The remains of the Devil’s power and the Demon Lord’s corpse were far more potent than Percy had expected. However, he was the last to complain about something like that. The more potent his targets were, the greater the gains!
[Demon Lord(Lord of Minos) has been consumed. 231,834,911 Prosperity has been added]
[Your Tier increased by one rank.]
The pair of notifications pleased Percy. Exposing the true identity of those behind the kidnappings and encountering the Devil multiple times in the Demon Lair had soured his mood, especially after seeing what happened to the children, but he never lost hope. Maybe it was possible to turn their misfortune into an advantage.
A glimmer of hope was exactly what they needed, and they obtained exactly that.
The two notifications were only the beginning. After the Demon Lord and the leftover fragments of the Devil had been digested, something else started to change.
This wasn’t about Percy directly, but it involved him. The Abomination was changing.
The first thing he noticed about the Abomination was its expanding presence. Its presence within Percy had always been evident, but it was more potent…denser…than it used to be. The Abomination’s body was more intense than before, and the air in its surroundings trembled violently.
[Enough fragments of the Devil have been consumed. [Consume] has been upgraded. [Consume] transcended its designated limit.]
[Your Ego’s Ability [Consume] advanced to the next stage. Your bridge to the Ego and its Ability has reached new heights.]
The Abomination was still under Percy’s control but grew harder again. Not because the Abomination wanted to escape from his control.
No. That wasn’t it.
The main issue was the Abomination’s hunger. As it grew stronger, more efficient, better adjusted, more…its hunger expanded exponentially as well.
What will happen once it grows even hungrier? What If I cannot satiate it anymore? Will the Abomination escape my control again?
Various thoughts flashed through Percy’s mind, but there was no answer. He would have to find out on his own at some point.
“Good job, kiddo,” The Beast King bellowed, “But now come here and help me if you don’t want to be buried alive!”
Percy spun around and rushed to the tunnel entrance. The Demon Lord and the Devil’s presence may not be there anymore, but they’d done enough to destroy the Demon Lair. It would collapse soon.
Percy reached the unconscious children but froze in his tracks when he saw red notifications pop up above the children. They weren’t dead, yet it looked like his Ego didn’t care anymore, to some extent, at least.
“This…is new…” He murmured, scooping up as many children as possible before shouting to the Beast King, “Don’t you have any Monster Cards?!”
“I awakened Ancient Powers,” The Beast King responded curtly before shapeshifting into a large winged lion. The Beast King was not in great shape, even in his beast form, but it had to be enough. Percy hurled as many unconscious children on the Beast King’s back as possible before picking up a few more children to carry.
They glanced back, ensuring they didn’t forget anyone and rushed upward. They ignored a handful of Elite Demons as they traveled through two tunnels and were happy to locate the royal envoy of the Kainesh Kingdom and some Beastmen with them. A few Beastmen carried unconscious demonified Beastmen, whereas the rest dealt with a handful of Elite Demons.
“Turn around and leave!” Percy roared, and as if to amplify the importance of his words, the tunnel behind him and the Beast King collapsed. It sounded like thunder struck the ground right behind Percy as the walls caved in, and the ceiling crashed down right behind them. He instinctively went up a gear.
Percy rushed past Melissa, the Imperials, and others, happy they were still alive, but urged them to move faster.
It must have been only a few minutes before they reached the surface. They were forced to take a detour and return from a cavern tunnel that collapsed right before their eyes, but that was still better than getting crushed alive. Some demonified children regained consciousness on their way to the surface, yet they were back in the dreamworld before they could do anything when Percy shot a small ball of ice at them.
The ice struck their temples, cleanly knocking them out.
The group faltered back to the surface, and some nearly collapsed. Their ascend had been rather harsh, dozens of Demons attacking them by surprise. Fortunately, everyone survived, though far more Gifted had been injured than necessary.
The Beast King reached the camp where Fiona and Beastmen Percy had never seen were waiting.
“The fourth Legion,” One of the heavily injured Beastman muttered, sighing in relief before collapsing to the ground the instant he reached the camp. Percy discovered a peaceful smile on the Beastman’s smile.
They must be the real deal if he can collapse with a smile on his lips.
Percy looked around the camp. It had been tranquil before their arrival, even though most members of the seventh Beast Legion were already present. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the commotion. The Demon Lair’s massive entrance collapsed, sealing the Demon’s hideout once and for all.
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However, the Beastmen’s attention lingered on their king. The Beast King walked slowly through the camp until he reached the center. He lowered his body and commanded his subjects to take the children and mend their wounds. His legs caved in when he attempted to get up again, but he continued. The Beast King couldn’t afford to look weak before his folk. He roared quietly but with tremendous power, which must have drained him tremendously, but the effect was great.
The Beastmen fell to one knee and mumbled something in a foreign language. Percy listened and waited, watching the Beastmen of the 4th Legion as they got up again. Some approached the Beast King, while others turned to the injured Beastmen. They mended their wounds, using their Cardist powers, Egos, or the Ancient Powers they’d manifested through their bloodline.
“Ancient Powers are an interesting thing, don’t you think?” Melissa walked up to Percy. She was battered black and blue, and parts of her body were frozen.
She strained her Ego and her body. But she seems stronger now. Did they defeat a Greater Demon?
Percy wondered, his attention lingering on the envoy members. Everyone was still alive, but some didn’t look better than the best-looking Undead. Their eyes were dim, black rings highlighting them, and their faces looked like they either lost too much blood or they were still shell-shocked from what they’d experienced.
“I’m satisfied being a Cardist and an Ego. There is no need to be a Mythic as well. I’d rather not seal my Card Slots to awaken an Ancient Power,” Percy responded with a shrug while reaching out to Melissa’s shoulder. He grasped her gently, smiled at her, and channeled pure mana into her half-frozen mana paths.
“Thanks…” She murmured barely audibly. Her half-frozen legs cracked and nearly caved in, but she didn’t collapse. She endured it until the Mythics of the Beastmen reached her and the rest of the envoy. A few collapsed to the ground when the Mythics’ power reached them. It was almost like their bodies recognized that they would survive when the Mythics arrived before them, allowing the bodies to shut off.
Percy was also exhausted, and there were remnants of his injuries, but he was much better off than the rest. He stood there, waiting until the Mythics told him everyone would survive, watching the Beastmen and Humans as they talked and tended to each other. It was a pleasant sight.
He was invested in the scenery unfolding before and around him and didn’t even notice Fiona when she arrived next to him. She was exhausted but had noticed an oddity in the camp.
“You have grown stronger,” Fiona mentioned, and Percy turned around to greet her. However, before he could say something, she added, “But something about you has changed. Your soul has been harmed, and the presence of your Ego is stronger. [Danger Sense] has been triggered several times when I walked past you.”
Percy raised an eyebrow, “This Augmentation of yours is quite wise. My Ego is stronger and more dangerous than before. But it is also more helpful than it used to be…I think.”
He ruffled through his hair. There was still a theory he had to confirm, but Percy was certain it would work out as intended.
“As for my soul. The Gnoll Warlord, my first Monster Card and the Monster Card with the strongest bond to my soul has been injured. It’s on the verge of death, which is probably why my Soul is injured,” Percy explained.
“That…is not what I expected,” Fiona replied honestly, “But summon the Monster and leave it to me. I will mend it.”
Percy didn’t hesitate and summoned the Gnoll Warlord. Fiona’s milky-white eyes narrowed, and her mana network tensed up.
“Your bond is very strong. It is probably stronger than anything I’ve seen.”
“Can you heal Hyean?” Percy asked rather than responding to Fiona.
“He is lethally wounded, but I think I can save him. His heart wasn’t pierced, so that’s that,” Fiona nodded, “But make sure you don’t use this Card too often for a while. If you abuse it too much, or it sustains another injury like this in the next few months, you may not only end up destroying the Monster Card but crack your soul and injure it permanently.”
That wasn’t a surprise to Percy. He thanked Fiona, relayed a few words and images of support, and turned away when Fiona mentioned she would need time and full focus on this.
Leaving Hyean like this didn’t feel great, but Percy had more than enough things to do. He called for Blue, who forwarded images of the Beastlands’ forests. Images without any Demons.
There are no escapees? That’s good. Very good!
The only escapees were the demonified children and Beastmen. However, Percy hoped he could help them somehow. Some, at least. There was still the mystery of the red notifications after all.
Percy searched for the demonified children, which took only a few minutes to verify what he’d seen.
[Phebos Plain(Tigerfolk) – Cub/Demonified(32%) – 5210(4753) Prosperity.]
The percentage was lower before. It’s progressing.
There was no time to waste. He looked at the Beastman Mythic, who was seriously tending to the child in the infirmary dead. “I think I can rescue them as long as the demonification hasn’t progressed too much.”
“You might have helped us, but that doesn’t mean I trust you, human.” The Mythics replied sharply, “I – No. We do not trust your likes. There is no honor or pride in your kind! Only greed, death, and destruction.”
Percy didn’t know how to respond. All he wanted to do was to help. But if they didn’t want his help, Percy wouldn’t force them. The Mythic’s hatred toward Humans might be reasonable. There had been a war with the Beastlands, several wars if one looked at the last century's history, but Percy didn’t think it was good to embrace their hatred.
At this moment, the Mythic’s hatred and distrust may cost the demonified children’s lives.
“Let him try,” Another Mythic, a Lion-type Beastman of age, commented, “You said you cannot help them anymore. I agree with that. The Demonic Essence is taking root within the children. We do not have the power to cleanse the Demonic Essence and return the children what they’ve lost. Not without breaking them.”
The elderly Beastman pointed at Percy, “He came with the king. The king has praised him, telling everyone about his life and the children. If this human thinks he can help the children, he should try.”
Percy smiled at the Beastman and nodded slowly. He took a deep breath, used [Consume], and pressed his hand flat on the boy’s chest, mostly to hide the eerie darkness of the Abomination as it gushed out of him, but also to scan the boy’s body. He had to find where the Demonic Essence had taken root and how to guide the Abomination through the boy without injuring him.
The Abomination listened. It moved efficiently and followed his commands at will.
It reached the Demonic Essence, engulfed it, and devoured it without harming the boy once
[Demonic Essence has been consumed. 4753 Prosperity has been consumed.]
Yes!!