V3 Chapter 25

Ruka turned towards Sesto and said in suspicion.

“But why now? The War of Beasts, from what I heard, focused their activities in conquering the Beastmen country… what are they trying to do in the North?”

“We don’t have that information yet,”

Sesto shook her head.

“However, all we know is that the spies they have sent are watching over the Winter Palace,”

“Winter Palace?!”

Ruka widened her eyes.

“Are you trying to say they are after Her Highness…?!”

“There’s a large chance that could be true,”

Ruka’s brows furrowed, and her face darkens. Even Terzo frowned hearing that. The First Princess of the Demon Empire: Oriel Heretarium Vorn Stormfury, was a valuable existence in the Organization. Though she might not be a member of the Garden of Eden, she’s still the beloved sister of their Master. They are ordered to protect her no matter what happens. And now, evil hands are starting to reach over her...?

This is something that they cannot ignore!

“So much trouble to my master… so much,”

Terzo grit her teeth in frustration.

“Secondo, the protection of the Princess was your duty was it not?”

“What are you trying to say, Terzo?”

Ruka didn’t like the usage of words, so she glared at her. But Terzo was unfazed.

“You’re misreading my words, Secondo. What I meant was that, since the protection of the Princess was left in your hands, I want to ask for permission to send several people, including Sesto in your group as an added precaution.”

“Oh, is that so. If that’s the case, I don’t mind. As long as Her Highness is well protected, then that is something I welcome. However, didn’t Sesto have a mission in the Beastmen Country? I think Nono would be a better choice instead,"

“My task on the Beastmen Country is basically done. All that is need to do is only wait for it to bear fruit..and also, further orders from the Master on how to proceed from here. Because of that, I am basically free,” Sesto replied curtly.

“As for Nono, she is not free, I sent her to the Demon Capital along with Quatro to investigate something,” Terzo muttered.

“Investigate Something? I haven’t heard about that,”

“It’s a sudden decision. I heard about some unsettling rumors that centers the upcoming Walpurgis Banquet, so the report was delayed,”

Ruka stared at Terzo for a moment, then let out a sigh. “So be it. Also, kindly tell Quinto to tighten the security around Lady Eve as well. If the Princess was targeted, there might also be a chance that Lady Eve is also a target.”

“I know…though, since Lady Eve is still staying in the Ice Grass City, she should be safe. There's no one who would expect a Demon would be hiding within Human Walls. Not even the War of Beasts. Furthermore, there’s also the Human who had just joined us; Levelia Ornsted. Although I was against a human like her entering our ranks, she was proven competent. So for now, we can rest assured that there should be no issue regarding her safety. Though, still, as a precaution, give Lady Eve a warning. There can't be no mistake because of confidence.”

Ruka nodded her head. “The only thing that bothers me now, would be…the reason behind the War of Beasts actions.”

“We will know that later on…still since they bared their fangs, we’ll show ours as well,”

Terzo slowly stood up, dusted her clothes, and look at the two women in front of her.

“…notify the other members nearby as well. Let them prepare for anything that could happen. Now go, I will be waiting for good news,”

“Hm,”

“I understand!”

With that said, both Ruka and Sesto slowly disappeared, seemly devoured by the shadows, and vanished, leaving Terzo alone in the empty, dark, and gloomy old cathedral.

“As the Master predicted… the people are starting to move. The chaos that was spreading in the continent seemed to have done its job well…as expected of Master. Though, it worries me that they would start against the Second Princess. And that it was the War of Beasts that made a move first. It seems like the War of Beasts has already chosen a side. Now, what about the other two. Would they move as well, just like what master has predicted?”

Terzo looks at the dark sky through the broken glass window of the cathedral.

“Master…come back soon, The fun you're looking forward to, has finally arrived. I'm sure, you'll be delighted."

The silver-haired girl hugging a doll stood tall, her shadow seemly bigger than normal as it covered almost the entirety of the Cathedral. With a giggle befitting her looks, she displayed an enchanting smile on her face, as she looks at the night sky.

The world is welcoming the arrival of the night...

… …

Back in the Ruins of Gods...

"Haa, haa, haa,"

Cian was finally reaching his limit.

The JaggerJaw was proven an incredibly powerful monster that even he in full-powered mode was barely able to defeat.

What the hell is with the monster’s toughness? Not only it’s impervious to physical attacks, but it also possesses quite high magical resistance. Not only that, but its incredible regeneration and healing factor are also almost comparable to that of a true Chimera. A Hydra even. Not to mention the paralysis poison that oozes out of the tip of its every bone projectiles.

If he didn’t possess Venomous Blood, he would surely be the one lying on the ground right now.

"Haaa, damn it, haa,"

Cian panted as if he had just run a marathon without stopping. His vision is already blurry, and the feeling of his body is slowly disappearing, leaving only numbness. He can hardly even feel his limbs anymore. He felt as if he was going to fall down at any given moment.

Still, he raised his hand, the gun on his hand burst out flames from its muzzle, as he pointed it at the fallen, terrible Monster’s head. The monster’s eyes were still overflowing with fury, hatred, and unwillingness. It glared at the little demon who had stolen his life, growling.

When the strange weapon once again burst out flames, its glaring eyes finally lost their light. And its head limps on the ground, dying. To think [Regeneration Inhibition Poison] worked so slowly against it. The vitality of the monster was incredibly terrifying. Waiting for the time the poison worked had almost killed him.

Looking around, he saw Leona limping-one leg broken, and its once beautiful golden-furred body was now covered with terrible mutilated wounds and painted red. But fortunately, it’s still alive. Turning at the poor, gravely injured beast, he heard Leona’s painful groans and his expression soften. Normally, he would not have cared, but to think he would get attached to this little beast…

He laughed dryly at the out of character while walking towards her. Though, he's also in the same situation as her, in fact, perhaps, in a much worse condition.

One of his legs is also broken, and his body was seriously injured when the monster caught him, and tear him with his fangs and claws, despite how he desperately tried to avoid them. Power, speed, wild beast-like nimbleness, and flexibility, avoiding its attacks were like life and death in every moment. Even with current strength and magic, the monster’s toughness exceeds them all. In the end, he was unable to continue evading for long, and his left arm was cleanly cut off below his elbow.

When he defended himself from one of the Monster Wolf’s sharp claws, it got cut off and was sent flying. The pain had almost killed him right at that moment. There was a large amount of blood streaming from his body, and he felt his life flashed before him in an instant. If not for Lamia who protected him at the last moment a severed arm would be the least of his problems.

One normally flees when meeting it. Running away from the first moment was the only sane choice when facing such a being. That’s what Asceius said. When Asceius decided to avoid it and escape, Cian thought its unnecessary. However, now he understands that the human prince's decision right then was the correct choice.

Though they might have won, the consequence after would be terrible.

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What a horrifying world this is. It's not the Land of Dreams, but rather, a world of Nightmare. Not only the monsters of legends exist in this world, but their power is also genuine. If not for his [Inhibition Regeneration Poison], he might be the one defeated. It was a terrible monster.

Just what kind of world have I stumbled upon?

He heard Leona purred. Turning his gaze, the poor Manticore's condition was not looking good. Not only it received grave injuries, but also the poison of the JaggerJaw is currently eating her inside out. If not treated properly, even with her incredible healing factor, she would certainly die.

Leona is dying.

Perhaps, with the strong vitality of the Manticore, and Leona’s own improved Healing factor from his experiments, she might survive the wounds. But what concerns him the most was the poison from the JaggerJaw. He is not worried about it himself, nor to Lamia, but Leona didn’t have any protection or great resistance against such poison.

If not treated well immediately, the Manticore's life would surely be in danger because of it.

Next time, I should look for a poison-type monster. She might get lucky and obtain poison resistance.

Normally, Cian would not care and would just let her be. The Manticore's usefulness has already been expended for him the moment she became a liability. Not to mention, there's no antidote for the JaggerJaw's poison. Though there's that as well, however, looking at its expression, he found a strange feeling inside of him. A feeling of affection was growing inside of him.

Illusion? Or am I going insane?

He was a Killer with no emotion. Or at least, that should have been the case. However, what is going om?

Cian frowned. He shook his head. Perhaps, this is also the effect of that purified land.

Really, I don't know if finding that place was a blessing or not.

“Leona, come here,”

Hearing his summon, Leona immediately tried to stand up. However, with her wounds, and her depleted strength, the moment she stood up, she once again fell down weakly. She didn't have the strength to stand up anymore. The poison was feeding on her lifeforce like a glutton.

She would die within a few minutes...

Seeing this, Cian once again let out a helpless sigh. And before he knew it, his leg moved. He walks toward her while swaying unsteadily, all while feeling as if he would fall down at any given moment. Still, he persevered.

"Hold on."

Rubbing the gem on his Storage Ring, he took out a small vial filled with a blood-red color liquid. It’s one of few Healing Potion he has with the highest grade. An extremely rare Healing Potion that can be sold exponentially to any country. And to think he would waste it for a mere beast.

There's something wrong with my head.

The demon prince smiled wryly.

Yeah, you are indeed going insane. A fool you are becoming.

Another voice said.

Leona was currently licking her wounds as she laid down on the ground. It seems like she was trying to staunch her bleeding using her saliva. But she was only making it worse since she was ingesting the poison directly. Truly an idiot.

"Stop that, you're making it worse."

When Cian arrived in front of her, she looks up and stared at her master. Her eyes remained the same. No fear of death. Just like how he had remembered when they first met. Though, compared to before, there is now a hint of affection as well as an apology in the way she looks at him.

What a fool this idiot had become...

Cian shook his head, kneeled in the ground, ignoring his own bleeding wounds, and uncorked the vial. With only his remaining one hand, he poured the Healing Potion directly to her mouth. Leona looks at him with her clear, emotional eyes. As for what she was thinking, even an idiot would know. However, he didn’t care and emptied the bottle. Why would he care about the feeling of a mere pet?

"You owe me one again," he said with an icy-cold indifference.

"You better not make me regret what I did today,"

Leona purred affectionately and rubbed her head against his chest.

“Rest well, you earned it,”

Cian said before standing up and started walking towards where his severed arm was fallen on the ground. Only a High-level Demon can regenerate a severed limb. Cian being a Marquis-level Demon can regenerate his severed limb without a problem. However, even with enhanced regeneration, it would still take a very long time to do it.

Unless he obtained an [Instant Regeneration] skill, he could only wait for a long time for the severed limb to regenerate from his body. But that kind of skill is quite rare. It’s not something one can easily find, or obtain. Hence, even with his [Plunder] Skill, he had yet to acquire it.

Either [Enhanced Regeneration], [Intermediate Regeneration], or the uncommon, [Advance Regeneration] are the only known Regeneration-type skills he has seen so far. Though, without luck of obtaining.

The so-called [Instant-Regeneration] skill is only heard or seen in legends. Though it’s one of the things or skills he had been looking for, most people, on the other hand, deemed that skill as nothing but a legend and does not exist in reality.

But Cian thinks otherwise.

If a skill that resurrects a dead person in an instant, like his and the other Heroes, exists, then something like [Instant Regeneration] skill should also exist in this world. There should be nothing impossible in a world where Gods are closer to mortals. And miracles are much more common than weeds growing on the street side.

That's why, even now, he's looking for it. Along with Monsters that possess it. After all, it’s one of the necessary skills that can lead him a bit closer to his goals. And perhaps, he has already found it?

Cian turned towards the corpse of the JaggerJaw. The Monster’s incredible healing factor can be the power of that said, legendary skill: [Instant Regeneration]. If that’s true, then it might be the very precious treasure he had been looking for up until now.

He picked up his severed arm from the ground, dusted the dirt on it, and without hesitation, connected the severed part on his elbow. Unlike normal elite Demons, with his own healing factor, improved after obtaining the skill [Enhanced Regeneration], he can attach his limb much faster than regenerating it from scratch. Unfortunately, it would still take quite a while to properly reattach it.

But Cian had another trump card. He possesses a skill: [Limb Reattachment] that can connect severed limbs in an instant as if playing Lego blocks. As long as the severed limb is present and not destroyed or eaten in any way, he can reattach it easily as if he possess [Instant Regeneration] ability.

"SSsss...!"

He hissed from the pain. As usual, the process of his nerves and bones connecting was strangely unpleasant. And even more so, very painful. In fact, it was very painful that he unconsciously furrowed his brow and bit his lips from agonizing pain. For someone who has a high level of tolerance against pain, it was clear to see how painful it was.

Black oozing grease appeared at the part where it was connected. After a while, fortunately, the pain he was feeling slowly started to disappear and was then replaced by an incredible itch. Wiping the black grease that was the mixture of grime, dead blood, and dirt. He clenched his fist, then open, then closed.

It’s scary that I don’t feel any discomfort.

Despite the fact that I just had my arm severed a few minutes ago, it’s as if that was just a dream or an illusion.

Special skills sure are scary--no wonder they are being treated importantly, more than magic. If someone possesses a unique skill, it’s said that every kingdom would immediately give them a priority. More so, in human kingdoms. They called it the symbol of strength. Or the so-called Chosen of the Gods.

Well, it’s the same in the Demon Kingdom, though. And I can understand why they placed more importance on it than Magic.

Special Skills are much more convenient, and in fact, so easy to use than Magic. Though the firepower is inferior to a similar power through the use of magic, it’s much easier and faster to use. It's also quite flexible, and the consumption of magic power is also lower, due to its fixed parameters. No wasting magic power- over or underconsumption occurring. That's why most people prefer Skills rather than Magic.

After his arm was completely attached, Cian also drunk a Healing Potion, though an inferior version than the one he had used to heal Leona. This is to hasten the recovery even more. Every second count in this terrible world. The longer the wounds last, the bigger the danger that will appear.

“Now then, I guess, I can’t make my main dish tonight wait for long,”

Taking a deep breath of excitement, he started walking towards the corpse of the JaggerJaw. However, as he was happily walking towards the JaggerJaw, suddenly something appeared behind him and nudged on his back.

“What do you want, Lamia?” he asked as he turned at the large serpent standing behind him.

Though the JaggerJaw possesses quite a very strong poison but as expected of Lamia it was nothing for her. In fact, looking at it, her wounds have all healed completely. What a shock. Her healing factor was actually faster and stronger than Leona who has undergone many of his strange experiments.

This snake... just what kind of monster is she?

Cian couldn't help but wonder. He had thought it was just an ordinary beast when he picked her up, but looking at her now, she might actually not just a simple beast.

Well, its ability to become a giant or shrink into a small snake already made it clear that it’s not a normal monster. Perhaps, it was the Serpent Empress in disguise?

That kind of doubt appeared inside his mind. However, thinking about it, he chased that thought away. After all, it would be absurd to think a prestigious and rumored to be cruel, cold-blooded Serpent Empress to stay with him and endure being treated as a pet by someone like him. Though, the possibility of it being related to the Serpent Empress is quite large.

Not to mention, having a strange, abnormal being existing in this world is not that strange, to be honest. He was the prime example of an abnormal being. Just because this snake is out of the ordinary, doesn't mean she was the Serpent Empress. However, this feeling...

Cian shook his head. Whatever the truth is, he will know when the time comes. And if his fears are proven true, then, if that’s really the case, having it near me would be much more productive…

"Do you need anything, Lamia?"

Lamia looked at him, and then to the JaggerJaw, her gaze seemingly trying to say something. Though, she’s not speaking directly, but Cian can somehow feel what she was trying to say.

“Do you also want to eat it?” he asked.

Lamia immediately nodded her head. Cian furrowed his brows. Well, not like he can't share. And besides, without her, it would perhaps become a very dangerous situation. Let's just give this as a reward for her efforts.

“Fine, but only the half. I mean, the lower half…the upper half is mine,”

From what he had gathered up until now, the heart and the brain where most of the power of a creature is concentrated seemed to be more generous in giving skills and abilities compared to other parts. So, he didn’t really care if Lamia wanted to have a taste as well.

Lamia didn’t know what Cian was thinking. But to be able to devour a legendary extinct monster was much more appealing to it. Even if it was just the lower body, she could still be able to absorb a large amount of magical power. And in addition, strengthened her physical power as well.

Legendary Creatures are beings of magic that can rarely be seen in the current era. For Lamia, they are expensive sweets that would hardly come by. Looking and waiting, she watched as Cian slowly cut the corpse into two. Though, it was actually harder than he had expected.

Even using the [Imagis Realis], it was like cutting a piece of meat using a bread knife.

It took over an hour to cut the entire thing down. Not only the hide was as hard as metal, but also the flesh, and more so the bones. The bones were so hard, Cian was certain that they cannot be cut by just any normal blade. Even with the [Imagis Realis], he had a very difficult time.

If these bones would be made into a weapon or an armor, it would have become an incredibly high-grade magical item, comparable to legendary weapons.

I think I need to save some pieces to bring back, while I eat the others.

When Cian finished skinning the monster, Lamia was already drooling and hungry, while Leona had already completely recovered. It must have taken quite a long time. Though, strangely enough, the sky is still dark. It seems like this world is really entering its days of darkness, it seems.

[You have successfully plundered Skill [Hollow Bone]!]

[You have successfully plundered Skill [Skin Hardening]!]

[You have successfully plundered (Unique) Skill [Extraskeletal Manipulation]!]

Hm? Unique skill? what’s with the extra words?

Cian’s brows furrowed in confusion the moment he read the game-like prompts that appeared in front of him. This was the first time he had seen something like this. Up until now, strong or not, he had always received the same notifications. There is no Unique Skill or anything similar present.

Then, what does this mean?