Chapter 244: The Dust Settles

"I don’t think it’s our place to comment on the affairs of Deities," Ron said as the pain in his body began to subside. He straightened his clothes and stood up from Aive the Ice Spirit’s hard, steely embrace. "In any case, judging by the outcome, He clearly has some displeasure with the demons. It solved a huge problem for us."

"What about Kao Jia, that devil? Don’t tell me I sent her to see Ernest, too?" Ron scanned his surroundings, but the other battle was nowhere to be seen.

"In your dreams." A familiar voice drifted over from the distance. With a beat of pitch-black wings, a devil carrying a Longsword gradually approached Ron and his group.

Desire Demon Kao Jia’s condition could only be described as pathetic. The Desire Demon had been scantily clad to begin with, and in her grueling battle with the succubus, large patches of her skin had been torn away. Some wounds even showed traces of Erosion Energy, which must have been Sarisha’s doing.

But contrary to her appearance, Kao Jia’s spirits were exceptionally high. Within the fissure in her chest, a heart was beating, strong and powerful—it was her own.

"You killed her?" Ron averted his gaze. The Desire Demon’s aura of Charm was greatly diminished, replaced by a feverish battle lust. Ron suspected that if his eyes lingered on the devil’s body for another moment, she would very likely draw her sword on him.

They couldn’t endure another ordeal like the one with Brogmir.

"It’s never that easy. If I wanted to kill it for good, I’d either have to chase it into the Abyss or hope to run into it on a Blood War battlefield," Kao Jia said as she landed, casually stretching her body. "It looks like the Death God has no interest in it. Otherwise, if you had kept fighting, you probably could have sent its soul to the Death Realm."

"Forget trying to fathom the will of Deities. Can you even guess the thoughts of that master of yours?" Victoria snorted. "But regardless of the Final Lawgiver’s reason for seeking out Ron, it’s to our advantage for the time being."

"Now that the two demons in charge of the maze have been eliminated, all we need to do is find Quest and the others."

This task proved to be no trouble at all for Ron’s group. The commotion from the battle had been loud enough to be heard even outside the maze. Quest and his people had waited for the fighting to die down and were already rapidly approaching.

Under the Spy’s leadership, the squad of Shapeshifters had been largely preserved. Only one member had unfortunately succumbed to grievous wounds; the others had only sustained minor injuries of varying degrees. To have achieved this in such a dangerous zone meant Quest had done the best anyone possibly could.

"Curiosity killed the cat." By the time everyone finally regrouped, one of the Martial Monk’s arms was hanging limply at his side. In response to the concern from Ron and the others, he shook his head with a wry smile. "If we hadn’t been so determined to find out what caused the disappearance of the Owl Bear cubs, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess..."

"Don’t say that, Quest," said Andre, who was assisting Victoria in setting the Martial Monk’s shattered arm. "If we’re going by that logic, then the blame is all mine, and no apology would be enough."

"Let’s take the remains of the fallen back for burial," Ron said, signaling for Sibach, the carpenter who hadn’t seen much combat, to lift the dead Shapeshifter’s body. "When we get back, pick a suitable day for the funeral. Make it as grand as possible. No matter how you look at it, this is another sacrifice you all have made for the domain, and everyone should be grateful."

"I’d advise you not to be in such a rush to leave," Kao Jia said, shouldering the great axe Brogmir had left behind. The Teleportation Array beneath her feet began to glow with red and yellow light. "Those two demons guarded this place for centuries. They must have amassed some kind of hoard. You might as well find it and take it with you. It’ll just sit here and rot otherwise."

"As for me, I’ve completed my mission. It’s time I went back to report in."

The newly "whole" Desire Demon licked her lips. "This Giant Bull Demon was a mid-ranking officer of sorts. I’ll be taking his weapon—it’s worth a ton of battle honors. Don’t try to take it from me, and don’t even think about snitching. Got it?"

"That way, the next time we meet, I might be able to resist the urge to tear you limb from limb, ’Lord.’"

Without giving Ron a chance to respond, the Teleportation Array beneath the Desire Demon’s feet flared to life. Her figure, petite and graceful in contrast to the massive axe on her shoulder, vanished from the Material Plane.

"They can travel between planes almost whenever they please. It’s not fair!" Aiksuuri huffed. "Who even created devils?! They shouldn’t exist in this world!"

"As long as they leave their treasure behind, I don’t mind," the Young Dragon added.

"For something like that, you’d have to ask Tiamat. The Dragon Mother would surely know the answer—if she even deigned to respond to you," Queen Farama’s head said mockingly.

"Oh, you don’t believe in Tiamat? That’s normal. Most of you Dragon Race are... You worship Bahamut?!"

’If this queen had a physical form like You’s Ghost Fire did,’ Ron mused, ’her jaw would have hit the floor.’

The queen’s surprise didn’t last long, however. After all, be they Metal Dragons, Colorful Dragons, or even the more bizarre members of the Dragon Race, they all shared a certain fundamental instinct. The maze, which had been operated by demons for centuries, was soon picked clean by Aiksuuri. As long as an item wasn’t too tainted by Abyssal Energy, he wanted to haul it back to decorate his lair—even if it was just a brick!

"They’re practically antiques!" the Young Black Dragon argued in defense of his actions.

In the process of looting the place, the group also found a letter sent from the Abyss. It explained why the Six-armed Snake Demon had shown up here: it was supposed to "negotiate" with Ron, the new Lord of Delusional Land.

If Ron agreed to join their cause, this place would become a gateway for demons to invade the Material Plane, and the Abyss would dispatch an army to "assist in governing the domain." If Ron refused, it would still serve as one of the demons’ forward outposts, and the Abyss would send even more forces to persuade Delusional Land to find a new master using irrefutable "truth."

Unfortunately for them, the Snake Demon was ambushed and slaughtered by Kao Jia within the maze, and the demons’ plan fizzled out. Ron and Silvia remained for a week to completely seal the teleportation point in the maze, ensuring the Abyss wouldn’t be able to use it anytime soon.

As Casters of no exceptional power, this was not an easy task for them. Fortunately, they had several advisors on hand who could provide technical guidance.