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"And the quality?"
"Linkil is unable to answer. It seems the creator's direct assistance is required."
"I see. You may address this with Inflis. I will deal with the other offers later. I expect a written report on the profits from our commercial enterprises in a week. You are dismissed."
The servant bowed low and backed out of the room.
Reaching for his inkwell, Rofocale accidentally knocked it over as a spasm of pain shot through his body.
His left hand clenched at his chest, where the diagonal scar left by a piece of Excalibur burned with holy fire.
It was a wound he had only survived by a miracle and a dose of Phoenix Tears.
He suppressed the holy elements with a surge of his demonic aura and straightened up. His gaze fell on a portrait that had hung in his study for ten years, a portrait of a beautiful, black-haired woman in an aristocratic dress.
"Merriel," he whispered, a rare bitterness creeping into his cold, dispassionate voice.
Hiiiiisssssss!
A five-foot-tall lizard with reddish-yellow scales charged at me, easily outpacing its two companions.
I extended my hand, and a blue magic circle formed in front of it. With a gust of cold wind, a hail of sharp, magically-created icicles shot forward.
The Lesser Salamander opened its maw and unleashed a torrent of fire. The sound of cracking ice and hissing steam filled the plain as the two attacks met in a cloud of vapor.
The reptile, momentarily blinded, didn't have time to react.
I used my wings to launch myself into the air and landed on its back, my demonic aura protecting my feet from the heat radiating off its scales.
With a precise thrust, my spear pierced the weaker scales on its neck, severing an artery.
I twisted the blade, widening the wound, and hot blood gushed out.
The lizard shrieked and thrashed, trying to throw me off, but I was already airborne again, dodging two streams of fire from the other two salamanders.
I created two more magic circles, these a lighter shade of blue, and blasted the creatures in the face with powerful jets of water.
They recoiled, reflexively shutting their eyes. I enhanced my body with demonic power, cloaked my spear in a thick crimson aura, and dove toward one of the blinded reptiles.
It opened its eyes just in time to let out a deafening, pain-filled hiss before the spear plunged into its eye socket.
Using my "Theft", or rather, "Heavenly Inevitable Conquest", ability, I simply yoinked its brain, a valuable alchemical ingredient, into my aura's storage space.
I pulled the spear free and rolled away just as the other two enraged salamanders charged. One of them, weakened from blood loss, stumbled.
The two beasts foolishly collided over the corpse of their fallen comrade. I rose smoothly from my roll and began to form a ball of demonic energy in my palm.
The healthy reptile turned its head toward me, its mouth opening to unleash another blast of fire. A crimson sphere of aura shot into its gaping maw.
An explosion ripped through its head, tearing off half its jaw. The creature thrashed in agony, its claws and tail lashing out blindly, striking the other, bleeding salamander, which was trying to crawl away.
I inhaled deeply, feeling my strength return as I fed on the creatures' pain and agony. My heart beat a little faster.
I spun the cracked and partially melted spear in my hand, took a throwing stance, and created a wind-magic circle in front of me.
I hurled the spear. It passed through the circle and accelerated to an impossible speed. There was a satisfying sound of tearing flesh and breaking bone.
The spear, unable to withstand the strain, shattered inside the creature, sending splinters of wood flying as the beast's momentum carried its mangled corpse several meters across the ground.
With a sigh of regret for the lost spear, it had lasted a record six fights, I walked over to the twitching body of the last salamander. I placed my crimson-cloaked hand on its scales.
The heat would have burned a normal human, but my demonic power could negate even the so-called "holiness," let alone a hot reptile hide.
I spread my aura over the creature's body, rapidly absorbing its life force before it could dissipate. A minute later, the pale corpse crumbled to dust.
Over the past five months, since that "small misunderstanding" with the mercenaries, I had accumulated enough life energy to repair my spiritual root and create a duplicate set of meridians.
Now, I was just topping off my reserves, waiting for a time when I would have at least two days of uninterrupted privacy to perform the procedure.
In the meantime, I had been honing my skills, killing various "unfortunate" magical beasts and the occasional demon bandit.
Renegades and bandits had become a common problem in the Underworld after the war. Many demons, having known nothing but battle for centuries, simply couldn't adapt to a peaceful life.
They were cast out of the bloated legions, and some, like Crowley, became mercenaries. Others entered the service of noble houses or traveled to the human world.
And some took the "easy" path of robbing their own kind.
One might ask, why rob other demons when there were much weaker humans to prey on?
The answer was simple.
Most of these bandits were low-rank demons. And low-rank demons were rarely permitted to leave the Underworld.
Their travel was strictly controlled. I had studied this particular facet of their society with great interest.
I needed "volunteers" for my alchemical experiments and to practice my healing magic.
And I needed to be sure that no one in Hell would miss a few… dozen, idiots who couldn't think of a better way to earn a living than petty theft.
I approached the last salamander. It made a final, desperate lunge, its fangs bared, but a quick sidestep and a reinforced punch to the jaw silenced it for good.
My crimson aura greedily latched onto the creature's body, draining its fading life force. The beast's pain and fear sent a wave of perverse pleasure through me, mingled with a faint revulsion.
At my current low cultivation, I couldn't completely detach myself from the emotions I absorbed with my Black Heart. I was forced to partially "relive" the agony of my victims. It was a minor inconvenience.
My mind drifted to the events of the past few months, to the new creatures I had fought and the interesting new acquaintance I had made.
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Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 5+ Chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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