ã€ŠHeart Devilã€‹


 Chapter 1: Tavja

    Tap-Tap-Tap

    In a dimly lit room, a woman sat in front of her computer typing away indifferently, her bloodshot eyes staring at the wall of text in front of her.

    Tap-Tap-Tap

    The room was small, with a meticulously made twin sized bed in a corner, opposite the three monitors illuminating the unkempt hair and average face of the woman. Though humble, the room seemed to meet the needs of the occupant as she sat, typing silently.

    Tap-Tap-Tap

    The woman was in her early thirties, with long black hair and black eyes. Everything about the woman seemed to convey the word average. Though, some might consider the deep ruby red hue of her skin a bit peculiar.

    Tap-Tap-Tap

    But those ¡®some¡¯ don¡¯t exist in the society this woman lives in, thus, her red skin carries the label of normal to the eyes around her, and if closely scrutinized, some would consider that aspect of her slightly below the standard.

    Tap-Tap-Tap~

    One thing is certain in this quiet room. The woman before the three monitors wasn¡¯t human, but a demon, though, a normality in the world she lives, the absolute standard here. To the people of this planet, the species of anything but demon was but another race in light novels and fantasy literature.

    Roll Screechh~

    As she finished with the task in front of her, she rolled her chair back a bit and stretched her arms over her head. If an observer were to see her, the modest chest under the fabric of her frumpy sweatshirt wouldn''t ignite many lingering gazes on her feminine form, not that she would understand, given in this society, such lascivious eyes were reserved for men rather than the women of this world.

    ¡°Hmm, they never learn, do they?¡±

    she murmurs as she gazed back at the screen with undisguised contempt as the number of likes, dislikes, and replies floods her user comments.

    ~~~

    [ShotaShieldTav: The ending was trash. The author just lazily pushed the most rushed bullshit at the end to finish his fame dwindling saga. The ML went from bubbly protag to pure Gary Stu!]

    [ToryTornado: @ShotaShieldTav please don¡¯t do this again¡­]

    [SadGlobe: @ShotaShieldTav what are you talking about????? How is Damien a Gary Stu??? He had the most development in the whole story?? I¡¯m guessing you just don¡¯t like him because of the reverse Harem like everyone else in this disgusting forum. ]

    [ToryTornado: @SadGlobe don¡¯t engage! That''s what she wants!]

    [foxGloveFarmer: @SadGlobe nooooo!]

    [ShufflePerson: @SadGlobe lol are you a guy?]

    [ShotaShieldTav: @SadGlobe most development in the story? There were plenty of people with a wider range of hardships and personal trials that built their character, tbh that''s the only reason I read until the end. Damien was just a power fantasy for wannabe macho males like yourself. Off yourself. ]

    [ShufflePerson: lol true, reverse world stories are so cringe.]

    [foxGloveFarmer: @ShufflePerson idk I like the concept, I would never share my guy with other girls tho, aren¡¯t Damians wives just a bunch of cucks? looool]

    [SadGlobe: @ShotaShieldTav @foxGloveFarmer girls can have harems but guys can¡¯t? And he¡¯s a human, it¡¯s part of their culture, I¡¯m pretty sure the elves in the story were like that as well? And name me a single person that had more personal growth than Damian? Not elf Bradly, and definitely not Shela.]

    [ToryTonado: @SadGlobe I¡¯m telling you engaging with her is pointless, she just looks down on men. ]

    [ShufflePerson: @ToryTornado white knight Tory at it again lol. Shela is GIGASTACE tho.]

    [ShotaShieldTav: @SadGlobe look bro, the character development you¡¯re talking about had to do with Damien saving human girl after human girl, and then getting an ouchee from demon lord Shela, only to come back with an armory of cheat weapons and a stolen bloodline. A blood line of which belonged to the most dynamic and underrated character in the entire story. That person would have been a way better lead than the multitude of rejects in that web novel. ]

    [ToryTornado: and here we go¡­.]

    [foxGloveFarmer: bro lol]

    [SadGlobe: @ShotaShieldTav ??? If Damien was a girl saving a bunch of  helpless guys you would most likely call it godly development and who are you even talking about? The devil heart was a gift from his magic teacher, Sorceress Abigail, and she specifically says she only knows the power, not the origin. Did you even read that volume(chapter 156??????) Also, your femcel is showing using the word bro¡­ ]

    [ShufflePerson: femcel loool @SadGlobe you are a guy tho right? Do you play any mmos? I play a ton so¡­..]

    [ShotaShieldTav: @SadGlobe quoting scripture in front of me? A mere man? Let me educate you normie. Side story 6 part 12: Betrayal of greed. The Author specifically says the 14th hero party made a deal with the devil 1st Avaritia that led to the gates of Hellnia to be destroyed by them with the god ritual. Keeping all devils and high demons from entering the land of Neel. Thus making the devil of greed and his family the only ones to form contracts in Neel and the surrounding worlds for 666 years. To ensure Avaritia¡¯s rule after 666 years and to show his sensarity to the human gods alliance, he murdered 3 of the other 6 ruling archdevils and ¡®executed¡¯ the devil with the greatest potential. After that, the god of the hero of magic told their hero to go find that devil''s body after Hellnia¡¯s reopening, and to take his heart for Damien¡¯s use. I¡¯m sorry were you not aware sir? Did YOU even rEad tHe sIdE StOrY?????? ]

    [foxGloveFarmer: yap yap yap]

    [ShotaShieldTav: @SadGlobe The Devil in question had an entire arc in both the main story and side story 8, sir were you unawares?]

    [ToryTornado: here it comes¡­]

    [SadGlobe: @ShotaShieldTav hold on are you talking about the devil''s dungeon arc? Are you talking about that one dimensional side villain Vainglory? lol What entire arc? Why would I read a side story about a zombie devil that appeared in like 3 chapters that was killed by Damien¡¯s 2nd lover? lol is this a troll? ]

    [ShotaShieldTav: @SadGlobe You uncultured swine, you are saying that BECAUSE you didn¡¯t read the side story, this story is lost on some bottom feeding gigolo like yourself. As I thought, 2D guys are indeed a cut above the rest. To look down on the multifaceted, complex, and genius character that is the strong, unwavering, cold handsome, 6th Vainglory. The ultimate husbando!? Again sir, you may off yourself. ]

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    [foxGloveFarmer: Vainglory died at the age of 16 btw¡­]

    [ShotaShieldTav: @foxGloveFarmer He wasn¡¯t dead, he had his wishes stripped during the dungeon arc on top of having his organs harvested so technically he was around 680 years at the time, plus devils have the Ancestral knowledge ability so age really doesn¡¯t mean anything really.]

    [foxGloveFarmer: Sis.]

    [ShufflePerson: Sis¡­]

    [SadGlobe: oh a pedo, So I was just wasting time arguing¡­]

    [TonyTornado: I told you, she¡¯s been posting this garbage in every {Tragedy of heroes} forum after the release of the final chapter¡­. guess ¡®ShotaShield¡¯ isn''t a joke lol¡­ I don¡¯t even think she cares about the character story, just the fan fics of him.]

    [ShotaShieldTav: Nonsense. Now allow me all to educate you on the intricacies of this long forgotten character, he may have died halfway through the story during that arc, but the reason he died and why that specific party member killed him all has it¡¯s meaning in the story, The MC damien doesn¡¯t even use his power meaningfully after he gets the heart. Hell, that gigolo doesn¡¯t even know how to use it. We have to go back 700 years in the story''s history to explain it. So it started off with¡­¡­¡­.. ]

    ~~~

    After reviewing her internet sermon, as well as the links to her fan fiction and blog posts, Tavja nodded and finally got up.

    ¡°Why did they even bother reading the story?¡±

    How can so many people misunderstand the underlying meanings and dynamic consequences for so many arcs and still have an opinion of characters they barely knew?

    She sighed to herself and walked to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast, sleepless nights of debating always brings back her appetite. She took out a carton for eggs, some sliced bread and some orange juice. As she broke the eggs into the pan and placed the bread into the toaster she became lost in thought.

    ¡®Great story, terrible ending.¡¯

    She shook her head, Tavja was indeed an¡­enthusiast of the web novel {Tragedy of Heroes}. In some aspects, some would consider her a shut in as a result of her deep diving. But she didn¡¯t see it that way, she didn¡¯t fear leaving the house, she just loathed the outside world and the headaches it brought with it. Everything about society to her seemed so¡­ staged. Not in terms of reality as a whole, it¡¯s very much real. But the people in general, its customs, and how one had to act and get ahead in life just seemed so hollow.

    It was exhausting to her, not to mention seemingly pointless. She knew the hand she was dealt wasn''t bad, but it wasn¡¯t very good either. She knew she had an average appearance and her intelligence was only slightly higher than most, her memory wasn¡¯t very outstanding either. She was just¡­average. She didn¡¯t hate it, but she didn¡¯t like it either. Because she knew that if she wanted to stand out and be a cut above the rest she would have to work hard, work tirelessly, make connections, and be charismatic.

    But for what? More money? She didn¡¯t need more money, she didn¡¯t think she could find a job that had as many perks either.  Tavja worked as a software developer from home, and she was quite good. She was given weekly tasks and they would usually take her a couple of days to complete, leaving her with the rest of the week to do as she pleased. Even with all the free time and hefty salary, Tavja had no desire to go places or spend it on anything in particular, So the money in her savings account just grew with no real goal in particular.

    What about fame, influence, respect? She found those to be a waste of time as well. She didn¡¯t particularly care who liked her, and she didn''t really like the idea of being under a microscope for the masses to watch constantly. Why go into that arena when you don''t really wish to interact with people on a regular basis? Why not just take time off, disappear and do what you want after you become famous or gain influence?

    That¡¯s the problem. In her current day and age the spotlight favors those who remain in it. The longer she¡¯s away, the less fame, and the grip of influence loosens when relevancy vanishes. In Tavja¡¯s mind it¡¯s just more work with no real benefit to a person like her. She didn¡¯t even have a reason to influence others in a particular direction, so why bother?

    Perhaps love? People get a better sense of fulfillment when paired with another. Sadly for Tavja her experience in relationships has been a trainwreck since she was 16, she had long since given up finding the perfect man for herself. What¡¯s worse, her time spent in solitude only made the image of perfection worse due to the amount of fantasy books she¡¯s consumed.

    The User in the comments section that stated she looked down on men was indeed spot on. Her experiences with men early on had ruined the image of a perfect relationship, she began to turn to media that amplified her resentment to the men of this world. For a while, Tavja was what many referred to as a raving misandrist, tempered by rage of the ¡®harsh realities¡¯ said media revealed. How men just wanted money and glamour and how they would leave the second a richer woman that played video games better came around, she was incensed and infuriated with all irl men when she learned about the ¡®truth¡¯.

    By the time her resentment mellowed out and she realized her influencer idols were just saying those things for suckers like her to feel better about their circumstances and give them money, she was nearing 30 and she had long grown accustomed to being alone and indoors.

    Simply put, Tavja had already given up on her society as a whole, and she didn¡¯t like pretending she loved it by going outdoors.

    ¡®But.. what do I read now?¡¯

    As Tavja scrambled her eggs, she began to feel a little empty. One of the few things Tavja looked forward to was reading the next chapter of her favorite web novel {Tragedy of Heroes}. A dynamic story that followed the adventures of many different heroes in a world thrown into chaos.

    The story consisted of 8 different main perspectives. Each a ¡®Hero¡¯ to the people around them, after a series of different calamity events they all grew through the trials and ultimately became powerful individuals. But as the latter half of the story progressed, each one would die for one reason or another. Until the last one remained, the famed Damien, who eventually defeated the final villain with his harem and sealed all magic in the world of Neel, essentially turning it the same as earth, a rock in space with no magic or mystery.

    ¡®A lackluster conclusion.¡¯

    Tavja was truly disappointed in the author.

    ¡®Thousands upon thousands of main story chapters and almost as many side story chapters only to end with a magicless world and a group of cuckqueens serving a whimsical himbo.¡¯

    She sighed and put the eggs on a plate and placed it on her small dining table. As she did, she noticed her old office door slightly ajar. Strange, she never really stepped in there anymore.

    ¡®...maybe I should start my old job again?¡¯

    She shook her head, ever since finding that novel online, passing the time through other means just wasn¡¯t the same. Besides, she had quit that part time job for a reason. She sighed again, why did the story end just like that? It felt bitter.

    ¡®With a world like that, where magic existed, where power reigned supreme, there would be no way I''d let it end just like that.¡¯

    She chuckled to herself.

    ¡®If only I could live in a world like that¡­¡¯

    BUZZ BUZZ

    ¡®...with magic, Devils, Gods¡­¡¯

    BUZZ BUZZ

    ¡®...Hmph! I¡¯d at least make a more epic ending.¡¯

    BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

    ¡®An ending where the actual power houses of that world played the roles of true hegemons. Instead of a bunch of lucky bastards that barely succeeded in the end.¡¯

    DING

    As Tavja was thinking such thoughts, she noticed her phone was continuing to buzz. As she flipped over her phone to check who could possibly be messaging a shut-in like her, she glanced at the now finished toast.

    Annoyed, she picked a fork with her other hand to stab the blackened sliced to add to her meal. As she reached out to pick out the toast she read the messages.

    ¡®Unknown?¡¯

    [Unknown: I agree with you.]

    [Unknown: It was a disappointing display.]

    [Unknown: the other worlders and champions blessed by their gods just didn¡¯t have what it takes to bring true glory to this world.]

    [Unknown: But maybe you do, demon girl of an alternate world?  Lol I¡¯ll give you a shot, good luck~ ]

    ¡®Hm?¡¯

    As she read, what she wasn¡¯t aware of, was the fact that the fork she had used to fish out the burnt bread she made, was now halfway down the toaster at this point.

    BZZZT

    ¡°F-f-f-f- fuc-¡±

    Soon, darkness overtook her vision.

 Chapter 2: Rebirth

    In an unknown location deep underground. In a cave, one big enough to fit a two story building, a small temple sat. The temple appeared to be ancient, primal, the architecture long since outdated by the annals of time.

    The walls, tables, and chairs were covered in layers upon layers of dust. At the very heart of this abandoned temple stood an altar. The size of the altar was impressive, filling up a good portion of the area. The platform of the altar was around 12 feet long and around 10 feet wide with stone steps leading upward.

    Below the Altar lay a dusty golden plaque, on it a word from a language only a few recognize in this era, But to those who lived in that time long forgotten, and the ancient beings still wandering the plane to this day, they would recognize that word as ¡®EAT¡¯.

    The word would seem bizarre below an altar inside a temple, had the tables on either side of the luxurious carpets leading to the altar not been filled with fancy tableware and golden goblets covered in dust. It was clear the temple was meant for dining as well as worship.

    On top of the platform sat a statue depicting a woman, unanimously, one word fit the description of her visage, beautiful. On her head was a crown of gold with one purple gem at its very center. Protruding from her stone hair were two curved horns, the only verification that she was not human.

    On her neck, wrists and ankles were adorned in jewelry. She sat in the lotus position with her elbows resting in her lap, holding up a bowl made of pure gold. The statue''s head was tilted upwards, showing her subconscious arrogance. Her eyes, however,  were looking down at the bowl in her hands with curiosity and interest. It¡¯s clear that the statue¡¯s focus is nothing but the contents within.

    A site to behold, save for the sticky black liquid leaking from a black circular crystal embedded in the ceiling above, making the view more eerie rather than inspiring. The jewel continuously secreted the substance, while the dark glow of the item seemed to suck the light from around it.

    Who knows how long the crystal has been filling up the bowl with this liquid, but as time passes, for some unknown reason, the bowl never overflows.

    BLUBB BLUBB

    BLUBB BLUBB

    CRACK!

    Suddenly, the golden bowl began to shine, the crystal above cracked, and  the previous calm lake of black liquid began to ripple, as if something beneath the surface were on the verge of breaking free. And then¡­

    ¡°Buuuuahhh fuc- cough cough *gasp gasp* cough cough.¡±

    A small individual broke through the surface and began to greedily take in air, flailing about in the sticky black liquid. As the final remains of the liquid coughed out, the person finally gathered the rationale to grab the edge of the bowl and push themselves out of the substance and onto the platform below.

    ¡°Cough cough w-wha? Cough cough¡±

    As the individual lay on the platform in a daze, the last of the liquid covering most of the features rolled off. A small girl, no older than 12 can be seen shivering on the stained platform. On her head, beneath the inky black substance, short, vibrant pink hair can be seen. Two small black horns peeked out from her pink curls.

    Her eyes, currently wide open and staring into empty space, showed a strange pattern in the iris. They were in the shapes of four petaled flowers, colored in pink with black pupils and sclera as an accent, giving her appearance a cute yet unsettling look.

    Her petite body, currently unclothed and covered in inky liquid, revealed 6 black stars in a small circle on her upper back.

    After some time, she sat up and looked around. As she shivered in the cold temple she took in the sights before her. A temple by the looks of it, but with tables and silverware surrounding the stage and altar. Panic and confusion began to show on her small, dainty face. Shakily, she stood up.

    ¡°W-where is this? W-what happened to me?¡±

    She turned around and faced the statue behind her. A woman with horns, wearing a crown with a purple jewel, sitting with a golden bowl in both hands.

    The statue, to her, at such an angle, seemed to look directly at her. When their eyes met, she shuddered under the gaze and turned away, she felt her mind was on the verge of losing all her remaining composure, beginning to crumble. She then, out of nowhere, smacked her face.

    Smack

    Smack

    The pain is her confirmation. This was no dream. She needed to think clearly. Freaking out now would only make the situation worse!

    ¡°Argh! Come on Tav, be a woman!¡±

    While Tavja was trying to ignite her indomitable will, she failed to notice the statue she previously observed, was now looking at her rather strangely.

    ¡®Ok, I have to be calm¡­ the last thing I remember is¡­¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    ¡®...¡¯

    ¡®...d-did I fucking die?¡¯

    She thought back to the moment everything went black. The strange messages she received, the toaster incident, then her awakening under the black water. A creeping suspicion entered her mind. This temple setting, the ceremonial bowl, the oddly familiar statue¡­

    She peeked at the statue now behind her. The features and posture were the same as she remembered. She again, failed to notice the statue''s eyes were now shifted away from her, in an embarrassingly hasty attempt to feign inanimacy.

    Tavja then looked down at her hands and finally noticed another thing. Her hands were much smaller now and she no longer had the red skin of the demon race, but a pale olive color resembling one of a human.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    A twinge of nervousness now pricked the back of her mind. She had all but confirmed her theory about her situation in her head, she wouldn''t mind the idea she concluded, but if she was some human¡­

    Holding down her despair, she hurriedly walked over to one of the dining tables. Picking up a golden plate, she wiped off the dust and gazed at herself. Besides all the sludge, she was met with a delicate face, a small cute nose, plump lips, and pink, flower petal-like eyes. But after observing her black sclera and small horns, the fear in her heart turned to unhinged joy. She threw her head back and laughed wildly.

    ¡°ha..haha..HAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡±

    The laugh was one of unbridled joy, her now bell-like laughter, tinkled cutely throughout the hall. Indeed she was happy. She knew now. She had transmigrated to a world she loved so much, Neel.

    On top of that, she was given such a boon like being born a Devil, an Apex existence in this world!

    In the story there are several strong races, all having their advantages and disadvantages. But only two races in the story have the closest abilities to godhood with none of the restrictions, the Angel race and the Devil race. Both races are essentially demigods.

    Superhuman strength, supreme reflexes, oceans of mana, and mountains of chi. But what makes them so godlike are their racial abilities and unique type of magic they cast.

    One of the Angels most basic unique magic is called bless magic, different from normal types of buff magic, the effects persist and stack as long as the user wills it to. All Angels possess this ability. The same goes for Devils and their contract magic, by fulfilling or establishing a contract a devil can grow stronger.

    Those abilities are strong if used correctly, but that is only the most basic standard for these races. There are much more frightening abilities in the elites of said races. And one such ability existed on the back of the young devil¡­

    As Tavja finally settled down, she angled the plate she used earlier to see her face and scanned each part of her body with it. Finally, as the reflection of the black stars tattooed on her back came into view, her smile widened, showing off her sharp white canines.

    ¡®6 Stars, meaning 6 wishes¡­ I¡¯m a supreme!¡¯

    In this world, devils with supreme bloodlines possess an ability that is called ¡®Wish Magic¡¯. It is exactly as it sounds. Each filled in star on their body is able to grant a wish. Obviously there are restrictions such as mana capacity and wishes exceeding a supreme law such as wishing for the element of water no longer existing. But a wish is a wish.

    ¡®But wishing for anything that exceeds my current limit will kill me. And¡­¡¯

    She scrutinized the circle of stars on her back.

    ¡®Using all 6 means death.¡¯

    She heaved a sigh of satisfaction. Finally after years of mindless existence, Tavja felt that there was finally a reason to live life to its fullest. Why? Because with a world of magic and chaos around her, anything was possible. One no longer has to endure being a small cog in a well defined wheel. Wealth, power, and influence now had a more flexible meaning. A meaning that Tavja found exceptionally rewarding.

    ¡®Didn¡¯t I just die and go to heaven?.¡¯

    Tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she thought of this unbelievable situation. She didn¡¯t care about where this temple was, how dangerous her situation could be, or if all of this is a coma induced fantasy.

    All she cared about was this feeling inside her, the feeling of this being her new reality. She would cling to this feeling for as long as she could.

    Deep down, she had long given up in her previous life, wishing for a novel-like situation like this to occur daily. The only thing she had back there was her mind full of fantasies and the story {Tragedy of Heroes}.

    ¡®Fantasies¡­¡¯

    The silhouette of a tall, regal, and stoic devil appeared in her mind.

    ¡°Hehehe.¡±

    A goofy chuckle escaped her cherry lips.

    ¡®W-well, since no one appreciates you here, you won¡¯t mind if I have you to myself. Right?¡¯

    6th Vainglory. The ultimate devil genius, feared and envied by all that encountered him.

    In the main story he had only played a small role in a dungeon. He had already been betrayed, his organs, abilities, and ancestral knowledge harvested. The only reason he showed up in the story was to let the protagonist Damien learn about the origin of his new devil heart.

    Tavja grimaced. Such a wasted plot opportunity, and that guy didn¡¯t even have the honor to kill him after learning about it, he left it to his racist lover to end his life. The reason? Because our plot-clad protagonist didn''t have the strength at the time to face a zombified Vainglory.

    He was getting his ass handed to him until he realized Vainglory would unconsciously hesitate striking down his lover. The reason being, she looked like an old companion of his, leading to her defeating him eventually.

    ¡®What Vain doesn¡¯t know is that his companion was part of his conspiracy of betrayal. And the lover of Damian that killed him was a descendant of that very person, the Angel Piety.¡¯

    She had read his side story arc countless times after its release. Many people skipped over the side stories because of the fact they were released in a separate book, on top of the fact good portions of the stories were essentially info dumps. Worse yet, the ones that did read Vainglory¡¯s side story missed the whole point of the arc!

    Many chalked it up to the author showing a time where all the races worked together to fight off the extraterrestrial invasion of the Void Tide. And the betrayal of Vainglory, a necessary evil to keep the void song from spreading. But there was a deeper meaning behind that story, a meaning Tavja gleaned from reading many times.

    ¡®They feared him.¡¯

    Vainglory had no actual companions on his journeys, they were his wardens. Every hero, alpha, guardian, and empyrean had an ability to keep his growing power in check.

    ¡®Hmph! but I¡¯m here now.¡¯

    Tavja thought arrogantly. As a six star devil, she knew the incredible potential she would soon have once she went through evolution. And with her knowledge of the secrets of the world, she would take full advantage of boosting her strength to stand at the top¡­with her beloved hehe, just kidding¡­unless?

    She couldn¡¯t help but get lost in her delusions thinking of the cold handsome Vainglory, as she twisted her body in delight. As the number one contributor of {Tragedy of Heroes}¡¯s 6th Vainglory wiki page, how could she not be?

    She felt ecstatic! A new world full of opportunity and the perfect man to share it with, what more could a demon woman like her want?

    She grabbed a large napkin from the table and wiped all the remnant black liquid off her body, then wrapped a table cloth around her small frame.

    ¡®Now I just need to know the timeline and my location.¡¯

    She knew she was at a time before the plot started or at least near the beginning. The statue behind her was proof of that. She was inside a devil temple, and one for the Queen of Feasts, Gula at that. No Temple, outside of Greed, is set up outside of Hellnia.

    ¡®And if Hellnia is still around, the second arc, which starts with Hellnia¡¯s destruction, hasn''t happened yet.¡¯

    She absentmindedly thought as she dried her new pink hair. As she gazed at her new face through the golden plate, she felt quite comfortable with her new appearance. ¡®Quite the femme fatale¡¯, she grinned. Her rising narcissism was short-lived though, and quickly replaced with shuddering fear.

    Because as she was looking at her face, she noticed that over her shoulder, the statue¡¯s head, that was supposed to be facing forward to the entrance, had slightly turned to her direction, looking at her curiously.

    Had Tavja not had the plate angled in such a manner, and her senses seemingly enhanced now, she would not have noticed the subtle shift.

    Tavja¡¯s hair stood on end, her heart began to pound wildly as beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead.

    She was being watched.

 Chapter 3: The Left Eye of the Observer

    ¡®Fuck, I forgot! I''m in a devil temple!¡¯

    In her flustered state she had overlooked a crucial point. She was not born through a devil union, but through the traditional ritual. The purest way of forming a supreme young devil, channeling the essence of desires from the lower races.

    It was obvious that the devil of this temple would be peeking at a successful ritual.

    ¡®What should I do now? She must have seen the stars on my back. If she forced me into a contract-¡¯

    But her thoughts stopped there as she recalled this particular devil in the book. Her heart calmed a little when she realized the one watching her was Gula, Queen of feasts. This devil, fortunately or unfortunately, was a peculiar one. She never forced a devil into contracts nor killed devils without reason.

    She seemed more benevolent than most Tavja would encounter. But it wasn¡¯t necessarily kindness that she did those things. It was more like conflict was low on her priority list, as long as she could eat, she couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else, Tavja theorized.

    Fortunately she would most likely not do anything malicious, unfortunately she would most likely give no advice or helping hand to her. So gaining a backer early on was a no go.

    ¡®This one is most likely eating and watching me to pass the time, like some strange dinner show.¡¯

    Tavja placed the golden plate down and turned around to the statue.

    ¡°???¡±

    But when she turned around to greet the statue, the head was turned back to its normal position. Tavja squinted her eyes at the stone form. Had she mistaken it? No, the closer she looked at the Idol the more she recognized the strange energy flooding it.

    Like an instinct, Tavja could feel the mana that flowed through this place. To her, it felt no different from using her other senses to detect changes in her surroundings.

    ¡®Is this magic? It oddly feels familiar¡­ or maybe like a warm wind blowing past your skin?¡¯

    She wasn¡¯t sure of the feeling, just the presence.

    Now being aware of the peeper, Tavja¡¯s body automatically adjusted itself to be acutely aware of the world around her, as a result, the magic particles flowing around now seemed to alarm her body of its hidden existence.

    Devils being at the Apex of the mortal world was not just an empty title, and as a six star devil, Tavja¡¯s body adaptation was amongst the best. Though Tavja couldn¡¯t explain why she was now sure the statue was currently ¡®alive¡¯, she was more than sure.

    Tavja walked up to the statue and gazed up at it. Unlike earlier, when she stood at this angle, her eyes and the statue¡¯s did not meet.

    ¡°....¡±

    ¡°....¡±

    ¡°Maybe I imagined it?¡±

    She decided to feign ignorance. She knew how to read a room.

    ¡®Gonna keep pretending huh? Fine.¡¯

    Tavja decided to ignore the peeper and proceed with her initial plans, gathering information. She would make contact with this face stuffing devil at a later time, she had no time to delay.

    As a shut-in whose life revolved around reading web novels, fantasising about getting transmigrated from her boring and empty life, and theory crafting in online forums about the world of {Tragedy of Heroes}, Tavja was oddly the perfect individual to be put in a foreign situation like this.

    Her apprehension about her circumstances had all but vanished after a short amount of time here, and her mind began to work on the most optimal path towards her own survival and strength since there seemed to be no readily apparent danger.

    ¡®As a transmigrator, one needs to first do the initial checks.¡¯

    In her mind the initial checks were obvious. Such checks, of course, referred to a transmigrator''s boon, their golden finger!

    ¡®System.¡¯

    ¡­.

    Nothing.

    ¡®Status¡¯

    ¡­.

    Unresponsive

    ¡®O-options?¡¯

    ¡­.

    Pointless

    ¡®Tch! Well, I guess R.O.B. thought being a devil was enough of a golden finger.¡¯

    She shook her head, she liked this gift, but if she was gonna live in her dream world to the fullest, she would be greedy. She wanted a system, and since she knew others in the book had one, she wanted one as well.

    In the story, a system was essentially standard for all the main characters, even the talented ones. Why should she sit around getting her stats exposed while those guys stood there haughtily pretending to be ¡®geniuses¡¯. If they were gonna cheat, she would too.

    Tavja grinned at the thought. In the novel, there were no pure devils as a main character. They all showed up briefly and played antagonistic parts, and what she found annoying was the fact that a few of them fell because of some MC reading their stats and skills, taking advantage of that knowledge to play the pig to eat the tiger.

    In fact, the amount of losses sustained from the devils by such methods led to most of them retreating back to the gates of Hellnia right after its reopening.

    Tavja glanced at the statue at the center of the temple.

    ¡®And one of those that got played the hardest was Gula.¡¯

    Even without being a malicious entity, Gula died rather pitifully in the story. All because an MC took advantage of knowing her special abilities.

    ¡®Another victim of Damien and his racist lovers.¡¯

    Tavja really hated that character, to her, that guy and his harem was an eyesore. She would be sure to pay that cast a visit in the future, she had no need for them to ruin her path to greatness with their ¡®righteousness¡¯.

    She walked up to a table and picked up a large soup bowl, she studied it a bit, then nodded. She then proceeded to carry it to the even larger bowl held by Gula. Under Gula¡¯s hidden yet curious gaze, Tavja dipped the bowl in the black liquid and filled it up.

    ¡®Now, if I remember correctly, this essence of desire can also be used like this.¡¯

    Under the horrified eyes of Gula, Tavja poured it onto the stone floor beneath the altar and began to rub it around. She ignored the twitching lips of the statue and moved with deliberate strokes.

    ¡®Strange, my memory seems better than I remember it being in the past.¡¯

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    As she drew on the ground she realized she could see the intricate patterns of her goal vividly in her mind. Every stroke, circle, and word warped around a concentric pattern, giving birth to a complex sigil.

    If Tavja were paying attention to her surroundings, she would witness the statue of Gula craning her neck to observe the writings on the ground, her face dumbfounded and confused as to why a young devil would know such a complicated and nearly unreadable sigil.

    ~~~

    ¡®Has this child already awakened her ancestral knowledge?¡¯

    Gula thought as she watched the eccentric young devil scribble lines on her dining room floor with the extra essence gathered from the lower beings. She had been secretly watching the little devil after she felt a spike of energy erupt from her old abandoned temple.

    She had no idea who started a ritual in her temple so far away from her territory, and she was even more confused that it had been so successful. The place was empty, there were no sacrifices, nor were there any indication of other devils having entered in the past hundred years.

    Initially she thought one of those filthy greed devils had broken past her barrier and was taking advantage of the essence gathering crystal to spawn more of Greed''s dogs, but to her surprise the little devil that exited the fountain had no traits of a greed devil. No greed devils have pink hair and eyes, and typically a greed devils facial appearance is rather¡­ well, below average compared to others of the devil race.

    But the little girl before her, even at such a young age, possessed a beauty that surpassed most of her kin. Gula could easily tell that when she became older, her appearance would most likely have no rival. She felt a pang of jealousy thinking that, but she also couldn¡¯t help but admire such a doll-like face.

    ¡®Could she be a devil of the Luxuria branch?¡¯

    It was hard to tell, the child was beautiful but she showed a level of narcissism like the Superbia branch as she inspected her face and body with Gula¡¯s tableware. She showed a bit of compulsion, randomly slapping herself and laughing maniacally like the Invidia branch as she became lost in thought every now and then. She then showed traits of intelligence like the Acedia branch as she drew sigil after sigil on the ground, indicating an initial awakening of her ancestral knowledge.

    The more she watched, the more intrigued and confused she became. She had only heard of a handful of devils that deviated from the norms of newborns. She remembered hearing about one other devil in particular hundreds of years ago that baffled Superbia in her temple in a similar fashion, but she never had the chance to meet him before Superbia and him passed.

    ¡®Should I reveal myself to her?¡¯

    Gula, being a gluttonous devil, often spent her time indulging herself in decadence. Recently, she didn¡¯t really care about much else, she liked eating delicious foods, drinking rare wines and seeing pretty things.

    She had stayed so long in the temple for that very reason, the girl was indeed pretty. Gula felt as if she was watching a small pink butterfly just now breaking out of her cocoon, observing her new surroundings with innocent wonder.

    But after watching for a while, she now became a bit more curious about the type of devil this little one was. Maybe speaking to her would bring her more insights about the young devils nature.

    ¡®Also¡­¡¯

    She remembered seeing the little circle of six stars on the little girl''s back. Gula felt it rare to meet a six star devil that none of the devil families or factions hadn¡¯t sunk their malicious claws into. A truly free supreme devil.

    ¡®Her circumstances are similar to mine.¡¯

    Gula smiled thinking back to her past as a young six star devil, before the establishment of the primordial devils and all the underhanded schemes that followed.

    ¡®Perhaps talking to her and warning her about the outside world would be a good idea.¡¯

    She glanced back at the pink haired devil finishing up with her grand sigil.

    ¡®I¡¯ll welcome her when she¡¯s finished with whatever she¡¯s do-¡¯

    But before she completed her thought, something even more baffling happened, something Gula had never even seen or heard of before.

    The little girl clapped her hands together and spoke.¡°[Promised Wish:] esicrexe ym thgir ot na ecneidua htiw eht revresbo, rossessop fo lla egdelwonk!¡±

    As the words escaped the girl''s lips, black chaos energy began to surge into the sigils. The amount was so staggering the Temple began to rumble and shake.

    Gula was taken aback, she could feel the little devils minuscule mana, she shouldn¡¯t be able to harness this amount of chaos energy. Even for her, channeling this much would be dangerous.

    ¡®She used some sort of wish magic, but it doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯ll be able to handle that energy with her body. S-should I cancel the wish?¡¯

    But before Gula could even make a decision on helping the girl, a terrifying aura swept through the temple. The rumbling had subsided, replaced with unsettling stillness, as if every molecule in the area had frozen in place. Time had stopped.

    Through the statue, Gula herself was affected. Her body was placed in a stasis, the muscles in her body could no longer move, her heart had stopped beating, every cell of her form had ceased, save for her mind.

    She still lived, she felt no discomfort, but the fear in her now frozen in place heart was surging wildly. She couldn¡¯t struggle, she couldn¡¯t shout, she could only observe.

    And observe she did, as the void itself slowly tore open, revealing a giant black eye in front of the young devil, who seemed to be unaffected by the stasis field around her.

    The little girl bowed in front of the eye and spoke.

    ¡°This one requests a name from the Observer¡­ also,I wish to make a deal with the left eye.¡±

    The giant eye squinted at the young devil for a moment, seemingly in thought. It then glanced at the statue, where Gula watched, frozen in place.

    The eye shifted its gaze back to the still bowing little devil and spoke.

    ¡°The first request is recognized and accepted. The Master has already chosen names for you, young one. Left Direction is considering your second request, he wishes to know what you are offering?¡± the eye spoke, it¡¯s tone neutral.

    Tavja replied coolly. ¡° I offer what the Left Direction desires most, Time of course.¡±

    Though the entity was just an eye, anyone watching could tell it was smirking at that answer.

    ¡°Hmph, he has readily agreed¡­ I must say, you are quite generous. Sharing such knowledge. Most devil''s hoard such information.¡± The eye leaned in, getting a closer look at the girl.

    The pink haired devil smiled. ¡°Does it even matter if she knows?¡± she replied, completely at ease.

    But the eye saw all. The subtle trembling of the heart, the hairs raising on her neck, the small fluctuating soul deep down. ¡®Quite good at hiding it.¡¯ He thought.

    ¡°Hmph true...rules are rules, those that should know, know. Those that don¡¯t, don¡¯t.¡±

    The eye then blinked.

    As the little one stood there, a black gate began to expand rapidly under her.

    Gula on the other hand, was incensed. Her mind was in chaos. What was that spell she just cast? What was that gigantic eye hovering in her temple? Why is its presence so overwhelming? Arent entities that directly change laws like this banned from entering planes of Neel?

    Such thoughts had well surpassed overloading Gula¡¯s mind, so much so that the conversation between the girl and the eye had yet to register to her. By the time Gula came back to her senses, and realized she could move again, The young devil and the eye had already disappeared from her temple.

    ~~~

    The Observer¡¯s plane. Somewhere in between.

    When Tavja opened her eyes once more she stood in a white expanse.

    The ground, though just as white as everything else, seemed to be made of some sort of metallic material, given the hard and cool sensation it gave her bare feet.

    There were no walls anywhere, and the sky itself was white and stretched to the horizon, yet had no indication of any sun nor stars.

    In front of her sat a table and two chairs, also white.

    Despite everything being as snow white as it was, there seemed to be no strain in her eyes, nor was there any trouble indicating one thing from another.

    At the table, there hovered above one of the chairs was a single giant human looking eye with a golden iris.

    The eye was about the size of a basketball, as Tavja gazed at it, it gazed back.

    ¡®Not as unsettling as the other.¡¯

    The Eye then leaned forward in what seemed to be its version of a bow.

    ¡°Welcome young devil, I am Left Direction, head of the Observer¡¯s eyes that gaze at the past, present, and future. You may call me Left.¡±

    ¡°Hello, Left.¡±

    Tavja greeted the eye as she walked to the chair and sat down.

    The eye scrutinized Tavja for a bit in silence as she scrooched her chair closer to the table.

    Although she remained calm on the outside, she was a little weirded out with how the eyes seemed to have a voice coming from seemingly nowhere.

    The eye wasn¡¯t using anything like telepathy like she assumed.

    It seemed more like a voice just came into existence where Tavja would guess a mouth would be.

    Once she was settled she rested her arms on the table and placed one hand on top of the other. She then smiled at the large eye, ready to begin.

    Despite her fears deep down, she was also excited for what was to come next. Gaining a devil name and finalizing this deal with Left Direction will build her foundation of power and prepare her for the difficult road ahead.

    ¡®I just need to play my cards right, and the world will be my playground.¡¯

    Her grin couldn¡¯t help but widen.

 Chapter 4: Abnormal Mark

    ¡°So¡­¡±

    The eye began.

    ¡°I heard you were just born. Happy Birthday.¡±

    Tavja nodded

    ¡°Thanks, you heard from the request right?¡±

    ¡°Haha, yes indeed, It was told in the audience request¡­¡±

    Tavja nodded again

    ¡°I see, word travels fast. So you know why I¡¯m here as well right?¡±

    ¡°Haha indeed, indeed¡­¡±

    The eye laughed nervously.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°....Hey so, since you were just born, I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t know much about Neel! How about this, I could-¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do the name first.¡± Tavja cut him off with a smile, not bothering with being polite.

    ¡°H-Hey come on, what''s the rush? You''re a Devil right? What''s a couple years? I¡¯ll offer A couple of years of educational- ¡±

    ¡°Name please.¡±

    ¡°YOU DARE INTERRUPT A DIVINE BEING AGAIN!? IT SEEMS MY BENEVOLENCE HAS BEEN A LITTLE TOO-¡±

    ¡°Name or I leave.¡±

    ¡°Ok, ok¡­ I¡¯m sorry about the outburst earlier. I-I¡¯m just a little on edge here. No one ever comes up here¡­. Young one, m-mayhaps you can find it in your heart to listen to an old mans ta-¡±

    ¡°The name.¡±

    ¡°.....¡±

    ¡°As. Promised.¡±

    With a resigned sigh, the eye just hollowly nodded. Left finally understood the devil he was dealing with would most likely take none of his practiced bait.

    ¡®Likely a young devil with large amounts, if not all, of her ancestral knowledge.¡¯

    ¡°Sigh, very well.¡± With that, the eye blinked, and a book appeared before the two of them.

    Though the assumption was a bit off, Tavja indeed knew the kind of entity she was dealing with.

    Tavja smiled at the appearance of the book, but she also couldn¡¯t help but sneer at the eye in her heart.

    ¡®This cringey bastard was really planning on trapping me here for years to gossip, when my cold handsome, and divine powers are waiting for me in Hellnia? Guess again!¡¯

    She knew the golden rule for dealing with the Left eye was to finish all transactions first. Despite the eye just being¡­well an eye, he was infamous in the lore for being a chatterbox. An extreme one at that. If he could, he would most likely lock the exit gates of his domain to keep visitors here to gossip. A good thing this place has rules.

    ¡°sigh¡­The book before you are all the names the Master has created for you. Sigh¡­of course¡­sigh¡­ the name you will take will be determined by your soul''s proclivities¡­sigh.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Tavja answered, somewhat absentmindedly. She did not care about the pitiful looks coming from Left every third word, or the sighs that followed. What made her mind distracted was how the Observer bestowed names.

    ¡®I thought he would just give me a name and be done with it, what¡¯s the purpose of generating a book of names like this? And what did he mean by soul¡¯s proclivities? Is there some hidden lore here? Should I ask?¡¯

    She glanced up at the eye and immediately decided to just go in blind. The eye was still looking pitiful, but there was a subtle gleam there that made her scalp numb.

    She decided to trust her instincts and proceed with ignorance.

    Seeing that the little devil had no intention of asking questions, giving him a reason to tell the story of how his master once had a tryst with a chaos devil leading to the promised wish pact, the eye could only deflate more and continue.

    ¡°Sighhhhh¡­ Ok, I will show you some pictures and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind. After this, a name from the book will choose you.¡±

    Tavja nodded. It sounded easy enough, this wasn¡¯t mentioned in the book but it seemed inconsequential since the name was still coming from the observer. A name from a high god was still good in itself.

    Left blinked and a piece of white paper appeared on the table. The paper had seemingly random, manic strokes on it. It wasn¡¯t the typical blotches of mirrored patterns one might see in a certain counseling room, It was more like dense scribbles from a 2 year old. The strokes were so densely packed together, a person wouldn¡¯t know the paper was white had the edges not been left untouched.

    Tavja stared at the paper strangely, then she looked up at Left, her eyes incredulous.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, young one?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Isn¡¯t this picture a little too obvious? Wouldn¡¯t everyone just have the same answer seeing this?¡±

    Left ¡®raised an eyebrow¡¯. ¡°Oh? Then tell me, what is it that you see?¡±

    Tavja shook her head, what was the point of this?

    ¡°It¡¯s just a rose.¡± she answered

    ¡°A rose you say? Look closer, is that all?¡± The eye questioned, his eye brimming with mirth.

    Outside of gossiping, he enjoyed seeing one''s soul discover itself. The process was always different.

    Tavja looked at the paper once more with confusion. As if finally noticing, she spoke again.

    ¡°Ah, yeah the field where the rose is planted¡­ the roots seem to be growing from a mountain of corpses. Huh, how did I miss that?¡±

    Tavja muttered. The picture seemed to be a bit more detailed than she initially thought. But it didn¡¯t really change her opinion about this ¡®test¡¯.

    ¡°Are the corpses male or female?¡± The eye inquired.

    ¡°Hmm..both, but mainly women, are they humans? I can¡¯t tell.¡±

    Left ignored the question.

    ¡°Okay, on to the next one. What do you see in this one? Look closely, this one is a bit harder.¡±

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    Left then produced a new piece of paper. This one had nothing but circles, starting from the center going outward. As before, the drawing was so packed together, the only defining parts indicating it as white paper were the edges.

    This time Tavja gazed at the paper a little longer than last time. After a while she looked up and answered confidently.

    ¡°It¡¯s a person. They are gazing down at the plane in the night sky. Everyone is looking back at them, they see the person, nothing more. But the person seems to be seeing more when they look at everyone else. The person is sitting in the sky where the moon should be, and the stars circle around them.¡±

    ¡°Is this person you?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°....Are you in the picture at all?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Tavja shook her head, did this guy think she was a narcissist or something? She was just answering what she saw. The pictures weren¡¯t even abstract!

    ¡°Very good, now the last picture.¡±

    Left Direction produced the last picture. A near blank paper, the only marking on it was a single vertical line.

    Tavja glanced at the paper, and her brows began to furrow.

    The Left eye chuckled.

    ¡°Yes yes, I understand your confusion, you should know that the first two tend to be different for everyone. Not everyone sees a flower in the field, or a person in the sky like you did. Both will show intricate pictures for your eyes only.¡±

    Tavja nodded in understanding. It seems this is some sort of magic trick, though strangely, she couldn''t feel even a hint of mana on the papers like she did on the temple statue. And unlike the previous two detailed pictures, this one had a simple marking on it.

    ¡°I see. So this simple mark means something different? ¡±

    Left nodded and continued. ¡°The last is mostly the same to everyone. A simple vertical line, haha, I can¡¯t tell you it¡¯s meaning, but rest assured, it¡¯s a good-¡±

    ¡°Line?¡± Tavja questioned, her slender brows still pressed together.

    ¡°Hm? Yes the line here-¡±

    Left gestured to the line but paused midway, a creeping suspicion growing within him.

    ¡°You¡­you do see a line on that paper¡­. don¡¯t you?¡±

    Tavja looked down at the mark once again. She shook her head, denying the visual of the vertical line Left mentioned. She didn¡¯t notice that something was off about Left''s countenance when she did that.

    Left, with his eye slightly wider than usual, asked.

    ¡°If you''re not seeing the anchor, what is it that you see?¡±

    As Tavja gazed at the mark, it was indeed simple, just different. She spoke curiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s a¡­Spiral?¡±

    ~~~

    Somewhere in between, the Observatory.

    Sitting on an elegant white chair, a hooded figure gazed out of the glass wall of the dome shaped room suspended in the sky. As he looked at the two seated at the table far below him, he sipped on a sparkling black substance filled within his teacup.

    He grimaced a bit with each subsequent sip, but he continued on, knowing the sugar to be added would arrive soon. He just had to endure, no way would he leave his seat to get it, and no way would he drink something cold. He just had to trust fate and hold out until he could finally taste something that suited him.

    As his 6 empty eye sockets continued to watch the little girl and his subordinate choose a name for the young devil, the figure smiled as he watched their interactions.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be long now.¡± He simply said, as he took another sip.

    ¡°Ugh¡­It¡¯s really bland.¡± He grimaced again, but he sipped once more.

    ¡°Ugh¡­An artificial, tiring taste.¡± He sipped again. The figure gagged this time.

    ¡°Urk!...B-but soon, a little sugar should bring back the spice, hehe..urk!¡±

    ¡°Master, if you don¡¯t like it so much, why don''t you wait for the sugar to be added to the mix before tasting again?¡±

    An exasperated voice spoke beside the hooded figure. The figure turned to look at the individual. A black eye the size of a basketball floated at the side of the hooded figures chair. The red iris of the eye gazed at the figure, unable to comprehend why its Master would put up with such a taste when he simply needed to stop drinking it all in.

    The hooded entity scoffed at those words.

    ¡°Principle, all is done in principle Right. If a god did not fulfill their role faithfully, who would believe in them?¡±

    The black eye, Right Direction, nodded in deference. But she couldn¡¯t help voice her doubts.

    ¡°What about the gods currently governing their parts of Neel? They seem to put their roles second to their own glory. Yet they stay gods all the same. Why is that?¡± she questioned

    The observer laughed at those words, gods? Hardly.

    ¡°Haha Right, always the skeptic. Your curious and questioning eye is why I gave you the authority to gaze at the other worlds. Right Direction, the Observer''s eye that gazes beyond.¡±

    He said with a smile.

    Right squinted at her Master. Clearly aware he did not answer the question.

    ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll tell you. But first let me ask you something. Why is it that those children build shrines, temples, and churches everywhere they can on the planes of Neel?¡± He asked meaningfully.

    Right¡¯s eye looked to the metallic floor, lost in thought. After a while, she answered.

    ¡°Well, if no one worshiped them, they would lose their divinity and authority. Making them mortal again.¡± She replied.

    The Observer nodded. ¡°Indeed.¡± he agreed. ¡°But tell me, how is it that, In all of Neel¡­¡± he pointed to the young girl sitting in front of Left studying pictures in front of her. ¡°...That little one is the only being alive that knows my name, yet I am divine regardless.¡±

    The Eye was stunned for a moment but shook her ¡®head¡¯.

    ¡°Master, that¡¯s different, you brought her here when I saw her at that demon planet, you witnessed her passion of your prophecy, of course she-¡±

    The observer shook his head. ¡°Right, you are missing the point, though you are the youngest, you are not a child, think carefully. How did I bring her here?¡±

    Right wanted to say by killing her and placing her soul in a blank vessel for 60 years, but she knew that wasn¡¯t really the answer he was looking for.

    Then a thought occurred to her.

    ¡°You..you used divine power to bend the rules¡­but, if that''s the case¡­¡± Right finally figured out what her Master was trying to say.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, a god is truly a god when there is no need for those to worship you. None to know your name, when the universe itself acknowledges your existence¡­ugh.¡± He finished her thought as he took another sip.

    ¡°I see, as expected of the Master. So Principles are what makes a god a god! Diligence and responsibility will gain the acknowledgement of the world, not popularity, truly insightful!¡±

    ¡°....Indeed.¡± The observer glanced at the Eye bowing beside him. While it was true he fulfilled his role for millions of years on principle and gained the rights for immortalization from the Beginning, he would never expose the fact that he did his job because of a crippling compulsion to do his tasks rather than a sense of righteous responsibility.

    ¡®Well, not much of a difference. Now sip number 782,393,543,261,037,251¡­ugh bland again, this era sucks!¡¯

    As The observer continued to posture, Right Direction all of a sudden began to subtly vibrate. Her eye flashed and she turned to her master once more.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve received a message from brother regarding the devil¡¯s soul discovery.¡±

    The Eye looked a bit alarmed as she spoke, but the observer paid it no heed.

    ¡°Oh? Do tell, what is your analysis?¡± the entity asked, unbothered by the urgency Right was beginning to show.

    She quickly answered. ¡°W-well, the first seems to be related to romance as the primary and slaughter as the secondary. A rose that blooms with the blood of others, a peculiar combination, but nothing out of the ordinary.¡±

    ¡°I see. The conscious body of a Luxuria variant. The aggression is a little weird though, continue.¡± He said simply as he sipped from his teacup, at ease.

    ¡°The second seems to be related to admiration? I-I think? An entity living amongst the stars, gazing at the world below. The entity is inferred to be all seeing, a god maybe, but she seems to not be included in the individuals looking up at the entity.¡±

    The observer paused for a bit at those words, but he just chuckled in the end. ¡°Interesting, not surprising given where she originates from. It is the subconscious heart of obsession though, not admiration. She sees what the entity in her picture sees, she sees herself as the special case amongst the masses, thus she is not included.¡±

    ¡°I understand, thank you for the correction.¡±

    The observer waved his hand dismissively. He was fine with educating his subordinates, there hasn¡¯t been a guest in his realm in quite some time, so her ignorance was understandable.

    ¡°And the mark? I¡¯m assuming she got the anchor? The common soul of destiny?¡±

    The eye did not reply immediately, which did not escape her master''s notice. He raised an eyebrow at her hesitation.

    ¡°Could it be that she saw the branch? The soul of the anomalous fate?¡± His brows furrowed, The anomalous fate is quite hard to read. Most with such a soul are used as pawns by the higher level entities to push their little agendas, with their fluctuating destinies, changing the outcomes of timelines seen can be possible to an extent.

    But to the observer''s surprise the eye shook her ¡®head¡¯. ¡°N-no Master, brother says she saw¡­. the spiral. And he is requesting permission to eliminate her at once.¡±

 Chapter 5: Name

    A heavy silence filled the empty observatory. Right Direction peeked at her Master nervously. It was her oversight that she had recommended the girl as a foreign actor to flip the chessboard of Neel.

    Her insights of the world and the alternative theories she crafted based on the happenings in the future were impressive. With the vessel of a supreme race, Right was convinced that the girl could make a more tasteful future for her Master if given the opportunity.

    But who would have guessed her soul possessed such a mark. It truly was a pity. She felt responsible for such a blunder.

    ¡°The mark of madness¡­¡± The observer muttered as he began to ponder. This was tricky, none in Neel are born with such a mark, it is formed through corruption, and the individuals with this mark tend to be irredeemably extreme.

    ¡®Could it be a product of her world¡¯s origins?¡¯

    The girl did not seem to show the signs of madness familiar to the residents of Neel. Could the mark being innate be the cause? The observer wasn¡¯t sure, like the branch, her destiny was difficult to see. Worse still, her destiny wasn¡¯t just a foggy set of timelines, they were mashed and swirled together in a clash of realities. It was even possible every destiny he was currently peeking into was false altogether.

    ¡®Maybe she''ll be fine? Maybe her world''s rules supplement her soul differently?¡¯

    The observer rubbed his temples, Alternatively, this could become an even worse headache than letting the lower gods play their stupid games in Neel! A mana well severance was one thing, but what about multi-planar destruction?

    ¡®Sigh, it¡¯s too risky. Killing her would be better after all. We can always try again. What was the saying? Third times a charm, I guess.¡¯

    He was feeling a bit moody thinking that. He took another compulsory sip from his cup. With his accumulated merits he could bend the rules a few times, but there was a limit. On top of that, time was running out.

    Finding or creating suitable vessels as supreme as the one before him took time, and he wasn¡¯t shameless enough to wipe out a baby soul in the womb of a mother like the other gods just to save time and resources. Cutting corners always made him feel itchy all over.

    Kidnapping and training a promising champion from Neel wasn¡¯t an option either. His name is quite literally, The Observer. Taking any actions as brazen as that in his own dimension would most definitely alert the Boss and his auditors, where would his face be if he were to be exposed?

    He took another sip, then an exaggerated gulp from his teacup, ugh¡­ his head hurt. Well, at least his drink was-

    ¡®Hm?¡¯

    The observer eyed his tea cup with his empty sockets. He realized it belatedly due to the headache, but his beverage¡­

    His heart skipped a beat.

    ¡®What a magnificent blend!¡¯

    Realization struck him. He was a fool to not recognize it instantly. The sugar he needed to bring back the spice, it was right before him. What¡¯s a bit of madness? His authorities had nothing to do with order nor chaos, his authority lied with observing and drinking it all in. And drink he shall, especially when the taste was as rich as this.

    ¡°That fool will do no such thing! Slaughtering an innocent girl!¡± The observer shouted righteously, as he stood up abruptly, tea cup at the ready, close to his mouth. His vigorous movements earned a jolt from Right Direction. The change in attitude had caught her off guard.

    ¡°But Master, this¡­¡± Right wanted to protest. She had seen those with their souls affected by the mark of madness, the spread of the void song all those years ago left the world in devastation.

    Swaths of people rushing head first off cliff sides while laughing, others transforming into grotesque creatures feasting on the brains of their neighbors, parents sacrificing their offspring to an entity hiding in the seas depths for ironically, their children''s successful future.

    It was undeniably a terrifying time.

    The worst part was the fact that the mark was contagious. All it needed was a person already affected to be near one that wasn¡¯t, and the soul would hear the frequency or ¡®song¡¯ resonating from the infected party, slowly corrupting the individual.

    Had it not been for her Master telling the proper authorities about the ¡®noise disturbance¡¯, leading to the expulsion of the mastermind behind it all, Neel would have fallen in a matter of decades.

    But now her snitch of a Master wished to send such a soul into Neel. She was baffled at the reasoning.

    ¡°Gulp Gulp¡­ calm down Right. Gulp Gulp¡­ I know what you''re thinking, Gulp Gulp¡­ Her soul does indeed carry the mark of madness, Gulp but she doesn¡¯t carry the song.¡± The observer was now greedily drinking the substance in his cup as he explained, he couldn¡¯t get enough of it.

    ¡°From what we''ve seen so far, she seems perfectly sane, heck she seems more grounded than most young devils. Right, who are we to judge a soul based on the shape of one''s mark?¡± He stated earnestly.

    ¡°....¡± They eye just stared at her Master, not saying anything. It was clear he was sweeping this issue under the rug.

    ¡°Ahem, look if it makes you feel more at ease, tell Left to give her the boon as well. Her soul is still too small for her vessel, and I understand that as she grows, her soul will adapt to her new home using her three natures to fill the empty space. With the boon, she will be aware of the changes of her body acutely. If she understands her body and mind, her susceptibility to losing herself to the instincts of the mark should diminish. A simple solution right?¡±

    ¡°...I understand.¡± Right wasn¡¯t sure if her Master was trying to convince her or himself of this plan, but giving the girl the observer''s boon would surely help in regulating the changes that could incur in her mind. The boon was perfect for introspection and understanding.

    She relayed the message, feeling a bit more at ease at the thought. Though she thought her Masters actions were still reckless, she trusted his ability to handle any issue that may arise from this decision.

    ¡°Ah right.¡± As she was sending the information to Left, the observer spoke once more. ¡°Tell Left to let the girl know to hide the existence of her mark, should anyone test her again. But as usual, the fact that she does not originate from here stays between the two of us. Do not answer why she was born with such a mark. When you are done, go out and complete your next task immediately. ¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Right nodded. The more people that knew of her origins, the more difficult her master''s plans would become, with a gossip like Left, the little devil would get put in the spotlight the second she left this domain.

    Right shook her head.

    ¡®Sorry brother, but we can¡¯t have your eccentrics get in the way this time around.¡¯

    ~~~

    Left stared at the girl in front of him, a mix of confusion and wariness deep in his golden eye. He couldn''t fathom why his sister and his Master had denied his request for elimination. They had both seen the horrors of the void song just like him, yet despite that, they seemed convinced that everything would be fine.

    ¡®Is this really ok? Some one born with a spiral? Born corrupted?¡¯ Left felt that his Master was going a bit too far with this, but he was helpless to do anything at this point. His Master had spoken.

    He heaved a heavy sigh.

    ¡°Hey what''s wrong? Is that mark a bad sign?¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Hannya gazed at the eye, who had been staring incredulously at her for some time now before finally sighing. She did not like that reaction. Wasn¡¯t she a transmigrater? A strong to stronger archetype?

    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m the first six star devil with no talent?¡¯

    She shook her head, that was impossible. She keenly remembered an excerpt from the book.

    It stated: Although the devils are outnumbered 1000 to 1 when it came to the population of the angel race to the devil race, the balancing factor were the 6 star devils. Each a genius in their own right, each a world shaking existence. Such growth speed and innate talents brought major changes to the planes of neel without question.

    She was sure it wasn¡¯t talent, the cannon wouldn¡¯t allow it!

    ¡®Then, the mark is most likely a signifier of some hidden danger for me.¡¯

    Hannya concluded.

    The eye just shook his head and sighed once again.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing important¡­but if you were to take this test ever again outside this domain. Just tell others you see a vertical line, it would be¡­beneficial.¡±

    Left stated simply.

    As expected. A hidden danger of some kind. She was annoyed that she could be the ticking time bomb type of character, but she wasn¡¯t discouraged. The reason she was here, besides a name, was to gather information. And one of those pieces of information would help her if she was indeed carrying a hidden danger.

    ¡°Well it doesn¡¯t matter much, let¡¯s move on to the deal you mentioned.¡± Left continued on. If she was going to be kept around, he might as well benefit from it. A deal would at least ensure that he acquired a new bosom buddy! Left was a little excited thinking how much time he could squeeze out of the girl.

    Hannya was taken aback, how did they get to the deal already?

    ¡°H-hey! What about my name? I did the tests, so now we need to finish!¡±

    Left looked at her as if he were staring at a strange creature. He eyed the table in front of him then back at her.

    ¡°The ritual already finished, young one. You should have felt it.¡±

    Hannya followed the gaze of Left, only to realize the thick book that sat in between the two of them had already disappeared.

    ¡°!?!¡±

    When the hell did this happen? She didn¡¯t feel any different. Shouldn''t she have felt a surge of energy or something, or at least a grand display of mana whirling around, followed by a deity or something descending announcing her existence to the cosmos?

    Left chuckled at her confused look, though she was a harbinger of madness, at least she was a cute one. Left coped.

    ¡°Little one, did you expect to grow powerful all of a sudden from gaining a name? The name of a devil simply assists with your paths of evolution. Having one does not determine your strength. Some devils have useless names and still become powerhouses. So work hard.¡± He said responsibly.

    While the eye assumed she was confused because she didn¡¯t get a power up like the grown ups. The reality was since she previously had a name, she had yet to notice that she referred to herself differently after the disappearance of the book.

    ¡°Now little one, what do I call you?¡±

    Hannya paused a bit before answering. She realized something, the name she wanted to answer with felt foreign to her. She knew the name was her and she was the name, but the name itself did not exist with her all this time.

    Indeed, the name she was ready to answer with was not the one she used in her previous life. The more horrifying thing was the fact she couldn¡¯t remember that previous name. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought of this.

    She felt she had lost something important to her, but that feeling quickly changed to steely resolve. What¡¯s the loss of a name? She would not return anyway, and she did not wish to. The loss of that name only signified her previous, insignificant life''s end and her rebirth here in the world of Neel.

    As she processed her feelings of the loss of her previous name. Deep down in the core of her being, the inner world most call it, the mark of madness began to resonate. It twisted and spun, giving off an ominous light. As it did, the soul of Hannya began to slowly change color and expand with the empty void¡­

    ¡°Little one?¡± The eye inquired, he was curious about what the child was thinking.

    ¡®Does she not like the name?¡¯ Left thought

    Jolted out of her thoughts, Hannya looked up at the eye and smiled. Her flower shaped irises began to slowly spin, the pink shade slightly beginning to glow. Coupled with her black sclera, it made for a hypnotic sight.

    Left was a bit uncomfortable looking at her smile, it was a cute, innocent smile, but the eye of the observer could see more than most mortals and gods alike. Deep in her spinning eyes, he could see it. A slight, unsettling change.

    ¡®Her view of reality shifted slightly, but why?¡¯

    But before Left could probe further Hannya spoke.

    ¡°I apologize for the late introduction Left. My name is Hannya.¡± The little devil smiled even wider, her irises spun a bit faster and glowed a bit deeper.

    ¡°Hannya 6th Luxuria. At your service.¡±

    For an unknown reason, Left began to feel anxious about the decision made by his Master. He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt that his job as a record keeper would become a lot more stressful from now on.

    But he soon pushed those emotions down, because now was his time. Today would be the day he would get a new companion to gossip with!

    ¡®Finally a new bosom buddy!¡¯

    Why care about the possible terrors of the world if you couldn¡¯t spread the word like a weed!

    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, young Hannya.¡± Left gave his most enthusiastic nod. Indicating his excitement for the deal ahead.

    ¡°Now miss Hannya, what is this deal you wish to propose to me?¡± Left asked eagerly.

    Hannya¡¯s eyes finally began to settle, the spinning slowing came to a stop and the eerie glow subsided. And eyed the entity before her.

    Hannya grinned. Finally, the thing she needed most. Information.

    ¡®Ironically I need his gossip, but this guy is too overbearing when he thinks he¡¯s got someone to listen to him. Thankfully I have a plan, I just need to get what I need and get out. My darling is waiting for me!¡¯

    She laughed maniacally in her mind, thinking of ways to swoop in and rescue Vainglory in his dire time of need, blissfully unaware that upon hearing her devil name, her dormant devil blood began to subtly shift, in turn, the image of Vainglory in her mind began to ascend to a much higher pedestal¡­

    ¡°I want to ask some questions for detailed answers.¡±

    Left nodded in understanding, she wishes to attain knowledge of something she would not normally know. A standard and harmless deal, but Left was a little disheartened at that, the cost would be low if that were the case.

    ¡°Sure¡­five questions for a non-negotiable year of your time-¡±

    Mid sentence, Hannya slowly stood up and began to walk to what she assumed the exit gate was, since there was really only one gate in this entire empty expanse her assumption should be correct.

    ¡®Welp, I tried.¡¯ No use crying over spilled milk, a year here would only ruin all her plans. There were always other means of obtaining information in the wild. No way would she risk Vainglory getting mutilated because she was lazing around here.

    ¡°W-wait a second! ok..ok I was just playing hard ball alright? J-just calm down and state your terms.¡±

    Hannya paid him no mind and kept walking to the gate, albeit, a bit slower. The eye noticed this change as well, her intention was clear. Show some sincerity or I¡¯m out of here.

    The little devil might not know it, but Left was desperate. He had been locked here for hundreds of years already, he needed a buddy! Even a void creature would do at this point!

    ¡°F-fine, for trying to rip you off, I will offer one question for free! Please just hold on a second.¡±

    Hannya stopped at the word ¡®free¡¯, she turned around to the sulking eye and grinned.

    She shook her head.

    ¡°Why even try that, when I clearly showed my understanding in the beginning?¡± She spoke as she briskly walked back to her seat, her mood light.

    The eye looked like he had aged 40 years after that scare, indeed, he had overlooked Hannyas earlier engagement with his strong arming towards gossip. In his excitement to earn a new bosom buddy, he jumped the gun!

    ¡°Just¡­just ask your freebee and state your terms¡­¡± The eye laid on the table, exhausted. Hannya¡¯s little routine seemed to have taken a lot out of him.

    ¡®Damn, this guy really is a gossip addict.¡¯ Hannya wondered why the observer made him like this. Wouldn¡¯t all of the observers'' deeds be exposed like this?

    Hannya remembered in one of the side stories, Left was not always locked in the in-between world. Before, he was free to roam where he pleased.

    But this asshole would follow people he would call his ¡®bosom buddies¡¯ everywhere and talked about everything he had seen. It didn¡¯t matter where a buddy went, he would be there. He even followed a newlywed couple into their bedchambers on their wedding night just to yap!

    A cold light flashed in Hannya¡¯s eyes.

    ¡®Not my wedding night bastard. Not on my watch!¡¯

    She shook away those infuriating thoughts and promptly asked the question she would never get an answer to anywhere else in Neel.

    ¡°Well my first question is¡­¡±

    Hannya spoke curiously.

    ¡°Would I die if I wished for a system?¡±

    Left¡¯s eye went wide hearing such a question.

 Chapter 6: Observeréˆ¥æªš Boon

    Left Direction was shaken. What was this little devil saying!?

    ¡®Her Ancestral knowledge must be incomplete!¡¯

    Left immediately understood. If she had her devil lineage¡¯s knowledge she wouldn¡¯t be asking such a bold question.

    ¡®Fear not bosom buddy! ol¡¯ Lefty will guide your blind path forward!¡¯

    Left¡¯s desperation for socializing willed him into speaking the secrets of the world to a newborn devil.

    The eye swayed left to right, an indication of violently shaking his ¡®head¡¯.

    ¡°Impossible little Hannya, even some Archdevils would die from that wish.¡±

    Hannya was perplexed at the eye¡¯s reaction. She didn¡¯t remember reading about something like this, she was even sure of the possibility. She only assumed the cost was high.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she questioned.

    ¡°Well, It¡¯s complicated. Devil¡¯s are indeed powerful, but they pledge to no gods. Only individuals that form soul contracts with a god can access an Akashic Intelligent system.¡±

    The eye looked at Hannya for a bit, then continued.

    ¡°I¡¯m aware you possess 6 stars, the highest for a devil. You Indeed have frightening potential, but even if you reach the current level of power houses in this world, the mana you expend for a system would kill you. And if it does not, you would become something close to a vegetable.¡±

    Left couldn¡¯t yap to a vegetable! It would be no different than talking to the table they were seated at!

    Hannya pursed her lips, Akashic system? That phrase was never written in the thousands of chapters in the story. And only god¡¯s can do such a feat? That didn¡¯t sound right.

    Sure they were powerful, but there were devils out there that could slap them around.

    ¡°Are the gods really that powerful here?¡± She asked. She felt that she was missing critical information.

    The eye sighed

    ¡°It seems I was correct. You only have a portion of your Ancestral knowledge. If you had, you¡¯d be aware of your kins pitiful deaths along with the type of positions gods have in Neel.¡±

    He looked at her in pity. Knowledge was power, to him, she looked more and more like a blind girl unknowingly walking toward a speeding carriage.

    Hannya gritted her teeth at this guy''s haughtiness. Sure he was just an eye but his expressions were clear to her.

    ¡°Just answer the question.¡± she hissed.

    ¡°Sigh , No they aren¡¯t ¡®that powerful¡¯, compared to the master, they are small fry. The reason they can grant their champions AI systems is because they can borrow the world¡¯s mana well to syphon the energy needed instead of their own reserves. That¡¯s the perk of godhood. In exchange they can¡¯t enter Neel for extended periods of time.¡±

    Hearing that, everything clicked. Hannya finally understood why no devils had systems in the past.

    ¡®Wait a minute..¡¯

    Hannya looked at the eye in confusion and suspicion.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not possible, what about the 6th Vainglory?¡±

    The eye trembled. How? How does a newborn devil know of the young genius!?

    Rage could be seen in the eye, and it¡¯s killing intent soared.

    The air around the white expanse became thick and heavy and the ground began to tremble slightly.

    Left was angry, he had seen the despicable betrayal of Vainglory¡¯s companions and the devil of greed. He had also seen the pathetic future of Vainglory to come.

    His heart harvested for power, his brain lobotomized for secrets, his eyes removed for human magic artifacts, he was even castrated for the use of beastkin aphrodisiacs!

    How can he not be angry? However, the anger didn¡¯t stem from his like of the child. In fact he barely knew him personally.

    What angered him was, as the little girl mentioned, Vainglory had a system!

    Not an AI system, heck, it could barely be called a system. In truth, it was more of a ¡®calculator¡¯ than anything else. But Left would never voice such an opinion.

    Why?

    Because that was the boon the Master himself gave to the young devil.

    The Observer¡¯s boon!

    The eye finally realized the little devil in front of him was on the brink of unconsciousness.

    ¡®Heavens! My buddy!¡¯

    He quickly reined in his aura and killing intent. When the air no longer solidified, Hannya collapsed onto the table.

    ¡°Gasp gasp¡±

    She gritted her teeth, she was utterly helpless. She couldn¡¯t do anything. She even knew Left wasn¡¯t directing his anger at her, yet she was still almost crushed to death as collateral!

    ¡®I need to get the rest of the information and get out of here, I need to gather my strength!¡¯

    This was no longer the earth she knew. Any random tantrum from a powerful being could kill her.

    ¡®How am I supposed to protect Vainglory with this little amount of strength?¡¯

    She felt her anger boil.

    Left observed the girl billing in anger, he knew he made a mistake, making a devil feel powerless tends to make them rather vengeful. At this rate, he could lose another buddy!

    ¡°Cough cough umm¡­ little Hannya, I apologize for letting my emotions run wild.¡±

    He gave a small bow. He peeked over at her.

    Hannya just stared at Left with an aggrieved look.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®Tch! Not enough huh?¡±

    ¡°Cough to show my sincerity as a buddy, I am willing to compensate for your emotional damages with a boon.¡±

    At those words, Hannya''s ears perked up.

    Left shook his head inside his heart seeing that.

    ¡®Still a young devil. Only benefits in their minds.¡¯

    The eye, that was currently trading a heavenly boon for a gossip companion, thought.

    ¡°But¡­.before that, where did you hear of the name Vainglory? He should not be a record in your ancestral knowledge.¡±

    Hannya remained calm, her openness to mention Vainglory¡¯s name was, of course, calculated!

    She needed to know his whereabouts and the current state of Hellnia. And Left was the best person to ask for when it came to accuracy and truthfulness.

    Why? Because The Observer and his eyes don¡¯t have a camp in Neel, they don¡¯t intervene in the world¡¯s events. They just watch¡­and gossip.

    They are so neutral that the observer simply watched as Damien destroyed the mana connection of the world for his lovers and left.

    So with that in mind Hannya answered, her voice firm.

    ¡°Vainglory¡¯s destiny is now tied with mine.¡±

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    For some reason, the line made Hannya feel a strange sensation in her heart, but she pushed it down for now.

    The only way to explain her knowledge of Vainglory was¡­ obviously lying.

    The eye could only snort at her words. He¡¯d heard it plenty of times before. Those words were annoying.

    ¡°Fine, I know the rules, little one. ¡®Too many questions lead to too many changes¡¯. I¡¯ll wait for the next path break, since I¡¯m still curious about what you''ve seen.¡±

    Left knew talking about the future with Hannya was now impossible, but broken paths were still interesting. He shook his head, yapping about that was better than nothing.

    ¡°Of course you''re a fate Devil. A Luxuria branch with a fate mutation, quite rare, but It all makes sense now. The readings on your soul discovery, my inability to see your future, why the master asked me to offer you a boon during the name selection¡­is the platform making a move?¡± Left wanted to speculate such a draw from Hellnia¡¯s devil pool.

    Through Left¡¯s mumblings, Hannya was initially pleased with the result of her subterfuge, until she heard something that made her fury soar.

    ¡®This bastard slid a gift in place of my compensation!¡¯

    She wrote down this slight in her heart. Vengeance was brewing in the little devil¡¯s mind. She would get that compensation.

    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯d like to know his current location and also how he obtained a system?¡±

    Hannya asked, secretly ignoring the single freebie offer Left mentioned earlier.

    The eye sighed once more.

    ¡°Vainglory¡¯s ¡®System¡¯ was a boon given by the Master called [Quantifier] at his birth, It was essentially just an encyclopedia fused with a calculator. It gave him no special abilities outside of understanding the things he saw.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait¡­ didn¡¯t Vain have the [All Seeing Eyes]?¡± she questioned.

    Left did not miss the way she referred to 6th Vainglory as ¡®Vain¡¯ but he said nothing.

    ¡°The master gave him [Quantifier] because he possessed the [All Seeing Eyes], a mutation like that would have destroyed his mind, and the master wanted to see what such an ability could achieve at its peak. The only time the master showed interest in Neel¡¯s happenings¡­ and those bastards¡­¡±

    Left could feel his anger rising once more, so he swallowed his words.

    ¡®Hidden lore?¡¯

    Yet another event unexplained in the book, Hannya just assumed being the intelligent cold handsome Vainglory was, he just created one using a wish!

    ¡°Anyways¡± Left continued. ¡° As for where he is, he is bound at the bottom of the endless abyss in greed''s domain.¡±

    Hannya''s eyes shone. This was the perfect opportunity!

    They have already moved him to the abyss. No one bothers to guard that place, in the eyes of Greed¡¯s followers there is no escape out of there.

    Only after the magic Hero Abigail steals Vainglory¡¯s heart do the other Heroes of the other races begin poking around and taking parts of his body, leading to Greed¡¯s followers to move him once more.

    ¡®Heroes huh?¡¯

    Hannya¡¯s eyes turn cold. They dare touch what belongs to her? Her everything?

    ¡®Let¡¯s see how they like it.¡¯ Dark thoughts began to swirl in her mind.

    Left, witnessing the rapid shift of Hannya¡¯s emotional state, couldn¡¯t help but feel a ¡®headache¡¯ coming on.

    ¡®From the look of things, she¡¯s dreamed of that future of her fated one as well, as expected of a bosom buddy! But¡­¡¯

    He could see her greed and promise of retribution. Her facade of composure earlier crumbled instantly when he mentioned the abyss.

    ¡®...attachment really isn¡¯t suited for devils. It always brings so much chaos.¡¯

    Both Devils were supreme bloods too. Left tried his best to suppress a heavy sigh. This would bring him a lot of work in the future, he was sure.

    ¡®At least the future of Vainglory might change now.¡¯

    To improve her mood, the eye spoke.

    ¡°Be at ease little Hannya, it has been 664 years since the gates of Hellnia has been destroyed. There are two years before anyone or anything can pass through.¡± the eye said meaningfully.

    And as he expected, Hannya looked at him with her cold eyes and grinned.

    ¡°Then there is more than enough time.¡± Without much effort Hannya had obtained the answers she needed to move with purpose.

    With that Hannya stood up and reached out her hand to the eye, not in the form of a handshake, but in the form of one requesting payment.

    ¡°Now if you will, Mr. Left, My boon.¡±

    Left was speechless. He had gone out of his way to comfort the devil and she didn''t even give him a warm smile or thanks! They hadn¡¯t even made a deal for time yet!

    ¡®Shameless!¡¯

    But the more he thought, the more he realized he may have spilled the beans about the boon he had agreed to give her as ¡®compensation¡¯. Upon failing to keep his mouth shut once again, he had lost another bargaining chip. He could only swallow his grievances.

    With a reluctant sigh, he blinked twice.

    DING

    [Observer¡¯s Boon has been acquired!]

    [The ability {Quantifier} has been established!]

    [Status is now available!]

    [Bestiary is now available!]

    [Herbarium is now available!]

    [Racial encyclopedia is now available!]

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Seeing the familiar transparent text floating in the air, and the heavenly ding of notifications. Hannya was overjoyed.

    ¡®A System! Well, sorta. But still!¡¯

    The Quantifier had no quest tabs, no text to speech, and there was no store, but Hannya didn¡¯t care. She was a devil! She only needed a tool to help measure her own growth, so this was perfect for her.

    ¡®Now the moment of truth.¡¯

    Not caring about the other party, she stood up haughtily, pointed to the air, and shouted.

    ¡°Status!¡±

    [

    Name: Hannya 6th Luxuria

    True Name: (?)

    Lv: 1 - Young Devil

    Age: 12

    *NAA - Normal Awakened Average - at current level

    MP: 500/500 - (NAA: 100/100)

    CHI: 400/400 - (NAA: 100/100)

    STR: 25 - C-

    DEX: 50 - B-

    INT: 70 - B+

    END: 25 - C-

    CHA: 45 - C+

    CHM: 90 - A+

    LCK: 5 - E - (Favored)

    Bloodline: 6 Star Heart Devil(Mythical awakened)(Awakening¡­)

    Wishes: 1(-5)

    Devil Aspects: 4

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil eyes: (Unawakened)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil heart: (Unawakened)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil Physique: (Unawakened)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil Knowledge: (Locked)</li>

    </ul>

    Potential: SS

    Innate Abilities(Passive): Subtle Charm(S), Danger Sense(C)

    Innate Abilities(Active): Method Actor(S), Devil¡¯s Whisper(B), Hasty Retreat(E - Growth), Vicious Strike(A), Devilish Pose(EX)

    Learned Abilities(Passive): Enduring Will(F - Growth), Cold Reading(C)

    Learned Abilities(Active): NONE

    Boons: Quantifier,(??? - missing information)

    Curses: Greed¡¯s Mark, (??? - missing information)

    ]

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Left was amused by the little girl''s excitement by his master''s boon. He inexplicably felt a sense of pride in the gift he previously attempted to double dip with.

    ¡®Ah well, I did promise a compensation boon, maybe I could also¡­¡¯

    He froze, incredulity flashed in his big eye. Why was he even considering giving TWO boons to a baby devil? On top of that a shameless one!

    He looked back at the young devil and his eye became bloodshot.

    She was no longer pointing in the air in excitement; she was staring into the empty air with black lines on her face.

    ¡°Is this some kinda joke?¡± she said.

    ¡®I Knew it! Devils are never satisfied! One look at her stats and she wants more!¡¯

    Left felt like he would pass out from anger. How could someone be so ungrateful! His Master had given this to her!

    ¡°Hey wazowski, can you see this?¡±

    Hannya pointed to the empty air, Left assumed she meant her status screen. He ignored what he assumed to be some childish insult and answered.

    ¡°I could if I wanted to, but I dare not, The master gave you that, so it is for your eyes only.¡±

    He then added ¡°That goes for the ones in Neel as well.¡±

    ¡°So no one else can see my status?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Left said curtly, he did not explain that his Master had allowed this function due to her mark.

    ¡°Can I see others?¡±

    ¡°Of Course, you don¡¯t technically have a system. It is a divine boon from a high god, and its ability is to quantify things, therefore everything you see, touch, or hear, everything will be labeled for you. As long as you will it.¡±

    ¡°I see, then that''s perfect.¡± Hannya smiled. At least that¡¯s an advantage. She knew appraisal existed in this world, and some of the Heroes loved to abuse it to get ahead.

    Hannya looked at Left, a newfound gleam in her eye.

    ¡®He really is useful.¡¯

    She had realized that he had already forgotten the deal he had prepared for the second she began to ask questions, her one freebie already forgotten. Since she was in a good enough mood, she decided to hear a couple of scand- secrets of the world for a while with him.

    She walked back to her seat and sat down.

    ¡°Enough about me, let''s talk about whatever you want to talk about for our last 60 minutes buddy.¡±

    Hearing Hannya¡¯s words, Left was overjoyed. He dared not waste anymore time, he had to cram all the drama happenings on Neel in a mere 60 minutes! Painfully unaware they had made no such deal nor time limit.

    With a ¡®System¡¯, the timeline, and Vainglory¡¯s whereabouts. Hannya began to brew her plan of success, while Left chatted away about things that meant nothing to her.

 Chapter 7: The Unorthodox Path

    ZING

    When Hannya returned from the in-between worlds, she let out a heavy sigh.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t learn a single useful secret from that guy.¡¯

    The 60 minute gossip session with Left Direction was as she expected. All he spoke about was lovers. Lovers running away with each other, lovers betraying one another for power or pleasure, and lovers dying for one another.

    It gave her the shivers. Why? Because it was from the perspective of Left. Not his opinion or speculation, his first hand eye witness account.

    ¡®Indeed, he¡¯s just a voyeur.¡¯

    Hannya was just glad that guy was now locked up in the in-between worlds, she would not feel at ease knowing that eye could be around every corner, watching and gossiping to Devils knows who.

    Although Left acted exactly like the guys from her world, chatty and gossipy. She realized she had been ignoring a few things. The fact that this was indeed a fantasy medieval reverse world.

    Guys could chase around women and have no real consequences. But women on the other hand had to be pure and deferential to such actions. Men dominated this world and women were seemingly cattle for selling and breeding under normal circumstances.

    Even in her old world it wasn¡¯t this bad, sure, they had aspects of a matriarchy, but at least men had rights and choices in their lives. The book conveniently left out such a brutal atmosphere.

    She already tasted powerlessness once since she got here, so she knew if she ran into someone that had malicious intent and overwhelming power, things would turn south very soon.

    Her scalp became chilly at the thought, she could already sense it deep in her heart. If she was too weak when encountering a foe, death would most likely be the last choice made for her.

    She had no interest in becoming a slave getting passed around or a prisoner of some uppity being forming a harem.

    ¡®Disgusting, no one else would do, only the cold handsome for this devil.¡¯

    Hannya was an elitist through and through, who was better than the ultimate devil as her partner?

    ¡®Being in a reverse world might not be so bad, given the logic, couldn¡¯t I just easily seduce him with my body?¡¯

    She patted her flat chest, resulting in a dull thump rather than the exaggerated boing she wished for.

    ¡°.....¡±

    Well, she still had time to grow. No matter the dimension, obviously big breasts will always be the world¡¯s holy currency. But regardless, she tried to look at the bright side of things. She figured she had an advantage when it came to understanding the men of this world. A complement here, a gift there, and all would be but a formality afterwards.

    ¡°Kihyuk kihyuk!¡± the creature let out a strange laugh as she rubbed her hands together, a predatory light flashing in her pink eyes.

    But then a chilling thought occurred to her.

    Hannya herself never wanted a harem in the first place, so that was fine, but what if the world corrupted Vainglory? What if his dreams were to have a harem of women?

    With his absolute perfection, such suggestions could have passed his ears many times in this world.

    ¡®Would this fucker cuck me?¡¯

    She shook her head.

    ¡®No, it¡¯s god Vainglory, his loyalty unshakeable, and his purity divine! He would only accept me and me alone!... and if others approach¡­¡¯

    Her eyes became deep as her irises began to slowly spin.

    As the creep was getting ahead of herself, she pulled up her system.

    ¡®And this¡­¡¯

    Distracted by the semi transparent screen before her, Hannya looked at her status and abilities again.

    High ranking potential, high base stats, and a medley of skills. A true boss template. But¡­

    [

    Innate Abilities(Passive): Subtle Charm(S), Danger Sense(C)

    Innate Abilities(Active): Method Actor(S), Devil¡¯s Whisper(B), Hasty Retreat(E - Growth), Vicious Strike(A), Devilish Pose(EX)

    Learned Abilities(Passive): Enduring Will(F - Growth), Cold Reading(C)

    Learned Abilities(Active): NONE

    ]

    ¡®Aren¡¯t these really only good for picking up my man? Where¡¯s my {Meteor fist}!? ¡¯

    Hannya felt many of these skills wouldn¡¯t really help her in combat or getting stronger¡­

    ~~~

    Method Actor(S): You were born to act! Your face is a mask of the emotion you choose, your words can sell water to fish, and your actions tell the story you want your viewers to hear. Replicate the actions, voice, and personalities of others based on your memory.

    Note: Your acting may be good, but how are you going to deal with those horns?

    Subtle Charm(S): Your body is filled to the brim with grace and charm! People view your graceful and ungraceful actions in a positive light.

    Note: Others might not mind your action, but you¡¯ll still cringe in your heart.

    Danger Sense(C): You can sense incoming danger! Well¡­generally.

    Note: You would die to mid level assassins easily, but not a charging bull.

    Devil¡¯s Whisper(B): The unique mana in your voice can place suggestions in one''s mind, if your charm is high enough, the suggestions can even make people take actions that would be out of character for them.

    Note: This ability will not activate while the target¡¯s guard is raised.

    Hasty Retreat(E - Growth): Weaklings flee the best! Your unique constitution allows you to disappear in a puff of smoke and reappear some distance away.

    Note: Careful, this ability is useless in open areas!

    Vicious strike(A): Your devil body instinctively knows when to go for the kill! Strike a target when they least expect, where they least expect.

    Note: Speed and damage is based on Dexterity.

    Devilish Pose(EX): Mutated from Intimidating aura(S) + Subtle Charm(S) + 6 star Heart Devil, Your cuteness has touched the heart of the Platform of Chaos, thus, twice a day, you have the ability to shake the hearts of the most hardened soldiers and the wildest of beasts, the ultimate defense mechanism! Strike a pose to warm their hearts, as fate itself will protect you at all costs! Hostile target hesitates in making violent or malicious actions, duration depends on charm. On friendly targets, the target might even give you gifts!

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Note: How is this even fair?

    Enduring Will(F - Growth): You felt the pressure and killing intent of a high level entity and survived! Granted you weren¡¯t the target, but a win is a win. Your body has adapted slightly to low amounts of this pressure.

    Note: He probably feels really embarrassed about that.

    Cold Reading(C): By conversing with featureless entities for extended periods of time your bloodline has adapted to reading their subtle emotions better. The better you understand them, the easier they are to manipulate!

    Note: This one¡¯s kinda dark, but ok.

    ~~~

    After looking them over again. Hannya closed her status screen.

    ¡®It seems my bloodline is focused around charm spells, infiltration, and hit and run tactics.¡¯

    Hannya knew there was no ¡®Hannya¡¯ in the story, nor was there an extra with the heart devil blood. The closest thing that came to her branch of bloodline were the love devils, another family of the Luxuria branch of devils. So the path she would carve was uncharted territory.

    The love devils were not malicious devils, but they were portrayed as antagonists in the novel.Their arts are more suited to being spies, using borrowed blades by charming them and causing all sorts of chaos.

    In the book, they and two other devil families followed a half demon half devil hybrid named Shela. She promised them portions of greed''s territory in Neel when she marched on Hellnia, after the gates opened once again.

    Shela was portrayed more as an anti-hero in the novel, she set fire to half of Central Neel in order to free her demon brethren.

    Free them from what you ask? Slavery of course. The second the gates of Hellnia were destroyed, the human territories hunted, slaughtered, and enslaved anything that looked demonic.

    For what reason you ask? Just in case.

    After 666 years, when the gates reopened Shela found her family had long since been slaughtered and her father a wrath devil picked apart in the ruins of her family home.

    That was the day her devil blood awakened. And her cold wrath began to bubble up.

    ¡°Hm..maybe I should join her cause? She could be a good ally, she does kill two of the 14th generation hero party, that says a lot about her talent. Plus..¡±

    Hannya was incensed just thinking about how she let that little bitch Damien go only to get killed by him in the end.

    ¡®That guy really is an eye sore.¡¯

    Hannya sat down on one of the dining tables and looked at the still statue of Gula.

    When Hannya returned, Gula¡¯s presence had long since vanished from this temple.

    It seems she had other business to attend to. Hannya walked up to the statue and gave her a closer look.

    ¡°Well, she really is beautiful.¡±

    Hannya wondered what the world''s beauty standards were. She didn''t know if her charm was higher than normal or not for a devil, but if her devil blood focused charm, she needed to understand the ins and outs of such a stat.

    Of course she would also be learning a {meteor fist}, but it seems the unorthodox path is needed to achieve that.

    She needed to learn arts that gave her higher combat capabilities without ignoring her charm abilities.

    Luckily she knew of a place in hellnia that offered such opportunities.

    The Dream Knights.

    A clan of charm and night demons led by a Dream Devil that defend a mountain range that houses a large dream fissure.

    The Devil of the hazy mountain, Baku the 3rd Acedia, better known as Baku the dream eater.

    Though not her first choice, now that she knew her blood will most likely awaken towards the path of manipulation. Baku was the best path forward.

    ¡°Well, the dream knights are still pretty cool hehe.¡±

    The only issue was Baku¡­

    She shook her head of those thoughts, now wasn¡¯t the time to get ahead of herself.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have the time to think of the issues. I can only push forward! My perfect being is waiting for my timely arrival!¡±

    While Hannya decided to ¡®not get ahead of herself¡¯ and sink deeper in delusion, she noticed in the corner of her eye a folded piece of paper sitting on the edge of the Gula statues lap.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    She walked over and picked it up.

    Upon opening it up and reading the contents, Hannya couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    [

    Dear little sister,

    Firstly I¡¯d like to wish you a happy birthday and give my warmest welcome. I apologize for not showing myself sooner but you were so cute and lively, I did not wish to scare you off with my abrupt presence. I mean you no harm.

    I am the Devil of this temple, and would like to formally invite you to a welcoming feast hosted in my grand temple located in Sweet Oasis.

    This feast will take place 3 years from today, the first Landsday of new calendar year 667.

    I will offer a gift for your attendance, no contracts and free of charge. I do wish you will make it.

    Attached is a map of the current domains of Hellnia and marked is the location of Sweet Oasis, consider it my goodwill. Good luck little one, I hope you survive and grow well.

    Sincerely, Queen of feast, 1st Gula.

    P.S. I¡¯m aware of the awakening of your ancestral knowledge but be wary, since the disconnection from Neel and the devils spire due to a planar severance, the information and etiquette of devils these days have not been updated, honor amongst devils have lost its meaning. I would advise against making contracts with kin offering wordy deals. Especially a greed devil.

    ]

    Hannya appreciated Gula¡¯s gesture and invitation, she wrote it in a way that did not pressure a newborn devil that only relied on their outdated knowledge of the world, she offered incentive to attend the meet up, and she gave a decent amount of time for a devil to plan accordingly, three years is the average time for a young devil evolution, leaving room to assess risk. An invitation a devil had no reason to refuse.

    What¡¯s more, even though Hannya was aware of the types of devils that lived in this era, Gula did not know that, yet she still took the effort of advising her about contracts and the severance of the spires connection.

    ¡®It seems Gula is not as callous as I originally thought.¡¯

    Hannya pondered, sure she had left her in a cave temple with no protection and a tablecloth for garments, but when thinking about it, had Gula been as callous as Hannya assumed, she would not have fallen for the trap set up for her. Gula¡¯s death had been from helping a dopey but sweet human girl named Renna.

    Renna, not knowing the help she thought she needed was just a fabrication by the ¡®Hero¡¯ Damien, asked Gula for assistance, and Gula had agreed and taken action herself. A choice out of character for someone supposedly so callous.

    ¡®Was I focused so much on Vainglory that I overlooked hidden meanings of others'' actions in the story?¡¯

    Hannya considered such an angle, but she didn¡¯t regret it, it¡¯s Vainglory. She should revisit her memories of the events more thoroughly when she had more down time.

    ¡°But for now..¡± She took the note and map and began to walk towards the grand doors at the end of the temple hall. ¡°...I need to get a lay of the land outside this musky cave.¡±

    She had been underground long enough, she had all the tools she needed to take action, and she needed to grow as fast as possible. Sitting here in the temple would do her no good.

    As she pushed open the entrance doors with a bit of effort, she took one last glance at the statue of Gula at the center of the place.

    ¡®Perhaps gaining her as an ally isn¡¯t completely out of the question.¡¯

    With that thought in mind, a young devil finally stepped out into this new, vast world, ready to meet her challenges head on with excitement and determination.

    ~~~

    Far above the skies of Neel, a hooded entity silently watched the little girl exit the temple, passing through the barriers of protection and into the caves filled with magical beasts and ferocious monsters.

    The entity sipped his tea, curious about how the little one would handle the road ahead of her, would she overcome the challenges she would encounter in this cave rife with dangers for a young devil like her and grow, or would she succumb to despair and lose her will to change the future he hoped for on her first steps to a path to greatness.

    The observer could no longer help her on her road ahead. He can now only hope for her success, the taste of his beverage depended on it! Who knows what the taste will be like if she no longer pursues her current goal, or worse, dies along the way.

    The entity shivered at the thought, he could no longer go back to the taste he had before.

    The older devil might have been confident of the little one''s success to leave the underground cave system, but the observer could see it all clearly. Though the territory was no longer under Gula¡¯s control. The temple was untouched, pristine even. The caves had no devils or demons wandering around leisurely, and that was for a reason. And that reason had nothing to do with the protection ward surrounding Gula¡¯s temple.

    ¡°Fight hard little one, your spawn point is a little harder, but it¡¯s better than dealing with the more unsavory devils of this era so early on.¡± The entity mused as he gazed from his glass dome in the sky.

    He took another sip from his cup.

    ¡®Delicious.¡¯

 Chapter 8: Torture

    In a dark and damp tunnel of unknown location, within the near pitch black surroundings, a little girl no older than 12, walked at a steady pace.

    Her short pink hair swayed as she looked at her surroundings curiously. Her small black horns rotated left and right as she eyed the tunnel she walked through wall to wall.

    Though her delicate face showed no prominent emotion, and her steps were measured and determined, a small place in her heart was chilled with unease.

    She had been walking in pitch black darkness for what felt like hours, maybe days, yet she had not seen a single indicator of an exit to this place, heck, she had not even seen a fork in the road.

    But that was just a small portion of her unease, what jarred her the most was the feeling she got the second she stepped past the threshold of the feasting temple. The warm and safe feeling fueling her resolve had vanished the second she left, replaced by a cold and hostile air.

    Hannya¡¯s instincts could feel it the further away she got from the temple. The ethereal protection that had shrouded her was slowly dissipating.

    She took a deep breath. She had to just keep going, she was aware there could be dangers ahead, but she couldn¡¯t stop here, she had to find an exit.

    As she walked she continued to gaze around. Even in the pitch black darkness, she could see as well as she would in the daylight, which only made the road she was walking down all the more eerie.

    The tunnel, for the past hours, had been a straight line forward, no turns, no hideaways, even the walls lacked a single indent. The large tunnel had clearly been artificially made.

    ¡®I wonder how Gula did such a thing?¡¯

    To distract herself from her rising nerves, she began to think about why Gula would put such a temple so deep underground. Were there demons that lived so deeply underground? Perhaps she contracted with magic beasts as well?

    Gula¡¯s contracts were always rather strange in the novel, she would be willing to contract with anything that asked for food. As long as the contractee ate the food provided by Gula, she would receive desire. This world''s exp for devils in a sense. Sure, one could get stronger just by training, but why do that when you are a race that just levels up with people''s desires?

    ¡®Gula¡¯s skill set really is cheating.¡¯

    One of her abilities is to convert mana in the air to something edible to the masses. Essentially making her a walking restaurant, creating dishes seemingly from thin air. Of course, the food isn¡¯t really there. The steak you are eating really isn¡¯t a steak, but if you can¡¯t tell, does it really matter?

    After thinking about Gula¡¯s [All shall eat] ability, Hannya realized she hadn¡¯t eaten anything since she arrived here. However, she felt fine.

    ¡®Do devils even need to eat?¡¯

    She didn¡¯t remember a time in the novel where a devil starved to death, so it was probably ok, right?

    As she successfully distracted herself, she failed to notice the increasing quantity of peculiar silky strands laid on the edges of the path she was walking on, as well as the dog sized creature stuck to the ceiling above her slowly opening its eight red eyes.

    As Hannya walked she began to feel a strange sticky substance under her feet. Startled, she broke from her thoughts and looked down at the floor.

    There she saw thick strands of white silky and sticky web on the floor below her. Her hair stood on end, the web alone was not the unnerving part, it was the quantity. The place was pitch black, but with her devil eyes she could see clearly and quite far ahead. As She followed the path ahead, a huge change could be seen before her.

    As the path continued, the webs massed over the floor, walls and ceiling, making the tunnel look completely white.

    She shivered at the sight, how did she end up in a place like this without her notice? She had only been distracted for a second!

    SCUTTLE

    Then her ears picked up something behind her. She whipped her head around, and her heart froze.

    In the darkness, on the ceiling of the tunnel, a spider the size of a large dog was staring at her with its eight eyes.

    As their eyes met, the spider let out an ear piercing shriek, like metal scratching metal, as the shriek thundered throughout the tunnel.

    SCREEEEEE

    Hannya, having lost her composure at the freakishly size spider and the shriek that bounced off the walls and slammed into her ear drums, decided to retreat.

    ¡®I-I have no weapon, I should find a place to train first before dealing with monsters like that. I can only tactically retreat for now.¡¯

    Such thoughts swirled in her mind as she swiftly ran deeper into the web filled tunnel, no way would she run back the way she came. The giant spider had already blocked that path.

    As she ran she could hear the scuttling of the spider behind her giving chase. The further she ran, the denser the webs became. They began to drape the tunnel like curtains, making her swipe her hands in front of her to keep her vision unobstructed.

    She could hear the spider closing in on her, cold sweat was soaking her back, and her heart was pounding in her chest. Her mind spun, trying to find a solution for escape, when all of a sudden her instincts spiked, her body sensed mortal danger.

    Without thinking, she used her escape ability, [Hasty Retreat]. In a puff of smoke, Hannya disappeared just moments before a razor sharp limb sliced through the air where her neck used to be.

    Confused by the absence of the familiar feeling of flesh slicing in two, the creature¡¯s eyes darted around for its prey, only to find her a few dozen feet away, panting heavily.

    Hannya took no time to admire her illusive skill, without a moment to lose; she activated it again. She continued to do so consecutively. As she desperately did so, the spider became further and further away, unable to chase the short range teleportation. When she finally stopped using it, Hannya slumped on the side of the webbed tunnel, exhausted.

    ¡°Haah..haah..haha, made it.¡±

    As her small frame began to heavily take in air, she pushed herself up and began to move as quickly as she could down the tunnel. She had to keep moving, who knows if that creature would catch up to her.

    She could feel her arms and legs shaking. Her body was tired already, she felt a little regret using her skill so much, even after the spider was well out of sight, she continued to use it. She felt dumb for losing her composure like that at the first sight of a monster. Such an act was cliche in books, yet she had done the same thing. She wanted to smack herself.

    ¡®What if I run into another? I''m nearly out of mana now.¡¯

    Hannya gritted her teeth at the thought, she felt helpless, that spider was too much to handle for her right now. She can only sneak around for now and find a way to escape this place before she gets discovered again. She picked up her pace, while she eyed her surroundings cautiously.

    As she moved swiftly and silently, Hannya finally found a change in the terrain, though the walls were still covered in webs, the path ahead now branched off into three directions.

    This small change gave Hannya a bit of relief. The psychological toll of walking on a single tunnel for hours on end with not much of a change had affected her more than she realized.

    She examined the tunnels before her. All three didn¡¯t seem to have any indicator of what lies within. She wasn¡¯t some sort of tracker, and all trails that would help possibly make a choice were covered in webs.

    She decided to take the left path, her intuition told her that was the way to the exit. The further down the path Hannya walked, the more she noticed the small webs draping from the ceiling like curtains were becoming less and less. She felt a surge of hope as she quickened her pace.

    But the further she went, the more her heart began to sink. The small mass of webs were now becoming bigger and thicker. By the time she came to a halt in the tunnel, the webs on the ground were as thick as ropes, overlapping one another, covering the whole area.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Intuition my ass.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help but hiss out those words. It was clear this led to something much bigger than she had already encountered. No way she was risking a run in with something like that. She decided to try the other tunnels. But before she could turn around¡­

    SCREEEEEE

    As her heart sank further, she noticed a dog sized spider blocking her path of retreat. It was not the one from before, this one was a lot smaller, with purple eyes and a golden pattern on its back.

    But the spider was odd, unlike the last one, It didn¡¯t move. It just stood there, its eyes brimming with something close to malice and amusement. Hannya could see it clearly. With her [Cold Reading], Hannya could tell this spider was intelligent, and it was trying to toy with her.

    Hannya felt her heart fill with rage and indignance. She understood, It wanted her to run deeper into the direction she was going. Whatever was down there would only make her despair when she arrived.

    She clenched her teeth ¡°As if I¡¯d let you mess with me!¡± With her anger suppressing her fear, she charged towards the spider with reckless abandon. Facing this small one was better than finding out what lay further.

    She swung her fist at the spider with surprising speed and strength, earning a large crack to come from its hard carapace.

    SCREEEEEE

    The spider wailed in pain as it flew back and crashed into the wall behind it.

    ¡°You dare mock me!¡± She continued her assault, rushing towards the spider, her confidence bolstered by her initial attack.

    But the spider did something Hannya had not expected. Using the momentum of the wall behind it, it charged back at her at abnormal speeds, deftly ducking her cross and biting into her right shoulder with precision.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± She immediately felt a searing pain on her shoulder. In her panic, she slammed her body against the wall, making a small crater with her momentum, destroying the spider''s armor completely and crushing the creature in the process.

    ¡°Haaah haaah, b-bastard.¡± She said on shaky legs, she had won, but the pain she felt on her shoulder didn¡¯t subside, even when she saw the wound visibly healing. If anything, the pain began to spread through her body.

    ¡°I-I just¡­need to rest a little.¡± After saying that, her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground.

    DING

    She heard the notification bell ring in her mind as she laid there. She figured it was a level up or something, but she was more concerned about how her body was beginning to feel weaker by the second. Her head was beginning to feel light, and she was beginning to feel her arms and legs growing numb as time went on.

    She struggled to lean against the nearby wall. Covered in spider blood, she checked her notification. After reading it, she felt her stomach churn.

    [

    Debuff: Paralysis - Your body has been infected with huge doses of a high level paralytic.

    Duration: 12 hours

    Passive activated: Supreme Devil Blood - Your supreme blood adapts to all.

    Adaptation time: 3 hours

    ]

    She began to panic more reading that. It was good she could adapt to the poison, but she couldn¡¯t afford three hours. She shook herself from those thoughts and focused on the positive. Just three hours.

    ¡°J-just¡­T-three¡­maybe¡­lucky.¡± as her mouth started to become numb, and her body unresponsive, she noticed something in the corner of her eye.

    She could no longer turn her head, so she shifted her eyes to the end of the tunnel. She then fully despaired.

    At the end of the tunnel where she came from. Hundreds of glowing red eyes were creeping towards her. She knew what those eyes were, they were all spiders.

    Silently crawling on the ceiling, the walls, the floor. All leisurely approaching her, as if this outcome was to be expected. It seems the shout from earlier had alerted the rest of the local clutter.

    As they came into view and surrounded her. Hannya could see the contempt and ridicule in their eyes. They circled around her, a cruel dance, revelling over her defeat.

    Their actions were clear. ¡®A mere devil dares come to our territory?¡¯

    As the spiders danced around Hannya, a smaller purple spider with a golden pattern on its back stepped forward. The others seemed to make way for it, as if this one was a leader amongst them.

    It locked eyes with Hannya for a while. And then, with a sneer, it plunged one of its sharp forelegs into the devil girl''s stomach.

    Hannya could only feel the searing pain, her mind went white at the pure agony she felt having been impaled in the stomach.

    The spider twisted its limb with cruelty as it pulled it out of the wound, taking chunks of her intestine along with it.

    Hannya coughed up blood, her fear and despair reaching its peak. She realized she could not feel her body, but she could feel the pain. And the spider had no intention of ending her life.

    As if on cue, the spiders began to screech, and one by one, began to take bites from Hannya¡¯s small body. She wanted to scream, but the fast acting poison stopped any muscle in her body from moving.

    CRUNCH CRUNCH

    SPLASH SPLASH

    Chunks of her flesh flew, her clothes ripped to shreds, black blood splashed against the walls and floor. She could only watch and agonize as more of her bones became increasingly visible. Her ears ringing and her mind in desperate chaos as her body began to slowly vanish as the beasts feasted ravenously.

    CRUNCH CRUNCH

    SPLASH SPLASH

    The spiders continued to eat happily, oblivious to the torture they were casually inflicting. Every bite was rationed, and every stab deliberate. They would not kill her, they were aware of the creatures above ground. The ones with black eyes can heal fast as long as the head stays. And this one healed by the second!

    CRUNCH CRUNCH

    SPLASH SPLASH

    They would be able to feast on her for ages if they ate slowly and kept her immobile.

    Hannya, trying hard to keep her mind from crumbling by the constant pain brought to her by the spiders, understood their intentions. She wanted to find a way out, the pain was so unbearable she wanted to die, but the spiders wouldn¡¯t allow it. She wished for freedom.

    ¡®W-wish..I c-can escape..¡¯

    A flicker of hope shone in her eyes.

    She had lost her ability to speak due to the paralytic, and the spiders must think adding new dose after new dose would keep her here, but¡­

    Her half lidded eyes glanced at the transparent screen in front of her, as the spiders continued to feast on her flesh. Her hope wavered at the sight.

    [

    Adaptation time: 3 hours

    ]

    ¡®3 hours.¡¯ How could she endure that long?

    The pain was unbearable, how could anyone-

    But then, through the pain, her mind flashed with a being that had endured a pain similar to this, if not worse for 600 years already. In a darkness similar to this, most likely despairing the same as this.

    Trying to keep her thoughts from the deafening pain and screeching monsters, Hannya¡¯s mind closed within itself, thinking of the novel she read day and night, the research she had done, and the characters she followed. Only one endured such a torture for so long and kept their sanity, until his soul was fractured in Greeds dungeon.

    She remembered the novel''s description of his circumstances. Tossed into an endless pitch black abyss, restrained by magitech and holy sigils sapping his energy, silenced by blood curses, and impaled by staves and thorns from a world tree branch, constantly shifting and tearing through his muscles.

    The irises of the young devil began to spin slowly thinking this. Her eyes glowing subtly.

    Vainglory was enduring all of that, enduring for a chance, enduring for freedom, enduring for her.

    Compared to that, her pain was nothing. If anything, wasn¡¯t this shared torture bringing them closer together?

    Her eyes glowed a bit brighter. A small spiral began to subtly form in her pupils.

    ¡®Kikiki, aren¡¯t our hearts practically touching right now?¡¯

    Hannya¡¯s fear and despair had already been forgotten. Replaced by a twisted joy and gratitude as she swept her gaze across the savage spiders tearing at her flesh.

    To gain such experience, Vainglory would surely appreciate such an understanding partner.

    But a cold light in her eye soon followed. The experience granted her perspective, but these animals were clearly planning on keeping her here well past her newfound enlightenment.

    ¡®They overstep their authority.¡¯

    Thinking of these bugs getting in her way. Wasting her precious time. Their precious time.

    Her eyes began to spin a little faster at the thought.

    Hannya felt like laughing at her fear of such creatures, these vermin couldn¡¯t even speak properly. Yet they dare block her way, her hatred rising rapidly.

    ¡®Kikiki, you wish to take up our time together? Sure¡­¡¯

    Hannya gazed at the leader, now standing in the back, its eyes filled with glee.

    Her eyes glowed brighter as her lips curled up slightly

    ¡®...Kihee, but the price for my enlightenment will now be the lives of your miserable race...¡¯

    As their eyes met once again, the spider was confused, it saw no despair or fear coming from the girl. Her eyes showed something¡­more unsettling.

    ¡®It¡¯s a deal.¡¯ She thought happily.

    The spider couldn¡¯t tell what the expression was, but if it had the knowledge, it would recognize her eyes as one of cheerful malice.

    The eyes of a devil.

    DING

    [Achievement: Heart Trial 1 - Torture(Completed)]

 Chapter 9: Deviléˆ¥æªš First Genocide

    Observatory. High above Hellnia.

    Right Direction peered down at the plane below as she stood beside her master. She had just come back from the abyss in Hellnia after fulfilling her task. When she returned, she realized her Master was observing the young devil they met two days ago.

    She glanced at her master. It took all her effort to hold in a scoff. The observer sat there, leaning back comfortably in a Lazy boy, peering down at the plane with his nose. The teacup he usually drank from was replaced with a large plastic big gulp container, sitting securely in the cup holder of his new chair.

    GULP GULP GULP GULP

    As he sat leisurely, he took large swigs of his beverage through a crazy straw that twisted and turned all the way to his resting head.

    Right Direction tactfully turned away from the display, not wanting to see more. It was clear her master had peeked at the girls world once again and came back with souvenirs, an action typically forbidden, but who would scold him over such a small thing in this era?

    She shook her head and focused her vision on the valley below, specifically, the tunnels underneath.

    A few miles below the surface, she could see the little devil Hannya, seemingly immobilized within the eating den of hundreds of dread spiders.

    They paid no heed to her, every once in a while, they would take a bite or two, stab a place on her body, and go back to resting in a corner of the large cave. The living quarters of the spiders were all but deserted at this point, as they crammed in the space, unwilling to leave their endless meal.

    Hannya on the other hand, just laid there. Her eyes fixed to the ceiling, seemingly vegetated.

    Right Direction sighed, maybe it was too much to expect from a demon coming from a magicless and warless planet to turn into the warrior her master required.

    ¡°Looks like she¡¯s already fallen, how long has she been like this?¡± Right asked.

    ¡°Gulp, mmm¡­ about 12 hours? Gulp Gulp¡± The observer said casually as he gulped down his beverage.

    Right scowled at the reply. That girl had supreme devil blood, toxins in her body should have already granted her immunity by now, she should be able to at least wish for an escape at this point! So what¡¯s this all about? Had she already lost her will to live?

    ¡®Useless!¡¯ She then turned to her master.

    ¡°How can you watch this? It¡¯s clear she¡¯s lost her will, to dread spiders no less, shouldn¡¯t we be making moves to plan C at this point? Why waste the time?¡±

    But the Observer just shook his finger. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk.¡± He tilted his head on the headrest to get a better look at Right. He pointed at the little devil.

    ¡°Are those the eyes of someone that¡¯s lost the will to live?¡±

    Right turned her attention back to the girl, after looking closer, she was startled.

    The little devils eyes didn¡¯t seem to be despairing in the slightest, she seemed completely at ease, even a little¡­happy?

    ¡°...I-is she sick?¡± Right couldn¡¯t help but mutter.

    ¡°Hahaha! Gulp¡± The Observer laughed at his subordinates reaction, he knew she would say that. As he laughed and drank, he pulled the side handle of his new Lazy Boy Pinnacle II XL and reclined it even more, letting out a satisfied sigh.

    ¡°Right, you really should watch devils more often. Had you studied properly, you wouldn¡¯t be so surprised.¡± The observer said, the perfect image of a scholar educating his junior. He pushed the crazy straw off his cheek as he looked at her sternly.

    Right was aggrieved at those words. ¡°But Hannya isn¡¯t even a real-¡±

    ¡°Real Devil?¡± The observer cut her off. He raised a brow. ¡°Do you look down on the body of a devil that much? Only a devil''s soul can reside in a devil''s body. They are not meat skins to be traded like the low level species. The chaos law won''t allow it.¡±

    He shook his head at his subordinates'' shallow thinking. Did she really think a small demon soul could control such a sophisticated vessel? No. The vessel will feed the soul until it is sufficiently sized to match the body and mind of such beings. That demon soul is but a seed, soon it will sprout into something much more beautiful.

    Hearing her Master''s rebuke, Right felt indignant. She muttered. ¡°Well, Gormar Vavune seemed to have succeeded.¡±

    At those words, the Observer gazed at Right, his eyes becoming deep. ¡°Right. Cardinal. Direction.¡±

    Right shrunk back at hearing her full name, she knew she was in for it now. She scolded herself in her mind for being so brazen. She had exposed herself!

    The observer leaned forward to her, the lazy boy''s leg rest lowering slightly. ¡°I will not bother with the secrets you keep, that is your right, one I''ve given to you.¡± He began, his voice low and serious. ¡° But peering into the future is your brother''s authority and his alone.¡±

    Right lowered her eye and nodded meekly.

    The observer leaned back in his chair, his leg rest back in a more comfortable position.

    ¡°Do not speak of the mad elf scientist or his abomination of an experiment again.¡± He said

    ¡°Y-yes sir.¡±

    ¡°And if I catch you peering into the future and touch my bottom line once more, I¡¯ll erase you.¡±

    The eye shook at those words, but she nodded nonetheless.

    ¡°Good.¡± the Observer said as he took another delightful swig from his big gulp.

    ¡°Ah! Ah! It¡¯s starting! Almost missed it!¡± As he leaned back, the observer noticed the change in the air down in the dread spider den.

    Curious as well, the slightly shaken Right direction decided to heed her master''s warning and do her job properly. She looked on and saw little Hannya shift her eyes slightly.

    She then smiled, her irises spinning and glowing faintly.

    She then mouthed a few words and slowly stretched her arms out to the sides.

    COUGH SNORT

    But Right''s concentration was distracted by her master choking on his beverage to the side. Right was confused, when had he ever choked on his beverage?

    ¡°Master, what''s wrong?¡± Right asked curiously.

    The Observer just waved his hand. ¡°Cough it¡¯s nothing, just what the little one said. Sheesh, too vicious.¡± The observer muttered that last part. Though he said those words, it was clear he was holding back his laughter.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Right tilted her head. ¡°What did she say? I can¡¯t read that far underground.¡±

    The Observer gave a sheepish smile. ¡°Well um¡­ cough, she said umm.. well, women and children first.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ~~~

    Dread spider feeding den. 1 minute earlier.

    Hannya laid there on the cold stone altar. She had been dragged here some time ago, to be shared amongst the colony. Since her healing ability was so potent, the spiders had chosen to make her the staple food of the collective. All spiders congregated in this room to eat whenever they were hungry.

    To her, it almost felt like they were holding a festival, eating and scuttling around happily, letting out low shrieks every now and then, as if holding casual conversations of the weather.

    ¡®Seems like they are having a grand old time.¡¯

    Hannya thought. Though it was a shame such a joyous day would soon end with their eradication, and they were none the wiser.

    ¡®A pity.¡¯

    She thought disdainfully. She had planned to just wish them all dead the second she regained her motor functions. However two things stopped her from doing so.

    First was the fact that using a wish on such low level beings just for genocide would be such a waste. Where would her face be if Vainglory asked after seeing her five stocked?

    She didn¡¯t understand why, but the thought of anyone seeing her missing a wish brought an instinct of humiliation a devil like her couldn¡¯t allow, especially in the presence of her betrothed.

    And secondly¡­

    Hannya looked at her status screen once more.

    ---

    [Logs]

    [Heart Trial 1: Torture - (Completed)]

    Your pain and despair has triggered your heart devil blood, resulting in a heart trial for awakening. Your physical pain has become mental pleasure knowing you are suffering for your beloved and your beloved is suffering for you. By denying your instincts to run, answering your soul''s despair with irrational vengeance and ruthless resolve, Awakening has been achieved.

    [Devil Physique is awakening¡­]

    [True Dream Body(S) unlocked]

    True Dream Body: Your physique has mutated from High Mana Affinity Body(A)(New) + Method Actor(S) + Hasty Retreat(E) + 6 Star Heart Devil. The devil core in your heart now houses a dream fissure, your blood now possess particles of dream mist, thus your raw mana can now produce illusions.

    Note: The body of your dreams, fancy.

    [Hasty Retreat has mutated with True Dream Body]

    [Acquired Misty Dance(C - Growth) ]

    Misty Dance: Dream mist is your friend! Your body can now produce, meld and flow freely through the enigmatic dream mist. Lethal damage will turn your body to mist!

    Note: A Mist Mist devil, what have you been eating? lol.

    [

    Debuff: Paralysis - Your body has been infected with huge doses of a high level paralytic.

    Duration: 0 seconds

    Passive activated: Supreme Devil Blood - Your supreme blood adapts to all.

    Adaptation time: 0 seconds

    ]

    [Passive Paralysis Immunity(Poison)(A) gained!]

    [Dread venom has entered your body!]

    [Immuned!]

    [Dread venom has entered your body!]

    [Immuned!]

    ¡­

    ¡­

    [Passive Pain Reduction(C) gained!]

    [Dread venom has entered your body!]

    [Immuned!]

    ¡­

    ¡­

    [A mutation is occurring¡­]

    [Mutation time: 0 seconds]

    [Misty Dance has mutated with Dread venom]

    [Dread Mist Steps(A - growth)]

    [A second mutation was triggered¡­]

    [Dread Mist Steps(A) + Vicious Strike(B) + 6 star Heart Devil has produced an exclusive curse!]

    [Acquired Heart Devil Curse: Waking Nightmare - Parasomnia]

    [Parasomnia requires evolution.]

    [Parasomnia temporarily shackled by bloodline limit.]

    ---

    Hannya read her past logs with keen interest. She had endured being eaten alive for 3 hours, ready to strike them all down the second she could speak again.

    But when she met the conditions of her awakening, her thoughts shifted to a possible counter attack with her new abilities, saving her stars.

    As she was thinking of ways to kill them all quickly, she received a prompt that a further mutation was manifesting and it would take another 9 hours. So, the rational and sane person she was, she decided to wait and see if it would help her in her quest for retribution.

    While waiting, the spiders had taken her to their feeding den and began to congregate, filling Hannya with joy. She no longer had to worry about hunting them down one by one, if she waited here, she could kill them all in one fell swoop.

    She was glad she had gotten a useful devil physique, it was perfect for her needs currently.

    She was curious about the curse she gained, but it seemed like she would have to go through her first evolution before she could test it out.

    ¡®Oh well, the dread mist coupled with my only attack skill should be enough to get rid of these vermin.¡¯

    She glanced at her newly acquired skill [Dread Mist Steps] and smiled.

    [Dread Mist Steps(A - Growth)]

    Dream Mist with a touch of malice. The dream mist you now produce is laced with dread venom. Targets in the range of your mist will now not only see illusions of your own making, but also become debuffed with [paralysis] if ingested for long periods of time, rendering them immobile.

    Note: Stay a while longer friends, hehe.

    She was also getting curious about who writes these notes at the end, but she pushed that curiosity to the back of her mind for now.

    ¡®Now is the time for vengeance and slaughter, men and children first kikiki.¡¯

    But her face became strange after saying that.

    ¡®If this is a reverse world, shouldn¡¯t the caretakers be the women creatures? Well whatever.¡¯

    ¡°Women and children first!¡± she shouted, startling the lazing spiders.

    Their meal shouldn¡¯t be talking. Wasn¡¯t the devil feast immobilized? But before they could understand what was going on, Hannya extended her hands and¡­.

    BOOSH

    Exploded into a huge mushroom cloud of billowing fog. The magnitude of the harmless blast instantly engulfed the feeding den.

    The spiders, still startled and now blind began to scatter and shriek haphazardly.

    SCREEEE

    SCREEEE

    SCREE-

    CRACK

    PUCHI

    ¡°Kyahahaha!¡±

    PUCHI PUCHI PUCHI

    ¡°JUDGMENT DAY HAS ARRIVED HERETICS! KAHAHA!¡±

    PUCHI CRACK PUCHI

    Hannya could feel her blood boil. She moved with a speed and grace she never knew she possessed. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, she moved in and out of the fog, disappearing and reappearing beside her next victim.

    As her body moved, her wounds healed at a rapid pace, her freshly replenished magic automatically assisting her crusade.

    The more she healed, the faster she became. The more she slaughtered, the more refined her movements became. Hannya¡¯s [Vicious Strike] filled her mind with information about the weak points of the beasts each time she struck one.

    With her hands in the shape of daggers, she plunged her hands between the openings of their hard shells with explosive motion. As she pulled her sharp nails out, devastating holes remained in the spider''s torsos and throats, expelling large amounts of viscus purple blood.

    But she didn¡¯t stop there, she aimed for whatever her instincts deemed weakest. She plunged her hands into large eye sockets, leg joints, even a few mouths with unmatched strength and speed.

    ¡®What an overwhelming skill hahaha! What was I so worried about earlier?¡¯

    She darted around and laughed with unhinged joy, her flushed face smiling maniacally, as her devil eyes darted from one spider to the next.

    The spiders, now overwhelmed with uncontrollable fear upon hearing anguished cries, getting splashed with their kins blood, and mangled corpses flying through the air, began to run frantically to the exits they remember.

    But as they moved, some noticed a sluggish feeling as their legs failed to listen as time went on. As a few exited safely into the tunnels outside, they felt hope, if they could just make it to the queen, they could report about the smoke monster killing their brethren!

    But the hope they had soon turned to despair.

    CRASH CRASH CRASH

    Spider after spider began to crash into one another. At first each one was confused, then dread set in. From the jolt of the crash their eyes witnessed the surroundings they were in change.

    The spiders realized they were not in the tunnels on the way to their queen. They never left the feeding den, and had run into a solid wall. They never reached the exit. They never traversed the tunnels. They never escaped.

    And now it was too late. One by one, the spiders began to slowly tumble to the ground, unable to move. They had been paralyzed by their own venom, they knew that, but the potency of the paralytic rivaled their queens, their natural resistance meant nothing!

    As the last spider fell, the cave became silent once more.

    The dense fog began to recede, as if being sucked into a vacuum, it began to converge at the center of the den. The paralyzed spiders watched in horror as the fog vanished, replaced with a small devil covered in purple blood, sitting atop the stone altar designated for food.

    As she wiped the sweat from her forehead, she scanned her surroundings.

    ¡°Damn, there''s still so many left.¡± Hannya was a little exasperated at the number, she had killed at least 100 but there were still more than twice that left.

    ¡°This won¡¯t do, I went all out and I only killed this many.¡± She could feel her lacking foundation. Even with superior strength and speed, had it not been for her abilities, she probably would have struggled to win against them all attacking her.

    ¡®I need proper training.¡¯ She knew the kind of monsters that lived in Hellnia, Beings that defeated hundreds with a flip of the palm and thousands with a swing of the sword.

    She didn¡¯t want to be a stepping stone boss, she wanted to be the final boss, no, the end game hidden boss.

    ¡®I should head for the dream knights as soon as possible.¡¯ She was thankful her memory was so good now, her map had been destroyed along with her clothes earlier, but she had already seen it, so she was good to go!

    ¡°But first..¡±

    She scanned the room of the remaining spiders, she would kill them all. As she looked at the helpless trash, her eyes locked onto one spider in particular. A purple eyed and golden backed spider.

    She knew by instinct that this was the one from before, the audacious one. The spider''s eyes were wide in fear as Hannya gazed at it with her glowing, spinning eyes.

    ¡°Heh.¡±

 Chapter 10: Unwavering Believer

    Observatory. High above Hellnia.

    Right watched as Hannya finished off the remaining dread spiders in the feeding den. The girl walked at a leisurely pace, wrapped in the skin of a golden backed dread spider, using a spider foreblade as a dagger to pierce the vitals of the ones still living.

    The eye was impressed with the little one''s display of power. It has been a long time since such a talent for slaughter has been seen in the devil''s younger generation. Killing a hundred dread spiders and incapacitating the other two hundred in such a short amount of time was not something most young devils were capable of.

    It was not just her quick learning in the utilization of her superior body, getting sharper with her movements and attacks as time went on, but the ruthlessness and cunning of her tactics in battle.

    ¡®Truly a tenacious and formidable child.¡¯ Right''s attitude towards Hannya had changed significantly after watching such a brutal display. She had assumed the new environment would prove too difficult for the former demon, living a life of peace and little conflict in her technologically superior world. But the transition was flawless, had she not known of her origins, she would have assumed a new prodigy had been born from the platform.

    ¡°Is this the result of the vessel adapting her like the Master mentioned?¡± she mumbled

    She wasn¡¯t too familiar with soul laws nor how they adhered to the chaos law for a devil¡¯s body, she could only speculate from her master''s words.

    The observer glanced at the floating eye beside him, but did not say anything. He had done his own research of the girl and her world after they found the mark the other day. After conducting his investigation and grabbing souvenirs, it was clear he needed to teach his subordinate a thing or two about doing background checks in the future¡­

    ¡®Well, too late now.¡¯ He shrugged in his mind. Besides, the little one was performing well and his beverage was divine, no need to worry his angsty subordinate any further. He knew his subordinate well, he had warned her of interfering, but as her creator, he was aware of her crippling compulsion for having things go according to plan.

    While her shameless master was sweeping more issues under the rug, Right turned and asked curiously.

    ¡°Master, are all young six stars this strong early on?¡± she questioned, most of the six stars she¡¯d seen were already evolved by the time of her birth, and the only other one she had witnessed in the past was apparently a ¡®special case¡¯, so her master had said.

    The observer nodded. ¡°They are. She¡¯s a bit physically weaker, but only compared to other six stars really.¡± He grabbed his chin, thinking of a better way to explain.

    ¡°Hmm, let''s go in terms of the [Quantifier]. A level 1 six star young devil can be compared to a level 15 demonic beast, and a level 15 demonic beast can be compared to a level 25 magical beast.¡± He stated.

    Right nodded, but then she had a question. ¡°Why did you compare her to beasts and not things like elves or humans?¡±

    The Observer suppressed a joke about what she was wearing, some eyes don¡¯t appreciate jokes about appearance, so he swiftly pivoted to a serious answer.

    ¡°Its hard to gauge strength with more sentient beings, depending on arts, abilities, and optimized control, a level 10 human can very well devastate a level 20 elf.¡±

    Right nodded once more, a newfound understanding in her red eye.

    While she was thinking, she noticed Hannya letting out a sigh and moving the bodies of the spiders strewn across the wide den towards the feeding altar in the center while lost in thought.

    ¡°Hm? She doesn¡¯t look too proud about her victory¡­could it be, she does not like killing? Regret maybe?¡± Right wondered out loud.

    The Observer, leaning back comfortably, let out a snort at that.

    ¡°Oh please, you saw how hot and bothered she was getting ripping out those creatures'' organs.¡±

    He replied, gulping down his drink lazily.

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, she did better than I expected with her first encounter, an enjoyable display, but she is most likely thinking the same as I am right now.¡±

    ¡°The same as you Master?¡± Right hovered to the side of The observer, curious about the meaning of his words.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± he began, shifting his head on the comfortable neck rest. He would never leave this seat. ¡°She knows the current path ahead of her is filled with creatures and entities that are far more formidable than these spiders, only their venom was a bother. Their poor intelligence and lacking fighting ability, coupled with her new unique physique¡¯s awakening gave her the victory, and she understands that.¡±

    ¡°I see, a good quality I suppose.¡± Right replied.

    ¡°It is, I¡¯m curious what she will choose to do to close the gap in power between her and the- huh?¡± The Observer stopped his words as he peered at the cave below strangely.

    Right, following his lead, looked over as well. What she saw was foreign to her. Hannya had stacked all the spider corpses onto the altar, and with their blood, began to draw sigils around them. When she finished, a complex array had been made, a circle containing a heptagram filled with circles and words written in ancient devilish glyphs.

    The eye frowned at the array, she understood the sacrificial patterns in some of the points, as well as the sigils for communication, but not the entire thing. This was not an array recorded in her masters library.

    The observer on the other hand began to laugh rather uncouthly.

    ¡°Hahaha she really is determined, she must have really liked my retelling of the young genius. Hahaha!¡±

    The Observer¡¯s obnoxious laugh made Right even more curious about the Array.

    ¡°What sort of array is that Master? It¡¯s not from your library.¡± It seems her master knew exactly what it did, she wondered why he found her actions so funny.

    ¡°Haha it isn¡¯t in the library because it was not yet completed, that array was a theoretical project formulated to directly ask for what would be considered ¡®temporary blessings¡¯ from devils, a form of risk free, convenient contracts. The devil that created this has yet to start her research on it. It seems little Hannya has completed it herself and plans to make contact with the young genius in the abyss.¡±

    The Observer stroked his chin as he watched with interest.

    Right direction could glean two things from her master''s words. First the array Hannya was using was completed by her, most likely a project she did while she was still a demon. Right was not aware of such writings in Hannya¡¯s blogs or community posts, meaning¡­

    ¡®She had other writings of theories pertaining to Neel that she had not made public.¡¯

    This complicated things even further. If she has theories they are not aware of, predicting her routes, and the subsequent end of her journey expanded to near unpredictable outcomes, on top of the fact she possessed the mark of madness, this was no longer a calculated risk. Aren¡¯t they just releasing a wild tiger into a glass house, hoping they would just break the useless things, then live comfortably?

    Right peeked at her master. Seeing how he showed no care for the implications and possible outcomes that came with it, she pushed that worry to the back of her head for now. Her job was not to interfere, her master had already warned her.

    The second piece of information her master revealed to her was the fact that Hannya had finished the array from the future, not the devil that started the research. Meaning, in the future, the devil in question would either run out of time due to the mana well severance or die before finishing it.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    She was interested in such a genius, advancements on the devil side have long since stagnated due to the current Devil aristocracy dominating the east of Hellnia.

    The west was a lawless and savage place where mud huts still reigned supreme.

    The south was led by singular powerhouses like the gluttonous Queen of feasts and the senile Dream Eater, their territories are relatively stable but they were not known for their intellectual populace.

    The north is monopolized by the greed devils and their lackeys, slaving demons and any devils they can get their hands on.

    With such places like this in Hellnia, a scientist with such an ability to push the times forward is a boon. Right felt it a pity not to keep an eye on such a person.

    ¡®I should ask the Master his thoughts on this later.¡¯ She considered it. Perhaps such a person would be useful as well.

    The Observer, keenly watching Hannya, was unaware of his subordinates'' thoughts of interference. As Hannya finished her drawing and began to bow in front of the circle and began to chant her incantations, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, amused.

    ¡°You want to see him that badly? Sadly it won¡¯t be that easy little one.¡±

    This little devil seems to have a few hidden tricks up her sleeve, he was enjoying this spectacle to the fullest. Though her actions to bend the rules to communicate with a devil imprisoned by sacred laws showed quite the ingenuity, he could see her plan would not fully succeed. But the thought process and applied skills were interesting to see. He wanted to see how far a devil from another world could go with the knowledge he bestowed. He could tell things would finally get interesting.

    ¡°Haha Gulp Gulp Gulp, I¡¯m curious how the young genius will react?¡±

    He shifted his gaze northwards, to the domain of greed. His eye sockets brimmed with playfulness as he peer deep into the endless abyss.

    ~~~

    Unknown location. Greed¡¯s endless Abyss.

    Within the total darkness, a place meant to house the treasures and riches of a singular being, had all been swept clean of its previous mountains of gold and priceless artifacts. The abyss has been empty for the past six hundred years now.

    Its purpose changed. A place once used to show off precious gems and decadent objects, now changed to a prison that needs no warden.

    The magic in the area made the abyss in a way that the depth had a limit but the length did not. One could walk in this place for years and see no indication of an endpoint, such was the unique magic of a archdevil. Greeds ability, [Deep Pocket] could house living and non-living beings alike in an endless expanse. One of his many abilities that made him formidable.

    But since his hasty retreat from Hellnia, Greed only had time to move his riches along with him, leaving behind his precious ¡®store house¡¯. So he decided to make use of it for his future plans.

    And part of his plan required a certain individual, with a certain power.

    Said individual sat in the deepest part of the abyss. His eyes were closed, while white glowing chains wrapped around him tightly. A red sigil surrounded the place he sat, constantly emanating an oppressive aura around him pressing down on his athletic yet thinning build.

    Silver stakes were pierced into his limbs and torso, repeatedly sending waves of destructive energy into his body in cycles. As the energy sent in pulses, energy returned to the stakes, repeating the process.

    Thorns from a blue tree branch that wrapped around his head like a crown and down his spine pierced into his mahogany skin, twisting in sharp angles the deeper they penetrated. Every few minutes, as if it were alive, would snake through the young devils broad back and out his chest at new places, ensuring his rapid healing process never gained any ground.

    Any onlooker would be sure such confinement would make any person writhe and scream in pain constantly. But the young devil had long since gotten used to such afflictions. He ignored the periodic discomfort and sat quietly.

    He had been here for so long, in such darkness, in such discomfort that time now felt alien. He did not know how long he had been there for, but he did not care. He would wait, as long as he needed to.

    A single opportunity, a single mistake.

    They would regret such a mistake dearly. The thought made him smile slightly. He was glad they looked down on him. Leaving him alive for some further purpose, or perhaps they truly feared another birth of a Vainglory. Only one can exist at a time, of course.

    Both reasons to him were foolish. Did they truly believe the phrase ¡®better the devil you know than the devil you don¡¯t¡¯?

    ¡°Kekeke.¡± he chuckled at the phrase.

    Does such a phrase apply to a Vainglory? The young devil knew the answer would disappoint his betrayers. He smiled wider, showing his white teeth and gold plated canines that shined faintly in the darkness.

    He felt a strange amount of energy today. As if the winds of change were blowing in his direction. As he thought of such nonsense, as if on cue...

    DING

    Vainglory¡¯s smile froze. He could recognize that sound anywhere. His impaled heart skipped a beat. When was the last time that sound popped into his head?

    ¡®...Log¡¯

    [

    Timed contract requested: An [Unwavering believer] has sacrificed [dread spiders x350] for a temporary boon from the contractor.

    Contractee: [Name blocked by Order law]

    Conditions: 3 hours of [Guiding hand] for [Dread Spider Queen] subjugation.

    Payment: 350 essence of Glory, 1 greater essence of Glory

    Message: [10.5k words blocked by Order law]

    Accept?: y/n

    Reply: [Reply blocked by Order Law]

    ]

    ¡­

    After reading the message, the young devil was at a loss for words. He had never seen a prompt like this before.

    Someone was offering him a temporary contract for a blessing from him?

    Questions began to flood his mind as he sat and observed the transparent panel in front of him.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably some sort of trap, maybe to test your willpower by sending you a bit of essence?¡±

    A cool and carefree voice beside him gave its thoughts.

    ¡°Unlikely, the contract is real. My opposition wouldn¡¯t dare give me a drop of essence. Such a risk goes against their current standards.¡± He answered.

    He gestured to the collection of binding tools continuously sapping the power from his body.

    ¡°Perhaps they consider contingencies?¡± The voice probed.

    ¡°Maybe, but what¡¯s the point of using a devil contract? Most of the information is blocked by the order law¡¯s silencing spell. Moreover, the contract seems to be bypassing some rules rather than working traditionally, thus why it showed up in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Greed could have a devil in his ranks with such capabilities.¡±

    ¡°Greed would never agree to such an arrangement, his fear and shrewdness wouldn¡¯t allow him to test the waters with something like this, even if I''m considerably weaker.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­you''re quite optimistic today Samael¡­ you don¡¯t really care if it¡¯s a trap do you? Too desperate for a sliver of hope that you¡¯d take the risk?¡±

    The voice asked. It could understand the young devils'' need for opportunity. He had been here for quite some time.

    ¡°Kekeke, maybe I am becoming desperate. Desperate for freedom, desperate for blood¡­¡±

    Vainglory shifted his gaze to the first line of the contract.

    ¡°...But something tells me this contract is genuine.¡± He muttered, a devious smile crossing his face as he read the first line again.

    [Timed contract requested: An [Unwavering believer] has sacrificed [dread spiders x350] for a temporary boon from the contractor.]

    ¡®Unwavering believer¡¯

    Such a title was written in the world¡¯s words. He had seen many titles when offering contracts, [New believer], [Strong believer], [Greedy believer], [False believer], the contract of [Glorious Vanity] attracts all types of individuals in search of power and worship. But he had never seen this one before.

    Many titles gradually change to [False believer] the second they taste the boost of strength and worship of others.

    The gods and devils could do many things, but they couldn¡¯t forge the word¡¯s of the world. He wondered what an Unwavering believer truly ment.

    His grey eyes slowly let out a golden glow, returning to their old color. The three circles intersecting his circular irises in a ¡®Y¡¯ formation slowly began to spin.

    ¡°Ho? You''re gonna accept? Haaaah¡­. I hope you know what you are doing, Samael.¡±

    Vainglory snorted at the voice, always the negative company.

    ¡°Your caution could very well lead to our death here as well. No guts, no glory.¡±

    The young devil grinned.

    ¡°You know it too, right?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ding

    [Offering accepted]

 Chapter 11: Hidden Boss finds Stepping Stone

    Hannya got up from the bloody cave floor and let out a tired sigh. She looked over at the piles of corpses and sigils written on the ground, forming an array.

    She tapped her small chin and muttered. ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡±

    Hannya was sure that the formula she created was accurate, and just like the sigil she wrote in Gulas temple, mana flowed through it smoothly, her incantation wasn¡¯t rejected, and the discharge of energy was stable.

    But unlike last time, she couldn¡¯t see or find anything that indicated her success in the spell.

    She shook her head. Maybe there were some rules she was missing when it came to formulating custom sigils. She could only let it go for now.

    Her efforts in contacting Vainglory via summon circle had only been a whim she thought of while she was flaying Haughty, the golden backed spider alive.

    Knowing that normal summon circles wouldn¡¯t work in having his astral body descend, given he was wrapped in a medley of restrictions, she figured she could try and use a niche method she found in the novel.

    A grand sigil, or array half completed by a devil scientist locked under a noble''s estate in Neel¡¯s central continent.

    Hannya, being the loyal fan she was, researched and completed the array during her downtime between chapter releases and blog posts. Once completed, she called it [Pay to Win].

    The spell would bypass the astral descent if the devil in question had no time to speak to the contractee to discuss terms. Of course, this made the terms simple, offering an amount of essence in exchange for a timed boon. A streamlined devil deal.

    With so much free time on her hands, she frequently delved into mysteries and questions constantly hinted yet never revealed in the novel.

    It was one of the many things she loved about the long lived series. The mysteries, hidden stories, and legends touched upon. She figured the author left those small gems for worthy fans like her to deduce and piece together.

    Though she never got a chance to post them all, the works and discoveries she made filled her hidden study to the brim, of course she''d have more room, had it not been for her vainglorious shrine taking up half the space¡­amongst her other gaudy things.

    Her study was originally a place for more¡­ ceremonial work, but she had quit that job when she found such an engaging novel online.

    She stopped. Did she quit her last job for the novel, or did she find the novel after she quit? Wait, had she worked that job in her hidden study to begin with? A strange sense of incredulity flitted past her brain¡­ something felt¡­

    ¡®Hmm, maybe I should build a new shrine in the future..¡¯

    She shrugged and continued walking.

    She wasn¡¯t too concerned about the array not working, she would just research more about the systems of rituals and spells when she found the opportunity.

    The little devil gave one last look at her impressive handiwork before leaving from one of the exits of the den.

    With her newly acquired physique, she felt carefree walking through the tunnels, as a logia, who dared block her path now.

    As she strode through the darkness happily she checked her level once more.

    [

    Name: Hannya 6th Luxuria

    True Name: (?)

    Lv: 15 - Young Devil

    Age: 12

    *NAA - Normal Awakened Average - at current level

    MP: 7,500/7,500 - (NAA: 1500/1500)

    CHI: 6,000/6,000 - (NAA: 1500/1500)

    STR: 40 - C

    DEX: 65 - B

    INT: 75 - A-

    END: 40 - C

    CHA: 50 - B-

    CHM: 95 - A+

    LCK: 10 - E+(Favored)

    Bloodline: 6 Star Heart Devil(Mythical Entity)(Awakening¡­)

    Wishes: 1(-5)

    Devil Aspects: 4

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil eyes: (Unawakened)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil heart: (Unawakened)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil Physique: True Dream Body(S)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Devil Knowledge: (Locked)</li>

    </ul>

    Potential: SS

    Innate Abilities(Passive): Subtle Charm(S), Danger Sense(C)

    Innate Abilities(Active): Method Actor(S), Devil¡¯s Whisper(B), Dread Mist Steps(A - Growth), Vicious Strike(A), Devilish Pose(EX)

    Learned Abilities(Passive): Enduring Will(F - Growth), Cold Reading(C)

    Learned Abilities(Active):  Heart Devil Curse: Waking Nightmare - Parasomnia(Locked)

    Boons: Quantifier,(??? - missing information)

    Curses: Greed¡¯s Mark, (??? - missing information)

    ]

    As she read her stats once more, she realized to her annoyance she didn¡¯t get any notifications telling her she leveled up, nor any logs about how much the spiders exp was worth.

    ¡®Is there some sort of setting to turn noti¡¯s on?¡¯

    The more she thought about it, the more she realized, in her previous crusade, she never once saw a status screen for those path blocking heretics.

    Hannya came to a stop once more.

    ¡°Hey, what the fuck is this?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but voice her grievance out loud.

    Is this boon actually trash?

    She remembered what Left had told her. ¡®...everything you see, touch, or hear, everything will be labeled for you. As long as you will it.¡¯

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    As she thought of those words, with a blank face, she looked down at the web beneath her feet.

    ¡®....Status.¡¯

    DING

    [

    Dread Spider Webbing

    Durability: 6%

    Value: .003 copper piece

    Note: Old web from a dread spider, careful, these spiders carry high level paralytic in their fangs!

    ]

    Hannya felt her vision darken from the anger. This system was a fucking stick shift! She assumed it had some sort of auto assist with stuff like monsters and entities that would randomly pop up. But it seemed she actually had to look directly at things and shout status in her mind to see it!

    ¡®Do people in novels constantly spam ¡®status¡¯ at everything in their minds when they are walking around?¡¯

    She shook her head at the thought, surely not. She also got a notification when she was debuffed by the dread venom, where was the consistency?

    She felt like the boon she got was closer to a closed beta, rather than a full release.

    As she continued walking and thinking of the inconvenience of such things, Hannya heard an ear piercing shriek echoing down the tunnel.

    SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!

    The shriek was different from the ones she was used to hearing, it was far louder and several times deeper. Hearing this, the 5¡¯1 devil girl raised her guard once more. She could guess the origin of this shriek.

    ¡°Hmph! Figures, they caught onto me already.¡± Hannya snorted.

    She had hoped to get back to the tunnel leading to what she assumed to be the queen''s lair and take her by surprise, but it seems these pests had other ideas. She quickened her pace with nimble steps.

    She would meet them head on if that was the case, with her new powers, she felt no fear of these underground creatures.

    The young devil darted through the tunnels silently and swiftly, heading to the direction of the echoing scream.

    ~~~

    Dread Spider labyrinth, Spider Queen''s lair.

    The spider queen bellowed at the report she received. Her feeding den for her offspring had been raided! All slaughtered, none left alive, even the hatchlings!

    Had a sentry not been passing the area, their slaughter would not have been known.

    ¡°Scree screee, scree scree!¡± In her fury, she ordered her strongest to mobilize all remaining troops and search for the slaughterer and bring them before her.

    With a respectful bow, the horse sized spider guards turned and rushed into the tunnels surrounding the large cave dwelling.

    The Queen would not move herself, now the size of a large elephant, she could barely fit through the premade tunnels. She would have to dig new paths for herself soon. Such an incident would not have happened had she not become complacent with her birthing and reign these past hundred years.

    She sat and waited for her guards to bring the vermine to her, she will use its flesh as food for more soldiers. She waited, anger tipping to its peak.

    Minutes passed, then hours. The Queens anger began to simmer down, replaced with looming anxiety. No warriors had returned nor reporting their findings. As time went on, the silence in the large space became all the more deafening.

    Finally, after half a day, a spider guard returned, but he seemed gravely wounded. He had a broken mandible and his head was cracked. He was covered in purple blood and seemed to have lost most of his legs, barely returning on the two he had left, peculiarly using his foreblades to balance instead of walking.

    He stood at the entrance, gazing at the Queen with eyes that seemed hollow.

    The Queen was shocked, her warriors seemed to have taken heavy losses! Her anxiety grew. She voiced out.

    ¡°Scree Scree.¡± She shrieked urgently.

    ¡®What of the casualties warrior?¡¯

    The Spider guard tilted his head, then looked around for a bit. Then, he shrugged.

    ¡°Uh, Scree?¡±

    ¡°???¡±

    The dread spider queen was even more confused. What did her warrior mean by ¡®The fatherland shall drink from the voices of the everlasting epoch, gathered at the center of tranquility?¡¯

    Before she could voice her doubts, under her horrified gaze, her warrior reached up and¡­removed his head, revealing a pink haired, black eyed, horned devil.

    The Queen was shaken, then enraged, she shrieked in recognition. The god of her enemies, wearing the skins of her slain kin. An inhumane display!

    SCREEEEE!

    ¡°Kikiki, Lilith fucking Prime, shut up you dumb animal.¡± The small god showed nothing but contempt for the war cries of the Queen.

    As the Queen readied to charge forth, her pounce was halted as black mist began to fill the surrounding of the devil, it increased in volume rapidly as it began to flood outwards in every direction, quickly taking the space of the large chamber.

    ~~~

    As the Dread Spider Queen raised her guard, not intending to charge head first into Hannya¡¯s mist like the rest of her kin, Hannya squinted her eyes.

    ¡®Huh, not as dumb as the rest, it seems.¡¯

    She glanced at her worn dread spider helmet tossed haphazardly to the side. A gracious gift given to her by her bigger pursuers, essentially a hollowed out head. She wouldn¡¯t have guessed it would confuse the Queen upon her entry.

    ¡®But still dumb all the same.¡¯

    She looked back at the Spider Queen.

    ¡®Status.¡¯

    [

    Name: Dread Spider Queen

    Lv: 50 - Demonic Beast

    Age: 233

    Stats: [??? - locked - evolution required]

    Abilities: [??? - locked - evolution required]

    ]

    After manually activating her boon, Hannya wanted to point a middle finger to that invisible Observer in the sky. Three reasons made her feel such a way.

    First, she ran into a level 50 Demonic Beast. She didn¡¯t particularly blame the Observer for this, it was the fact that her boon had revealed it, and it brought a bit of nervousness to her, so she blamed him by proxy.

    She had tested her sight on the guards that came after her in the tunnels, and the highest level beast she came across was at level 25. She assumed, at max, the Boss would be level 35 - 40.

    But her assumption proved very wrong. Hannya may have swaggered her way into the Queens lair with confidence, but the reality was, her battles with the guards had taken effort. Sure they were in groups, and with her mist body, illusions, and paralytic combo, they could not fight at full strength.

    However getting through their armor had been harder than the last time, those spiders had what she could only call a sixth sense, evading at times when she would strike, swiping at empty air when they felt a presence, leading Hannya to hastily dodge, and resisting her paralytic far longer than her previous enemies.

    Seeing that their boss was twice the level made her feel a bit overwhelmed with this dungeon''s scaling.

    The second reason for her Ire was the fact that even with her boon she was restricted in seeing her enemies stats for the first time!

    Previously, all stats and skills were there for her eyes to feast on, getting a good grasp about her approach in the encounter. But now there seems to be a limit to her vision, and further evolution is required.

    She did not know the mechanics of her boon, but Lefts words about this not being a system sank in more evidently now, it wasn¡¯t a free for all, auto noti golden finger. It was a sealed based, manual activated, high level skill.

    And the reason she referred to it as a skill now was for the third reason.

    The second she activated her boon on the Spider Queen, an entity dozens of levels above her. Not only was she barred from seeing her stats and abilities, she could feel her own mana reserves draining quickly the longer she kept it active!

    She understood now, her own system had a mana cost. And that cost varied on level and possible factors she was still not aware of.

    Hannya clenched her teeth and deactivated her skill, she had expended half her mana to fill the room with dread mist, and now she had a third of what was left sucked up from her ¡®boon¡¯.

    ¡®Should I just retreat for now?¡¯

    That thought flashed across her mind, but ultimately, she decided to press on. Her combo didn¡¯t require any more mana outside of the mist, she had no reason to retreat nor prepare since the Queen''s abilities wouldn¡¯t be unknown to her anyways. Also¡­

    The young Devil glanced at her own level.

    [Lv: 23 - Young Devil]

    ¡®Hmph! Just a number.¡¯ She coped.

    Her pink eyes focused on the wary Spider Queen, backing from the mist slowly creeping towards her. Hannya gripped her bone daggers tighter. This will be her first boss battle, her first stepping stone.

    Once she slays this bastard, she could finally be done with this place and make her moves towards freeing her beloved.

    Hannya found the labyrinth''s exit hours ago. The only reason she hadn''t left yet was because she vowed to make these creatures pay the ultimate price. With their queen''s head, the future of such vile beasts would be bleak.

    The little devil grinned evilly as her body slowly dissolved into black mist. She would fight, she would win, and she would offer the heart of this beast to her caged god.

    The pink eyes of the young devil began to slowly spin.