William's eyes skipped past the pink string underwear, the bag of ramie seeds, and the famous green sword. Instead, he focused on the gray item and the two blue ones, mentally commanding more detailed analysis.
«Detailed Analysis Requested:»
«Demon Blood Vial: Contains essence from the 15th Demon King during the peak power period. Unsealing and consumption would grant a significant permanent power increase, estimated at 100+ points across all attributes. However, the current host's mental fortitude is insufficient to withstand corruption risk. Recommend storage until Spirit stat exceeds 300. Current Spirit: 140. Unsealing prematurely would result in an 87% chance of complete personality corruption.»
«Infernal Hellfire Fruit: Safe for immediate consumption. Enhanced version of standard demon fruit with additional elemental affinity. Absorption time: Instant. No sleep required due to refined essence structure.»
«Five Thunder Talismans: Analysis indicates 250-400% effectiveness against shadow entities and corrupted beings. Eastern mystical techniques demonstrate natural opposition to corruption-type magic. Recommend immediate deployment against the current threat.»
"Perfect timing," William muttered, looking at the strange black shadow before him that was already beginning to regenerate despite the damage. "Let's test if these thunder talismans work on shadow entities."
Using his small demon claws, William pulled out the five thunder talismans. The yellow paper felt warm in his grasp, the cinnabar inscriptions seeming to pulse with contained power. He threw them at the attacking black shadow with precise aim.
The yellow paper talismans with their bright red cinnabar inscriptions ignited instantly mid-flight, supernatural flames consuming the paper as mystical energy was released. Five distinct thunderbolts manifested, crackling with Eastern mystical power. The bolts divided into five directions, representing the cardinal points and center, then struck the shadow's body with lightning speed and overwhelming force.
CRACK-BOOM!
A far more devastating explosion rang out compared to their previous attacks.
The black shadow attacking William and Serena was instantly annihilated, completely disintegrated without leaving even a wisp of residual darkness behind. The thunder's purifying properties had utterly destroyed whatever unholy essence held it together.
«Notice: Five Thunder Talismans demonstrated 340% effectiveness against the shadow entity. Complete annihilation achieved. Recommend acquiring additional Eastern Continent mystical techniques for similar applications against corruption-based threats.»
But at the exact moment of the shadow's elimination, William keenly felt something lock onto him. A terrifying gaze from something incomprehensibly more powerful, just for an instant. The attention of whatever had created these shadows.
"For... the god...!"
Maddening whispers twisted through his mind like corrupted tendrils, making his head spin with sudden dizziness and nausea.
«Alert: Mental attack detected. Foreign corruption attempting to breach host consciousness.»
«Host Spirit stat at 140 provides adequate resistance. Initiating countermeasures...»
«Purging foreign influence... 47%... 82%... 100%. Complete.»
«Analysis: Attacking entity estimated at Fourth Order minimum, possibly Fifth Order. However, an entity cannot fully manifest in the current world. Natural laws create a dimensional barrier. Shadow constructs appear to have maximum projection capability.»
Fortunately, the mental assault lasted only a brief moment. Between his mental fortitude and the Great Sage's active defensive assistance, he was completely capable of withstanding it. Otherwise, god knows if he would've collapsed entirely from the psychological pressure or worse, had his consciousness corrupted.
William thought to himself while the Great Sage continued processing environmental data: "Just as I suspected. Whatever created these things isn't the lamia queen, but something else entirely. Though it seems this entity can't fully manifest in this world. Probably a good thing, considering how powerful that mental attack felt even through dimensional barriers."
«Confirmed assessment. The entity demonstrates characteristics consistent with an outer realm corruption. Recommend extreme caution if additional shadow constructs appear. While the host can resist mental attacks, repeated exposure may cause cumulative mental strain.»
"Serena, catch up with Alya and the others right now. Here, this sword and these... garments are for you."
William handed over the famous sword and the pink string underwear to Serena, keeping the demon blood vial safely stored for future use and preparing to consume the infernal hellfire fruit.
"Thank you so much for your generosity, Master William."
After receiving both items, Serena's eyes remained fixed on the famous sword, her expression full of excitement and joy. No warrior could resist the temptation of a high-quality enchanted weapon. The underwear she tucked away with slightly flushed cheeks, clearly understanding its intended purpose for later.
While Serena admired her new sword, William ate the infernal hellfire fruit without another word. Before consuming it, he'd mentally asked the Great Sage if he'd fall into deep sleep like when he'd taken the regular demon fruit during his first growth phase. The system's answer had been negative since this was a refined demonic essence rather than a raw growth catalyst.
The infernal hellfire fruit went down with a pleasant burning sensation, like drinking high-quality spiced liquor. Dark energy with traces of hellfire essence dissolved directly into his stomach and spread through his entire body. He could feel his demonic nature resonating with the fruit's power.
«Notice: Infernal Hellfire Fruit successfully integrated. Demonic essence absorption complete.»
«All attributes increased by 65 points. Additional elemental resistances acquired.»
«Current Status Updated:
Strength: 70 → 135 (+65)
Agility: 60 → 125 (+65)
Endurance: 70 → 135 (+65)
Spirit: 140 → 205 (+65)
New Resistances Acquired:
Fire Resistance: 10%
Dark Energy Resistance: 10%»
William's full attributes increased by a terrifying 65 points in one go. All four of his dimensional attributes broke through into triple digits, and he could feel subtle new resistances forming within his demonic physiology against fire and dark energies.
Although William's realm remained at First Order, he felt considerably more confident about entering the inner layer now. His demonic aura felt denser, his magic control more refined. His arcane missiles would probably be head-sized at this point. The destructive power from a bombardment like that would likely be no less than getting hit with a military-grade grenade.
More importantly, his demonic features felt stronger and more refined. His small wings could fold and extend with greater precision and power. His claws, while still appearing small due to the mass manipulation, contained far more destructive potential. Even the small horns on his head seemed to resonate more strongly with ambient magical energy.
Serena carried William and quickly caught up with Alya and the others, who'd almost reached the inner gate.
Just as the middle layer lamia had said earlier, the inner door stood completely open. Like the current middle layer, there were no male lamias on patrol anywhere around it.
"Go in," William said, breaking free from Serena and dropping to the ground with a soft thud.
He didn't dispel the mass manipulation technique on his body, maintaining his young demon king appearance. This way, he looked full of openings and vulnerabilities, easy to underestimate. His small horns, compact wings folded against his back, and diminutive tail made him appear more like a harmless demon imp or hatchling rather than the genuinely dangerous entity he actually was. At some point, that deceptive appearance might play an unexpectedly useful tactical role.
Walking inside, the feeling was completely different from the middle layer. A thick fishy smell of blood permeated the inner sanctum. Even the air itself seemed bloody, tinged faintly red and revealing deeply ominous signs.
The buildings in the inner layer appeared far superior in original construction to those in the middle layer, yet they were scattered and dilapidated now, resembling ruins that had aged several decades. Everything was covered in dried bloodstains, dark brown and black, as if telling William and the others about the tragic, violent events that had unfolded here.
"What... what happened here?" Alya looked around, her voice trembling slightly with barely controlled fear.
The ominous scene spread before her filled her with deep fear and panic.
"I don't know, but some of these architectural damage patterns seem to match what our leaders could do." A middle-layer lamia crouched down in front of a collapsed building, gently stroking the battle traces left on its cracked surface with her hand as she muttered the observation with growing horror.