Without any hesitation, Liora accepted Alpha's silent invitation and stepped into the gap.
The opening led into a narrow corridor, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
As Liora walked deeper, the passage gradually widened until finally, it opened into a spacious room.
The room was decorated with exquisite wooden furniture, while gorgeous paintings hung on each of its four walls.
One of these paintings stood out in particular, depicting a vibrant garden with two figures standing silently within it.
Surprisingly, while Liora was communicating with Scurry, Alpha had been busy working.
In less than half an hour, she had not only carved a path through the Hellstone mountain but had even created a livable, almost cozy space.
As for where Alpha had found all this furniture and how she'd even managed to move it here?
Liora felt that it was none of her business, and it was better not to question it.
"Well done.", she turned to Alpha and praised, only to be met with a blank stare.
Thankfully, Liora didn't mind.
Glancing at Scurry, who followed behind her, she opened her mouth and spoke.
"I'll be busy for a while. Make sure that no one approaches this place.", she ordered.
Hearing her words, Scurry—who had yet to recover from the previous situation—frantically nodded his head, his whiskers whistling through the air in the process.
He swiftly turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.
A flicker of hesitation appeared in his eyes, but after mustering up his courage, he asked the question that had been plaguing him.
"Is everything fine in the City of Embers? Did the ranked Devil arrive?", he couldn't help but ask, unknown if it was stemming from pure curiosity or if he was worried for something.
Unfortunately for him, Liora didn't reply. She faced him calmly, her eyes warm and her smile gentle.
"Are you sure you wish to know?", she asked.
When this seemingly innocent question, paired with her gentle smile, met Scurry's eyes, a cold shiver ran down his spine.
Immediately, he hurriedly shook his head and waved his paws in panic:
"No. No. I was just curious.", he said, and without looking back, escaped hastily from the makeshift room.
Liora silently watched him go, then turned to Alpha and gave her a brief look.
Alpha understood immediately. She didn't need any further instructions.
After bowing respectfully, she followed behind Scurry with brisk steps, leaving only Liora in the room.
As everyone left, Liora approached one of the room's walls and, stretching her hand, she began using her fingers as a paintbrush, weaving intricate Devil Runes on the cold surface.
Only a few minutes later, a large array had been inscribed throughout the room. With a flickering light, the array was activated before fading away from view.
This array was not very powerful, possessing neither attacking nor defensive capabilities, but it could conceal the room and alert Liora if anyone were to break it.
After all, she didn't trust Scurry. How could she possibly give him such an important task?
Having set up the array, Liora exhaled, pulled a chair at random, and sat down.
Alone in the room, she—for the first time in a long time—finally had some time to think.
Checking her own state, she discovered that her injuries were now gone and that she had completely recovered.
No—she had not merely recovered.
Liora felt that her current condition was better than ever, her demonic energy boiling, and her power having grown even further.
At the same time, she felt a mysterious invisible barrier weighing down on her, as well as an instinctive urge to break right through it.
Liora understood what that strange barrier was.
"My power has actually reached the limit of the Young Devil stage. If I wish to, I can easily advance and become a Lesser Devil, leaving the Crucible."
Devils, being an apex race standing at the peak of the Heavens, were not limited to growing stronger by devouring souls. Like other creatures, they could also improve through hard training.
However, doing so was far more difficult, was much more cumbersome, and most of all, required special techniques.
As such, most Young Devils—including Liora—never actively practiced and simply grew stronger by devouring souls.
But the continuous battles that Liora had previously gone through seemed to have unlocked her hidden potential, forcibly improving her strength as if she had devoured countless Young Devil souls.
Liora was certain that if she were to meet a ranked Devil, killing them would be many times easier than killing Lord Embers and the Two-Headed Devil.
Feeling the urge to advance—stemming from deep within her blood—Liora closed her eyes and forcibly suppressed it.
She had not forgotten that her goal was not to simply leave the Crucible, but to receive the Demon World's rewards.
Thinking of rewards, Liora's mind moved, and she looked at the small mountain of items piled up in the corner of the room.
Broken weapons, rare materials, precious minerals...
All kinds of items were stacked neatly on top of each other.
They were all items she had collected in the City of Embers, and although most of them were not very valuable, some of them piqued her interest.
Glancing at a small wooden chest covered in brilliant golden patterns, Liora waved her hand, and it flew straight into her palm.
Gently placing it on her lap, she lightly brushed her fingers against it as her mind wandered.
This chest was something she had chanced upon while inspecting the City of Embers, found in a hidden chamber inside the city's central tower.
Although its appearance was unassuming—looking like an ordinary, mortal chest—Liora wasn't fooled.
This was not only because of her intuition, but also because she didn't believe that Lord Embers would go to such extraordinary lengths just to hide an ordinary chest.
Lowering her hand, Liora lightly tapped her index finger against the chest's golden lock. A click sounded as her nail struck its metal surface, shattering it into pieces.
With the lock gone, she stretched her hand and was about to open it when she suddenly changed her mind.
She rose to her feet and placed the chest on the ground before using her fingers to paint many arrays around it, one after another.
It was unknown how many arrays she had engraved before she finally stopped.
"Now, it should be safe.", Liora whispered, certain that even if there were any traps, her life wouldn't be in danger.
Standing a few feet away from the chest, Liora waved her hand and, slowly and carefully, opened its lid.
A continuous screeching sound spread in the room as its wooden parts rubbed against each other, only coming to a stop when the chest was fully open.
But the removal of the lid caused an explosive reaction.
A vast, oppressive aura erupted from within the chest and swiftly spread, flooding the entire Hellstone mountain with demonic energy.
Liora, standing closest to it, bore most of its weight, making her feel as if a mountain was pressing down on her shoulders.
With great effort, she lowered her gaze and peered into the chest's contents.