Stray

Godwin stared at the silver-grey eyes of the young man opposite.

To be honest, he was at odds with the idea that Nemo Wright was a superior demon. The Horizon Mercenary Group is the largest mercenary group on the surface. Over the years, Godwin himself has come into contact with several high-level demons who use human bodies.

He's very good at telling them apart.

No matter how good the superficial skills are, there is always a little cold alienation in the eyes of the superior demons. Even the loss of surface flesh and body is only a loss of strength and health to them—like a bone-deep wound in an inconsequential part of a human limb, painful, unpleasant, and debilitating, but often Not fatal.

They have a fundamentally different definition of "survival" than the rest of life on the surface.

After the "Demon Slayer" O'Lore got rid of those ambitious and crazy guys, the rest are mostly the type that comes to play and have fun. In the eyes of the superior demons, this is closer to a game of manipulating surface puppets in the abyss, and they only need to simply abide by the rules of the game set by Olori.

For true surface races, the surface body represents only one life.

No matter how the demons disguise, they can't really understand the obsession of other beings in this playground to "survive". Powerful power exacerbates their indifference and alienation.

He never missed it.

Niemo Wright's body language didn't have too many flinchings. Faced with the question of "how to see through the illusion of the superior demon", he did look a little embarrassed and distressed.

The black-haired mage of Tumbleweed scratched his cheeks, uh, and seemed to be struggling with words.

There was no anger and gloom in his eyes, and even a little guilt.

Although he didn't intend to express his opinion on love between men, Godwin couldn't deceive himself - when Mr. Wright looked at his cousin, the tenderness and nostalgia in his eyes would not lie .

Too contradictory.

Godwin stood quietly in the corridor, waiting for an answer. His instinct was madly shouting "This person is very dangerous", but the long-term accumulated experience told him very firmly that Nemo Wright did not fit the characteristics of the superior demon he was familiar with.

Actually, just after three hours of boring meeting, Mr. Demon King, whose brain is a little rusty, completely lost his mind.

I must give a relatively natural answer as soon as possible, Nemo thought anxiously.

When he sounded a reminder beside the magic circle, he expected this situation. But the circumstances were special at the time, and it was impossible for him to remain silent in order to conceal his identity.

Nimo had hoped that Godwin would conjecture a possible approach like the rest of the strong, or easily push it to "the shady skills of the black chapter". Of course, just in case, he also prepared a set of rhetoric in advance—

But Godwin was staring at him with the utmost seriousness. A joking lie or two was enough, and Nemo found that he still didn't have the courage to gossip in front of acquaintances.

"Uh...how to say this, actually..."

"Actually, this is not the right thing to tell you."

The familiar lazy voice sounded, and an arm was put on the shoulders from behind him, and Nemo instantly guessed the identity of the uninvited guest.

Jesse Dillon showed his signature sweet smile: "Our mage is a bit introverted, you see him. Let me tell you, I don't think you mind, dear Mr Wright."

Nemo nodded stiffly.

"That's right. Mr. Wright's gray parrot is actually a superior demon." Jesse touched his chin. "Its species is relatively rare, and it just has the special ability to be sensitive to illusion."

"It is impossible for a superior demon to choose a parrot, an animal body with extremely low magical abilities. Even if the contract can be obtained more easily, the parrot's body is extremely fragile and cannot exert much power. This is unreasonable. ." Godwin pointed out immediately.

"Of course, of course." Jesse continued with a smile, "Mr. Wright and Mr. Ramon didn't lie to you, that parrot was a mid-level demon when I joined! You know, once It secretly left the team and ran to the Church of the Abyss."

The blond youth snatched the staff from Nemo very naturally.

"This is a powerful prop that even the Radians can't see through, you see, you should be able to feel the extremely powerful superior demon breath here. The parrot found it, our little parrot is absolutely It's an adventure."

Nemo silently glanced at the handmade staff made of the floor lamp pole. From the bottom of my heart, I admire Jesse's ability to talk nonsense.

Mr. Dillon is a perfect mix of truth and lies. His staff does have a strong enough superior demon breath. After all, the bone ball is the white demon of the silent church - Corlestoro has accumulated demon rot that has accumulated for hundreds of years near the church.

I don't know how that Nightmare Leopard is now, Nemo lost his mind for a few seconds.

Godwin took the staff with a headache: "You mean, the demons in your team have been upgraded?"

"Yes, this is not a good thing that can be advertised around. Mr. Wright is not possessed by it, and strictly speaking, he is not a demon warlock. Our commander did not swear." The smile on West's face widened. "You know your attitude towards demons... Also, like you said, even if it's upgraded, the power of flesh and blood is still limited by the parrot's body. After all, it's not that dangerous."

The grey parrot did look terribly timid, and on the few occasions we met, it looked trembling and trembling. Godwin stared at the pitch-black bone ball at the top of the staff, thinking seriously.

According to Jesse Dillon, this performance does make sense. It wasn't adapted to the role of a real superior demon, and now Oliver Ramon can definitely deal with a superior demon attached to a gray parrot.

"I see, thanks for explaining." Godwin gave Jesse a nonchalant nod. "This matter is really not suitable for publicity. You'd better be optimistic about the parrot. If it tries to replace the human body and conclude a contract, I will indeed intervene."

Then he turned to Nemo: "Sorry, Mr. Wright, for the delay."

Although the demonic aura in the Caleb village witch incident remains unexplained, in the end, he also lacks conclusive evidence that it is related to tumbleweed. Although there is still a residual sense of disobedience in his heart, he continues to haunt each other because of unwarranted suspicion... This is not his style of doing things.

Godwin politely handed back the staff, turned, and the dark red cape horns cut through the air.

After confirming that Godwin was far away, Nemo sighed earth-shatteringly: "Thanks, Dylan."

"By the way." Jesse stroked his chin. "Actually, I'm here to find you, dear Mr. Wright."

Nimo raised his eyebrows.

"You know who I am, so I need to remind you in advance - the closer to the abyss, the more suppressed my power. I don't know what will happen in the future, you better Don't acquiesce that everything is safe just because I didn't make a statement." The smile on Jesse's face was a little stiff.

Nimo was silent for a moment: "Are you in danger in the abyss? I mean the kind that will endanger your life. If you are reluctant, you can stay here. This is also the work of the guard. Part of it, I don't think Ollie would mind."

"It won't be to the extent of endangering my life. If my body is destroyed, the impact is estimated to be similar to the loss of a piece of flesh and blood from a superior demon. It's just... Well, forget it, I shouldn't be so unlucky."

The young blond shrugs his shoulders in a relaxed tone.

"I won't leave the team because of this, after all Ed will definitely go with you. I'm just a reminder."

The next plan went surprisingly well.

Almost suffered a big loss on the first magic formation, and the next reconnaissance team was extremely cautious. Instead of trying to fix the circles, they log as much data as possible without activating them.

As for descending on this road to the abyss, the three scouts rely entirely on the two dragons and the adventurers' self-built teleportation array - although the speed is slow, unstable, and mana cost The degree is staggering, and at least there is no fatal emergency.

For the first three weeks, this will work. Everything was calm and there were no strange attacks. If it wasn't for the time and effort required to quietly sabotage these massive teleportation circles, one would simply think it was a prank on the whim of some demon.

"Well, this is the fourth set." The conductor Lugo waved his short cane. "Have the data been recorded?"

"Yes, Lord Rugo."

"Be more careful next." The one-eyed dwarf rolled his eyes, "The depth here is more than 20 kilometers underground, and the instant communication methods on the surface should have failed. You must remember to be as detailed as possible. Record the information, one to take to Return Town with a puppet bird, one to spare just in case. I warn you, especially humans - don't try to save trouble with abyss communication spells! No matter what type of demon the enemy is, don't give them Opportunity for eavesdropping."

"Yes, Lord Rugo!"

"Next... well, what do you want to say?"

Two dragons came forward, the red-brown dragon who had been carrying the tumbleweeds remained motionless, while the blue dragon that partnered with him stretched out its forelimbs—

[It's too deep, we won't be descending in flight. 】

Unlike the one-eyed dwarves, the structure of the dragon's vocal cords prevents them from using human language. And most dragons don't like to turn themselves into humanoids specifically for communication. They tend to take a more straightforward form—writing in the air with light.

This is not a negotiation, it is a statement, the flight is over and we will climb down with you. 】

"Oh, I guessed there was this." Dwarf Rugo waved his hand indifferently. "Of course, everyone will have to use their hands and feet next - you two should rest and be warned."

The blue dragon snorted and agreed, the reddish-brown head was a little bit, and it looked like he was about to fall asleep.

For a moment, Oliver showed an expression that was close to rejoicing.

As of now, he really prefers to climb down by himself rather than riding a flying dragon.

For more than three weeks, things have been easier than they thought. Although there have been several dangerous situations, most of them were unexpected encounters with the demon tribe, and the other party made it clear that they had no plans. If I had to say it, there were indeed several groups of particularly difficult mid-level demon sneak attacks, but they were all easily repelled by the ones who were at the forefront.

Leaving a part of the troops in Return Town, there are not many people in the reconnaissance team, so it is not too difficult to escort.

But the growing darkness is really frightening.

As they descended deeper and deeper into the abyss, the demons began to divide in size - as large as a whale floating in the air, as small as a mosquito. They radiate eerie light, wandering around in the darkness where you can't see your fingers.

To avoid attracting deadly opponents, only the end of the team burns the magic lamp of the abyss magic as energy.

Oliver understands why the expedition army specially uses a large teleportation array to go back and forth.

Eating and resting in the dark, going in the dark is really uncomfortable. He could at least hug Nemo while he was resting and feel the warmth of his lover. If you are alone, just keeping your senses is a laborious job.

Not to mention that in the darkness where you can't see your fingers, countless deformed monsters silently aim at them.

He kept his perception open at all times, and once "saw" a mage unknowingly stepping on a monster's everted lips. Fortunately, the giant was sleeping, completely ignoring the group of "surface ants" on the move.

His strength is amazing, and he can't help but sweat.

This is the "safest" path chosen by the commander in advance.

Fortunately, the reduced reconnaissance team only has more than 100 people, and the action is relatively compact. If it were replaced by an army of tens of thousands, this monster only needed a roll of its tongue, which was enough to smash the entire team into a mess.

"If you feel something is wrong..."

"No, don't worry." Nemo's voice pierced through the darkness and came from a close distance with a smile. "You should be more concerned than me... Huh?"

In an instant, the lights brightened.

The dwarf Lugo apparently gave some instructions, and the spare float lights in the team floated neatly, illuminating the rock wall in front of him.

The rock wall was dark and rough like a seaside reef. It was full of holes, and the whole scout party was standing in front of the largest one.

The depths of the cave reveal some fire.

"Lighting is allowed in the cave, you'd better let your eyes adapt to the light in advance." The dwarf's unpleasant voice was amplified by magic. "After the cave is the gravity labyrinth, prepare your gravity pendulum and make me nervous!"

"Are you okay?" Oliver said nervously, "Why do I think the name 'Gravity Labyrinth' sounds familiar?"

"Remember the superior demon who cooperated with Dalla Lennion back in Garland?" Nemo swallowed hard. "I seemed to have... threw it here from the surface."

"...The one who seriously injured you? I remember it was Witherspoon." Oliver muttered.

"It's the name." Nemo stared solemnly at the rock face in front of him. "And I feel it."

"It, uh, how is it now?"

"Very unhappy."