The guard's light-grey cloak scratched Ru's skin as he pulled it tight around his neck. However, it was not its roughness that caused his frown to increase steadily.

It was gone, obliterated in the attack, the last memento of his companions and what he considered to be his second life.

Though most of the memories were unpleasant, the bonds that he forged with a few of his fellow Summoned, through the trials and tribulations they had faced together, was one of the few things that gave him the sense of genuine happiness.

The only other memories that held any power were the ones of his family, but as they were formed a long time before his brain fused with mana, they had gradually deteriorated. He couldn't even recall their features now, and he feared the day when he would forget them all together, just like his name.

Before he realised it, familiar feelings, ones that he had consistently battled against since arriving in this world, banishing them to the furthest reaches of his mind, came flooding forward as if sensing his temporary weakness.

Loss.

Anger.

Hate.

But worst of all, emptiness. Ru didn't have a purpose or anyone to share his, now painfully, long life with.

The loss of the brooch had triggered memories that he despised, yet could not bear to bring himself to forget, with time or through magic.

He had lost everything that he held dear, twice.

The first was when he was summoned and enslaved. The second was when he and his comrades were betrayed by the few they trusted. Not only did he lose them, but the one being he trusted above all others, Styx, turned against him.

He ignored the Elf for if he didn't, he felt that the world would rapidly become a less populated place. It wasn't that he cared more about her, more that he was actually willing to develop a physical relationship with her and that thought now sickened him.

His original reason for approaching Styx was simple. The world rejected her kind and so, no matter what he became, she was unlikely to reject him.

It was a weird logic, but despite what the world thought of him, he was not an emotionless monster. To him, a hug could be more dangerous than a sword, as long as it was from the right kind of person.

He didn't fear death nor pain, struggle or defeat but he was not invincible and even though it took them ten long years. Ru's handlers had finally found his weakness. The special few that he accepted and, in a warped kind of way, cherished.

He knew they had to. They knew him too well, and as his strength grew and his personality warped, he was becoming more of a threat than a boon.

He had managed to, in a roundabout way, kill most of the first handlers and it was only a matter of time before they came up with a counter measure. It was only fair after all.

The alliance had ensured that he would never see his family again, due to the summoning, and so he would find a way to make them, any anyone involved, pay. In biblical proportions.

He knew it.

They knew it.

It was just a matter of time.

The air crackled with mana as Ru's jaw clenched. Just because he understood them, didn't mean that he would forgive them or show an ounce of mercy but what could he do now? They were dead, and there was no point in killing their ancestors.

He may have become, for all intensive purposes, a monster but he wasn't as foolish or petty to think that lashing out at the world would solve anything. Yes, if he had anything to do with it, which he would, the Alliance would fall, but that was the entity itself, the 'thing' that had decided to summon him. Not aimed at any specific individual that was unlucky enough to be spawned from a group that should be singing their god's praises that they died before he gained his freedom.

A chuckle escaped Ru's throat, realising that he had changed since he had been imprisoned. Before, he would have burnt the world down in a fit of rage, but now, he just saw it as a waste of energy.

Ru stretched, his bones creaking, racing to absorb the mana before the Divine Spears, as he let out a deep sigh and looked at his shadow snaking across the bloody floor. "Time heals all wounds huh?... My shadows the only one that walks beside me..."

Ru, let out another sigh. "I really should have listened to better songs when I had the chance. They were the only things that kept me sane in that fucking tomb."

"The Devil has come~."

A deep, yet friendly voice resonated around Ru causing him to arch an eyebrow in surprise. The persona he created for Styx to use as an anchor for belief was just that; there should be nothing linking him to that fictional being except the power he was absorbing.

Ru laughed. "Don't you know it's rude not to introduce yourself first?"

He did not deny of confirming the mysterious voice's claim.

"Forgive me~. I have no intention of insulting one so powerful... or merciliess~."

"Yet you do not show yourself? If I wasn't such a patient man, I might be getting a little annoyed about now," responded Ru.

He sensed no threat but not being able to locate the mysterious voice, even utilising twenty percent of his power was starting to irritate him.

"A man~ no. Patient~... Yes,~." A grey mist appeared in front of Ru before forming into the shape of a middle-aged man, wearing a white cloak. Quickly falling to his knees, the man's head slammed into the floor.

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"Oh might Devil, who has risen above the demigods~, I know it is against your instincts, but if you spare my humble town, I can provide you with at least ten thousand mana now, and another ten thousand if you allow me to humble escort you to my borders~?.

Ru showed no hint of emotion as he started at the weird man-like creature kneeling in front of him.

Though he did not have most of the abilities the natives took for granted, Ru knew the man wasn't a species he had come across, and his behaviour was completely unthreatening if a little strange.

"What are you and," Ru's eyes constricted. "Can you really give me that amount of mana, refined?"

Due to Ru's situation, he was in desperate need of refined mana, but at the same time, to acquire large amounts would require a significant investment. With his current stockpile, even if he was a little frivolous at the moment, he couldn't afford to gamble, making the man's offer, extremely tempting.

Ru's eyes narrowed. "There is no such thing as a free meal. Answer my questions, and we will see if we can come to an agreement."

"Yes I can and I am this town's spirit," responded the man, still on his knees.

Ru had never heard of a town spirit before, confirming his suspicion that this was a race that he had not previously met. "Town Spirit?"

The spirit looked up, hope dancing in his glittering, green eyes. "You must have only awoken from your ascension? Forgive me~. A town spirit is a dungeon core that was taken at a young age and nurtured to exist in harmony with the higher races~. We loose most of our arts and power but, in exchange for the mana of those living in our domain and protection, we power the walls and keep the weaker monsters at bay as well as other administrative tasks~."

The spirit noticed Ru was still waiting, an irritated look in his eye. "This is one of the reasons my guards used their magical rifles on you was that no monster should be able to enter. I am sorry for not stopping them, but as it was a mana based attack, it should have given you more power and caused no lasting damage~."

Ru could only chuckle, a piece of the puzzle finally falling into place. "So that's why they still carry around those old weapons. Refined Mana is deadly to sentient races but as monsters have co-"

Ru suddenly stopped as a shocked expression on his face. He knew his body had changed, but he did not see the blue crystal in his chest and so, did not realise he had something that should have been impossible for anything other than a monster or dragon.

The sudden change in Ru's expression terrified the town spirit who started shaking violently. As a town spirit, just like dungeons, he could accurately gauge the strength of those who entered his domain.

The man in front of him, even if he looked like a beggar, held so much energy that the spirit couldn't even start to comprehend the difference in their power and could only submit. It may be shallow, but like his Dungeon siblings, it was how they had managed to survive so long, giving gifts to adventurers so they wouldn't kill them or outright submit to a new ruler.

"I guess that confirms it," sighed Ru, as he looked at the red moon rising into the sky. "I am no longer human."

Confusion appeared on the spirit's face, but he didn't say anything. Usually, he would try and contract any powerful monster that came close to the town into becoming a guardian, but in Ru's case, he didn't even consider it. He just wanted Ru gone. As fast as possible.

Ru waved him to stand. "I'll take your donation, but I have some... unfinished business here."

"The manaless~?" The town spirits face momentarily showed the faint hint of disgust before disappearing as he stood. Beings that held no mana were useless to an entity like him."The manaless that was with you was taken by a bounty hunter intending to claim the reward set by the demigod, Styx."

Ru had almost forgotten about the girl, planning to introduce the creature stupid enough to attack him to a new world of pain but at the sprit's last words, his face hardened. "How did you know I was the Devil?"

"The Devil? so 'Devil' is not your names~ but a title?" questioned the spirit, trying to gain time for his mind to work.

"Enough. Tell me." A blue glow illuminated Ru's eyes. He had a dreadful feeling about this.

If it could sweat, the spirit would be standing in a puddle about now. "The demigod has requested that all manaless and magical races be escorted to the Immortal City as a matter of urgency."

"In fact, when I saw you with an inquisitors badge I assumed that you were transporting the manaless there yourself though, now I know you are an ancient monster, I wouldn't recommend it."

"Even for a being as strong as yourself. The Immortal Capital is the seat of the Alliances power, and the legendary figures that call it home are innumerable."

The spirit prayed that the information he was giving 'Devil' in front of him was enough. He had seen what he had done to his guards and felt that even if he alerted all of the beings in his domain, he wouldn't be able to stop him reaching his core.

"Tell. Me." Ru was losing his temper.

If Ru's expression scared the spirit before, now it was almost willing to crack his crystal and end his existence.

Ru's momentary elation of discovering a new power source, reaching civilisation where he could eat, drink and sleep in a comfy bed after teaching a bounty hunter a gruesome lesson vanished. Now his freedom was once again threatened and to say he was pissed, was an understatement.

"The one called Styx has called on all to locate the 'Devil' and monitor from a distance, the one she proclaimed to the masses to be the cause of the Mana Burst incident, while she gathers information from the manaless and those with high magical resistance. It has something to do with a spell that should not affect them."

Realisation hit Ru like a bolt of lightening. He had seriously miscalculated.

The scared, easily to manipulate woman that he had factored into his plan with the greatest success rate was not the Styx he knew over three centuries ago.

She had grown and, while he had expected her to cower in fear, Styx was already reacting in what Ru considered to be worst case scenario. She wasn't just hiding, or preparing a defence; she was already counter attacking.

"If they work out the details, they can undo the spell. They cancel the spell; they will know my weakness' and, they can discover the handicaps I now have... I do not fear death but being locked in that infernal prison again... Never."

"Fuck," He had thought he had anticipated everything, even having multiple backs up plans but this, this destroyed over three hundred years worth of planning in a mere moment.

One simple miscalculation that was so glaringly obvious had almost cost him everything. If it wasn't for the informative town spirit in front of him, by the time he found out, it might have been too late.

Ru almost wanted to bash his brains into the floor. "Of course someone who had aspirations to become a god wouldn't be willing to be controlled, even if they gained some benefit out of it. How Naive I was, stuck in my timeless bubble. Even I changed without the stimulus of others, how could she not have?"

The spirit shuddered as the surrounding walls started to disintegrate with the intensity of mana being released by Ru, the black patches of skin, once small, steadily growing.

Suddenly, as if someone had flicked a switch, the pressure and mana fluctuations stopped.

A wicked smile appeared on Ru's face. The loss he had felt earlier, the pointlessness of everything was banished as he felt the proverbial axe hanging above his head, waiting to end his existence.

The awkward silence broke as Ru started laughing, quietly at first before becoming almost hysterical. "I see... so that is who I am? I guess until I find something more meaningful, I just have to fight against this accursed world."

His eyes locked onto the spirit, fire burning in his eyes. "Take me to the manaless. Now! The game is afoot, and I can't afford to dally any longer."

His plans had changed, drastically and he would need a miracle to pull them off but, since his days with his comrades, he had never felt so alive. To be living on the edge of a blade, where one wrong step could spell your doom. 

The spirit almost disapparated at the grinning demon, no devil in front of him, never had he felt his existence so threatened before turning around and almost running in the direction of the slums.