Huh? She's the Hunger Devil? You sure you didn't mess that up?"
Cael stared at Pingtsi, clearly not buying it.
"I'm not wrong."
Quanxi flicked away her cigarette.
"Pingtsi is the Insight Fiend. She appraises things, and she doesn't get it wrong. If she says this girl is the Hunger Devil, then that's exactly what she is."
Hearing that, Fami's eyes lit up. She grabbed Pingtsi's hand and shook it repeatedly, tears streaming down her face.
"Th… thank you…"
"Eh?"
Quanxi glanced down, only now properly noticing Fami.
Even with messy hair and tear-streaked cheeks, she was… actually pretty cute.
That was enough.
Quanxi reached out and gently wiped Fami's tears.
"Hunger Devil, be my woman."
"Eh…?"
Fami froze.
That escalated way too fast.
She bit her finger and looked at Quanxi like a lost child.
"I-is this… a request for salvation…? Then come… come… I will save you… reach out… I will send you to the peaceful other shore…"
"Yeah, no."
Quanxi sighed and shook her head.
"Her brain's fried. Same level as Long and Cosmo. What a waste."
Cael went quiet, thinking.
If it was only this white-haired Fami talking, he would not believe a word of it.
But now Pingtsi confirmed it.
That changed things.
And honestly, he hated where this line of thinking led.
If this girl really was the Hunger Devil…
Then the one at his side, the one he called his wife…
Was the Death Devil.
"Damn…"
That made his head hurt.
A Primal Devil like Death could wipe out humanity whenever she wanted.
So why hadn't she?
Why stay with him?
Why play along all this time?
No way…
Did she actually enjoy it?
The thought was insane, but nothing about this situation made sense anyway.
She had helped him, stuck with him, made his life better.
In his mind, she was already his.
They had done almost everything together except crossing that final line.
So what was her goal?
Kill him?
That didn't add up either.
She had more chances than he could count.
Hell, during teleportation, he even turned off his Dark Water ability so her powers wouldn't glitch.
If she wanted him dead, he would already be gone.
So why the hell was she playing house with him?
Cael's thoughts spiraled.
Too many holes. Too many contradictions.
Before he could sort it out, something else broke the moment.
"Ahh!!"
Long suddenly dropped to her knees, clutching her horns as cold sweat poured down her face.
"Hal… Halloween…"
Cosmo clung tightly to Quanxi from behind, eyes squeezed shut.
Weaving Brew rolled across the ground, clearly losing it.
"W-we're screwed!!!"
Pingtsi collapsed, crying hysterically.
Quanxi rubbed her temples, already annoyed.
"Girls, get it together. Yeah, it's Hell, but it looks quiet. Just grass everywhere. No devils in sight."
She missed one crucial detail.
When a true apex predator is present, everything else stays the hell away.
"Wuwuwu… He's watching us… from above…"
"Who?"
Cael looked at Pingtsi.
She covered her mouth, trembling uncontrollably.
"A Transcendent… a Primal Fear… a devil that has never died… if He shows even a little hostility… we're dead instantly…"
"A Primal Devil, huh…"
Cael narrowed his eyes.
Something like the Falling Devil.
Troublesome, sure.
But not impossible.
He had the Withered Heart-Piercing damage boost, the Palette system to stack abilities, and thousands of unused attribute points.
If it came down to it, he could fight.
The advantage might actually be his.
"Wuwu yiyiyi!!!"
Pingtsi completely broke down, smashing her forehead against the ground.
"Lord Quanxi… please… let me kill myself now… I don't want to be killed by Him…"
Thump.
Quanxi flicked her forehead.
"Idiot. Stop talking nonsense."
"I'll protect you. I don't care if it's a Primal Devil. If anything tries to touch my girls, I'll fight it."
Then she turned to Cael.
"I owe you one. Got a way out? If we stay here, they're going to lose it completely."
Cael looked up at the doors in the sky.
Getting out… not simple.
This Hell was different.
The doors were above, not connected to the human world below.
Each door likely led to a devil's personal domain.
Which meant this place, this twisted grassland, was probably some kind of shared space.
So where was the exit?
He had no clear answer.
But he did have one option.
Fami's teleportation.
He could not guarantee she could lock onto this location.
But she could reach his private space.
He had used it plenty of times before, sneaking around with her in that isolated, looping dimension where time did not move.
Perfect privacy.
Perfect control.
If he could reach her again, everything would become clear.
Assuming she was still on his side.
Assuming the Death Devil had not decided to screw him over.
Cael exhaled slowly.
"I can try. No promises."
"Good enough."
Quanxi nodded and offered him a cigarette.
"I don't smoke."
Cael waved it off and raised his hand, framing the space in front of him.
Then everything changed.
"He's here! He's coming!!!"
Pingtsi's voice cracked completely.
"It's the Darkness Devil!!!"
Creak.
High above, among the endless doors, one ordinary wooden door slowly opened.
From within, a black point dropped, like a single drop of water falling into the world.
Plop.
Silence swallowed everything.
Darkness took over instantly.
The entire space plunged into black.
Cael's vision vanished.
His ability failed mid-use.
The grass rustled sharply, something moving within the unseen.
Then, slowly, the darkness pulled back.
Vision returned.
What stood before them was a long, blood-soaked road.
Lining both sides were hundreds of astronauts, severed at the waist, their upper bodies clasping their hands in prayer toward their own lower halves.
At the far end stood a pale, skeletal figure.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Cael's pupils shrank.
Even breathing felt dangerous.
He could feel it.
It was watching him.
And the pressure…
It was far beyond the fake Falling Devil.
This was real.
Far stronger.
"Shit…"
Cael immediately started dumping all his remaining attribute points into Constitution and Agility.
Every last one.
In an instant, his body reached absurd levels.
If he transformed now, he would rival something like the Gun Devil in raw stats.
But even then…
His chest tightened.
Because this was not just any devil.
This was the Darkness Devil.
A true Primal Fear.
From somewhere in the shadows…
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