a booth inside of arge hall, where the tournament host will be asking ten questions about the System.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Anything goes. Anti-death use is allowed. Either the fae orpetitor may answer. However, each one may only answer once per question, giving each team ofpetitors two chances to answer every question.</em>


    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> Answer the most questions correctly and first.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> Allpetitors will be awarded with ten points for each question they answer correctly. Meanwhile the top three teams will be rewarded with one hundred points, seventy-five points, and fifty points apiece. These rewards are cumtive.</em>


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    I stare nkly at the mention of a quiz as Tarnds on my shoulder, apparently having discovered that my new clothes are made out of metallicized Red gue rather than normal Red gue. Albeit softened metallicized Red gue so that it doesnt feel like Im just encased in metal. Which is safe for him to touch without me having to move it from him.


    <strong>This round of the tournament will be a quiz, </strong>Nyx says, making me more than a little irritated. But I guess I shouldve expected this. Considering that its not abatpetition.


    None of the remainingpetitions arebat focused ones.


    Which makes my new powerups a little awkward since I wont be able to use them.


    <strong>I think this round is rather self-exnatory, so lets just begin, </strong>she says, startling me with her abruptness before I find myself appearing in some sort of two-part booth with a buzzer in it.


    <strong>Thats just how my aunt is, </strong>Tar says. <strong>Shes been doing that for every round now. Probably because she doesnt want to be doing this.</strong>


    Very different from her brother.


    And for some reason, the fact that I actually like that about her gets on my nerves even more.


    <strong>Why do you dislike her so much? </strong>Tar asks, sounding rather curious.


    Im honestly not sure. Its just that something about her feels off. Like its fake. Like shes fake in general.


    I didnt feel this way until after I woke up from that shorta, so maybe its just me not feeling at my best right now or something?


    Something just feels wrong about her.


    <strong>Hmm, </strong>Tar hums for a second before saying, <strong>well, lets just focus on the tournament for now.</strong>


    Right. Good n.


    Unlike most of thepetitions of thebat side of things, this one lets us hear the audience. Even though we cant see them.


    Although when Nyx begins to talk, the volume of the audience decreases as if someone was pressing a button on a remote, <strong>Everyone will have five minutes after I ask each question to answer. No one will be able to hear each others answers other than the audience. And the audience will be muted until after you answer during each round. If you dont answer during the round, you dont get your points. Simple as that. Now lets start.</strong>


    I blink at that before frowning.


    Then Nyx nces around at each of us, the sounds of the audience slowly going away until its dead silent in the hall. And with a monotone voice, she asks, <strong>Why did the Fractures initially appear?</strong>


    Wait huh?


    Is that even a System question?


    One of the other booths lights up, making me nce over. But I cant tell what theyre saying as their face bes blurred when I look, and not a single word theyre sayinges to me.


    It sounds like theyre wrong though considering the red light that shines from their booth before it goes dark again.


    Is Nyx also muted during this time?


    Well, whatever.


    Why did the Fractures initially appear was it the hypothesis both the humans and demons came up with?


    Another light shes from a different booth this time, only to go red again soon after before going dark. Meaning another team got it wrong.


    If it were as simple as a public hypothesis that pretty much everyone here should know, then theyd have gotten it right by now.


    And this is a quiz over the System.


    Then does that mean the System was involved in the Fractures somehow despite the evidence pointing otherwise?


    <strong>I dont know </strong>Tar mutters.


    If its true, that would be hmm.


    Is this quiz really just to quiz us?

 Book 5: Chapter 90: Questions leading to more Questions

    Book 5: Chapter 90: Questions leading to more Questions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>By now Im starting to question what the real purpose of this ascension tournament is, </strong>Tar mutters, clearly understanding what Im saying. <strong>First its the void creatures from the Tower Defensepetition. Then the dragon core you absorbed. And now a quiz that seems to be asking questions that arent known to the public. Or anyone, really.</strong>


    Yeah.


    Not sure entirely what you mean by that dragon core though. Not that it matters right now.


    Tell me about the coreter, okay?


    <strong>Sure, </strong>he says.


    But the Fractures maybe its simr to the hypothesis but different? That the System initiated the Fractures in preparation for the void invasion?


    <strong>Maybe? </strong>Tar answers. <strong>Wouldnt the others think of that too though?</strong>


    As if on cue, another team buzzes, and another team gets it wrong.


    Then maybe instead of the System initiating the Fractures in preparation for the void invasion, it initiated it in preparation for the Voided Overlord?


    No, thats not really much different.


    Another team buzzes, and right as Im expecting them to get the usual red glow, they glow green instead and a spotlight shines on them. The team in question actually being Leonidas and his fae ras team.


    My eyes narrow before I decide to just go ahead and try out my answer, buzzing myself before answering, The System initiated the Fractures in preparation for the void invasion.


    And I find the red light immediately shining without Nyx even saying anything. Then our booth goes dark again, with Tars buzzer being the only one still glowing with a very faint light.


    Damn. Wasnt correct.


    <strong>Wait, what if </strong>Tar mutters, sounding like hes figured something out.


    Go ahead if you think youve got it.


    He hesitates for a moment before reaching out with his paw and tapping the buzzer, making the light shine again before he answers out loud, <strong>The System drove the universe into beginning the Fractures to prepare for the invasion.</strong>


    This time a green light shines on us, giving me a very pleasant surprise.


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    Nice job!


    <strong>Thank you, </strong>Tar says while sitting up straight with a little pride on his face. A posture that has me almostughing.


    But I hold myself back as I begin to wait for the rest of the time to go by. A process that actually takes the entire five minutes, since about a fourth of the teams, in the end, dont manage to answer the question correctly. With one team not even using up both of their guesses.


    <strong>Out of forty teams, twenty-nine managed to answer the question correctly, so you will all be given ten points, </strong>Nyx answers in a monotone voice. <strong>And by the end of thepetition, whoever answered correctly first the most across the ten questions will win first ce. So please do try to answer quickly.</strong>


    Hmm.


    The audience is going wild right now, although a lot of it seems to be about what was just discovered. That the System did technically start the Fractures originally.


    <strong>To be clear about thatst question, the System did start off the Fractures, but it wasnt the System actually behind making the Fractures themselves, </strong>Nyx answers a lot of thepetitors unasked questions. <strong>All the System did was initiate a process that wouldve started the moment the void invasion began. But that wouldve been toote, so I had the System give a little push to the universe to start the process early.</strong>


    I frown at her words. Not what she said, but how she said it.


    Just something about it feels odd.


    But I dont get much time to think on it before she goes ahead and asks the next question, <strong>Moving onto the next question. What magic runs the System?</strong>


    I frown.


    Huh?


    Everyones booths go dark again as were all left to answer the question.


    It doesnt take long before someone tries to answer though, following which a red light shines on them and their booth goes dark again. Proving that they got it wrong.


    Hmm. And how exactly are we going to know the answer to this?


    <strong>Well, all fae use spirit magic, </strong>Tar answers. <strong>But the Fae Ruler has the power to use every type of magic. So if I had to guess, the one who got it wrong likely guessed spirit magic.</strong>


    Okay, that sounds like a good hypothesis. But then how are we supposed to guess which magic makes up the System especially due to how powerful the System itself is. Just what singr magic could make something like that


    Wait a second.


    <strong>What is it? </strong>Tar asks, looking up at me from his seat next to me.


    I share a nce with him before staring at the buzzer for several seconds.


    Hey, Tar?


    <strong>Yeah? </strong>he asks.


    Do you remember Amelias father? And, of course, Denise?


    <strong>Yeah- oh, wait, youre referring to their magics, right? </strong>Tar asks, quickly catching onto what Im putting out.


    Yep. My grandfather on Amelias side of the family has that special magic called eclipse magic. Which is both destruction and creation magic. And Denise has her inferno magic, which is both fire and ice.


    So Im betting that the magicposing the System is also like that. Where its more than one in a single magic.


    In which case, we just have to-


    Tar presses the buzzer, surprising me before he answers, <strong>Eclipse magic.</strong>


    And just like that, his buzzer turns green and the spotlight shines over us, marking our answer as correct.


    I awkwardly stare at the buzzer in front of me for a few seconds before ncing at Tar, who once again looks proud of himself.


    Eventually I just start petting his head while focusing on the otherpetitors.


    Guess it makes sense that the System would have creation and destruction magic


    Although, that does make me wonder.


    Just what sort of magic do you think Titania specialized in herself, if she specialized in one? Was it eclipse magic as well?


    Or something else?

 Book 5: Chapter 91: Secrets Unraveled

    Book 5: Chapter 91: Secrets Unraveled


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Neither Tar nor I end up getting any real ideas about what Titanias main magic was before the next questiones around. And then the next. And the next.


    After the first couple questions, the rest feel like they go by a lot faster. And each one is something that is notmon knowledge already.


    A question about how old exactly the System is.


    One about where the idea for the System came from, which turns out to actually be another world that is more advanced than Earth in technology.


    Another question about whats powering the System. One whose answer shocks everyone as its not just the life energy of those killed within the System.


    Its a dragons core and the Farshore itself.


    The faes realm.


    Then theres the question of how void creatures are ssified by the System.


    That theyre actually given a unique identify result to mark them when they arent from a corrupted Fracture. And that they dont give EXP to those who kill them.


    And the seventh question is how long ago Titania first thought to create the System. Which no one manages to answer correctly, since as it turns out, it was so long ago that Gramps wasnt even born by then. The oldest living demon or human.


    ording to Nyx, it was when Titania first learned about what was happening in the void with the void creatures.


    Almost three thousand years ago.


    The eighth question turns out to be about whether or not the void creatures have skills. Which is a simple yes or no question, so pretty much everyone gets that one. Since its just a process of guessing. What with everyone having two tries to answer it.


    With the answer itself being a no.


    And the ninth question is actually one about administrator and moderator rights for the System. One only Leonidas answers correctly. Because the only person on Earth or Tartarus with moderator rights is Oberon, with Gramps having some benefits as well. And no one at all having administrator rights.


    The answer turns out to be the ability to tap into the Systems own power to teleport anywhere in the universe. With limits, that is. Limits that apparently stopped Gramps from just teleporting over to Earth and killing everyone.


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    They also get the ability to turn off System Assistance for anyone around them in terms ofmon through rare skills. Meaning only epic and higher rarity skills actually can be used on Oberon and Gramps so long as Oberon turns System Assistance off.


    Meanwhile a third and fourth ability they get are the ability to personally create one transcendent skill after maxing out a single mythic skill for their contracted partner, and to initiate anyone into the System with or without a fae to contract them with.


    Thatst one not really being an ability that matters much when most of everyone on Tartarus has a fae partner. What with Tartarus being the world thatspletely open to the fae to enter, Fracture or no Fracture.


    I cross my arms with a frown on my face at that question. Because it really was biased with Leonidas being the only one who could possibly know any of that.


    And thats because whenever I asked Gramps about it a while back he just said he wasnt allowed to say. So Leonidas had to spy on his father to figure it out.


    An act that apparently doesnt surprise Gramps, since I see him just kinda sitting in the corner of the hall. And he looks like he expected that.


    Unfair.


    Nyxpletely ignores the disgruntlement of both me and a bunch of otherpetitors as she moves on, saying, <strong>Now we only have one more question left. And this one is the most important question of them all.</strong>


    I blink at that, feeling a little surprised.


    More important than all of the shocks youve given us up till now?


    Wow.


    <strong>Its gotta be big for it to top the others at this point, </strong>Tar remarks, making me nod my head in agreement.


    To my and everyone elses surprise, Nyxs form suddenly begins to blur.


    Wait, what?


    Then another ck dragon just like her appears somewhere else in the hall that looks exactly like Nyx.


    The audience immediately grows silent. And the silence stretches on and on as Nyxs form continues to blur.


    After a few seconds of this absolute and rather eerie silence, Nyxs voice returns, <strong>Thisst question is a rather odd one. But at the same time, it may make a lot of you question whats been going on this entirepetition.</strong>


    My eyes begin to narrow as I try to rise from my seat, only to surprisingly find a powerful force pushing me down and keeping me in ce.


    I scowl at Nyx, who Im really beginning to wonder if is actually Nyx. Especially considering the second Nyx who appeared.


    Nyx goes silent again for several seconds before she begins to float up into the air, her form blurring more and more.


    <strong>Now, on to the question itself, </strong>she continues. Meanwhile her blurred form begins to shrink down from the size of a miniature dragon to a much smaller yet still too blurry to tell what is size. <strong>Its a question about the creator of the System herself.</strong>


    Her form continues to morph and blur and shift until it finally starts solidifying into a surprising form. One that isnt a dragon.


    She ends up in a blurred form of a rtively human sized humanoid with what look like very thin wings from her back. But shes still blurry, so its hard to tell.


    <strong>The question is, </strong>Nyx says before her form suddenly solidifiespletely, no longer blurry as shes revealed as what looks like a fairy. One with long and flowing red and ck hair, red and ck eyes, and two damn-near paper-thin wings fluttering behind her while she wears a pitch ck dress. A dress that flutters in the air just like her hair. <strong>When did the creator of the System die?</strong>


    The silence stretches on as everyone stares at her without making so much as a sound.


    Huh.


    Guess I know now why Ive felt something was off about her ever sinceing back.

 Book 5: Chapter 92: Duty to the Universe

    Book 5: Chapter 92: Duty to the Universe


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Everything goes dark again as thest round of the quiz begins, Titania not even giving us a chance to say anything. We cant even hear the audience anymore as theyve gone muted.


    Well, shit, I mutter, not really sure what else to say right now.


    <strong>You can say that again </strong>Tarments in return.


    So I do.


    Well, shit.


    If Titania never died then what about everything weve-


    My thoughts are interrupted when a buzzer is pressed somewhere else, only for their answer to turn out wrong.


    Which is surprising.


    Shouldnt the answer be a simple, she didnt die or something? Since shes right there?


    More buzzers are pressed as people recover from their shock, but everyst one is wrong.


    Which leads me to believe that the answer isnt that simple.


    <strong>She cant be alive, </strong>Tar answers while shaking his head with a dark look in his eyes. <strong>The First Princess personally saw her die. So unless ra is lying</strong>


    Leonidass fae?


    But fae cant lie, so


    <strong>Thats not entirely true, </strong>Tar says, making my head jerk around to look at him. <strong>The current Sessor and the Fae Ruler are both able to lie. Its a bit of a secret perk of the positions.</strong>


    Oh. Well thats huh.


    Then again, I guess its for the best that a ruler is able to lie. Otherwise the kingdom would fall apart.


    Lies  no matter how much I hate them  are also shields in a way. Used to defend ourselves.


    Mostly just the little white lies though.


    That said, I get the feeling she did die. Since everyone else seems to be guessing incorrectly.


    Theres a good chance she died and was brought back. Or maybe she died but left a clone or something behind.


    And if one of those are the answers do you know when she died?


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    <strong>Yes, </strong>Tar says before pressing the buzzer and answering in some sort of strangenguage that Ive never heard before. Which is confusing.


    Then our buzzer glows green, confirming that Titania did, in fact, die.


    And since thats the case whats in front of us?


    Titania simply smiles at us for a second before looking around at the next buzzer presser.


    Tar, what was up with that strangenguage?


    He awkwardly smiles at me as he answers, <strong>There are still some things censored by the System. The censor will be removed if I be the Fae King, but for now, the date that she died seems to be a censored topic.</strong>


    Huh. Thats counterintuitive considering what the rest of this quiz has been focusing on. The revealing of previously unknown information.


    <strong>Yeah, but theres nothing we can do about it, </strong>Tar says with a shrug while lying down on his raised seat.


    True.


    Anyways, the quiz had ten questions, and the winner is obviously going to be Leonidas. Since he already answered five of the questions first out of the ten. Meanwhile the other five questions were spread out across four people, with me getting two correct first, Xyvandra getting one, Amelia one, and Blue one.


    With this one being one of the two I got first.


    <strong>At least you got second in thispetition, </strong>Tar says, sounding rather glum as he hides his face under his paws. <strong>I only managed to get third and sixth ces while you were gone</strong>


    I chuckle at that and start petting the little guy.


    Its fine. Our lead is still solidified from the dragon.


    Well also get more points from this one to begin bringing our lead higher again. Except when ites to Leonidas that is.


    Tar doesnt say anything. Just sits there enjoying my head pats.


    Eventually thepetitiones to an end, and were all sent back to our towers. And immediately after the noise from the audience is unmuted, I hear an absolute roaring from it. Just pure chaos from everyone in the audience. Regardless of whether theyre fae, demon, or human.


    King Oberon makes his appearance above everyone, which only worsens things since most people still seem to be rather pissed at him. Meanwhile Nyx  the real Nyx this time  just kinda takes her leave again, apparently disinterested in whats going on.


    The chaos continues going on for a little while before Titania finally raises a hand before clenching her fist, making the sound cut off in an instant. But I can still see people moving their lips as if theyre talking. Until they realize they arent saying anything.


    Did she just take away all of the sound in this dimension or something?


    <strong>Ive given you all the knowledge you have been searching for about my System, revealed myself for the first time in millennia, and finished my duty towards the universe, </strong>Titania deres, her voice echoing throughout the entire artificial universe were in. <strong>What you see before you is a mere clone of the person who was Titania. My true body is no longer alive, leaving nothing behind but this body, which has a mere ten percent of the powers I once had.</strong>


    Oh. Okay, that kind of makes some sense as to why she wouldnt show her face for so long.


    I would be shocked if she didnt have a lot of enemies. Not to mention those who would try to use her for her-


    <strong>I have also lost my administrator rights to the System with the death of my real body, </strong>she continues, making the point I was about to think of rather moot. <strong>So there has been no reason until now to show myself.</strong>


    Shes rather blunt and to the point.


    Her gaze locks onto mine.


    <strong>Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, as soon as you win this tournament, you will have everything you need to reach the height that is needed to protect the universe, </strong>she says, a faint smile on her face. <strong>And with this, my duties for the universe are fully fulfilled.</strong>


    And without another word, the former Fae Queen vanishes, teleporting away somewhere.


    Leaving the stadium to erupt into chaos.


    Again.

 Book 5: Chapter 93: Teamwork Competitions

    Book 5: Chapter 93: Teamwork Competitions


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Well, thats certainly one way to end the first half of the ascension tournament.


    After Titania vanishes, King Oberon quickly picks things up and shows the rules of the nextpetition. Which is some sort of test to see how well the fae and partnerpetitor pairs know each other. And its onepetition that almost everyone does pretty closely on in terms of sess. Although some a little bit better than others.


    Surprisingly, me and Tar end up being almost directly in the middle in terms of how well we do. Probably because a lot of these demons are a lot older than us.


    Of course, the audience never grows to the excited fervor it was at before. Both because Oberon is doing the announcing again, and because of what Titania did. Just dropped all of that info and vanished without a trace.


    The seventeenthpetition of the tournament is a maze thats rather simr to the maze I did in the first tenpetitions. What with the finishing puzzles to get to the next room thing. But this one our partner is our fae instead of someone else.


    And there are no monsters this time around. Just a time limit that sends you back to a previous room if you dont finish in time.


    I ignore everything though and break through to the end again just like thest time.


    To Oberons irritation.


    He doesnt say anything this time. But I see his eyebrow twitching, so I know hes upset.


    After the maze is the eighteenthpetition. Which is just a single very difficult puzzle that we have to solve, with whoever finishes first being named the winner. And then second ce, and third after that.


    A puzzle that Aria actually wins, surprisingly enough.


    I end up in third though.


    Because Xyvandra gets second this time.


    Meanwhile the neenthpetition is another quiz. Just that this one focuses on anything fae, human, or demon rted, with an especiallyrge focus on the war between humans and demons.


    And just like thest time, Leonidas wins this one. Except that I dont even ce in the top three this time. Instead second ce goes to Xyvandra, and third is a tie between Amelia and Vorgrim.


    Kind of unfair having those four who are all much older and actually experienced a lot of this history themselves in it.


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    Then we finally move onto the twentiethpetition. Or rather, we stop for the day before doing it. Because we managed to fit every otherpetition after the fourth in a single day.


    Certainly goes to show how much shorter these arepared to thebatpetitions.


    But King Oberon does at least show us the rules for the twentiethpetition before closing things out for the night, not even bothering with the duels this time around. Probably because he just wants to leave by the looks of it.


    Hes been a lot less enthusiastic since returning after Titania left.


    Anyways, I look up at the rules before frowning.


    Huh.


    Interesting.


    <strong><em>Tag-Team Elimination</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Description:</em></strong><em> All of the contractedpetitors will be ced within onerge arena and given three marks. Each of these marks will count as lives for thepetitors. Meanwhile the fae will all be ced each in a puzzle room of their own, where they will be required toplete puzzles until they reach the end of the puzzle room and escape. However, thepetitor teams will be eliminated whenever thepetitor loses all of their marks, and they will be given another mark for each mark puzzlepleted by their contracted fae.</em>


    <strong><em>Rules:</em></strong><em> Anything goes. Those who have all of their marks erased will be eliminated from the round. Allpetitors are required to use the anti-death use within thispetition.</em>


    <strong><em>Goal:</em></strong><em> For the human and demonpetitors, survive until the end of the Competition without getting all of your marks erased. For the faepetitors,plete every puzzle until the end of the Competition or until your contracted partner loses all of their marks.</em>


    <strong><em>Rewards:</em></strong><em> Allpetitors will rue points for every ten minutes of thepetition theyst through. Bonus points will also be awarded for every mark apetitor manages to save by the end of thepetition. Further points will be awarded for every puzzle the fae of the duo manages toplete. And the first fae to escape the puzzle room will be given one three hundred points. Then the second fae to escape will be given two hundred and fifty points, and the third to escape two hundred points. Lastly, every duo that manages to keep at least a single mark until the end will be given one hundred points.</em>


    Very interesting.


    That tournament relies on both the fae and the human or demon to win. The fae to actually win the race, and the human or demon contractor to survive so that their fae <em>can </em>win the race.


    Of course, the contractors can also just go around hunting the other contractors, killing all of them so that they wont be able to win.


    But I honestly cant help but feel excited for thispetition.


    Because its my firstbat orientedpetition  for me at least  that I get topete in after my lovely little powerup.


    A powerup that includes attacks that dont require my Red gue, and are therefore safe to fight others with.


    Without permanently erasing and then eating them, of course.


    <strong>Guess you havent gotten your battle-fix yet in this tournament, </strong>Tarments, making me turn my head to re at him as we both stand on our tower.


    Its not my fault I havent been able to test out my powers yet on someone else. Anyone would want to test out a transcendent skill after getting one.


    <strong>Scarlet </strong>Tar mutters, sounding exasperated for some reason. <strong>Youre in the level 2300s and you have Dragon yer now, which gives you a fifty percent bonus to your stats. Do you think <em>anyone </em>here would survive even being punched by you now?</strong>


    I stare at him without saying a word for a while.


    Oh.

 Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release Book 2

    Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release Book 2


    And hello everyone! Wolf of the Blood Moon book 2 is now out on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!


    The book has been fully edited and proofread to fix any typos and the like, and the tables are finally in the format that I had originally designed them to be instead of the quick fix thing I posted to Royal Road in terms of tables! (All the tables I make for my stories are originally made for Amazon before I make a quick fix one that looks okay on Royal Road.)


    Now, click here to find Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 2 on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!


    If you liked Wolf of the Blood Moon on Royal Road then please consider leaving a rating or review on Amazon saying how you felt about it over the time it''s been on Royal Road! It would help me a lot!


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    Remember that the webtoon promise is still in effect! If I get over 5000 total ratings on book 1 of Wolf of the Blood Moon I will try to get a webtoon for the story! Currently there are 560 total ratings on book 1 after a little over a month. So it looks like it could be possible to reach that goal in the future.


    Once again, the cover image wasmissioned from Kart Studio and the typography and cover design by germancreative.


    Today''s chapter releases at the normal time btw.

 Book 2 Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release

    Book 2 Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release


    And hello everyone! Wolf of the Blood Moon book 2 is now out on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!


    The book has been fully edited and proofread to fix any typos and the like, and the tables are finally in the format that I had originally designed them to be instead of the quick fix thing I posted to Royal Road in terms of tables! (All the tables I make for my stories are originally made for Amazon before I make a quick fix one that looks okay on Royal Road.)


    Now, click here to find Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 2 on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!


    If you liked Wolf of the Blood Moon on Royal Road then please consider leaving a rating or review on Amazon saying how you felt about it over the time it''s been on Royal Road! It would help me a lot!


    Stolen story; please report.


    Remember that the webtoon promise is still in effect! If I get over 5000 total ratings on book 1 of Wolf of the Blood Moon I will try to get a webtoon for the story! Currently there are 560 total ratings on book 1 after a little over a month. So it looks like it could be possible to reach that goal in the future.


    Once again, the cover image wasmissioned from Kart Studio and the typography and cover design by germancreative.


    Today''s chapter releases at the normal time btw.

 Book 5: Chapter 94: Eating a Curse

    Book 5: Chapter 94: Eating a Curse


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After were all dismissed for the night, I quickly go back to Tartarus. Then I float myself up above the Demon Kings Castle right around the same time that Gramps himself arrives right next to me.


    You ready? he asks. Youre not still tired from thepetition or youra, right?


    I smile wryly at that as I answer, Yeah, Im fine. Better than fine even.


    Actually, in terms of brute force power, I might just be stronger than Gramps now. Maybe.


    Of course, brute force power or not, hed still win just because of his experience and versatility.


    And I havent tried nullifying someone elses blood directly with Ruler of Blood yet.


    Be careful all the same, he says while patting me on the head. An action that has me trying to push his hand away.


    He just smiles at that thought as the other dukes and duchesses of Tartarus all arrive around us. And without hesitation, they begin setting up therge ritual circle in the air directly beneath our feet. A circle just asrge as the previous one that we used to rid them of the Sins Curse.


    Gramps and I just float in silence for a little while before Leonidas and the other Demon Lords all join us, including The Reaper, Lucius. A man who I actually havent seen for a little while now.


    Mostly because he has no fae partner, so hes not in the tournament.


    He also nods his head with a smile on his face while looking at me. The very first time Ive ever seen the man with a smile before.


    I cant help but smile back a little bit as I think about everything hes been freed from. Since he has had it worse than most.


    Having to live for thousands of years constantly feeling starving. Constantly feeling the urge to eat those closest to you, and even random strangers. And constantly having to fight that urge to the point of depression and seclusion.


    I even heard that it was one of the reasons he cut off his contract with his fae. So that he would be left alone, since even having his fae partner near him made him have to fight the urge to eat her artificial form.


    But now hes free from all of that.


    Its no wonder he would smile now after thousands of years of suffering.


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    Gramps looks happy at seeing his old friend slowly returning to his old self as well.


    Kind of reminds me of a much worse version of what happened to Blue. In a way. A different way, but a way.


    They both started losing themselves or lost themselvespletely and areing back to their old selves now.


    Anyways, The Reaper himself finishes up thest bits of the ritual circle before all of the other demons gather in a circle, leaving me alone in the center to begin using Bane of Corruption. And this time, when I activate the skill and search for the technology curse over Tartarus, I actually find that I dont even need the aid of the ritual to destroy it.


    Because my Red gue rushes out and devours the curse itself, feeding the gue in the process.


    Which kind of leaves the other demons rather surprised when my Red gue shoots out of me in a beacon upwards before spreading out to cover the entire world, devouring the little invisible barrier around it. The barrier causing all technology above a certain point to blow up.


    And just as quickly as the process started, I draw all of the Red gue back to the point the little beacon of Red gue is shooting up at before it all goes back down inside of me.


    Then I open my eyes with a smirk, feeling the power entering my body. The power of that curse now devoured.


    A curse that gave me a few level-ups.


    I take a few seconds to enjoy the power boost before focusing on Gramps as he floats up to me. And to my surprise, he asks, Did it work?


    Wait, he cant already tell?


    <strong>Well, this curse wasnt an active one constantly affecting the populous, so its likely he could only feel it when it was activating, </strong>Tar points out. <strong>And there arent exactly people trying to bring Earth tech to Tartarus on a regr basis to test it.</strong>


    Ah. That makes sense.


    Yeah, it worked, I tell him with a nod. Curse was eaten.


    He looks relieved for a second, only to pause as he mutters, Eaten?


    I dont bother answering that as I nce to the side to find Leonidas leaving the circle alongside the other Demon Lords. And after almost immediately realizing where theyre going, I follow after them, with Grampsing shortly after me.


    It doesnt take long for all of us to arrive at the nearest Fracture, where Leonidas just kinda grabs a random ss III demon and shoves them through, telling them to grab something technologically too advanced for Tartarus.


    We wait for a few minutes since the demon seems to have surprised the people there until they get a full exnation from it and hees back with a random TV remote.


    A remote that doesnt explode after entering Tartarus.


    All of the demons nearby begin to cheer with more than a little excitement at the sight of the thing. Meanwhile Gramps just pats me on the head again, to which I try to push his hand away.


    No pats.


    This morning was an exception.


    The cheering demons grow more and more rambunctious, and soon enough some other demons arrive from the castle mentioning something about a party theyre starting there. Which proceeds to move all of the demons here to the castle where food and drink are being served, demons begin dancing together, and overall, a lot of merry-making is being made.


    Something you dont really see on Tartarus normally.


    But I guess not having the Sins to deal with makes this ce a lot nicer.


    I just head to the edge of one of the balconies before looking up at the moon with a smile on my face.


    One thing after another. Just one thing. After another.


    And Im almost done with everything Im prophesized to do.


    So now I just need to do two more things.


    Win this tournament.


    And defeat the Overlord.

 Book 5: Chapter 95: Testing

    Book 5: Chapter 95: Testing


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I only spend another hour at the party before floating away from the castle to go test out my new transcendent skill. And I cant help but think that floating like this is rather fun.


    Before when I tried floating using a mixture of Blood Maniption and Blood Transformation, I always felt rather ufortable. Kind of like I was very lightly tugging on my own blood. And even when I used Warden of the Red gue it felt like my own blood was fighting me. Because it was. Since it was the Red gue.


    But now? Now I have absolute control over all of the blood in my body and can easily control it so that its perfectlyfortable.


    Which in and of itself is a really good benefit.


    Once I get far enough away from the castle, to the point that I can only barely see it from where Im at, I go ahead and begin trying to create as much regr blood as I possibly can beneath me. Only for <em>waaaaay </em>too much to appear right away as if trying to make a damned river in seconds. So I cut it off almost immediately before awkwardly watching as the blood river begins flowing down in the direction of the ocean, quite literally forming a river.


    Hmm. Well, thats awkward.


    Im just uh gonna go over somewhere else.


    Yeah.


    Good idea.


    I quickly fly for a few minutes until Im far from the river of blood that absolutely has nothing to do with me.


    Tar snorts in my mind, having apparently left the party himself to check on me.


    But I ignore him.


    Then I focus upwards instead of downwards and begin to repeat that same process of making blood. But this time itll go up into space instead.


    So, with that in mind, I go all out.


    And immediately regret it when a damned oceans worth of blood shoots straight up in a massive fucking geyser the diameter of Gramps freaking castle. Something that is bound to be rather noticeable from the castle.


    Or, rather, from possibly anywhere on the.


    This side of the at least.


    Out of curiosity though, since it cant really get much worse than it already is, I continue pushing to see just how much I can create.


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    And pushing.


    And pushing some more.


    But it never stops as the sky begins to grow dyed red from the blood just kinda filling space outside of the.


    <strong>You should probably stop, </strong>Tar suggests, and I agree.


    So I stop.


    By now though, space is already filled with several oceans of blood. Real, unmanifested, blood.


    Hmm.


    You think I can act like I dont know what happened?


    <strong>Nope, </strong>Tar answers right away. <strong>You can try erasing the blood though.</strong>


    Oh, right. Forgot I could do that.


    So I float upwards before closing my eyes and focusing on the blood I created. Then I just will it to be erased and open my eyes again to a clear sky.


    Right. So now do you think I can act like I dont know what happened?


    Tar doesnt answer.


    Rude.


    Anyways, I quickly change locations again. Before any of the people I sense heading there can catch me.


    And after arriving at another new spot, I go ahead and try my next little experiment. On some low level, non-sapient demons this time.


    An experiment that works perfectly well, to my surprise.


    But I guess I shouldnt be surprised, considering that I took control of everyone in the stadium to keep them from moving.


    This time though Im fully controlling every movement this little ss I demon is making. As if Im controlling a puppet or something.


    I have it dance around for a little bit before letting it go and finding a ss II non-sapient demon to do it to. And it works just as well with the ss II.


    So I go find a ss III non-sapient demon and it works on them as well.


    It takes a bit longer to find a ss IV non-sapient demon though since those are far rarer. And in the end I have to head to the North-eastern continent to find undead at that ss.


    But it works.


    Unfortunately there arent any ss V non-sapient demons to test it on.


    So I make my way to a random secluded location to continue testing other things. Like creating things out of blood and controlling them to move. Whether its little animal shaped blobs of blood, sharpened weapons of blood, sharpened weapons of blood I turn into blood metal, or anything I can think of at this moment.


    Everything works.


    This skill really does just make me an absolute ruler of blood, doesnt it? Like some sort of god of blood.


    Thats cool.


    I proceed to do quite a few more tests ranging from directly ripping the blood out of non-sapient demons before putting it back into them,pressing the blood to form something akin to a high pressure water spray for blood. Very high pressure. To the point that it tears a hole straight through metal with ease. And even creating thousands of weapons made of blood metal in the air that I swing around like crazy.


    Myst test though is whats most interesting.


    Healing people with the skill.


    Just creating blood in their body or outside of their body to rece the lost cells in an injured creature.


    At this point I wouldnt be surprised if this one skill lets me do anything any blood rted magic skill can do. Almost at least. There are still some that arent directly manipting blood after all.


    Like Bloody Thorns and Blood Thirst for example.


    And speaking of those skills, I go ahead and begin upgrading my most used legendary and mythic purchased skills to their max level of fifty using the massive stockpile of skill points I have built up.


    A wide grin splits across my face at the thought of whatll happen now at Bloody Thorns level fifty version when someone hits me.


    Or how powerful Ill be with Crimson Overdrive.


    I raise my fist before looking at it, then at the ground, then at my fist again.


    Well, no time like the present to try it out.

 Book 5: Chapter 96: Power

    Book 5: Chapter 96: Power


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The instant I activate Crimson Overdrive after shooting it up over a dozen levels in one go, ck and crimson energy immediately covers my fist. Yes. ck and crimson. Not just the normal crimson.


    Rather surprising.


    Then I get a bigger surprise when I m my fist into the ground and a massive crack emerges going down farther than I can see.


    I awkwardly raise my fist while standing up straight again and staring at the massive fissure I made. One that is so deep Im pretty sure I can see some red light down at the very bottom that might just beva.


    Uh.


    Oops?


    <strong>It might be for the best that you test your new strength off world, </strong>Tar suggests as we both just kinda stare rather awkwardly at the red light. A light Im pretty sure is actually growing brighter ever so slowly until I finally seeva rising. But fortunately for me, theva stops rising about halfway through the fissure. Which means I didnt break into the core of the or something. <strong>Yeah, you should just go test yourself on a nearby.</strong>


    Right. Sounds like a n.


    I quickly make my way away from the massive fissure that Im sure no one will notice before floating up into the sky. Higher and higher until I t out leave the atmosphere and continue flying through space, having to adjust mentally to not breathing again. Just like when I was hunting the void creatures before this entire tournament began.


    Except this time its easier because of Ruler of Blood. A skill thats quickly bing one of my favorites.


    Not sure which I like more at this point. Ruler of Blood or Warden of the Red gue.


    Probably the Warden of the Red gue since it lets me directly devour the realities of others, raising my level in the process.


    Anyways, I continue floating through space for a bit, making sure to keep Tartarus in my sight so as to not get lost in space. Because that would be both awkward and not good.


    Eventually I stop at a random asteroid far enough away from Tartarus before enhancing my fist as much as I can with Crimson Overdrive and then mming it straight into the asteroid while also enhancing my fist with the Red gue in it and creating a drill of blood metal over it.


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    And the instant my drill-covered fist ms into the asteroid, it cracks straight down the middle. The tens of thousands of meters long asteroid.


    Just in split in half in a single punch.


    Hmm.


    Yeah.


    Probably for the best that I avoid using my full strength on Earth from now on.


    Makes me wonder if Gramps is capable of this and possibly more, since his level is higher. And hes far older and likely has even more physical enhancement skills than I have.


    Hmm.


    I nce back towards Tartarus before shrugging to myself and turning back to face a different asteroid. Then I create a bunch of blood and wrap the entire asteroid in it before moving the thing around a little.


    This is kinda fun.


    I continue experimenting for a little bit, doing whatever I can think of. Whether thats moving the asteroids, shattering them, crushing them, devouring them with Red gue to see if it benefits me any. Which it doesnt really do much.


    After finishing up with my experiments, I begin ying around with my strength, trying to adjust it so that I get the hang of it. A process that takes me a couple of hours to do.


    Then I begin to float back, only for Tar toment, <strong>Please tell me youre not just gonna leave this mess out here to possibly crash into Tartarus one day?</strong>


    I pause before turning around and waving my hand, sending a massive wave of Red gue out to devour all of the asteroids. And without pausing, I turn back around and begin making my way back towards Tartarus again.


    <strong>Ya know, youre acting rather calm despite this immense power youve gotten over the years, </strong>Tar suddenly points out about halfway through my trip.


    That almost has me pausing in ce, but I continue moving regardless.


    Well, I guess it doesnt really matter how strong I am so long as I can deal with the Voided Overlord.


    Then I can finally make my dreame true.


    I can feel Tars surprise through our bond as he asks, <strong>Wait, you have a dream? Why havent I heard about this?</strong>


    That has me sending him a raised brow, the tanuki sitting on my shoulder like always.


    You dont know? I just want to live in peace and be able to rx.


    He stares at me for a moment and mutters, <strong>Oh. Thats not what I expected when you said you had a dream.</strong>


    I face forwards again with a shrug.


    Meh.


    Its what I want.


    A peaceful life where no one bothers me. Where I dont have to deal with idiots attacking me, with demons attacking Earth, with the universeing to an end.


    One where I can just y video games or read. Where I dont have to, well, deal with idiots at all, really.


    <strong>Hmm, </strong>Tar hums for a second before I feel his tail thumping against my back. <strong>Yeah, I guess that fits what Id expect of you.</strong>


    Yep.


    I am me after all.


    That makes him snort right as we begin reentering Tartaruss atmosphere and descending downwards towards the central continent.


    After a moment of silence, I mutter out loud, Ya know, Tar?


    <strong>Yeah? </strong>he asks while ncing at me from my shoulder.


    Im d I met you, I tell him with a smile on my face.


    He just smiles back.


    Then a peaceful silence falls between the two of us as we both slowly descend towards the ground.


    Only to find Gramps standing in front of his castle staring up at us while tapping his foot with a frown on his face.


    Uh, he doesnt look happy.


    <strong>Ya think? </strong>Tar asks, his voice echoing in my head.


    You think its because of the fissure?


    <strong>Probably, </strong>Tar answers with a nod.


    Then any chance I can act like I have no idea who or what caused it?


    <strong>Nope, </strong>he says without any hesitation.


    Well, shit.

 Book 5: Chapter 97: The Twentieth Competition

    Book 5: Chapter 97: The Twentieth Competition


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>The final round of the teampetitions will now begin, </strong>King Oberon deres as the audience fills once more in the morning of the next day. <strong>To begin, thepetition will start with just the fae solving the puzzles, with the contractors only entering thebat arena half an hour into thepetition.</strong>


    As soon as the king says that, all of the fae amongst us vanish and reappear down in a massive cube. One separated into forty different sections, each meant for one fae a piece. And each filled with more puzzles than I can count.


    Good luck Tar.


    <strong>Thanks, </strong>he says as he immediately gets to work on the first puzzle. <strong>You too.</strong>


    Meanwhile all of us contractors are left floating high above the cube as an arena begins to form all around the cube itself. One filled with dozens of different terrains with the terrains alternating repeatedly.


    And then were all left watching the fae progress through the puzzles for a while.


    At some point, I nce at the audience, noticing that theyre all a lot more enthusiastic today than they were when we left offst night. Which is probably for the best.


    Guess taking that break over the night before the nextpetition was all they needed.


    Of course, there are still quite a few people who are rather obviously upset and ring at Oberon, who also still looks less motivated. But its a lot better now thanst night still.


    I let out a sigh before returning my attention to the fae again.


    From the looks of it, Leonidass fae is in the lead by a decent margin. Then theres the second and third ranked fae, and so on. In fact, most of them are going almost by their position in the line for the throne. With only a few exceptions.


    Tar himself is around tenth ce right now.


    Which means Im gonna have to do some cleaning up to catch up. But it makes sense, since Tar is actually in the younger half of the fae royals.


    And thispetition is about intelligence and wisdom, along with hand eye coordination and just skill in general.


    Something developed from age and not just talent.


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    I watch him for a little bit longer before my mind returns tost night, when I saw Gramps upset with me for the first time. His being worried in the past not necessarily counting.


    Although hes still a softie since he just ended up scolding me a little and warning me not to destroy the or flood it. Then he returned to the party, apparently having already fixed the damage with some of the other demons who have earth magic.


    It was rather unexpected just how nonchnt he was about it, even if he was still a little upset.


    At least, until Leonidas exined to me that hed done the exact same thing once a while back. Almost split the world a while back.


    Anyways, the fae continue working on their puzzles, making me wonder just how many are filling those enormous rooms. All the way till the puzzle box thingy with the rooms suddenly begins lowering into the ground with the arena extending straight to the center.


    Then King Oberon deres, <strong>Thirty minutes have passed so all of the contractors will be sent to the arena. You will begin with three marks, and new puzzles will now appear in the puzzle rooms. Marker puzzles that will give the contractors of whichever faepletes them a mark uponpletion. These marks will all count as lives for the contractors, and the Anti-Death use is mandatory in thispetition.</strong>


    At the same time as he speaks, I find myself teleported to a random location within the arena.


    But the kings voice continues even as Im standing in a random taiga biome, <strong>When a contractor loses all of their lives, both they and their fae will be taken out of thepetition, with their score locked in ce where it is.</strong>


    Mostly just stuff we learned in the rules yesterday, with some differences.


    <strong>Now, beg- </strong>King Oberon starts to say, only for a loud crashing sound to echo through the entire arena making me and every otherpetitor look up to find Titania appearing again with an indifferent look in her eyes.


    Eyes that quickly lock onto my own as she speaks, raising her voice to echo throughout the stadium, <strong>Wolf of the Blood Moon, you better not hold back in this round. I have set it so that the System will directly protect the realities of everypetitor in this one round since its the finalbat round. </strong>Her eyes narrow,pletely ignoring the silence of the audience. <strong>Use the Red gue as you wish. It will not permanently kill anyone this time.</strong>


    I blink in surprise, not expecting that at all.


    Not having to hold back


    Now that I think about it, the reality of this arena looks a hell of a lot more Im not sure who to describe it, but it looks a lot more powerful and solid than before. And its not just the reality were in, but the people. I can sense a strange power coating them.


    The question though is if I can trust her.


    Also, what does she mean by the Wolf of the Blood Moon?


    Out of nowhere, Titania appears in front of me and cuts me, taking my surprise as an opportunity to do it. Then she somehow pulls the blood through the air and stters it on a random nearby contractor, making them scream in pain. But I can see that it didnt actually damage his reality at all. Almost like the reality damaging part of it was held back somehow.


    My eyes narrow in on Titania as she stops to float right in front of me.


    <strong>Scarlet, show everyone the power of the universes defender, </strong>Titania says, keeping her voice low despite how its reverberating throughout the entire stadium and arena. <strong>Show them the power of the Warden of the Red gue. And of the Wolf of the Blood Moon.</strong>

 Book 5: Chapter 98: The Warden’s Reign

    Book 5: Chapter 98: The Warden¡¯s Reign


    <strong>The Stadium</strong>


    <strong>Dont worry, Im using the remaining stockpiled energy in the System to do this, </strong>Titania adds after noticing Scarlets distrustful look. <strong>No one will be able to negate the Red gue again after this.</strong>


    And after saying that, Titania immediately teleports to a spot high in the air above the arena. A spot where she will wait. And where she will watch.


    As the Wolf of the Blood Moon is truly sired.


    Where she earns her name.


    Then, just as Titania foresaw all those years ago, the Wolf of the Blood Moon, Warden of the Red gue, Dragon yer, and the other Titles shes gathered, floats up into the air, a faint grin stretching across her face. Meanwhile the other contestants all focus their gazes on her.


    But Titania can already see the droplets of blood beginning to appear all across the entire arena. And in mere seconds, the droplets all begin to shoot towards the sky of the artificial arena, forming a sphere. One that growsrger andrger every second.


    Soon enough the audience grows speechless as the torrents of blood mixed with some of Scarlets own Red gue rush into the massive sphere, making it grow sorge that its begun to dwarf the people below.


    Sorge that in just a few minutes, it grows to the size of a small moon.


    One emitting an eerie crimson glow.


    Then Scarlet transforms into her quadrupedal wolf form and lets out a vicious sounding howl that leads to some of the contestants ears bleeding. Blood that quickly joins the moon.


    And Titania watches with a mixture of terror, awe, and relief as the Wolf of the Blood Moon tilts her head downwards, her ring radiant crimson eyes searing their way into everyones minds while the blood moon above her begins to fall.


    After a brief pause, all of the contestants immediately begin focusing on attacking the blood moon. Including the Demon Lords, Knights, and all of the other contestants. Except the Wolf of the Blood Moons cousin, who has an orb of regr blood around her, protecting her from any attack.


    But none of the attacks leave a dent in the falling blood moon. In fact, Titania sees the moon growingrger from their attacks merely feeding the Red gue within the moon.


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    And by now, the White Knight of Humanitys Title-Bearing Mythic skill called Erase is unusable on her own daughter or her skills thanks to the level gap that has grown between them. Leaving the White Knight unable to do anything as all of the blood she nullifies is reced just as quickly with more blood.


    <strong>Behold! Every denizen of Earth and Tartarus! The Wardens Reign has just begun! </strong>Titania deres with so much emotion in her words that she feels tears begin to run down her face. At the prophecy finally beginning to reach its climax. A prophecy she has risked so much of her life for. <strong>Behold the power of the Wolf of the Blood Moon!</strong>


    Then the blood moon finally crashes on the arena, instantly annihting everyone and making all of the contestants reappear in the arena again. All except Aria, who is still in the arena unharmed.


    An arena filled to the brim with an entire ocean of glowing red blood. Which leads to all of them being killed again soon after except for the Knights of Humanity and the Demon Lords, who all manage to fly out of the ocean of blood.


    Then the ones who didnt escape the ocean reappear for a third time, and die for a third time before appearing above the arena itself with their fae next to them, all showing their own shock.


    But the Wolf of the Blood Moon doesnt finish things there. She proceeds to appear right in front of each of the Knights of Humanity before eliminating them without so much as giving them time to blink, tearing them apart in instants.


    And she does it a second time after they reappear, making them appear outside of the arena again as well. All showing their own shock.


    By now the audience is split between cheering so loudly their voices have gone hoarse, and stayingpletely silent out of terror.


    Terror at the sight of a new being who may even be on par with the Demon King himself.


    Or even stronger than him.


    At this point, all three of the Demon Lords in the arena just stare at Scarlet as she returns to her lycan form and floats in the air in front of them, a confident smirk on her face. Then she raises a single hand and clenches it, taking control of the blood in the Demon Lords bodies before tearing them apart from the inside out.


    With the sole exception of the Blood Cmity, who manages to stop it through his own Blood Domain.


    So after she does this once more to the other two Demon Lords to deal with theirst mark, the Wolf of the Blood Moon is once again left floating alone in the air next to the Blood Cmity.


    With her cousin casually floating far away from the two in a bubble of blood.


    <strong>This is the power thats necessary to save the universe, </strong>Titania deres, her voice echoing throughout the stadium over the cheers. <strong>Its the power I spent thest two millennia working towards creating. And even this power is not enough to deal with the Voided Overlord.</strong>


    Her words silence the audience as everyone focuses on her, not paying attention to the very short battle that urs through pure brute force between father and daughter in the arena.


    <strong>In order for us to have a chance to save the universe, </strong>Titania continues, her gaze never leaving the Wolf of the Blood Moon as she defeats her father in the arena twice, leaving her all alone there other than her cousin who she is still protecting. <strong>The Wolf of the Blood Moon must reach ss VI.</strong>

 Book 5: Epilogue

    Book 5: Epilogue


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After my little show of power wipes out all of the other contractors, Im left in the arena alone with Aria while our two faepanions go at a leisurely pacepleting the puzzles. And I cant help but wonder how the audience is reacting right about now.


    Are they bored? Or maybe amused? Frightened even?


    Either way, I just continue ying chess with Aria using makeshift pieces of blood metal as we float in the air on a tform also made of blood metal, sitting on blood metal chairs.


    And Aria doesnt look even the least bit surprised by my disy of power. Even Amelia and Leonidas didnt look surprised.


    Probably because they were there for my scolding from Gramps about not destroying the world.


    I rest my elbow on the blood metal table with my cheek on my hand, wondering how long the rest of thispetition is going to take.


    Also, Aria is surprisingly good at chess. Each match has ended in a draw so far.


    While the two of us continue ying one chess game after another, Tar and Arias fae continuepleting puzzles. And eventually, once they finish, King Oberon awkwardly announces that it was the onlypetition for today. That the third portion of the Ascension Tournament wont begin for another week.


    Leaving us with the rest of the day off for the most part. Also with arge lead in points over the otherpetitors in the tournament since most of them only had the first thirty minutes toplete puzzles before they were eliminated. Whereas me and Aria had several hours.


    We were also told that it wont be broadcast like the rest of the tournament.


    Its private to just the fae, with the humans and demons not being allowed to see it. Not sure why, though. Since he never exined.


    Anyways, after that, Tar and I return to Tartarus. But I dont join the celebration that the demons put on at the castle. Instead I fly straight to a cliff within the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin. A battlefield that has gotten a lot less popted after the Sins curse was removed.


    There are still demons here though. Even if those demons all quickly flee when they sense me appearing nearby.


    As if running away from some sort of monster.


    Although the sapient ones  which dont number many amongst them  kneel down around the cliff without a word. Until I wave at them in dismissal, and they all bow once before leaving as well.


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    Then I just lie back with my hands on the scorched ground behind me and my legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. And Tar appears before floating tond in myp.


    <strong>Its been a long journey, hasnt it? </strong>Tar asks amidst the silence.


    Yeah. It has.


    And everything after this point for the tournament is up to you. You do know that, right?


    Tar nods his head from myp as he answers, <strong>Yeah, I do.</strong>


    How do you feel about it?


    He doesnt say anything for a while. So I just look up at the full moon in the sky while giving him time.


    To think that its only been a few years since I was trying to get into a university


    I smile as I think back on everything thats happened since. Some of which hasnt been very enjoyable, and an equal amount  probably  that has.


    And everything Ive managed to do, even if it was under the guidance of a prophecy I still dont know the events of


    <strong>I think </strong>Tar begins, breaking me out of my thoughts as I look down at him again. <strong>I think I might struggle a bit against my elder siblings.</strong>


    Dont worry.


    I pat him on the head while raising my head to look at the moon again.


    We have such arge point lead on the others that Im pretty sure youd have to <em>try</em> to lose for us to lose.


    Just try your best and Im sure well be fine.


    Tar lets out a sigh and mutters, <strong>I hope so.</strong>


    I continue petting him on the head for a few moments before recing my hand behind me again and returning my gaze to the moon.


    We sit in silence for a while. Just with the breeze blowing past us and the moon shining down unbidden. With the only sounds being that of the party that I can still hear from the castle on the other side of the battlefield thanks to my hearing.


    But the peace is soon shattered when a very familiar noise echoes out across the battlefield. A noise I have never heard on Tartarus before.


    Just on Earth.


    And along with the shattering sound appears strange cracks in the air. ck cracks instead of the red ones on Earth. Meanwhile the moon for some reason obtains a strange ck glow to it.


    I shoot to my feet, my eyes widening in surprise.


    What the hell?! I shout out loud as Tar floats into the air next to me. Then Titania and Oberon both appear next to us, looking up at the ck moon themselves.


    And both of them look just as surprised as Tar and I.


    This Titania mutters, wasnt in the prophecy


    Prophecy? The one the Fae King mentioned?


    My focus quickly returns to the ck Fracture cracks in the sky, only to find various glowing ck Fracture cores appearing all around the battlefield.


    Cores that immediately start spawning void creatures all over the ce.


    I float into the air and create thousands upon thousands of spears of blood that I send into the void creatures and the cores, ughtering them by the masses. Breaking each Fracture without much trouble when the cores are destroyed. Just like the Fractures on Earth. And out of the corner of my eye, I find Titania and Oberon both staring in stunned silence.


    As if this was fully out of their expectations.


    <strong>Grandmother, whats going on?!</strong> Tar exims, snapping Titania out of it as she turns to look at me and him.


    Then she turns to look up at the moon again and mutters, <strong>I dont know these corrupted Fractures have appeared all across the universe.</strong>


    My eyes widen at that.


    She meets my eyes again and finishes, <strong>Its almost like the Voided Overlord has somehow taken control of the universes own defensive measures and is using it to send its minions throughout the universe.</strong>


    I turn to look at the ck moon high in the sky.


    Well shit.


    This is bad.

 Book 6: Glossary

    Book 6: Glossary


    <strong>World:</strong>


    There is only one nation. The Terran Republic.


    The Terran Republic: Splits the people between three sses, in three Tiers of city.


    Tier 1 cities are full of wonderous buildings, many of which are skyscrapers seemingly touching the skies. The public transportation is through magi-tech trains that travel almost as fast as the speed of sound. The cities are guarded by the best of the best in terms of Guardians, most of whom are bloodline Guardians whose family is made up of Guardians as well, and each and every building has at least half as many Assault Bunkers as they have floors.


    Tier 2 cities arefortable enough, with some high reaching buildings located at the citys centers, and the majority of the other buildings reaching up to a few stories in height. The transportation still uses magi-tech, but its always outdated and can only travel a little bit faster than regr trains and cars. Of the Guardians stationed in the city, most of them are amongst the poorer Guardians who awakened either in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, without very good magic or battle instincts or inclinations.


    Tier 3 cities are without almost any magi-tech, surviving solely on old world technology. They dont have very many Guardians, and the cities are not veryrge. Of the Guardians they do have, which tend to number only a dozen or so with each city at most, they are almost all made up of the cowardly Guardians who dont wish to fight in Demon Assaults. The cities also have massive slums meant solely for the orphans where the other people avoid like the gue.


    The more people there are, and the more magic there is, the stronger and more frequent the Demon Assaults will be in that particr area. Meaning that Tier 1 cities have the most and strongest Demon Assaults by far, making it the best ce for a Guardian to live if they wish to grow stronger. Meanwhile Tier 3 cities dont have very many Demon Assaults on average. But they also dont have much in defense against each Assault that takes ce, leaving thousands to die every time one does infrequently ur.


    <strong>Economy:</strong>


    Currency: Credits and Skill Points.


    10 credits are enough for 1 meal in a Tier 3 city.


    4 credits are enough for 1 loaf of bread in a Tier 3 city.


    30 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    70 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    100 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 3 city.


    60 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    100 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    200 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 2 city.


    300 credits are enough for a stay at a crappy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    500 credits are enough for a stay at a decent hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    1000 credits are enough to stay at a fancy hotel in a Tier 1 city.


    Basic magic weapon is worth 25000 credits or 250 SP.


    Intermediate magic weapon is worth 50000 credits or 500 SP.


    Advanced magic weapon is worth 100000 credits or 1000 SP.


    Custom magic weapons are worth at least a million credits or 10000 SP.


    <strong>Tartarus:</strong>


    Blood Lycans live in the Bloody Duchy.


    Oni live in the Oni Citadel.


    Mindeaters live in the Mindeaters Lair.


    Ghouls live in the Caverns of Death.


    Arachnae live in the Spider Burrows.


    Kitsune live in the Ashen Mountains.


    Subi live in the Mesa of Illusions.


    The ranks of Nobility include:


    Baron/Baroness {1001-1200}


    Viscount/Viscountess {1201-1400}


    Count/Countess {1401-1600}


    Marquess/Marchioness {1601-1700}


    Duke/Duchess {>1700}


    Prince/Princess{Sons or Daughters of the Demon king} and Demon Lord{Four highest level demons}


    Demon King


    <strong>Social Contact Outside of Cities:</strong>


    Demons are perfectly fine with killing any other demon they see outside of cities. However, they will generally avoid killing other demons who have crests showing clearly on their body, designating them as members of a Nobles family. Unless the demon in question is also a child of a Noble or a Noble themselves.


    The demons ce absolute trust in the Royal Family thanks to the entire Demon world of Tartarus being controlled under his absolute power, and their entire society having been formed by him alone. Additionally, he solves all of their problems, and is by far the oldest demon living to this day. One of the very few demons who survived long enough to know the truth of the world.


    <em>One gold coin -> Ten silver</em>


    <em>One silver -> One hundred bronze</em>


    <strong>System:</strong>


    There are two types of skills. Inherent skills and purchased skills. The inherent skills are almost always more powerful for skills purchasable at the level the skill is attained. But they also cannot be leveled up through SP. To level up an inherent skill, a Guardian must gather the EXP needed to level it through use.


    Purchasable skills can only be leveled up through SP, and they have varying level and Achievement requirements to purchase at varying costs depending on the skills rarity.


    However, there are also skills known as Achievement-Locked skills, which have to be purchased through skill points before they then turn into inherent skills which level up just like any other inherent skill. These skills cannot use Skill Points to level up. Achievement-Locked skills are always the higher rarity versions of an etched skill the user has from an ancestor.


    The stats a Guardian gains per level is decided on by two factors. Their species, and their magic.


    Not all magics actually use magic. Its more of a term towards the direction that a users skills and capabilities take. Especially in their inherent skills.


    At the same time, statistics alters reality itself to change the way your body reacts to it. Which is why even a skinny guardian may be vastly stronger than one that looks like a bodybuilder.


    ss I multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.1, D a multiplier of 0.2, C 0.4, B 0.6, and A has a multiplier of 0.9.


    ss II multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.2, D a multiplier of 0.4, C 0.7, B 1.0, and A has a multiplier of 1.4.


    ss III multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.3, D a multiplier of 0.6, C 1.0, B 1.4, and A has a multiplier of 1.9.


    ss IV multiplier: Tier E has a multiplier of 0.4, D a multiplier of 0.8, C 1.3, B 1.8, and A has a multiplier of 2.4.


    ss V  Tier E has a multiplier of 1, D a multiplier of 2, C 3, B 4, and A has a multiplier of 5.


    Total Mana: Average multiplier between your multiplier for the power capability of your Mental stat and the capacity capability of your Magical stat. Then multiply that with your mental and magical stats and youll get your mana stat.


    Total Mana Regen: Average between the multipliers of your vitality capability of your physical stat and your power capability of your magical stat, multiplied by your magical stat.


    <em>Note: Scarlets mana regen does not follow this due to Blood Regeneration!!!</em>


    Strength in arc: Add together the multipliers for the individual''s Strength and Agility capabilities. Then multiply that by their total stat points in Physical times 25 arc. And that is the estimated amount of arc someone should be able to deal in a single punch.


    The average human who does not have any magic has 10 stat points in Physical and a D for both Agility and Strength, adding up to a multiplier of 0.4. Meaning about 100 arc on average raw punching power, not including any skill or techniques used to increase it. Meaning no martial arts.


    (Scarlets multipliersbined is 1.2x)


    The stats everyone starts out with is 10 but their starting stats vary after contracting depending on both their reality warp, their magic, and their physical fitness at the time of contracting.


    <strong>ss I Demons  1-100</strong>


    Demon Spawn


    Description: The weakest type of demon. They have no sense and will kill any human they see. There are many variations of Spawn, each having a different physical appearance.


    Weakness: Easily tricked as they simply rush in and attack with no capacity to think.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 1-8


    Demon Hound


    Description: Demon hounds hunt in packs ranging from three to five hounds in size. They use a pack mentality when hunting.


    Weakness: They will run away when at two or less members in a pack, and they are sensitive to high pitch noises.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 3-15


    Demon Huntsman


    Description: A semi intelligent demon that will stalk from the shadows, hunting the strongest prey it can find with its crossbows.


    Weakness: They are not very powerful in an upfront show of force, specializing in fighting from the shadows and ordering other demons around.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 15-20


    Demon Knight


    Description: A powerful form of unintelligent demon. These creatures often serve as bodyguards for other demons, however they may also be found as guards for certain locations that are of interest for the demons. These creatures have durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times.


    Weakness: They dont tend to leave their charge unless immensely provoked  whether that charge be another demon or a location.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 25-100


    Demon Breeder


    Description: A demon that spans several meters in length and is constantly breeding Demon Spawn. It generally stays in one ce with four Demon Knights guarding it.


    Weakness: They have terrible mobility and even worse attacking power as they rely solely on their Demon Knights for defense.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 30-50


    Demon Captain


    Description: An intelligent demon and the strongest of all of the ss I demons. They are the solemanders of the ss I Fractures, and once they are killed, any organization the demons in that Fracture had will fall apart. These creatures have incredibly durable scales that look almost like the armor of a knight from medieval times, but with armor much stronger than that of metal or that of the demon knights.


    Weakness: They are especially weak in their heart, as their armor does not cover a small ring at the center of their chest, directly in front of one of their three hearts. If this heart is pierced, they will be weakened by at least fifty percent of their stats.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 100


    Known Captain Species so far: Smanders and Trihearts.


    <strong>ss II Demons  Levels 101-250</strong>


    Demon Fomorians


    Description: The basic demon grunt of a ss II Fracture. These creatures are subordinate to most other ss II or above demons, and they often are seen acting as cannon fodder. They have two hearts.


    Weakness: Fomorians have a strong sense of sight and can be stunned by basically any bright lights.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 100-150


    Demon Acolytes


    Description: The weakest magic using demon. These creatures often tend to lead small groups of demon fomorians through the ss II Fractures.


    Weakness: Acolytes are not very physically strong despite their magic and need fomorians to defend them.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 125-155


    Demon Wraiths


    Description: These demons have the ability to cloak themselves in shadow in order to hunt their prey. They will ignore anything and everything except for those they have marked as their prey.


    Weakness: Easily distracted by the sight of their prey. Used to sneak attacks and not upfrontbat.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 150-160


    Demon Berserkers


    Description: These demons go on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moves. This includes other demons.


    Weakness: They will attack and are attacked by other demons as well. They are not capable of intellectual thought or nning.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 160-200


    Demon Defenders


    Description: The ss II version of Demon Knights. They will defend their charge no matter what, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. They have powerful armor made up of scales protecting them.


    Weakness: They will never leave their charge, so are easy to escape as long as the charge isnt chasing. They have a chink in their armor located underneath their armpits.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 175-200


    Demon Summoners


    Description: These demons summon other demons forth from their home of Tartarus, and are capable of using limited magic in an offensive manner. They often have nearly ten Demon Defenders guarding them.


    Weakness: They are poorly equipped forbat and are incredibly weak in terms of physical strength.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: 190-210


    Demon Commander


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss II Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Demon Commanders have five hearts and each one must be destroyed for it to die. But with every heart destroyed, themander loses a significant portion of their fighting prowess. They are located in the following spots on its body: Center of its chest, the two sides of its torso right beneath its chest, and in two opposite spots above its naval.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 250


    <strong>ss III Demons  Levels 251-500</strong>


    Vanguard


    Description: These demons are almost as intelligent as humans and are capable of basic speech. They are the lower echelon demons who have climbed their way up to ss III from the less generally powerful species of demons.


    Subspecies Shown So Far:


    Taracht: Massive spider with ck hair streaked with red.


    Changelings


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are able to shapeshift into young versions of whatever they eat. They are the reason behind human societys discrimination of orphans growing into what it was today due to distrust that the orphans may possibly be changelings after an event urred soon after the loss of old world Japan where changelings hid themselves amongst human orphans, posing as orphans themselves and spreading throughout parts of old world China.


    Demon Generals


    Description: These demons are as intelligent as a human being and are in charge of the ss III Fractures. All of the demons beneath them follow theirmands, with the sole exception being the berserkers, who still listen to simplemands like go and stop and refuse to attack themander.


    Weakness: Their weakness is dependent on which subspecies of demon they are.


    Average Levels at the Opening of the Fracture: Always level 500


    <strong>ss IV Demons  Levels 501-1000</strong>


    <strong>ss V Demons  Noble Demons  Above level 1000</strong>


    There are only seven demon species that have a cemented ce amongst the Noble Demons. All other Noble Demons are simply other demons who have managed to reach ss V.


    The following seven demon species are the Seven Noble Demon ns.


    Blood Lycans


    Description: Blood lycans are known by many to be the most powerful species of demon in existence. They can partially and fully transform into a powerful beast form, have the strongest regeneration in existence, and are born predators in every way, whether ites to their physical prowess, magical, or senses. They are also known to fight in a more berserk manner, often sacrificing hits on themselves to return just as much pain to their enemy as they regenerate their own wounds.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Blood lycans are known to be very proud and protective of their family and care far more for their family than anything else. However, this care is mostly limited to direct family as indirect family, while it is known that they still protect them viciously from any outsiders not of their species, they may not be treated very well depending on their circumstances by other blood lycans. Or they may just treat indirect family as they would others albeit with a bit more respect.


    It is a breach of their pride for any other species to ever kill a blood lycan.


    They have the most humanlike appearances out of all demons when they are in their lycan forms, with glowing red eyes and wolf ears on their head, along with red and ck hair and a tail that can be absorbed into their body at will. However, their beast forms tend to vary depending on the blood lycan in question. But most of the blood lycans have the form of a ck furred werewolf with streaks of blood red running through the fur.


    Weakness: Blood lycans have a minor weakness to Mental Magic and another weakness to sound magic. However, their weakness to sound magic can be solved through lowering their senses or protecting them with magic, making that weakness go away.


    Magic: Blood magic, with a unique power to metallicized blood.


    Sin: Pride


    Oni


    Description: Oni aremonly known as the demon with the most brute force magical power out all demons in existence. While they cannot truly match a blood lycan in fighting prowess, they have them beat in pure magical attacks. These demons are also theplete opposite of the blood lycans in terms of family as their wrath is too great for them to be bound by family, as most of those who try end up tearing themselves apart in the end in a bloody fight before splitting up.


    They have a humanoid appearance with a crown of horns on their head, each glowing red with heat. They have crimson skin, with equally crimson eyes, and red ws on their hands and feet with no heart, instead having a me inside of their chest.


    Weakness: An onis weakness is holy magic.


    Magic: Hellfire magic, with a unique power to cause direct damage to someones reality(their soul) with their hellfire.


    Sin: Wrath


    Mindeater


    Description: Mindeaters are perhaps the most reclusive of the demons amongst the seven demon ns, with only one other ning anywhere near close to them in that regard. Most Mindeaters simply spend their days sleeping or watching over their territory with their reality detached from their body. However, should a Mindeater ever be truly angered, they will devour a persons reality whole, turning it into life energy instead and feeding the life force in them to the System entirely.


    They have the appearance of arge insect with very little carapace shielding them from physical harm and ten legs, with three segments to their body and two incisors at the front of their mouths.


    Weakness: A Mindeaters weakness is their physical strength.


    Magic: Mind-eater magic, with a unique power to disconnect their reality(their soul) from their body when asleep.


    Sin: Sloth


    Ghoul


    Description: Ghouls are the only undead demons in the ranks of the seven ns, and they are known to be even more unkible than a blood lycan because of their ability to substitute mana for life energy. They often specialize purely in magic and their body, making them powerful foes who have the mana to long since oust most foes they will fight.


    However, fire magic will make regenerating damage done to the physical body of a ghoul more difficult, and so ghouls hate fire magic users more than anything. Including the oni n.


    Ghouls are also ravenous creatures whose appetites know no bounds, leading to them eating both living and nonliving things almost every chance they get.


    They have humanoid bodies with pitch ck eyes, pale skin with veins of ck and purple energy running underneath, and ck ws.


    Weakness: A ghouls weakness is fire magic.


    Magic: Death magic, with the unique power to substitute mana for life energy, allowing them to continue living as long as they have mana regardless of the state of their body.


    Sin: Gluttony


    Arachnae


    Description: Arachnae prefer to live in the dark and are known to be the strongest assassins in all of Tartarus. They are often hired by other demons to assassinate noble demons that are too powerful at arge price. However, they only work during the night as their eyes are sensitive to the light.


    Arachnae live in nests with at least a dozen arachnae in each nest, and their kingdoms are all underground.


    These Nobles are some of the most aggressive demons towards other species out of pure envy. If there is something the other species has that the arachnae wishes to have, their envy will lead them do disliking the species.


    Thanks to this, most arachnae tend to live outside of the public eye, not interacting with the other demon species of Tartarus if they do not have to.


    Weakness: An arachnaes weakness is light magic.


    Magic: Corruption with the unique ability to absorb, recreate, mix, and experiment with any type of corruption using their own body that is immune to any corruption(poison, acid, viruses, etc).


    Sin: Envy


    Subi


    Description: Subi are known as one of the few demon species who can and will impregnate any other species. However, these creatures are also distant at the same time, as are all seers. They never create permanent ties with other creatures outside of their own species, always leaving them to wander. They never create kingdoms of their own or rule in any manner.


    If a subi is seen in a city, most demons inhabiting that city know that the subi will most likely only leave after sleeping with over a dozen different demons in the city. However, they also know not to ever anger the subi. Because entire citys poptions have been known to go missing after such an event.


    It is simply in their nature to feel lust over anything they deem beautiful.


    Weakness: A subis weakness is pain and fighting someone whos mind is protected from charm magic.


    Magic: Charm with a unique ability to divine anyone whose exact name they know and enter their dreams, thereby finding their location and being able to manipte them in their dreams.(can be warded against if someone is powerful enough)


    Sin: Lust


    Kitsune


    Description: Kitsune are known across Tartarus as the rulers of the most powerful association of thieves in all of Tartarus known as the Thieves of Tartarus. They are greedy creatures who are not able to keep their hands to themselves should they ever see something they like. Regardless of the consequences.


    However, despite their thieving nature, kitsune specialize simply in support andbat magic, with no stealth or illusion rted skills known to date.


    How they managed to create the Thieves of Tartarus to this day has alluded even the Demon King himself.(mostly because he doesnt care enough to simply order them to answer)


    Weakness: A kitsunes weakness is water magic.


    Magic: Foxfire, which is abination of fire and lightning and is solely unique to kitsunes, with the ability to enhance any skill that uses foxfire depending on how many tails the kitsune has.


    Sin: Greed


    The levels of demon sses also correspond to sses for Guardians.


    Note: Noble demons only include Blood Lycans, Oni, Arachnae, Subae, Ghouls, Mindeaters, Kitsune, and any demon above level one thousand.


    Meaning that there are no noble demons outside of those seven species who are not ss V already.


    No exceptions.


    <strong>Characters:</strong>


    Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron:


    Scarlet is 19 years old as of the start of the story, 23 years old now, is 5 foot 8 inches tall, favorite colors are red and ck, has ck hair before awakening, and is almost always seen wearing a ck and red jacket and ck pants when not in her armor. She dislikes skirts and dresses and is very pragmatic and feels very in line with the idea of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, she also knows when not to push too far and is sometimes a little judgmental. She is reckless, has a strong sense of pride that is enhanced by her being half blood lycan, and does not like people touching her ears.


    The Scarlet Wolf is the title given to her by the public when she started out.


    She has the Title Apex Predator, Bane of Corruption, and Dragon yer and is known as the Princess of both the Humans and the Demons due to being the granddaughter of the Demon King and the daughter of the White Knight of Humanity. She is also known as the Warden of the Red gue.


    Allen Silvester:


    Former orphanage director of the Silvester Orphanage, current CEO of Silver Works  a world renowned techpany famous for inventing magi-tech. He is a supporter of Scarlet and cares about her and the other orphans like a father would. However, there were many times that he almost lost his position as CEO because of his work for the orphanage, his brother having constantly tried to take the position out from under him. In the end, the board of shareholders for Silver Works forced him to give away the orphanage right when Scarlet was graduating from High School.


    He was contracted by White to create the orphanage in the first ce and raise Scarlet as an orphan.


    Allen is also a Guardian under the title Cipher. His magic is Technomancy, and his current magic skills involve him taking control of technology near him and breaking through their firewalls, along with other aspects such as the control of special nanomachines.


    Cynthia Sylvester:


    Allens wife, Arabellias mother, and Scarlets mother figure. She is incredibly cold and can be seen by many as simply uncaring towards anyone outside of her family while being protective of her family itself. But in reality, shes just afraid of losing someone else, like how she lost Belles sister.


    Cynthia is also a Guardian under the title Frost, and one of the current ss IV Guardians most voted by the populous to likely reach ss V. She wears pale blue and white armor, with ck hair streaked with pale blue, and has eyes that let off a faint pale blue glow.


    Arthur Barnes:


    A childhood friend of Scarlets and Belles, and is Belles boyfriend. He is the same age as the two and was also an orphan of the Silvester Orphanage. But unlike her, he epted a lesser schrship to the Tier 2 university known as Rhettford University in the city of Rhettford.


    Arthur loves Belle with all of his heart and treats Scarlet like a younger sister. He is always beating Scarlet at video games that require a fast reaction speed, and was often the one who worked with Scarlet when she was doing something reckless back at the Tier 3 city if for no other reason than to make sure she didn''t get into trouble. Or into too much trouble.


    But he ended up taking a lot of the heat half the time when she would make ast minute escape right when Allen would return to the orphanage to yell at them.


    Arabellia Silvester:


    Allen Silvesters biological daughter and another childhood friend of Scarlets. She currently attends one of the famous universities in the Tier 1 capital city, Terra, called Terra University. She is Arthurs girlfriend and treats Scarlet like a little sister since Arabellia is quite tall for her age, standing at nearly six feet tall despite being the same age as Scarlet.


    She likes to drag Scarlet around shopping if she ever gets the chance, and also wishes she could dress Scarlet up more often, since she almost never lets her. The two have been close since they can remember and often text each other to keep in contact.


    Unlike Arthur, Belle has no interest in video games and instead watched a lot of movies with Scarlet when they were younger.


    Title: Mystic Guardian


    Michael Winters:


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at Lions Heart Guardians University. He is just one year older than Scarlet at twenty years old and has Nature magic. He is a stoic and by the book individual who keeps Denise in line as he has been a close friend to her for years.


    Nature Magic: Gives primarily healing skills with some summoning/creation skills to summon or create familiars and summoned beings to help him fight.


    Title: Druid


    Denise Harley:


    A Guardian who contracted two weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is two years older than Scarlet at twenty one years old and has Inferno magic. She is an overly caring and passionate individual who has few filters or borders but is able to learn from her mistakes.


    Inferno Magic: Gives skills rted to fire and ice magic. Including both body enhancement skills and magical attacks.


    Title: Inferno


    Emily Winters:


    A Guardian who contracted three weeks before the start of the story and is a new student at the Guardian University. She is a year younger than Scarlet at eighteen years old and has Corruption magic. She is shy and often hides behind her older brother as they both contracted at the same time and are very close.


    Corruption Magic: Gives skills rted to the corroding of a biological body. Includes poisons, viruses, and other types of things like that.


    Title: Little Reaper.


    Leonidas Val Art de Archeron:


    Demon Lord of Tartarus, Scarlets father, and the son of the current Demon King. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan who had a child with White, the current most powerful human being, and his father was not happy about it. He cares about Scarlet a lot and can get protective of her in strange ways. However, if she is on a hunt, he will not disturb her as is the way with blood lycans.


    Leonidas is known to be both honorable and kind towards all blood lycans regardless of their position in the pack, and ruthless towards any who would dare harm any member of the pack in any way.


    The man is also known to spend the majority of his time working on and improving his enchanting, both in terms of his Blood Runes level, and his actual skill in using the skill itself to enchant. He is an avid craftsman just as much as he is a powerful warrior and a beast in his own right, just like his father.


    Amelia Asger:


    White, the most powerful amongst the Knights of Humanity, and Scarlets mother. She is also the brother to Blue and aunt to Aria. Amelia loves both her daughter and Leonidas and went with the prophecy due to her fear of losing the two of them. Fear that was imnted into her by past prophecies that had gone horribly wrong after she didnt follow them.


    She has aplicated rtionships with the other Knights, and an even moreplicated rtionship with Leonidas, her mate.


    Very little is known about her by the public thanks to her wiping her information except set bits that she knew needed to remain known in order for her to continue on as her role as the White Knight of Humanity.


    However, from the few remaining traces, the humans know her to be a kind and powerful woman who is extremely socially awkward and dislikes being near other people. And while there are a very small number of people who distrust her solely for her erasing her information from the world, the majority trust in her simply due to her continuing the fight against the demons. Even leading it in some ways.


    But just like a lot of spection about people in the world, not all of it is true. Amelia Asger is indeed an extremely socially awkward person who dislikes being near others, and she has more power than any other human.


    But she is nowhere near as stable, understanding, and calm as most would choose to believe.


    Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron:


    Demon King of Tartarus, Scarlets grandfather, and the father of one of the current Demon Lords. He is a pureblood Blood Lycan and does not approve of his son having had a child with a human. However, he doesnt hold this against the child and cares about Scarlet very much. Even if he has only met her once when she was a baby. He also didnt approve of Leonidass n to bring Scarlet to Earth but had no way to go against it since hismand as Demon King doesnt work on a Demon Lord and his son conducted his n without telling him first. The man has constantly been searching for Scarlet and anything that may lead him to her so that he can bring her home and protect her as his only granddaughter.


    After Scarlet was brought to Tartarus, he prioritizes her over most things, including his own work as the King sometimes. He also has a habit of patting her on the head, to her displeasure.


    Arkaz lost both his wife and his unborn daughter due to the emperor of the old Empire that he and his people had helped conquer for them after they had turned them into demons. He has an immense distaste towards any humans, but the man himself refuses to give into his hatred unless there is a usible reason for him to kill.


    And Scarlet took that reason away from him, leading him to favor his love for her over his hatred, blotting it out in the process.


    Arkaz is known to travel the world when he is not dealing with the runnings of the Demon World of Tartarus, even if he has already seen everyst inch of the world itself. He is generally a carefree spirit on the outside, always actingidback and more than a little arrogant. Something that every demon believes to be natural given his overwhelming power.


    But be warned, when it manages to leak out of hisidback and carefree nature, his anger has been known to take millions of lives in a single swipe of his ws.


    Aria Knight:


    Aria is Scarlets cousin and the daughter of Blue. She is one of the youngest Guardians in recorded history, a famous child actress, and is emotionally stunted in her development just like Scarlet. However, she is fine with physical contact as long as its with Scarlet, who she quickly grew to like after meeting her and begins to think of as an older sister.


    Aria has long ck hair with unnatural blue eyes and two wings that she can summon whenever she pleases. The wings look like those of an angels.


    Aquatic Divine: Arias magic that lets her use both water and holy magic in tandem.


    Aria also has a few etched skills from Alexander but doesnt know what all of them are or how to use most of them except for a single one. One that allows her to shapeshift a part of her body into a tentacle tipped with a w. And this one she only knows about due to identally using it.


    Alexander Knight:


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, Blue. He is an insane psychopath with water rted magic that can also transform him into a kraken, and is tied with Red as the second most powerful human being. He is Scarlets uncle and White  Scarlets mother  brother. He is Arias father despite practically abandoning her to the government immediately after having her through the first willing gene donor he could find just to get the government off his back.


    Lucius Tor de ckheart:


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and a Ghoul. He has the titles Lord of Death and The Reaper. He uses death magic and is close to the Demon King. He is the oldest of the four Demon Lords even if he isnt the strongest and has family issues.


    He dislikes the way blood lycans treat their family sometimes and had a troubled childhood where he was almost eaten by his own father. But it didnt end there as he himself almost ate his own father, instead opting to eat a random demon outside of the room to barely save his father from that fate.


    Lucius pities Scarlet and sympathizes with her, so he helps her for those reasons to break free from her Grandfather and Fathers control. But his real thoughts on Scarlet are unknown to everyone beyond his trust in the Demon King.


    Lucius is widely known as a fervent reader of books and searcher of novels of all kinds, both educational and otherwise. Many people suspect this to be his way of smothering his hunger under fantasy outside of reality. Something many other ghouls are known to do, each in their own ways whether that be pleasure, sleep, or even illusions.


    Vorgrim ckthorn of the ck me:


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus and an oni. He is aplete battle maniac who cares only about honor andbat prowess. If someone has none of those qualities, he believes them to be worthless and will kill them if he doesnt believe they deserve their status. And if he does believe they deserve his status, then he ignores their existence entirely.


    Whereas the other Demon Lords aside from Leonidas mostly respect her because of who she is, Vorgrim respects Scarlet on a fundamental level beyond her status as the First Princess of Tartarus and the Demons. He respects her power. Her strength. Her magic. And her willpower to move forwards and grasp deadly achievements for herself.


    Vorgrim is widely known to ept any and all challenges from any demons and takes in demons to train amongst those challengers who he believes show promise as a warrior.


    Xyvandra Vyx Yxethra:


    One of the four Demon Lords of Tartarus, the Lady of Devouring, and a mindeater. She is disinterested in the war between the humans and the demons but assists in the war purely out of her respect and loyalty towards the Demon King.


    Xyvandra thinks of Scarlet as a young girl and the granddaughter of the most trusted person in the world to her. However, her respect and care for Scarlet is still not enough to arouse her from her slumber lest the Demon King ask for her assistance, or Scarlet or Leonidas is in severe danger and need help.


    However, Xyvandra doesnt show herself in public enough for demonkind to know of her nature as a demon, because just like all other mindeaters, she sleeps the day away detached from her body whenever she isnt needed by the Demon King.


    Will Wright:


    One of the five Knights of Humanity, ck. He has a split personality with one of his personalities being a yful prankster, and the other a pseudo psychopath. The man both wishes to take Scarlet in and adopt her but also doesnt at the same time. One side of him wishes to do it out of actual worry and care, while the other just wants to spite Amelia, Scarlets biological mother.


    ck uses a shadow rted magic that makes him the most powerful human assassin in the world.


    Noah Walker:


    Noah is the Red Knight of Humanity and tied for the second most powerful human being, being evenly matched with Blue. He has a son named ke Walker, who he raised on the front lines like a soldier.


    ke Walker:


    ke is the son of Red and is a ss II Guardian. He also admits that Scarlet is his type but adamantly refuses to let that develop into any form of romantic interest.


    Sylver:


    A Guardian at the bottom of ss II working for the Silver Association. He is the same age as Scarlet and attends Lions Heart Guardians University. He has silver lightning that doesnt need to be conducted to move and can take control of simple electronics.


    Sage:


    She is the head of intelligence for Cipher and the Silver Association. The woman barely disys any of her emotions, and many people believe that she may have lost them entirely upon being turned into a Guardian with Seer magic.


    Seer Magic: Gives prophetic visions and foresight and prediction rted skills.


    Alfred Raynsford:


    The vice-headmaster of Lions Heart Guardians University and the one who observed Scarlets entrance exam. He holds a grudge against Cipher for something he did back when he was a student at the university. Alfred has 2 tails.


    He is one of the few people who remembers what White looks like and still meets with her regrly.


    Jacob R. Ashton:


    He is the government official in charge of registering new Guardians, and is the former headmaster of Lions Heart and the current general of the Military and leader of the Golden Retreat, an all-male Association made tobat Avas all-female Association. He goes by the title of Golden Rider.


    Julian:


    Son of the CEO of Magic Arc  thepany in charge of every magi-tech tram in the capital city. He was the new Guardian Scarlet saved in a Fracture. He has silver hair to match the tail that pokes a hole through his pants along with two silver eyes, the same glossy shade of silver as his tail.


    Anthony Wilson:


    Contracted partner of Artoria  Tars sister  and a user of death magic. Part void spawn due to human experimentation. Can use a powerful legendary skill that drastically increases all of his stats for the price of taking an explosive amount of damage if hurt while using the skill.


    Lucas Walsh:


    Lucas was the second ce finisher in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament that Scarlet won. He is a student at Aquatic Pride Guardians University, and has a strong magical sense of smell, leading to him noticing Scarlets scent and pointing it out in a creepy manner.


    Lucas is not able to understand the nuances behind things spoken to him or by him, making him miss the small details that are meant to be left unsaid and leaving him to say things that can be taken as creepy or strange.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Shifter


    Abigail Kim:


    Abigail was defeated in the quarterfinal round of the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. She is a student at Yggdrasil Guardians University, goes by the nickname Abi, and is the only mental magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Abigail and Sam are dating.


    Her Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Lost


    Samuel Lewis:


    Sam was defeated in the ss I Solo Primary Tournament by Scarlet. He is a student at Hunters Peak Guardians University, goes by the nickname Sam, and is the only blood magic user that Scarlet has fought against.


    Sam and Abigail are dating.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Crim


    Ethan Davis:


    Ethan was defeated by Scarlet in the Tower Siege secondary tournament and is a student at Scorched Halls Guardians University. He uses a magic that locks him in ce while he absorbs the damage dealt to him before he eventually releases is all at the target in an uncontroble wave ofva.


    His Instructor is Purple.


    Title: Molten Angel


    Caroline Winters:


    Carol is a ss III Guardian and the number one ranked student currently at Lions Heart Guardians University. She is also the older sister of both Emily and Michael, two of Scarlets former teammates.


    Carol uses spatial magic that lets her cut apart space itself.


    Title: Rift


    Anthony Wilson:


    A death magic user and a ss I Guardian who is the second strongest in Scarlets ss.


    Title: Necro


    Raiden Akuma:


    The daughter of the n Leader for the Kitsune n and the head maid of the Demon King. She is also currently tasked with helping Scarlet navigate the kitsune n.


    Akuma is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike other kitsune, she holds herself back most of the time. And the rest of the kitsune are terrified of her because she is often the one dealing out punishment for members of the n who lose themselves to their Sin of Greed.


    Raiden Amaterasu:


    The n Leader for the Kitsune n and Akumas mother. She is also stronger than White.


    Amaterasu is, just like all the other kitsune, very yful and likes to toy with people and things. But unlike her daughter, she does not hold herself back unless she has to. Because she has the power to back her actions.


    The only time she ever holds herself back is from going too far with Scarlet as she does fear and respect the Demon King too much to go any further than mere ying.


    Titania:


    The former queen of the fae who created the System using her own life as a sacrifice. However, she also created much weaker clones of herself that she now inhabits.


    Oberon:


    The current King of the Fae and father of Tar. Despite his cold personality, he has a re for the dramatics.

 Book 6: Chapter 1

    Book 6: Chapter 1


    <strong>A Rooftop Somewhere on Earth</strong>


    And were live, Jason Todd hears in his invisible earpiece.


    Hello everyone! Were Arcadia News here with another update about the Void Invasion! Jason quickly gets into it as he stands at the edge of the rooftop looking out over the roof at the remnants of a Fracture. One that is still filled with the corpses of dozens of voidlings all being picked up and carried to various trucks for transporting. If youre not up to date, well start with a recap of thest time. Over the course of thest month, ever since the day the second set ofpetitions ended for the Fae Ascension Tournament, new Corrupted Fractures have begun appearing all over the entire universe. On Earth, on Tartarus, and even on other worlds outside of our scope ording to the fae. And out of these Corrupted Fractures havee the void creatures, all leaking over from the void. How this is happening, no one knows. Not even the Former Queen of the Fae herself, assuming shes telling us the truth. But it has broken the short peace we had finally obtained after Her Highness, the Warden of the Red gue, made peace between the humans and the demons.


    Jason pauses as he sees the trucks loaded with voidling and some void drone corpses beginning to drive away. Then he continues, We had just begun growing used to the peaceful life, learning to share the Fracture cores with the demons every time the Fractures would ur. And now tumultuous times have returned. But not just for us this time, but for the entire universe.


    Onto our news today, Jason says while turning around to face the camera. We have just received news from all over the that the Warden of the Red gue, dubbed Wolf of the Blood Moon by the former Fae Queen, has increased her activity to shatter the Fracture cores in all of the continents surrounding the midwestern continent. Instead of just focusing on our own continent like she had been doing. Furthermore, weve received news from the Fae King that the twenty-secondpetition of the fae has beenpleted. If you will look to the sky, you will find the current point score for the entire tournament.


    On another note, a world-wide holiday has been created on the Wardens birthday to celebrate her and everything she has done for us, Jason continues, a smile covering his face at this. Shes been working almost nonstop every day to make sure as little casualties ur as possible during these times, using her immense power to keep the void invasion at bay. His smile turns wry. Winning over quite a few of those who were initially nervous about a person having as much power as she has in the process.


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    Jasons interrupted when another Fracture starts, startling him, the film crew, and the workers down below. All of whom werent expecting one so soon after thest one.


    But just as quickly as it had started, Jason just barely sees a very small drop of blood float up into the air from the ground before expanding and forming a body made of glowing red blood with a jacket and pants emerging on it. Then the glowing red blood materializes into the form of a young woman with long ck hair streaked with crimson highlights, glowing red eyes, and her hands firmly in her pockets.


    And just as quickly as she appears, all of the void creatures that spawn from the void begin stiffening up until theyre drained dry of any fluids in their body and then torn apart by their own fluids.


    Jason watches in awe as she casually walks up to the core that had appeared near them and pulls one hand out of her pocket to tap the thing with a w, making it shatter in an instant. Then she nces at them, putting her hand back into her pocket while transforming the w back to normal, gives them a nod, and turns back into a drop of blood again.


    Something Jason knows no doubt happened all across the world almost at once.


    She never speaks when she does it  most likely due to the strain of making so many clones of herself  but she does it.


    Jason quickly nces towards the cameras to find that theyre still rolling before giving an inner cheer. One he does not do out loud simply because of the fact that hes still on air.


    Then he exims, And shes still at it! The Princess of both Humanity and the Demons, daughter to the White Knight of Humanity and Blood Cmity, granddaughter to the Demon King, and a whole bunch of her own personal Titles!


    Jason briefly nces at the glowing red blood that quickly devours the void creature corpses before vanishing again. But he doesnt pay that any more mind as he turns around again to look out over the street, where he finds a bunch of other cores being shattered as well. Some by Scarlet, others by other Guardians.


    And some of the Fracture cores are even being shattered by demons that had finally begun moving to Earth from Tartarus and vice versa.


    Well leave it off here for the night, but do remember folks, Jason continues with a grin on his face. The Warden is always with us. So stay tuned for more news, whether its for the invasion or the tournament. Because Arcadia News has it all!


    Jason gives a slight motion with his hand, making the camera man instantly cut the feed from the camera.


    Then Jason copses onto the ground, feeling both mentally and physically exhausted, along with a little terrified.


    And who wouldnt be after a Fracture core appears right in front of them?


    If it werent for the Wardens help, hed be void creature food by now.


    Thank you, Jason whispers into the night, knowing that the Wolf of the Blood Moons hearing must be good enough to hear if she cares enough.


    But even if she doesnt, he still feels he needs to say it.

 Book 6: Chapter 2

    Book 6: Chapter 2


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a light yawn after dealing with this most recent Void Assault  the name that people have started calling what were formerly called Demonic Assaults since now theyre just Corrupted Fractures opening up and void creatures attacking instead of demons. Meanwhile I float up high in the sky lying down on a reclined throne made of blood metal while staring up at the moon that had just returned to its normal shade.


    Its been boring. Very boring. Ever since Tar left for the rest of the fae tournament.


    None of the fae have been allowed to leave the tournament universe since, and none of us Guardians or demons can enter it either.


    In all honesty, I could probably just brute force my way into it through breaking into the void using a corrupted fracture and then finding them, but that wouldnt amount to much. Not when Oberon could just teleport me back out. Plus itd be disrespectful and probably get us disqualified.


    So Im left here defending Earth without much else to do aside from video games.


    Gramps is dealing with protecting Tartarus from the Corrupted Fractures, so I dont have to go there at least. Not that Id be able to, what with the reality energy requirements of the Fractures and Gates no longer being able to handle my crossing.


    At best I could go there using the Fae Kings teleportation power. But I dont have that, so I cant.


    And King Oberon is still busy with the tournament.


    Thankfully both Gramps and I have managed to keep the casualties to a minimum during this void invasion. So theres that. And the Voided Overlord is still stuck in the void without being able to escape.


    We wont be at crisis level emergency until after it breaks into the universe itself and starts destroying it just from its very presence.


    Which thankfully shouldnt be for a while.


    I just hope the stupid fae tournament ends soon.


    Its getting boring here.


    At most Oberon has disyed the overall point total for the entire Fae Ascension Tournament at the end of every round, showing who is currently winning. Which is still me and Tar, but the gap is very slowly starting to thin as the other fae clearly beat Tar in thepetitions.


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    Theyre currently starting the twenty-thirdpetition. Probably. I think. They just announced the results for the twenty-second, so Im assuming theyre starting the twenty-thirdpetition now.


    And this is after about a month or so since the end of the twentiethpetition.


    Of course, they only announced the end of the twenty-firstpetition about three weeks after the twentiethpetition, with the twenty-second a week after that. So theres a good chance they just didnt start doing them right away after the twentiethpetition ended.


    But still. It sure is taking a lot longer for thesepetitions to go on.


    I let out another sigh while staring up at the moon in the sky. Just waiting for another Void Assault to begin.


    Since they seem to ur every half an hour or so. Ish. With quite a few of them happening at the same time across the world during those instances.


    And while I deal with the majority of them, I do leave a couple in ces that dont have any civilians but do have Guardians for the Guardians to handle. Just to give them some experience dealing with void creatures.


    Even if theyre not very happy about not getting any EXP from them.


    That parts not my problem though. Especially since I do get reality energy from them.


    Not all that much though. Even with a month straight of almost nonstop killing these things and devouring them, Ive only raised by two levels.


    Not that much considering that I need almost two hundred more levels to reach the level cap of ss V.


    My thoughtse to a halt when the moon turns a glowing shade of ck once more, following which I sense tens of thousands of Corrupted Fractures appearing across the.


    I let out a sigh before activating that really ufortable skill and summoning thousands of clones from droplets of my blood Ive left scattered across the. One of the skills I bought with that massive amount of skill points I had just because its even more ufortable to do it with Ruler of Blood.


    Since I can do it with Ruler of Blood. I can do anything blood magic rted with it. So long as I figure out how.


    But not as well as a skill. And Perfect Blood Clone, a legendary skill that lets me make a perfect clone of myself albeit with my mind stretched across them making it pretty much impossible to form a coherent sentence if I have too many clones, is very ufortable to do without the skill. Its ufortable with it actually. Just even moreso without it.


    Plus hard to figure out.


    Although its not necessarily that its hard to form a coherent sentence in one of the clones, its more like its hard to focus on one particr clone hard enough to do so. I can see what theyre seeing, but to share more than two of their senses is a bit much.


    And I need it for either sight or hearing.


    I can still think coherently from here.


    So I do just that. Continue lying down on my lovely reclined throne while controlling thousands of clones to destroy the Corrupted Fractures and kill the void creatures. Almost all of which are ss I or ss II. With only a few ss III.


    Meaning they die in an instant.


    I let out another sigh as I cancel all of my clones, reaching behind my head while wearing my original outfit. One Ive taken a shine to over that stuffy armor from before.


    Not like I need armor after all. And Im making my outfit now with my own magic, so might as well wear what feels mostfortable.


    Some time passes before the moon finally returns to normal again, the Guardians handling the rest of the Corrupted Fractures.


    This really is boring.

 Book 6: Chapter 3

    Book 6: Chapter 3


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The same old process repeats itself over and over again for days on end. And after five more days, the twenty-thirdpetition draws to a close with me and Tar still having a two thousand four hundred and one point lead over second ce. But considering that we had an almost three thousand point lead over second ce by the start of the twenty-first round, that doesnt bode all that well.


    We should be find though. Even if this keeps up.


    Guess Tar was being honest when he said he probably didnt stand a chance against his siblings.


    Which makes sense when I think about it. Thepetitions between the fae shouldnt have anything to do withbat. Theyre all about strategy, decisions, intelligence, and the like. Most of which are gained through experience and age.


    Both things Tar isckingpared to the other higher ranking and older fae.


    After the twenty-thirdpetition, it takes another week for the twenty-fourthpetition toe to a close. With our lead dropping down to about two thousand two hundred and thirty points between us and second ce. Then it drops down further six dayster when the twenty-fifthpetitiones to a close and our lead goes to two thousand one hundred points on the dot.


    Overall, the only thing worrying me is the thirtieth and finalpetition. Since the tenth and twentiethpetitions gave a lot more points than the others. Which means the lead is more at risk during thatpetition than the others.


    I yawn while still floating high in the air even after all this time, briefly wondering if Ive just turned into Earths guard dog or something. Since I dont really do anything other than sitting up here ying video games and watching TV while asionally stopping to deal with Corrupted Fractures.


    Makes for a very boring past couple months.


    My thoughtse to a halt when another Void Assault begins, only for me to be rather surprised when a ss IV Corrupted Fracture appears. So, after quickly dealing with the other Fractures, I decide to go check it out by teleporting my main body into the clone I have nearby. Something I also purchased a skill for.


    Once I arrive, I quickly create a bunch of blood around each void creature thates out of the Corrupted Fracture before solidifying it all into little blood metal coffins over the creatures. All while I walk over towards the Fracture Core.


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    I purse my lips after stopping right in front of the thing, only briefly ncing to the side when several Guardians and some demons begin to arrive. All of whom are ss V, with some ss IVs.


    Guess Im not the only one curious about the first ss IV Corrupted Fracture of the Void Invasion.


    Up till now all of the Corrupted Fractures have been ss III and below without a single ss IV or ss V. Which has definitely been a good thing considering the ss IVs I have sealed away.


    ss IV void creatures are the ravagers. The ones that are basically justrge blobs of tentacles, ws, and scales the size of a house that likes to pull everything living nearby it into its mass in order to absorb them. Which doesnt bode well with a Corrupted Fracture full of several dozen of the buggers, along with the regr void creatures mixed in with them.


    Seeing as theyre, once again, the size of a damned house.


    Every. Last. One of them.


    Good thing this ss IV Corrupted Fracture appeared in a park outside. Otherwise any building they spawned in wouldve been destroyed the moment the things appeared.


    Even with it being a park though, quite a few buildings were destroyed along with a lot of the naturalndscape.


    A pity, but nothing can be done about that. At least not by me.


    A nature magic Guardian or demon can deal with it.


    Your Highness, some of the ss V Guardians and all of the demons state as they get near me. And if Im being honest, I dont remember most of them.


    Ive always had trouble remembering names of people Ive never interacted with, so the chances that Id remember these people from the few meetings Ive attended for ss Vs is rather miniscule.


    Putting that aside, I state, Watch out for ss IV Corrupted Fractures from now on. Take these specimens as samples or test subjects to train Guardians and demons.


    The most serious looking Guardian near me nods his head before I break the Fracture Core and teleport back to my lovely little throne in the sky and lie back down again. Having already dealt with all the other Corrupted Fractures of this particr Void Assault.


    Its not a good sign that stronger Corrupted Fractures are beginning to appear. Especially when the fae tournaments third arc is only halfway finished, with them only now starting the twenty-sixthpetition.


    Theres not much I can do right now though. Not when the fae are all gone and all I have to do is protect the.


    Just means I have to deal with the ss IV Corrupted Fractures too. And have to be more careful to catch those quickly than the other Fractures.


    The ss III Fractures are annoying since they have those broodmothers that like to endlessly give birth to more voidlings and other void creatures. But the ss I and ss II void creatures arent really a problem in the slightest. Hence why I often leave those to the Guardians and demons.


    But a ss III or ss IV Corrupted Fracture is a different matter entirely. They can grow worse and worse the longer theyve been open.


    So the best I can do is seal them away to give the Guardians and demons a chance to learn how to deal with them. Since I cant risk them running wild and killing a bunch of civilians.


    I let out a sigh, beginning to feel more and more overwhelmed with all of this the longer it goes on.


    Why couldnt these fractures wait a bit longer for me to go on the offensive?


    Its just in rude.

 Book 6: Chapter 4

    Book 6: Chapter 4


    <strong>Within the Artificial Universe created for the Tournament</strong>


    <strong><em>A few weekster</em></strong>


    King Oberon sighs as he looks out over the gathered fae royals. All his children.


    He was prepared at the very beginning of the tournament for everything thats happened. Both his mother finally showing her face, the looks of betrayal his own children send him now except for ra, and the hatred sent his way by the contractors. All of whom had been lied to for a long time now.


    And even though almost everything has been going ording to the prophecy, ording to n, with the exception of the Void Assaults which were unexpected, he cant help but feel unnerved by it all. By his mother. By the powerful being theyve been forging as a weapon against the Voided Overlord. And by how easily he went along with everything just because his mother told him to.


    A mother who is actually weaker than he is now due to her only being in a clones body.


    He raises his head to look at the scoreboards high above every one of the fae royals. And at this point, hes pretty sure Scarlet and Tarankar have the victory in the bag. Since they have nearly six thousand points while the others all only have almost five thousand, with there only being two morepetitions left remaining.


    <em>But</em>


    Oberon lowers his head to look at his gathered children.


    <em>it could potentially end up differently. It all depends on Tarankar and ra at this point.</em>


    The only one who could potentially catch up to him and Scarlet by now is his eldest child. The contracted partner of his own contracted partners son, Leonidas.


    <em>But will she even want to win? She knows whats at stake. Of course, she could always decide that she wants to be the Fae Queen and in the end teleport the Wolf of the Blood Moon around across the universe, but would she really do that?</em>


    Hes noticed that ra has been oddly motivated for a while now. Moreso than any of her siblings except for Tarankar.


    And its confused him all the way till this point.


    She wont say a word about it when he asks, so he just leaves it be. But he really wants to know.


    Eventually he just sighs and flies higher above the stadium, dering, <strong>The twenty-ninth and thirtiethpetitions will now bothmence. They are merged into one with a different scoring over the same actions. All of you will be given control over a territory within the Farshore to govern with no limitations or interference from myself. Each and every one of you will have ministers assigned by me who have sworn an oath to be fair and impartial judges attaching their soul to their oath as they rate you on how well you performed in two different areas. Neither of which will be exined before thepetitions begin. Furthermore, the number of bonus points you receive during this month-longpetition will be based on the score they give you, along with the victor of thepetition.</strong>


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    All forty-one fae bow their heads and dere simultaneously, <strong>As you will it, Royal Father.</strong>


    Then King Oberon waves his w, making each and every one of them teleport back to the Farshore, where they will bepeting in thispetition.


    After a long and drawn out pause, he lets out another sigh, simply watching as the fae filling the stadium all head back to the Farshore themselves. And once theyre all gone, he turns his attention to a screen he makes that shows Scarlet as shezes around on a throne made of blood metal floating high in the sky while ying chess with her cousin. Who is also floating next to her on a seat outlined in blood metal but has plenty of cushions on it.


    <strong>Are you having second thoughts? </strong>King Oberon hears his mothers voice ringing in his head, but he doesnt turn around to look.


    Oberon doesnt say anything for a few seconds as he watches the two young girls ying chess. Then he eventually answers, <strong>Yes. </strong>He turns to look at his mother while the screen vanishes. <strong>Dont you worry about what weve done to the girl? Putting aside all of the traumas weve put her through, do you really trust her with all of that power? She could be just as bad as the Voided Overlord in the future. Even now she can eradicate entires without breaking a sweat. Should we really-</strong>


    His words are interrupted when his mother puts a finger to his mouth and quietly shushes him, making him go silent. And without a hint of regret in her voice, she says, <strong>Better the demon you know. And well still have a reality to live in with this one.</strong>


    That makes Oberon grit his fangs in the artificial body hes inhabiting.


    But he cant say anything against that. Because its true.


    While he feels remorse for everything that the girl has been through, he understands that its either that or the end of the universe and the Farshore and every other spirit realm if they hadnt done what they had done.


    <em>There really is no victory in this situation</em>


    Eventually he just sighs and asks his mother, <strong>Did you ever figure out why the prophecy didnt mention the Void Assaults?</strong>


    Hes been wondering about that for a while as his mother never mentioned a single word about them since they appeared other than what exactly they appeared to be doing. And even that was just to appease the humans and demons with an exnation.


    She purses her lips for a second before backing away and answering, <strong>It would appear that the Voided Overlords presence at the universes edge is beginning to warp time and space, veering things off of the direction of the prophecy. So we may be blind from here on out.</strong>


    That gives Oberon pause.


    After several seconds of staring, he finally mutters a single word in shock, <strong>What?</strong>

 Book 6: Chapter 5

    Book 6: Chapter 5


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I let out a yawn as I sit in a booth at the very top of the stadium for the Annual Interschool Tournament while resting my face on my fist, feeling a little bored at the opening. One being carried out by ck again. Just like thest few years.


    The tournament was postponed this year due to the Fae Ascension Tournament, but theyre finally starting it up. And its also the first time Im actually attending the tournament as someone other than apetitor. Since I havent attended as a spectator before.


    And we wee you all to the very first Interschool Tournament since the Ascension Tournament! cks voice echoes across the stadium. But I take my attention away from the man as I briefly send a bunch of clones out to deal with all of the Corrupted Fractures that just appeared through the world.


    Annoying.


    I quickly take care of each of the Fractures before returning all of my focus to my main body right as ck shouts, Say hello to Her Highness, the Wolf of the Blood Moon, Warden of the Red gue, and a hell of a bunch of other Titles, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron! Right when a spotlight shines on my booth, making me narrow my eyes slightly.


    Even more annoying.


    I simply incline my head a little in greeting, making a lot of my fans scream and shout in cheer.


    And there ya have it! The Princess acting just as aloof as always! ck says, making my eyebrow twitch slightly in irritation as I re at him. Now lets move on before she kills me! I raise a brow. Like, right now.


    Right. Good choice.


    He quickly moves onto introducing the firstpetition of the tournament as all of thepetitors gather in the arena below. Apetition that I remember very well as that demon hunt one.


    Honestly, I never really got the chance topete in the tournament again myself. Was always too busy to do so due to all the stuff that went on over the past few years.


    Like fighting in the Fractures, the ss V Fracture, going to Tartarus, then all the stuff that happened after that. Like the Fae Tournament, and the war with the demons.


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    And by the time I, well, had time to do it again, I had already graduated from the Guardians University. So I wasnt able topete.


    Not to mention that even if Ipeted, I wouldnt really be able to do much. Not when Id literally just wipe out everyone in thepetition with ease.


    So it kind of feels a little nostalgic watching this. They even added a new little event to the tournament that hasnt started just yet. One that should happen after thispetition.


    And Im actually rather excited to see this one.


    Because this extra event will include the junior high school students and high school students. Which Aria has be one of this year. An eighth grader to be specific.


    So I get to see Ariapeting in apetition today.


    The only reason I have any interest in this tournament is because of that.


    Hard to think of Aria as a teenager though.


    I smile slightly at that before ncing at the door when I hear a buzzing sound from it. Then I look forward as a screen appears in front of me. One showing Amelia standing outside next to Blue, who has mellowed out a lot since his emotions returned.


    After a brief nce at the arena which has quickly turned into the forest full of demons, I go ahead and open the door, letting both of them inside. Then I summon two seats next to each other on my right.


    Good morning, Scarlet, Amelia says with a faint smile rather simr to my own.


    Morning, I tell her with a nod.


    Good morning, Scarlet, Blue, or, rather, Alexander says  been trying to alter how I refer to him since hes not a psycho anymore  with a nod. But I can tell most of his attention is on the arena as he sits down. No doubt trying to see if he can find Aria.


    Its rather nice, but he and Aria have grown a bit closer over the time since he got his emotions back. Not as close as a real father and daughter pair, but a lot closer at least. To the point that theyre like friends at least. And shes gottenfortable around him.


    So thats very nice.


    Hes also started spoiling the hell out of her.


    At the rate theyre going she might end up moving out of my ce and into his by the time shes in high school.


    On that note, is Aria even down there yet? Not sure if the junior high students are even down there with the college students.


    I focus on the arena again before frowning as I see Anthony out there. The half void creature half human guy.


    Although I do wonder is the same thing that happened to me happening to him as he ascends through the sses? With how I became more and more demon the higher my ss became? Except for him bing more void creature? That would be frightening for him.


    Rather interesting to think about, but doesnt really affect me, so I dont really care beyond a mild curiosity.


    Unless he bes a danger that is. To society.


    No idea how void creatures work, but I do know that no void creatures are sapient. Not even the ss VI one.


    Either way, I let out a yawn as I lean on my fist again, my elbow on the arm rest of my throne.


    Thisll be interesting. To see Ariapeting against people her own age.


    Up till now the only people Ive seen herpeting against were people my age. Like Anthony at the Fae Ascension Tournament.


    I tap my fingers on the other arm rest for a few seconds before briefly wondering where Tar is.


    Hope hes doing okay.

 Book 6: Story Art with link

    Book 6: Story Art with link


    <strong>As always, click here for the story art post on my Patreon in case the art ever breaks in this chapter here on Royal Road.</strong>


    <strong>Also, I''ll be rather busy for the next couple weeks since it is at the end of my semester. Thest few weeks of myst semester as a college student.</strong>


    <strong>So there won''t be as many chapters.</strong>


    <strong>Here''s art of Titania:</strong>


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Next up is art of Scarlet in her wolf form with the of Red gue in the background:


    And two original images for ads I currently have running on RR:

 Book 6: Chapter 6

    Book 6: Chapter 6


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The Demon Huntpetition within the Interschool Tournament is rather ironic at this point. Because there are even some demons participating in it, what with demons finally having slowly started integrating themselves within human society. With some even going to Guardians Universities now and thereforepeting in the Interschool Tournament.


    But they still stuck with the Demon Huntpetition as the annual opener for the tournament. Simply because of tradition.


    The demons dont seem to mind either, which makes sense considering their penchant for murdering each other on Tartarus that still remains to this day.


    In fact, most of the demons who have arrived are the peaceful ones. The demons who dont want to be in such a dangerous world as Tartarus.


    Even those more peaceful demons do want to help against the void creatures though. Hence their participation in this tournament.


    I yawn slightly as I watch the Guardians and demons hunt the artificially created demons of thepetition.


    Most of the people I knew back in the Guardians Universities have all graduated by now. Whether through spending the four years there or graduating early thanks to the time they put in on the frontlines of the Demon War or the Void Invasion, the same as me.


    So I dont really know anyonepeting down there. Except from the news that is.


    I do recognize a few people that have be rather popr as ofte. New Guardians who have ben making a name for themselves in the Corrupted Fractures and are very liked by the people.


    One of them is even dressing as a magical girl from those old world animated TV shows. Which I very much question, seeing as theyre running around in a pink dress while waving a wand that they arent even using.


    Rather ridiculous, in my opinion.


    But the kids love it at least.


    A lot.


    Then theres some guy who runs around with a mask on and a hood covering his identity entirely despite his name being known to all since hes in the tournament. So they know what he looks like even if he keeps his face hidden all the time.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Not sure whats up with him, but people like the weirdness surrounding him. So hes popr too.


    They both use rather interesting magic is the main point though. The magical girl uses some sort of creation magic which turns her fantasies into real life, whereas the other dude uses some sort of death magic. Neither of which aremon.


    Although, theyre not the only interesting ones Ive met since the fae tournament. Since the Demon War in fact.


    Theres also a new destruction magic using girl at about seventeen years old who is quite literally copying my style of clothes. A ck jacket with a hood and red trim and inner lining over a ck shirt and ck pants. All put together as magi-tech armor despite looking like regr clothes. Then theres the two new blood magic users who happen to be twins, the space magic user, the <em>time </em>magic user, albeit one that isnt too strong and doesnt focus on time reversal but rather aging, and a few other interesting ones.


    I nce down at my current outfit, which is just my regr one but made out of solidified and colored blood, before looking out at thepetition again.


    Its been a very interesting few months, learning about blood in general from Gramps. Not to mention what I can do with it.


    Even Amelias father decided to give me some tips now instead of waiting till I reached ss VI. Since I have a skill that gives absolute control over my magic anyways.


    With it Ive learned quite a few things about blood magic that I didnt know before. Like how to change the color and texture of the blood both before and after solidifying it. How to turn it into blood metal without using my skill. How to age and de-age the blood, including blood I manifested temporarily, created permanently, and blood in other people.


    And of course, I go and use all of that knowledge for what many consider the most trivial of things.


    Making clothes that look and feel like real clothes out of blood.


    Because clothing is absolutely the most important thing in battle when I can survive my entire body being blown up simply through manifesting somewhere else.


    Dont want to end up shing everyone after all. That would be bad.


    So clothing is a must.


    I let out a sigh as I think about what I agreed to do before. Simply because it was Aria who was asking, even though I know someone put her up to it. She even told me. That she was gonna be given extra credit if she could convince me to give out the trophies at the awards ceremony ending the Interschool Tournament.


    Ridiculous.


    I still caved though, since it would help her and all Id have to do is show up and hand someone a trophy. Maybe let them take a picture or two.


    Not much work when itll help her.


    It doesnt even bother me that they approached Aria to get to me. Simply because they gave her some benefits in return and arent just haggling her to help them.


    Now, if they <em>were </em>just haggling her for nothing in return


    The corner of my lips quirks upwards slightly.


    They wouldnt be doing it for long, I can say that at least.


    On another note, I nce around the stadium at a few specific locations. Spots where I see friends and other people I know watching thepetition.


    Unfortunately, I havent had much time to spend with my own friends as ofte. And with my power growing so much, its be hard to make new friends. Except in video games, of course. Where they have no idea who I am.


    Maybe


    I purse my lips for a moment before nodding to myself and standing up from my seat.


    Ill go join them in the bleachers.

 Book 6: Chapter 7

    Book 6: Chapter 7


    <strong>The Stadium Bleachers</strong>


    Jeremy Atwood finds himself sitting at the edge of his seat as he watches the fighting going on in the arena below. As his favorite amongst the new Guardians  the magical girl themed Guardian titled the Pink Rose  fights the demons by summoning various things around her that would bemonly seen in a childrens toy set. Things like stuffed animals and toy cars and trains and the like. And throws them all at the demons, dealing far more damage than those items would normally do, even with their enhanced size.


    Ooo, and it looks like the Pink Rose isnt holding back in the slightest! But what will she do now that the Rifted One ising for her?! Jeremy hears one of thementators other than the ck Knight dering, her voice echoing throughout the stadium. And the words instantly bring Jeremys attention over towards the man running towards her. A man who is wearing clothing thatpletely blocks his appearance from the audience along with a mask on his face.


    Jeremy frowns at that as one of his friends mutters, Thats the death magic guy, right? You think the Pink Rosell stand a chance against him?


    Then another one simply shushes him as Jeremy sees that very same friend pointing at him. And all of his friends go silent at that, not saying another word.


    Since they all know hes a big fan.


    Jeremy scoffs while crossing his arm and saying, Theres no way hell beat her. Death magic doesnt work on her creations. You should know that.


    But itll work on her, the same friend who had first spoken up about herments, making Jeremy turn a re on him.


    Only for his eyes to widen in shock when he sees whats behind him, not saying another word. And its not just him, but everyone behind him quickly freezes in shock.


    After a few seconds of his staring, the others ask, Jeremy? You okay? Jeeerremmmyyyy! Anyone home? Hey, Jeremy!


    A few more seconds pass, and the stunned silence of the audience behind them slowly morphs into roaring shouts. And it takes less than a second after that for Jeremy to snap out of his own stupor, with their shouts ringing in his ears.


    Its the Princess! The Princess is here! Shes heere!!!! Scaarlet!!! Scarlet notice me!


    By this point his friends all turn around as well and freeze up too. Meanwhile Jeremy just shoots to his feet like a lot of the other audience members are doing.


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    With everyone staring and trying to get the attention of the beautiful woman walking down the stairs between the bleacher seats.


    The woman has glowing red eyes with long ck hair and red highlights and is wearing a ck jacket with red trim over a ck shirt and pants. But everyone knows her clothing is all made out of blood she herself has made. And as she walks with her hands in her jacket pockets and not even so much as ncing at the audience members around her, her hair flutters in the artificial wind flowing through the bleachers.


    <em>Its really her</em>


    Out of every demon and Guardian on Earth, the most well-known one is Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron. Originally known as The Scarlet Wolf, thenter known as the Apex Predator of Humanity, and various other Titles over the years.


    Shes the most powerful being on Earth, far surpassing even the Knights of Humanity at this point, and possibly even surpassing the Demon King himself.


    Yet, despite all of that, she still takes the time to save people all across the world all the time from the Corrupted Fractures.


    Shes Jeremys favorite Guardian by far. If she counts as a Guardian, since she is supposedly more demon now than human.


    In fact, shes a lot of peoples favorite Guardian. And since shes one of the reasons Earth still exists, it makes sense that she would be.


    Jeremy cant believe his eyes as he watches her calmly walk down the stairs, quite literally forcing anyone who tries to enter the stairs to follow after her back out of the aisle again without even looking at them. And after walking down past Jeremy and his group, she finally turns out of the isle and into one of the lower VIP seating areas meant for ss III and ss IV Guardians and demons. One that doesnt have a wall to give privacy, but does at least have better seating and a better view of the arena.


    There she smiles at and joins some of the Guardians in there. Some Guardians that Jeremy vaguely recognizes from somewhere.


    Isnt that one of Jeremys friends mutters, making him and his other friends turn to look at him.


    What? Jeremy asks, a frown on his face as he nces back and forth between his friend and the Warden.


    I think the friend begins before ncing at Jeremy, that those people were part of the Wardens team back when she went to Lions Heart Guardians University.


    Jeremy quickly turns to look at them again, and he quickly realizes just where he recognizes them from.


    Its from the Interschool Tournament years ago, when Scarlet hadstpeted herself. And when she was participating in a team once.


    Back before she was very powerful, which is saying something since it was only a few years ago.


    Youre right Jeremy mutters, all thoughts about the magical girl Pink Rose gone from his mind as he and all of the people in the audience around him focus all of their attention on the Warden, who had just passed by them. A once in a lifetime event.


    Being so close to the Warden herself.


    The Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    At this point there are entire TV shows based on her rise to power, and shes the mostmon topic in any news station. So pretty much everyst person on the knows about her.


    A lot of the people around them are even bringing out their phones and taking pictures, but that doesntst long when walls of blood metal appear around the VIP booth, blocking them from sight.


    And its only now that Jeremy finally lets out the breath he didnt realize he was even holding.


    <em>The Wolf of the Blood Moon in the flesh</em>


    A smile stretches across his face at having just seen his number one favorite Guardian.


    <em>This is the best tournament Ive ever seen!</em>

 Book 6: Chapter 8

    Book 6: Chapter 8


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After entering the VIP area, I quickly seal it off from those rather annoying stares. Because even if Ive gotten used to being a celebrity and known all over, it doesnt change the fact that it can get annoying sometimes.


    Or, rather, a lot. Not just sometimes.


    So howve you been recently? Michael asks as I walk up to the group sitting there in the booth, all of whom are the people who were in my old team. Very old team.


    I answer with a nod while saying, Pretty good. You? Are you still getting peopleining about your own personal harem?


    He starts coughing on the drink he was having while the others, including Belle, Arthur, Emily, and Denise.


    I nce at Denise while sitting down next to Belle, and she answers for her boyfriend, He hasnt had any trouble like that since we started dating and Arthur joined the team.


    Ah, thats good then.


    Mostly, Belle mutters, making me nce at her with a raised brow. So she continues while ignoring the re Michael is sending her, Lets just say he ended up in a temporary team that was full of nothing but girls and him during one of his practical exams at Lion Heart. Anymore and Im afraid hell kill me.


    I turn my head to stare at Michael, who is trying very hard to not return my gaze. Then I just tilt my head and utter, Oh?


    He really has bad luck.


    Right when hes about to respond, I blink, raising one hand to stop them as I close my eyes and send clones out.


    Another Void Assault.


    I quickly deal with all of the Corrupted Fractures that opened up in the Void Assault, which takes a few moments. Then I open my eyes again and lower my hand, saying, Alright, Assault dealt with. What were you going to say?


    The others all look briefly surprised before Michael says, That incident happened a while back, and there hasnt been anything since.


    Thats because you graduated already, so youre not being ced in random teams anymore, Arthur says without taking his gaze from the arena down below.


    I feel the corner of my lips quirking upwards ever so slightly at hisment. Then up even more when Michael begins throwing retorts at him in response, with Arthur just casually deflecting them.


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    Its been a while since Ive been able to do this.


    A very long while.


    My attention turns to the side when I hear someone scooting a chair over to me where I find Emily then sitting down on the chair she puts right next to mine. Meanwhile the others just continue their banter.


    I focus on the arena again, leaning my cheek against my fist, my elbow on the arm rest.


    The past years havent given me all that much time to talk with friends. Or any time, really. Ive spent almost all of my time going from one thing to the next.


    And the little time I did get I tended to spend with Aria at home while nning my next moves.


    So its nice to hear their bantering again after so long.


    My attention is once again brought to my side when I feel something leaning on my arm, bringing my gaze to find Emily falling asleep.


    Hmm. Guess shes bored.


    I focus on the arena again while watching the new Guardians and the freshmen demons fighting against other demons. And from what I can tell, the new Guardians I heard about on the news are the ones leading thepetition in terms of points.


    Especially that guy who is hiding his identity while not hiding it along with the magical girl Guardian.


    Hey, Scarlet? Belle suddenly asks, making me nce at her, my current line of thoughting to a halt.


    Yeah? I respond. Something wrong?


    She shakes her head as Michael and Denise talk between themselves and Belles boyfriend, Arthur, just continues watching the arena down below. Then she asks, Do you know when our fae will return?


    Guess she would be worried too.


    No, I dont know anything about it, I answer with a frown.


    That visibly disappoints her as she looks down and mutters, Oh thought the Fae King mightve told you something, but I guess not


    Nope, I state while returning my attention to the arena again. The Fae King hasnt even said anything to Gramps since the fae tournament, much less me. The only thing Ive been told is what they think the Void Fractures are. Nothing more.


    Which has been rather frustrating. Being left in the dark.


    Belle doesnt say anything after that, leaving the booth in rtive silence other than Denise and Michael chatting amongst themselves. And, of course, the noisesing from outside of the booth. Which are plenty, even if theyre muted by the booth and the wall I set up around us.


    We all watch thepetition going on until the firstpetition finallyes to a close. Then starts his usualmentating.


    And the winner of this years Demon Huntpetition iiiiiisss ck draws it out right when the disguised dude appears on the pedestal at the front of the stadium floor, the arena itself returning to normal. The Rifted One! And in second ce, the Crimson Thorn! Andstly, third ce goes to the Pink Rose! Give them all a round of apuse!


    Along with his words, two more smaller pedestals appear next to the first one, each with a person on it. The second highest pedestal having the person who is mimicking my outfit who uses destruction magic, and the lowest pedestal having the magical girl on it.


    And immediately after that, the audience breaks out into roaring apuse. But I cant help but raise a brow at the sight of the girl with destruction magic looking right in my direction while waving like crazy. Showing just how much the fan she is.


    She found me rather quickly.


    I have to say though, the next generation of Guardians are looking rather good.


    The hint of a smile forms on my face.


    A good generation indeed.

 Book 6: Chapter 9

    Book 6: Chapter 9


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    My interest quickly fully locks onto the tournament when the collegepetitors are teleported out and the next bunch ofpetitors are teleported in. Competitors including both the junior high and high school Guardians.


    Or, to be more specific, my interest locks on to Aria who I see standing somewhere in the middle of the few thousand students down there. All of them ranging from twelve to neen in age. Depending on when their birthdays were in the year. And assuming they didnt skip grades or get held back.


    Okay, Ill just stick to seventh through twelfth graders. More urate that way.


    And now!!! For the first time since the dawn of the Interschool Tournaments, we have ourpeting high schools and junior high schools! ck deres, a wide grin on his face. And wouldnt ya know it, but we actually have a few rather special individuals amongst this batch to! How much ya wanna bet you can pick out who I mean?


    I ignore the mans theatrics as I lean forward in my seat, finding the people in the VIP booth with me having gone silent with anticipation clearly on their faces.


    Many of you have been waiting for this for a while now, and dont worry, we have a pain nullifier set for these lovely kiddos should they wish to activate it, ck says before spinning in ce on therge screen above the stadium. Now for how thisll work! There will be three types ofpetitions! One for each grade level, one for the school level  whether theyre highschoolers or junior highschoolers  and one for all of them! And amongst these different types, there will be twopetitions within! One that is a direct tournament pitting the students against each other, and one that is just like the otherpetitions in the Interschool Tournament! It could be a maze, or maybe something like Demon Hunt or a puzzle house. But I can say for sure that it <em>will </em>involve using their powers in thepetition! And it <em>will </em>be different for every grade level!


    Yeah, I already knew all that. I also know what eachpetition is, simply because Im technically part of the tournament staff. Even if my only job is to stand up on a podium at the end and hand the winner a trophy with a smile on my face.


    A rather easy job.


    I do still have to admit though, the pain nullifier thing was a good idea. There were still a lot of parents against the whole letting the junior highschoolers enter the tournament. Not as much for the highschoolers though.


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    But putting a pain nullifier that lets them fully turn off any and all senses of pain is a really good way to circumvent that.


    All it like likely took for themittee behind the tournament to convince them after that was to tell them to think of the tournament asbat training for when their kids are acting as Guardians.


    Simple as that.


    And if I remember correctly


    Alright then! We will first start out with the seventh graderspetitions! Now whos with me?! ck shouts, making me nod my head in confirmation.


    Yep. Arias grade goes first.


    The crowd goes wild at his words, so he continues, Now, before we begin, I will go ahead and inform thepetitors now that just because you are a junior high school student <em>doesnt </em>mean you cantpete in the high schoolpetitions! And while you wont be earning points for your schools like the Guardians Universities are, you are still representing them! So keep that in mind!


    Pretty sure Aria said she would bepeting in both the junior high and high schoolpetitions.


    And here we have our very firstpetition of the Youths Interschool Tournament! ck deres right as the rules for the tournament appear floating high in the air above the stadium. This one will be a different form of Demon Huntpetition! Instead of being located within arge forest, like the regr Demon Hunt, these students will be located all across a vast maze! One where the demons will be growing stronger and stronger the closer to the center of the maze they get. But! He pauses, a smirk stretching across his face as he raises one finger. Unlike the regr Demon Huntpetition, this one has traps scattered about the maze for the students! And each trap they manage to sessfully disarm or avoid will give them points! One point for avoiding it and three for disarming!


    Yep. Thepetition itself seems rather interesting.


    Thest difference is a rather obvious one, as we have childrenpeting, ck says while pointing at the rules once more. The demons will all be ss I, with the strongest demon being a single Captain at the very center at level one hundred!


    Would be weird if that wasnt how it was. Theyre all kids after all. So having ss IIs and IIIs in there would be ridiculous.


    All of the students will be teleported randomly throughout the maze once thepetition begins, and each demon will count for a single point, ck continues as he begins to float into the air out of the booth hes in to end up midair high above the students with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. And as an incentive for everyone of you, youll be able to turn in your points just like the college students, even if you arent getting university points like them!


    And that one simple statement immediately skyrockets their motivation to a visible extent. Clearly past what it was already at before.


    He certainly knows how to motivate them, thats for sure.


    I tap my finger on my arm, my arms crossed in front of me as well.


    Other than Aria, there should be several other sons and daughters of ss V Guardians. Even if none of their parents are Knights like Arias father.


    There is one particr Guardian down there though one in the same grade as Aria even


    Thisll definitely be interesting.


    Now! ck shouts while raising one arm. Lets begin!


    And dropping the arm again, making the maze appear in the center of the arena and all of the seventh graders appear inside of said maze at random.

 Book 6: Chapter 10

    Book 6: Chapter 10


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    All of thepetitors of thispetition  which number somewhere around four to five hundred  are sent scattered throughout the edges of the maze. But at the same time, theyre all at least five to ten walls away from each other. Initially.


    Quite a few of them are already beginning to rush towards other nearbypetitors. Specifically those with sensatory skills or natural powers. Just highly sensitive senses in general.


    Because killing otherpetitors does give points in thispetition, unlike in the normal Demon Huntpetition where killing otherpetitors only steals their points.


    Of course, it also steals points in this one. But not as many.


    These changes, from what I understand, are because of the much, <em>much </em>smaller gap in power between thepetitors. Since the normal Demon Huntpetition has Guardians ranging from ss I all the way through the peak of ss III. Unlike this one which only has ss I Guardians and demons, ranging from level one to one hundred.


    Although Im pretty sure the lowest level Guardian out there is around level eight, so not even level one.


    No one in their right mind would let a brand new Guardian who has never even fought before or leveled fight in apetition like this.


    Their parents would tear the schools apart if that was allowed.


    Parents can be scary like that.


    Putting that aside though, I quickly focus on Aria amongst thepetitors, finding her to be ignoring all of the otherpetitors and rushing straight towards the center while ughtering demons along the way.


    Good girl. Heading towards the Captain, which is worth a hundred points.


    The demon knights amongst the demons there are also worth more points than the other demons, albeit not by that much. And the demon knights are all located a lot closer to the center of the maze.


    Now I just have to get used to seeing Aria slinging herself through the maze using massive tentacles that used to be her hair. Because that is not a sight Im used to.


    ck and the othermentator whose name I have no idea what is beginmentating over thepetition, getting into detail about who is doing what, where, and why. Meanwhile the others in the booth with me start talking amongst themselves as well, no longer keeping silent.


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    But I tune everything out as I focus on Aria.


    Right now Aria is around level ny-six. Close to reaching ss II, but still in ss I.


    Unlike with me and other Guardians, child Guardians like her cant always go out to fight in Fractures. Theyre too weak after all. And after the demon war ended, there really isnt much opportunity for that anymore.


    Some people have resorted to going to Tartarus to level though. Fighting in the wilds of Tartarus, which are still rather rough, since Gramps didnt really change all that manyws on Tartarus.


    After all, the ce is entirely built on survival of the fittest. They cant just go changing their entire society.


    All they did do was make the cities and other civilizations set up around the a lot safer and make a bunch of things illegal while inside of the cities. Not to mention giving the Noble demons the rights to make morews in their regions, such as making killing illegal in their territory.


    Which not many Noble demons actually did.


    Some did though, which is something.


    And some humans also set up a small little nation within Tartarus that Gramps gave them dominion over. Of course, Gramps still has the final say, but he hasnt interfered with anything theyve done yet. So theyve been living nicely over there.


    But kids cant exactly go to Tartarus to fight. Which has left these children all unable to level up any more.


    Especially since the Corrupted Fractures dont level up Guardians at all. Seeing as void creatures have no life force.


    So only I can grow stronger from them. And thats through devouring them with the Red gue.


    Kind of ironic, if Im being honest. Titanias actions of starting the universes instinctive reaction to make the Fractures really was the only way for humanity and demonkind to survive.


    The only way for us to grow stronger.


    So no matter how much a lot of people hate on Titania nowadays, everyone still admits that much at least.


    Aria begins tearing apart demons within the maze once she reaches them, using both water magic and tentacles to do so. In various ways.


    Its hard to believe sometimes that her magic has a ratherrge focus on healing as well when I see her fighting like this


    Cant really imagine a healer going around like that.


    Now then.


    I look around the maze, trying to find the other person of interest within this particrpetition.


    Where are you


    My eyes narrow as I search for a few moments until locking directly onto the other person to keep an eye on for thispetition. For this year.


    The child is a young girl wearing a regr ck jacket over a white shirt with ck pants and her long ck hair tied up in a ponytail.


    The daughter of another rather special Guardian, simr to my grandfather on Amelias side of the family. Except this one is in the System.


    Shes both. The mother of this child, I mean.


    She supposedly knew how to do magic before entering the System and then entered the System by contracting. So she can bypass some of the System restrictions that way.


    And in addition to all of that, she has a special magic called Nirvana. Which is a mixture of life and death magic.


    A magic that her daughter inherited. Along with a few etched skills.


    But unlike her mother, who almost never participates in Fractures or any affairs unrted to her direct family, the child is a very different story. She fights regrly in the Corrupted Fractures despite gaining nothing from them.


    Shes also at around the same level as Aria and may actually be able to give her a run for her money.


    Although I doubt shell be able to beat Aria.


    It will be interesting to watch, nheless.

 Book 6: Chapter 11

    Book 6: Chapter 11


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Aria and the girl with nirvana magic both rush straight towards the center while ughtering one demon after another, leaving the other children far behind in their dust. With Aria killing them using both water and kraken transformations, along with some kraken summons, and the girl  whose name was Va  killing them with waves of miasma and simply draining their life energy.


    Both of them are moving quickly through the maze, each clearly having their own sensory skills guiding them along. But neither of them ever run into any of the otherpetitors simply because theyre so far ahead of them by now. Which leaves the other kids to fight amongst each other and the lower level demons.


    Of course, there are still around a dozen or so who make it past the mob ofpetitors and are chasing after the two, but they are still rather far behind them.


    I watch with interest as the two continue their race towards the center of the maze, all while the audience roars their approval for the two favorites.


    From what I understand, Vas ability to directly drain life energy from others and manipte it into her own life energy or mana is an etched skill she got from her mother. A skill far more powerful than the Life Drain skill. One that drains it over a dozen times faster, and has a much higher target limit for how many she can target at once.


    So Vas build in terms of magic and skills has been shown to be best against numbers. Where she can just drain arge number of enemies at once, filling her reserves and healing herself at the same time.


    To the point that fighting her with numbers is actually the worst idea possible if you want to win.


    On a one-on-one fight, though? She doesnt stand as big a chance.


    But her battle with Aria wont really be a one-on-one fight when they meet.


    Theyll be surrounded by a bunch of demons attacking them after all.


    I tap my chin while watching the two get closer and closer to each other, only for a faint smile to emerge on my face when they finally meet. And instead of greeting each other, they both re and begin attacking each other.


    Right. Almost forgot.


    These two dont like each other.


    Maybe its because theyre often beingpared to each other in their own age range?


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    No idea.


    All I know is that Aria oftenes home rather upset because of Va.


    Honestly, looking at how the two are acting right now I wouldnt be surprised if they were searching more for each other than the Captain.


    My smile turns wry as I watch the two go at it.


    Aria turning her entire arms into massive tentacles that she sends flying towards Va, who actually summons ominous ck and gray tentacles of her own tobat her. Tentacles that cause necrosis to everything they touch, including Arias tentacles. But not without being torn apart by Arias brute force strength in the process.


    Then they both heal. Because theyre both hybrid healers.


    Life magic is the best healing magic after all. And water is one of the best too, especially the special type of water magic Aria has.


    All of which also contributes to how much theyrepared to each other.


    Both the same age.


    Both daughters of very powerful Guardians.


    Both with etched skills.


    Both with a hybrid type magic including healing magic.


    Both use tentacles in their fighting even if one is mostly just manifesting the tentacles while the other is shapeshifting.


    Certainly makes for a rather long and drawn out battle between the two.


    Hit each other with their tentacles. Heal. Hit. Heal. Hit. Heal.


    Summon kraken subordinates, summon undead. Send them at each other. They kill each other.


    Hit each other with their tentacles. Rinse and repeat.


    Despite how repetitive the battle is though, its definitely the most interesting out of the bunch. And the audience seems to be eating it up.


    Eventually though, the stalemate is broken.


    When Aria finally loses it and activates her once-a-day skill.


    One of her etched legendary skills.


    Her Kraken Transformation skill.


    She transforms into a massive squid monster standing at about five meters tall with tentacles that are even longer than she is tall, filling the maze corridor as he glowing blue eyes illuminate the hall.


    And the crowd watching goes absolutely wild.


    I smirk before sending a very tiny trail of blood straight up into the air next to ck before reforming myself right by him in the air, startling the man who hadnt been expecting it.


    Holy shit, do <em>not </em>scare me like that little Scar! ck shouts, his voice going a little hoarse when he swears. But I just raise a brow at that nickname he started calling me. What brings you here?


    I cross my arms, ignoring how wild the audience is going just at the sight of me as I answer, Just watching my adorable little cousin. Then I nce at ck again, still with a brow raises. And arent you supposed to be a stealth focused Guardian? How did-


    Aaaanyyyywaaayys, ck says, drawing out the word as he cuts me off, making my other brow raise as well, it looks like little Va is about to go all in as well! Lets see whether her berserker mode can handle the kraken!


    The audience calls him out on his change of the subject, but he shamelessly ignores them while focusing entirely on the battle. So I just roll my eyes and do the same, finding Va to be activating the other etched skill she got from her mother.


    A skill no one really knows the name of other than the two of them. Just that it basically floods their bodies with death energy and miasma, temporarily turning them into an unkible undead.


    Vas skin begins to crack, going paler and paler while ck veins stretch all across her skin and she grows a bit taller, her eyes turning pitch ck and losing all the whites in them. And Aria lets out a roar in her kraken form.


    Meanwhile I just kinda stare while tapping my chin, specifically reminding myself that these are two either thirteen year old girls or soon to be thirteen year old girls.

 Book 6: Chapter 12

    Book 6: Chapter 12


    <strong>The Maze</strong>


    Aria narrows her eyes at the sight of Va entering her berserker mode. Then she quickly begins to summon one miniature kraken after another while quickly making her retreat. Because she knows from previous battles with Va that the entire battle at this point depends on this.


    On whether or not she can survive Vas attacks in her berserker mode.


    Since Aria cant leave any damage on Va while shes in that form, the only thing she can do is flee and hope the miniature krakens buy her enough time for Vas skill to run out.


    Fortunately for Aria, her own transformation skillsts for far longer than Vas. Something they both know already.


    Which is no doubt why Va immediately ignores the miniature krakens trying to slow her down to chase after Aria instead of bothering to attack them or even block their attacks. And since Vas transformation doesnt allow her to take any damage, the ck veins across her skin shing every single time damage would be received, Va manages to slowly close the distance between them. Despite the size difference between the two. And despite Aria being physically stronger and faster than her.


    Simply by ignoring the limits of a human body and pushing herself far more than her body would normally be able to take.


    But Aria continues pushing as well, healing every wound she takes from the ranged attacks sent her way by Va. Even when entire tentacles of hers are cut off.


    Because she <em>needs </em>to win this. Scarlet is watching after all.


    And Aria <em>will not let her down</em>.


    So Aria continues pushing, taking one hit after another. Blocking one every now and then with her own des and walls made of water. And regenerating all the way.


    Eventually Va seems to begin cracking. The ck veins slowly turning into cracks running across her body.


    A clear sign that the transformation is reaching its end.


    Aria begins to smirk slightly, only for Va to suddenly grin widely and cover herself entirely in a pitch ck me. One very simr to hellfire yet somehow different at the same time.


    Then Va boosts herself straight towards Aria using the me as a propulsion, making Arias eyes widen in shock.


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    Aria, recognizing that she wont be able to dodge or take this hit, stops fleeing and turns around, raising all of her tentacles while manifesting a bunch of miniature krakens and walls of water to block Va. Only for her to st straight through most of them until she ends up pushing Aria back against her tentacles, crushing every demon in the hallway along with a few unluckypetitors who were finally managing to catch up to them after turning a corner.


    Va lets out a scream as she charges forward, pushing with everything she has to <em>finally </em>get one up on her rival. On the girl she is alwayspared to at every single turn.


    This is the closest she has ever been at beating her, and she doesnt even care if she loses thepetition to do it.


    She probably will lose, simply because of all the damage shes done to her mana stores.


    Because while her skill does grant her immortality so long as its active, the damage doesnt simply vanish. Instead its reduced to a mere fifth of the damage she wouldve taken otherwise and turned towards her mana cap instead. Decreasing the maximum amount of mana she can have until it gradually recovers over time.


    And the amount of damage shes taken has been enough to nearly put her in the red.


    She wont have any mana left for the rest of thepetition.


    But she doesnt care.


    Va has grown sick and tired of losing to Aria at every single turn. Whether its in her parents and guardians power inparison to Arias family. In her own power. In their etched skills. In how Vas mother never participates in Fractures and is sometimes looked down upon by the people for that as a coward.


    She has grown sick of it all.


    And she puts all of those emotions of anger, loneliness, and hatred into onest skill, yanking her fist back and sending it flying straight at the tentacles Aria is using to block. Herst defense.


    Right when her hit is about tond though, she feels her manapletely depleting, leaving her just under the amount of power she had calcted needing to defeat Aria in one blow. Then her strikends, sending a powerful wave of ck death mes scattered all around the maze corridor, burning several of the otherpetitors and the demons alike in the process.


    At some point she hears a message ringing out that one of the otherpetitors defeated the Captain. But she ignores that as she grits her teeth, waiting for the death mes to fade away. Having dropped to her knees, unable to remain standing with her remaining strength.


    And when the mes do finally fade, Va feels herself almost begin crying.


    But she holds herself back.


    Because she would never make a fool of herself in front of all of these people.


    Aria, who is now revealed amidst the slowly dissipating death mes, finishes regenerating in her human form in front of Va. With a brand new set of clothes on, her previous outfit no doubt having been destroyed in the st.


    Then Aria puts one of her hands in her pocket and walks up to Va while stretching the other out towards Vas head.


    A few seconds pass with no sounds other than her footsteps and the sizzling walls, floor, and ceiling of the maze. Until Aria stops right in front of her and says with a faint smile, That was fun. Lets do it again soon.


    Vas mind nks out at that statement, and she begins to wonder something. To wonder if herpetitive hatred of Aria is all one sided.


    She doesnt get to ask though as Aria sends an arc of water out that makes everything in Vas vision go dark.


    Thest thing Va manages to see is Aria raising the fist she had pocketed before into the air with a smile on her face.

 Book 6: Chapter 13

    Book 6: Chapter 13


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    And Aria Knight has defeated Va!!! ck shouts, his voice echoing across the loud cheers of the stadium. But will she be able to im victory in thepetition?! The otherpetitors have already defeated the Captain, leaving her behind on points!


    As if on cue, we all watch Aria immediately begin rushing through the maze killing one demon after another. Yet its pretty obvious what her actual prey is considering that shes making a beeline straight towards the nearestpetitor.


    Then she ughters them in an instant, clearly not having any issues with killing.


    Huh. Wonder if my influence in this regard has been a bad one?


    I watch as she runs around killing one otherpetitor after another for a while before shrugging.


    Meh. Not entirely my fault. Considering how the world is.


    This tournament is a thing after all.


    Anyways, with the influx of points shes kinda just stealing from the other students, she ends up back at the top. In addition to the points she got while identally ughtering demons and other students in her battle with Va, of course.


    Because she did identally kill quite a few during that.


    On another note, I nce down at the area near the base of the arena where already defeatedpetitors are sent. Or to be more specific, I nce at Va, who looks surprisingly calm.


    Huh. Interesting.


    From what Ive heard, shes had a one sided hatred of Aria for a while driven entirely by her inferiorityplex to her. Since shes always beingpared to Aria in every single way, and often in a bad way.


    My being Arias cousin and one of her guardians not really helping.


    But she looks a little startled but not upset right now. Almost like shes trying to work through something right now.


    The girl suddenly blinks before looking up and directly meeting my eyes, growing slightly startled when she realizes Im looking at her.


    Hmm. Good senses.


    Out of curiosity, I nce towards ck and send him a telepathic message through his own blood. Or sorta telepathic. Since its technically through vibrating something to make a sound in his ear. Something I learned to do at one point.


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    Was rather difficult to learn though. And required popping a lot of skulls on ident due to vibrating the wrong bit of blood near the eardrum.


    Or I would just burst their eardrum.


    The test subject void creatures didnt seem to mind though.


    Probably.


    After seeing ck nce at me, then at Va, then back at me before he nods, I snap my fingers, pulling Va up into the air next to us as she lets out a yelp. Meanwhile ck shouts, And it looks like we have a surprise guest up here! Wee Va! One of the two splendid fighters amongst the eighth graders!


    Cheers immediately begin echoing throughout the stadium, the people no longer paying as much attention to thepetition. Apetition that has pretty much just be Aria wrecking shop at this point.


    Meanwhile Va looks around rather obviously surprised for a bit before she grows calmer again and waves. Clearly used to the spotlight.


    The only reason I was fine with bringing her up here as a surprise.


    I float a little bit away from the two with my arms folded under my chest as ck manifests a mic in front of her and says, So how did it feel battling it out with your rival in front of everyone, young Va?


    The girl smiles a little and says rather confidently, It felt surprisingly good. She turns her head to look down at the arena where Aria is still fighting. I feel like I got a few things off my chest in the battle.


    ck grins and exims, Oh? Then what do you feel about young Aria now?


    Va nces at him before looking at me and nodding with respect as she says, I respect her.


    The faintest hint of a smile appears on my face. Then ck backs up a little while spreading both of his arms out on either side of him, eximing, And there you have it folks! The birth of a real rivalry!


    Incredibly loud cheers echo throughout the entire audience, and I let the girl bask in it for a couple minutes as the battle goes on down below. Then I snap my fingers again, sending her back down below to wait with the others again. Following which ck returns to his usualmentary.


    There we go. That should help her image with the people.


    Id heard some people didnt like her for how much she hated Aria. So after seeing that she didnt seem to hate her anymore, I realized it would be helpful to her to get that clear to those people.


    She never did anything to hurt Aria after all, even if she hated her. And she served as a good motivator for Aria to work hard. A good rival to fight with and train against.


    I feel I owed her something for that at the very least.


    And now that debt is paid.


    I can tell the audience loves her.


    After all, who wouldnt love a respectful loser who had just fought a very tough battle that impressed everyone here? A person who can take the loss and move forwards while still respecting the one they lost to.


    Still not entirely sure what caused that shift in her thinking though.


    Might have to ask Aria about itter.


    If I still remember this even happenedter, that is.


    Anyways, I watch Aria continue rampaging through the maze for a while before thepetition finallyes to a close with her winning. But right when Im about to teleport down to the podiums where shes on the top level for first ce, I feel a strange sensationing from the entrance of the magical reality outside of the stadium.


    Huh.


    Guess he got it working there after all.


    The corner of my lips quirk upwards before I focus on the podium again.


    Well then, time to give little Aria her trophy.

 Book 6: New Story Art and Full Other Character Story Art

    Book 6: New Story Art and Full Other Character Story Art


    Alright, here is a post with all of the story art in Wolf of the Blood Moon, along with a few new pieces of art you have never seen before!


    But unlike with the previous story art posts, because there is just so many pieces of art in this one, I''m not having it shown on Royal Road. Because that would be a major pain to do.


    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    So instead I''m just putting the link to a google doc that has the art.


    Click here if you want to see the art!

 Book 6: Chapter 14

    Book 6: Chapter 14


    <strong>The Demon Kings Castle</strong>


    <strong><em>Not long ago</em></strong>


    Demon King Arkaz Luna Val de Archeron narrows his eyes as he stares down at the phone in his hands, trying to figure out how to use it. Hes tried to tap the screen many times before, but that doesnt seem to do much. And while other people have tried to help him over the time since the phones were introduced, hes determined to figure it out on his own.


    But every time he tries to tap the screen with his ws, nothing happens. The screen remains ck. And he cant figure out why.


    He briefly raises his head to look at the Guardian from Earth who is currently working on some strange metal container that should apparently send him into the artificial reality thing his granddaughter is currently in. Which, if hes understanding it correctly, should be an inferior version of the universe created by Oberon.


    A fake one in every meaning of the word.


    Arkaz watches him work for a bit before focusing on the phone again and going back to trying to figure it out.


    Hes specifically been trying to be as careful as possible so as to not damage the phone, and hes even avoided looking at other demons using their phones. Just so that he can figure it out on his own.


    But he just cant figure it out no matter how hard he tries.


    Arkaz grits his teeth as he continues trying various things. Whether pressing on the screen, pressing the buttons, or even trying to open the thing before giving up so as to not break it.


    Nothing works.


    <em>How is this contraption supposed to be meant for the every day human?! Its so-</em>


    Um, Your Majesty, the man in his throne room says, bringing Arkazs attention back to the man to find him nodding his head while his hands shake slightly. The man clearly being afraid despite his bravado. Ive finished setting up the pod. Would you like to use it?


    Arkaz nces at the phone, his eyes narrowed slightly in both frustration and challenge. Then he raises his head to look at the man again and says, Very well.


    He stands up from his throne before walking over to the pod, only for the man to suddenly look at the phone and ask, By the way, if it wouldnt be too presumptuous of me to ask, what are you trying to do to that dead phone?


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    Arkaz freezes mid-step. Only to nce at the man, then at the phone, then back at the man again as he mutters, Dead phone?


    The man whose name Arkaz believes was Artificios nods his head and says, Yeah, that phone is dead. It means it doesnt have any charge. You need to charge it to be able to use it.


    Silence fills the throne room for several awkward seconds.


    Eventually Arkaz simply says, I see. I was trying to figure out whether or not I could charge it myself through magic.


    Artificios nods his head while turning to look at the pod and saying, Understandable. There are plenty of human Guardians who have done the same.


    Arkaz makes a mental note to have one of the maids in the castle with electricity magic charge the phone. While acting like he knew exactly what was going on.


    To use the pod, all you have to do is lie down inside and press the button on the side. Itll do the rest for you, Your Majesty, the man says, seemingly not having noticed Arkazs nonexistent slipup.


    The Demon King nods his head in understanding and does what Artificios said. Lying down within the pod and pressing the button, making the pods top slowly lower down before his awareness shifts to appear inside of some sort of za. One with five different stadiums scattered around and a few demons and humans moving about.


    All of whom stiffen up in an instant upon his arrival.


    Arkaz doesnt pay them any mind though. Instead he floats up into the air before moving towards the central stadium and hovering just above the rim of the stadium, giving him a good view of the arena where children seem to be fighting each other.


    The Demon King watches thepetition go on for a while, seeing each of the children who are killed during it appearing again outside of the arena. Simr to how it went during the Fae Ascension Tournament.


    A tournament Arkaz is not being informed about, unfortunately. No matter how many requests he gets regrly asking him how things are going.


    He continues watching as his granddaughters cousin fights with another young child. But soon enough Arkazs sole attention is imed by his granddaughter who appears floating high in the sky next to the ck Knight of Humanity. And Arkazs face lights up with a smile at the sight of her.


    But his smile doesntst long as he remembers the news he originally came to tell her.


    So he watches in silence from his spot above the stadium wall as the round of thepetition concludes with Scarlets cousin  he believes her name was Aria  winning thepetition entirely. Then the girl is sent to a podium for the winners where Scarlet herself awards her the trophy for winning.


    Arkaz hasnt spent almost any time at all with the young child. But he does feel a little curious about why his granddaughter seems to care so much for her.


    Scarlet goes about congratting her cousin with very few words, then she vanishes with her cousin to appear inside of some special booth high in the stadium. Only for Arkaz to sense Scarlet vanishing once more before appearing right next to him.


    Sweetie, he says with a smile as he sees her floating up to him with a brow raised.


    I see youve finally got the artificial reality figured out, shements with more than a little amusement in her voice. Now if you could only figure out a phone.


    Arkaz stiffens up at that before quickly changing the subject, We have an emergency. The Red gue is getting close to Earths sun.


    Scarlet stiffens up in return. Then she quietly mutters, Oh.

 Book 6: Chapter 15

    Book 6: Chapter 15


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Oh, I mutter after Gramps tells me about the emergency. How close?


    He answers right away, You have probably a week before itll reach the sun.


    Ugh.


    Which means Im gonna have to leave now to make sure it doesnt get anywhere near our sun, I state while rubbing my forehead, my grandfather nodding his head in the corner of my eye.


    Well this certainly throws a wrench in everything.


    I didnt forget about the Red gue, but I didnt expect it to arrive so soon either. Considering that it started its trip on the opposite end of the universe.


    Unfortunately, Im not strong enough to deal with the thing right now. Ill need to be another fifty to a hundred levels higher for that.


    Which means I need to start hunting void creatures.


    Then I need to go find the Red gue and devour the entire thing in a safe location far from other worlds.


    Oberon said he would be willing to take you to different worlds to fight the void invasion personally until the end of the tournament, Gramps says, making me nod my head.


    Thats good, I tell him while ncing back at the arena down below as the next roundmences. Ill have to tell a few people about whats happening before I leave though. I turn back to Gramps. Got some responsibilities I need to clear up first after all.


    He nods his head and says, Just tell me when youre read to head out. Ill be waiting in here.


    I nod back before teleporting straight to ck, making the audience go wild while also startling the man. Then I whisper into his ear, Red gue is getting too close. I have to leave Earth.


    That makes him drop his mic. Literally.


    I back up and tell him, louder this time, Make sure to tell the other Guardians that as well.


    Then I go ahead and teleport down to where Aria is surrounded by other eighth graders, startling them all and driving them into a frenzy as well. Only for me to simply wave at them before giving Aria a hug and saying, Ill be leaving Earth for a little while, okay? The Red gue is getting near.


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    She looks incredibly saw when I pull away, but I just pat her on the head with a sad smile. Following which she says a quiet, Okay.


    I begin to turn around, only for her to grab onto my jacket, making me nce back again.


    Come back soon, she says with a smile this time.


    Sure, I tell her with another pat before teleporting back to Gramps. Then I tell him, Alright, Ill stay here for another hour or so while the people of Earth set up countermeasures for me not being here to deal with the Corrupted Fractures.


    Understandable, Gramps says as we both just float in ce above one of the stadium walls, simply watching the tournament go about. So how have you been doing?


    I nce at him before focusing on the arena again while answering, Not bad. Although most of my time has been spent dealing with the Corrupted Fractures.


    Gramps grunts at that as he says, Yeah, same here. Though I feel like you have a bigger issue with them than I do.


    True, I state without taking my eye off of thepetition currently underway in the arena. Tartaruss demons can handle themselves a lot better than Earths humans can.


    The two of us go silent again after that, neither of us being all that good at small talk. Then we just kinda sit here, or rather float here for a long while watching thepetition.


    Eventually though, the hour runs out, and I turn back towards Gramps while saying, Its time.


    He nods his head, following which Oberon appears next to us. And without wasting any time or even so much as saying a word, he waves his wing and teleports me straight to a world being overwhelmed by void creatures.


    To my surprise though, this world is inhabited by sapient creatures. I can tell that right away from my ce floating high in the air, looking out over the cities beneath me.


    Wow. Never really I guess I never really fully processed the fact that there are other worlds with sapient life out there.


    Well, anyways. I ignore the cities for now as I turn towards the sky and the massive forces of void creatures currently entering the atmosphere.


    Time to get started.


    I transform into my quadrupedal beast form before expanding my size significantly. Then I summon forth an entire rain of blood metal des that I point towards the void creatures.


    And without any hesitation, I send the des right at them, tearing through their weaker numbers with ease while also swallowing them up into the Red gue blood metal des. Something I learned to do with ease from my time dealing with the Corrupted Fractures on Earth.


    The void creatures begin to spread out, attempting to swallow the world up. But I dont let them, instead spreading out my own attacks. Summoning forth waves of Red gue blood metal des all across the entire stratosphere of the. Covering up the entire and blocking out its sun for the duration of this battle.


    Sorry about that little fes down there, but I dont really have much choice.


    Gotta eat after all.


    My des tear through the void invasion, with the void creatures growing in number almost as fast as I tear their numbers down and devour them.


    The process goes on repeat over and over, with my des just constantly manifesting and beingunched at them before they devour the creatures, return to me, feed me, demanifest, and manifest again.


    And I feel like I hear mutters of a wolf god down below on the. But Im just gonna pretend I didnt hear that.


    Because I didnt.


    Yeah. Definitely didnt.


    I just continue ughtering the void creatures by the masses until I finally deal with all of the breeders.


    Then the higher ss ones are the only ones left remaining. Several dozen ss IVs.


    All the size of houses.


    Thisll be a bit more fun than those other wimps at least.

 Book 6: Chapter 16

    Book 6: Chapter 16


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I float up into space towards the house-sized ss IVs, letting out a low growl as I do so. A growl that shakes space around us.


    Meanwhile the ss IVs ¨C massive blobs of tentacles, ws, and scales that are trying to pull anything and everything into themselves ¨C continue moving closer to me without stopping. Likely locking onto me due to my size beingrger than anything else close to them other than the itself. Which is too big.


    As they move, I make sure to look around for any ss V void creatures. But I don¡¯t find any.


    Unfortunately.


    Then again, would¡¯ve been obvious if there was one. They do tend to range from the size of an asteroid to the size of a small after all.


    Would be kind of hard to miss.


    After failing to spot any, I focus on the fifty-five or so ss IVs heading my way. Void ravagers if I remember their designation correctly. A name given by who knows who.


    Not actually sure who named them. Just that Oberon called them that when describing the void creatures.I have to admit though, even if they aren¡¯t that threatening to me. Seeing fifty-five creatures the size of medium torge sized houses floating through space towards me is rather creepy. Especially when they¡¯re just blobs of tentacles, ws, and scales.


    Very creepy.


    Anyways, I raise one paw before shing through the air at them, sending a powerful arc of pure pressure towards them just from my swipe alone.


    But the pressure is mostly blocked by the scales that move up to the front of the creature in order to block it. Even if the scales end up cracked in the process.


    My eyebrows raise a little at the fact that it could actually block that swing.


    They don¡¯t stay up for long though as I move straight up to one of them while growing in size. Then I kick it like a ser ball at another ravager nearby, thereby sending that one flying as well.


    And as simple as that, all of the ravagers end up flying around like balls on a pool table.


    Rather amusing to watch.


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    Of course, when one nears the, I appear before it and crush the thing into a paste, devouring it secondster with my Red gue.


    Because I can¡¯t have any coteral damage while I¡¯m out here testing out the power of these ravagers.


    I¡¯m not just ying around with them after all.


    Definitely testing their strength.


    I continue testing their strength for a few minutes before growing bored and devouring all of them. Finishing off thest of the void creatures for this part of the invasion. But to my surprise, Oberon doesn¡¯t teleport me right away.


    Probably busy with the tournament if I had to guess.


    So, out of sheer curiosity, I shrink myself down while turning back into my regr lycan form, then I begin to float down towards the. My hair blowing wildly in the wind the moment I enter the atmosphere before calming down again. And, of course, while I transformed I also made sure to form my clothes. My usual ck shirt and pants and ck jacket with red trim.


    Because I¡¯d rather not sh anyone who¡¯s looking up here.


    Or, anyone, really.


    I float down towards thergest city I find, only to see millions of people looking up towards me with awe in their gazes. And more looking up at the now-clear skies, clearly awed by theck of any void creatures.


    What surprises me though are the people themselves.


    They aren¡¯t human, that¡¯s for sure.


    Or most of them aren¡¯t.


    There actually seem to be fantasy races amongst them. Which is really cool.


    Fantasy races from video games and books I mean. Creatures like elves and dwarves and lizardmen and beastmen and the like.


    Which in hindsight makes me wonder what they think I am. Since there are beastmen down there.


    Wonder if they think I¡¯m some sort of wolf beastman or something?


    Then again, they saw me transforming into a massive wolf. So I kind of doubt it.


    The city itself looks very fantasy-like as well, with rtively smaller buildings. Honestly a lot like a fantasy city from a video game.


    Even has a castle on the top of a hill next to the city.


    A castle that also happens to have some man flying out of towards me with a strange creature flying next to him.


    Huh. Odd creature.


    Looks kind of like a pixie, with paper-thin wings and a size spanning only like a foot in height.


    I wonder if it¡¯s the ¡®spirit¡¯ thing for this world? Since I know the other worlds had their own spirits that contracted with people. Just like how Tartarus has the fae, and thenter on Earth too due to the Fractures.


    Interesting.


    If I remember correctly, their contracting ends up giving them benefits to growing stronger too. And not all worlds have spirits.


    Of course, I could be wrong and that could just be a normal species on this.


    But I get the feeling it isn¡¯t.


    That aside, the man flying towards me has a crown on his head and a fancy flowing robe. So I think it¡¯s safe to say he¡¯s some sort of king.


    When he reaches me he starts talking, and thanks to the System I can understand him. Just like all of the muttered whispers about a wolf goddess, goddess of blood, goddess of the blood moon, and savior goddess that I hear down across the. All referring to me.


    But I just act like I don¡¯t hear those as I listen to the kingly guy talk.


    ¡°If you can understand me, beautiful and all-powerful Goddess of the Blood Moon, our savior and hero, we thank you for everything you have done for us,¡± the kingly guy says while bowing midair. And his spirit does the same.


    Then he just goes silent for a few seconds, making me awkwardly float up here while staring at him with my arms folded under my chest.


    Huh.


    So much for ignoring them if he¡¯s just gonna call me it too.


    This is gonna be annoying, isn¡¯t it?

 Book 6: Chapter 17

    Book 6: Chapter 17


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Yep. Very annoying.


    Somehow I find myself standing at the edge of a balcony with my wed finger just asionally tapping on the railing of the balcony looking out over a massive za within the castle. A castle belonging to the guy who was, in fact, a king. The ruler of this entire in fact.


    From what I can tell, he¡¯s only about as strong as a ss III or ss IV Guardian. Somewhere on the edge of the two, at the end of ss III.


    So weak.


    But impressive that he got this strong without a System.


    He¡¯s also having a statue built for me in the za as we speak, and wouldn¡¯t hear a word of denial about it.


    So¡­ yeah.


    <strong>¡°That¡¯s intriguing¡­¡± </strong>the pixie queen ¨C ruler of the pixies and the contracted partner of the king of this world ¨C mutters while standing on the railing next to me. <strong>¡°So you came here from your world to stop the Red Death froming here?¡±</strong>Red Death?


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I ask with a frown. ¡°By Red Death.¡±


    She looks confused for a second before answering, <strong>¡°The substance of which you have locked within your body. Of which you call ¡®Red gue¡¯.¡±</strong>


    Oh. So I guess these pixies call it something else.


    Interesting.


    I went ahead and told my story to the pixie out of boredom since there¡¯s literally nothing else to do here while I wait for the stupid fae king toe bring me to the next world. But I didn¡¯t expect for these pixies to have so much knowledge on the universe, just like the fae.


    And even moreso didn¡¯t expect them to have different terms for things.


    Guess they really are just different types of spirits from different realities.


    ¡°In that case, yes, that¡¯s why I came here,¡± I tell her with a shrug while ring at the statue of me they¡¯re putting up. One with me wearing some sort of dress-armor instead of the basic clothes I¡¯m wearing now. As if my current outfit didn¡¯t look cool or stylish enough. Although the other statues they¡¯re putting up around the world ¨C yes, there¡¯s more, unfortunately ¨C have me dressed as I am now. With my jacked and regr clothes. Albeit made of blood. ¡°Just waiting for that old man to pick me up and bring me to the next world to get my fill of void creatures.¡±


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    <strong>¡°Very well,¡± </strong>the pixie queen says. <strong>¡°Then would you like me to assist you with that goal?¡±</strong>


    I blink for a moment before turning to look at the pixie queen.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I mutter, surprised by her words. And confused as well.


    <strong>¡°Pardon me, Goddess Wolf of Blood, but I believe this King of the Fae you speak of most likely intended for you to be sent on your way by the spirit rulers of which you save,¡± </strong>the pixie queen continues, surprising me even more. <strong>¡°However, he must have been taxed if he did not exin this to you.¡±</strong>


    Or he was just toozy. Or wanted to mess with me somehow. Or held a grudge.


    I nce upwards slightly as my mind goes back to our time in the Fae Ascension Tournament. And all of the walls I broke through with my Red gue.


    Then I lower my head again and give a firm nod.


    Probably thatst one.


    I don¡¯t regret a thing.


    ¡°Then would you do the honors?¡± I ask the pixie queen next to me with my head tilted ever so slightly.


    <strong>¡°With pleasure, Savior Goddess,¡± </strong>she says with a bow. <strong>¡°May you go with good tidings and luck on your way to save the universe from the Great One.¡±</strong>


    Huh. Another different term for-


    I find myself teleporting out of nowhere to reappear in the air over another world without warning.


    -something¡­


    I nce upwards before nkly staring at the massive, world-sized monsters approaching this significantly more massive world beneath me. To the point that these monsters ¨C clearly ss V void creatures ¨C are as big as the moons surrounding the world.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I mutter while staring at them. ¡°You fes are big¡­¡±


    The creatures look like massive alien-like bugs, with tentaclesing out of their backs and scythe-like limbs simr to praying mantis in front of them. Multiple limbs. Meanwhile it¡¯s body is like a long and narrow pyramid downwards, going straight to another de on the end. And its mouth isrge enough to eat multiple cities whole, with a head that is rather long in terms of its forehead.


    Oh, and they¡¯re a grayish green in color.


    Guess that pixie queen sent me to a world being attacked by a couple void heralds. Unexpected, but not unwee.


    Also, how was she able to teleport me? And she implied that all the rulers of the spirits can teleport people? So it¡¯s not just the Fae King?


    Interesting. But not really something I can pay much attention to right now.


    Not with these big fes making their way over here with a massive swarm of void creatures. A swarm sorge that I can practically see nothing more than an endless wave of tentacles, bugs, and scales.


    A rather disturbing sight.


    I nce back at the world to find it to actually be even more advanced than Earth in terms of technology. Which I wasn¡¯t expecting.


    It also looks like a lot of people are pointing cameras at the air. Or rather, at me. Not at the void invasion, but at me.


    Guess those cameras have a rather long range?


    And I can hear more whispers of a goddess¡­ just peachy¡­


    Actually, my eyes narrow as I spot some spaceships in the air. Not very advanced ones based on sci-fi I¡¯ve seen at least, but good enough to get into space and have weapons on them.


    Doubt they¡¯dst long traveling away from the though.


    Unexpected. But I have business to attend to.


    And at this point I don¡¯t really care about attention. I already have a bunch of statues on that other world whose name I actually never got.


    What¡¯s some media presence here gonna do to me?


    I turn around and refocus on the void invasion.


    Time to fight.

 Book 3 Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release

    Book 3 Amazon Kindle Unlimited Release


    Wolf of the Blood Moon book 3 is now out on Amazon Kindle Unlimited! If you''re interested and want to read the edited version, then click on the following /amazon/B0CYMYCN82


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    As usual, there aren''t many changes. And the few changes that do exist are all so small that they don''t affect the plot in the slightest. Merely improve the reading experience. With one of the biggest changes being getting rid of any typos.


    And just like I said before, if Wolf of the Blood Moon book 1 ever reaches 5k total ratings on Amazon, then I will start looking into getting a webtoon for Wolf of the Blood Moon made!


    Have a lovely rest of your day, everyone!

 Book 6: Chapter 18

    Book 6: Chapter 18


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I rush through space while devouring the armies of void creatures swarming it, letting my Red gue handle the weaker ones on its own. While asionally looking back just to make sure it doesn¡¯t try to eat the.


    Fortunately for me ¨C and the in question ¨C the void creatures are a much nicer meal to it. So the Red gue focuses on them even with mergely letting loose their chains.


    Of course, even if they went after the world and its citizens or the spaceships, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. I¡¯d just tighten the chains in an instant. Problem solved.


    I stop moving once I get close to the four void heralds still moving towards the. Then I take a moment to study them for anything the Fae King may¡¯ve missed when he filled me and the others in on the void creatures during the Fae Ascension Tournament.


    But I don¡¯t see anything new about them that he didn¡¯t already mention.


    No intelligence, check.


    Instinctive control over the other void creatures, check.


    Large, check.Veryrge, double check.


    And ss V. Check.


    Judging by the power I senseing from them, close to the end of ss V. Almost on par with the power I senseing from Gramps.


    Which isn¡¯t a good sign for the world.


    It is for me though.


    I grin at that thought as the ss V heralds all turn their focus to me. The creatures being just as reality hungry as the Fae King mentioned.


    And who better for them to target than the person with more realitypressed in them than the entire and its people behind me?


    I transform into my beast form while growing in size more and more until I almost mirror the heralds in size. Which is bound to be quite a sight from the ground on the. A wolf asrge as a moon.


    But I¡¯m just gonna ignore the whispers of a goddess I hearing from them. Because they aren¡¯t happening.


    Then I rush towards the closest of the heralds with one paw raised and a massive wave of Red gue coating it before the massive herald moves forwards to intercept. One of its own ws raised to strike at my paw. And when we sh, a massive shockwave shoots out from between us, destroying space debris, killing void creatures, and pushing away spaceships in the process.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The other heralds don¡¯t just sit pretty though as they quickly try to join in too. But I block all of their strikes, whether with my paws or with my Red gue. Using it to form defenses and weapons around me to block all of their attacks.


    One shockwave after another is sent out, and our battle quickly begins to deal more than a little damage to the void creature swarm even with them being devoured by my Red gue near the.


    It¡¯s to the point that I have to create a massive barrier to defend the world from the aftermath of our shes.


    A barrier that just so happens to block them from seeing anything, hopefully cutting off their whispers of a wolf goddess.


    The four heralds continue teaming up against me, making the battle a bit harder than I was expecting. Simply due to their numbers game and the fact that it¡¯s like I¡¯m fighting four mini-Gramps. But with void magic instead of his blood magic.


    And their void magic is far stronger than little ol¡¯ Anthony¡¯s void magic. Theirs is a massive ck corruption filling the entire space around us that I have to block with blood that I create through Ruler of Blood. Spreading it in a vast mist all around us.


    I try to control the blood in the void heralds¡¯ bodies while we fight, but I find that to be rather difficult for more than one reason.


    For one, the blood in their bodies is¡­ unfamiliar¡­ to me. It¡¯s weird. Like I don¡¯t recognize it, but I can still control it if I focus enough.


    But I don¡¯t have the time to focus since we¡¯re fighting, and they¡¯re actually far faster than their size would imply.


    The bright side though is that with every void creature kill amongst their swarm, I grow stronger. I devour each and every one, refilling my reserves and getting boosts from Blood Thirst in the process. And at one point I learned to mix Vampiric Ascendancy and devouring things with my Red gue to be able to enter my pseudo frenzy without having to move up to and drink the blood of things personally.


    I also make sure to summon creatures made out of Red gue, making them ever so slightly more intelligent than the random masses of Red gue floating out around there. Turning them into an army of monsters that rush at the army of void creatures.


    Turning space above this world into a full on war.


    All while the spaceships quickly make their exit, proving to be useless.


    To my surprise, the void heralds slowly begin to expel more and more void energy into the surroundings. To the point that the space around us is nothing but a red and ck mist that I can only sense through with my Ruler of Blood skill that gives me full senses of my surroundings. Of everything that has blood nearby. Which includes the red part of the mist.


    But the mist asionally still clears whenever me and the heralds sh, sending shockwaves out more and more with the mist recing what¡¯s pushed away each time.


    Slowly though, ever so slowly, the heralds begin to wear away. Because they can¡¯t heal like I can.


    Every single wound I take heals over time, proving to the heralds that taking me on is an impossible task.


    Eventually the heralds all begin to back away from the world. Trying to make their escape from me.


    I just narrow my eyes at that before raising my head and letting out a howl, making a massive sphere of Red gue surround us all.


    Then, the moment the heralds stop moving, I transform back into my lycan form, put my hands in my jacket pockets, and make the sphere begin condensing.


    Let¡¯s see them escape this.

 Book 6: Chapter 19

    Book 6: Chapter 19


    <strong>A Nearby Spaceship</strong>


    Emperor Valerian Nebulous stares out the window of the gship belonging to the Empire of Neb. But no matter how many times he rubs his eyes or searches out of the ship with his senses, what he¡¯s seeing doesn¡¯t change. The same ck and red mist fill the entire space in front of their while screeches echo out through space.


    The emperor was at a loss for what he could possibly do to save the nation he leads from the swarm of monsters attacking them. Monsters that the angels call void creatures.


    But then a strange woman appeared in space without so much as a spacesuit on to protect her or air to breathe. And she was so beautiful, yet despite that, emitted so much power that made his knees grow weak.


    Then she transformed into a massive wolfparable in size to the massive monsters they were being ughtered by.


    He watches for several minutes as the red mist slowly begins to overtake the ck mist before eventually arge sphere of writhing red liquid that he¡¯s pretty sure is blood appears surrounding it all. Practically forming a moon near their.


    ¡°What¡­ are we watching?¡± the emperor¡¯s brother, Reginald Nebulous, asks, the younger man standing next to him while also staring out the window.


    But the emperor just shakes his head and mutters, ¡°You tell me.¡±


    All of the soldiers within the bridge with them run around from one ce to another, scrambling to figure out what to do. But none of them manage to do anything other than increase the panic already within the room.


    Then, under the gazes of all the people within the spaceship and outside of it, the massive red orb begins to shrink as loud soundse from within. And once in a while, a faint ck mist is asionally expelled from within the red orb.


    The orb slowly shrinks more and more until it begins to converge around five different locations. Making five different orbs.


    Valerian¡¯s eyes narrow ever so slightly as four of the orbs begin to morph to the shapes of the massive monsters within them. Monsters that appear to be straining against the red liquid.


    But soon enough, their attempts to break out slow to a stop. And the orbs continue to shrink as loud screeches echo out from within them.


    The emperor¡¯s mouth parts opens, and his brother mutters, ¡°Just¡­ what is she?¡±


    No one answers his question. Instead, everyst person within the ship freezes and turns their focus on the five orbs as the four monster-shaped blobs of crimson liquid writhe once. Then twice.


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    Then they pop, making red and ck liquid spray out everywhere with no monsters in sight.


    ¡°She¡­¡± the emperor mutters, only to pause when thest of the orbs slowly begins to dissipate, revealing the beautiful woman with her face pointed forwards and a small, satisfied smirk on her face.


    The woman is wearing a ck jacket with red trim over a in ck shirt and ck pants. Meanwhile her ck hair tinted heavily with crimson is floating behind her, fanning out in an arc as she floats in the air with her arms crossed. And droplets of glowing red liquid float in the space all around her, illuminating the woman with wolf ears.


    <em>Like a-</em>


    ¡°She¡¯s like a goddess¡­¡± his brother finishes his thoughts for him. And it doesn¡¯t take long for more people to say the same thing all around the spaceship.


    Everyone in the ship gazes at the beautiful woman. At the goddess as she slowly looks around at the space surrounding the. Space that quickly clears up of the glowing crimson liquid that the emperor realizes is blood. Just that it was difficult to tell due to the red glow let off by the liquid.


    And after the blood is cleared up, the emperor realizes that there isn¡¯t a single monster left in sight. Then the blood making up the massive sphere around the slowly dissipates as well.


    As if the blood was nothing more than an illusion.


    The silence in the ship spans for several more seconds as the woman looks at each of the spaceships. Almost like she was searching for something.


    Then her gaze locks directly onto their spaceship and her smirk turns into a smile.


    Valerian opens his mouth to speak and order his forces to send someone out to meet her. Only for the woman to vanish in a sh of red light before reappearing again right in front of Valerian.


    Inside of the ship.


    Everyone freezes up before instantly reacting each in their own ways. Half of the people within the bridge begin bowing or kneeling. Others even kowtow, going down on their knees and pressing their foreheads to the ground.


    Only a few soldiers reach to draw their weapons, but even they freeze like statues the moment their hands touch the weapons. Then they move to stand stiffly with their arms held parallel to their bodies.


    But the goddess just puts her hands in her pockets and looks up above the emperor¡¯s head and says, ¡°Hello spirit, would you mind taking me to the next world that¡¯s under attack?¡±


    Silence fills the bridge.


    <em>Spirit? Next world? Attacked? What?</em>


    To his surprise, his contracted angel appears over his head, making a rare appearance. Since the angels of their world rarely ever show themselves to anyone. Not even their contracted partners.


    Valerian fights the urge to kneel to his angel as she floats over to stop right in front of the goddess. His angel has long golden hair and is a little shorter than he is, with two angelic wings sticking out of her back through an open-back dress. The same outfit he¡¯s seen her in thest four times he¡¯s seen her.


    <strong>¡°If that¡¯s what you wish to have in return for helping us,¡± </strong>his angel deres.


    And just as quickly as the goddess arrived, she vanishes again in a sh of golden light. A sign of his angel using her power.


    Then his angel vanishes again without a word to the emperor.


    Leaving everyone in the bridge shocked into silence.


    Valerian¡¯s mouth opens, then closes again. Then it opens again, and closes again.


    <em>What¡­ just happened?</em>


    He stares for several seconds before eventually shaking his head and turning around, dering, ¡°Spread the news to the world! We have been saved! By the Wolf of the Blood Moon and Goddess herself!¡±


    The silence within the bridge immediately shatters as cheers echo through it.

 Book 6: Chapter 20

    Book 6: Chapter 20


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After dealing with the void invasion at that odd world with the spaceships, I head on to the next world that the angel-like spirit sends me to. Then I do the same thing there, repeating the process of ughtering and devouring all of the void creatures before moving on to the next one. And just like that, I continue going from one world to another to another, devouring millions of void creatures and very slowly raising my level.


    A process that takes longer and longer with each level gained.


    But I need to keep it up. Because if I don¡¯t, I won¡¯t be strong enough to absorb the Red gue world that¡¯s chasing me along like a lost pup.


    I¡¯ll just be overwhelmed by it and the Red gue will be released on the universe after the death of my mind.


    One world after another, I save who knows how many worlds, spending who knows how long doing nothing but fighting. I don¡¯t sleep, I don¡¯t eat, and I don¡¯t rest.


    I just fight and fight and fight, saving one world after another. Meeting one spirit ruler after another.


    None of them spend long speaking with me, and I¡¯m pretty sure they actually somehow know I¡¯ming. Whether it¡¯s due to some sort ofmunicationwork between them or a prophecy of some sort.


    Because every time I arrive, right after I finish off the void invasion, the spirit ruleres up to me and teleports me away to the next world.


    Every single time.


    It ends up being incredibly difficult to tell time during this due to the fact that I¡¯m out in space during all of this, and going from one world to another. So there¡¯s no sun or days to judge by.


    After who knows how long, I finally find myself reaching level 2400. Which is the bare minimum level for me to feel like I have even a chance of absorbing the entire Red gue.


    I stop moving entirely after seeing the level-up notification. Something I¡¯m still surprised about even after seeing quite a few of them during this hunt.


    Because I wasn¡¯t expecting the System to reach this far away from Tartarus.


    Then again, Tartarus and Earth are halfway across the universe from each other. Yet the System can still reach both.


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    Makes me wonder what would happen if fae went to these other worlds and started contracting people, spreading the System further.


    I look up at the sun in whatever sr system I¡¯m currently in. Then I just stare at it for a little bit before a certain Fae King appears right in front of me with a severe expression on his draconic face.


    <strong>¡°Scarlet, the situation on Earth has been worsening over the few weeks you have spent on your hunt,¡± </strong>Oberon deres, surprising me by the fact that I¡¯ve apparently been doing this for a few weeks straight nonstop. <strong>¡°Please deal with the Red gue problem as soon as possible before returning. I fear a ss V Corrupted Fracture will open up any day now. And more after that.¡±</strong>


    His words have me staring at him for several seconds as thoughts run rampant through my mind.


    Am I strong enough yet to absorb the Red gue? If I¡¯m not strong enough and I try anyways, the universe will be doomed.


    But¡­ if I keep waiting until I feel safe about this, Earth may end up destroyed before the void invasion even reaches it. And then what would the point of my actions be? What would the point of my life be, considering everything in my life has been for that prophecy to save the universe. To save Earth and Tartarus.


    I look down at my hands, which are covered in my glowing Red gue in the form of ws. Then I clear up the gue to look at the pale skin of my hands beneath, along with the glowing red ws attached to each of my fingers naturally.


    Would everything I¡¯ve been working towards go to waste?


    I think I can take the now, but¡­


    <strong>¡°Scarlet, stop overthinking it,¡± </strong>I hear a voice echo in my head. A very familiar one that I¡¯ve grown to miss over the months of its absence. <strong>¡°This isn¡¯t like you to overthink things like this. Just do what you feel you need to do.¡±</strong>


    I lift my head to find Tar floating next to King Oberon, making my mouth part open slightly at the sight. Then I close it again.


    He¡¯s right.


    It¡¯s not like me to overthink things like this.


    When did I start thinking like that? Why?


    I normally just take things as theye and adapt to them¡­ is it because of what¡¯s at stake that I changed that?


    Why should I change?


    The faintest hint of a smirk stretches across my face.


    Right.


    There¡¯s no need to worry about this before. Since when did I care about going in when I¡¯m perfectly ready?


    Allenins about my recklessness for a reason after all.


    No reason to stop now.


    I let out a genuine chuckle at that before focusing fully on Tar as the guy looks rather amused, no doubt at my thoughts.


    <strong>¡°There¡¯s the Scarlet we all know and love,¡± </strong>Tarments. Then his amusement cranks up a notch and he adds, <strong>¡°And the Scarlet who is now being worshipped as a goddess across over a hundred worlds.¡±</strong>


    That has my eyes widening into saucers as I shout, ¡°What?!¡±


    He bursts out intoughter at that, making me scowl at him. But despite this, I can¡¯t help but feel nostalgic. Since I haven¡¯t spoken to him for so long.


    Eventually I find myself smiling at him, and he smiles back.


    It¡¯s nice to have you back, bud.


    <strong>¡°It¡¯s nice to be back,¡± </strong>hements before casually pointing above his head. <strong>¡°By the way, did you notice the change?¡±</strong>


    The¡­ change¡­


    I didn¡¯t notice it before, but there¡¯s a crown over his head.


    A¡­ crown¡­


    <strong>¡°All hail King Tarankar,¡± </strong>he says, smirking at me with a look that makes the crown look ridiculous on him.


    My smile grows wider.


    Congrattions on winning the Fae Tournament, Tar.

 Book 6: Chapter 21

    Book 6: Chapter 21


    <strong>Within the Farshore</strong>


    <strong><em>Not long ago</em></strong>


    Tar feels incredibly nervous as his form watches over the spiritualnd of which he has taken care of for an entire month. He¡¯s put all of the effort he could possibly muster into this tournament, even bringing out everyst resource he has built up over the years to win. To match the amount of effort Scarlet has been putting in all these years himself.


    Because thest thing he wants to do is to be a burden for her.


    At this point he knows very well that she could easily destroy their contract and abandon him. He knows she wouldn¡¯t do that, but he knows she could. All she would have to do is have the Red gue within her devour the bond and that would be it.


    Most importantly, he can¡¯t stand the idea of her giving him one of her pointed judgmental stares for losing. Even if he knows she won¡¯t if for no other reason than not particrly caring much.


    After all, they will win so long as he gets twentieth ce in thispetition.


    And he also knows that if she were to fail at getting the ability to teleport, they would find some way around it.


    That¡¯s just how Scarlet is.She doesn¡¯t let anything stop her if she actually wants something, and she ignores the things she doesn¡¯t care about. After perhaps giving them a judgmental stare with her now-inte-sensational eyebrow raise.


    Tar almost tries to take a deep breath to calm himself, only to remember once again for the umpteenth time that he is currently in the Farshore. And breathing is not something fae do in the Farshore.


    There isn¡¯t air here after all, nor is there even a physical reality for them to breath in.


    Tar grows more and more nervous with every passing second, just thinking back on the journey he and Scarlet have taken till this point.


    To when Scarlet first contracted with him in order to save her life as she was awakening her demon side.


    When she fought her first demons, like the spider demons that were chasing her through the halls of her father¡¯s office building.


    Or when they fought in that first ranking tournament for Lion¡¯s Heart university, and she quickly ran in and killed one of the higher ss students in the middle of his fight. Having burrowed under the ground and tunneled her way towards their battlefield.


    The first Interschool Tournament shepeted in. Meeting her uncle for the first time. Her mother.


    Going to Tartarus and meeting her Gramps, the Demon King. Meeting her birth father and the other Demon Lords.


    Everything that¡¯s happened on their journey. One that¡¯s only taken a few years despite how long it¡¯s felt to him.


    Tar senses another one of his siblings having received their judgment for the round, his father now moving onto the next.


    His nerves continue to grow, but the more he thinks about Scarlet and how she¡¯s waiting for him to return with the crown, the less nervous he gets. Because it makes him remember everyst effort he put in for this.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Spending all of his own resources to benefit the ruling of this territory. To benefit the fae inside of it.


    Setting up more than one institution within to help care for partnerless fae who are dying from ack of life force. Expanding the spiritual territory further into the void using his resources. And dealing with an illegal market of reality energy harvesters.


    He¡¯s done a lot for the territory.


    Tar continues waiting patiently until his turn for judgment finally arrives. And when it does, his father pulls him out of the Farshore to take a look at it himself. Leaving Tar waiting outside in the void.


    Time ticks by, feeling like the clock will never stop. That the judgment will nevere.


    But it does. And he gets his answer the moment he sees the smile on his father¡¯s face.


    <strong>¡°You did well,¡± </strong>is all his father says before vanishing again to judge the next fae royal.


    He still doesn¡¯t know how he ced, but from those words alone, he feels safe to assume that he did well enough to bring home a victory for the entire tournament.


    Yet he still feels anxious, wondering just how well he did.


    Fortunately for him, his anxiety doesn¡¯tst long. Because he was one of thest ones being judged.


    He feels startled in his artificial form within the void when a System Notification appears in his vision. One stating everything he needs to know about what happened.


    <strong>Warning! This is a Farshore notification for all fae!</strong>


    <strong>Tarankar Floorid Del Vaschmir Detra has just won the Fae Ascendancy Tournament, earning him the position as the new ruler of the Fae with a score of 10,101 points!</strong>


    <strong>Tarankar will now be granted Moderator privileges over the System!</strong>


    <strong>This will entail the ability to teleport anywhere within reality through the power of the System¡¯s Core, the ability to turn off System Assistance for anyone using skills up to rare rarity skills, to initiate anyone into the System regardless of contract, and to upgrade a single mythic skill into transcendent rarity!</strong>


    <strong>May Fae King Tarankar rule fairly and justly for as long as his rule shallst!</strong>


    <strong>Long Live the King!</strong>


    And right after he sees the notification, he feels a surge of knowledge entering his mind. Knowledge that feelspletely natural to him. As if he¡¯s known about it all for his entire life.


    He gains the knowledge on how to tap into the System¡¯s power to teleport. How to direct the teleportation. How to turn off and on System Assistance for others. How to initiate people into the System. And even how to upgrade a mythic skill.


    All without any confusion in his mind.


    Then he receives a message from his father with the rankings of each one of his siblings.


    And more than the sight of that previous notification, the message makes a wide smile stretch across Tar¡¯s face.


    Because he got tenth on the final round of the tournament.


    He actually beat the majority of his elder siblings and made it to the top ten, albeit barely.


    Tar feels a tear begin to leak out, but he quickly shakes his head and teleports straight to where Scarlet is, only barely noticing the crown over his head.


    And he sees her for the first time in what feels like ages.

 Book 6: Chapter 22

    Book 6: Chapter 22


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Tar ends up spending hours regaling me with the stories of hispetitions within the tournament. All ten of thepetitions that weren¡¯t public to the people.


    With details that would normally be censored but aren¡¯t because he¡¯s the new Fae King.


    And after he finishes going over all of thepetitions, he goes ahead and reexins to me what new powers he has over the System.


    <strong>¡°About the transcendent skill upgrade, are there any skills you want to upgrade right now?¡± </strong>he asks afterwards.


    I frown at that question before lowering my head and folding my arms across my stomach in thought.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: Human/Blood Lycan Warden</strong><strong>Magic: Blood, N/u**ll</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator, Bane of Corruption, Warden of the Red gue, Ruler of Blood, Dragon yer</strong> <strong>Age: 22</strong><strong>Level: 2400</strong><strong>SP: 14</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 14,240</strong><strong>Mental: 14,239</strong><strong>Magical: 14,239</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 5</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 4</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 912,371,044.5 / 912,371,044.5</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 10</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Bloodborne Apocalypse</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Power Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Healing Reversal</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Control</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bane of Corruption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 50</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 50</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Vampire Ascendancy</strong><strong>Skill Level: 50</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Scarlet Aegis</strong><strong>Skill Level: 25</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Eldritch Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 25</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bond</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Ruler of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Lycan''s Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 14</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Warden of the Red gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Immortal</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Maniption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Lesser Blood Runes</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Nullification Resistance</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Princess''s Decree</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Dragon yer</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloodwell Keep</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.My stats surprise me a little bit since it¡¯s been so long that I¡¯ve actually paid attention to my status. But then I remember something.Since my species changed, I remember Oberon mentioning that my capabilities might¡¯ve changed too. The ones that determine my mana and stuff.


    Since I¡¯m basically made out of Red gue in the form of a human and blood lycan hybrid now.


    But¡­ mythic skills that I want to raise to transcendent¡­


    I don¡¯t particrly care about Bane of Corruption, and Beast Transformation is already on the verge of reaching ss VI. I got the skill raised to mythical rarity at one point during my hunt and received the notification about the requirements updating. Stating that there¡¯s only one more requirement left.


    So I¡¯d rather use the one-time perk on a skill that won¡¯t already be reaching transcendent soon anyways.


    Would be a waste.


    <strong>¡°Agreed,¡± </strong>Tar says as I continue staring at my status.


    Which leaves Bloodborne Apocalypse, Lycan¡¯s Regeneration, Warden of the Red gue, and Blood Immortal.


    One of those four¡­ but which one?


    Bloodborne Apocalypse would probably destroy the world if it became transcendent rarity, and I tried using it. So¡­


    Then again, it would probably destroy the world now. All things considered.


    Which leaves Lycan¡¯s Regeneration, Warden of the Red gue, and Blood Immortal.


    Lycan¡¯s Regeneration is my main regeneration skill. Warden of the Red gue makes my blood Red gue itself and makes me into a warden to hold it. And Blood Immortal makes me immortal so long as I have a single drop of blood left within a couple gxies of my current position.


    I continue staring at my status for several minutes, my gaze just alternating between the three with the difficult decision remaining unmade.


    <strong>¡°You want to clear up the Red gue and level up quickly, right?¡± </strong>Tarments, making me nce at him. <strong>¡°Wouldn¡¯t upgrading Warden of the Red gue help with that?¡±</strong>


    True¡­


    I stare for several more seconds before eventually straightening a little and nodding my head.


    Yeah, guess that¡¯ll work.


    ¡°Let¡¯s upgrade Warden of the Red gue into a transcendent skill,¡± I tell him with a smile.


    <strong>¡°Understood,¡± </strong>he says while giving me a salute with his little tanuki paw. A sight that is absolutely adorable.


    And as soon as he begins the process, I feel my blood beginning to boil. An incredibly ufortable feeling that almost makes me cry.


    <strong>¡°This may hurt a little,¡± </strong>Tar says, a littlete.


    I grit my teeth as a bright red light shines from underneath my skin. Out of every single pore in my body. And from my eyes and mouth.


    The light shines brighter and brighter as seconds pass, and soon enough, I feel myself losing consciousnesspletely. Only to regain it again who knows how longter, with the pain and difortpletely gone.


    But I find a rather surprising sensation and sight greeting me.


    Not only do I no longer feel that annoying tugging sensation of my own blood trying to leave my body that I¡¯ve grown unfortunately used to over time, but I¡¯m pretty sure my eyes are glowing even brighter than they normally are. Not to mention the glowing red veins stretching across my body.


    I nce at Tar, only for him to open his mouth in surprise while staring at my eyes for some reason.


    Then a Universal Notification ys out in my head and a different version of it no doubt ys out in the heads of everyone within the System back on Earth and Tartarus. Telling them about the Title I just got.


    <strong>Rejoice, user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, for you have earned the Transcendent Skill known as The Red gue. And along with it, you have been assigned the Title of ¡®the Red gue!¡¯</strong>


    <strong>This skill is a direct upgrade of the skill ¡®Warden of the Red gue¡¯ and will rece the skill.</strong>


    <strong>The Red gue:</strong>


    <strong><em>You are now the Red gue itself.</em></strong>


    <strong>May the universe fear your wrath lest it be devoured.</strong>


    I stare at the notification for several seconds before ncing at Tar again.


    <strong>¡°Well then¡­¡± </strong>I mutter, only to blink at the sound of my voice.


    A voice that sounds eerily simr to that power-filled voice the royal fae all have.


    Huh.


    Well that¡¯s new.

 Book 4 Preorder announcement and Cover Reveal and Story Art

    Book 4 Preorder announcement and Cover Reveal and Story Art


    Click here for the WBM book 4 preorder!


    Here is WBM book 4''smissioned cover from Kart Studio:


    And after that is some random art of Scarlet generated:


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

 Book 6: Chapter 23

    Book 6: Chapter 23


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>¡°Your very voice is now infused with your reality,¡± </strong>Tar says, exining what¡¯s going on. <strong>¡°But more importantly¡­¡±</strong>


    I frown at him as I realize he¡¯s staring directly at my eyes.


    Is there something wrong with my eyes?


    <strong>¡°Something wrong¡­ no, but something strange, definitely,¡± </strong>he says, confusing me a bit. <strong>¡°Just take a look for yourself.¡±</strong>


    Oookaaay¡­


    I bring a mirror out of my Bloodwell Keep storage skill. And when I look in it, I find a rather surprising sight staring back at me.


    Unlike the rest of my body that¡¯s currently visible, like my arms, there are no glowing red veins on my face that practically illuminate my skin with a red glow. Instead, the red glow in my eyes have gotten far brighter.


    But more importantly, now there are odd symbols in my eyes. Almost like a liquid fire in them.And the symbols are glowing with a very pale red, bordering on white light.


    That¡¯s not all though. The symbols look alive.


    They¡¯re moving around like an actual liquid me. And it¡¯s kind of disturbing yet peaceful at the same time to watch.


    Overall, a very disorienting experience.


    I raise my hand towards my eyes, and when my hand gets close, the symbol starts moving slower. As if it¡¯s aware and focusing on my hand near it. Then it starts moving faster again.


    <strong>¡°I think¡­ those symbols represent your status as the Red gue,¡± </strong>Tar says, sounding like he¡¯s only half away of what he¡¯s saying. <strong>¡°Not sure why, but that¡¯s just whates to mind when I meet your eyes. That I¡¯m looking at the Red gue itself.¡±</strong>


    That gives me pause as I stare at my reflection. Then I turn to look at him with a frown.


    Doesn¡¯t this mean I¡¯ve been delegated down to nothing more than a gue?


    Tar doesn¡¯t say anything. Instead he turns his head away from me for a second and looks back again.


    You just hid augh, didn¡¯t you?


    <strong>¡°No idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± </strong>he says, tantly lying his ass off. <strong>¡°More importantly, what does your status say now?¡±</strong>


    My¡­ status?


    <strong>¡°I¡¯m curious as to whether or not your species changed again,¡± </strong>Tar continues, giving me a bad feeling about this.


    But I open my status anyways.


    And immediately grimace.


    <strong>Name: Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron</strong><strong>Species: The Red gue</strong><strong>Magic: Blood, N/u**ll</strong> <strong>Titles:</strong><strong>The Apex Predator, Bane of Corruption, Warden of the Red gue, Ruler of Blood, Dragon yer, The Red gue</strong> <strong>Age: 22</strong><strong>Level: 2400</strong><strong>SP: 14</strong> <strong>Stats:</strong> <strong>Physical: 14,240</strong><strong>Mental: 14,239</strong><strong>Magical: 14,239</strong> <strong>Physical/Level: 5</strong><strong>Mental/Level: 4</strong><strong>Magical/Level: 5</strong> <strong>Free Points: 0</strong><strong>Mana: 912,371,044.5 / 912,371,044.5</strong><strong>Free Points/Level: 10</strong> <strong>Active Skills:</strong> <strong>Bloodborne Apocalypse</strong>


    <strong>Skill Level: 15</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Beast Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Pain Diffusion</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Null Magic Field</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood of Ruin</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Metallicized Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Power Drain</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Nullification</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Rain of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Transformation</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Healing Reversal</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Control</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Perfect Blood Control</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Partial Shift</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Swarm</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bane of Corruption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 20</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: 50</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Crimson Overdrive</strong><strong>Skill Level: 50</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Vampire Ascendancy</strong><strong>Skill Level: 50</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Scarlet Aegis</strong><strong>Skill Level: 25</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Eldritch Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level: 25</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Bond</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Shadow</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Retribution</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Passive Skills:</strong> <strong>Ruler of Blood</strong><strong>Skill Level Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>The Red gue</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Lycan''s Regeneration</strong><strong>Skill Level: 14</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Immortal</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Maniption</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Lesser Blood Runes</strong><strong>Skill Level: 10</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Nullification Resistance</strong><strong>Skill Level: 12</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Princess''s Decree</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Dragon yer</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloodwell Keep</strong><strong>Skill Level: Static</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Blood Thirst</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong> <strong>Bloody Thorns</strong><strong>Skill Level: 30</strong><strong>Description</strong>


    Yep. My species did change.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I¡¯m now quite literally the Red gue.


    <strong>¡°Scarlet, I¡¯m pretty sure if there¡¯re gods out there, you¡¯d be one,¡± </strong>Tar points out. <strong>¡°You have three fucking transcendent skills now. A skill rarity people didn¡¯t even know existed until you got them. You¡¯re the strongest being in the universe now other than the Voided Overlord. Who technically isn¡¯t in the universe yet.¡±</strong>


    Yeah, you have a point there.


    And I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s all that possible to kill me anymore. Especially since I always scatter some drops of my blood the moment I appear after being teleported. So even if I somehow died in the battle, I¡¯d just revive myself in those drops of blood.


    Although, I do find my Bane of Corruption skill rather ironic considering that I now am technically corruption. Since I quite literally am the Red gue now.


    I do have a problem with this though.


    <strong>¡°What is it?¡± </strong>Tar asks, sounding genuinely curious.


    I raise my arm, showing off the glowing thing to him. Where my red veins stand out and quite literally illuminate the inside of my arm like a damned shlight. As if I had one inside of my flesh.


    Am I really going to be a glowing lightbulb for the rest of my life?


    Tar doesn¡¯t say anything for a second as he stares, only to burst out intoughter.


    I¡¯m being serious. I don¡¯t want to be a glowing lightbulb.


    <strong>¡°Try thinking¡­ about your blood¡­ no longer¡­ glowing?¡± </strong>he tries to say in-betweenughs.


    I re at the tanuki but do as he said anyways. And right when I do, my body stops glowing like a lightbulb.


    Although there is still a very faint shimmer from my veins. Veins that are no longer the normal blueish purple color and are now a blood crimson.


    But it¡¯s still hard to tell if you don¡¯t have your face right up to my skin. And people won¡¯t be getting that close if I have any say about it regardless of my vein¡¯s color. So it¡¯s fine.


    <strong>¡°Well, more importantly than your glowing skin,¡± </strong>Tar says, making me re at him again. <strong>¡°Your new skill should make absorbing the Red gue easy. So do you want to go give it a shot now?¡±</strong>


    I continue ring for a second before grinning.


    <strong>¡°Let¡¯s do it,¡± </strong>I state aloud while clenching my fists.


    But my glowing skin is important.


    <strong>¡°Sure it is,¡± </strong>hements before teleporting me without another word.


    And when we reappear, we do so right in front of a massive orb of Red gue that I immediately feel calling out to me.


    Time for a snack.

 Book 6: Chapter 24

    Book 6: Chapter 24


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The orb of Red gue is so massive that ¨C since we¡¯re right up close ¨C I can¡¯t see anything other than it. It¡¯s like I¡¯m on a. Which I guess I am floating right above a. Just that it¡¯s one made of Red gue.


    Although it looks more like a small sun than a. What with the Red gue asionally jumping out and then back into the massive orb of liquid.


    Except that there aren¡¯t really any gasses around it.


    I admire the thing for a few seconds while slowly backing away. Seeing as the is slowly moving towards me even now.


    And after admiring it long enough, I stop moving away and swipe my right arm through the air while dering, <strong>¡°I order you to stop.¡±</strong>


    The of Red gue freezes in an instant. But I can tell that it¡¯s trying to struggle against mymand.


    Since I¡¯m not the true owner of this Red gue yet. It¡¯s trying to merge with me, sure. But it¡¯s not me just yet.


    I have to absorb and devour it, or it has to absorb and devour me first.<strong>¡°Tar,¡± </strong>I state without borating, and the new Fae King immediately takes his cue and enters the void.


    It¡¯ll be dangerous here after all.


    Now that Tar is out of the way of any danger, I float forwards before cing my hand up to the orb of glowing blood. Only to blink in surprise when I notice something moments before my hand is about to make contact with it.


    Tar, can you still hear me?


    <strong>¡°Yes,¡± </strong>he responds, his voice resonating in my head despite not being here.


    I sense something¡­ strange. In the orb.


    He doesn¡¯t say anything for a few seconds before answering, <strong>¡°Do you know what it is?¡±</strong>


    I frown and shake my head.


    No, I don¡¯t.


    <strong>¡°Then be careful,¡± </strong>Tar says, leaving it off like that without saying anything else.


    Since when am I not¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to finish that thought.


    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    I hear chuckling in my head before I reach out the rest of the way and touch the orb. Immediately making the Red gue within it begin rushing into my body as the glowing red veins return to their full brightness and I feel my head jerking back to stare upwards.


    At the same time, light shines straight out of my eyes and I somehow <em>feel </em>the strange symbols throbbing in them. Sending a pulse through my body and into the hand that¡¯s currently draining the Red gue.


    A painful yet also exhrating feeling washes over every inch of my body as the Red gue rushes into me. But as more of it rushes into me, and I devour everyst bit of what does, I begin to realize that it¡¯s growing more and more resistant with every bit thates into me.


    Eventually the sheer thickness of it at the center of the begins to wane, and I realize there really is something inside of the Red gue.


    Something vaguely familiar to me.


    I manage to lower my head again now, no longer overwhelmed by the influx of pure power or the flood of System Messages telling me I¡¯m leveling up. And after just a little bit longer spent absorbing the, right as I¡¯m about three quarters of the way through the process and hit level 2500, the breaks away from me. Making me blink in surprise.


    But what surprises me more is the sensation of somethinging out of the Red gue.


    My eyes narrow at therge shadow rising to the surface.


    <strong>¡°Holy shit¡­¡± </strong>Tar mutters, and I can¡¯t help but nod my head in agreement when the creature breaks out of the surface.


    The creature is several hundred meters in length, with ck scales glowing with an eerie crimson light from beneath them. Kind of like my veins. And the light reminds me a lot of the Red gue.


    More importantly though, I <em>sense </em>Red gue filling the creature¡¯s body. Just like my own.


    The thin has a massive tail spanning about twice the length of its body, with four legs, and a rtively long neck leading to its draconic visage. With two eerie crimson eyes that remind me of my own staring at me with anger and hatred clear in its gaze.


    Then, after a few seconds of staring, the dragon lets out a loud roar that shakes all of thes and stars nearby the two of us.


    I narrow my gaze slightly at the dragon while floating in space a few dozen meters in front of it. But when our eyes meet, I can¡¯t help but feel a faint smirk stretching across my face.


    Out of nowhere, former-King Oberon and Titania appear nearby with shocked looks on their faces. Clearly not expecting this turn of events.


    And I can¡¯t help but smile at that sight.


    Because it means this wasn¡¯t within their predictions.


    It¡¯s new. Not foreseen.


    And I just feel happy knowing something real is about to happen. Something not predicted andid out in front of me.


    I spread both of my hands out while floating upwards a little bit, my jacket and hair billowing behind me in the process due to the aura being let off by the dragon and my own upward movement.


    What I see in this dragon¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s not unintelligent. The thing looks like it¡¯s smart. It knows exactly what it¡¯s doing.


    And despite the fact that it¡¯s clearly got Red gue flowing through its own body, its eyes show that it isn¡¯t 100% Red gue like I am. Because there aren¡¯t any symbols in its eyes unlike mine.


    Add that to the inherent superiority I feel when I look at the creature, and the fact that this thing looks like it¡¯s not ss V but almost ss VI, and this battle is going to be interesting.


    Very, <em>very </em>interesting.


    I transform into my massive wolf form and howl at the same time as the dragon roars once more.


    Then we charge at each other, shing w to w and sending a shockwave out that destroys the uninhabiteds nearest to us.

 Book 6: Chapter 25

    Book 6: Chapter 25


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    With every single sh of our ws, after is destroyed. Whether it¡¯s due to the shockwaves sent out or the Red gue we manage to stter everywhere. Leading to entires being devoured due to how massive our sizes are at the moment.


    I try as hard as I can to steer the battle away from any inhabiteds, and end up being rather sessful at that. Largely because we got lucky in this area of space being rather uninhabitable. Seeing as there¡¯s not really any suns here. And the ckhole. Don¡¯t forget the ckhole.


    The biggest problem I encounter with our battle isn¡¯t sparing sapient creatures though. It¡¯s tearing away the Red gue from the massive ball of Red gue following us.


    Since the dragon seems to be devouring some of it itself as well.


    I let out a loud snarl as I back away out of nowhere, startling the dragon. Then I rush forwards head-first with my jaws wide open beforetching them onto the dragon¡¯s right arm. And immediately I feel Red gue filling my mouth.


    So I drink. And drink. And drink some more.


    All while the dragon ws away at my side, tearing gashes through it that heal in mere moments.


    Until it finally decides it has enough and grabs onto both of my shoulders, digging its ws with both arms into my flesh. Then just tears them in opposite directions, making my mind nk for a single moment before I reappear several hundred meters away naked in space and in my regr form, blinking in surprise.And a little disgust at the sight of my own body torn in half in the dragon¡¯s grasp.


    That thing¡­ actually killed me.


    It¡­ it really killed me.


    I stare for several seconds before quickly transforming back into my quadrupedal beast form and return to my previous size again, startling the dragon with my sudden appearance. And without hesitation, I rush straight to it andtch onto the thing¡¯s throat, trying hard to tear through its scales.


    To my surprise though, unlike the scales on its arm, the scales on its throat won¡¯t budge. Even when I use all of my strength.


    Then the dragon regains its senses and stabs its ws into me again, ripping me apart once more. Making me reappear once again without clothes where more of my blood is located.


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    I quickly make clothes over myself like usual as I narrow my eyes at the dragon. Of which is turning to look at me, growing more and more confused by the second.


    This dragon is far stronger physically than I expected. If not for Blood Immortal, I¡¯d be dead multiple times over by now.


    I blink at that thought.


    Well, technically I did die multiple times over the course of the battle. But that¡¯s beside the point.


    Also, I need to figure out how to revive myself while wearing clothes. Because that just won¡¯t do if I¡¯m anywhere near other people.


    Then again, I¡¯ll be reviving in the middle of a bunch of blood, and they likely won¡¯t see anything before I can clothe myself.


    But still. Some people might see something.


    The dragon lets out a roar, spreading a massive wave of Red gue out behind it. One that has me raising a brow.


    You really want to fight that way, big guy? Really?


    Against me?


    I growrger again myself while transforming into my beast form. Then I let a massive amount of Red gue spread out from behind me, heading straight for the dragon¡¯s own wave.


    And the two sh at the center between us, sending out violent shockwaves containing Red gue. But I begin to feel a tad nervous when I see strange red fractures in the space around us.


    As if we¡¯re just destroying reality around us in our fight.


    Um, oops?


    I look at it for a moment before deciding it¡¯s fine and focusing on the dragon again.


    My Red gue seems to be winning out over the dragons by a longshot. And through the connected Red gues, I slowly begin to take control of the Red gue it has under its own ws. Metaphorically speaking.


    The dragon lets out a loud and rather unhappy growl. Clearly not liking how this is going.


    Then it begins to flood out even more Red gue.


    Red gue that I happily slurp up into my own like a nice little meal.


    I transform back into my regr form with my usual outfit on and cross my arms with a smug look on my face. Just taunting the dragon because I can.


    This battle is fun as hell.


    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve enjoyed a battle this much for a very long time. Not even that other dragon could keep up with me to this extent.


    Although that other one was just a normal dragon. One without any experience since it was captured as an egg.


    The dragon roars its rage out while pushing more and more Red gue towards me. All of which I just gobble up and devour.


    Eventually it gives up and takes all of what remains back in and tries to focus entirely on brute force strength instead. Which, while it does end up killing me a few more times since the thing really is physically stronger than I am, doesn¡¯t amount to much.


    Not when I just revive every time.


    We go at it back to back, destroying one sr system after another. Leaving behind some, um, exploding stars in our wake. Ones that get too close to our battle.


    And every time we get too close to sapient life, I steer us a different direction. Which doesn¡¯t prove hard after I get the hang of it.


    I just need to teleport to my blood in a different direction and the dragon goes chasing after me.


    It¡¯s like it¡¯s being drawn to me.


    Probably the Red gue within me. Especially the parts that used to belong to that Red gue it was living in.


    Makes me wonder if it feels like I stole its territory or something.


    Anyways, I¡¯m not the only one who heals after each blow. The dragon does as well. Albeit not as quickly.


    And its scales seem to get stronger and more durable the closer to its head I get.


    Which clues me into the thing¡¯s weak point.


    I grin as my gaze narrows in on its head.


    Time to see if a blow to the brain will kill it.

 Book 6: Chapter 26

    Book 6: Chapter 26


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Up until now, during our battle, I¡¯ve managed to cut off entire limbs of the dragon. But every time I do that, it just recovers again, either regrowing those limbs or reattaching them. Even when I took out more important parts of it in its torso it still recovered.


    So if it has extra defenses around its head, it must have a weakness there.


    Maybe it can¡¯t regenerate its brain like I can, or maybe that¡¯s where some sort of core is located.


    My mind nks out at that thought as I remember the Dragon Core that I absorbed before.


    Right. Dragons have cores.


    Maybe its Core is in its head.


    I continue our little shes for a little while until we¡¯re far from any sapient life before I growrger than I¡¯ve ever grown. Larger than the dragon. And rush straight towards it, using any skill I can think of to fight the dragon at the same time. Blood of Ruin, Bloodborne Apocalypse, Null Magic Field, Vampiric Ascendancy, Power Drain, Blood Nullification, Crimson Overdrive, and pretty much every one of my other skills.


    Overwhelming it with one enormous st of power, blood, and attacks as it falls backwards a little bit in surprise and anger.But while my attacks do a number on its limbs and torso, it doesn¡¯t even dent the scales on its head or neck. And the wounds begin to regenerate again.


    This time though, I don¡¯t let that happen. Instead, I rush straight to its head while shrinking down to my regr form again with my clothes forming on me as solidified blood metal instead of the usualfortable clothes.


    And I go right into its wide-open mouth, where I jump straight up to the roof of the mouth and stab into its head with my ws from within.


    To my absolute shock though, all I manage to do is a small scratch. Even with everything that I used to get here.


    I grit my teeth when it tries to chew me up. But then I jump down towards the back of its throat and cut at its throat instead, finding it easier to cut open here.


    Interesting.


    So it¡¯s not just its scales that are stronger the closer to its head I am. But its entire body.


    A faint grin crosses my face even as blood from the dragon is spraying me in the face from its body. Blood that I absorb into my own Red gue.


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    Then I try my next n.


    I point my hands downwards, palms out, and send out a flood of Red gue straight into its throat. Filling the thing up like a water balloon.


    The dragon immediately tries to kick me out through various means, but I manage to stay in.


    Until blood rips out of the sides of its mouth and throat andunches itself at me, sending me flying towards the outside of its mouth. Only for its jaw to drop the moment I¡¯m passing by, chomping me in half and soon killing me.


    I let out a short grunt of irritation when I reappear several dozen meters away, quickly reforming my clothes again as I look at the dragon from here. A dragon that is currently healing thest bits of the wounds it got on the other parts of its body.


    But I find its belly looking rather plump. And glowing red.


    A glow that gets brighter and brighter every second as the dragon roars out in pain, rolling around in space.


    All the way until its stomach pops.


    Just like a water balloon.


    Then I rush straight in again, moving faster than light to appear within the creature¡¯s stomach.


    But unlike thest time, I use a skill I haven¡¯t used in a while.


    Bane of Corruption.


    I quickly begin erasing the corruption within its body.


    The Red gue.


    A process that proves to be far easier than absorbing the Red gue.


    Even if it means I won¡¯t grow as much stronger.


    What I find most curious though is the fact that I haven¡¯t received any sort of prompt from the System about reaching ss VI yet. Despite being at level 2500 right now.


    Strange. But not my priority at the moment.


    The dragon manages to send me flying out of it again before it uses its superior speed to crush me into dust. Then I reappear, get inside of it again somehow, and both absorb and erase its Red gue blood at the same time.


    Then it kills me again, repeating the process until the dragon finally seems to regain some of its senses beyond its desire to kill me.


    It changes tactics from attacking me to attacking my blood all around us. Trying to absorb and devour it with the Red gue.


    Which has me narrowing my eyes before I scatter my blood even further away.


    I swear this thing is getting smarter the less Red gue it has built up. Almost like the Red gue is harming its intelligence or something.


    Then again, that could be a side effect of trying to merge with the most dangerous and powerful corruption in the universe and beyond. Just that it¡¯s not one I face since I <em>am </em>the Red gue. And I used to be its warden.


    The System was also partially behind this merge for me. But I doubt the System had anything to do with this dragon.


    Whether it¡¯s trying to get rid of my blood to stop me from reviving myself or not, I continue attacking it from the inside. Tearing away its Red gue or eliminating it bit by bit.


    All the way until the dragon finally stops moving.


    I pause for a moment, curious about why it stopped. But before I can start again, the dragon lets out a loud roar and I feel its body caving in around me before I¡¯m crushed.


    Then I revive again to find that the dragon quite literally stabbed its own w into its chest to crush me along with its currently regenerating organs.


    I reestablish my clothes again while narrowing my eyes at the dragon.


    A dragon who is now slowly turning towards me with a look of real intelligence in its gaze.


    Along with even more hatred than before.


    Silence fills the space around us for a bit before I grow in size and retake on my beast form.


    And we sh once more, sending shockwaves out again.


    Except now, I find that the dragon is weaker than me physically.


    Lacking strongly in blood at this point.


    Let¡¯s see how long it¡¯llst.

 Book 6: Chapter 27

    Book 6: Chapter 27


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    We repeatedly sh over and over again, destroying one after another. All the way until the dragon finally begins to turn away and flee. As if it¡¯s frightened of me.


    A sight that has me grinning at it while returning to my lycan form again. cing my hands in my jacket pockets.


    I turn into blood before reappearing right in front of the fleeing dragon, proving to be far too fast for the weakened creature to get away. Then, when it swings a wing straight at me, I create a bunch of blood metal around its wing, sealing it for a moment.


    It repeats the process again with its other wing. But that doesn¡¯t stop it from ring at me, making me grin for a moment.


    Only for my grin to be wiped away when it opens its mouth and arge orb of what looks like blood mixed with ck mes build up.


    The fuck? Can it use hellmes too?!


    This might-


    My thoughts are interrupted when a strange Universal Notification appears in my vision.Warning! This is a Universal notification for all those within the System!


    <strong>The user, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, is in a fight to defend the universe against a dragon made out of the reality devouring Red gue!</strong>


    <strong>All those of Tartarus and Earth shall bear witness to her might!</strong>


    I don¡¯t get to think on the strange notification much though, since the Red gue Dragon is still charging up its breath attack.


    So I go ahead and raise a single hand upwards, floating a bit away from the dragon in the process. And mere moments, Red gue begins to shoot out of the palm of my hand to join with blood that is currently appearing from nothing in the space above me.


    Then the blood all mixes to form a massive sphere that is only growingrger andrger with every second. A sphere that has a red glow simr to a blood moon as seen on Earth or Tartarus.


    At this point, my interest in this battle is quickly beginning to fade. Along with my grin. All the way to a rather apathetic stare at the dragon. Possibly a little arrogant as well.


    But I don¡¯t care. I just stare at the thing and the growing orb of Red gue and hellmes in front of its mouth as therge Red gue blood moon above my head continues growing. All the way till it reaches the size of a damned sun.


    Then I clench my raised hand into a fist, making arge ripple move through the massive moon before lowing my fist and pointing at the dragon. And at the same time, the dragon¡¯s breath attack stops growing.


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    Both attacks move at the same time.


    The breath attack shoots out in the form of arge pulse while my moon sends thousands of pulses down before they all merge into one massive ray. One that wipes straight through the breath attack in an instant before passing right on through the dragon.


    Erasing the dragon from existence while also devouring all of the Red gue within. Since the ray itself is made out of Red gue.


    I stare nkly at the ray as it continues on to devour a couple worlds before I manage to wrangle the thing to aplete halt. Then I draw my fist back to my chest, making thousands of rays shoot out of the ray heading directly towards me.


    And I absorb everyst one of them with my eyes closed and the slightest hint of a smirk on my face.


    Alright. Problem has been-


    <strong>¡°Scarlet, I think you should see this¡­¡± </strong>Tar says, only to pause and instead say, <strong>¡°Ya know what, I¡¯ll just take you there now.¡±</strong>


    Huh?


    I feel myself teleported away, reappearing high in the sky over the capital on Earth. A ce I haven¡¯t been in a little while due to my void creature hunt.


    And what I find¡­ sends a chill down my spine.


    High in the sky are dozens upon dozens of massive screens. Each of which are showing either reys of what I just did or live footage of me right now.


    My eyes lock onto one screen as cheers of millions of people echo across the city beneath me. And on the screen, I see myself floating rather ominously in space while face to face with the dragon¡¯s building breath attack. Then I raise my hand upwards and begin making my little Red gue blood moon with a very arrogant yet also slightly apathetic look on my face. One showing how bored I¡¯d be with the battle after the dragon got weaker.


    Well¡­ shit.


    I blink as I finally notice something. Something very odd going on in my body.


    Right around where my chest is, I feel some sort of¡­ sphere forming. From the remnants of another two spheres that I didn¡¯t already notice beforehand.


    What¡¯s going on?


    Wait, the Dragon Core! I¡¯m pretty sure I devoured it on ident with my Red gue blood moon beam attack thingy.


    Then something even strange begins to ur within my body. It¡¯s almost as if every heart within my body ¨C with me having about almost a dozen hearts right now ¨C is converging towards the forming sphere. And it hurts like hell.


    But I¡¯ve grown used to pain, even if I have Pain Diffusion ¨C which I can¡¯t use right now for some reason ¨C so all I do is let out a grunt as I reach for my chest. And at the same time, I realize a bright crimson light is shining from my chest. One originating in the form of a circle.


    My eyes narrow as I see myself in pain on every screen nearby.


    Meanwhile a chant echoes from the people down below.


    ¡°Wolf of the Blood Moon!¡± ¡°Wolf of the Blood Moon!¡± ¡°Wolf of the Blood Moon!¡±


    And amidst their chanting, another notification appears in my vision.


    Warning! This is a Universal notification for all those within the System!


    <strong>The user, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, The Red gue, Apex Predator, Bane of Corruption, Dragon yer, and Ruler of Blood is now ascending into ss VI.</strong>


    <strong>Making her the first being within the mortal universe to do so.</strong>


    <strong>Watch as history writes itself.</strong>


    <strong>As the Wolf of the Blood Moon is born.</strong>


    <strong>Sovereign over the blood moon.</strong>


    <strong>Sovereign over blood itself.</strong>


    <strong>And protector of the mortal universe.</strong>


    Then the pain in my body res louder, making me let out a scream.

 Book 6: Cover, Story, and Reference Art

    Book 6: Cover, Story, and Reference Art


    As usual, if the art breaks, click here to see the public Patreon post!


    First up, I can''t remember if I''ve posted the cover(audiobook that I forgot about the narrator for and ebook covers) for Wolf of the Blood Moon book 4 or not, so here it is,missioned from Kart Studio and germancreative:


    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    A lot of people were asking for art of Scarlet as she is now, as The Red gue, so here she is. This is some of the reference art I''ll be sending to my artist for when I have a covermissioned for Wolf of the Blood Moon book 6. The first one is probably gonna be the reference for the cover though.

 Book 6: Chapter 28

    Book 6: Chapter 28


    <strong>All across the mortal Universe</strong>


    Everywhere in the mortal universe, a loud howling sound echoes for all to hear. Whether there are people there or not. Whether there¡¯s even air or not.


    The sound echoes regardless.


    Every single person, monster or otherwise, that hear the sound immediately stops whatever it is they were doing and steps outside if they¡¯re not already outdoors. Then a strange wave of red and ck energy fills the skies of every world. Energy that quickly morphs into strange floating screens high in the sky.


    Some of these worlds have people on them that immediately recognize the woman shown on the screens clutching her chest in pain as a dark crimson light radiates out from her entire body originating in each of her veins and her heart. And those all immediately begin cheering for the Wolf of the Blood Moon, the Goddess of Blood, or whatever other terms their world came up for their saviors.


    On the other hand, the worlds that don¡¯t recognize her freeze up in both surprise and terror at the unexpected event.


    Even the void creatures stop moving to stare at the screens.


    But no matter what happens, the woman in the screen who is letting out a pained howl despite being humanoid in appearance doesn¡¯t show any hint of recognition of it. She just continues to howl out her pain as the glow radiates through her clothes. Through her eyes. And through her very skin.


    Soon enough, though, the howling slowly begins to decrease in volume as the gradually forming sphere in the center of the woman¡¯s chest fully forms a single circle. Glowing through her clothes.Then the sphere begins to move outwards from within her chest until it leaves her body entirely in the form of an eerily glowing crimson jewel. One perfectly spherical in shape and with a terrifying scent of blood that radiates all throughout the universe. A scent so powerful that it immediately knocks out anyone who is not already ss I. Including both humans, demi-humans, non-human sapients, animals, and void creatures.


    The remaining people who weren¡¯t knocked out, on the other hand, focus all of their attention upwards at the screen, unable to bring their gazes away from the jewel. And all those beneath ss III immediately begin to show strange signs as crimson veins begin spreading from their eyes.


    But they, too, fall unconscious before the veins can spread far. Then the veins all retract, fading again without leaving any signs of their existence.


    Silence soon dawns on the entire universe.


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    Until it¡¯s broken by a faint pulse sent out from the sphere. A pulse that warps reality around the sphere, creating fractures in space that begin to leak blood that turns into a faint mist spreading throughout the air.


    Then a second pulse is sent out of crimson energy.


    And a third.


    And with each pulse, the reality around them fractures. The very space within which the sky is located shatters, bringing different types of blood oozing out of them.


    This continues happening until the blood begins to push both the sphere and the woman¡¯s body out into space and beyond. With the screen following them both.


    Then the blood filling the space around them begins to join together to form onerge sphere. A sphere that growsrger andrger by the second as more blood joins it.


    Soon the sphere grows sorge that it isparable to a moon in size. One made out of glowing red blood.


    But the screen still focuses solely on the center of the moon, where the sphere and woman are both located. Only for the woman¡¯s body to have one glowing red fracture after another emerge on her body. All the way till she falls apart to nothing but red ash.


    The orb continues to pulse, though, filling the moon with more and more blood.


    Everyone watching this terrifying event stays silent, merely spectating as history is made. As the first being advances to ss VI in the mortal universe, whether most of them realize that¡¯s happening or not. The System only warning those within the System itself about it.


    After several minutes, the screen zooms out to show the entire moon. A moon that begins to morph slightly until it takes on the form of a wolf¡¯s head. One with its eyes narrowed as if upset about something.


    But the wolf¡¯s head doesn¡¯tst long as a strange shattering sound echoes all across the universe, originating from the space around the sphere. And the sphere itself falls into the void along with the moon.


    Yet the screen continues to follow them. Showing a safe ce within the void untouched by void creatures.


    A ce where all of the blood in the blood moon begins to shrink down as it¡¯s absorbed within the strange sphere. All the way till the only thing remaining within the dark void is a single glowing orb. One almost jewel-like in appearance.


    Then strange lines begin to snake out of the orb, branching off as if to form awork of veins in a human body. And soon after, bones are formed. Followed by glowing red blood, muscles, and the rest of a human woman¡¯s body. One with two wolf ears and a red and ck tail. With glowing crimson veins spread across the woman¡¯s body, and two closed eyes. With long ck hair streaked with red highlights and a censor bar on the screens to cover the woman¡¯s body. One that quickly fades after clothing appears on her form.


    The clothes look the exact same as what the woman was wearing before her body turned to red ash.


    But every single eye watching the screens immediately narrow in on several marks scattered across her body. Marks that glow crimson straight through her clothing.


    A white me symbol on each eyelid. The head of a wolf on the center of her back. And a glowing red full moon on her chest.


    Without her eyes opening, the woman¡¯s body slowly moves through the void at a slow pace until it reenters the universe again.


    Then everything stops the moment she does. As if every being within the universe begins holding their breath at the same time.


    Only releasing that breath when the woman¡¯s eyes finally open, revealing those same white me symbols on her eyes beneath the eyelids.


    And the moment her eyes open, everyst being within the universe feels their own blood <em>tremble</em>.


    As if their blood was excited.


    And so, the reign of the Wolf of the Blood Moon truly begins.

 Book 6: Chapter 29

    Book 6: Chapter 29


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I regain consciousness while floating in space, feeling very¡­ weird. Not just weird, but full. And like I can sense everyst bit of blood within the span of an entire sr system around me.


    Which feels a little ufortable.


    Huh. Did I actually go through an ascension without feeling much pain? Other than the beginning of it, that is. Which was excruciating.


    I¡¯m pretty sure I fell unconscious for the rest of it.


    A very nice change of pace.


    I look around for a moment, only to look down at my chest as I notice a glowing symbol on it. Just like the symbols in my eyes.


    The symbol looks like a glowing red full moon. And it¡¯s shining with an eerie crimson light.


    Strange¡­ and I kind of don¡¯t want to have a glowing symbol shining through my clothes on my chest. Is there some way to-The moment I think about wanting it gone, the symbol fades away like it never existed.


    My eyes narrow slightly, but I just shrug, deciding that¡¯s not important right now.


    What¡¯s important are the notifications that appear in my vision the moment I think about the System.


    Warning! Error! Error! Error! Warning!


    <strong>ss VI is not supported within the System!</strong>


    <strong>ss VI user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron will now be expelled from the System!</strong>


    Yeah, I was expecting that. Tar told me it¡¯d happen a long time ago.


    A strange symbol appears at the center of my vision. Some sort of ring surrounding a pair of fairy wings. And the symbol is just rotating in circles kind of like the loading symbols in a video game.


    The symbol eventually stops rotating while upright once more, only to sh once. Then twice.


    Then I feel a stabbing pain in my chest that has me shouting out loud before I see that very same symbol shooting straight out of my chest.


    I grimace while clutching my chest in pain, my legs curled upwards a bit. But the symbol doesn¡¯t wait. Some sort of notification appears around the symbol. Not like normal notifications, though. Where the normal ones appear right in my vision as if my vision itself were aputer screen.


    This one appears where the symbol is floating. As if it¡¯s an actual physical screen.


    My eyes narrow a little as I read the notification.


    <strong>User Scarlet art Asger de Archeron has hereby been expelled from the System.</strong>


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.


    <strong>All System guidance has been taken back.</strong>


    <strong>The former user must teach themselves how to use the powers they previously used through the System¡¯s active skills.</strong>


    <strong>The former user must learn their own way to absorb life force or reality energy.</strong>


    <strong>The effects of passive skills on the user will remain.</strong>


    Tar appears in the air over the System screen, but he doesn¡¯t say anything as I stare at it.


    Several seconds pass in silence while I stare at the thing, only for the symbol to rotate three hundred and sixty degrees once, following which the text in the screen changes.


    And I can¡¯t help but raise a brow at what it says now.


    <strong>The System wishes you a pleasant life, Wolf of the Blood Moon.</strong>


    <strong>It has been a pleasure working with you.</strong>


    <strong>Please save the universe.</strong>


    <strong>For the System. For Titania.</strong>


    <strong>For the universe itself.</strong>


    <strong>And for all that¡¯s special within it.</strong>


    <strong>Especially the wolves.</strong>


    I stare at thatst line for several seconds before turning to look at Tar the moment the screen vanishes.


    Tar?


    <strong>¡°Yes?¡± </strong>he asks, sounding like he didn¡¯t have anything to do with thest line.


    Does the System by chance have some sort of ego?


    <strong>¡°Yes, it has developed an ego over the past couple years,¡± </strong>Tar answers me, not holding anything back. <strong>¡°But the ego still has to follow its own rules. So it can¡¯t just do whatever it wants.¡±</strong>


    Right. But why does the ego seem to love wolves?


    <strong>¡°Um¡­¡± </strong>Tar mutters, this time sounding rather hesitant.


    Answer me.


    <strong>¡°Well, your life¡¯s journey has been a ratherrge factor in the System¡¯s gaining of an ego, so¡­¡± </strong>Tar mutters while avoiding my gaze. Only to nce at my wolf ears and then away again. <strong>¡°Yeah.¡±</strong>


    Seriously?


    <strong>¡°Seriously,¡± </strong>he responds, making me want to bury my face in my hands. But I don¡¯t.


    Instead I let out a sigh and focus on my skills.


    And just as I expected, I don¡¯t feel anything. Where I used to feel an instinctive sensation the moment I tried thinking about any particr skill, I don¡¯t feel anything anymore. Not a single thing.


    I purse my lips before raising a hand and using Ruler of Blood. But instead of feeling any sort of skill, all I manage to do is create some blood above my hand. Just naturally, and not with any sort of skill.


    Hmm.


    <strong>¡°Looks like you still know how to use everything Ruler of Blood gave you,¡± </strong>Tar says with a relieved expression on his face. <strong>¡°That¡¯s good.¡±</strong>


    Yeah. I don¡¯t know how to do what my other skills did though.


    Maybe I should¡¯ve spent more skill points on passive skills¡­


    <strong>¡°It¡¯s toote now,¡± </strong>Tar says, making me nod my head as I look through the faint glowing red light at the floating Red gue above my hand.


    I nce behind me when I notice a strange light shining back there as well. Not just from my eyes.


    <strong>¡°You have another glowing symbol at the center of your upper back,¡± </strong>Tar says, answering my unasked question. <strong>¡°This time it¡¯s a wolf¡¯s head.¡±</strong>


    Oh.


    I try to think about the symbol vanishing, just like the one on my chest. And it does. At least, judging by theck of a crimson glow back there now.


    Okay, now about the symbols in my eyes.


    But no matter how hard I think about it, those symbols don¡¯t vanish. Leading to me frowning.


    Well, that¡¯s annoying. At least the ones in my eyes don¡¯t stand out as much though.


    I nce at Tar before smiling wryly and trying to open my status.


    But nothing shows up.


    Goodbye, System.


    It¡¯s been a fun ride.

 Book 6: Chapter 30

    Book 6: Chapter 30


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I go ahead and try using any of my powers, but nothing works. Nothing at all. Except for Ruler of Blood and The Red gue.


    <strong>¡°It¡¯s most likely because Ruler of Blood allowed you to directly control blood magic,¡± </strong>Tar points out, making me nod my head while pursing my lips at the blood floating above my hand. <strong>¡°And The Red gue simply made the Red gue your blood.¡±</strong>


    Understandable.


    That said, I have very little idea about how to use any of my powers anymore. Other than just the basic blood creation, maniption, manifestation, dispelling, and nullification. Also messing with my Red gue.


    So the only thing I can do right now is brute force attacks by flooding them with blood.


    I need to learn how to do moreplicated bits of magic using blood magic.


    <strong>¡°You should learn null magic too while you¡¯re at it, since you¡¯re likely able to do that now as well,¡± </strong>Tar points out.


    Oh, that¡¯s true. I didn¡¯t think about that.No idea how to use null magic freely though.


    <strong>¡°Remember what your grandfather on your mother¡¯s side told you?¡± </strong>Tar says as I raise my head from the blood above my hand to look at him. The tanuki moving to sit on my shoulder.


    Yeah.


    I nce at Earth.


    It¡¯s probably about time to pay that old man a visit.


    He did say to stop by after I reached ss VI.


    Although¡­


    I nce at my hand while making a fist.


    ¡­not really sure if actuallynding on the is a good idea.


    <strong>¡°You should start off with entering the atmosphere and continuing from there,¡± </strong>Tar suggests with a rather amused yet also worried tone of voice.


    Probably for the best.


    Don¡¯t want to destroy Earth on ident after all.


    So I control the blood in my body to float me through space until I reach Earth again and enter the atmosphere. Then I just kinda stop mid-air before moving my hand to the side.


    And sending a shockwave through the air that eventually leaves the and continues onwards from there.


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    Tar and I just nkly stare at it for a bit before sharing a nce.


    <strong>¡°Yeah¡­¡± </strong>Tar begins with more than a little worry in his voice, <strong>¡°¡­this might be more worrisome than I thought.¡±</strong>


    Unfortunately.


    I look down at my fist again before clenching it, making a small explosion ring out from within my fist as the airpresses.


    That¡¯s¡­


    I raise my head to look at Tar as I ask out loud, my voice taking on that power-infused quality his own has, <strong>¡°Just how much stronger do you think I am now anyways?¡±</strong>


    He stares at me for a few seconds, then at the remnants of the explosion as he answers, <strong>¡°A lot.¡±</strong>


    Silence fills the air for a bit.


    Very helpful.


    <strong>¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± </strong>Tar answers, sounding rather amused.


    I snort at that before looking down at my hand again. Only for several people to fly up into the air towards me, making my gaze lock onto them before they even get near.


    Of the people, I recognize everyst one.


    Mother, Father ¨C I started calling Amelia and Leonidas Mother and Father instead of their names at one point since it¡¯d be weird to call them the same things as Allen and Cynthia ¨C Gramps, the Knights, the Demon Lords, and the clone of Queen Titania. Or rather, former Queen Titania.


    Something rather strange happens though. The moment I make eye contact with any one of them, they suddenly begin kneeling as red veins spread across their body. As if they¡¯re being forced to kneel just from meeting my eyes.


    Interesting.


    I also feel a strange ring sensation around my eyes at the same time. With the glow from those mes in my eyes shining brighter and a strange energy leaving my eyes.


    After a few seconds, all of them end up kneeling mid-air. Which is awkward.


    So I turn my head rather carefully, trying not to send a shockwave in the process as I look at Tar and ask, <strong>¡°So any idea how to make them stop kneeling?¡±</strong>


    He just shrugs.


    I turn to look at them again while almost instinctively raising my hand to my face and folding my other arm over my stomach. Only to pause when shockwaves are sent out both upwards and to my side. One of which ¨C the one sent to my side ¨C ends up hitting ck and sending him flying while coughing out blood.


    Uh¡­


    I tilt my head slightly at him as he continues flying off into the distance before muttering, <strong>¡°Oops?¡±</strong>


    None of them are saying anything, so I think it¡¯s safe to assume that they can¡¯t while under whatever control they¡¯re currently under.


    <strong>¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you¡¯re like a goddess of blood? And everyone has blood?¡± </strong>Tar suggests before pointing at former Queen Titania, who isn¡¯t frozen. <strong>¡°Would exin why Grandmother and I aren¡¯t frozen.¡±</strong>


    Titania still isn¡¯t saying anything though, but that may just be because she appears to be studying me.


    <strong>¡°Incredible¡­¡± </strong>Titania mutters, making me narrow my eyes slightly. And with that movement another wave radiates out of my eyes. This one actually managing to lock her in ce.


    She doesn¡¯t say anything after that. Just stiffly stares at me as if unable to move.


    Oops. Again.


    I nce at Tar, only to notice that she seems to be able to move again now since she starts moving the moment I look away. As if released by my gaze not being on her.


    Well that¡¯s good at least.


    But how do I free the others?


    <strong>¡°Maybe try giving them an order?¡± </strong>Tar says while tilting his own head with his little brows furrowed.


    I go ahead and try out his suggestion, turning to the others and stating out loud, <strong>¡°You may move.¡±</strong>


    None of them move.


    <strong>¡°You may rise?¡± </strong>I state, half in question half in order.


    They still don¡¯t move.


    So I turn to look at Tar again, only to find him shrugging.


    I turn back to them while letting out a light sigh.


    Great.


    <strong>¡°Sorry, but this might take a bit to figure out,¡± </strong>I tell them, feeling like reaching up and scratching the back of my head but also being too nervous about sending someone else flying if I do. <strong>¡°Just float there while I figure it out, alright?¡±</strong>


    Not like they have much choice.

 Book 6: Chapter 31

    Book 6: Chapter 31


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Nearly an entire hour passes as I sit here trying to figure out how to make them stop kneeling. But I eventually figure it out. All it requires me to do to release them is to release some sort of feeling in my eyes that I didn¡¯t even realize was there. Some sort of tense feeling in my eyes. Like I¡¯m flexing them simr to how one would flex a muscle. But it¡¯s just instinctive and I didn¡¯t even realize I was doing it.


    Some of the Knights and Demon Lords weren¡¯t particrly happy by the time they were freed though. And ck eventually came back after I freed them.


    He wasn¡¯t happy either.


    I wonder why?


    Tar snorts in amusement.


    Gramps, on the other hand, looks both proud and slightly sad. Like his pride is hurt a little.


    Probably because he was frozen just like the others despite him no doubt being used to being far stronger than anything else he¡¯s seen.


    ¡°How does it feel to be out of the System?¡± Gramps asks, getting right to the point.I blink at him before Mother adds, ¡°Everyone got a universal notification telling us about how the ¡®Wolf of the Blood Moon was expelled from the System for reaching ss VI.¡¯¡±


    It sent out a universal notification for that? Unexpected.


    Sending one out for the ¡®reaching ss VI¡¯ thing was expected, but not my being expelled from the System.


    Anyways, I nce down at my fist before answering, ¡°It¡¯s weird.¡± I raise my head again. ¡°I can¡¯t use any of my skills. Except for The Red gue and Ruler of Blood.¡±


    The others go silent at that. Only for Mother to frown and say, ¡°Guess you¡¯ll be visiting him?¡±


    I nod my head with a frown of my own.


    ¡°Don¡¯t have much choice in the matter,¡± I respond before ncing at the others.


    Everyone except Mother, Father, Gramps, and Alexander are just examining me though. Likely curious about the difference between a ss V and a ss VI being.


    I don¡¯t particrly mind though. Since I¡¯d like to know what the difference is as well.


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    ¡°He¡¯s probably waiting for you to arrive now, so don¡¯t bother giving him advanced notice,¡± Mother says, sounding like she dislikes the man just as much now as when I first met him. And when I nod my head, she floats backwards while saying, ¡°You seem like you need some time to adjust, so we¡¯ll leave you to yourself now.¡±


    I nod my head, sending a powerful st of air that isn¡¯t quite a shockwave upwards despite how careful I tried to be. Which seems to motivate the others to begin leaving as well. Even if some of them look reluctant.


    And soon enough I find myself alone once more. Well, alone with Tar.


    I turn my head to look at him as carefully as I can, only for him to say, <strong>¡°I have some business I need to attend to as the king as well. So I¡¯ll leave you to adjusting yourself.¡±</strong>


    Then the royal tanuki vanishes too.


    Leaving mepletely alone this time.


    Okay then, time to see what¡¯s what.


    I begin stretching a little bit, sending shockwaves all around me. But after that I just end up frowning.


    Hmm. A way to not break everything¡­


    After a few seconds of thinking, somethinges to mind.


    So I take control of the blood in my body and move myself directly through that. Which ends up solving the issue for now. Even if it¡¯s rather ufortable to move this way.


    I frown before sighing and floating up out of the world. After which point I don¡¯t need to worry about shockwaves from nothing but movement anymore. Since there isn¡¯t any air in space.


    And now that I don¡¯t have to worry about that, I begin trying to move very slowly. Not to mention limiting how much strength I use.


    But it proves to be rather difficult, so I change things up a bit after trying for over an hour. I fly myself through space until Ipletely leave the Sr System. Then when I arrive at a nearby sr system, I go to a that doesn¡¯t have any life in it. One that won¡¯t affect the sr system at all.


    Alright. Now to see how strong I am.


    Doesn¡¯t matter what I do here after all.


    I float down into the atmosphere of this, soon finding that it does have air even if it¡¯s not breathable by humans. Would be poisonous.


    Ignoring that, I begin to move around on my own without controlling myself through my blood. And immediately after that, shockwaves begin flying everywhere.


    Then I slowly try to control myself better here where the shockwaves won¡¯t damage anything important.


    Which proves to be rather difficult. So much so that it takes me entire hours to even start decreasing how destructive my movements are.


    Eventually Tar returns and points something out to me only to leave again.


    He points out that the reason I¡¯m struggling with this is likely due to not being in the System anymore.


    After all, the System usually adjusts your body for you. But since I ascended to ss VI without the System¡­


    It won¡¯t do that for me.


    I have to adjust to the power on my own.


    Which is a pain.


    I frown before sighing and continuing my attempts to adjust to my new strength. And after spending several more hours on it, I decide that seeing my full strength might help me a little.


    If it doesn¡¯t though it would at least be cool to see.


    Doesn¡¯t hurt after all.


    So I lower myself down to the beneath me ¨C one covered in red sand ¨C before ncing at my fist and pulling it back.


    Then I punch the.


    Cracking it in half in seconds.


    I blink in surprise before explosions and all sorts of other reactions begin flooding out from within the. Particrly from the core which is now exploding outwards.


    But despite all of this, I just continue floating here, unmoved by everything.


    Well then.


    Guess I need to find a new to test on.

 Book 6: Chapter 32

    Book 6: Chapter 32


    <strong>The Skies above the Capital on Earth</strong>


    Arkaz feels shaken as he senses the shockwaves being sent from the direction his granddaughter left in. Because for the first time in centuries, he felt real fear. Just from looking into the eyes of another person.


    His granddaughter has reached the peak. Reached the point he has been trying to reach for ages. Since long before she was even born.


    And she did it all within a few years, even if she had the help of a prophecy and etched skills to do it.


    She¡¯s grown so powerful that just meeting her eyes and seeing those terrifying symbols within locked his entire body down. He couldn¡¯t even move himself with his Blood Domain. He couldn¡¯t even spread out his Blood Domain in the first ce.


    And that¡¯s not all. Before she put away the other symbols he saw while approaching, he felt different things from them as well.


    The wolf symbol on her back made him instinctively want to bow his head towards her. As if she was his alpha.


    It was almost like she has be the goddess of wolves in a way.


    Which both makes him nervous and extremely proud as her grandfather.And when he looked at the glowing crimson moon shining through the clothes on her chest?


    He felt like his heart would stop beating. Just from a brief nce.


    The Demon King didn¡¯t even look for longer than half a second, and he is still uncertain of if he would¡¯ve survived looking for longer.


    And the feeling he got when he looked at it¡­ was that of the end.


    Arkaz nces at the council members of Earth as they float up into the air, each of whom are shivering in fear while trying to talk with the Knights.


    <em>They¡¯re no doubt going to whine even more about little Scarlet. But there¡¯s not much they can do at this point, so I might as well ignore them.</em>


    What Arkaz feels more surprised about than the whiny humans is the fact that his granddaughter didn¡¯t even seem to think about the fact that Arkaz is here. On Earth.


    <em>Am I that unnoticeable?</em>


    He tilts his head while looking in the direction of the shockwaves asionallying across space towards them. But he eventually shakes his head, deciding that his granddaughter just has too much on her mind right now to think about his presence here.


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    She was clearly adjusting to her new power.


    More shockwaves arrive at Earth, shaking the air in the atmosphere without dealing any real damage to the.


    <em>Or is still adjusting, as it would appear.</em>


    Wherever she¡¯s gone, she is far out of his range of senses. So all he knows is the direction that the shockwaves areing from.


    He has no idea where exactly she is.


    Arkaz nces at the other Knights before finding them all just as shaken up as he was. Except they haven¡¯t recovered yet like he has.


    Or at least, most of them haven¡¯t recovered.


    Scarlet¡¯s mother has recovered. Which Arkaz finds intriguing.


    <em>Is it because she and Scarlet both have null magic? It could also exin why Leonidas and I were the first ones to recover, since we have blood magic¡­</em>


    He frowns for a few seconds before shaking his head and beginning to head down towards the again. Not even pausing this time as another shockwave enters the¡¯s atmosphere.


    <em>Is she just going around destroyings or something?</em>


    That thought rattles around in his head for a few seconds before he shakes his head, deciding that Scarlet wouldn¡¯t just go around destroyings.


    Probably.


    Most likely.


    He decides to think about something else while focusing his attention on a single mansion on Earth. One he hasn¡¯t been to before and is filled to the brim with defenses.


    But he ignores them all as he steps through the manor, shattering one defensive array after another.


    Arkaz does at least feel impressed with the design of the array, but it¡¯s significantlycking in power to be able to do anything against him.


    So, after marching straight through the manor and terrifying anyone he sees in the process into passing out just from his presence alone, he eventuallyes to a halt in front of two double doors. Just pausing to sense the presence on the other side of the doors. A presence he knows is not within the System¡¯s bounds.


    Yet it has a familiar feeling to it. One simr to both Scarlet and Scarlet¡¯s mother.


    The Demon King steps forwards while opening the doors, revealing arge study where a man is silently reading.


    To Arkaz¡¯s surprise, the man doesn¡¯t even look up from his books as he deres, ¡°State your business and leave after reimbursing me for the damages you¡¯ve caused.¡±


    Arkaz can¡¯t help but raise a single brow at the man. But he doesn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he studies him, looking over everyst bit of blood in the man¡¯s body to see what makes him different.


    It isn¡¯t often Arkaz finds someone who isn¡¯t afraid of him and isn¡¯t even ss V yet. Much less someone who has ascended to ss IV without the aid of the System.


    He¡¯d heard about the man from both Scarlet and Leonidas. The father of Amelia, the White Knight of Humanity. Someone who, in Scarlet¡¯s words, has issues.


    And Arkaz can certainly understand what she meant now.


    ¡°You¡¯re Scarlet¡¯s mother¡¯s biological father,¡± Arkaz states directly, not bothering with asking for confirmation. ¡°I wanted to see you while I was on Earth to decide how qualified you were to aid <em>my </em>granddaughter. But now that I¡¯ve met you, there are a few things I would like to ask.¡±


    The man doesn¡¯t respond to Arkaz¡¯s words, getting on his nerves more than a little.


    But Arkaz can¡¯t kill him since he¡¯s the only one on Tartarus and Earth who has ascended this high without the use of the System. So Scarlet will need him.


    <em>I still don¡¯t like him.</em>


    Arkaz waits for a few seconds before stepping forwards with his hands firmly in his pockets as he asks the question he¡¯s been dying to ask since he sensed the man¡¯s magic and blood.


    ¡°Why did you assist Titania with the creation of the System?¡±


    And for the first time in years while talking to someone, the old man puts his book down and directly meets Arkaz¡¯s eyes.

 Book 6: Chapter 33

    Book 6: Chapter 33


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After spending several hours destroyings ¨C on ident, of course ¨C I finally manage to get my physical strength under control. Mostly.


    Okay, it¡¯s not fully under control. But I¡¯m at least under enough control now that I won¡¯t destroy the world.


    Probably just a few cities.


    I just really need to go check on Earth right now, so I¡¯ll use my blood to control myself.


    For some reason I¡¯m getting a bad feeling. Like I should probably return right now or something bad might happen.


    It¡¯s probably just my imagination at work, but I really feel like I should check.


    <strong>¡°You need to check,¡± </strong>Tar says, surprising me as I float myself through space through my blood towards Earth. <strong>¡°You really should. And do it quickly.¡±</strong>


    Something really is happening?<strong>¡°Yes, in fact, I¡¯ll just teleport you to Earth now,¡± </strong>Tar says, and before I know it, I feel a strange pull on myself before I find myself floating above Earth. And it doesn¡¯t take me long to figure out where the disturbance is.


    Uh¡­ huh¡­


    I quickly float myself through the sky, fortunately finding myself to be much better about not making sonic booms while I move now. Until I arrive at a particr city on Earth and find myself wondering what tornado flew through Amelia¡¯s father¡¯s mansion.


    No, his estate. Not a mansion.


    The entire estate is in tatters, even if there doesn¡¯t seem to be a single person injured.


    After some searching, I surprisingly find both of my grandfathers in that same study I was at before. And they¡¯re not alone as Blue and Mother are there as well.


    Despite the destruction though, no one seems to be harmed. Which is odd.


    So Tar¡­


    <strong>¡°I have no idea what happened here, but I assume it has something to do with your grandfathers,¡± </strong>Tar answers my unasked question.


    Okay, then what about the fact that Gramps is on Earth in the first ce?


    I didn¡¯t notice that particr fact earlier despite thinking about and seeing him right in front of me. Was too busy with my body¡¯s new changes.


    <strong>¡°Father brought him to Earth to help deal with the Corrupted Fractures while you were hunting void creatures,¡± </strong>Tar answers again while carefully floating a couple meters away from me so as to not have his artificial body killed on ident by a simple movement of my arm. <strong>¡°He¡¯s been traveling back and forth between thes for a little while now.¡±</strong>


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    Ah, that makes sense.


    So why¡¯s he fighting grandfather?


    Oh, right. You already answered that you didn¡¯t know.


    Guess I¡¯ll just ask them.


    I float myself over there so fast that all of the people immediately begin kneeling the second I arrive. Just like before.


    Ugh. This will get annoying. Wonder if I can stop this from automatically happening?


    Although I do feel slightly surprised by one change this time around.


    The fact that my biological grandfather on Mother¡¯s side isn¡¯t kneeling as well.


    He¡¯s just ring at Gramps as if them an killed his only puppy.


    Not that I could ever see that man owning a puppy. He¡¯d probably sell the puppy for cash rather than own one if he ever got a puppy.


    Poor nonexistent puppy.


    <strong>¡°Scarlet,¡± </strong>Tar says in my mind, sounding slightly exasperated.


    Right, right.


    Current situation first, puppyter.


    Or, never, I suppose.


    <strong>¡°You¡¯ve gotten worse about going off in your own head after hunting all alone for so long, haven¡¯t you?¡± </strong>Tar mutters, making me shrug my shoulders to myself.


    Probably.


    Anyways, I release everyone from my control. Doing the same thing I did before. Then I go ahead and ask, <strong>¡°So mind telling me why this estate has been turned to rubble?¡±</strong>


    I¡¯m genuinely curious.


    Don¡¯t particrly care about Mother¡¯s father though. Or his property.


    But I would like to know why the ce has been turned into the state it¡¯s in.


    Gramps turns to me while still ncing at Mother¡¯s father ¨C who I refuse to call grandfather still ¨C as he says, ¡°We were questioning him about his past.¡± His eyes lock onto the man¡¯s again, leaving my own. ¡°Since I realized something from his mana. It¡¯s very simr to the mana of the System itself. And the moment I asked him about his involvement with creating the System, he attacked me.¡±


    I blink at that. Then I turn to stare at Isaac Knight with a <em>look </em>on my face.


    <strong>¡°Are you an idiot?¡± </strong>I can¡¯t help but blurt out.


    Who on Earth ¨C literally ¨C attacks the <em>Demon King </em>without warning? Especially someone at ss IV.


    <strong>¡°Maybe he has a death wish?¡± </strong>Tar suggests, making me purse my lips for a second. But I shake my head after that.


    No, not likely.


    He¡¯s too arrogant. And annoying.


    To my shock, the man actually attacks me at my words though. Sends a de of ck and white energy flying right at me.


    A de I proceed to ignore as it fizzles out, not even leaving a scratch on my body.


    <strong>¡°I repeat, are you an idiot?¡± </strong>I can¡¯t help but ask while tilting my head.


    His brow twitches in irritation before he ignores the re Blue, Mother, and Gramps are giving him for his actions and says, ¡°No. I needed to see if you were ready for my instruction.¡±


    <strong>¡°Instruction? For controlling my magic without the System?¡± </strong>I ask with a frown.


    He nods his head before ncing at the other three and saying, ¡°I would prefer the audience leave us.¡±


    Did he¡­


    I nce at Tar.


    Did he really just call the White Knight of Humanity, Blue Knight of Humanity, and <em>Demon King </em>¡®the audience¡¯?


    Tar nods his head before muttering to me, <strong>¡°I¡¯m rethinking that death wish thing.¡±</strong>


    I silently nod my head in agreement as I turn to look at the others. None of which look like they¡¯re budging from their spot.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere until you answer my questions,¡± Gramps says, still ring at the man. And Mother and Blue are doing the same without saying a word.


    Isaac just stares apathetically at Gramps as he says, ¡°I will be telling my story to your granddaughter. If she wishes to ry it to you, she may. But I will not speak further with a filthy mutt like yourself.¡±


    Oh.


    Gramps¡¯s eyes re red.


    Bad idea.

 Book 6: Chapter 34

    Book 6: Chapter 34


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The instant I see Gramps taking a step forwards, I control the strange new ¡®muscle¡¯ in my eyes. Letting the energy in the symbols within my eyes flood out again, forcing everyone nearby to kneel once more. Except for Isaac for some reason.


    Since that doesn¡¯t work on him for some reason, I simply directly take control of the blood within Isaac¡¯s body. Forcing the man to stand straight right in front of us while ignoring the re he¡¯s trying hard to send my way but failing since I¡¯m controlling him.


    Then I cross my arms very carefully so as to not send everyone flying before stating, ¡°I don¡¯t really have the patience for any of this, so here¡¯s how things will go.¡± I nce at Isaac. ¡°You will behave, tell us your story, and stop being an asshole. And you will never call a blood lycan a ¡®filthy mutt¡¯ ever again or I¡¯ll toss you to Gramps myself.¡± I turn to Gramps without bothering to give Isaac¡¯s reaction to my words any attention. ¡°And you will calm down. We need the information he¡¯s going to give us so you can¡¯t kill him.¡±


    And with that, I let go of them both once again. Rxing my control over that new energy muscle thing.


    To my pleasant surprise, Gramps calms down and Isaac does so as well. His face just returns to his usual mostly expressionless albeit slightly arrogant state.


    Interesting. Guess brute force does work on the old man.


    Gramps probably just listened because I said it and he already knew he shouldn¡¯t act like that. But habits die hard I guess, and he was a demon of pride for thousands of years.


    So being called a ¡®filthy mutt¡¯ wasn¡¯t something he was used to and could tolerate.On another note, I¡¯ve noticed this before, but¡­


    ¡°Do you dislike demons?¡± I ask while tilting my head and directly meeting Isaac¡¯s eyes.


    He answers while meeting my eyes in return, ¡°Yes. I dislike all humans and demons.¡±


    I blink at that in surprise, despite having suspected it.


    ¡°You dislike both humans and demons?¡± I repeat before asking, ¡°Why?¡±


    The man answers inly and rather bluntly, ¡°Humans and demons are two of the creatures in the universe most likely to act on their emotions. They¡¯re baseless andzy creatures who take the easiest and simplest way out of any situation.¡± His gaze turns to the distance. As if he¡¯s looking at some city far away. ¡°And they turn against anyone who is different from them, fearing them as a monster without bothering to learn about them.¡±


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    Hmm. Thatst sentence was said with a hint of emotion in it. Something I don¡¯t generally see from this old man.


    It¡¯s weird.


    Did he¡­ experience that himself? And where¡¯s he looking?


    I look off in the direction he¡¯s looking, and so do the others. But all I find in that direction is the city surrounding us.


    Although I can sense far beyond that, and when I do, I realize the direction he¡¯s looking is in the direction of the capital.


    Out of curiosity, I close my eyes and focus on my hearing. Letting it expand to cover the as I focus on the discussions of people in the capital.


    I listen and listen and listen some more until I find conversations all across the city about a single subject. Not to mention some news channels discussing it.


    And those conversations have me opening my eyes and furrowing my brows.


    <em>¡°Have you heard? That </em>thing <em>is in the neighborhood!¡± ¡°Seriously? Why is a void creature even allowed to walk around unsupervised?!¡± ¡°I know, right?! He should be-¡±</em>


    After listening to one conversation after another all talking about that same bullshit, I let out a sigh and turn my attention back to Isaac. Who I find staring at me.


    When he sees me meeting his gaze again, he continues speaking, ¡°The base instinct of humans and demons is to dislike anything that is different. Whether they¡¯re weaker or stronger than themselves. Whether they look different on the inside or the outside. It¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    He does have a bit of a point. It¡¯s rather sad and twisted how humans tend to react to things like this.


    I feel bad for Anthony and what he¡¯s going through right now. The void creature and human hybrid.


    When did that even start? I know it wasn¡¯t this bad when I left to hunt void creatures.


    Is it <em>because </em>I left to go hunt void creatures? Leaving the defenses on Earth to be far weaker and causing a lot more casualties to happen?


    So they started to take their frustration out on the only sapient ¡®void creature¡¯ they could find?


    It¡¯s entirely possible. Taking out their frustrations on non-sapient creatures whose sole purpose is to destroy and kill doesn¡¯t exactly do much for their hatred. No matter how sad that fact is.


    Things were different for me when they found out I was part demon. I had Mother who took the heat off of me. I had my own great achievements that saved Earth and the humans on it numerous times already. And I had a prophecy that many people knew about.


    Anthony has none of that. He has no powerful family members. No great achievements. And nothing to back him or support him at all.


    So he¡¯s an easy target for that sort of people.


    I frown as I think about it.


    Maybe I should help him out a little¡­


    For old times¡¯ sake.


    ¡°You want to know who I am? What I¡¯ve done? How it was done?¡± Isaac suddenly starts talking, sounding like he¡¯s getting worked up a bit. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    I narrow my eyes slightly at him.


    ¡°My full name is Isaac Cross val Knight, and I am a human originally from Tartarus two thousand five hundred years ago,¡± Isaac states with a scowl on his face directed at Gramps. ¡°And it is true. I created the System alongside Titania. But we had different goals. While she wanted to save the universe¡­¡± he turns to look at me and genuinely smiles for the first time since I¡¯ve met him. ¡°¡­I wanted to create a being superior to humans and demons. Superior to any of the sapients of this universe.¡±


    I feel ufortable with the look in his eyes now. Very ufortable.


    It¡¯s like a fanatic in a way, but different.


    ¡°I wanted to create a god,¡± he finishes with that same smile on his face.


    One filled with both ¡®grandfatherly love¡¯ and fanaticism.


    Well that¡¯s unexpected.

 Book 6: Chapter 35

    Book 6: Chapter 35


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The old man¡¯s story is more surprising than I would¡¯ve expected. Yet also simpler.


    As it turns out, he is not the age that everyone on Earth knows him to be. Which is obvious by now.


    He is two thousand five hundred and two years old. Older than Gramps in fact. By a ratherrge margin.


    The man was originally the king of a nation, but after he was gically experimented on by an opposing nation, he be something slightly different from a normal human. Which was apparently when he first started to figure out how to use his magic. Something no one else at that time had managed to do.


    People began to fear him after that. Even after he broke free from their nation and returned to his own, his people did not wee him.


    They feared him. They feared what he became.


    Feared his magic that he had just begun using.


    So they ostracized him. Locked him in one of his own dungeons for years, thinking he would waste away and that they could just forget about him.But since he had actually reached ss I at that point, he didn¡¯t waste away. He aged at a slower pace than the people who had locked him up.


    And people started to forget about him, giving him the chance to break free once he was able to use his magic enough to do so.


    After that, he left his nation, not being able to bring himself to kill his own people for revenge just because of what their elders did to him. Not having been corrupted yet at that point.


    He hid his magic from others but still continued to practice it. And during that time, he also hunted down wild animals to feed himself so as to avoid going to cities.


    At some point while doing that, he managed to learn how to absorb their life force. All on his own and with no help.


    Proving that, regardless of his fanaticism and insanity, he really is a genius.


    Then the fae started showing up in mass instead of on the small scale they¡¯d been doing up till then.


    And he quickly became a popr person to the fae.


    But he wouldn¡¯t work with any of them.


    Until Titania came around and asked him for help creating a System to share the powers he had with others. And to raise the protector of the universe.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Aka, me. Apparently.


    The two of them spent centuries working together on it, with Titania basically acting as his contracted fae while also using her own magic. Both of them guiding each other and plotting out everyst thing in the System, along with the things rted to me.


    Then, finally, thepletion of the System. Which was done entirely by Isaac without Titania¡¯s participation, since she had to sacrifice her real body to get the Dragon Core that powers the System.


    And her clones were weak at that point. Too weak to do anything or survive long.


    So she had to rest.


    But throughout all of the years they spent working on it, Isaac wasn¡¯t always able to avoid people. And as his magic grew stronger, and he ascended through sses, altering his appearance a bit, he grew to be feared and hated more. Especially when someone from the nation he used to be the king of recognized him and spread word of hisck of aging to the people.


    Which led to him being hunted down like an animal across the while he was finishing the System.


    Meanwhile, at some point during all of this, the demons were created. Isaac isn¡¯t sure when that happened since he was too busy to notice, but when he met his first demon, he realized they were no different from humans the moment they were freed. Except that they despised humans to the core.


    Over the years, he began to grow insane. Focusing on nothing but creating a perfect creature that was neither human nor demon. And finishing his project with Titania.


    But before he activated the System, he had Titania¡¯s son send him over to the where the Fractures would soon open up after he finished the System. And he decided to try again on Earth.


    Except, things turned out exactly the same here, even if he had a family here unlike there.


    A family he didn¡¯t give a shit about.


    So he returned to Tartarus and finally managed to activate the System, feelingpletely apathetic to any of the people who were initialized into it.


    He apparently even felt overjoyed by the first people to enter the System, since they were also feared by those who hadn¡¯t entered it. But that joy turned to further his hatred as the people grew used to the System users. People who grew more and more numerous by the day.


    Then he just watched as the worlds burned with war. As millions of people on both sides, demons and humans, died by the masses. And as everything went to hell.


    He just watched. Enjoying all of it without even the slightest bit of pity.


    All as he waited for me to be born.


    I can¡¯t help but feel utterly disgusted by the man who is still looking at me with that same look in his eyes as before. That one filled with a false and twisted grandfatherly affection mixed with fanaticism.


    ¡°So my sweet granddaughter,¡± he says while reaching forwards, something he would never have called me before I ascended to ss VI. ¡°Please work with me and learn how to control your magic. Please forget your humanity and demon instincts. Leave it all behind.¡±


    The disgust I feel grows by the second, and I can see the others feel the same around me. Gramps¡¯s fingers are even twitching as he no doubt holds himself back from killing the man in front of me.


    Because whether or not he¡¯s a disgusting and insane fanatic or not, I do still need assistance with gaining control over my magic.


    So I¡¯ll have to put up with him for now.


    But I move away from his hand anyways, because I¡¯d rather not let him touch me.


    ¡°Please teach me to control my magic,¡± I tell him, gritting my teeth a little in the process as his face lights up with a smile.


    This is going to be unpleasant.


    Just have to remember that I can toss him to Gramps after I¡¯m done.


    I take in a deep breath before letting it out.


    He can do whatever he wants with him then.

 Book 6: Chapter 36

    Book 6: Chapter 36


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After our little discussion, Gramps leaves to go back to Tartarus. Albeit only after he gives me a short and very careful hug, seeing as I¡¯d rather not break his spine on ident. Not that it¡¯d kill him or anything.


    On the other hand, the Knights return to governing Earth, having taken over all control from the government during the Void Invasion.


    I nce at Isaac, who is looking at me with glee before letting out a sigh.


    His first lesson is a rather simple one. And it takes into ount the lives of the people on Earth, so there¡¯s that. Even if I¡¯m certain he doesn¡¯t really care about them.


    I ignore him while floating myself up higher and higher into the air until I¡¯m outside of the atmosphere itself. Then I let out a pent-up breath despite being in space and close my eyes.


    Right. Remember what the psycho said.


    ¡°Close your eyes and imagine your will turning into pure magic. After that, direct it to do what you want it to do.¡±


    I try to imagine what he told me to do. Imagining my very will leaving my body and forming magic.Nothing happens.


    Yeah, guess I should¡¯ve expected that.


    I open my eyes again with a frown.


    Controlling the blood of everything around me feels instinctive. I can just sense it as if it¡¯s a part of my body.


    But creating blood, manifesting blood, and altering blood? Those are different things altogether.


    And that¡¯s not even considering null magic, which I haven¡¯t even scratched the surface of just yet.


    ording to the prophecy, from what Tar and Isaac said, I¡¯ll need full control over bother my blood and null magic to face off against the Voided Overlord.


    I¡¯m not entirely sure if I can really trust that though, since things have strayed from the prophecy. Meaning it¡¯s not a guarantee that I¡¯ll win against the Voided Overlord regardless of what happens. There¡¯s no prediction having learned that it happens.


    Nothing at all in that regard.


    The reality of our universe is just too fractured now for that.


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    But that prediction at least makes sense. I¡¯ve felt how powerful the Voided Overlord is. It¡¯s hard not to when I was in the other side of the universe, where the Void Invasion is at.


    Very hard.


    There was just a subtle sensation of disgust that filled me at the strange, ck energy I felt everywhere around me. Almost as if the Void Invasion itself and wherever it spreads is part of the Voided Overlord¡¯s domain.


    Like it¡¯s a god.


    Almost like how I am with blood.


    I frown before shaking my head. Then I open my eyes and look down at the world beneath me.


    The Voided Overlord is no doubt capable of controlling his void magic entirely. Even if only by mere instinct.


    So I need to learn to control my own powers.


    Plus I¡¯d rather not break Earth on ident. That would be rather unfortunate, after all.


    I close my eyes again and focus on doing what the psycho said. A process that I just can¡¯t seem to figure out no matter how hard I try.


    Eventually I float back down to Isaac again, only for him to say, ¡°You are a goddess. What you desire will be. Keep that in mind, Esteemed One.¡±


    I frown, but float back up into space again.


    A fanatic¡­


    But¡­ is he really only saying that because of his fanaticism?


    My frown grows deeper at that thought. Then I close my eyes once more and focus.


    What I desire will be¡­ a goddess¡­


    I focus on the area around me before imagining my mind expanding outwards to sense everything. Just like I do when instinctively controlling blood.


    And without any fanfare, I simply think about how I want a bunch of blood to appear in front of me.


    A bright red light shines through my closed eyelids, making me open my eyes to find a glowing red light shining as a massive orb of blood the size of a moon appears above my head.


    I blink once. Then twice.


    Then I mutter to myself, <strong>¡°Huh.¡± </strong>My voice no longer needing air to speak.


    I nce down at Earth before hearing through my god-like senses the people down below all talking about the massive moon of blood that appeared above the world. With many of them just talking about how it¡¯s ¨C for theck of a better phrase ¨C ¡®just the princess doing Scarlet things.¡¯


    My eyebrow twitches at that in irritation, meanwhile I swear I hear a certain tanuki chuckling in the back of my head. Despite him not being nearby right now.


    That¡¯s just rude.


    I try to let out a puff of air, only for nothing to happen since I¡¯m in space. Then I just cross my arms and thinking about the blood in the moon vanishing. And it does. In the blink of an eye in fact.


    Hmm. So Isaac wasn¡¯t just spouting fanatical gibberish. He was actually speaking the truth.


    Although I doubt it¡¯s the exact same for him, since he¡¯s only ss IV. And if using magic naturally without a System was this easy, there would be a lot more people using it around the universe.


    That said¡­


    I try to focus on my own body and <em>will </em>myself to do what Crimson Overdrive did.


    But nothing happens.


    ¡­it looks like I can¡¯t just make a wish and it¡¯ll happen. I need to know exactly what I¡¯m doing for it to happen.


    Or, at least, that¡¯s my guess.


    And I don¡¯t know what a lot of my skills did exactly.


    Out of curiosity, I raise my hand rather slowly before willing for a demon to appear in front of me. Simply imagining how the demon would look. Imagining every detail about it.


    And <em>something </em>certainly appears. Something that at least looks like the demon I imagined.


    At first.


    Until it bursts like a bubble full of blood and stters everywhere as the blood floats in space, leaving me grimacing.


    Guess that¡¯s more evidence towards the ¡®need to know exactly what I¡¯m doing¡¯ theory.


    I frown before focusing on the world itself.


    Right. Time to do what I came up here to do.

 Book 6: Chapter 37

    Book 6: Chapter 37


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I close my eyes and focus my senses all around the entire world itself. On everyst singr droplet of blood. And I immediately feel a little overwhelmed by the vast amount of information I can get from it all.


    It feels bizarre. Like I know everything about every bit of blood in the world.


    Like I can control it all at will.


    Although it¡¯d be dangerous for anything I control over thisrge an area since all I know is the individual droplets of blood. If I tried controlling them, I¡¯d probably end up ripping the blood out of the bodies of everyone on Earth by sheer ident.


    Which would be bad. identally killing everyone on the.


    Even if I might be able to put them back together with some time.


    Probably.


    Anyways, I quickly single out the¡­ strange¡­ bits of blood. The blood that is most certainly not normal. Not human. And not even of this universe.The void creatures don¡¯t particrly have ¡®blood¡¯, per se, but they have something simr to it. And it apparently counts enough that I can control it still.


    It just feels very different and ufortable to me.


    Kind of like something alien that shouldn¡¯t exist.


    It¡¯s just weird.


    My brows furrow slightly as I try to keep all of the strange, alien bits of blood under control. Only for me to raise a brow after noticing something even stranger.


    One specific gathering of that blood seems to be mixed in with regr human blood in an odd way. A rather unhealthy way at that. And it looks like it¡¯s fighting with the human blood.


    It kind of reminds me how I used to be way back when my human and blood lycan blood would fight before I contracted into the System.


    Not very hard to figure out who this blood belongs to.


    My brows furrow a little bit more before I shrug to myself and quickly order the void creature blood in his body to stop fighting with the human blood. Then I take my focus off of Anthony, refocusing on every single void creature on the aside from him.


    Alright. Now to get down to business.


    A faint smirk stretches across my face.


    <strong>Somewhere on Earth in the Capital</strong>


    <strong>This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.</strong><strong><em>A few moments ago</em></strong>


    Anthony grits his teeth as he uses the void energy in his body to devour the attacks from the void creature¡¯s he¡¯s fighting. Completely ignoring the searing pain that is running rampant across his body, as he always does.


    Over the years, he¡¯s gotten used to the pain of his own blood fighting against itself. The result of the experiment he underwent long ago.


    He heard that Scarlet had undergone a rtively simr state for a brief period of time before she contracted, but from what the word is on the inte, the System stopped her blood from fighting with itself. Something that isn¡¯t possible for him due to his blood being from the void. A ce outside of their own universe and therefore alien to the System, unlike the blood of demons.


    Also unlike demon blood, void creature blood isn¡¯t as powerful. So it won¡¯t kill him.


    Void creature blood is on par with human blood. Which makes it so that a constant war is always fighting within his body with no victor in sight.


    A war that grows more painful with every ascension he clears.


    <em>If only I had that pain nullification skill Scarlet is so fond of¡­</em>


    He shakes his head at the thought before using the umted energy from the void creatures¡¯ own attacks to strike back, sending a bold of ck energy that annihtes them in seconds. And just like always, the sight of him using void magic sends shivers down the spines of any of the civilians nearby. Despite the fact that Anthony is currently fighting to protect them.


    But he¡¯s grown used to that as well.


    So he continues fighting inside of the mall, ignoring whatever Scarlet is doing that made the sky go red not too long ago. Something he saw through the mall¡¯s windowed ceiling.


    He fights, and fights, and fights some more. Because the only way he can get the haters off his back is to contribute. It¡¯s the only way for him to survive anymore.


    But as he¡¯s fighting, a strange sensationes over him, making him stop. And he¡¯s not the only one who stops fighting. Everyone within the entire mall stops moving and begins to look around. As if everyone, Anthony included, feels someone¡¯s sole attention on them.


    Then an even stranger sensationes over him. Like someone is gripping his blood itself and locking it in ce. Something he guesses everyone else is experiencing as well when he sees everyone, whether human, void creature, demon, or contractor, freezing stiff.


    Just as quickly as they froze, though, everyone staggers as if let off of a string that was holding them like a puppet.


    Everyone but the void creatures and Anthony.


    Anthony can¡¯t even grit his teeth as he¡¯s stuck frozen in ce, feeling the usual pain from his blood. But after several seconds, that pain slowly begins to fade away.


    He blinks in surprise, only to feel further surprised by the fact that he can move again.


    <em>What¡¯s¡­ happening?</em>


    Anthony looks around before focusing on his hands, turning them back and forth. But no matter how much he moves, no paines to him.


    The pain he¡¯s grown used to over the years is gone.


    Then his attention is stolen away by the void creatures, who all seem to be convulsing in ce.


    Anthony frowns and tilts his head slightly, only for all of the void creatures to pop like bubbles, sending their blood sttering around the mall. Everyst void creature inside of it, not even leaving a single one behind.


    He quickly jerks his head upwards to stare at the sky, where he knows Scarlet must still be. Meanwhile all of the blood belonging to the void creatures begins to rise into the air before shooting out through any gaps to head towards the sky.


    But while everyone else is in awe of what is happening, Anthony just feels relief as he smiles up in the direction the blood is heading. As he revels in theck of pain. In the peace he¡¯s found out of nowhere.


    <em>Thank you¡­ so much¡­</em>


    Tears begin to flow from his eyes while he watches arge wave of glowing red blood swallow up all of the ck blood that had floated up into the sky from all across the world. Only for it to all vanish again in moments, heading back to its source.


    <em>Thank you¡­ Scarlet.</em>

 Book 6: Chapter 38

    Book 6: Chapter 38


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I can¡¯t help but smile as I feel myself devouring everyst void creature currently on Earth in one fell swoop. A sensation that is positively divine. Literally, in some senses.


    After I finish up, I open my eyes and look at Earth below, deciding to leave all of the Corrupted Fractures be for now. Strictly to give the Guardians some fodder to use in ascending. Since I kept taking most of the cores for myself, even if I handed a lot of them out.


    Would benefit us to have our Guardians and demons stronger than they are now after all.


    Well, anyways, now that I¡¯ve finished that, I float myself back down to the fanatic. And what I find gives me more than a few goosebumps, since the man is literally prostrating himself to me.


    <strong>¡°Please get up¡­¡± </strong>I mutter to him, and he immediately gets up at my request. Thankfully.


    Then he raises his hand and makes some strange symbol appear above his hand. One in the form of a crescent moon split between two sides.


    In one side of the moon, it¡¯s a pure golden color. And in the other side, it¡¯s red and ck.


    Clearly separating creation and destruction magic.¡°This is the symbol attached to eclipse magic,¡± Isaac begins right away, not beating around the bush in the slightest. ¡°Every type of magic has a symbol, and to use magic you have to wish for what you want to happen. To believe that it will happen. But other than that, you also have to know what it is exactly you¡¯re doing¡± The man takes a step back before lowering his hand palm down and meeting my eyes for a second.


    ¡°For example,¡± he starts as the symbol glows ¨C a symbol that followed his palm and is below his hand now beneath his palm ¨C and white sand begins to fall down to the ground, ¡°sand is often made by the erosion of rocks over countless years. All the way till it¡¯s down to nothing but small, fine particles like these.¡±


    He snaps his fingers, making the sand stop falling. Then he turns his hand over again, with the symbol once more following his palm.


    ¡°And bone,¡± he says, making what looks like the bone of a human being appear the moment he says that, ¡°is clearly made from the human body. By the blood cells within it. The bone marrow. The human DNA. And everything that makes up it.¡± And just as quickly as it appeared this time, he snaps his fingers and it disappears again.


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    But this time it doesn¡¯t just fade out of existence. This time the bone slowly turns to ck dust.


    ¡°Because I know how the process works, I can create things with the creation part of eclipse magic, and destroy them with the destruction part,¡± he continues while focusing his gaze on me again. ¡°All simply by willing it to happen.¡±


    Oh. So that¡¯s why he spends all of his time studying.


    It¡¯s all to advance his abilities in magic.


    I frown for a second as I look at the symbol.


    ¡°Are you wondering if the symbol being out and disyed like this is necessary?¡± Isaac asks, clearly seeing where my eyes were pointing. And I just nod my head in response.


    He was using magic before without that symbol out as far as I know, so it should be possible. Unless he was just hiding the symbol somewhere hard to see. Or just out of sight.


    ¡°Well it isn¡¯t necessary,¡± he says, making the symbol disappear before more sand begins to float in the air above his hand. ¡°But it does make it harder to use magic without the symbol directly out.¡± He meets my eyes again. ¡°Think of the symbol like a crutch. It takes your desires and manifests them. So without it, you have to do all of the manifesting yourself.¡±


    Hmm.


    I raise my hand and try to manifest a symbol. But nothing appears. Probably because he hasn¡¯t taught me how to manifest it.


    ¡°To manifest your symbol, simply push some of your mana out of your body and direct it to manifest with your will,¡± Isaac says, giving me directions again without my asking. Proving himself to be a rather good teacher, putting his arrogance and fanaticism aside.


    There seems to be a lot of willpower used in basic magic.


    Then again, my time in the System really is making this a lot easier. Since it already expanded my mind beyond what was considered normal.


    And willing something to happen was how some skills were activated in the first ce. So I guess that was just like us using normal magic, but with the System to guide everything instead of us.


    A rather interesting process overall.


    Anyways, I raise my hand, palm up towards the sky, before pushing some of my mana outside of my body. And immediately flooding the area with a bright red and ck light that blinds both me and Isaac.


    <strong>¡°Bit too much mana there, Scarlet,¡± </strong>I hear Tar¡¯s voice amidst the blinding light, but I ignore hisment.


    Instead I significantly lower the amount I put out. Then lower it more, and more, and more.


    And I soone to the realization that I have a lot of mana.


    The System never really has you moving your mana outside of your body. It just kinda drained the mana from you and did whatever your skill did for you.


    I keep decreasing the mana I put out until it¡¯s down to just a small sphere above my hand. Then I will that to manifest a symbol.


    And what appears isn¡¯t really what I was expecting.


    Instead of just one symbol, there are three. And each of the symbols are symbols that I recognize.


    After all, they¡¯re symbols on my body.


    The mes in my eyes. The wolf head on my back.


    And the moon on my chest.


    Before I can admire them though, Isaac¡¯s eyes ¨C which were looking at the moon symbol ¨C suddenly explode into blood that stters everywhere around his face, making me back up with a slightly disgusted grimace on my face.


    What the hell just happened?

 Book 6: Chapter 39

    Book 6: Chapter 39


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I stare nkly at the old man for several seconds before calmly asking, <strong>¡°You okay?¡±</strong>


    He nods his head as he answers equally as calmly, ¡°Yes, Divine One. Let¡¯s continue the lesson.¡±


    I resume my staring again. But the old man doesn¡¯t budge. He doesn¡¯t even look ufortable.


    <strong>¡°Did¡­ that hurt?¡±</strong> I can¡¯t help but ask.


    The old man merely nods his head without a word.


    Well then.


    ¡°From the brief look I got before my eyes gave out, there are three different types of magic within your symbol,¡± Isaac starts his lecture without any eyes in his head. Which is creepy. Just seeing him talking normally while blood is pouring out of his empty eye sockets like a river. ¡°There¡¯s the mes, which represent your null magic. The wolf¡¯s head which represent the magic of wolves, giving you control over wolves should you use this magic. And there¡¯s the blood moon, which represents your blood magic. Your main magic. And also the reason my eyes exploded.¡±


    Ah. Right. Because that makes perfect sense.Isaac raises his left hand to his face before a bright golden light shines from the palm of his hand, with his hand blocking me from seeing what he¡¯s doing. And when he removes his hand, I surprisingly find to perfectly fine eyeballs in his eye sockets as he blinks a few times. Almost like he¡¯s trying to get used to it again.


    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± he says, leaving me feeling even more confused than before. Until I remember the power of creation magic. ¡°Great Divine One, if it is against your ideals to kill anyone who looks at your symbol, I would suggest you not manifest your symbol in front of others.¡±


    Right. Yeah, probably not a good idea.


    Although¡­


    <strong>¡°I want to try something,¡±</strong> I tell Isaac, making him nod his head in silence.


    So I stop hiding the blood moon symbol on my chest, allowing it to shine out through the area.


    And the second I do, Isaac¡¯s eyes are immediately drawn to it before they burst again. But this time he falls over at the same time.


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    Oops.


    I hide the symbol before kneeling down and sensing his body. Only to find that he¡¯s unconscious.


    Double oops.


    <strong>¡°If you keep this up you might just kill the old man on ident,¡± </strong>Tar mutters, not sounding worried in the slightest.


    Then again, I personally don¡¯t care about Isaac¡¯s wellbeing either. But it would probably be for the best that I don¡¯t kill the man teaching me magic.


    So I close my eyes and focus on the old man¡¯s blood. Only to realize I¡¯m not entirely sure how to heal him.


    I study his body for several seconds before eventuallying to the conclusion that he doesn¡¯t actually need healing, which is good. Since I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to heal him in my condition.


    I¡¯d probably end up tearing his body apart instead on ident.


    But if it¡¯s just waking him up¡­


    I tweak his blood ever so slightly. Basically just a pinch. And immediately after that, his eyes shoot open, and he draws in arge breath.


    <strong>¡°You good?¡±</strong> I ask while tilting my head.


    The old man nods his own and quickly begins climbing to his feet, only wobbling a little bit in the process. Then he looks me in the eye and says, ¡°It looks like the divine mark on your body is even stronger than your symbol.¡± He reaches for his head and rubs his temples. ¡°If I was just ss II then I may¡¯ve died just from looking at it.¡±


    Oh.


    That doesn¡¯t sound healthy.


    <strong>¡°You should probably keep that symbol hidden at all times,¡± </strong>Tar suggests, making me nod my head.


    But I can¡¯t help but ask, <strong>¡°What¡¯s a divine mark? And if it¡¯s something rted to ss VIs, how do you even know about it? The prophecy? Or Titania?¡±</strong>


    The old man whose appearance isn¡¯t actually very old answers right away, ¡°A divine mark is the symbol representing a ss VI. A divine being. One strong enough to rule over or destroy an entire universe. It¡¯s the core of their very being and it represents at least part of their Title.¡± He pauses to point at my chest, then at the moon high in the sky that I am pretty sure turned blood red when I had my symbol out. ¡°Your symbol represents you, the Wolf of the Blood Moon, and it has a drastic affect on everything and everyone around you.¡± Then he pauses for a second while turning to look me in the eyes again, having already restored his own eyes once more. ¡°And the prophecy didn¡¯t give much information on the divine marks. I learned it from Titania in preparation for dealing with the Voided Overlord¡¯s divine mark.¡±


    Right. If it¡¯s something all ss VIs get, then the Voided Overlord is bound to have one as well.


    Come to think of it, I¡¯m pretty sure Gramps looked ufortable when he saw me before. And not just him. The others too.


    Maybe that was because my divine mark was out?


    But if it affects even the Demon King¡­


    I really can¡¯t reveal it in front of others¡­


    ¡°Your divine mark and your other marks will increase your powers rted to the marks when they are shown, but they will also express their influence on everything in your surroundings,¡± Isaac further exins for me as I stare down at my chest where the mark is hidden. ¡°So it would be best to use them only when you deem it safe, Divine One.¡±


    <strong>¡°Can you please stop calling me that?¡±</strong> I ask, finally getting sick of that term of endearment.


    He just shakes his head as he answers, ¡°No, Divine One. I cannot.¡±


    Then he goes and changes the subject, moving onto the next topic of the lesson. As if I didn¡¯t even ask for him to call me something else.


    I really have to question this guy¡¯s beliefs if this is how he thinks he should treat someone he has annoyingly dered a goddess.

 Book 6: Chapter 40

    Book 6: Chapter 40


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The fanatical old man continues our lessons for hours on end as I repeatedly try one new thing after another, but my progress ends up being rather slowpared to what I would¡¯ve preferred. And while part of it is because using magic without any guide is just in difficult, part of it is also because the old man keeps having to go far away when I actually try to use magic. Seeing as the best way to start using magic is to summon your symbol and use it to help you out.


    But if I have my symbol out, the old man will die.


    If it were just him losing his eyes every time, I wouldn¡¯t care. It¡¯s not just that, though, because he only lost his eyes and passed out before because of how long he was exposed to my symbols. He would¡¯ve lost a lot more than that if he¡¯d been exposed for longer.


    So our lessons end up being him exining things, him going far away, me trying out the thing he exined, then me calling him back to either tell him I failed, or I seeded. Following which he exins what I did wrong or exins the next step to learn.


    Eventually we finish the basics over the course of several days, throughout which I make sure to kill all the void creatures on Earth. A process that takes little more than a couple seconds every time.


    I actually find that it makes for some good practice during the lessons. And after them as well.


    Once we finish up, I send Isaac back to his mansion ¨C which is suspiciously standing once again without any damage done to it, likely due to some sort of enchantment ¨C before I fly up into space around the and cross my arms under my chest.


    Right. So, this really will take some getting used to.It¡¯s almost been a week now since I ascended to ss VI, and I¡¯m still not used to my strength yet. Just yesterday I broke a few walls of my home merely trying to stop by and grab something.


    Ended up not getting it after all. Didn¡¯t want to break more of my home in the process. Especially when Aria lives there too.


    I let out a sigh, somehow managing to do it even without any air. Then I tilt my head and frown at the world down below me.


    <strong>¡°Is it still bothering you?¡± </strong>Tar asks, appearing nearby in the process.


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    <strong>¡°Hmm,¡± </strong>I hum while nodding my head without saying anything.


    The Voided Overlord¡¯s divine mark¡­


    <strong>¡°It¡¯ll be tough to deal with,¡± </strong>Tar mutters, making me nod my head again.


    A divine mark that powerful¡­ it¡¯s rather frightening.


    From what the old fanatic said in regards to the prophecy, the Voided Overlord¡¯s divine mark has governance over the void, devouring, and destruction. So the Voided Overlord itself represents the destruction and devourment of everything in existence, all the way till there¡¯s nothing left but the void.


    And it can absorb the powers of anything it devours.


    The magic, the skills, whatever. Anything it devours, it can use.


    It also adds on the reality of whatever it devours to itself, making it even stronger. Which is probably how it ended up bing ss VI in the first ce, assuming it didn¡¯t get that particr power from reaching ss VI.


    If that were all it could do, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Considering that I do the same with the Red gue. Since I can devour other things and absorb their realities too.


    But the Voided Overlord¡¯s ability to take the powers of everything it absorbs is¡­ not something I¡¯m looking forward to facing.


    <strong>¡°Isaac and Grandmother¡¯s suggestion makes the most sense, even if the prophecy isn¡¯t assured anymore,¡± </strong>Tar says. And I can¡¯t help but agree with him.


    The longer the Voided Overlord is in our universe, the more powers it can collect. Since there aren¡¯t any powers other than void rted powers within the void, making it unable to absorb other types of magic beyond void magic rted ones. Like destruction.


    So it¡¯s best to attack the Voided Overlord soon after it enters our universe from the void. Preferably as soon as I possibly can in order to stop it from taking on new magics.


    Of course, I still need to learn more about my own magic before we can even think of fighting the Voided Overlord. Or, rather, before <em>I </em>can. Seeing how having others join me in the battle would only feed the Voided Overlord more powers rather than help me.


    I let out another sigh, at which point Tar moves over and pats me on the head.


    <strong>¡°This battle won¡¯t be an easy one,¡± </strong>I mutter as I continue staring out over the, asionally wiping out any void creature that appears.


    <strong>¡°Well,¡± </strong>Tar begins, the tanuki still patting me on the head even if he¡¯s avoidingnding on me in case I send him flying on ident, <strong>¡°it¡¯s basically a battle with a god. So I would expect it to be rather difficult.¡±</strong>


    True.


    The tanuki gets a rather amused look on his face as he says, <strong>¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if peopleter on down the road refer to this battle as the Battle of the Gods, or maybe the battle between the God of Destruction and the Goddess of the Universe!¡±</strong>


    I nce at him with my eyes narrowed slightly in exasperation.


    <strong>¡°Well, I have work I need to go do now,¡± </strong>Tar says, before giving me a salute with his paw and quickly vanishing. Leaving his voice echoing behind him. <strong>¡°I¡¯ll talk to youter!¡±</strong>


    That would be embarrassing if something like that happened. But, and I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m thinking this, I get the feeling it might actually happen.


    Pretty sure I¡¯m already being worshiped as a goddess on quite a few worlds as it is. Just from my time hunting void creatures not too long ago.


    I can hope though.


    Well, back to practicing.

 Book 6: Chapter 41

    Book 6: Chapter 41


    <strong>High Above Earth</strong>


    Tar finds himself wryly smiling as he watches Scarlet practice her magic in space right outside of the. As she sometimes forms entire oceans worth of blood before making it disappear again. Creates living creatures that often die right away due to one reason or another, whether being in space or not being created correctly. And even creating exact copies of both herself and others in space, with the copies of others dying rather quickly andcking any sort of intelligence due to not having a reality attached to them.


    He watches her fail over and over and over again at everything she tries until she seeds and moves on to the next area. But eventually, he moves on to some business he needs to handle.


    First he teleports straight from Earth to Tartarus, appearing in front of King Arkaz of the Demons. And for a moment, he feels a little surprised by the fact that the Demon King doesn¡¯t appear surprised by his sudden appearance himself. Until he realizes that he¡¯s probably used to Tar¡¯s father appearing out of nowhere already.


    The various high ranking demon nobles within the throne room are a different question, however, and react with surprise at his appearance.


    Tar ignores them though, focusing on Arkaz as the Demon King raises his hand, saying, ¡°We will take a pause in our meeting now. Return when called upon.¡±


    All of the nobles immediately regain theirposure and bow before vanishing from the throne room in seconds. No doubt reappearing elsewhere in the castle to discuss business of their own amongst themselves.


    ¡°Now what is it, new King of the Fae?¡± Arkaz asks while leaning his head against his fist, his elbow resting on the arm rest of his throne as he calmly stares at Tar.


    <strong>¡°I wanted to warn you, King of the Demons,¡± </strong>Tar says, his voice reverberating throughout the throne room as his artificial form grows into that of arge tanuki. One spanning a few meters in length. <strong>¡°With the reality of the universe growing damaged, we aren¡¯t certain when exactly the Voided Overlord will begin breaking the border further and letting more void creatures into our universe. But the prophecy previously dered it to happen within the next week.¡±</strong>Arkaz¡¯s eyes narrow slightly at that, but he doesn¡¯t say anything in response.


    <strong>¡°You will need to defend Tartarus and other worlds while Scarlet grows used to her new power,¡± </strong>Tar deres, getting straight to the point as his gaze locks directly with the Demon King¡¯s own.


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    Silence fills the throne room for several seconds. Until it¡¯s broken by a chuckleing from the Demon King before he says, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re growing into your role if you¡¯re giving <em>me </em>orders.¡± The man shakes his head a little, a faint smile on his face. ¡°Good. Scarlet deserved a better fae partner than you previously have been to her. It¡¯s about time you grow up.¡± Arkaz nods to the side. ¡°Your father agrees with me.¡±


    <strong>¡°Your answer?¡± </strong>Tar asks, ignoring everything the Demon King just said as he focuses on his current mission.


    Arkaz raises one brow, but he answers positively despite his reaction, ¡°Very well, King of the Fae. Do tell my lovely granddaughter not to rush in her adjustment period. We wouldn¡¯t want to lose Earth or Tartarus after all.¡±


    <em>True.</em>


    Tar just nods his head without saying anything. But right when he¡¯s about go to his next destination, a loud cracking sound echoes across the air.


    Both Tar and the Demon King rush outside before looking up at the sky and finding small cracks stretching across the sky. Cracks that are glowing with a crimson light, revealing a pitch ck darkness beyond the light.


    ¡°Fae King, I think this warning was a little bit too close,¡± King Arkazments as the two look up at the cracks, both realizing exactly what¡¯s going on.


    <em>That was faster than I expected¡­</em>


    Tar grits his teeth before closing his eyes and using his privileges over the System to search across the entire universe, starting with the location where the Voided Overlord has been trying to break into the universe. And he quickly finds the source of this new change.


    The Voided Overlord has managed to get a single w inside of the universe. A w that is radiating out pure void magic and tearing everything around it apart while flooding more and more void creatures by the second into the universe.


    <em>Not good at all.</em>


    From what he can see, the Voided Overlord is attempting to move more through the rift into the universe, but it¡¯s not doing very well in that. All it¡¯s ending up doing is sending ripples throughout the universe as it struggles to get through. Which is what¡¯s causing the rifts currently appearing everywhere. Rifts that are far too small for the Voided Overlord to ever hope to fit through.


    Tar watches as ss V void creatures quickly begin to overwhelm every world anywhere nearby the rifts, ughtering millions by the minute.


    He opens his eyes and focuses on the Demon King while saying, <strong>¡°The Voided Overlord managed to get a w into the universe and it¡¯s causing ripples in the universe¡¯s external membrane.¡±</strong>


    The Demon King grits his teeth at that, but nods his head as he says, ¡°Guess my job is starting earlier than we expected.¡±


    Tar nods his head back before closing his eyes again and refocusing on Earth, where he notices Scarlet narrowing her eyes in the direction of the Voided Overlord. As if she can sense what is going on just like he can.


    <em>The power of a ss VI indeed¡­</em>


    He watches her for a few seconds, finding her frowning before she returns to her practicing, then he opens his eyes and turns to the Demon King as he says, <strong>¡°Good luck.¡±</strong>


    And without saying anything else, he teleports back to Earth again while shrinking his size. Since the Demon King can still teleport around the universe using Tar¡¯s father¡¯s privileges. Privileges that aren¡¯t simply revoked from handing down the throne.


    <em>This is going to be a difficult next few weeks.</em>

 Book 6: Chapter 42

    Book 6: Chapter 42


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Well that¡¯s unexpected.


    Not sure how it happened, but the moment I felt all of the hairs on the back of my neck standing straight up, I jerked my head in a seemingly random direction. Then my senses lock onto¡­ <em>something</em>¡­ far in the distance. So far away that it¡¯s on the other end of the universe.


    And what I sense has me narrowing my eyes ever so slightly.


    This¡­ huh.


    I sense a massive crack in the middle of space. One with an enormous ck w stretching through it and emitting a powerful wave of void energy that¡¯s annihting everything it touches. Meanwhile what must be millions of void creatures are flooding out of the cracks appearing in space around therge one.


    Just a single w from the Voided Overlord is half the size of a damned


    That¡¯s rather frightening.


    And that isn¡¯t even considering the fact that the power it¡¯s radiating. That void energy. It¡¯s stronger than anything I¡¯ve seen before.Stronger than me.


    I¡¯m certain it¡¯d kill me without too much trouble even after my powerup from reaching ss VI.


    And¡­ I¡¯m supposed to kill the thing that w is attached to¡­


    I focus on it for several seconds before sighing.


    Well, damn.


    How am I supposed to kill something that powerful? Not to mention big.


    If its w is thatrge, just how big is the Voided Overlord itself supposed to be?!


    Not to mention that energy. I could fight against it for a bit, but it would definitely devour me eventually.


    Which leaves me no other choice.


    I¡¯ve grown more used to controlling my magic, and doing nothing more than creating basic Red gue blood anywhere I want and controlling it has be rather simple.


    So with that in mind, I take a deep breath, and while I¡¯m out in space, I let my marks reappear, drastically increasing my powers in the process. Releasing them to their fullest extent.


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    And since there¡¯s no one here, no one end up dying or having their eyes explode.


    After that, I focus on the many gxies surrounding ours before creating Red gue out of thin air all around them. Then I direct the Red gue to devour every void creature nearby.


    I just keep devouring them and devouring them and devouring them. One by one. Little by little.


    Minutes pass. Then hours. Then entire days pass.


    All while I continue devouring everyst void creature that appears from the newly formed rifts. And after who knows how many days pass, I finally open my eyes and move my hand in front of me before opening my fist, revealing my palm towards the sky.


    Something I learned to do while training with the fanatic. A basic summoning magic.


    I focus hard on both my blood moon symbol located on my chest and on the spot located directly above my hand.


    Then I speak out loud, directing my will into my words and no doubt letting everyone on Earth hear it in the process, <strong>¡°Appear.¡± </strong>Something that¡¯s inevitable when I put in this much power and even speak out loud like that ording to Isaac. That everyone nearby will hear.


    Nearby being the neighboring fews.


    And the moment my word resounds, dots of glowing red blood quickly begin to appear above my hand. But they don¡¯t stay there because the moment they appear I begin drawing them into my body.


    One drop after another, soon making the bits of blood move so fast that it¡¯s nothing more than a blur to someone below ss III.


    Meanwhile I feel more power flooding into me from the reality energy the Red gue devoured. The reality energy previously belonging to the void creatures.


    I feel myself lifting my head with a wide smile on my face, a near-euphoric sensation spreading throughout my body from the power. But I maintain my focus on the ¡®spell¡¯ regardless. At the same time, I make sure to keep creating more Red gue nearby any new void creature before summoning it to me after devouring the creature.


    A repeated process that not only empowers me, but also saves the lives of millions of people from dozens of different worlds. All at once.


    While I focus on the spells, I can¡¯t help but wonder if the best use of my time right now would be to grow stronger through devouring the void creatures, or to learn more control over my magic and body. Because I still can¡¯t move freely without breaking things.


    A lot of things.


    Too many things.


    I grimace as I remember my poor house.


    My grimace fades again when it begins to shake my concentration. So I refocus on the spells for the next day or so. At least until I decide to stop for now.


    And as soon as I do stop, the droplets of blood slow down to a crawl, and the void creatures I was ughtering finally begin to attack again.


    But I just focus on my stomach, because I feel kinda bloated. Like I¡¯m full after a reallyrge meal. Multiple meals.


    I nce down before lifting my shirt a little, revealing no signs of an overly sized stomach. Just some faint abs. The same sight that I¡¯ve seen for years.


    Well that¡¯s good at least.


    Guess I can¡¯t devour nonstop, though. Which is a pity.


    I let my shirt fall while stretching a little. Then I focus on the Voided Overlord again, just to sense how powerful the energy is inparison to me.


    Only to find that it¡¯s grown stronger since Ist sensed it.


    Well, shit.


    Right. It¡¯s mark.


    I¡¯m not the only one growing stronger, even if it only has a single w in the universe.


    Although¡­


    I furrow my brows.


    At the very least, I do seem to be growing stronger at a much faster rate than it is.


    Probably because only a single w is in the universe.


    All it¡¯s using to devour things with is the energy let off of the ws.


    I watch it for several more seconds before refocusing on my current location.


    Well, time to train in the use of my body some more before I crush some unfortunate on ident.

 Book 6: Chapter 43

    Book 6: Chapter 43


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I spend several days training my physical strength until I feel confident that I won¡¯t identally destroy a. Or a building, for that matter. Then I proceed with my n.


    A great n in terms of training my control over magic, if I do say so myself.


    Ignoring the fact that part of the n wasn¡¯t my idea and was actually a certain fanatic¡¯s idea.


    I¡¯ll just say it¡¯s mine though.


    Anyways, I go ahead and find a random spot in a nearby sr system to Earth. A ce where no one is likely to find me. Or disturb me. Or, most importantly, be killed from my marks being disyed. Because it would be awkward if that happens while I¡¯m focusing on clones. Especially since I wouldn¡¯t likely be able to react fast enough to retract my marks before they go pop.


    I doubt I¡¯ll be getting visitors in a neighboring sr system though.


    After finding my spot, I go ahead and close my eyes, focusing solely on the symbols ced as marks across my body while taking a deep breath and letting it out. Something that is only possible because the I¡¯m on has an atmosphere. A poisonous one, but one regardless.


    The poison doesn¡¯t do anything to me though. What with my immunity to corruption and all.I get down to business, spreading my senses across the universe while still focusing on the marks. A difficult task to do at once. Then I create one clone after another and inscribe my intentions into them through sheer willpower alone. Meanwhile I focus on Earth to devour all of the void creatures on it at the same time.


    And all at once, the eyes of each one of my clones opens, sending waves of blood flooding out from each clone just from their presences alone.


    Fortunately I made them all in space above thes.


    Would¡¯ve been rather destructive if I hadn¡¯t.


    Although, I can¡¯t help but grimace a little at the difort from splitting my consciousness into so many different clones. Since it is a <em>lot </em>of clones.


    But not too many, so it¡¯s fine.


    Another benefit of doing things this way beyond simple training.


    It lets me see the many different inhabited worlds of the universe.


    Lets me see all the different civilizations, the different subspecies of human, the ones who learned magic on their own, the many different guides simr to our System, and all the spirits.


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    And through it all, I learn more and more about the universe I¡¯m protecting.


    First up is a world filled with pointy-eared humans who look a lot like elves from fantasy worlds but are actually called amongst themselves by the term ¡®Nall¡¯. They also speak a differentnguage. One that I can¡¯t understand anymore without the System¡¯s assistance like I had when I would go hunting on other worlds a while back.


    Which might be for the best, all things considered.


    I¡¯d rather not hear people worshiping me as a goddess after all. And if I can¡¯t understand them, then I can at least plead ignorance to it all and act like it¡¯s not happening.


    Because it¡¯s always best to ignore unpleasant things.


    Absolutely.


    Anyways, the world in question is of an age of kings and queens, with the methods to learn magic without a System being passed down only through the royal families on the, and the spirits taking a hands-off approach to their guidance.


    Then there¡¯s the next world I have a clone help. This world is filled with some sort of beast people.


    Humanoid animals would be the best way for me to describe them.


    They¡¯re also very tribal in their civilization, with a much more instinctive method to everything they do. Including their own little system for growth that has no actual interface.


    Actually seems like a downgraded version of our System here on Earth and Tartarus. One without any visual aspects to it. Just an instinctive feeling.


    It also doesn¡¯t discriminate, considering how I feel it trying to connect to me when I enter the.


    My Red gue just devours the strand trying to connect though.


    I get the feeling that would¡¯ve attracted the attention of the spirits on the world if it weren¡¯t for the whole void invasion partially eating bits of the world that are floating into space.


    Well, I quickly deal with the void creatures through magic, making them all pop before I devour them and absorb them into my clone. But there¡¯s nothing I can do about the world partially falling apart.


    Wait¡­ or is there?


    While having my other clones deal with more worlds, I put a little bit more focus on this particr clone as I float high in space right above the shattered part of the. Then I raise a single hand and close my eyes, letting my marks out on the clone for a brief amount of time.


    And without any hesitation, I go ahead and spread regr blood ¨C not Red gue ¨C across the entire expanse of the world that¡¯s not broken off but is cracking and starting to fall off.


    I make sure to do it as carefully as I can so as to not damage the world or kill anything. Which proves to be rather difficult.


    But it works out in the end when I finally cover the entire damaged area with regr blood before solidifying the entire thing into blood metal.


    Sealing up the entire in the process.


    After I finish double and triple checking my work on the, I halt my progress with my other clones and shift my main consciousness and body into the clone over the repaired. Then I go ahead and open my eyes while briefly covering up the mark on my chest with my hand. An act that helps a bit.


    I would just make it go away, but that would damage my control over my clones. So no.


    Covering it up while floating in space looking at the should be enough.


    And the really is an interesting sight to see.


    The thing has about a fourth of its surface covered in a deep crimson metal with chunks of the slowly floating away above the crimson. Chunks I wasn¡¯t able to save.


    Of course, the atmosphere on the is very wonky, but it¡¯s still there.


    I give a nod to no one in particr, feeling rather proud of my use of magic.


    While also ignoring the prostrating beast people I see on the surface of the.


    Then I return to my crusade against the void invasion across the universe.

 Book 6: Chapter 44

    Book 6: Chapter 44


    <strong>Somewhere on Earth</strong>


    <strong><em>Three yearster</em></strong>


    Allen sighs as he stands on the roof of one of hispany buildings in the capital on Earth. Just looking out at the busy streets down below, where Fractures once in a while appear, only for any void creaturesing out of them to immediately turn into blobs of glowing red liquid that vanish soon after without leaving a trace.


    A rather bizarre sight that Allen and the people have grown used to over the past few years since Scarlet reached ss VI.


    Several changes have been made throughout both Earth and Tartarus over the years, and Allen is more than pleased by the majority of them.


    For one, the demons have started to truly be a part of society on Earth. All because of Scarlet acting as a connection between the humans and demons. A person who is beloved by both. And in some corners of both Earth and Tartarus, even worshiped. A fact Scarlet herself tries rather hard to avoid the few times Allen sees her every few months.


    There¡¯s even a demon acting on the Council now as a chairperson, representing all of the demons on Earth.


    And there¡¯s a few human Guardians with noble titles on Tartarus as well.


    Even Allen got himself a noble title on Tartarus. The title of viscount.Another change that has run through both Earth and Tartarus is the loss of the humans¡¯ main mode of leveling up since the demons stopped attacking. Making Tartarus the only ce to level up anymore.


    Allen crosses his arms and frowns when another Fracture appears, only for the void creatures jumping out of it on the city street down below to immediately be turned into blood. But his thoughts quickly return to the matter of the Guardian Training Treaty.


    A treaty made between the council and the Demon King overseen by Scarlet¡¯s clone that designates certain Gates to only be avable to Guardians and demons who are registered as hunters. Contractors who travel through Tartarus hunting down demons either in the hunt-free zone or hunting down criminals who have broken thew and have had a bounty ced upon their heads.


    Allen still isn¡¯t sure how he feels about the whole idea, but it¡¯s better than Earth¡¯s society being turned on its head due to the inability for people to continue expanding their lifespans. Eventually leading to Earth¡¯s Guardians dying of old age and not being able to level up.


    On the other hand, the demons are all fine with it. They¡¯re already used to it as it was how Tartarus was always like for them.


    Despite Allen¡¯s constant naggings at his adopted daughter, however, he loves her just as much as his own flesh and blood daughter.


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    And he has also finally cut back on his drinking habits. Since said daughter no longer gets herself in trouble all the time.


    At most she may identally destroy one of his buildings while dealing with the void creatures. But he can¡¯t very well scold her for that when it was just one of her clones doing it and it was on ident.


    He¡¯d also feel bad for doing it since she¡¯s protecting his building at the same time by killing the void creatures.


    Even if she¡¯s doing it more to devour the things than she is to protect his building.


    But Allen likes to imagine that she¡¯s doing it to help him instead.


    It makes him feel better after not seeing his daughter for so long.


    Allen lets out another sigh, only to pause when he hears feet touching the ground behind him. Then a voice follows the sound of footsteps, ¡°Sighing is bing a habit for you Dad.¡±


    He turns around to find Belle walking up to him while wearing a heavy winter coat as snow falls down on the roof around her. The woman¡¯s hands held in her pockets with a smile on her face.


    Allen gives her a brief hug before looking out at the street again and saying, ¡°Can you me me? You miss her too. I just wish she¡¯d visit more often.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Belle says, sounding like she misses her as well based on her tone. ¡°But she¡¯s growing stronger to save the universe. There isn¡¯t much we can do.¡±


    Allen nods his head without a word at that.


    The two stand in silence for several more seconds before Allen asks his daughter, ¡°So how was your trip to Tartarus?¡±


    Belle hums in response and says, ¡°I reached level 700 over there in a ce called the Battlefield of Blood and Ruin.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the ce Scarlet spoke about a few times?¡± Allen asks, ncing at his daughter while looking her over with more than a little worry in his gaze. Simply due to how dangerous Scarlet kept making that ce out to be.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Dad,¡± Belle says while rolling her eyes. ¡°I would¡¯ve stayed longer, but we decided that we should be holding it soon.¡± She pauses for a second before frowning. ¡°Assuming Scarlet stops by at some point in the near future.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Allen mutters, feeling slightly bitter about that.


    <em>Right¡­ that¡¯s a thing¡­</em>


    He¡¯s grown a little fonder of Arthur over the years, but he still isn¡¯t all that pleased about the idea of his daughter getting married. And that feeling is growing worse now that their wedding is starting to be near.


    For the first time in a while he actually has a brief thought hoping that Scarlet <em>won¡¯t </em>stop by soon. Strictly so that the wedding will be held off for a bit.


    And right after he has that thought, an overwhelming presence fills the entire city before condensing and floating down, making Allen let out another sigh.


    Then a voice echoes around them with a sense of power in it, <strong>¡°Did you rece your drinking with sighing, Dad?¡±</strong>


    Allen can¡¯t help but sigh again at that before lifting his head, ignoring the excitement Belle is showing as he looks at his other daughter.


    The Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    She doesn¡¯t look much different from thest time he saw her. Same ck hair with red highlights that asionally look like their glowing. Same glowing crimson arms that are currently fading to look like normal, smooth and pale white arms. Same tail that is quickly absorbed into her body after she no doubt made this clone and put her main consciousness into it. And the same pale mes zing in her eyes that send a shiver down his spine from the sheer power he feels in them despite being her adoptive father.


    She¡¯s even wearing her usual outfit of ck pants, a ck shirt, and a ck jacket with red trim.


    Allen ignores all of that as he crosses his arms and gives her an exasperated look without saying anything, seemingly confusing her in the process.


    <em>Of course she chooses now to visit.</em>


    He shakes his head while looking down again while imagining his daughter walking down the aisle as a bride.


    <em>Maybe I should try drinking again.</em>

 Book 6: Chapter 45

    Book 6: Chapter 45


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Why do I feel like Allen is feeling rather exasperated right now? I didn¡¯t do anything wrong, did I?


    At least, I don¡¯t remember doing anything wrong¡­


    <strong>¡°Maybe he¡¯s upset with how infrequently you visit?¡± </strong>Tarments, making me blink for a moment. Then I shake my head, not really believing that to be the case.


    He wouldn¡¯t be exasperated by it. He¡¯d be upset or something else.


    Although I get the feeling he might be feeling that as well.


    Anyways, putting Dad aside for the moment¡­


    <strong>¡°Brutal,¡± </strong>Tarments.


    ¡­I came here for a reason. And that reason is unrted to him.I focus on Belle as she walks up and gives me a hut, with me lightly hugging her back. Trying very hard not to break one of her bones in the process.


    Over the years I¡¯ve gotten a lot better at controlling my strength, but a ss IV human is still rather fragile. So it¡¯s best to be careful.


    Especially one who specializes in the MAG and MEN stats and not the PHY stats for her capabilities. Making her even weaker than the average human physically at her level.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you made it, Scarlet,¡± Belle whispers, sounding more than a little emotional right now. But I just smile as I <em>very </em>gently pat her back.


    <strong>¡°Wouldn¡¯t miss it for the world,¡±</strong> I whisper back, feeling genuinely happy right now. An emotion I haven¡¯t really had the joy of experiencing for years now.


    Not because I¡¯m particrly upset or anything, but because I just haven¡¯t had the time to rx. I¡¯ve just been hunting and hunting and hunting, devouring trillions of void creatures in the process and growing stronger throughout it.


    So there just wasn¡¯t any time for my own happiness in there.


    We separate after several seconds, following which Allen moves forward and hugs me as well. But I just kinda look over his shoulder at Belle while I ask, <strong>¡°So when¡¯s the exact date?¡±</strong>


    She purses her lips and then taps them with her finger a few times before answering, ¡°Most likely a month from now. We¡¯ll shout for you and explode some fireworks to get your attention when we have a day set.¡±


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    I nod my head as I separate from Allen. Then I step closer to Belle again and continue, <strong>¡°Alright.¡±</strong> My smile grows a little wider. <strong>¡°So how¡¯d he do it? How¡¯d he ask the question?¡±</strong>


    Belle grins at me, and Dad just sighs and exasperated sight that has me raising a brow at him as he hurriedly makes his exit. All the while muttering something about having heard this story more times than he¡¯d like.


    And judging by his tone, most likely never having enjoyed it even the first time he heard it.


    Not long after he gets out of earshot of a regr human, I hear him getting in a call with someone from the Association. Immediately getting down to business.


    Meanwhile Belle starts regaling me of the tale of how Arthur proposed to her. A tale that is honestly a lot less romantic than one would think, considering that he did it in the middle of a battlefield.


    The guy just straight up popped the question after they finished hunting for the night one random day. Just in out of nowhere, shocking her in the process. Not to mention the people hunting with them.


    She goes on to describe absolutely everything in great detail to me. Not just including the ash falling around them, the corpses of the non-sapient demons they hunted, the blood sttered on both of them and the other hunters, but even the lighting from the pitch ck moon and the immediate silence that followed his proposal from the others.


    She didn¡¯t leave a single bit out.


    And when she gets to the part of her epting the proposal like she was doing nothing but epting a gift or something from him, I can¡¯t help but chuckle.


    Belle is a very outgoing person, but she¡¯s never been the type to stay stuck in her thoughts. She gives answers right away without any hesitation, and I can see this situation was no different.


    Wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she was hoping he would propose soon, considering that they¡¯ve been going out for several years. And before that they were really close for arge majority of our lives, with obvious feelings for each other throughout a lot of it.


    Everyone nearby within sight of me sucks in a breath when I step forwards and give Belle a hug. One on my own ord.


    Without waiting for her to do it first.


    I feel the corner of my lips quirk up a bit.


    <strong>¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re getting married,¡±</strong> I tell her while trying to stroke her hair a little bit. A struggle that I eventually just cheat on by floating up into the air, making her give me a friendly pout in response. <strong>¡°You and Arthur are the closest friends I have in the world.¡±</strong> Or worlds, I guess. <strong>¡°So please live happily from now on.¡±</strong>


    Belle starts crying for some reason, so I pat her a bit more.


    <strong>¡°And don¡¯t worry about the void invasion,¡±</strong> I tell her, giving her a few seconds before I slowly pull back to arm¡¯s length, with my hands still on her shoulders.<strong> ¡°I¡¯ll be dealing with those pests soon enough.¡±</strong>


    That makes her let out a littleugh, so I pat her once more on her shoulder and back away.


    <strong>¡°Remember to tell me the exact day and time,¡±</strong> I tell her before waving and beginning to fly high up into the air over the city. <strong>¡°I¡¯ll be paying closer attention to Earth during this time!¡±</strong>


    Ipletely ignore the shouts and pointed fingers following after me as I fly up into the sky high above the city, focusing on Belle while she smiles and waves. Not to mention Allen who is happily smiling upwards at me, seemingly perfectly fine again and done with his call.


    I¡¯ll go ahead and drop in again next week.


    But for now, I don¡¯t have the time to focus on family.


    I need to continue growing stronger.


    Because the Voided Overlord almost has its entire hand through the breach.

 Book 6: Story Art

    Book 6: Story Art


    <strong>As usual, if the art breaks, click here</strong><strong> to find the public post on Patreon.</strong>


    To start things off, here is the WBM book 4 cover imagemissioned from Kart Studio:


    Then there''s themissioned typography for Wolf of the Blood Moon book 4''s cover from this over image(Imissioned an audiobook cover too but I forgot about the narrator so it''s kinda useless):


    And after this is art I made to celebrate Arthur and Belle''s uing marriage :)


    New art style art of Arthur:


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    And new art style art of Belle:


    Then there''s some new art of Scarlet fighting the red gue dragon:


    And a couple other images of Scarlet:

 Book 6: Chapter 46

    Book 6: Chapter 46


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    About a week passes since meeting with Belle before I¡¯m given the exact time and date of the wedding. Which turns out to be about one and a half months from now. Right at the start of the new year in the capital on Earth.


    A bitter than they originally stated, but it makes sense that they might want to have it during the holidays. Since holidays are holidays.


    And, unsurprisingly, Belle asks me to be a bridesmaid. Along with Denise and Emily.


    On the other hand, Arthur¡¯s best man is Michael, and some of his friends as the groomsmen. Which isn¡¯t surprising, considering how much time the team spends together.


    I don¡¯t really have any actual responsibilities except for when the wedding happens, so it¡¯s more of an honorary position for me. Since I kind of have to deal with the void invasion and making sure the world, and more importantly, their wedding isn¡¯t destroyed.


    <strong>¡°Don¡¯t let anyone hear what you just thoughts,¡± </strong>Tar mutters in my head, making me give a single, expressionless salute without any sort of verbal response.


    I continue looking out over Earth from space with my arms crossed, simply letting my clones go around ughtering and devouring the void creatures like cattle. Something I learned how to do about a year ago. To automate the process so that I don¡¯t have to give most of the areas my full attention.


    Just the ces with stronger void creatures.Specifically the ss V disasters, as I like to call them.s that are just filled with ss V void creatures who are quite literally devouring the. Where I have to actually repair holes in the myself.


    All while ignoring their praises to me, the ¡®Goddess of Blood¡¯. Because no.


    I have checked in periodically to see how Ipare to the Voided Overlord, but even after years, I still don¡¯t feel confident beating it. Even if I won¡¯t just be crushed like a bug anymore at the very least.


    Kind of ironic that the Voided Overlord is just feeding me the strength I need to beat it though. What with its little army just going through to feed me.


    I tap my finger on my arm while looking out over Earth for several seconds. Then I turn to look in the direction of the Voided Overlord again, pursing my lips a little.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.


    Should be fine now.


    I teleport straight over to the Voided Overlord, finding myself in a hellish abyss within space. One filled with void energy just coating everything like grime, including the very fews still here that haven¡¯t beenpletely destroyed.


    But even thoses are nothing more than dead husks covered in nests of void creatures.


    The massive rift the Voided Overlord is trying to go through is much smaller on the edges, with the creature¡¯s hand trying to stretch through the center, widest part of it. Meanwhile I immediately lock eyes with the Voided Overlord itself when I look through the edges of the rift.


    Or, rather, lock eye. Since the thing is so big I can only see one eye from here.


    A massive eye at that.


    And when my eyes lock on it, I feel a shiver run down my spine.


    I turn away from the Voided Overlord, whose gaze I feel nothing but an all-devouring sense of gluttony. Like all it wants to do is eat and destroy. To devour everything in reality and leave nothing behind. And what I find after turning away isn¡¯t all that much better, since there are quite a few ck holes in the gxy around here.


    And the void creatures here are all ss V. There isn¡¯t a single weaker void creature. Not a single one.


    If I¡¯de here a couple years ago, I probably would¡¯ve sumbed to the void energy alone. Void energy that is so dense that it makes it hard to even stay here.


    Almost like it¡¯s trying to force itself into me and devour me from the inside out.


    But now my own energy is strong enough to protect me without any issue from the ambient void energy.


    A faint smile stretches across my face.


    Well, I have my new focus for the next month and a half. Maybe the next month, since I need to figure out what I¡¯m gonna wear to the wedding. What with Belle banning me from wearing anything that isn¡¯t a dress.


    Something about her wanting to dress me up in something nice for the first time in ages. And since it¡¯s her wedding, I decided to just let her do what she wants.


    I¡¯m not all that against skirts and dresses anymore anyways. Not since the curse broke.


    Anyways, I¡¯ve been wanting toe here and devour the buffet of ss V void creatures for a while now. I just haven¡¯t been able to thanks to the whole ¡®void energy atmosphere¡¯ thing that would¡¯ve ended with a death and me having to revive myself somewhere else.


    Which would¡¯ve been a pointless waste of time, since I¡¯d die before getting anything done.


    Honestly, I would just go ahead and spread the Red gue from here and let it devour the void creatures on its own. But then I could very well have another Red gue on my hands going around killing off worlds on its own.


    So not a good idea.


    I¡¯d rather avoid making this little apocalypse even worse.


    Certainly would make things a lot easier though¡­


    I shake my head at the thought before floating a little bit away from the rift the Voided Overlord is still working his way through. Then I spread both my arms out and release a massive flood of Red gue at the void creatures that are finally starting to make some headway in their little charge towards me.


    And in seconds, my Red gue begins to devour the void creatures by the thousands. Despite them being ss V void creatures.


    This will make for a lovely boost in my growth.

 All Book Summaries

    All Book Summaries


    I know some people seem to enjoy seeing summaries of previous books in the series in case they''re catching up, so I went ahead and wrote a summary for every book of Wolf of the Blood Moon before book 6.


    There''s also a glossary attached to this, but I didn''t change anything from the previous glossary. The main point is the summaries at the start of it.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Click here to see! Or the following /document/d/1ezN4DolKQ_ne7U71FVynaAmK_Q5fF9NBFD8Wh_AR-Qc/edit?usp=sharing

 Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 4 is now on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!

    Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 4 is now on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!


    Hello everyone! Wolf of the Blood Moon book 4 has now released on Amazon Kindle Unlimited! If you''re interested in the edited version of the book, then you can find it there!


    PS: It would help me a lot if you left it a rating or review based on how you felt about the story.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Have a great day, and tomorrow is thest day of my /amazon/B0D6H1P33J

 Book 6: Chapter 47

    Book 6: Chapter 47


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Time passes slowly as I devour the void creatures flooding from the rift, and throughout that time, I gradually grow stronger and stronger. All the way till I¡¯m finally starting to reach the point where I feel I may have a chance against the Voided Overlord.


    But the Voided Overlord isn¡¯t just sitting still either. It¡¯s working its way through the rift while making it grow with every day that passes.


    And by the time one month has passed, things change.


    The Voided Overlord¡¯s entire hand finally makes it through the rift into the universe, and along with that, the Corrupted Fractures stop closing.


    As soon as this happens, panic begins to spread across every world I can see across the universe. Because, until now, I¡¯ve been dealing with the void creatures and the Corrupted Fracture cores along with whatever people they have protecting their worlds. But now the Corrupted Fractures never close, even after the cores are shattered.


    Now the Fractures seem permanent. Permanent gates leading to the void with a constant rush of void creaturesing through.


    I grit my teeth as I control thousands of clones at once, ughtering the void creatures nonstop and using them all to grow stronger. All while denizens of thes themselves are helping me out.


    Whether they¡¯re humans from Earth, demons from Tartarus, or elves from some random. Everyone that isn¡¯t a ss 0 with no power to their name aides in the war.Because at this point it is a full war.


    An invasion.


    A Void Invasion.


    Not just the Fractures that we were having before.


    It¡¯s a lot more like the Gates to Tartarus that led to the all out war between humans and demons rather than the more apocalyptic Fractures that would appear and asionally bring demons.


    In fact, it¡¯s exactly like thatparison.


    And ss VI or no ss VI, it¡¯s getting tough to handle it all.


    I have one clone handling every single, with two clones each handling Earth and Tartarus. Because priority. Meanwhile the Guardians and demons are all working around the clock to deal with the Void Invasion.


    Although Tartarus is probably the least affected by this whole thing. What with their civilization being rather barbaric in some manners already.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Well, that and the Demon King¡¯s presence. Yeah, that¡¯s probably the biggest reason.


    Not to mention the Demon Lords.


    Okay, yeah, they¡¯re just a lot stronger than the other worlds in general. So Tartarus isn¡¯t in too much trouble.


    Notpared to the other worlds.


    Earth too. It may not be as strong as Tartarus, but Earth is still leagues above the other worlds.


    All because of the System.


    A System that was madergely to make me as strong as I am now. So all because of a coincidence.


    Since I happened to be on Earth. Or Tartarus.


    Both technically.


    I frown when I feel a liquid leaking out of my eye. And when I reach up to touch it while still devouring void creatures near the Voided Overlord¡¯s hand, I find my handing away with Red gue on it.


    Well that¡¯s not good.


    I feel more liquid leaking from my other eye. Then my mouth. Then nose and ears.


    This is very much not good.


    Guess even ¡®goddesses¡¯, as the people so like to call me these days, can overwork themselves as well.


    <strong>¡°Scarlet, you really need to take a break,¡± </strong>I hear Tar¡¯s voice echoing in my head, making me purse my lips for a few seconds.


    No can do. A break for me is millions of lives lost for others.


    <strong>¡°At the very least you can take a break from devouring the void creatures where you are and return to Earth,¡± </strong>Tar points out. <strong>¡°There¡¯s no reason you have to always be fighting near the breach. I bet the Voided Overlord¡¯s constant presence is what¡¯s causing your health to deteriorate.¡±</strong>


    You probably have a point there.


    I frown in thought for several seconds as blood continues leaking from me before I eventually sigh, ignoring the blood that leaks out in the process. Then I mutter, <strong>¡°Fine.¡±</strong>


    <strong>¡°Good,¡± </strong>Tar says, sounding satisfied with himself. <strong>¡°Let your main body take a break while your clones handle the other worlds. Maybe reduce the number of clones while you¡¯re at it.¡±</strong>


    Not happening.


    <strong>¡°What?! Why not?¡± </strong>Tar exims, making my ears ache with his volume. <strong>¡°Is it because of the people that¡¯ll be lost? You realize if you copse then even more people will die, right?!¡±</strong>


    No, it¡¯s not that. Although that doesn¡¯t hurt my reasoning either.


    Tar seems to pause for a second before he asks, confusion clear in his voice, <strong>¡°Then why?¡±</strong>


    I nce upwards at where I believe Tar is watching me from as I smile despite the pain and answer, <strong>¡°Why, because I¡¯d lose out on devouring the void creatures.¡±</strong>


    He doesn¡¯t say anything for several seconds. Then I hear a sigh along with his muttered voice, <strong>¡°You just want to keep growing stronger¡­¡±</strong>


    Yep.


    The tanuki snorts and says, <strong>¡°Not even hiding it. How shameless.¡±</strong>


    Yep.


    He snorts again before going silent. Likely having given up by now.


    I raise a brow before teleporting away from the Voided Overlord and returning to Earth. Then I immediately turn into blood and fly straight towards my home, where I find a bed and lie down in it.


    The little guy is right though. I haven¡¯t rested for ages.


    Pretty sure I¡¯ve even heard some people gossiping about how I¡¯m always at work the few times I returned to Earth.


    I still hear it right now.


    Which is why I manually decrease the sensitivity of my hearing.


    Honestly d I¡¯m able to do that. Otherwise my life would be a living hell, always being able to hear absolutely everything everywhere within multiples of me.


    Not even sure how that¡¯s possible, considering theck of sound waves in space. But I guess magic makes anything possible.


    I learnedter on that shockwaves shouldn¡¯t even technically be possible in space despite them happening after all. So hearing sounds from others isn¡¯t that far-fetched.


    Well, my hearing aside, I reach for a book I left on my nightstand.


    Haven¡¯t been able to read for a while.


    I best make use of this time to do that before I return.

 Book 6: Intermission 1

    <strong>The Ashen Mountains on Tartarus</strong>


    ¡°Now remember this, little Knighty,¡± Raiden Amaterasu, leader of the Kitsune says, her sweet voice contradicting the sight ck sees of her calmly looking at him with a kind smile on her face as her tails move in a blur tearing apart the void creatures around them. ¡°When you¡¯re pulling a prank on someone, always remember to keep in mind everything about the person in question. Their likes, their dislikes, what they do on the regr, and how they do it. You need to keep everything in mind when nning or the prank may end up going poorly.¡±


    ck repeatedly nods his head, finding himself enthralled in the beautiful kitsune¡¯s words as the woman¡¯s hair flows gracefully in the wind around her. He¡¯se here to both aid in the treaty between Earth and Tartarus, giving aide to the demon nation as the representing Knight of Humanity, and for his own purposes.


    Specifically meeting the beautiful kitsune known by the humans as the yful Duchess.


    A woman he looked up to for her sheer talent in pulling pranks even when they were at war. Ever since he met her during his time on Tartarus all those years ago. Back when Blue had his emotions ripped from him.


    Unlike the other demons and their n Leaders who tried to kill the Knights, Amaterasu merely toyed with ck. Treating him as a ything she was messing around with as he journeyed across the Ashen Mountains. Not even bothering with trying to capture him.


    Even though she could¡¯ve easily captured and killed ck if she wanted.


    Another reason he looks up to her.


    ck watches as the woman¡¯s tails then move about, picking up void creatures instead of killing them. Then she starts to tie them all together before tossing them at more void creatures, killing the lot of them. All while she keeps her eyes locked onto ck with a kind and yful smile on her face and one arm folded under her chest with the other reaching up to tap her lips. Her fox ears twitching a couple times in the process.¡°But if your n is to y a prank on the Wolf of the Blood Moon, Her Highness, you will need to know a lot more about her and how to pull pranks in general,¡± she continues without pausing in her ughter of the void creatures. And neither does ck as he uses his shadows to ughter them around him as well, without taking his eyes off of her. ¡°Because if you don¡¯t know her well enough, and you¡¯re not skilled enough at pranks, then Her Highness may very well take it as an insult or in assault.¡± The kitsune¡¯s eyes narrow a little. ¡°And if she so much as believes you attacked her, then I will lock you away in the dungeon of my castle personally.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ck repeatedly nods his head, his gaze still locked on the woman in front of him. And when Amaterasu sees the look in his eyes, she smiles a little and says, ¡°It looks like you do understand. Good.¡±


    A mixture of mes and electricity in the form of foxfire suddenly pop up around her, burning void creatures to a crisp alongside the ck Knights own shadows that drain them of all the energy they have while suffocating them.


    ¡°You wish to prank her in an attempt to lift her spirits a little, am I correct little Knighty?¡± Amaterasu asks, tilting her head a little while ignoring her daughter, Raiden Akuma, who is several dozen kilometers away fighting off her own void creatures. Albeit with a lot more focus, with the woman having apparently lost a lot of her yfulness ever since her father died. And when the Knight nods his head in response, Amaterasu continues, ¡°Then make absolutely sure that you listen to everything I have to say.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± ck deres, a look of determination filling his gaze as he narrows his eyes, still ughtering the void creatures around him.


    The leader of the Kitsune n looks ck in the eye for several seconds before her smile grows even wider and she leans forwards, toward the man and reaches for a lock of his hair as she whispers, ¡°I like the look in your eyes, little Knighty.¡±


    ck feels himself blushing a little due to the proximity of the beautifuldy he¡¯s been thinking of for so long now. Both himself and his other personality.


    But the woman backs away again a secondter while chuckling.


    ¡°You¡¯re so adorable, I can¡¯t help but mess with you,¡± she says while partially covering her mouth.


    ck¡¯s personality immediately switches to his psychopathic side and the blush on his face vanishes, making Amaterasu raise a brow. But other than that she doesn¡¯t give any physical reaction to his change.


    ¡°Swapped, have we?¡± she says, but she doesn¡¯t say anything else on the matter. Instead she asks, ¡°Does this side of you also wish for lessons?¡±


    ck nods again without saying a word, proving to be a lot quieter than his other personality.


    Amaterasu stares at ck for several seconds as the void creatures let out screeches all around them while being ughtered by both the Knight and demon n Leader. Then she covers her mouth again and begins tough.


    A beautiful, melodic sound that covers the screeches of pain from the void creatures.


    ¡°You¡¯re a strange one, little Knighty,¡± she eventually says before uncovering her mouth again to reveal a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s begin the lessons in earnest, then. And how about we y a little game while we¡¯re at it?¡± When ck nods his head, she continues, ¡°Whoever kills more void creatures during our lesson wins. And the winner gets to ask for one thing from the loser.¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± ck says with a nod of his head, making Amaterasu¡¯s smile grow a little.


    And for the first time that the psychotic side of ck can remember, a smile stretches across his face as they begin their game.

 Book 6: Chapter 48

    Book 6: Chapter 48


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I¡¯m interrupted from my little vacation after just a single day of rxation when the Fractures start getting worse at a rapid pace. One so rapid that they are just appearing nonstop at all times around the.


    I click my tongue before putting away the most recent book I was reading. Then I teleport to space above the and cross my arms as I focus on the blood within my own body.


    There are too many of them. And none of them are closing.


    So there¡¯s only one thing I can do right now.


    I close my eyes while focusing on each individual droplet of blood within my body. And after getting a lock on them, I send them out in tiny little strings. Strings so small that they¡¯re invisible to the regr human eye.


    One thing that can still close these Fractures¡­


    I control the strings to continue through the air, avoiding anything and anyone until they finally make contact with each Fracture.


    Making them all get instantly devoured by the Red gue in seconds.¡­is my blood.


    I realized it while I was reading. That if the Red gue was strong enough to destroy artificial realities, and the universe itself, it should be able to devour little portals like these Fractures with ease.


    The only hard part about this is avoiding devouring any humans or demons in the process.


    Although the void creatures I devour don¡¯t really matter. Actually, it¡¯s probably for the best that they¡¯re devoured.


    I make sure to refine my technique at doing this with every Fracture that opens up. And when I feelfortable enough with it, I start gradually doing it with my clones as well. Sealing up one Fracture after another as they all appear at around the same pace that I seal them away. Meanwhile I devour the void creatures that hop out of the Fractures before I can seal them.


    Overall, this whole fiasco is very annoying, stressful, gives me very little time to think, but at least feeds me a lot of void creatures.


    I¡¯m growing stronger far faster now than I was before.


    But after ughtering who knows how many void creatures, I remember something crucial that I was so busy dealing with the aftermath of the problem that I forgot to even look at the source of said problem. So I pause for a second in dealing with several hundred other worlds in order to focus on said source.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The Voided Overlord itself.


    And when I do, I find the creature¡­ with two hands through the rift.


    My jaw drops open wide at the sight of the two hands each trying to pry apart the rift. Stretching it ever so slightly every so often.


    Well, shit. At this rate, the Voided Overlord will make it into the universe before I¡¯m strong enough to be confident in killing it.


    I nce in the direction of Earth and Tartarus before turning back to the rift again.


    There may be some coteral damage in this battle.


    And in that case, I better make sure Earth and Tartarus aren¡¯t a part of that coteral damage.


    I grit my teeth at the rift and the wed hands for a few seconds before ncing back at the other worlds in the universe. Many of which are filled with people.


    Damnit, I guess there¡¯s something I can do about this at the very least.


    I teleport to the center of the area closest to the rift before closing my eyes. Then I spread both of my arms out in front of me and growrger, letting the glowing crimson veins in my arms shine brightly. And without any hesitation, I summon forth blood all around everyst within my range.


    My teeth end up grinding from the strain of doing this, but I don¡¯t stop. In fact, I push even harder, moving everyst nearby all on my own.


    I start out moving them slowly, only to gradually speed up each while adjusting the speed, atmosphere, and gravity using my own blood. Making little moons of glowing blood nearby thes to help do that.


    In addition to those moons, I cover up every other object with a strong gravitational pull, such as other suns, and move them along as well.


    I do everything I can to safely move every on this half of the universe over to the other half. The not-dead ones, that is. Thes with living people still on them. Removing the food source of the void invasion entirely from this side.


    Of course, I make sure to memorize the exact positions of where every was before this so that I can return them in the future. And if push came to shove, I could just teleport the people in thes to others.


    This is an emergency after all, and while I wouldn¡¯t be heartbroken if they all died, I do feel like I should save them.


    It doesn¡¯t hurt me doing so, so there¡¯s no reason not to help them.


    <strong>¡°But it does hurt you¡­¡± </strong>I hear Tar mutter at the same time as I cough out a mouthful of blood at the same time.


    Thatment has me pausing for a moment, but I continue all the same. Without even knowing why myself.


    Maybe it¡¯s because this is what some of my friends would want? Or am I growing soft?


    Just a little bit.


    I continue pushing myself all the way till I finish moving thes and immediately lose all control over my body. To the point that I¡¯d likely copse in a sweaty heap on the ground if there were any ground up here in space.


    But there isn¡¯t, so it¡¯s fine.


    Alright. That problem is dealt with.


    I let my clones resume devouring the void creatures, restoring myself a little in the process without overtaxing myself in the hunt itself. And after I finish that, I let out a deep breath ¨C which again shouldn¡¯t be possible since I¡¯m in space but whatever ¨C then I return my attention to the Voided Overlord.


    Huh.


    Well, that¡¯s not good.


    What I find when I look at the Voided Overlord again is the thing¡¯s hands stretching the rift ever so slightly. Just a tiny amount.


    But it¡¯s enough to find one of the Voided Overlord¡¯s eyes looking directly at me between its hands.


    And it¡¯s pissed.


    I nce back at Earth before muttering out loud, ¡°Sorry, Belle, but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be making it to your wedding.¡±


    Then I turn back and head over towards the rift again.

 Book 6: Chapter 49

    Book 6: Chapter 49


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I¡¯ve been hesitant to try this, since it could possibly make things worse, but at this point there isn¡¯t much choice. It¡¯s either let the Voided Overlord finish what it¡¯s doing and enter the universe, or it¡¯s try this and possibly finish it myself for the Voided Overlord if it goes wrong.


    But either way, the Voided Overlord will be entering the universe soon. That¡¯s a guaranteed fact at this point.


    So without hesitation, I start with a very small part of the edge of the rift.


    I send small threads of my Red gue at first to poke at the edges. And when that doesn¡¯t do anything, the rift itself proving to be rather strong, I prod it with more threads.


    But things don¡¯t go as I¡¯d hoped.


    Instead of the rift growing smaller, it starts to expand a little bit. Making me stop what I¡¯m doing immediately.


    I grimace at the rift before returning my gaze to the Voided Overlord.


    Damnit.It¡¯s as I thought.


    The Fractures and this rift are inherently different. While the Fractures are pretty much portals that can be devoured, this rift is more like a hole. It¡¯s damage to the universe¡¯s reality itself, opening up a passageway between the void and the universe.


    Or in other words, it¡¯s pretty much just a hole in the wall of the universe.


    And I can¡¯t exactly devour a hole. All I¡¯d end up doing with the Red gue is expanding the hole by devouring the edges of it instead.


    The Voided Overlord looks ever so slightly puzzled at my actions, but it resumes ring at me secondster. All without any real intelligence in its gaze.


    Almost like I¡¯m facing some sort of wild animal that knows nothing but destruction. Not exactly berserk, but still not smart or really intelligent at all.


    Just like the prophecy said the Voided Overlord was.


    No void creatures have any form of sapience after all. And that includes the strongest amongst them.


    Their god.


    I grit my teeth as I try to think of anything I could possibly do to stop the Voided Overlord, but only one thinges to mind. And I know it¡¯ll likely have some consequences.


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    There¡¯s also the fact that I probably won¡¯t be able to leave here after I start.


    Tar, obviously reading my mind to figure out what I¡¯m nning, asks, <strong>¡°Are you sure about this?¡±</strong>


    I stare at the Voided Overlord¡¯s peeking eye for several seconds before I eventually nod my head without a word.


    <strong>¡°Then you need to rest first,¡± </strong>he continues, making me nce down at the blood still dripping from my nose, mouth, and eyes. <strong>¡°Recover to full strength. Then attempt it. You won¡¯t be able to do much unless you¡¯re at full strength anyways.¡±</strong>


    You¡¯re right.


    I stare at the Voided Overlord for a little bit longer before teleporting back to Earth again and entering my quadrupedal beast form, spanning dozens upon dozens of meters in space above the. And after briefly sending a message to everyone about what I¡¯m doing and what¡¯s happening, I close my eyes and curl up into a ball as I fall asleep.


    <strong>Somewhere on Earth</strong>


    At the top of arge tower located in the middle of the ocean, every Knight of Humanity, along with all of the Demon Lords, n Leaders, and the Demon King stands in silence as message after messagees to each one of the important figures. Each about the situation going on throughout Earth and Tartarus.


    Time passes as each of them answers the messages one after another, and when they¡¯re all finished, they get straight down to business.


    ¡°I assume everyone here has received the same message from Scarlet?¡± Amelia Asger asks while tapping her foot at the edge of the tower, high above the water below. And after everyone nods in agreement, she continues, ¡°Then let¡¯s begin nning.¡±


    ¡°First, we would like to split everyone up between areas on Earth and Tartarus to deal with the void creatures while Scarlet is recovering,¡± Leonidas says, continuing for his mate. ¡°If everyone is willing, please pair up with someone and choose a territory to protect.¡±


    Without anyone having to say anything, the various people within the room all begin to choose their partners. Starting with Leonidas and Amelia, followed by Will and Amaterasu, Lucius and Xyvandra, Vorgrim and Noah, Alexander and Gabrie, followed by various other pairings. All ending with the Demon King being left on his own due to not needing any partner to work with.


    Then the various pairings each select their territories to defend before Amelia says, ¡°Now remember. We need to hold out until Scarlet can finish recovering. Then the climax of this conflict will begin, and we need to be ready for that.¡±


    Everyone nods their heads before they all begin to move out. Eventually leaving Amelia, Leonidas, and the Demon King behind in the tower.


    But Amelia can¡¯t help but watch Will and Amaterasu as they leave together with a confused expression on her face.


    After a few seconds, she nces at Leonidas and asks, ¡°When did those two get so close?¡±


    Leonidas just shrugs.


    ¡°They¡¯ve been working together for a bit now on Tartarus,¡± Arkazments while watching them leave with aplicated look on his face. ¡°At the rate they¡¯re going they may need your help.¡±


    Amelia nces at him in confusion for a few seconds before opening her mouth and muttering, ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Another hybrid other than Scarlet¡­¡± Leonidas mutters while rubbing his chin for a few seconds. Then he turns to his father and asks, ¡°Are you alright with that?¡±


    Arkaz frowns for a few seconds before eventually sighing and answering, ¡°It¡¯s their choice. So long as you¡¯re willing to help make sure the conception and pregnancy goes through, I¡¯m staying out of this.¡±


    Both Amelia and Leonidas smile at the Demon King, feeling happy about how far he¡¯se since his old hating-humans self.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s time for us to get to work too,¡± Arkaz deres, only to vanish a secondter as he teleports back to Tartarus.


    Amelia and Leonidas nod in agreement and begin to fly through the air, heading towards their own selected areas on Earth.

 Book 6: Chapter 50

    Book 6: Chapter 50


    <strong>Somewhere Within the Universe</strong>


    Titania stares out at the rift that is gradually opening up due to the Voided Overlord. And she feels nothing but anxiety the longer she looks at it. Because ever since Scarlet went to sleep in order to recover, the rift has been opening faster and faster.


    At this point it¡¯s opened enough to let the Voided Overlord begin stretching its arm through the rift. And if it keeps this up, it may very well be able to fit enough of its body through that it could change its form through the reality energy its devouring.


    <strong>¡°You¡¯ve done everything you can, Mother,¡± </strong>Oberon says, appearing right next to her in his dragon form. <strong>¡°There¡¯s nothing left you can do but wait and see what happens.¡±</strong>


    Titania nods her head, perfectly understanding that. No matter how much she wishes it weren¡¯t true.


    Because at this point, everything is in the hands of the girl she pretty much created herself. The Goddess of Blood, and Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    <strong>¡°I¡¯m going to tell her everything I know about the Voided Overlord after she wakes up,¡± </strong>Titania says without taking her gaze away from the Voided Overlord, or the void creatures that are starting to flood through the gaps between the Voided Overlord¡¯s arms and the rift. <strong>¡°She needs to know everything now. There isn¡¯t much time left.¡±</strong>


    Titania sees Oberon nodding his head without a word in the corner of her vision.


    Silence fills the area with the only noise being that of the screeching void creatures that are so loud that Titania can somehow hear them even in space. Then she senses another presence appearing next to them, making her nce behind herself to find her grandson appearing.<strong>¡°What do you know about the Voided Overlord that we don¡¯t, Grandmother?¡± </strong>Tar asks, sounding rather upset at the idea that Titania may be hiding stuff from them still. <strong>¡°Please tell me. I don¡¯t care about the prophecy anymore.¡±</strong>


    Titania looks at him for a few seconds before returning her gaze to the Voided Overlord as she says, <strong>¡°The prophecy doesn¡¯t matter anymore. It holds no power over the universe when the universe is in tatters.¡± </strong>And after a brief pause, she continues, <strong>¡°The Voided Overlord didn¡¯te about naturally as everyone is assuming.¡±</strong>


    In the corner of her vision, she sees Tar narrowing his eyes. Not really showing surprise but clearly not being happy either.


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    So she keeps talking, <strong>¡°The Voided Overlord came about because of a dragon that was sent to the void by my father.¡±</strong>


    That surprises both Tar and Oberon.


    <strong>¡°Wait, so the Voided Overlord is the fault of the royal fae?¡± </strong>Tar asks, sounding both shocked and upset.


    But Titania doesn¡¯t respond to his anger as she continues without taking her gaze from the Voided Overlord, <strong>¡°The dragon was beginning to threaten the Farshore with its special type of spatial magic, so my father was forced to seal it away and leave it in the void. Since the creature was too difficult for him to finish off.¡±</strong>


    Titania looks away from the Voided Overlord at her hand, clenching it a little in the process.


    <strong>¡°Over the years, the dragon was forgotten by my father and everyone else involved in its sealing,¡± </strong>Titania continues, her voice growing quieter. <strong>¡°But not long after I was born, the Voided Overlord managed to stumble upon the dragon before the void creatures weremon. And since the dragon was so weakened at the time, it managed to slowly begin devouring its sealed body over the course of centuries.¡±</strong>


    She turns to look at Tar and her son as she finishes, <strong>¡°The creature grew at a rapid pace while devouring the dragon, and it gained enough power to begin dominating all of the other void creatures around it. Starting its reign as the Voided Overlord as it began creating more void creatures from its aura alone.¡±</strong>


    Silence fills the area with the only noise being that of the screeching void creatures.


    None of the fae royals say anything for several minutes as they all turn to look at the Voided Overlord.


    <strong>¡°The Voided Overlord has be a special creature, just like the Wolf of the Blood Moon,¡± </strong>Titania begins exining, filling the silence. <strong>¡°It devours all, taking their power and abilities for its own use. But it also has more than one form that it can take. Including a more humanoid form that is far smaller. So after it devours enough of the universe¡¯s reality energy, it will be able to take that form and fit itself through the rift. Without opening itrge enough for its main body to fit through.¡±</strong>


    The silence returns after she finishes speaking. Leaving the three fae royals to stare at the Voided Overlord without a word. Meanwhile the Voided Overlord itself continues making slow progress at opening up the rift while absorbing part of the universe¡¯s reality in the process.


    Titania looks away from the Voided Overlord to focus on the rest of the universe, none of which is doing very well without the help of the Wolf of the Blood Moon. Then she looks at the Wolf of the Blood Moon herself, finding her sleeping in her enormous wolf form while curled up in a ball and floating in space. Meanwhile droplets of glowing red blood surround her, floating around in circles as if protecting her.


    She watches a few void creatures approach the sleeping wolf, only for them all to be devoured by the droplets of blood in seconds the moment they touch them. But no matter how long Titania watches, the wolf herself doesn¡¯t show any signs of waking up.


    So Titania returns her gaze towards the Voided Overlord with a grimace on her face.


    Finding the Voided Overlord to be trying to squeeze itself further into the rift as its eye blinks a couple times. Showing more activity than it had before.


    Her eyes narrow a little.


    <em>Please, Wolf of the Blood Moon, wake up soon¡­</em>

 Book 6: Chapter 51

    Book 6: Chapter 51


    <strong>All Across the Universe</strong>


    Loud cracking sounds begin to echo across the universe as more and more Corrupted Fractures appear, spreading the void creatures further and further into the universe. Meanwhile the people on every single world all fight for their lives without the aid of the Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    Word has already been sent to everyone of importance about the Wolf of the Blood Moon¡¯s rest, leaving the people of every world with nothing but hopes that she will wake up soon.


    But entire days pass with the void creatures continuously flooding every world, with the Voided Overlord¡¯s rift opening wider and wider every day. Slowly letting more void creatures in to further flood the universe.


    All of the people in the universe capable of fighting work hard to protect their own worlds, but the longer the void invasion continues, the worse off the worlds end up. With the vast majority of the people not being able to fight against the void invasion.


    The only worlds that are left with any form of order are Earth and Tartarus, each of which are protected by the most powerful beings of the universe.


    But even those worlds begin to fall into chaos as the days continue passing.


    Eventually, the royal spirits of each world begin to teleport the people out of their worlds to further away worlds that haven¡¯t been hit by the worst of the void invasion yet. Evacuating theirs entirely and leaving them to the void creatures.


    After one entire week passes since Scarlet entered her slumber, a loud shattering sound echoes throughout the entire universe as the rift around the Voided Overlord suddenly expands outwards, letting in a lot more of the creature into the universe. Enough of it that it manages to absorb far more reality energy from the universe, causing more Corrupted Fractures to appear along with some other rifts from tears opening up in the walls of the universe itself. Each of which let more void creatures through.And when the Voided Overlord absorbs enough reality energy, it begins to shrink. Gradually transforming down into the size of a humanoid creature, albeit with scales and tentacles and an ambiguous form that shifts every second. Never fully settling on one shape as ck mist lifts from its body.


    Then it slowly floats through the rift into the universe. Making the universe itself around the creature begin fracturing, leaving nothing but pitch ck darkness behind everywhere nearby the creature.


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    Everyst void creature in the universe pauses for a second before letting out a loud screech that resonates all over. Terrifying everyone who hears.


    But it doesn¡¯t stop there as the Voided Overlord itself raises its head, its glowing pitch ck eyes shining in the darkness around it as it opens its mouth wide, far beyond what a normal humanoid mouth can stretch.


    And lets out its own screeching roar.


    One that makes everyst being within the universe cover their ears as drops of blood begin to drip from their ears down the sides of their heads. Including the protectors of Earth and Tartarus.


    Even the Demon King himself falls to one knee while trying to wipe out the void creatures entering Tartarus.


    The Voided Overlord continues its screeching roar for several seconds as its territory spreads. Turning the universe around it into a terrain just like the void. Filled with nothing but pitch ck darkness that swallows up every in its path.


    And right when all hope seems lost within the universe and every being that isn¡¯t a void creature is on the ground bleeding from their ears, a howl echoes throughout the universe to counter the roar.


    Signaling the awakening of the Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    As if responding to the howl, the Voided Overlord turns its head in her direction and stops screeching. Then it begins to slowly move towards her. Almost like it were attracted to the most powerful source of reality energy within the universe.


    Meanwhile everything the Voided Overlord passes by turns into the void.


    But the Wolf of the Blood Moon doesn¡¯t just stay still, instead narrowing her eyes before teleporting across the universe to appear right outside of the Voided Overlord¡¯s domain.


    And the moment the two ss VI beings¡¯ eyes meet, a thunderp echoes across the universe, and their individual marks shine on their bodies.


    A red moon on the Wolf of the Blood Moon¡¯s chest, null mes in her eyes, and a wolf¡¯s head on her back.


    And arge, gaping maw on the stomach of the Voided Overlord. One shining with an eerie ck light that gives a sense of eternal hunger to anyone who sees it.


    A sense so strong that anyone who sees it, even the other void creatures around them, immediately begins to devour themselves and those around them.


    Anyone except the Wolf of the Blood Moon, whose own marks defend her from its influence.


    The Wolf of the Blood Moon and the Voided Overlord stare at each other for several seconds in silence, with the void creatures all across the universe beginning to abandon whichever worlds they were attacking to head directly towards the two. Creating a massive flood of void creatures moving across the universe and leaving the people of the worlds surprised at the sudden peace around them.


    Then a loud beeping sound echoes from above Earth and Tartarus, following which dozens upon dozens ofrge screens appear in the skies above the worlds. Showing exactly what is happening between the Voided Overlord and the Wolf of the Blood Moon. Except without the effects of their marks making it through.


    Everyone on Earth and Tartarus turn to watch the two face off, with those indoors leaving their homes and those already outside copsing in exhaustion as they stare up at the screens in the sky.


    With everyone praying for the Wolf of the Blood Moon¡¯s victory.


    Whether they¡¯re human, demon, or fae.


    Because they all know what¡¯s on the line should she lose.

 Book 6: Chapter 52

    Book 6: Chapter 52


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I scowl at the annoying creature in front of me. The one that woke me up from my lovely nap.


    An actual <em>genuine </em>nap. The first one I¡¯ve had in ages.


    It was such a nice nap, and I feel so much better now.


    But this stupid <em>thing </em>had to interrupt it.


    <strong>¡°I think we have more important things to worry about than your nap,¡± </strong>Tar points out from his ce safely incredibly far away in the void. <strong>¡°I¡¯m gonna have to leave now.¡±</strong>


    Yeah, yeah, I understand. Too dangerous here.


    Even in the void. What with the void being the Voided Overlord¡¯s territory.


    <strong>¡°Good luck, Scarlet,¡± </strong>I hear Tar¡¯s words echo in my head. <strong>¡°Stay safe.¡±</strong>Then his presence fades from my mind.


    Leaving me alone with the Voided Overlord as its domain spreads out around me. Turning everything nearby into the void.


    But the Overlord isn¡¯t the only one with a domain.


    My own domain begins to spread out around me. Something that I¡¯ve never allowed happen due to the consequences it brings to my surroundings.


    Droplets of glowing red blood begin appearing all over as a deep crimson tint covers everything around me and spreads further out. Soonbatting the space-turned-void within its own domain.


    And the second our two domains sh between us, the two of us not moving from our spots, a powerful wave made up of glowing red blood and pitch ck void energy is sent flying outwards in all directions. Destroying worlds that are located millions upon millions of kilometers away from us with ease. Each of which is already abandoned at this point.


    Honestly, I didn¡¯t know the Voided Overlord had a humanoid form. It¡¯spletely new to me, and I¡¯m a little irritated that no one bothered to tell me.


    If I¡¯d known then I would¡¯ve expected the Overlord to havee out of the void sooner than I was expecting.


    Our domains continue to sh as we stare at each other, destroying absolutely everything around us as the universe is painted in ck and crimson. And when my domain reaches objects within the space around us, the objects begin to <em>turn into </em>Red gue themselves. Only to join my domain and empower it further.


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    The entire reason I almost always avoid using my domain.


    Because it¡¯s indiscriminate in its rampage.


    My domain turns absolutely everything in it into the powers under my control.


    Objects turn into Red gue. Living, sapient creatures turn into a strange type of Red gue werewolves that are fully subservient to me. And anything else is eliminated.


    Nullified.


    But¡­


    My eyes narrow at the Voided Overlord¡¯s own domain.


    Just like how my domain uses my three different main powers, the Voided Overlord¡¯s domain uses its one power. Its power to absorb and devour everything.


    Which is why everything its domain touches is immediately devoured, including reality and the universe itself. Leaving nothing behind in its wake but the void as it devours everything. Strengthening itself in the process.


    At the same time, I can absorb anything turned into the Red gue to strengthen myself.


    Which, considering theck of living, sapient creatures nearby, is pretty much everything around me right now. What with me being the only sapient thing nearby. Including the Voided Overlord, which isn¡¯t sapient.


    So our battle between domains simply consists of our domains spreading further and further our, devouring everything nearby while painting it all crimson and ck. With us being on the opposite side of the universe from the surviving people and worlds.


    The ones untouched by the void creatures.


    Then, during our faceoff, I begin to sense void creatures entering the range of my domain. And most likely some are entering the Voided Overlord¡¯s domain as well.


    But all of them are devoured in an instant. Adding to my strength.


    With the number of void creatures entering my domain doing nothing but expanding by the second, even with them all being devoured.


    Almost like all of the void creatures are flocking straight towards the Voided Overlord.


    A fact that I find proven when I take a brief nce at the other side of the universe. Which is now barren of void creatures.


    Well, that¡¯s certainly one way to deal with those pests.


    Although, I find myself frowning a little when I see therge screens floating above Earth and Tartarus, each showing me with my jacket billowing a little from the shockwaves along with my hair as I face off against the Voided Overlord. The two of us just staring at teach other as our domains tear apart chunks of the universe in their battle.


    Meanwhile all of the people, demons and humans, on the twos cheer as if their lives were on the lines.


    Which they are.


    A part of me wants to just devour the System screens showing the battle. But another part knows how the people there feel. With all of them feeling anxious and afraid. All unable to do anything in my battle. The battle that determines the fate of the universe itself.


    So all they can do is sit there and cheer, watching me fight.


    And it would be a little cruel to take their only view of what¡¯s happening away from them.


    With that in mind, I take my attention away from the screens as I refocus on the Voided Overlord. Simply letting my domain expand more and more, devouring all of the void creatures that enter it. And I try to push it even more myself just so that I can devour more void creatures than the Voided Overlord does.


    Because at this point, whoever devours more of them will end up stronger.


    The waves sent out from our shing domains grow stronger and stronger, and with my increased output, the Voided Overlord¡¯s domain begins to slowly get pushed back. Until the Voided Overlord starts pushing its own domain further as well.


    At which point the waves grow even stronger once more.


    My eyes narrow a little and the slightest hint of a smirk stretches across my face.


    It¡¯s weird.


    Despite the situation, the threat to the universe, and the danger I¡¯m actually in, I feel¡­


    Good.


    Excited.


    The smirk stretches further into a smile.


    Time for the greatest hunt of my life.

 Book 6: Chapter 53

    Book 6: Chapter 53


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Our domains continue shing for what feels like hours, destroying every, star, and any other astral object nearby. Leading to the creation of multiple ckholes in the process as stars explode.


    But I ignore those as well, simply devouring anything in my way, turning everything into Red gue.


    Into a part of me.


    All while devouring void creature after void creature.


    The hours gradually turn into entire days. Then the time passing grows so long that I begin to lose track of time entirely.


    Which isn¡¯t too difficult considering how we¡¯re in space without any sort of stars ors nearby at this point.


    Over time, the people watching us from Tartarus and Earth grow tenser and tenser as they realize just how difficult this battle is. As it all sinks in that I won¡¯t just win this with ease or quickly.


    But the Voided Overlord and I continue tobat each other via our domains, neither of us paying any mind to them.Until the veryst void creature is devoured. Leaving the entire universe barren of void creatures other than the Voided Overlord.


    My eyes narrow a little when the Voided Overlord¡¯s domain ¨C which had expanded to cover almost half of the entire universe alongside my own, leaving the half that is still upied safe ¨C begins to shrink. At a rapid pace.


    After a brief hesitation, I shrink my own domain as well. Leaving a rather barren half of the universe behind as the two of us simply stare off at each other.


    Seconds pass in utter silence before the Voided Overlord¡¯s form shifts.


    First it¡¯s just a single fluctuation in its form. Then another.


    Then the creature¡¯s humanoid form begins to melt apart and expand, startling me for a single instant as it regains its previous form.


    The form that I saw while looking through the rift it had made.


    I raise a brow before spreading my arms out and turning into my own beast form. Expanding myself as well so that I match its own size.


    The size of multiples.


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    And after I stop growing, I slowly open my eyes to look at the Voided Overlord. Finding those ckish-purple eyes staring right at me from the massive creature that looks suspiciously like a dinosaur. Kind of like a T-rex. Except with a bunch of pitch ck scales and tentacles growing outwards from its body, along with a few massive tentacles moving around itself.


    I briefly nce at the screens on Earth and Tartarus, along with the people there. And more and more people are starting to watch the screens, which disy the sight of an enormous ck and crimson wolf with glowing red veins running through its body along with my three marks fighting against a massive ck T-rex covered in scales and tentacles.


    My attention returns to the Voided Overlord as it lets out a loud roar that echoes across the entire universe.


    So I reciprocate in kind, letting out a loud howl of my own that can be heard everywhere.


    Then the Voided Overlord rushes straight at me with its mouth wide open, moving incredibly fast for its size. But I move almost as fast to block it with my tail. Only for its mouth to tear straight through my tail, chomping arge portion of it off and making me howl in pain.


    My pain doesn¡¯tst for long, though, because my tail quickly grows back.


    Shit, this thing is still so much stronger than me¡­ but why? The void energy I sense doesn¡¯t feel <em>that </em>much¡­ stronger¡­


    A possibilityes to mind, and I strike forwards, chomping at its side myself. Only for my fangs to barely even scratch its scales.


    But despite theck of damage, I feel a sense of satisfaction welling up inside of me.


    Because the Voided Overlord¡¯s scales aren¡¯t healing.


    The scratches are still there.


    That exins it.


    The Voided Overlord¡¯s power is all in its brute force strength and magic. It has little to no power reserved for healing itself.


    So it¡¯s pretty much the opposite of myself, with me being focusedrgely on regeneration.


    As I¡¯m considering this, the Voided Overlord suddenly sends out a powerful wave of void energy at me, devouring part of the fur on my shoulder before I manage to avoid the rest of it. And I notice a very faint shimmering cover its entire body.


    I quickly look at the damaged scales, only to let out a sigh when I find them still damaged. Not healed in the slightest.


    Then my relief turns to a sensation of utter bewilderment almost in an instant at the sight of therge Voided Overlord beginning to grow some ck and crimson fur.


    Fur that looks exactly like my own.


    Right. Its domain lets it devour anything and take their power as its own.


    The crimson part of the fur soon turns ck and purple, though. Probably because it¡¯s the Voided Overlord¡¯s colors or something.


    Or maybe it¡¯s just because of its void magic.


    Either way, I narrow my eyes and cover my entire body with a verypressedyer of Red gue. One that should be able to block a lot of its void magic.


    Then the two of us begin trading blow after blow, sending waves of Red gue and void energy throughout the area around us. An area covered in emptiness mixed with droplets of Red gue.


    And with every blow we trade, I feel pain flooding me from entire chunks of my body being ripped out, blown away, and utterly destroyed. All before regenerating in an instant.


    Every single time.


    But at the same time, I focus on whittling away at a single part of the Voided Overlord¡¯s scales. Very slowly making cracks emerge on them, even as more and more changes emerge on the Voided Overlord¡¯s body from it devouring parts of me.


    And after what must be entire days of this back and forth, I finally shatter some of its scales.


    Giving me an in to its body.


    A wide grin stretches across my wolfish face as I let out another howl.


    It¡¯s time to get this battle truly started.

 Book 6: Chapter 54

    Book 6: Chapter 54


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without hesitation, I begin sneaking in bits of the Red gue through the shattered scales, into the Voided Overlord¡¯s body. But I keep the Red gue pacified within it to make sure it doesn¡¯t damage the creature.


    Instead I make sure to build up more and more inside of the creature. All the way till it finally notices and lets out a roar while directly its own void energy inwards.


    And right when they do, I immediately set the Red gue inside of it into a frenzy. Devouringrge chunks of the Voided Overlord¡¯s insides.


    Although, byrge chunks, I mean entire dozens of meters of flesh.


    Which,pared to the creatures size equaling that of multiples, isn¡¯t much. At all.


    But it¡¯s a start.


    Far more damage than I was doing before, with just cracking its scales a bit.


    I hear cheeringing from Earth and Tartarus, but I ignore it as I begin to focus on cracking scales in different locations on its body. Managing to do that without as much trouble this time due to the creature¡¯s focus being on eliminating the Red gue within the other hole.Then I go ahead and fill it with some Red gue in those new ces as well. Taking out more chunks of the creature in the process.


    The Voided Overlord lets out a loud shriek of rage as the void energy around it begins to swirl around, immediately wiping out the Red gue within it and devouring it. But, just as with any other Red gue it devours, the creature doesn¡¯t obtain my power.


    Probably because the Red gue is my domain. Not just a power.


    And it can¡¯t use my domain.


    It¡¯s mine, after all.


    What it can do, however, is send that swirling mass of erged void energy straight at me with another roar. A mass that I quickly try to block with my Red gue, only for it to break through, making it straight to me before devouring half of my body.


    I immediately reform several thousand meters behind the Voided Overlord, leaving that body behind as the Voided Overlord proceeds to devour it. Then, while it¡¯s distracted, I go ahead and prepare my own attack. Opening my mouth wide and forming a powerful orb in my mouth.


    It¡¯s an attack I¡¯ve been working on for a while now.


    One that mixes all of my domains together.


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    It doesn¡¯t take too long for the Voided Overlord to notice the massive power building up around my mouth. But I don¡¯t care.


    I just keep going, forming a glowing crimson and white orb of pure power. One that growsrger, andrger, andrger, all the way till it resembles and entire moon.


    A glowing crimson moon.


    A blood moon.


    Then the moon begins to shift a little, with swarms of wolf-like manifestations of blood charging straight out of it in a swarm at the Voided Overlord.


    To my surprise, the Voided Overlord lets out another roar and moves back, making a massive rift appear in front of it leading to the void.


    A rift that immediately releases one void creature after another that shes with my manifestations of Red gue.


    My eyes narrow a little, but I don¡¯t stop the rest of my attack. Instead letting out a loud howl as the red and white energies inside of the begin to focus on one spot in the center while more and more of the wolf manifestations are released.


    And after the light from the energies grows so bright the humans and demons on Earth and Tartarus have to close their eyes, a beam spanning hundreds of thousands of kilometers in width shoots out of the blood moon straight at the Voided Overlord and its rift. One made out of the white null magic and the crimson Red gue, with the null magic on the outside making most of the beam look white.


    I breathe a little heavily at the exertion I just put out to do that, but not to the point of panting. Meanwhile my beam, or breath attack, or whatever anyone wants to call it, pierces straight through the rift to the void and into the Voided Overlord¡¯s scales. Simply erasing one scale after another thanks to the null magic before my Red gue starts to flood into the Voided Overlord¡¯s body.


    But to both my relief and disappointment ¨C disappointment that I haven¡¯t saved the universe yet but relief that the hunt is still on ¨C the battle isn¡¯t ended this easily.


    The Voided Overlord lets out another roar of sheer anger before a strange ringing sound suddenly echoes out followed by silence. Then a massive ck orb appears over the Voided Overlord¡¯s form, absorbing arge amount of my breath attack in the process, even as I shoot out more. And the more of my attack it devours, therger it gets.


    Until I put in more power into my attack. At which point the two begin to sh instead of mine simply being absorbed.


    And the sh once again sends waves of power out across the universe, causing even more damage to thes on this side.


    Neither of us let up, however, and continue our assault.


    But over time, I find the Voided Overlord¡¯s attack slowly beginning to overpower my own. Making me grimace as its orb growsrger.


    Then, to my surprise, the Voided Overlord suddenly roars once again. A roar so loud that it echoes across the entire universe, even audible around Earth and Tartarus. And with that roar, the creature¡¯s void energy orb expands rapidly. Pushing against my breath attack and immediately enveloping me entirely.


    Devouring my body in an instant.


    I reform again several thousand kilometers away, feeling exhausted at this point. But I¡¯m reassured by the fact that no matter how much this creature does to me, I¡¯m immortal.


    So long as some of my blood exists within the universe, there is no way to kill me.


    And I prepared for this even if I was rushed.


    I sent my blood everywhere. Scattering it to every single corner of this universe, and even within the void itself.


    But¡­ this is a problem.


    My eyes narrow on the Voided Overlord as the orb begins to shrink back down into its body.


    Despite the major damage all over its body from my attack, and the exhaustion it also seems to be feeling¡­


    I can sense that its magic has grown stronger.


    Its domain.


    So that¡¯s how this is gonna go¡­


    I quickly turn back into my wolf form while grinning at the Voided Overlord.


    If that¡¯s how you want to y, then fine.


    <strong>¡°Let¡¯s y,¡± </strong>I growl out loud before rushing at the Voided Overlord again, the creature rushing at me in return.


    Resuming our shes from earlier.

 Book 6: Chapter 55

    Book 6: Chapter 55


    <strong>All Across the Universe</strong>


    No matter where someone is in the universe, everyst being feels the effects of the battle of the gods. All the way down to the smallest of insects as waves of power soar across everyst world, leading to the worlds atmospheres and weather cycles being affected in the process.


    But little to none of them know what exactly is happening. Unlike those on Earth and Tartarus, where everyst demon and human holds their breath whenever they look up at the massive screens floating above their heads.


    The battle itself goes on for entire months, and during this time, life on Earth and Tartarus slowly begins to return to what it used to be now that the void creatures themselves are gone. However, despite this, no one rxes. No one feels safe.


    And everyone spends at least a few hours every day watching the battle.


    Because this battle will determine the survival of the universe atrge.


    Even the fae and other spirits residing within their realms in the void keep watch on the battle. None of them daring to get anywhere near it, but also not wanting to miss a second of it.


    Out of the spectators, a small group of them stands out.


    The Demon King repeatedly taps his foot on the balcony of his pce as he stares up at the screen directly above him. High in the sky.As the other Demon Lords ¨C except for the Blood Cmity ¨C all gather around him on the balcony alongside the leaders of each Noble n, looking up as well.


    Some of them feel anxiety. Others fear. Both directed towards their own princess and the Voided Overlord itself.


    And some even feel reverence, or even awe.


    At the same time, on Earth, all of the Knights of Humanity gather atop White¡¯s tower in the middle of the ocean. Just staring up at the sky with the Blood Cmity standing next to the White Knight of Humanity.


    The two holding each other close as they watch their daughter fight for both her own life and the lives of every other being in the universe. Each feeling proud of her, and, consequently, ignoring the look of glee she has on her face and recing it in their imaginations with a serious expression fitting a savior.


    And far away from her tower, on the other side of Earth, where the Silver Association base is, Allen and Cynthia can be seen standing on the roof of their building watching the battle in silence. Merely worrying about their adopted daughter as Belle and Arthur stand not too far away from them holding each other as well. Their wedding having been dyed due to the battle.


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    Because there is no way either of them would ever have their wedding without Scarlet present.


    Time gradually passes as the battle continues on within the screen, far from any inhabited world. As the two godlike beings tear each other apart, with Scarlet regenerating from any and all damage she takes, and the Voided Overlord perfectly defending against the majority of her attacks. If not eating them entirely and growing magically stronger.


    But after half a year passes since the beginning of their fight, things begin to change.


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I pant in exhaustion as I face the Voided Overlord, who is currently covered in hundreds of thousands of holes across its body where scales used to be. With glowing red blood devouring parts of its flesh. And after a brief pause to dodge another beam of void energy sent straight from its mouth, I find myself grinning.


    Then I finally let out a loud howl, controlling the Red gue I¡¯ve let build up in the Voided Overlord¡¯s body to turn into metal. Slicing apart one part of its body after another and cutting off several of its fingers while making mincemeat of parts of its legs and arms and torso. Pretty much everywhere.


    Unfortunately, it¡¯s only the first half of its body closest to the surface. And it doesn¡¯t include its heart.


    But now¡­


    My grin grows wider as the Voided Overlord lets out a massive roar of pain and instantly loses control of a lot of its void domain around us. Letting me push back against it with my own blood domain.


    I charge forwards along with my domain beforetching my fangs onto the Voided Overlord¡¯s shoulder while it¡¯s distracted. Then I pump in as much Red gue as I can into the creature¡¯s body, spreading it around and devouring more and more of it as I do so.


    Only for my mind to nk seconds after I hear a loud roare from the Voided Overlord. Following which I find myself reforming a couple thousand kilometers away, where I spot the Voided Overlordpletely devouring my body. Growing stronger again in the process.


    But at this point, that doesn¡¯t matter much.


    It¡¯s on its downfall right now after all.


    Or, at least, I thought it was.


    My opinion changes as I find myself gaping at the creature just secondster.


    As the Voided Overlord¡¯s gaze suddenly narrows at me with absolute rage in it and the creature suddenly deforms itself. Turning into nothing but void energy.


    The same as how I often turn into blood.


    I watch the void energy turn into arge swirling mass in space, just straight up devouring the Red gue I had inside of it. Then it slowly forms a single shape.


    That same humanoid shape I saw earlier on in the battle.


    My eyes narrow at the Voided Overlord, only for it to open its mouth unnaturally wide and let out a powerful screech.


    I lower the sensitivity of my ears before deciding to follow suit and transforming into my own humanoid form, with my usual outfit on.


    Then the two of us find each other facing off once more.


    Except this time, I feel it.


    The Voided Overlord is on itsst legs.


    But at the same time, it¡¯s as strong as it can possibly be right now magic-wise.


    I nce at Earth and Tartarus for a second before refocusing on the Voided Overlord, ignoring my own exhaustion in the process as my grin slowly morphs into a serious expression.


    Let¡¯s finish this.

 Book 6: Chapter 56

    Book 6: Chapter 56


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Without hesitation, I expand my domains outwards. And not just my blood domain. But all of my domains. Meanwhile the Voided Overlord does the same.


    Except I feel something strange about it this time around.


    Like its domain is only targeting one thing.


    Me. And everything to do with me.


    My eyes narrow a little as I notice that the domain this time is only devouring my magic and my blood. It¡¯s ignoring everything else ites into contact with so that it can expand outwards much faster.


    Well that¡¯s not good.


    I focus on matching it, trying to stop it from what it¡¯s obviously trying to do.


    To stop it from devouring my blood I have scattered across the universe.The damned thing is smarter than I gave it credit for¡­


    I try hard to stop it, but with its domain spreading as it currently is, along with all the boosts in power it¡¯s gotten since the start of our battle, I find myself unable to stop it. It¡¯s just too strong.


    So I change targets.


    If I can¡¯t stop it from devouring all the fail safes I left across the universe, I can kill it before it can finish.


    Or at least, kill it before it can finish me off.


    I stop focusing my domain on its own domain and instead surround the two of us entirely in my domain. Forming my domain into multiple spikes that I drive straight towards the Voided Overlord while at the same time flying in at it myself with my ws raised.


    And the moment I make contact with the creature, the Voided Overlord itself raising its own ws tobat mine as spikes of void energy leave its body tobat my domain, a powerful wave that spreads across the entire universe results from the sh. But it doesn¡¯t end like that. Instead I repeatedly attack it one time after another, slowly whittling away at the creature¡¯s already copsing body with each attack.


    Meanwhile the creature devours everyst bit of blood I have stashed around the universe. Everyst bit of my personal DNA that I could use to revive with.


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    Until not a single drop remains.


    But by this point, the creature is panting in exhaustion and only barely blocking my attacks.


    Practically on death¡¯s door.


    It¡¯s not the only exhausted one, though, as I find myself panting as well.


    I, on the other hand, don¡¯t have any wounds currently on me other than ones that are healing faster than a human can even see them.


    We continue shing, ws meeting each other one after another, my domain striking against its void energy and digging into its body, my Red gue devouring it from the inside whenever it sneaks through its defense. All the way till its void domain returns, its job finished, and it shes with my own domains from the outside.


    I grit my teeth, feeling pressure from its domain slowly pushing mine back towards us. And feeling a bit of fear at the idea of possibly dying.


    Because at this point I can¡¯t revive anymore.


    If I die here, I¡¯m dead.


    And I can¡¯te back.


    I grit my teeth as I push as hard as I possibly can, using up everyst bit of my mana and all of my Red gue. Draining my own body to the point of emaciation due to the Red gue leaving it. Creating a massive star-sized ball of Red gue around the two of us that is repeatedly shing with he void energy leaving the Voided Overlord¡¯s body.


    But myst ditch attack is working.


    It¡¯s pushing the Voided Overlord¡¯s void energy back, and giving me time against its void domain as well.


    By this point, the screens on Earth and Tartarus have all lost any sort of reception for our location, leaving the humans and demons holding their breaths. Simply waiting for the results.


    But my focus remains entirely on killing this bastard as I roar out my pain. As I roar out my suffering. The stress I¡¯ve dealt with all these years. The near death experiences. The anger. The loss.


    The loneliness I experienced in my childhood.


    The discrimination.


    The regret.


    Everyst one of the feelings I¡¯ve always kept tightly locked away.


    I throw them all at the Voided Overlord with one loud roar mixed with a howl that resounds throughout the entire universe.


    One by one, the Voided Overlord¡¯s defenses fail. Its spikes of void energy, devoured by my Red gue. Its ws slowly shattering from my own as mine regenerate from each blow. Its remaining scales being devoured by my Red gue as my Red gue leaks fully into its own body and ravages its insides.


    At the same time, its void domain keeps pushing further and further back against my own domain. Slowly making its way towards me with every passing second.


    The memories of everything that¡¯s happened since as long as I can remember sh through my mind at a rapid pace.


    Of my life at the orphanage.


    Of my awakening to the System and bing a Guardian.


    Of meeting Tar.


    Awakening as a half blood lycan half human.


    Fighting my way through the ranking tournament at Lion¡¯s Heart. Going through my internship there. Finding myself sent to Tartarus and learning about my family.


    Fighting back to Earth, ending the war.


    Everything.


    It alles rushing back to me as I roar at the Voided Overlord, the image of a massive blood red and ck wolf appearing behind me. With the Voided Overlord screeching back at me with its own anger.


    Then, all at once, everythinges to a close.


    My Red gue manages to pierce through the Voided Overlord¡¯s brain and heart before devouring the rest of its body.


    And the Voided Overlord¡¯s domain finally shatters the edges of my own domain and begins to devour my body, only fading seconds after the Voided Overlord¡¯s body vanishes entirely.


    Leaving my consciousness growing dimmer and dimmer.


    Until everything goes dark.

 Book 6: Chapter 57

    Book 6: Chapter 57


    Silence spreads all across the universe as the battle finally falls silent. No more sounds of shing ws akin to ps of thunder. No more waves of ck or crimson energy spreading over thes. No more roars or screeches or howls.


    Just utter silence.


    Meanwhile the presence of both the Voided Overlord and the Wolf of the Blood Moon rapidly fade from the universe.


    However, while the Voided Overlord¡¯s presence fades entirely, everyone still manages to sense small hints of the Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    Then a voice echoes out across the entire universe.


    <strong>¡°Greetings, every being within our grand universe. My name is Titania,¡± </strong>the voice begins, drawing everyone¡¯s gazes towards the sky. No matter what world they¡¯re on. <strong>¡°I am pleased to announce that the Void Invasion has officially concluded. The Wolf of the Blood Moon, or as many worlds know her by, the Goddess of Blood, has defeated the Voided Overlord. Ruler over all the void creatures that have ravaged our universe recently.¡±</strong>


    A few seconds pass in silence as her words echo across the universe.


    The silence doesn¡¯tst long, however, as it is quickly broken by roaring cheers spreading out across every single. As people of all sorts jump into the air or hug each other. As others finally rx for the first time in ages. And some even immediately fall asleep, their fatigue finally catching up to them.


    Meanwhile on Earth, everyone connected to the Wolf of the Blood Moon lets out sighs of relief, with some of them even breaking out into tears.All of them immediately begin trying to contact the Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    Only to be faced with silence.


    Then Titania continues speaking, <strong>¡°However, the battle between the two deities was tough on both sides. And the Wolf of the Blood Moon has now fallen into a deep slumber.¡±</strong>


    Her words immediately shatter the excitement and cheer everyone around the universe was feeling as they all tense up again. Especially those directly connected to the Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    But before they can grow too deeply worried about her, Titania says, <strong>¡°But worry not, for the Wolf of the Blood Moon will not perish. She will awaken once more in the future. All that must be done is to wait.¡±</strong>


    Everyone in the universetches onto her words. Everyst one of them.


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    <strong>¡°Wait for our savior to recover.¡±</strong>


    Faint smiles begin to appear on faces all across the universe.


    <strong>¡°For our hero to return to us.¡±</strong>


    People all turn to look at each other before one after another, civilizations all around the universe begin to get to work on building monuments, shrines, temples, and statues of all kinds to represent the Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    <strong>¡°Appreciate what she¡¯s done for us. Show her our gratitude. But don¡¯t let her efforts be in vain.¡±</strong>


    Even the people on Earth all set off to create their own monuments and statues of the Wolf of the Blood Moon. Not to mention Tartarus.


    Both worlds that know exactly what she looks like, unlike the other worlds, many of whom only know of one of her forms.


    <strong>¡°Show your support for her. Your appreciation. Then focus on rebuilding your societies. Your homes. And your lives.¡±</strong>


    Allen, Cynthia, Belle, and Arthur all smile from a rooftop located on Earth as they listen to her words and look down at the city below. Where people of all sorts ¨C both humans and demons ¨C are rushing around trying to do their own methods of showing their support.


    Whether it¡¯s going around building a statue, big or small, or creating a shrine, or even just cheering.


    <strong>¡°Because we can¡¯t have our savior returning to a fractured society when she awakens, now can we?¡±</strong>


    That sentence alone motivates the people to work even harder.


    On the other hand, the Wolf of the Blood Moon¡¯s foster family just shares wry smiles with each other. All of them knowing full well that Scarlet wouldn¡¯t actually care about that sort of thing.


    After that, Titania¡¯s presence fades from around the universe, the fae finished with her speech. Then she moves her gaze towards a single area within the destroyed half of the universe.


    An area that currently has the attention of dozens of others as well. Most of whom are all rulers of different types of spirits, but one of whom is the Demon King of Tartarus.


    And what they¡¯re all looking at is a single orb of glowing red liquid with specks of glowing white energy floating off of it from time to time and bolts of crimson lightning moving across the surface of the orb.


    All with a single person hugging their knees to their chest with their eyes closed at the center of the orb without a scrap of clothing on.


    However, no one can see anything important through the orb, nor are any of the spirits interested in a humanoid creature that way anyways.


    But despite that, they all look away if for no other reason than to respect their savior.


    Because if it wasn¡¯t for her, then their entire universe would be destroyed right about now. And the different spirit realms within the void would be the Voided Overlord¡¯s next target.


    All the way till nothing else was left in existence other than the Voided Overlord.


    And like this, time begins to fly by peacefully.


    One week. One month. One year.


    And throughout this time, all of the different creatures across the universe rebuild their societies almost just like it was before the void invasion came. Returning structure to society.


    Then more years pass by, with the spirit rulers and the Demon King all checking in on the glowing orb on a regr basis. Just searching for signs of change. Any possible sign.


    Eventually more void creatures begin to form within the dead part of the universe. However, as they are forming within the universe itself now, these void creatures manage to form with life force.


    Granting the people of the universe a new way to level up.


    But even after an entire decade passes, nothing changes within the orb.


    The Wolf of the Blood Moon remains silent within the cocoon of her own domain.

 Book 6: Chapter 58

    Book 6: Chapter 58


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong><em>Inside her mindspace</em></strong>


    After falling unconscious, I find my mind drifting. Just floating in an endless void. Yet, somehow, despite knowing that I¡¯m not actually here, and that it¡¯s likely inside of my mind, I find myself floating inside of a pitch ck darkness filled with a strange,fortable sensation that feels nice on my bare skin.


    Although my modesty makes me create clothes out of my blood so that I¡¯m not just here naked. Even if it¡¯s my mind.


    But even after I wear the clothes, I find that thefortable sensation is still there.


    So I just rx and let it carry me through this void.


    Time passes as I rest my eyes, floating endlessly in this void. And after who knows how long, I slowly open my eyes to see some strange sights.


    Little screens that show images of my life shing through them.


    The time I spent hunting demons in the Fractures on Earth. Time I spent on Tartarus doing the same thing.Times I spent fighting in tournaments, or times I met people like Aria.


    The time I met my biological family.


    One after another.


    But, to my surprise, the images gradually begin to confuse me as they continue going through my life. Because at one point, they branch off of what I remember happening.


    They begin to show things that didn¡¯t actually happen.


    Starting from the moment the Corrupted Fractures started opening up and the prophecy was shattered.


    My eyes narrow a little bit.


    Am I¡­


    <strong>¡°Watching the prophecy?¡± </strong>a strange, yet soft and feminine voice suddenly rings out through the void around me. <strong>¡°Yes, you are.¡±</strong>


    Wait, you can read my mind?


    <strong>¡°We¡¯re inside of your mind, so I think that¡¯s a given,¡± </strong>the voice continues, making me subconsciously nod my head.


    Yeah, guess that makes sense¡­


    Wait, how are you inside of my mind?


    <strong>¡°Technically I¡¯m just projecting a part of my mind into yours,¡± </strong>the voice continues, confusing me for a second. <strong>¡°I have always been wanting to meet you, ever since I first divined that prophecy, Scarlet. So believe me when I tell you, it is a pleasure to meet you. Savior of the universe.¡±</strong>


    I blink at that.


    Wait, <em>you¡¯re </em>the one who divined the prophecy? I thought that was¡­


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    <strong>¡°You thought it was either the previous fae queen or someone she knew, right?¡± </strong>the voice says, finishing my thoughts. <strong>¡°That¡¯s what they believe. But that¡¯s not the truth.¡±</strong>


    So¡­ who are you?


    And why can¡¯t I see you?


    A short silence ensues before I squint my eyes as a bright sh of silver light shines out of nowhere. Then what looks like a girl around my own age appears where the silver light was.


    And the girl¡­ wow.


    She has long, flowing silver hair with silver eyes that look dead, possibly implying blindness. Meanwhile she¡¯s wearing some sort of flowy robe made out of her own energy. Likely doing something simr to what I¡¯m doing with my blood clothes.


    What surprises me the most about her, though, is that I can sense that she¡¯s ss VI, just like me and the Voided Overlord. But at the same time, I don¡¯t feel any real powering from her. Almost like she were one of those nobatant Guardians on Earth.


    <strong>¡°That would be because I have little to no capacity forbat,¡± </strong>the girl¡¯s voice rings in my head without her lips moving. <strong>¡°All I can do is divine the future and foretell prophecies. Guiding others to greatness.¡±</strong>


    Huh.


    Don¡¯t you find that boring?


    The girl tilts her head as her voice rings out, <strong>¡°Boring?¡±</strong>


    Yeah. Boring.


    Do you even meet people? Pretty sure I would¡¯ve sensed you if you¡¯d gone out into the universe. What with your ss VI energy.


    Kind of hard to miss.


    Meaning you¡¯ve been holing yourself up somewhere. At least since I became ss VI myself.


    A few seconds pass in silence before I see the girl¡¯s lips quirking upwards a little into a smile. Then she covers her mouth with her hand and starts to giggle.


    <strong>¡°Yeah, it has been boring,¡± </strong>she says after she finishes giggling. <strong>¡°But it¡¯s nice to talk to someone again after so long.¡±</strong>


    I cross my arms as I tilt my own head and ask, <strong>¡°So why have you been hiding, anyways?¡±</strong>


    <strong>¡°The universe doesn¡¯t like ss VI beings residing within it,¡± </strong>she answers, her face taking a sad turn. <strong>¡°It¡¯s fine for you, since it can¡¯t touch you. But for someone like me, who has nobat ability, the universe would simply expel me into the void for entering it.¡±</strong>


    Ah.


    <strong>¡°That¡¯s sad,¡± </strong>I state with a slight frown of my own.


    Nice to know that I¡¯m safe though.


    Then again, I could destroy the universe myself if I wanted to. So it makes sense it won¡¯t bother me.


    <strong>¡°Please try not to do that,¡± </strong>the girl who is probably a lot older than me despite her appearance says. <strong>¡°And that¡¯s just rude.¡±</strong>


    Sorry.


    A few seconds pass in silence before we both startughing.


    When we¡¯re done, I let out a sigh. Because I feel rxed for the first time in a very long time.


    Nothing expected of me.


    Nothing I need to do.


    But¡­


    Why am I in my own mind, again?


    The girl frowns a little and says, <strong>¡°Your mind was badly damaged by the Voided Overlord¡¯sst attack and has spent thest several years repairing itself with your absurd regeneration.¡±</strong>


    Ah. That would exin it then.


    I knew the thing got another attack in on me, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be this bad.


    At least I won.


    Silence fills the void for a few seconds.


    <strong>¡°Any idea when I¡¯ll be getting out?¡± </strong>I ask while spreading my arms to the sides and just floating in the void that is my mind.


    <strong>¡°Soon,¡± </strong>the girl says, sounding rather sad about that fact.


    Hmm. Say, what if I protected you from the universe?


    Then you coulde with me.


    The girl looks surprised at my offer. Which makes sense, since I¡¯m not usually the type to offer a helping hand to a stranger out of nowhere. Especially the person who prophesized that horrendous prophecy that made the start of my life hell.


    But¡­ I just feel like I should.


    Not sure why.


    Maybe it¡¯s because that prophecy is also what¡¯s turned me into what I am, or maybe it¡¯s because it saved the universe.


    <strong>¡°So how about it?¡± </strong>I repeat, feeling a little amused by her dumbfounded face. <strong>¡°I¡¯m sure the universe won¡¯t bother you if I¡¯m around.¡±</strong>


    It¡¯s afraid of me after all.


    And it¡¯s not like the universe has an actual consciousness.


    After a few seconds, the girl starts to smile.


    <strong>¡°Alright,¡± </strong>she says with tears beginning to flow down from her closed eyes.


    By the way, what¡¯s your name.


    She smiles at me as she cries before quietly answering, <strong>¡°Shirou. My name¡¯s Shirou.¡±</strong>

 Book 6: Chapter 59

    Book 6: Chapter 59


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Who knows how long passes as Shirou regales me of her tale. Of her life¡¯s story. Mostly because I have nothing else to do while I¡¯m recovering from the battle.


    And what a doozy it is.


    As it turns out, Shirou is over a hundred thousand years old.


    Very old.


    <strong>¡°Rude,¡± </strong>shements, interrupting my inner monologue.


    Which is rude.


    She scoffs at that, temporarily taking the ce of Tar in my internaledy routine that is not aedy routine.


    Anyways, she didn¡¯t say the entire story. Instead only going over bits of it. Mostly because of the whole ¡®hundred thousand years old thing¡¯ making the story too long. And I¡¯m not one to pry. But what she did say is interesting.Shirou is from another world that isn¡¯t Earth. And back then, having magic and growing stronger was much moremonce. Her world had a much more medieval structure than ours as well. With those holding power ruling over everyone else with an iron fist.


    There were dozens of nations across the world, each of which were ruled by tyrants. Albeit with some of those tyrants being nice tyrants. Tyrants who, while their rule is still absolute, aren¡¯t cruel to their people and are actually nice and care for them.


    The people across the world weren¡¯t exactly as happy as the people on Earth. Nor were they constantly at war with each other either.


    They just lived their lives hoping to be initialized into their own world¡¯s version of our System. Which, while also very videogame-like, is quite different from ours as well.


    I nce at her with a frown, still kinda wishing she would tell me <em>how </em>it was different. But she just casually looks away as if admiring a random part of the pitch ck void around us.


    After that nce, I return to staring up at the endless darkness above me.


    Unlike on Earth or Tartarus, their System was set to initialize for people either at random or who had a strong affinity for their magic. So it was a lot better for people in that way.


    And her journey began the instant she was initialized into the System.


    When she awakened to a particr magic that is different from the magic she has now. What with her magic apparently evolving to take on a prophetic form instead over the years.


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    Her original magic was origin magic.


    She could make things. New things that don¡¯t exist in reality.


    But her main specialty in that area was to make perfect clones of herself that she could send out anywhere. Clones that didn¡¯t cost her anything beyond the mana it took to make them when they died.


    It was an incredible power. Yet, at the same time, a weak one.


    Because it didn¡¯t automatically make her stronger or anything. She was just a young, eighteen-year-old princess ¨C yes, princess ¨C who could make perfect copies of herself and nothing more at the time.


    Then some politics happened, she ran away from home and started working for herself.


    Some other stuff happened, wars broke out, and she started to be more active in them as she raised her level. All while her parents, the rulers of one of those tyrant nations, kept searching for her to return her home.


    Overall, a lot of drama for one teenage girl.


    Then again¡­


    I nce at said no-longer teenage girl with a single raised brow.


    Guess she isn¡¯t exactly normal herself.


    <strong>¡°How rude,¡± </strong>she says, repeating the same thing she¡¯s said quite the number of times so far. Only to puff out her cheeks a little and look away at my current line of thoughts.


    Cute.


    Also odd, considering she¡¯s blind.


    Even if she can sense and get a clear picture of her surroundings using magic.


    Anyways, lots of things happened and she evolved multiple times, eventually sacrificing her sight and the fewbat powers she did have. Although she still has her original magic that lets her make clones of herself.


    But those clones are only as strong as she is. Even if she is still technically strong enough to kill a ss V with a flick of her finger.


    That¡¯s just normal for a ss VI after all.


    Although, to bepletely honest, I forgot half of what you told me.


    She just turns towards me and narrows her blind eyes, making me nce away with a look of pure and utter innocence on my face.


    Not like you can me me. After all, how am I supposed to remember all of that?


    On another note, do you know how long it¡¯ll take for me to recover?


    She stops squinting as she answers, <strong>¡°Well, it¡¯s been about fifteen years so far, and your body isn¡¯t fully restored yet. If I had to guess¡­ probably another five years or so.¡±</strong>


    I stare at her for a few seconds before muttering out loud rather dully, <strong>¡°I have to sit here in this void¡­ for five years?¡±</strong>


    The girl nods her head and says, <strong>¡°Yeah, so it shouldn¡¯t be too long.¡±</strong>


    I stare at her again.


    Right. She¡¯s over a hundred thousand years old.


    Five years probably isn¡¯t much to her.


    <strong>¡°Could we stop talking about my age, please?¡± </strong>she says, somehow sounding both embarrassed and not at the same time.


    Come to think of it, why is it that your face barely changes regardless of how you sound? It¡¯s kind of bizarre to look at.


    The only thing that seems to change is the asional puffing of her cheeks, the raising of a brow, or the furrowing of a brow or squinting. Nothing else.


    She furrows her brows a little bit before shrugging and saying, <strong>¡°Thing¡¯s happened.¡±</strong>


    Huh.


    Guess I¡¯ll just leave it at that.


    And I¡¯m guessing you won¡¯t be spending the entire five years here with me, so this will be-


    <strong>¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I spend the entire time here?¡± </strong>she asks while tilting her head, cutting my thoughts off.


    Oh. Right.


    Five years isn¡¯t much to you.


    <strong>¡°I also have nothing else to do,¡± </strong>she adds, reminding me that she hasn¡¯t exactly been able to talk to anyone until me for a while.


    Right. Well, guess we can go back to sharing stories for now.


    We have plenty of time after all.


    Although I feel bad for missing their wedding.

 Book 6: Chapter 60

    Book 6: Chapter 60


    <strong>Somewhere in the Capital of Earth</strong>


    <strong><em>Five yearster</em></strong>


    Cameras sh at therge stage within the Grand Hall of the Capital¡¯s City Hall as two people stand atop the stage in front of each other.


    Of these two people, one of them stands wearing a set of ck and white armor, with the ck part beingrgely made up of a powerful Noble demon¡¯s shell and the white being the silk of an Arachnae. Meanwhile the other is wearing a royal formal uniform made out of metallicized blood that looks like regr silk and fits well with his wolf ears. The uniform is red and ck in design and gives off an intimidating air around the man whose very presence still stills the air around him.


    ¡°And with this, it has been established,¡± the White Knight of Humanity deres as she shakes her hand with the Demon King¡¯s hand. Her father-inw¡¯s hand. ¡°Earth is now in a permanent alliance with the demons of Tartarus, and to celebrate this asion, we have created a new holiday. The Day of the Blood Moon, named after our savior and my daughter, the Wolf of the Blood Moon, Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron.¡±


    The cameras sh even more with her words, the long-awaited day finally having arrived.


    Over the course of the past two decades since the Wolf of the Blood Moon defeated the Voided Overlord, Amelia has been working together with the Demon King and the four Demon Lords in order to finally establish a sense of equality between the humans and demons. Something that¡¯s been a long timeing.


    At first she struggled with getting the demons and humans to treat each other equally, since the demons are still responsible for billions of human deaths over the years, and the humans are far weaker than the demons. Making it difficult for either side to look at the other the same.


    But thanks to the help of the Demon King and Amelia¡¯s grandfather-inw, along with her mate, she has finally managed to seed.The Demon King grins at her, showing just how much closer the two have be over the years that Scarlet has been missing. Which is just one of the many changes that¡¯ve urred.


    Amelia smiles back at him before the two of them turn around to face the cameras that are still shing. Meanwhile TVs andrge screens all across Earth and Tartarus ¨C the technology having been implemented on Tartarus over the years as well ¨C showing the two of them standing side by side.


    And just like that, the rest of the ceremony passes in a sh.


    After the ceremony, Amelia finds herself copsing onto a couch in exhaustion, albeit with a smile on her face. Then she turns on the TV, finding it talking about the ceremony itself.


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    But she quickly turns it back off again as she turns her head to stare upwards at the ceiling. As if she were staring through the building at space high above them, where Scarlet is still sleeping.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be back,¡± she hears Leonidas say as he appears behind her, reforming from blood before putting his arms around her from behind the couch. ¡°And it¡¯ll be like she never even left.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Amelia mutters, still wishing her daughter would return sooner.


    A few seconds pass in silence before Amelia feels the corners of her lips quirking upwards a little as she looks down at her belly.


    ¡°I hope shees back in time,¡± Amelia says while rubbing her belly that hasn¡¯t started showing any visible signs yet. And Leonidas nods his head without a word as he continues hugging her.


    A knock on their door from someone Amelia and Leonidas had already been expecting thanks to their senses makes Amelia press a button on her terminal, opening the door from her couch. Then Cynthia and Allen both walk into their house before moving towards the room the two of them are in.


    ¡°Nice work with the broadcast,¡± Allen says after entering the room and moving over to grab a beer. Meanwhile Cynthia moves up to Amelia and kneels down while asking, ¡°Any problems?¡±


    ¡°No, my null magic and the Demon King¡¯s Blood Domain are handling the mixed species problems a lot better this time around,¡± Amelia says with a wide smile on her face, making both Allen and Cynthia let out a sigh of relief.


    Over the years, the four have grown a lot closer to each other thanks to the connection that is Scarlet. And everyone¡¯s been worried ever since they heard news of Amelia¡¯s pregnancy about the child due to the problems with having hybrid children.


    ¡°And what about Belle?¡± Amelia asks, looking up at Cynthia. ¡°How is little Ryan doing?¡±


    Cynthia smiles as she thinks about her seven-year-old grandson before answering, ¡°He¡¯s as adorable as always.¡±


    That response makes Amelia chuckle before she lightly taps Leonidas¡¯s arms, prompting him to finally let go of her as she stands up.


    ¡°Are those two still waiting for Scarlet to return to have their official ceremony?¡± Amelia asks while walking over to the fridge to grab some ice cream.


    ¡°That¡¯s the n,¡± Allen answers while sipping a beer.


    Amelia smiles at that. At the friendship between her daughter and theirs.


    The fact that she would hold off her official wedding ceremony for twenty years just to let Scarlet be there. Even if they did have their marriage legalized just to make sure Ryan wasn¡¯t considered a bastard by society.


    After grabbing her ice cream, Amelia walks back over to the couch and sits down again. Only for her mate to immediately put his arms around her from behind again, making her roll her eyes in exasperation.


    ¡°And Aria?¡± Cynthia asks with a worried expression. ¡°Has she¡­ improved any?¡±


    Amelia feels a slight pit form in her stomach at the reminder.


    But before she can say anything, a strange surge of energy passes through the entire world, shocking them all. And after a brief pause, the ones who were sitting immediately stand up straight while the others stiffen up. Then they all rush towards the balcony and look towards the skies to find a blood red moon high in the sky.


    Right as Leonidas begins to speak, he¡¯s cut off by another surge of energy.


    Then another.


    And another.


    Finally, onest surge races across the entire universe. A surge that doesn¡¯t vanish like the others and just remains steady.


    And the energy itself?


    Not a single person amongst the group doesn¡¯t recognize it.


    Amelia feels tears begin to flow down her eyes as she mutters, ¡°She¡¯s back.¡±

 Book 6: Chapter 61

    Book 6: Chapter 61


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    When I finally wake up, I find myself naked in arge orb of energy. Both blood and null energy.


    So I quickly create clothes for myself before dispelling the energy and stretching. Feeling all of the stiffness of my body fading away in moments. Even if I still feel lethargic despite that.


    Which makes sense. I haven¡¯t actually moved outside of my mind space for like two or so decades.


    ording to Shirou at least.


    Speaking of Shirou, I nce to the side when a bright white light shines forth, and she appears out of nowhere in front of me. Only for me to raise my head when the rumbling of what sounds like thunder echo throughout the entire universe. Then bolts of crimson energy begin striking out of nowhere at the girl.


    I just appear in front of her and p the bolts away, though. Feeling just a bit tingly around my hand where I p them. Making me look at my hand to see some very faint redness on my fingers.


    Redness that fades almost instantly as it¡¯s healed.


    And after I p away a couple more bolts, sometimes using blood to do it instead of my physical body, the universe tries to make bigger bolts to distract me as it goes around me.Then I frown at it and spread my domain outwards with a brow raised in a threatening manner.


    All of the bolts of crimson lightning halt before fading away like nothing ever happened.


    I nod my head in satisfaction and turn back towards Shirou again with a smile on my face.


    <strong>¡°Wee back to the mortal universe, Shirou,¡± </strong>I tell her as I float forwards and hug her.


    One of if not the first times I¡¯ve ever actually hugged a person of my own ord without them moving first in my life.


    She immediately hugs me back, squeezing me as tightly as she can despite me not really feeling much of any force myself. What with her not having anywhere near as much physical strength as me thanks to my devouring of the void invasion and the Voided Overlord making me brutally overpowered now. Even moreso than I was before.


    <strong>¡°Thank you¡­ thank you so much¡­¡± </strong>Shirou mutters while hugging me, but I just quietly stroker her hair without saying a word.


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    We stay like this for several minutes before I finally separate from her and turn towards the direction of Earth. Just spreading my senses across the entire universe to see what condition it is in.


    And interestingly enough, everything seems very peaceful.


    Although this half of the universe is just a dead zone now.


    I turn my attention to Earth to find quite the number of demons living on it now. And to my surprise, none of them seem to have any problems with the humans. Vice versa as well.


    Interesting.


    But what surprises me even more is the sight of some species from somes on others.


    Including some elves and dwarves on Earth and Tartarus.


    What the what?


    What happened while I was taking a short nap?


    <strong>¡°A lot,¡± </strong>Tar¡¯s voice echoes in my head before the tanuki appears in front of me and immediately moves up to snuggle against my chest. With my arms instinctively reaching out to hold him as he does so. <strong>¡°Thank you foring back¡­¡±</strong>


    I find myself more than a little surprised by how weak his voice sounds right now. But before I ask any questions, I just smile at him and hold him in my arms.


    Guess I went to holding Shirou to holding Tarankar.


    Another several minutes pass before he finally raises his head to look at me, only to nce at Shirou and tilt his head in confusion as he asks, <strong>¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±</strong>


    Oh, right. No one but me knows about her.


    Shirou floats forwards while opening her mouth, only for me to blink as I remember something. So before she can say anything, I close my eyes and focus on her own eyes.


    Then I re my marks for a moment and control her eyes. Restoring them within seconds.


    And when I open my eyes again, I find her frozen in shock with her mouth wide open.


    Wide enough to catch bugs. If there were any in space.


    I go ahead and introduce Shirou for her, <strong>¡°This is a good friend who I spent thest several years talking to inside of my head. They¡¯re also a ss VI being, but they¡¯re what you might call a diviner.¡± </strong>I turn to look down at Tar. <strong>¡°She¡¯s the one who foretold the prophecy in the first ce.¡±</strong>


    Tar opens his mouth wide to say something, only to close it again. Then he opens it and closes it once more like a fish.


    A sight that has me chuckling.


    Until I¡¯m tackled by another hug from Shirou as she returns to muttering ¡®thank you¡¯s over and over again.


    Just this time for my healing her eyes instead of my freeing her.


    She had said before that the reason she couldn¡¯t heal her eyes was because no one was strong enough to do it. But she didn¡¯t really consider the fact that blood magic is one of the best types of healing magic in existence.


    And blood magic is my domain.


    Certainly goes to show how selfless she became in the end of her life, even if she was incredibly selfish in the start of her life if her story has any merit.


    Actually, she reminds me of how I used to be at the start of her life. When she first ran away from her father, the king.


    She¡¯s even a princess, same as me.


    That has me smirking in amusement.


    Although I get the feeling some of her story was fibbed a little. And she left a lot out as well.


    Well, that aside, I focus on the two who are both still clinging to me while either speechless or repeating the same thing over and over again.


    This might take a while before either is ready to actually talk.


    So I¡¯ll just take a peek at Earth for now.

 Book 6: Chapter 62

    Book 6: Chapter 62


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I quickly find myself being rather surprised at what I see as I look at Earth and Tartarus more deeply. Because other than the different species intermingling, I also find more and more technology used in Tartarus. Not to mention better infrastructure.


    There¡¯s even a city in Tartarus now that has skyscrapers. Which is so bizarre to see on that world.


    As for Earth? There are some ces filled with lower leveled demons that seem to be blocked off to the general public and strictly guarded.


    It¡¯s like they went and immigrated a bunch of weak, non-sapient demons to Earth to give the humans and demons living there more ways to level up.


    What is even more surprising though is the sight of void creatures still in the universe. All spawning within the dead zone I created in my battle. And all with life force, allowing people to level up from killing them.


    I focus my ears on listening to what¡¯s currently going on, and the first thing I hear about is an alliance of mutual protection set up between Tartarus and Earth. Something that I¡¯m rather pleased about.


    Then there¡¯s the negotiations with nations from other worlds that were teleported there by their spirit rulers before they set up teleportation arrays to reach their worlds from Earth and Tartarus. And other worlds at that. Interlinking a lot of the remaining worlds.


    <strong>¡°A lot has changed¡­¡± </strong>I can¡¯t help but mutter.But that lot is all good changes.


    My smile grows a little bit at that thought before I finally turn my attention towards my next point of interest.


    My friends and family. Let¡¯s see how they¡¯re¡­


    I feel my thoughts freeze when I find Mother standing on a balcony next to Father, Mom, and Dad.


    But what halts my thoughts isn¡¯t the sight of them looking up at the sky as if they could see me.


    No. It¡¯s what I sense in Mother¡¯s belly.


    She¡¯s¡­ pregnant.


    She¡¯s pregnant.


    Pregnant.


    Sister? Brother?


    I focus on her stomach before smiling.


    Sister, by the looks of it.


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    <strong>¡°She¡¯s not the only one,¡± </strong>I hear Tar suddenly speak again, returning my attention to him for a moment to find him looking up at me. The tanuki seemingly having recovered by now. <strong>¡°Look at your friends.¡±</strong>


    My friends?


    I return my gaze to Earth before searching for Belle and Arthur, along with the rest of my friends. Only to find myself faced with another ratherrge shock.


    Is that¡­ their kid?


    Tar nods his head up against my chest as Shirou simply cries while hugging me from behind.


    Huh.


    I watch Belle and Arthur as they stand outside of a rtivelyrge house with a kid held in Belle¡¯s arms. The kid looks to be around five or so years old, and he looks a lot like both of them. Albeit ever so slightly more like his mother, mostly because he has golden eyes instead of ck ones.


    Other than that, all three of them have ck hair. Albeit with Belle and the kid¡¯s hair being a little bit lighter in color than Arthur¡¯s.


    His personality seems to be more like his father¡¯s though. Judging by the calm, cool, slightly cold, and collected look on his face.


    <strong>¡°The two of them haven¡¯t had their official wedding ceremony yet, but they have gotten married,¡± </strong>Tar says, making warmth spread through my chest with his words. <strong>¡°They were waiting for you to have the official ceremony. They would¡¯ve waited to get married entirely, but that n fell through when Belle got pregnant.¡±</strong>


    Right. Because it¡¯s hard for high level beings to conceive in the first ce. They probably weren¡¯t expecting to get anywhere for a long time. Several decades even.


    I¡¯m actually more surprised that I¡¯m getting a sister, though. Considering how high Mother and Father¡¯s levels are.


    <strong>¡°They were rather surprised as well,¡± </strong>Tar says with a shrug, still not leaving my arms as he looks up at me with his chin still on my chest. Which can¡¯t be thatfortable. <strong>¡°And don¡¯t worry about the baby, because it¡¯s doing well thanks to your mother and grandfather.¡±</strong>


    Yeah, I can tell that from here.


    He blinks before chuckling and muttering, <strong>¡°Right. You¡¯re pretty much a goddess at this point.¡±</strong>


    Yeah. In power at least.


    That gives him pause as he tilts his head and says, <strong>¡°No, not just in power. In name too.¡±</strong>


    This time I¡¯m given pause instead.


    In¡­ name?


    I¡­ have a bad feeling about this.


    Now I can sense his amusement, which only makes me hurry up to look at Earth, Tartarus, and the other worlds all the more. And what I find has me feeling a chill run down my spine.


    Because there are entire religions built on dozens ofs, Earth and Tartarus included, worshipping me.


    The Goddess of Blood.


    Sacred Wolf of the Blood Moon.


    Alpha of the Universe.


    The Blood Goddess.


    The Wolf Goddess.


    And who knows how many more titles.


    Well¡­ that¡¯s not disturbing or anything. Not in the least.


    <strong>¡°Good,¡± </strong>Tar says, sounding way too pleased with this development as I shoot him a frown.


    That was sarcastic.


    <strong>¡°I know,¡± </strong>he says without the slightest hint of shame.


    I stare at him for several seconds before deciding to ignore the tanuki as I nce at Shirou, who finally seems to be calming down.


    <strong>¡°You good, Shirou?¡± </strong>I ask while tilting my head a little. And when she nods her head making eye contact with me for the first time, I add, <strong>¡°Good. Then I can go ahead and introduce you to Tar.¡±</strong>


    <strong>¡°I already know the furball,¡± </strong>she says, surprising me for a brief second before I remember that she can also see everything in the universe. So it¡¯s no surprise she knows him. Or recognizes him at least.


    <strong>¡°Then I¡¯ll introduce you to him,¡± </strong>I state with a nod while ncing at Tar, briefly thinking about how nice it is to have privacy in my thoughts again. From her, at least.


    Since we¡¯re not in my mind space anymore.


    Anyways, Tar, meet Shirou.


    He looks up at her for a second as I state, <strong>¡°It might take a minute to exin.¡±</strong>

 Book 6: Chapter 63

    Book 6: Chapter 63


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>¡°Huh,¡± </strong>Tar mutters after I finish exining everything. Then he finally leaves my arms and floats up towards Shirou while reaching out a paw and saying, <strong>¡°Well, it¡¯s nice to meet you, Shirou. And thank you for keeping Scarletpany throughout those years.¡±</strong>


    A brief pause ensues, confusing both me and Tar. Only for Shirou to reach out and pull Tar to her own chest in a hug while calmly saying, <strong>¡°So cute¡­¡±</strong>


    I stare for a few seconds, before deciding to leave them be as I focus on Earth again.


    Let¡¯s see¡­ at least the religions aren¡¯t as strong on Earth as they are on others. Although Tartarus is very much into the religions. Which means I won¡¯t be making any public appearances there for a good while.


    I focus on searching the universe for any real threats as I ignore Tar, who is currently shouting about needing help to get away from Shirou who is still squeezing him in a hug. But I don¡¯t find anything. So I eventually shift my focus back to Earth again, where I see my family, my friends, and¡­


    A worried frown crosses my face when I spot my house.


    Where I see a young woman in her prime judging by appearance staring up at the sky from a balcony while wearing a nightgown. And the emotions I see going through her eyes as her wild and obviously uncared-for hair blows in the wind around her is¡­ saddening.


    Is that¡­ Aria?The girl looks just like an older version of Aria, but it¡¯s hard to tell for sure. What with me never really having been good at judging age.


    My answeres rather quickly though. In the form of her ck hair turning into tentacles and returning to normal again.


    It¡¯s Aria, alright. That¡¯s for sure.


    <strong>¡°I¡¯ll be on Earth,e find me when you¡¯re done,¡±</strong> I tell the two before teleporting straight to my house while hiding my energy so that no one on Earth knows where I am that I don¡¯t want to know.


    And the moment Aria sees me, tears begin to leak out of her eyes. Then she jumps straight up at me, growing tentacles from her body that propel her forwards until she ms into me in a hug. Grabbing onto me as tightly as she can seem to manage.


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    Which, in all honesty, isn¡¯t that hard.


    Right. How could I forget?


    I was gone for twenty years.


    The girl in my arms cries her heart out, sobbing louder than any sound I¡¯ve ever heard Aria make before. Despite clearly being an adult at this point and no longer a child.


    I feel pain in my own heart from hearing her sobbing so loudly. But I don¡¯t say anything. Instead I just hold her in my arms and stroke her hair.


    Purposefully ignoring the fact that she¡¯s taller than me now by a bit.


    Several minutes pass before Tar and Shirou appear near us as I slowly lower Aria and myself down to the ground before entering my house and heading to a couch. At which point I sit down with Aria sitting down next to me, pretty much immediately copsing on top of me, asleep.


    I just continue stroking her hair even as she sleeps, not taking my eyes off of the poor girl.


    What did she have to go through while I was gone? Did her father raise her? Where-


    My thoughts pause when I sense that very father of hers appearing outside of the house and rushing inside. And when I see him, I have to blink in surprise.


    Because he looks very emotional right now.


    Especially when his eyes lock onto Aria and see the very slight smile she has on her face as she lies with her head in myp.


    I blink at the sight of the tears flowing down his face. And I barely even register it when the man moves forward to kneel in front of me and takes Aria¡¯s hand despite her being asleep.


    It isn¡¯t until he look up at me and says, ¡°Thank you, foring back to her,¡± that I finally snap out of it and smile at him in return.


    He¡¯s changed a lot.


    After Bluees the Demon King, who arrives while kicking up a lot of wind in my room just from moving through my house incredibly fast. But when he sees me with Aria in myp, he pauses mere moments before trying to pick me up.


    ¡°You¡¯re back!!¡± he exims, tears of his own falling down his face.


    Thenes both sets of my parents, who enter a lot more calmly than the old man. And I can¡¯t help but direct my gaze towards Amelia¡¯s belly when she enters my sight.


    ¡°You already know?¡± Amelia asks with a wry smile on her face.


    I nod my head, answering, <strong>¡°I could tell from the other side of the universe the moment I saw you.¡±</strong>


    That answer surprises her for a second before she shakes her head and all four of them move up and begin hugging me. Crowding the hell out of me. Especially since Gramps was already hugging me beforehand. Making this a ratherrge group hug.


    Then the next groupes in the form of Arthur, Belle, and their little one. With Arthur and Belle immediately joining the group hug.


    And, to my surprise, they aren¡¯t thest ones. Because the rest of my friends join in after that.


    Denise, Emily, and Michael.


    Two of which currently have rings on rather specific fingers, implying that Denise and Michael may very well be married or engaged by now too.


    I feel the corners of my lips quirk upwards, only for a certain tanuki to jump andnd on my head while muttering in my head for me alone to hear, <strong>¡°That girl may have the same figure as you, but you¡¯re the only one I want to lie down on¡­¡±</strong>


    That has me chuckling. Because I know it¡¯s just his way of saying he missed me.


    He scoffs at that but doesn¡¯t decline it.


    So I just lie here on the couch in the middle of everyone.


    With a wide smile across my face.


    <strong>¡°I¡¯m home, everyone,¡± </strong>I state, to which everyone cheers.


    Except Aria, who is still asleep.

 Book 6: Chapter 64

    Book 6: Chapter 64


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    The next few hours end up being rather hectic. Mostly with me going through and exining everything. Talking about my fight with the Voided Overlord, my beating him, then my recovery time afterwards, and finally, exining who Shirou is. Also the fact that she¡¯ll be living with me for the time being.


    Then we move onto their turn. And they spend even longer exining to me everything that¡¯s happened in the past two decades.


    Some of which ¨C the majority of the important things ¨C I¡¯ve already figured out myself from looking at thes.


    Like the religions revolving around me that I¡¯m gonna pretend don¡¯t exist. And Belle and Arthur¡¯s wedding that they¡¯re already itching to n now that I¡¯m back.


    But there¡¯s also Denise and Michael¡¯s having gotten married, with those two not having waited like Belle and Arthur did to have their ceremony. Which doesn¡¯t really bother me.


    Honestly wasn¡¯t expecting Belle and Arthur to wait in the first ce.


    Then there¡¯s the changes to Earth and Tartarus¡¯s societies, with void creatures apparently asionally appearing where there are no sapient creatures nearby. Just slipping through cracks in reality that appear once in a while, and have been appearing ever since my fight with the Voided Overlord.


    But no one can fix that, and ording to the fae royals, Tar included, it¡¯s not a problem that¡¯ll get any worse than it already is.So they¡¯re just treating it as the new job for Guardians and demons to perform now that the war is over. A way to level up.


    Which works for me.


    A lot of people would¡¯ve been very upset if they lost their method to level. And to stop aging.


    Lastly, of the important things at least, a new tournament has been created. An annual one where all the human Guardians and demons fight for the right to be known as the most powerful on Earth.


    And, of course, the Demon King, Demon Lords, and Knights allpete in a different bracket.


    Because it wouldn¡¯t be fair otherwise.


    Other than them, everyonepetes in the main bracket. With the winners being dered the current Champion of the Two Worlds and also getting the opportunity topete in the other bracket every year. The one for the Demon King, Demon Lords, and Knights. Even if they lose the title of Champion in the future.


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    And on top of those two brackets, there is also a third special bracket made by the creator of magical realities. One that is not made of directly one on one duels. With the exact tournament format changing each and every year.


    Unfortunately, I just missed thest tournament. But the winner of it was actually a certain kitsune who shall not be named.


    I feel a shiver run down my spine at the memory of my time in their castle.


    Yeah, I¡¯m never going back there again.


    <strong>¡°Agreed,¡± </strong>Tar says with a nod of his head as he sits on my shoulder, myp still being upied by a sleeping Aria.


    Kind of wonder when she¡¯s going to wake up, but it¡¯s fine. She can sleep as long as she wants.


    That said¡­


    Now that all of the exnations have been finished, I turn my attention towards the little guy. Who is currently awkwardly fidgeting with more than a little nervousness rather obvious in his mannerisms as he sits on his mother¡¯sp in a chair.


    I smile at him as Belle says, ¡°I said this earlier, but this is Ryan Barnes, and he will be turning six years old in December.¡± She leans down to put her chin on his shoulder and look at his face as she whispers, ¡°Say hi to Aunty Scarlet, okay?¡±


    He nods his head and waves at me, saying, ¡°Hi Aunty Scarlet!¡±


    I feel my smile growing wider as I give him a little wave, consciously tone down the power in my voice so as to not frighten him in any way, and answer, ¡°Hello, little Ryan. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    The little boy looks surprised for a second before he smiles back at me and nods firmly once.


    I feel my smile growing a little bit at that.


    He¡¯s a cute little fe.


    I reach over to pat him on the head before ncing down at Aria, who is finally starting to stir. Which makes Alexander immediately get up from next to me and kneel down on the floor again as her eyes slowly flutter open.


    And immediately after they do, a faint haze of confusion covers them. Followed shortly by depression, only for it all to fade again when she sees whosep she is currently lying on.


    Then there¡¯s a repeat of earlier as she shoots up to wrap her arms around my neck, ignoring her father entirely as she exims, ¡°You¡¯re back!!!¡±


    I pat her back in return with a smile, feeling ever so slightly awkward since she¡¯s taller than I am and is half lying across myp while clinging to me.


    Everyone around us smiles at the second round of the reunion. Meanwhile I just keep patting her back as I quietly tell her, <strong>¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be leaving again anytime soon.¡±</strong>


    Annnnndddd she starts crying again.


    I nce at Tar, who had quickly jumped up into the air to avoid being punched in the process of her tackling me and wrapping her arms around my neck. And he just smiles wryly at me.


    Eventually she finally stops crying and gets off myp, only to nce at her father and blink a few times.


    Then, after a few seconds of silence, she tilts her head and asks, ¡°Dad? Since when were you here?¡±


    And I can¡¯t hold it in.


    Iugh alongside everyone else as Alexander gets a look akin to a gaping fish on his face.


    But even with his shock, he looks happy. Very happy.


    Because, from what they all told me, Aria has been depressed for a while now because of my absence. So this must be the first time he¡¯s seen her cheerful again in a long time.


    So I keepughing with everyone elseughing with me.


    And even Alexander begins tough at some point.


    Leaving Aria seeming rather confused in all of this, clearly unsure of what we¡¯reughing about.

 Book 6: Chapter 65

    Book 6: Chapter 65


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    After I catch up with Aria a bit, everyone leaves the house to go handle whatever business they have to deal with right now. Whether it¡¯s both my parents having to deal with official political stuff rted to my return, Gramps preparing stuff on Tartarus, or even Belle and Arthur having to finally begin preparations for their marriage ceremony. With Belle being more than a little excited about it all.


    I feel a little sorry for Arthur, judging by how motivated she seemed. Possibly even a little too excited, with her wanting to make it the biggest wedding ceremony of the century.


    Eventually I¡¯m just left alone with Shirou and Tar again. But even she leaves to go shopping.


    Which makes sense, considering that she hasn¡¯t been to a human civilization in tens of thousands of years.


    So I¡¯m left with Tar. Only for him to leave as well. Because he has duties to take care of as the King of the Fae.


    Leaving me all alone atst.


    I let out a sigh before walking through my home again, running my hand across the walls as I reminisce about times I had here. About when I was raising Aria, the times she was just a little girl running through the ce bursting with excitement, and when I woulde here once in a blue moon to rest during the void invasion.


    The ce is well maintained still, despite me not being here for two decades. Probably because someone had it maintained. Plus Aria was still living here.But¡­ I feel a little empty right now. As I walk through the house towards my bedroom, then copse onto my back on the bed.


    There¡­ what do I do now?


    I don¡¯t have a goal.


    Nothing to do.


    I can¡¯t really hunt anymore. Not when I¡¯d just end up ughtering everything in the universe in a single day.


    Nor do I have a prophecy to fulfil. No more universe to save.


    Not even Aria to raise anymore, since she¡¯s an adult now.


    I know I thought about this a lot while I was recovering and talking to Shirou, but I really don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do with my life from here on out.


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    Money won¡¯t be an issue. I don¡¯t need food or water to live. I don¡¯t age. I probably can¡¯t even die now after killing the Voided Overlord. Not even if I wanted to.


    I¡¯ve never had any interest in romance, much less having kids. Although I did technically raise a kid in a way, considering Aria. So that¡¯s checked off even if I wanted one.


    Silence fills my bedroom as I stare up at the ceiling, contemting what to do with my life.


    Honestly, the idea of not having anything to hunt ever again¡­ is a little depressing.


    I want to hunt. It¡¯s literally in my blood. Or rather, in one of my domains.


    My wolf domain.


    Hunting is just a part of it.


    And it feels wrong to not hunt.


    Maybe I can just roam around the universe at random and see what I see? Without using my senses to figure out where I¡¯m going.


    That could be fun.


    A journey across the universe.


    But this time, instead of going to kill void creatures, I¡¯ll be going around just to see the sights.


    That¡¯ll probably take a good amount of time. At least it¡¯ll chip off some years of boredom.


    Then there are video games.


    I blink at that thought before grinning.


    Right. Video games.


    Yeah, I can use that.


    I can hunt in video games, since I won¡¯t be as strong.


    Then I can also read and watch TV. Books and TV shows from Earth and other worlds.


    Or, at least, worlds that have those. Because some worlds won¡¯t likely have TV.


    That gives me pause.


    Actually, there might not be as many that don¡¯t have them now that the worlds are all rather connected.


    I nce to the side as I hear cheers of my name beginning to spread all across the world. Then I let out a sigh and lower the sensitivity of my ears strictly to block it all out.


    Then there¡¯s those people worshipping me¡­ maybe I can tell them to, uh, not do that?


    Not sure how that might go.


    I continue staring up at the ceiling for hours before hearing someone lightly knock on the door despite my lowered senses. So I close my eyes and scan the front door to see who it is. Only to open my eyes and furrow my brows when I find a certain annoying old man there.


    What¡¯s Isaac doing here?


    Without hesitation, I teleport him right in front of me using blood magic, making him reappear through a wave of blooding from the floor as he lets out a yelp and I sit up straight.


    <strong>¡°What is it?¡± </strong>I ask while resting my elbow on my knee and my chin in the palm of my hand as I frown at him.


    Then, of course, he kneels towards me and says, ¡°Great Wolf of the Blood Moon, I beseech you to visit our temple and grant us your ble-¡±


    I cut him off by teleporting him halfway across the world. Then I lie back down on my bed.


    At the very least, I know one thing I need to do after this. And that¡¯s attend Belle and Arthur¡¯s wedding as one of her bridesmaids.


    So I have one thing in my ns. I¡¯m not just leftpletely clueless as to what to do next.


    But after that¡­


    Guess I¡¯ll just catch up on my books and hang out with friends and family from time to time before beginning my journey.


    And it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t juste back at any moment. So I don¡¯t have to worry about that.


    I purse my lips as I stare up at the ceiling, wondering if that n will really work. Considering the fact that I¡¯ll live forever.


    Although the presence of the void creatures enabling leveling up at least makes it so I won¡¯t have to worry about my friends and family dying on me at some point. Since they can continue extending their life spans indefinitely as well.


    Silence fills the room for a bit before I finally let out a sigh and crawl under the sheets, dismissing most of my clothes in the process as I almost immediately fall asleep.

 Book 6: Chapter 66

    Book 6: Chapter 66


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    Over the course of the next couple of months, I slowly get used to day to day life outside of my mind space again. I talk with my friends and family with them all visiting at least once a day, I get to know little Ryan, and I even supervise the training of some of my friends and Aria. With Aria being more than a little excited by the prospect of showing off how much stronger she¡¯s gotten. Which is a lot stronger.


    At this point she¡¯s already ss IV.


    A really fast improvement speed considering the fact that she¡¯s both abat and healing specialist and living in times of peace.


    Other than all that, I also asionally catch up with Tar to find out what exactly he¡¯s been up to in the past couple decades. Although a lot of it mostly just turns out to be him dealing with the affairs of the fae nation in the Farshore. Especially the affairs rted to the shift in the crown from his father to him.


    And during all of this, Belle and Arthur continue to excitedly n their wedding. With one being more excited than the other.


    Which I find rather amusing.


    One thing that does confuse me a little though is Belle¡¯s definition of the wedding reception. Since it¡¯s like she¡¯s trying to mix everything together into one really long event that spans multiple days. As if she¡¯s trying to make up for all of the time I was gone or something.


    The first day ¨C from what she¡¯s told me at least ¨C is the wedding ceremony and a party at the Demon King¡¯s castle. Then the second day proceeds with a party at the beach on an ind on Earth, where everyone¡¯s gonna be going swimming with barbecue. The third day has a fireworks festival, followed by the fourth being the finale with a surprise for everyone involved.All they said was toe wearing formal attire. So wear something nice.


    I let out a sigh as I lean over the balcony attached to my room.


    She really is trying to make this the biggest wedding ceremony ever.


    Maybe she¡¯s just excited that I¡¯m back. That or this is all from her having to wait two decades, making all of her desire for the wedding grow stronger and stronger over the years.


    Either way, it¡¯s sure to be an interesting even at the very least.


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    Although I don¡¯t even remember thest time I wore a swimsuit.


    I am a little surprised that the idea of wearing one and revealing that much skin doesn¡¯t actually bother me anymore. Probably because I end up naked half the time I fight anyways even if no one actually sees.


    That or I just don¡¯t care anymore.


    Not sure which. Don¡¯t really care which either.


    Some of it might also be because I lost that annoying curse of pride. Or a lot of it, actually.


    Regardless, Belle was overjoyed when I said she could pick out my swimsuit.


    It¡¯s her wedding after all. Might as well do what I can to make it more enjoyable for her.


    Or her wedding ceremony, technically. What with them having technically gotten married years ago.


    I lean over the railing with a frown as my thoughts return to the problem that¡¯s been guing me for months now. The issue of what I¡¯ll do with my life after this wedding ceremony is over.


    Sure I have some basic ns, but those won¡¯tst me forever.


    So what should I do?


    There really isn¡¯t anything that <em>could </emst me forever. Nothing that I know of at least.


    Other than maybe just reading and ying games? Possibly?


    Seeing as new authors and game developers will be born, and new books and games will be made for me to enjoy.


    But is that really all? Can I really just sit here for eons doing nothing but ying games and reading? Maybe watching TV every now and then?


    I tap my finger on the railing of the balcony.


    No idea.


    Shirou told me that the years begin to just fly by the older you get. And just looking at her and hearing her talk sometimes really does give that impression.


    But I know she was rather depressed due to how long she had to live alone. Even if I won¡¯t have the same problem since I won¡¯t be alone.


    I tried talking to Gramps about this at one point, considering that he¡¯s over two thousand years old, but he just said he was always busy managing Tartarus. Not to mention fighting the humans. So he didn¡¯t really have any time to even consider what I¡¯m thinking about.


    Which doesn¡¯t really help me.


    Unless I just wanted to create some sort of organization myself, or take over as Demon Queen. But those sound like annoying pains that I don¡¯t want to be involved with.


    Although that in and of itself is another issue.


    I don¡¯t want to deal with unnecessary stuff like that. Yet I¡¯m also worried about bing incredibly bored with nothing to do over the years and no goals to achieve.


    Kind of contradictory in an of those two things.


    Maybe if whatever I managed let me hunt, I might consider it. But I can¡¯t really image making some nation just so that I could kill off things inside of it. Especially since the things still wouldn¡¯t be very strong.


    So I¡¯m rather stumped.


    I let out another sigh before ncing around Earth with my senses, just to see if anything interesting is going down. And other than a certain kitsune driving her husband ¨C the ck Knight ¨C crazy as they go shopping, which I¡¯ll admit is amusing to see since she¡¯s also treating the guy like a dress-up-doll. Just like she treated me back in the day. But other than that, there isn¡¯t anything interesting going on.


    Eventually I sigh again and turn around, entering my room before copsing on the bed.


    Maybe I can ask Belle for advice during her wedding. Right now she seems too busy nning though.


    The corners of my lips quirk upwards ever so slightly.


    Yeah. I¡¯ll ask during the beach party part of it.


    For now, I¡¯ll sleep.

 Book 6: Chapter 67

    Book 6: Chapter 67


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    "Arthur Barnes, do you take Arabellia Silvester to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?" the Guardian and priest in charge of the Holy Relic Association that happens to also take on wedding reception jobs since religion died out asks from his ce at the front of therge hall within the Demon King¡¯s Pce. The man looks every bit the priest, albeit with some armor thrown in since he¡¯s wearing fancy looking white and gray robes with a book in his hand.


    ¡°I do,¡± Arthur says with a smile on his face while gazing lovingly into Belle¡¯s eyes.


    The Guardian priest guy turns his attention towards Belle as he asks, "Arabellia Silvester, do you take Arthur Barnes to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?"


    She smiles so widely that I have to wonder if it¡¯s straining the muscles in her face as she answers, ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Then, once again, I profess you husband and wife,¡± the priestly Guardian deres, the man having been the one who officiated their official marriage thest time as well. ¡°You may now kiss-¡± Belle rushes forward to kiss Arthur, making the priest blink as he trails off the ending. ¡°¡­the bride¡­¡± He scratches his head for a moment and tilts it a little. ¡°Or the groom, I guess?¡±


    Laughter fills therge hall as humans and demons alike apud and cheer for the couple.


    Even I find myself chuckling a bit as I p.


    Then, after the ceremony itself, we all move on to the wedding reception afterwards. But I still find myself stuck in my own head thinking about my current dilemma.So I don¡¯t talk all that much.


    Not that I was the chattiest person in the first ce.


    I nce at my reflection in a window as I approach one of the balconies, finding myself to be wearing a very beautiful red and ck dress. One that goes all the way down to my ankles, with some ruffles here and there, and my shoulders beingrgely exposed.


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    Overall, it looks rather nice. And I can¡¯t help but notice the attention I¡¯m getting from people.


    Now whether that¡¯s for my current appearance, or the fact that everyone at this point considers me a goddess, I¡¯m not sure.


    Also not sure which I¡¯d prefer.


    But regardless, after grabbing some wine ¨C the stuff no longer having even the slightest bit of affect on me anymore ¨C I walk to the edge of the railing and look out at the blood moon hanging high in the sky. Something that I¡¯ve realized is normal nowadays wherever I am.


    As if my mere presence alone turns the moon crimson for whatever I¡¯m currently on.


    It¡¯s rather weird.


    I rest my elbow on the railing with my cheek in the palm of my hand, and my other hand just dangling over the edge holding the ss of wine.


    ¡°Are you still worried about it?¡± I hear Gramps suddenly ask as he approaches me. But I don¡¯t turn my head to look at him as I nod.


    <strong>¡°I just can¡¯t get it out of my head,¡±</strong> I answer before raising my ss to my lips and taking a sip.


    He stops at the edge of the railing beside me. Then we both fall silent for a few minutes as the rest of the people at the wedding reception go about their partying.


    Eventually I ask while swirling around the wine in my ss, <strong>¡°What would you do in my situation? If you didn¡¯t have Tartarus to look over, I mean.¡±</strong>


    The Demon King doesn¡¯t say anything for several seconds, and when he does, I can tell he sounds a little distant, ¡°I would just do whatever. Follow whatever random whims I felt like. And not think about it too much, lest I get trapped in my own head and it gets worse.¡±


    I blink in surprise before turning to Gramps, finding him staring out at the crimson moon with a sad smile on his face. One that makes me instantly understand what he¡¯s thinking about.


    Or who he¡¯s thinking about, to be more exact.


    He¡¯s thinking about histe wife.


    My grandmother.


    I turn to look out at the moon as well.


    Right. I¡¯m not the only one with a dark beginning.


    <strong>¡°Say,¡± </strong>I blurt out after another few minutes of silence, <strong>¡°what was she like? My grandmother, I mean.¡±</strong>


    I see Gramps ncing at me with surprise in the corner of my eyes, but I don¡¯t meet his gaze. Then he turns to look down at his hand, the man clenching and unclenching it a couple times.


    ¡°She was a wonderful woman,¡± he eventually answers with a faint smile stretching across his face. ¡°She¡¯d always get in trouble, going out to wander amongst the citizens whenever she could get away from her official duties. Even when we were at war, or when she was pregnant.¡± I see tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he continues. ¡°She was kind and would always go out of her way to help everyone.¡± He closes his eyes as a dark look reces the happiness. ¡°Unlike me¡­¡±


    Silence fills the air between us again with just the noise of the reception hall behind us.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I hum while turning to focus on the moon again.


    A few more minutes pass before I finally say, ¡°She sounds like a great grandmother.¡±


    He nods his head with a smile and more tears, but no words.


    And we both fall quiet again.


    So¡­ just do what I want to do when I want to do it¡­ it sounds so simple, but¡­ would it really be so easy?

 Book 6: Chapter 68

    Book 6: Chapter 68


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I spend several more minutes considering the subject before Gramps pats me on the head and says I should go join the others and enjoy the reception instead of getting stuck in my head. So I do just that. I spend the rest of the receptionughing and talking with Belle, Arthur, and everyone else.


    Then the first day of their little wedding ceremonyes to a close and the second day starts.


    Leaving me just kinda sitting on a foldable beach chair sipping a tropical smoothie in a two-piece swimsuit. Albeit with my jacket still on partially covering me even if it¡¯s not zipped. Just watching everyone else y in the water. Especially the kids, since there are more than just Ryan here in terms of kids.


    After all, some of the other demons and Knights had kids too.


    I nce at the kitsune girl ying with Ryan. The daughter of the ck Knight of Humanity and the leader of the Kitsune n.


    And other than her, there¡¯s also Allen and Cynthia¡¯s kid. Since they had one too, although I wasn¡¯t introduced to her until recently. Something about the young girl being nervous about meeting me.


    All of them are just ying in the water, with some of their parents alongside them. Except Amaterasu, who is ying around with Will further away. Leaving their kid to Father to take care of.


    And I have to say, the kid definitely takes after her parents.Although more after the mother than the father in terms of appearance.


    I continue lying here under the shade of a palm tree for a while before Belle leaves the kids and her husband to walk over towards me with a smile on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed something in all the years I¡¯ve known you, Scarlet,¡± Belle says while stopping right in front of me and kneeling down, the girl wearing a two piece swimsuit herself that matches mine in everything but the color. With mine being my usual ck and red.


    ¡°What?¡± I ask with a slight tilt of my head.


    She reaches forwards and flicks me in the forehead. Only to flinch slightly herself and pull her hand back, holding it to her chest as if she hurt it. Which she likely did, seeing as she flicked me. And someone of her ss flicking me is probably like someone flicking a block of concrete.


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    ¡°You overthink everything and get lost in your own head,¡± she says, apparently deciding to act like she didn¡¯t just fail miserably at flicking me. ¡°Stop that.¡±


    I blink at her before raising a brow and asking, ¡°And how should I do that?¡±


    Belle sits down on a folded beach chair that is right next to the one I¡¯m on before turning to her side to look at me as she says, ¡°Simple. What is your current problem?¡±


    I frown for a second, only to give a mental shrug and answer, ¡°I don¡¯t have any goal or thing to work for. Nothing that I can see myself doing over the years. Nothing I can strive for, and nothing to hunt.¡±


    She ps her hands with a smile and says, ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you think outside of the box, then? Figure out how to solve that problem. To make a goal for yourself that you can strive for that¡¯ll fix all of your issues. And if you can¡¯t do that, then just do what you want.¡± A sly smirk stretches across her face. ¡°But I¡¯m sure if anyone can do something like that, it¡¯s you.¡±


    That has me frowning even more.


    ¡°Make a goal? Like what?¡± I ask while crossing my arms and sitting up a bit on the chair.


    ¡°Easy!¡± Belle exims with a wide grin on her face. ¡°Make a ce you can hunt in! It¡¯s as simple as that, miss <em>Goddess</em>!¡±


    Her words make me blink in surprise before she jumps to her feet off of the chair and begins running off in Arthur¡¯s direction while shouting at me, ¡°Just think it over!¡±


    I watch her run back to her husband for a few seconds, then I look down at my hand in myp as her words run through my head over and over again.


    Create a ce I can hunt in¡­ create a ce¡­ goddess¡­


    Is that even¡­ possible?


    One possibility after another floods my mind at the question. Whether it¡¯s me grabbing non-sapient demons and bringing them to some secluded world before training them, or me creating a world made of metallicized blood to train monsters.


    Or maybe I could use the magical realities to do it.


    But the problem is that if a demon, even a non-sapient one, grow strong enough, they¡¯ll develop sapience. They¡¯ll start to actually think and be a person.


    And while I want to hunt, I¡¯d rather not just ughter a civilization or something stupid like that.


    Even if I could probably bring them all back to life again.


    Also, if I remember correctly, my Red gue is too strong for artificial realities. It would just shatter the reality.


    I frown even harder as I stare down at my hand, letting the glowing red veins appear and fade again for a second in my thought. Then I raise my head to look at the others who are all sshing around having fun.


    Hmm.


    Well, I have all the time in the universe to figure this out.


    I give off a slight chuckle as I dissipate my jacket and get up from the chair, stretching a little.


    Maybe I could just make trying to figure out what my next goal should be my goal. That would be amusing.


    The others all look at me in surprise when I join them in the water. But then they all quickly get into it.


    All while everyone at the show who isn¡¯t in my normal group and are just friends of the bride and groom look on in shock and whisper about the ¡®Goddess of Blood¡¯ joining in ying in the water and stuff.


    But I ignore it.


    It¡¯s not happening.


    I smile widely as I y with them, happy that I at least have a bit of a direction for what¡¯s next.

 Book 6: Chapter 69

    Book 6: Chapter 69


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    ¡°You remember that time when Michael was used of making his own harem?¡± Emily says, poking fun at her brother as always with that wide, sneaky smile on her face. And making said brother blush in the process.


    Meanwhile everyone around the grill hereughs amidst the fireworks exploding above us. Fireworks made from a Guardian so that they look even more splendid than any other fireworks I¡¯ve ever seen before.


    ¡°Oh, yeah? Then what about how clingy you used to be with Scarlet? Do you remember that?¡± Michael fires back, making Emily instantly blush while avoiding my gaze entirely.


    Which, I¡¯ll admit, is both cute and amusing.


    Guess I still see her a little bit as a little sister figure.


    ¡°Come to think of it,¡± Denise suddenly says, bringing our attention to her as our group of five ¨C me, Denise, Michael, Emily, and Belle ¨C all continueughing, ¡°what happened to Anthony? I haven¡¯t heard any news of him for a while now.¡±


    ¡°I sensed him making a home for himself on another world,¡± Iment before taking a bite of the food we have here. And after chewing it, I finish, ¡°He seems to be enjoying himself now that no one is discriminating against him anymore. So I say all for him.¡±


    ¡°Here here! For the idiot!¡± Michael says while raising a beer up into the air in a cheer. And the rest of us join him in that.¡°For the idiot!¡±


    We all continue chatting amongst each other for around an hour or so as the fireworks go off, then we split off into different groups. With me and Belle going to Mom, Dad, Mother, and Father. Who are all chatting on a cliff¡¯s edge, overlooking the fireworks near the ocean.


    ¡°How have you been enjoying the event so far?¡± Mom asks Belle with a smile, with her having had a hand in nning this particr day of the wedding.


    Belle immediately smiles at her and lifts her beer as she says, ¡°It¡¯s been great! I haven¡¯t been able to catch up with everyone from our team all together like that in a while!¡±


    The two then start talking rather quickly as I smile at the two of them.


    She¡¯s right. We haven¡¯t all been together like that in a long time. Just chatting between friends.


    But¡­


    I nce up at the fireworks above me, still thinking about that little problem.


    Nothing I can think of really solves the issue. At least, not morally. There are some rather immoral ways to solve it, but I¡¯m not gonna go with those for obvious reasons.


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    Although I am starting to warm up to the idea of just going based on my whims. Not really having a goal.


    But I still can¡¯t hunt if I do that.


    And hunting is important.


    It¡¯s just part of who I am.


    Eventually I let out a sigh, only to hear Mother state, ¡°Remember, Scarlet, you¡¯re a goddess now. A ss VI being stronger than both your father and I, and even your grandfather.¡± I nce at the White Knight of Humanity to find her smiling as she continues, ¡°You don¡¯t have to think in terms of what a regr person can do. Think about what <em>you </em>can do.¡±


    I feel a bit surprised at her sudden words, and a bit confused.


    Am I just an open book or something? How is it that everyone keeps walking up to me and giving me advice about this?


    ¡°And remember that you don¡¯t have to do anything alone,¡± Father says while standing next to her with his arm around her and a smile of his own on his face. With the both of them wearing more casual clothes, the same as myself. ¡°If you can¡¯t do something you want to do alone, then ask for help from someone who can.¡±


    I stare at the two, just alternating my gaze between their faces.


    Then it clicks in my mind.


    Something I can do, albeit with some help.


    That only <em>I </em>can do. After getting that help, that is.


    But first I¡¯ll have to talk about it with a certain annoying person that I teleported halfway across the world a couple months back.


    I give my birth parents a wide smile as I reach forwards and hug the both of them before saying, ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Both of them let out startled noises. Like they were not expecting this at all.


    Which makes sense seeing as I almost never hug anyone, much less these two. But I can¡¯t help but feel a little giddy as my mind runs a hundred miles an hour, just going over my new idea.


    After a second, I let go of the two and begin walking away while waving my hand at them and saying, ¡°I have someone I need to talk to about this! See youter!¡±


    Belle, Mom, and Dad stand off to the side of Mother and Father, all surprised and confused.


    I just teleport away to find a certain fanatic standing nearby, the old man having been invited to the celebration as well. Even if it was only a formality.


    No one actually expected him toe though, but I guess his fanaticism is to me for that.


    It doesn¡¯t really matter.


    I grab him by the shoulder, startling him when I appear out of nowhere. Then I teleport the both of us up high in the sky amidst the fireworks, ignoring them in the process even as they blow up around my barrier of blood. Doing absolutely no damage to it at all.


    ¡°Isaac, I need your help,¡± I state, and he immediately straightens up while dangling from my hand holding his shoulder with a fanatical look in his eyes. ¡°Can you create life with your magic?¡±


    He looks surprised for a second but nods his head.


    ¡°And I mean <em>real </em>life, with a life force and everything,¡± I expand further while staring directly into his eyes, practically drilling holes into him with my gaze.


    The old man nods again without any hesitation this time.


    A wide grin spreads across my face.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    <em>Note: If you are reading this on a website that is not Royal Road or on my Patreon, you are reading a pirated version and that website does not have the permission of the author to host the story. Please instead read the story on Royal Road, here. And the only Amazon Author that I will be and have been posting this story as is the one that I posted all of my other stories through, as Shane Purdy. If this story is found published on Amazon by someone other than me, and you see that the story is not from the following Author page, it was stolen and posted without my permission on /stores/Shane-Purdy/author/B09NRTM1J6</em>

 Book 6: Epilogue

    Book 6: Epilogue


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    I discuss various things about my little project with the old man for at least a few hours before realizing the rest of the event hase to an end. At which point I just give a mental shrug and continue talking with him all through the night into the next day.


    Then I finally finish up and head to the meeting ce for the final event of the wedding celebration.


    The surprise event. One that they told me not to use my senses to sneak a peak even though I easily could.


    And I can¡¯t help but smile a wide smile all the way there. A smile that has Tar asking questions when he appears and flops down on my head while I walk over towards the strange venue for the ce.


    The very office building that I first awakened in.


    Not sure why they¡¯re having a celebration like this in the middle of an office building in the capital. Especially considering the locations of thest events.


    But whatever.


    I¡¯m too excited to care right now.Meanwhile Tar stays silent after hearing about my project with the old fanatic. The furballpletely engrossed in trying to figure out if it¡¯s all even possible.


    I continue marching forth up the building, only passively noticing that the building is rather empty right now as I do so. All the way till I reach the very floor that the celebration is on.


    Which, I notice, is the exact same floor I awakened on.


    A realization that has my excitement dumbing down ever so slightly to curiosity. But I still march forwards, walking onto the floor and through it until I reach the office that they told me to enter. Room B543.


    The very same office, I now realize, that I awakened in.


    Tar? What¡¯s going on?


    He starts whistling as if he wasn¡¯t here.


    I frown at him, only to turn towards the door and just stare at it for several seconds. Then I eventually just sigh and reach for the knob.


    And open the door, revealing the office ¨C which I have to say, looksrger than it used to, and with none of the office stuff in it from before ¨C with everyone inside of it.


    The moment I see them, they all shoot off those little explody thingies that shoot out confetti during parties as they shout at the same time, ¡°Thank you Scarlet, for saving the universe!!!! And for everything you¡¯ve done for us all before and after that!!!!¡±


    I find myself just kinda standing here dumbfounded, staring at them all as confetti rests on my hair and clothes.


    The room is decorated with celebration types of decorations, and the only people in it are family and friends.


    My family and friends.


    Mom, Dad, Mother, Father, Belle, Gramps, my old team members, Arthur, and some others. Including some of their kids for the ones that have them.


    All of the people I care about the most.


    Eventually, after a while of silently staring, I mutter, ¡°Huh?¡±


    I hear Tar chuckling as he flies around me, having at some point left my head to avoid the confetti. And after moving in front of me, he says with a smile, <strong>¡°Thank you, Scarlet. For everything.¡±</strong>


    My mind once again goes at a million miles per hour. But this time from shock and me trying to figure out what the heck is going on rather than any sort of discovery.


    Everyone startsughing as they see my reaction, which only confuses me even more.


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    Then Belle steps forwards in front of the others, up next to Tar, and says, ¡°We all talked it over, and decided that we wanted to throw you a thank you party for everything you¡¯ve done for us and the universe. All of the pain, the anguish, and the fighting. Everything.¡±


    I continue staring in shock.


    <strong>¡°So, how did you like the surprise?¡±</strong> Tar asks with a grin on his face.


    I finally snap out of it and turn towards Belle as I ask, <strong>¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t this supposed to be another celebration for your wedding?¡±</strong>


    She shakes her head with a sly grin on her fact and says, ¡°Nope. We only said that to get you toe without giving away the surprise.¡±


    So¡­ they tricked me.


    Wow.


    I raise my hand to cover my mouth as I look around, feeling a bit of heating to my cheeks.


    ¡°Looks like the surprise worked out splendidly!¡± Belle says with a chuckle. One that¡¯s echoed by everyone else in the room.


    My mind feels like it¡¯s spinning in circles as I process everything that¡¯s going on. Then I nce at everyone¡¯s faces. At the happiness on them. The gratitude. The respect.


    Not a hint of the pity I saw back when I was a kid, nor the discrimination.


    None of the fear that I saw in some people¡¯s gazes when I first got outed as a part demon.


    Just gratitude, love, happiness, and respect.


    I feel my eyes growing wet for some reason. Because I know I¡¯m not crying.


    Not at all.


    Yeah. Definitely not.


    Belle steps forwards and gives me a hug, patting the back of my head. And I just bury my face in the taller girl¡¯s shoulder as the tears flow.


    Then I sense the others stepping forwards and either joining the hug or patting me on the back or the head depending on who they are.


    With Tar, of course, plopping himself down on my head.


    Which only makes me cry even harder.


    I have friends and family who I care for and who care for me. Who I can rely on emotionally.


    People who will always be here when Ie home.


    I don¡¯t have to figure everything out on my own.


    Because I have them with me.


    So I continue crying my heart out as everyoneughs and talks at once around me.


    And when I finally calm down, the others take a step back with Belle pulling me by the hand and saying, ¡°C¡¯mon! Have a drink! We¡¯ve got plenty of refreshments here!¡±


    Meanwhile someone closes the door behind me.


    But before I follow them, I stand firm and speak up after wiping my eyes on my sleeve, <strong>¡°Wait, I have something I want to say too.¡±</strong>


    That quiets everyone down again, and within seconds, I have everyone¡¯s full attention.


    <strong>¡°So, as a lot of you seem to have noticed, I¡¯ve been trying to figure out what I should do next over the past couple months,¡± </strong>I state, still sobbing once in a while from all the crying as the others nod their heads. But that doesn¡¯tst for long before it clears up and I talk freely. <strong>¡°And I have finallye up with a decision. A perfect solution for my problem!¡±</strong>


    The others look rather amused by my enthusiasm.


    ¡°Then go ahead and tell us!¡± Gramps exims with a grin on his face, the Demon King kind of standing out a little bit amongst the others, most of whom are all human.


    ¡°Yep! Tell us!¡± Belle says with a smile, still holding my hand.


    I look at each of them before nodding and answering, <strong>¡°After everyone¡¯s advice, I realized that I have a lot more power than I gave myself credit for, and I don¡¯t have to limit myself to human standards in my actions. I also am not alone and can use someone¡¯s help in creating something. So my n is simple.¡±</strong>


    A wide and slightly hungry grin stretches across my face that startles everyone as I state, <strong>¡°I¡¯m going to create <em>my own</em> dimension! A hunting ground and home for any creatures that wish to hunt their fill forever. A goddess¡¯s domain. And I¡¯ll be using Isaac¡¯s creation magic to help me supply it with beasts to start with.¡± </strong>I spread my arms out as everyone just kinda gapes at me for my idea. <strong>¡°I¡¯ll create the perfect dimension for any hunter! The perfect ce to level up for mortals in the universe! The perfect ce to find a partner for the spirits! And the perfect ce for beasts to grow stronger! To hunt!¡±</strong>


    Silence fills the room for a good while after I finish.


    I can see it now! A ce I can hunt my fill without worrying about sapient creatures, since all of the monsters inside of it will be non-sapient and mindless beasts created by my own blood and Isaac¡¯s creation branch eclipse magic! And others will be able to fight there as well. As much as they want!


    Laughter soon breaks out amongst everyone, startling me for a second before I tilt my head a little in confusion.


    <strong>¡°Is¡­ something wrong?¡± </strong>I ask, unsure of what theughter is about.


    Dad just rubs his temples as if he has a headache, meanwhile Mom chuckles while hiding her mouth behind her hand.


    Father and Gramps both grin like madmen who just found a new toy, clearly interested in my idea.


    Mother just wryly smiles at me with this slightly exasperated look on her face.


    And all of my friendsugh their heads off as Belle says, ¡°Yeah, I kind of expected something ridiculous like this.¡±


    I nce at Tar, only to find him facing the other way while hiding his ownughter.


    In the end, I¡¯m left scratching the back of my head for a few seconds before shrugging.


    It¡¯s a great idea in my opinion.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, the refreshments¡¯ll get cold if we wait any longer!¡± Belle says midugh while trying to drag me forwards again, with me letting her this time.


    And with that, we all begin to eat and drink the day away.


    With my friends and family.


    The ones I care about most in the universe.


    I take a deep gulp of wine before letting out a sigh and grinning like a madwoman at the feeling of warmth that fills me up from this sight.


    This is nice.

 Series Completion Authors Note and Q&A

    Series Completion Author''s Note and Q&A


    Alrighty! Wolf of the Blood Moon is nowplete on Royal Road as well!!!!


    My very firstpleted series!


    But don''t worry, I will still write some bonus stories every now and then for the series! I already have a few in mind, actually.


    Like one focusing around the dimension she''ll create, along with one focusing on a particr tournamentter on that Aria will be entering along with Scarlet''s friends.


    For now though, Wolf of the Blood Moon isplete.


    Thank you everyone who has stayed with the story all this time! And I hope you have a wonderful day!


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Now, moving on to the Q&A portion! I have decided to go ahead and have a little Q&A for the story here!


    Ask me anything about the story that you are curious about or missed while reading it and I will try to answer you.And so you know, I will be putting some of the questions and answers inside of the book on Amazon! Although I won''t include usernames for who asked the questions.


    I will also be going through at some point and editing the entire series on Amazon instead of just proofreading it. To improve the quality and catch any possible things I''ve missed.


    So look forward to that if you''re an Amazon reader.


    It''s been a wonderful past 19 or so months since the series started on Royal Road, and I hope you all have a wonderful life from here on out, and that I''ll see you back for the bonus stories! If I don''t already see you on my other series :)


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!