Chapter 225

Neo nodded once and left the shop’s back room without another word. He moved through the crowded streets with purpose, asking questions of street vendors and drunks until he had a clear direction. The bar sat on a side street thick with the smell of cheap ale and sweat. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The man matched Premy’s description exactly. Sol stood near the counter, loud and careless, cursing the receptionist and then bringing his hand down hard on her backside. The woman flinched but said nothing. Sol laughed and kept talking, treating everyone around him like they existed for his amusement. Neo watched for a few seconds, measuring the man’s size and the way he carried himself, then walked straight over.

He dropped a heavy bag of mana stones onto the table. The stones clinked together with a solid weight that made Sol’s eyes light up.

"You Sol, right?" Neo said. "I’ve got a simple job. You do it, you keep this."

Sol grabbed the bag, weighed it in his hand, and grinned. "What’s the task?"

Neo glanced around the noisy room. "Follow me. Back alley. Too many eyes in here."

Sol’s grin widened. He followed without hesitation. They stepped into the narrow alley behind the bar. Neo let Sol walk a few steps ahead, then drew a throwing knife and sent it into the man’s back with a clean, practiced motion. Sol staggered once, made a wet sound, and dropped. Neo recovered the bag, stored Sol’s head in his inventory, and left the body where it lay.

He moved on, finding a small group of men who traded information for coin. Neo handed over a portion of the mana stones and asked about the lord of the town. The men talked freely. They told him the layout of the castle, the lord’s habits, the strength of the guards, and the rumors of the power the lord kept hidden. Neo listened to every detail, nodded, and left.

When he returned to the shop, he stopped in the doorway. Premy’s daughters stood waiting. Each was in her twenties, young and full-bodied, with wide hips, full breasts, and soft curves that looked built for bearing children. Their figures were already striking, close enough to Sai’s that Neo’s eyes lingered for a moment longer than he intended. They carried the same fertile look as their mother, only fresher and tighter.

Neo asked if they knew what their mother had arranged. All three nodded.

"She told us everything," the oldest said. "About the plan. About you."

Neo reached out and ruffled their hair in turn. The girls leaned into the touch.

"We hated the way he beat us," the middle one said. "We want a better life. You gave Mother work. You didn’t throw her out. We can give you our bodies. It’s fine."

Neo looked at them, all three in their twenties, healthy and willing. He pulled three restoration pills from his inventory and handed one to each. They swallowed without question. Within moments their bodies shifted further—hips widening, breasts growing fuller and heavier, waists tightening into sharper curves. The change left them even more striking.

"Go to the back room," Neo told them. "I’ll handle one more thing, then I’ll come back. We can take our time after that, and then we’ll leave for the new house."

The mother and daughters nodded and moved into the back room. Neo turned and stepped back into the night.

He pulled a long coat around himself and headed for the lord’s castle under cover of darkness. The walls rose high and solid. He circled until he found an open window on the lower floor, then jumped, caught the sill, and slipped inside. The hallway was quiet. A maid rounded the corner a moment later. Neo closed the distance, covered her mouth with one hand, and pinned her against the wall.

"Don’t scream," he said, voice low. "Tell me where the lord is. Try anything and I kill you. I’m not joking."

The maid’s eyes were wide with fear. She nodded hard against his palm. When he eased the pressure she whispered, "Third room. Right wing."

Neo released her and moved. He reached the door, kicked it open, and charged inside. The lord lay sleeping on a wide bed. Neo drew the Sword of EN and swung hard at the demon’s face. The blade landed clean, carving a deep scar and destroying one eye.

The demon’s remaining eye snapped open. A crushing pressure slammed down on Neo, locking his limbs in place. A thick hand shot out, seized his throat, and lifted him off the floor. The demon rose from the bed, face twisted with rage, pointing at the fresh scar and the ruined eye.

Neo forced words past the grip. "You fucking demon. You take from the poor. This is the least you get before I kill you."

He spat in the demon’s face, then triggered a short-range teleport. The grip vanished. Neo reappeared above the bed, entered Lord of the End mode, and brought the Sword of TBATE down in a heavy arc. The blade bit deep into the demon’s shoulder, drawing a thick line of dark blood. The demon clutched the wound. Massive red wings burst from his back. His speed exploded.

Neo barely tracked the movement. The demon was suddenly in front of him, hands locked around his skull. One violent swing sent Neo flying. He smashed through the window in a spray of glass and shot into the open sky. The demon followed without pause, slamming kicks and punches into Neo mid-air, keeping him airborne with relentless combinations. Blood filled Neo’s vision. Pain rolled through every limb. He tried to focus, but the gap in raw power was clear. Direct force would not win this.

Neo forced himself into Torch Man mode. A wave of pyro holy mana erupted outward, bright enough to blind the demon for a single second. Neo used that second to climb higher, pushing himself toward the upper reaches of the sky. The demon recovered and closed the distance fast. Neo’s mind raced through options. He settled on one that had worked before.

He summoned sealed boxes the same way he had against the Kraken, but faster and cleaner this time. Ten boxes appeared in rapid succession. Neo condensed them with mana, stacking their power into a single dense mass, then shrank the result until it was no larger than his own fingernail. He linked a thin mana thread to the tiny box, aimed, and threw it straight at the demon’s face.

The demon’s remaining eye contracted to a needle point as it sensed the threat. Too late. Neo detonated the box. A massive holy explosion tore across the demon’s face, and the demon died instantly.