Chapter 31: Life Is Full of Ups and Downs

"You…used all of the anti-radiation magic stones on a Milu Rabbit???"

Heris's voice was filled with a sense of disbelief. The Milu Rabbit was a creature commonly found in both the human realm and the demon realm. It was a relatively common species among the mammalian lagomorphs, and members of the species would typically hold small traces of mana in their bodies.

However, as the amount was tiny, the Milu Rabbits couldn't unleash their mana for offensive or defensive purposes. Instead, the only purpose their mana served was to make their meat more tender and delectable. It was also for this reason that people had even created farms specialized in raising Milu Rabbits. Hence, one could say that Milu Rabbits were staple foods for both humans and demons.

Yet, Alice had wasted a bunch of magic stones just to protect one of these ubiquitous Milu Rabbits. Her actions were simply incomprehensible. It was akin to a person giving their only hazmat suit to a chicken when entering a radiation zone.

"I remember that you only used one magic stone on yourself when entering the radiation zone... Its effects should've long since disappeared before you reached here, so how can you still move here normally?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's the He— That's none of your business, isn't it?" Alice said, shrugging. She had very nearly said that it was the "Hero's privilege" out of habit. Fortunately, though, she managed to correct herself in time.

The reason why Alice could move about normally in the radiation zone was naturally because she had been holding onto a pair of panties previously. The bonus of 7,000 points in her Control stat allowed her to effortlessly assimilate her mana with the crumbling protective film's mana and strengthen the protective film. Now, even though she was no longer holding any panties in her right hand, the protective film could still ensure her safety in the radiation zone for the next 10 to 15 days.

"Forget it. I never expected this little trick to work against you, to begin with, since you are also a Demon King," Heris said, frowning as she stared at Alice with a look of impatience. Then, she waved her right hand, instantly summoning several magic arrays around the hall. Following this, several large crystals slowly emerged from these magic arrays. "Since you used the magic stones I gave you on the Milu Rabbit, I'll use this method to imprison you instead."

The next moment, Alice felt the invisible force pressing down on her body vanishing, probably because Heris had dismissed the gravity magic hidden in the magic stone's mana. However, immediately afterward, an even stronger gravity magic took effect on her limbs and back, instantly overwhelming her body's resistance and causing her to crumble onto the cold hard ground. The sudden impact against the floor caused Alice's entire body to ache in pain, and even her chin had started bleeding.

Another magic related to gravity?

Alice concluded that the demoness should be proficient at gravity magic. Whether it was the magic induced in the magic stones or the magic activated with the help of those crystals, both were related to gravity. However, unlike the first gravity magic that acted on her entire body, the second one seemed to be acting on five parts of her body, specifically her four limbs and her back.

Fortunately, Alice could still move her neck, albeit barely. Then, when she lifted her head and looked around, she found that there were five crystals situated around the hall, just as she expected. The number of crystals coincided with the number of gravity sources acting on her body. 

Going by this thought, there should be a high possibility that destroying these five crystals would remove the gravity magic acting on her body. The only problem now was that Alice couldn't even move her limbs. Without a weapon in her right hand, her overall parameters were even worse than the average human.

I shouldn't have put away the panties just now...

Alice once more realized that she was taking this world too lightly. However, this couldn't be helped, either. She had only been living in this world for a short period, so she still lacked a thorough understanding of the dangers found in this world. After interacting with Heris for the past twelve hours, she inevitably let her guard down. Now that the pouch holding her arsenal of panties had been sent flying to a distance and her limbs were rendered immobile, let alone retrieving the pouch, she couldn't even take off the panties she was wearing.

Meanwhile, after making sure that she had immobilized Alice, Heris revealed a smile and said, "It seems you are still far from being able to normally use your Demon King's Power. And here I thought you might become a hindrance to my plans, but it looks like I overestimated you."

"You..." Struggling to keep her head raised, Alice looked at Heris and said, "You're not Heris, right?"

"Huh?" Alice's words stunned Heris. However, when Heris looked at Alice's expression, she found that the blonde girl didn't seem to be trying to pull a fast one on her. It seemed that Alice truly believed that she wasn't the real Heris. Frowning, Heris pondered for a moment before asking in a low voice, "How could you tell?"

"How should I put it... Even though you claim to be the daughter of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, making it seem reasonable for you to know about the information on the past Demon Kings, your explanation on the Demon Kings isn't from the Four Heavenly Kings' perspective."

Looking at Heris, or more specifically, the person occupying Heris's body, Alice said, "Even if you are the daughter of one of the current Four Heavenly Kings, your understanding of Demon Kings should still be limited. Yet, you seem to understand Demon Kings very well. Not only did you speak of the Demon Kings' opinion of the demon race from the Demon Kings' perspective, but you are also knowledgeable regarding the Demon King's Power.

"If you are the daughter of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, then you should be explaining things from the Four Heavenly Kings' perspective instead. You should be expressing dislike toward the Demon Kings who don't carry out their responsibilities. Yet, you speak from the Demon Kings' perspective and express disdain toward the demon race... This conflicts with your identity."

"..."

Heris continued staring at Alice without saying a word.

"Also, these magic crystals you summoned; you prepared them in advance, didn't you? Even though the gravity magic they release is powerful, they are far from enough to imprison a Demon King. If the 'plan' you speak of is to imprison the next generation's Demon King, then it is a terrible one," Alice said. Then, after a brief pause, Alice continued, "So, the target of your so-called plan shouldn't be me, right? My appearance must be a complete accident for you, and your real target shouldn't be me, but Heris instead."

"How perceptive of you. Although these are all conjectures, you, unfortunately, guessed right," "Heris" said, having no intention of making up excuses to counter Alice's conjectures. To be precise, he didn't find the need to do so since he didn't think Alice could resist him.

After saying so, Heris's body limply collapsed to the ground. Her eyes were closed as well, appearing to have lost consciousness. Then, the vague silhouette of a middle-aged man slowly formed on top of Heris.

"This little fellow named Heris is indeed the daughter of one of the Four Heavenly Kings. I can look through her memories when I am attached to her body. But looking is, after all, different from assimilation. It is still a little too difficult for me to play the role of a woman," the man, who was in a soul-like state, said.

Alice breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw this development. It was fortunate that Heris wasn't her enemy. Although she was confident in her panties, it was still a little too exciting for her to get involved with the Four Heavenly Kings so shortly after arriving in the demon realm.

"I am Grant Morax, the previous generation's Demon King," the middle-aged man said with a twisted smile, interrupting Alice's thoughts. "So, I am your senior, little fellow."

"..."