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n“I know about the different sections. I’ve literally been to the bipolar sections of this capital, but I didn’t know two different people rule them. I thought it was just the demon lord… or is he just lazy?”

n“Nah, he’s busy conquering other places, but that’s beside the point. First of all, there is the Quincy of Ice, who will be ruling the place we are going to. And as long as we don’t do anything super **ing sketchy, we should be fine. So, just lay low and let me do the talking… a-AND-!”

nAisa was about to interrupt, saying she could handle herself, and I knew she could now, but I doubt she was at a level as high as me. She can definitely handle herself when I’m assisting her with her own evolutionary materials, but for mine, I need everything to be perfect.

n“Please. Aisa… just let me do the talking, and you do the shooting, just in case. I NEED! Like, I NEED a good relationship with these merchants, and if you somehow ** that up, then I’ll be super **ing angry. Okay? Okay? Understand? Now just… stay back and let me do the talking no matter what. Okay?”

n“Yes sir…” Aisa groaned, rolling her eyes, but I didn’t pay any mind to her annoyance and instead focused on trying to figure out how exactly I’ll tackle this.

n…

nIn the back alley of a street still recovering from rabid hunger, a single man sat. He held a sword sheathed in black leather tight across his chest. His wrinkly old skin was like that of the sheath covering his sword: wrinkly and tough. It was scarred from various battles, and the biggest of them all was a scar that slashed right through his left eye. It left that eye damaged and broken, but it only enhanced his capabilities, as his right eye was now on the level of a demon lord.

n“Or so some say…” I muttered, spitting the piece of gum I had been chewing out onto the street and glancing backward. Aisa was standing parallel to the back alley, discreetly observing the darkness held within it. “Alright, let’s get this party started.” 𝗈𝐯𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

nMy footsteps echoed through the darkness of the alleyway, bringing me closer and closer to the figure cloaked in a long gray shawl. It covered his entire body except for his hands which had now been wrapped in bandages. His sword was decrepit, its sheath now completely missing. But that eye of his was still scarred, and the other was just as creepy as the damaged one.

nHis black pupil held a swirling pool of power that shot shivers down my spine. It was never described, but the horns mounted atop his head were as long as his forearms. In fact, just one of his black rigid horns might’ve been as long as both of my horns combined in length. It was impressive but also scary. I couldn’t help but swallow a large drop of saliva before letting out a long breath to calm myself down and then… step in front of the man.

n“Excuse me, but I saw you just from across the street. I thought you might have been hungry… nowadays, people are fighting over the smallest scraps of food. I mean, crazy, right?” I chuckled with the best act that I could put on, but there was absolutely no reaction from the man. It was almost like he was dead… literally. He literally looked dead. And when I tried to sense for any sign of life, I felt no heartbeat, heard no breath, and saw no sign of mana flowing through his body. “Old age?”

nI just shrugged but still carefully approached the sword the man was holding tight in his grasp. There was no doubt about it that even after death, his presence was intimidating. I could physically see myself shaking as I grasped the shoddy leather handle, slowly unraveling from wear and tear.

nBOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

nAll of a sudden, what sounded like nuclear explosions erupted from the man’s chest. His heartbeat had somehow resumed beating on its own, and a wave of mana caused me to nearly fall back on my ass.

n“What do you want from me? I don’t remember owing you any money….” The man’s dusty voice scraped through his dry throat. It was like I was talking to a zombie, but upon hearing mana wash through his mana veins like a gushing river and his heartbeat pound as loud as a mana bomb, there was no doubt in my mind that he was alive.

n“I apologize… s-sir,” I stuttered, feeling his gaze lock onto me. I attempted to remain calm, but now that my plan had fallen through, I slowly began to back away. As long as I escaped from this place, I should be able to mix into the crowd and escape relatively easily… well, of course, that’s if I actually had the chance to move.

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nFrozen in place by the man’s sheer bloodlust, I was unable to do anything. I even attempted to activate a few skills, but it was like my system had been blocked. It was almost like I was fighting a literal God of Demons. No, THE God of Demons.

n“Hmm… you look like him… what was the kid’s name… Satan?” The old man slowly began to get up, his creaky and old body seemingly groaning as his joints locked into place. He was on the brink of death yet knocking on the door of life at the same time. It was like he had been reborn—Reborn from the dead.

nBOOM

nSuddenly, a bullet of flesh flew past me and, in an instant, exploded right in front of me. But I could instantly tell the man had split it apart. And it wasn’t with his sword but with his hand. And despite the point-blank explosion, there was absolutely no mark on his body. He was unphased by such a powerful explosion.

n“You’re angry… I can see it,” The old man muttered carelessly as if he wasn’t just hit with one of the most powerful attacks Aisa could muster. And as I saw the young woman relocate just outside the rim of the dark hallway, I felt the man turn his head right back towards me. That singular eye of his imprinted itself into my brain. “I can tell you want to be strong… but if you really want to be strong, then you must learn to forgive.”

n“Yeah, right. Who do you think I am? Do you seriously think I’d just let those **ing gods get away with what they did to me? My mother? Yeah, ** that. I don’t know who you are, but speweing nonsencial bull** and acting like you’re wise is something I hate. God, I hate mother**ers like you,” I grit my teeth, wanting to strangle this old man for some reason.

nIt was strange, as the pent-up anger was released in that quick second, and now… I felt completely fine.

n“No need to take my words to heart,” The man smiled before disappearing. Just like that, his existence evaporated, leaving his broken sword to clang against the ground. Its sound was like the tolling of a bell, ringing, sounding the end of his life.

nIt felt as if I had been released from his grasp. He was controlling my every move and, for some reason, wanted me to release some of my pent-up anger. The anger I had been marinating had its lid uncovered for just a split second.

nI stared down at the sword. A material holding pieces of my own evolutionary materials. As it was impossible to trap souls physically, there was a way one could do it: using a soul-absorbing metal.

n“And this sword here is… what I needed. It has over a hundred decaying warrior souls, and that goddamn vampire probably thought I wouldn’t be able to get this. How unlucky for her. Also, apparently, he was supposed to be selling it, but I guess there’s no need for that anymore… I don’t even know what just happened…” I muttered before shrugging. I mean, a win is a win, and it’s better than nothing.

nUpon picking up the sword, I braced myself for an assault of power or something like that. Yet, nothing happened. It was really just a broken sword that was duller than an entire stone pillar. This made me really wonder if it held the souls I needed inside.

n“What the hell was that?” Aisa suddenly hopped down from the roof, not too far up. The buildings creating this dark alleyway were smooshed between two dilapidated stores, so of course, I got Aisa to move up there so she could assassinate the guy if needed. But I doubt that would have even worked.

n“I don’t know, but at least we got our first material. Ummmm… I’ll ask the vampire when we get back. He was hella strong, so he would have kicked our asses if we did something… actually, we did, but he didn’t retaliate for some reason. He was almost like a projection into hell.”

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