Chapter 44: You Asked For This

Flaman naturally wasn't so dumb as to verify Alice's Demon King's Power in his house. After all, the demon realm had already witnessed the might of over a dozen Demon Kings, so everyone already possessed a general understanding of the Demon King's Power. For example, with the Demon King's Power, a Demon King could unleash taboos as if they were drinking water.

Based on this point alone, Flaman dared not conduct live combat with a suspected Demon King within his home. It might be fine if Alice wasn't the Demon King and was simply someone with strength rivaling the Four Heavenly Kings. If that was the case, Flaman was confident he could keep his house intact. However, he would be rendered helpless if Alice was the Demon King. If Alice launched a taboo within his home, he would have to begin preparations for rebuilding it.

"We'll conduct the test here," Flaman said.

For precaution's sake, Flaman had brought Alice to a secret underground bunker located a short distance from his manor. However, it couldn't really be considered a secret bunker since the entrance was blatantly situated on a street in Teli City.

"This bunker has been strengthened by multiple generations of Four Heavenly Kings and Demon Kings. It is more than capable of withstanding the power of taboos, and it is prepared as a shelter for when the human realm invades us. If it is in here, you can even use taboos without having to worry about damaging anything."

As Flaman provided Alice with an introduction to the bunker, he slowly raised his left hand and summoned a small flame in his palm. Then, as if the flame was some kind of ignition, many more thumb-sized flames started appearing around Flaman's body.

In the blink of an eye, an armor of flames had appeared around Flaman's muscular body. The high temperature of the flames had even distorted the surrounding air, so a normal person like Alice quickly found herself sweating from the heat.

Looking at the layer of flames protecting Flaman, Alice had to admit that the Four Heavenly Kings were indeed powerful existences. Even though Flaman wasn't executing an attack, Alice had already found herself struggling for breath.

At this time, even the Milu Rabbit tied to Alice's waist had woken up and was currently struggling to break free from its restraint. Though, by the time Alice and Flaman were done with their battle, Alice would probably have to take the rabbit to a veterinarian since it might have suffered heatstroke.

"By the way, you should've noticed that my horns are fake, right?" Alice suddenly asked as she quietly extended her right hand into her pouch. Then, she added, "I noticed that you've been looking at the top of my head from time to time."

"That's right. Your horns might be able to fool ordinary demons, but any high-ranking demon can tell that they are fake," Flaman said, nodding. After taking a glance at the right hand Alice had extended into her pouch, he continued explaining, "Demon Kings are humans who have transformed into demons, so they might not understand much about the characteristics of demons from the get-go. The horns, wings, and tails of demons aren't there just for decoration. Instead, they are organs necessary for demons to survive in the demon realm. They are the fruits of evolution meant to help demons filter the demon realm's polluted mana."

"They're organs for filtering polluted mana?" Alice was a little surprised. This was the first time she had heard about such a thing. Although she had read some information on the demon realm through the demon realm's internet, she did not conduct thorough research into the demon realm's biology. "I see. Does that mean you noticed that my horns are fake because they contain no mana whatsoever?"

"Yes. That plastic product might be good for role-playing in the human realm, but in the demon realm, it is only enough to fool weak demons who are insensitive toward mana," Flaman said, laughing. Then, he refocused his gaze on Alice and said, "Come, show me your evidence of being the Demon King. If I find that you aren't a demon, I have no choice but to deem you a human spy. At that time, I cannot guarantee what will happen to you."

"You won't get that opportunity."

Alice chuckled. Then, she agilely picked out a pair of panties from her pouch, bent her fingers, and stuffed the panties into the glove she wore. She had previously cut a slit in her glove, so she managed to hide the panties into the glove without trouble.

Originally, the weapon information displayed in Alice's mind was as followed:

[Weapon: Slightly Damaged Fabric Glove]

[Quality: Garbage]

[Effect: Strength +1]

[Additional Effect: None]

However, the weapon information immediately changed after Alice stuffed the black panties into the glove and clenched her fist.

[Weapon: Soft Black Lace Underwear]

[Quality: Artifact]

[Effect: Strength +3000, Constitution +3000, Speed +3000, Mind +7000, Control +7000, Mana +7000]

[Additional Effect:

Mana Cancellation (Passive Skill. You will not be affected by offensive magic);

Absolute Defense (Passive Skill. You will not be hurt by physical attacks);

Destruction Grip (Active Skill. Upon use, releases a hand of darkness that can crumble the target's soul.)]

In an instant, black mist started oozing from Alice's right hand, and an ocean of mana began filling Alice's petite body. Although Alice's transformation wasn't as apparent as the phenomenon Flaman's flame armor created, Flaman's expression drastically changed when he sensed Alice's change.

As one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Flaman had naturally noticed the indescribably large amount of mana that had suddenly appeared within Alice. Meanwhile, this mana had instantly transformed Alice from a powerless human into an existence that made even Flaman feel threatened.

Originally, Flaman had still been speculating whether Alice had used some kind of tool to temporarily elevate her strength and fool Heris into believing that she was the Demon King. Now, though, he had thrown those thoughts out the window and earnestly believed that Alice was the new Demon King.

What a joke. If someone managed to invent a tool that could allow a normal person to instantly gain strength surpassing that of the demon race's Four Heavenly Kings, this person would've ruled the world already.

Now, Flaman was starting to regret his decision. Had he known that Alice's transformation would be so obvious after she made use of the Demon King's Power, there wouldn't be a need to conduct a combat test in this anti-magic bunker. Alice would only need to exhibit her boundless mana to convince him that she was the Demon King.

According to historical records, the black mist that was currently oozing out of Alice's right hand matched the characteristics of past Demon Kings when they utilized the Demon King's Power. If Alice went all-out right now, the anti-magic bunker might not collapse entirely, but it would definitely need many costly repairs.

Flaman was the Fear Kingdom's king. To avoid putting unnecessary strain on the kingdom's finances, he immediately decided to stop the battle. However, just as Flaman was about to open his mouth and speak out, a white silhouette suddenly charged in his direction and crashed into his face with a bang.

The white silhouette naturally belonged to the Milu Rabbit.

After waking up, the Milu Rabbit quickly struggled free from the rope tying its ears to Alice's waist. Then, after running around for a while, the Milu Rabbit found that apart from Alice, the only other person standing in this empty bunker was Flaman.

Thus, the Milu Rabbit clicked A(ttack) and swiftly typed "GG" in chat.

As the Heavenly King of Fire, Flaman naturally possessed a frightening physique. The Milu Rabbit didn't have the qualifications to move Flaman's face even after headbutting him with all of its strength and passing out. However, because of the Milu Rabbit's unexpected interruption, Flaman's mind blanked for a moment, and the words he wanted to say failed to come out of his mouth.

Moreover, as if the Milu Rabbit's headbutt was a signal, Alice immediately launched her attack as soon as she heard the sound of the impact.

"Destruction Grip!"

"I..."

Flaman wore a bitter expression on his face as he watched the gigantic black hand mercilessly descending toward him.