Chapter 177: A Meeting with a Devil

’Hmm, she told me that she would answer after we left the Bakurad Fortress.’

Regis thought to himself as he glanced at Aurelia behind him, who smiled in response.

At this moment, he seemed to have realized something important.

’Come to think of it, I really did hug her like it was nothing, right?’

It was only now that Regis realized the weight of his actions as it came crashing down on him.

He was too engrossed in the moment to the point that he was not able to think through his actions, as the thought of calming down Aurelia was his priority.

’Dahlia’s gonna kill me.’

For reasons unknown to him, this thought surfaced in his mind.

They then spent the next, or rather, last two months of their journey in a relaxed phase.

Since the explosion in the Vistruk Swamp caused it to become a flattened wasteland, the terrain that was supposed to make their journey difficult was razed to the ground due to the rift’s destruction.

This then paved a path in the otherwise uncertain terrain, thus cutting their journey by over a month.

They also did not need to stay at Delimoro City since they still had plenty of supplies in their storage pouches.

***

Two weeks passed by in a flash...

It was currently nighttime, and the group was eating dinner together by the campfire.

At this moment, the atmosphere was unusually silent which was immediately noticed by Regis.

"Why are you all so silent? Is something the matter?"

He said with a curious expression, prompting his companions to look at each other.

They had spent months together and chatting while eating dinner by the campfire had been somewhat of a tradition throughout their journey.

This was the reason why Regis felt confused to see his companions silent, particularly Aurelia and Killian, who always seemed to never run out of things to argue about.

Even Pandora, with her deadpan expression, had a somewhat peculiar look on her face.

Like she wanted to say something, but was too shy to do so.

Regis took another spoonful of his chicken stew and spoke, "Come on, do you guys want to say something? We’ve been together for too long to be shy with each other."

Hearing his words of consideration, Killian was the first one to speak, "You promise that you won’t get angry, Boss?"

"I do."

"How about feeling uncomfortable...?"

"I promise I won’t do that too." Regis’s eye twitched.

"Alright..." Taking a deep breath, Killian suddenly pointed to his side.

"Pandora had something tell you."

"Oh?" Regis’s curiosity was piqued as Pandora rarely took the initiative to ask him about something.

A pair of ruby red eyes glared at Killian, who focused on eating his food.

"Brother..."

"Yes?"

Both Killian and Aurelia’s eyes were focused on Pandora and Regis as they ate.

"Can you... show us..."

Regis’s eyebrow twitched, "What is it?"

"Can you show us your demon form again?" Pandora said everything in one go with her eyes closed.

At this moment, Pandora, Aurelia, and Killian’s ears all perked up.

They did not dare take a peek at Regis, fearing that what they asked of him was too inconsiderate and would remind him of his bad memories.

A minute passed by in awkward silence before a laugh suddenly sounded.

"Hahahahaha... That’s what got you all so nervous?"

Regis could not help but laugh at the silliness of his friends.

The three felt relieved as they soon opened their eyes.

What greeted them was not the normal Regis.

The black scales that covered his lower body and arms made it too easy to distinguish his current state.

Shining beneath the starlight were his pair of blood-red eyes that shone in a devilish hue; the horns on his temples and the sharp tail on his back glistened lightly as well.

It was only now that Pandora, Killian, and Aurelia were able to take a closer look at the demonized Regis.

"Now that I think about it, I had something else to do..."

Regis suddenly remembered that he had reached the Peak Stage of Four Star Realm in the path of demonic power due to him absorbing Ruvalkar, the Three Star Realm demon, and the demonic power that came from the spatial rift.

Thus, he would need to visit the red space again in order to obtain another evil craft.

Meanwhile, his companions all had curious expressions on their faces as they circled around him.

"I-I can touch this, right?" Aurelia asked as she looked at the tail in front of her.

Seeing Pandora and Killian’s expectant expressions, Regis could not help but chuckle.

"You’re like children who are seeing a dog for the first time. I’ll have to meditate for a while, so do what you want."

"Don’t worry, Boss! We’ll protect you!!"

Regis smiled at them as he closed his eyes and instantly entered a state of meditation through his gift of Tranquility.

***

A pair of blood-red eyes opened amid the red space.

Regis looked around and saw that the scene was still the same: there were countless black spheres that had differing sizes and had varying specks of colors.

There were river-like lines that connected all the black spheres together.

Of course, the four biggest black spheres still hovered in each direction of the black spaces like black suns.

"Hmmm...that’s the only one I haven’t gone to yet."

Regis muttered to himself as he looked in the direction of the largest and darkest black sphere in the sky.

’There’s no time to waste...’ He thought as he flew.

The speed of his flight could not be compared to the earlier times he was here.

Regis also noticed this, "Is it because of my demon form? I feel like the red space is familiar to me... almost like I’m home."

It was then that he felt something which made him stop just as he was about to touch the largest black sphere.

The first one was the feeling of his activated Perfect Adaptation.

The second one was the overwhelming presence behind him.

"A devil..."

Regis was sure of it due to the sheer power he could feel just from the other party’s presence.

He could feel the same pressure from when he encountered Agaroth’s finger back in Toran City, the only difference was that this pressure was way more potent.

Of course, the pressure did not affect him in the slightest due to his Perfect Adaptation.

"Oho? To think that you can remain calm despite being before me... Interesting."

A melodious, feminine voice sounded behind Regis, almost tickling his ears.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of the great Devil of Decay and Corruption’s visit?" Regis spoke with a calm voice as he used his Corruption Manipulation.

Instantly, the tens of tendrils of corruption that threatened to touch him stopped simultaneously.

"Hmmm... To think that a human can grow to this extent."

"What a rude way to greet a guest, isn’t it?"

"Pfft— Hahahaha! You know you’re speaking to a devil, but still chose to speak with that kind of tone!?"

The melodious laugh echoed around the red space.

"Anyways, this is your fourth time coming to the Realm of Evil, right?"

"So that’s what this red space is called, huh?"

"That’s right. Why don’t you look at me? Isn’t it rude for a gentleman to talk to a lady with his back towards her?"

"I’m 11."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, just..." Regis slowly turned around as his eyes met a pair of emerald ones.

Standing before him was a woman who was a foot taller than him.

Her head was full of dark green hair that almost reached her toes, her skin was pale white, as if it was devoid of blood.

Her irises were like those of emeralds while her sclera, like other demons, was black.

The dark green and black gown clung to her form, its somewhat translucent fabric flowing like shadows, while a black silk belt accentuated her waist, exuding an enchanting allure.

"What? Did my beauty shock you that much?"

"I didn’t expect you to look normal."

Regis’s words of genuine surprise made the woman freeze.

"As I expected, you’re something." The woman sighed before continuing, "You were about to touch that, right?"

Seeing her point at the black sphere, Regis nodded.

"That black sphere— and every black sphere in this dimension is what represents each demon’s origin."

"Through touching a sphere, a demon who has just broken through a Star Realm can inherit a random evil craft from the origin of the respective demon."

"Anyway, that’s all. I can’t stay here for too long lest the other devils sense me."

"Let me give you some advice: His origin is no joke at all, so prepare yourself."

"What do you mea—"

Before Regis could speak a word, the woman suddenly vanished.

"What the hell?"

He did not understand why a devil like her would go out of her way to explain things to him.

"Ugh, it’s not like I can get an answer just by thinking. I don’t know what’s going on in that head of hers anyway..."

Regis shrugged as he approached the demon origin and touched it with his hand.

THUMP—

A single heartbeat echoed across the Realm of Evil as he was swallowed by darkness.