"Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap…"
Clear and heavy footsteps echoed through the basement, like an iron hammer pounding rhythmically on Alderp's heart.
Even Max raised his head to look toward the door. Just moments ago, he had been curled up, taking kicks from Alderp, yet his face remained expressionless, an eeriness that sent chills down the spine.
Under the watchful gaze of both ld and Max, a figure stepped in from outside the door, entering their field of vision.
"You… you…"
The moment Alderp saw the newcomer, he reacted as if he'd seen a ghost. His eyes went wide in disbelief.
Seeing Alderp's reaction, then glancing at the blankly staring Max, Fang Li curled his lips into a smirk.
"Originally, I just planned to infiltrate this place and gather some intel. I didn't expect to get all the answers so easily. Looks like it really doesn't take much effort to deal with trash like you, huh?" Fang Li's mocking tone finally snapped Alderp out of his shock.
"B-Bastard!" Alderp furiously kicked Max, roaring in anger: "Didn't I tell you to use your power to warp the truth and keep people from discovering this place?! How the hell did someone still get in?!"
Max had the ability to manipulate causality, to twist reality itself.
No matter the laws of logic or the truth of events, as long as Max's power was sufficient, he could bend or distort them. In the past, Alderp had relied on Max to alter reality and cover up his criminal deeds. Even if those things had happened, no one would be able to perceive them; naturally, no one could report this despicable noble.
This basement's existence was no exception. It had always been shrouded by Max's power, twisting the truth of "there is a basement here", rendering it undetectable and inaccessible.
And yet, Fang Li appeared here openly and unimpeded.
"Yee! Yee!" Max could only squeal as he took Alderp's furious kicks, but his voice remained calm as he said: "But my power… just suddenly vanished."
Before Alderp could even respond, Fang Li had already cut in:
"That's not quite right." Fang Li said indifferently, "It didn't just vanish… it was killed."
Even the ability to manipulate causality is still just that, an ability.
And since that power had been constantly active here, then the moment Fang Li stepped in, even if he couldn't perceive the existence of the basement directly, his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception could still detect the power acting on this place. They told him something here was abnormal.
So, Fang Li simply killed the power.
And in the process, he had heard everything Alderp and Max said.
"Looks like your days of living beyond the law are finally over." Fang Li didn't even look at Alderp as he calmly declared the fact: "What a shame. You were just… unlucky."
Yes.
Unlucky.
Had Alderp not run into Fang Li and Aqua by chance, he probably could've continued living above the law. He might've even succeeded in using the Artifact to steal the crown prince's body and eventually ascend the throne as the King of the Belzerg Kingdom.
But alas, in this world… there is no such thing as "what if."
"You've escaped justice long enough. It's finally time to face the punishment you deserve." Fang Li's ice-blue Mystic Eyes stared directly at Max as he spoke the final line: "Once this devil is taken care of, every distorted truth will be undone."
At that point, even without Fang Li exposing him, Alderp's crimes would be revealed for the entire world to see.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Alderp's face turned deathly pale.
"Y-You are j-just a mere adventurer?! Don't think you can handle me!" Alderp shouted at Fang Li, furiously kicking Max as he yelled in desperation:"Hurry up and use your ability to change all of this! You're just a Low-Class Devil, you can't possibly deal with him! Your only worth is in that ability of yours!"
On one side was a Low-Class Devil, someone Alderp could kick and scold at will.
On the other hand, an Adventurer capable of slaying even the Demon King Army leaders.
Even someone like Alderp could understand which side would win if a fight broke out. So naturally, Alderp didn't tell Max to kill Fang Li to silence him; instead, he just wanted Max to distort reality and cover everything up again.
But really, that was about the limit of Alderp's intelligence.
This despicable noble, who owed his current status entirely to Max's power, was foolish to the core.
And he made two major mistakes.
The first, he forgot how Fang Li got in in the first place, which meant Max's power didn't even work on Fang Li.
And the second mistake… was even more laughable.
"Low-Class Devil?" Fang Li's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"You actually mistook this Devil for a Low-Class Devil? Looks like your brain is as pig-headed as your face."
A Devil capable of manipulating causality, of twisting reality itself, how could that be a Low-Class Devil? Could a mere Low-Class Devil's power affect countless people and allow Alderp to stay above the law for so long?
Would a Low-Class Devil trigger a B-Rank Side Quest just by appearing in Fang Li's field of view?
And could a Low-Class Devil emit such a terrifying aura, one so intense that it kept Fang Li's gaze fixed on him the moment he entered?
"Thanks to having a certain pain-in-the-ass companion who treats all Undead and Devils as mortal enemies, even if I didn't want to, I still ended up learning a thing or two about Devils."
Fang Li stared directly at Max, speaking almost like he was muttering to himself:
"They say that among the Seven Archdukes of Hell, who govern all Devils, there's one that can manipulate causality… His name is Maxwell."
As he said this, Fang Li's ice-blue Mystic Eyes locked onto the expressionless Devil youth, and a slight smirk curled at the corner of his lips.
"So… should I call you Duke-sama? Or would Lord Maxwell be more appropriate?"
Fang Li's words were like sharp spears, piercing straight through Alderp's heart, leaving him completely stunned.
And Max, no, Maxwell, tilted his head, still meeting Fang Li's gaze. In that same innocent and childlike tone, he responded:
"Do I know you? I don't think I do... But you seem really dangerous. I feel like I might get killed at any moment… Can you maybe let me go?"
While those words came out sweetly, the aura fluctuating around Maxwell's body was only growing more and more terrifying.
Clearly, even if Maxwell acted pure and naive, his instincts as one of the Dukes of Hell, a fearsome Devil, had fully kicked in. He was already alert and on guard against Fang Li, sensing the overwhelming threat.
If Fang Li made a move now, Maxwell's power would surely explode in an instant, launching a violent counterattack.
Of course…
"It doesn't matter how much you raise your power." Fang Li's tone was utterly indifferent. "If I really wanted to kill you… You'd already be dead."
(End Of This Chapter)
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