Void Evolution System

"An alliance? Why should I form an alliance with a Demon King?" Damien inquired.

"Well, if I needed to spell things out with you, it'd become quite annoying. For you to be acting so calmly after meeting me, my daughter should've told you everything already, no?"

"Tch."

Indeed, since Elitra had already told him about Demon King Lucius's story and the Demons' original plight, there was no need for theatrics.

"An alliance doesn't sound too bad. The only thing is, how are you going to contribute? Besides the information you can provide me, as long as you are within this realm, you are powerless."

Demon King Lucius's brows furrowed. "Powerless is pushing it a bit. While my freedom is indeed restricted, it's not to the point where it's impossible to move. Otherwise, how would I have been able to meet you here?"

"That's certainly true. I'm assuming we don't have much time to discuss things in depth while you are in projection form, so we can hash out details after we meet. For now, tell me what you came here to tell me."

Demon King Lucius nodded. "If I was a 3rd class, I would've been no better than a slave. But since I'm a genuine 4th class that has received a Universe Baptism, I have a certain degree of control. In essence, unless that bastard Demon God concentrates his focus on limiting me, I can do as I please while abusing the loopholes in the terms he set.

"Anyway, enough of that. The first thing you should know is about the Apostles. While the ones you fought were certainly among them, they were far from the strongest of them. You must make sure not to underestimate their strength based on what you have seen so far.

"Along with that, the Apostles you fought in the previous battle all had record crystals embedded in their dark material. As long as the dark material exists, they will be able to gain plenty of information about you by watching your fight."

"That's not a problem. I was never planning to underestimate them, especially after seeing how formidable that dark material is. But I'm assuming that you mean there will be some amongst them that don't have to rely on their dark material for strength. I'll be wary of it.

"As for the record crystal, it should've been crushed when I devoured the dark material. Is it a live feedback situation, or do I have some leeway?"

"No, while the record crystals can project live feed, with the amount of atmospheric mana disturbance that takes place during battle, their signals will be interrupted. I'd say that you have around a minute after the battle ends to destroy the record crystal if you don't wish for the recording to be transmitted to the source."

Damien sighed a breath of relief. Let alone a minute, he had devoured the dark material immediately after things had ended.

At the time, he had also been thinking something similar. Since the dark material was being summoned back to its original owner, it'd be able to transmit information about him to said owner. But even he didn't know that the transmission would've taken place far sooner than he expected!

'I need to ask Qing Tan and Feng Qing'er about their side as well.'

Although he wasn't planning to include them in his assassination plan, he still needed to see what kind of information the Apostles had on hand. Even if they didn't know his strength, he didn't want them to be able to roughly gauge it through the strength of his peers.

"The next thing is Acier, the demon city. If you are planning to receive me, you need to have an in-depth understanding of its structure."

The Demon King continued speaking, telling Damien a great deal of insider information on Acier. With this information, it'd be much easier for him to infiltrate and meet the Demon King in person.

Other than these two points, Damien still wanted to know the specific strengths and weaknesses of the Apostles, as well as some more information about the Nox and the Primordial Undying Realm, but he could already see signs of the Demon King's projection fading.

"Boy, I hope I'll be able to see you in person soon. At that time, see how I greet you for turning my daughter into your slave."

"Listen here, old man. She isn't my slave, but my maid. As a man yourself, you should understand the Grand Dao of Maid Appreciation."

"Cough, whether I understand or not is a different story. This is my daughter we're talking about. It's not the same."

"Isn't this the so-called 'a pot calling the kettle black'? Old man be honest with me, how many maids do you have in that Demon King Castle of yours?"

"That doesn't concern you. In the end, a maid is simply another servant."

"Oh, is that so? I see, I see."

Damien nodded in a sagely way, causing the Demon King's face to turn black. But honestly, he couldn't find a way to refute. He was a man himself, after all. He had a far deeper comprehension of the Grand Dao of Maid Appreciation than Damien did.

Seeing Damien's glare on him, Demon King Lucius chuckled inadvertently. He knew that they were just making small talk until his projection faded since there wasn't much else they could discuss until they met in person, but he found the young man in front of him quite refreshing.

It had been so many years since he was locked in his castle without any hope of making progress, but now that he had found such an outlet, he was quite satisfied to say the least. Just like his daughter, his burdens were slowly being lifted.

'Well, let's see how you perform in these coming days. I'll judge from that whether you are worthy of being my daughter's master or not.'

Leaving his thoughts unsaid, Demon King Lucius slowly faded away, the mana of the projection dissipating into the atmosphere.

Not long after, the Demon Generals and the girls returned to the area.

"So? How was the conversation?"

"Hmph. That old man doesn't know what's good for him. Let's see how I teach him a lesson when we meet in person."

"You dare talk about our King so casually?!"

The Demon Generals immediately got up in arms, but were shot down by a single glare from Qing Tan. Damien couldn't help but find them pitiful.

Elitra had already been sent back to the Sanctuary, so these Demon Generals obviously had no way of knowing whether the Demon King had a positive or negative relationship with Damien, but it couldn't be helped.

"Tell me what you talked about! Tell me!"

Qing Tan rushed up to Damien and grabbed onto his arm, shaking it back and forth like a spoiled little sister.

"And why should I tell you?"

"Because…because you should!"

Qing Tan couldn't find a good reason, but she was still unresigned. She didn't want to miss out on the fun, but this damn bastard always seemed intent on hiding things from her!

"Well, I'll tell you some stuff later. For now, let's send these poor Generals on their way."

""Thank you Milord!""

The Demon Generals barely even waited for Damien to finish his sentence. They were crying tears of joy at the fact that they could finally escape from Qing Tan's clutches.

They didn't even care that they had nowhere else to go. They could just hide in one of the vast forests in the secret realm until the storm died down. Anything was better than the physical and psychological torture they had been enduring for the past day.

"Then, we shall take our leave."

Without waiting any longer, the 10 Demon Generals bowed to Damien before rushing away.

"So, what's the plan from now on?" Feng Qing'er inquired.

"Plan? Why do you think I have one?" Damien smirked as he questioned back.

"Please, even if it hasn't been long since we've known each other, I can see clearly that you have something up your sleeve."

"Well, I do have some plans. I'm going to continue going after the Demons. And you?"

"Hmph! I'll figure that out later. Why can't I also go after the demons, hm?"

"I mean, you already reached the White Star level by killing the Commanders, both of you. There's no need for you to continue accompanying me."

Feng Qing'er glared at Damien as if he said something extremely idiotic. "Do you really think so lowly of me? I pursued the demons because of justice! I want to soothe the souls of the innocent who died at their hands! There's no way I'll leave the job half finished."

"And you?" Damien asked Qing Tan.

"Hmm~ I'll stay with the two of you because it's fun! There's nothing better to do for the rest of the time we're in the Trial World anyway."

Well, she wasn't wrong about that. Damien wanted to nitpick, but he couldn't find a good reason to do so.

"Sigh, fine. You can do as you please, but I'll separate from you here. I have other matters to take care of."