Chapter 75 - Mastermo Is Dating Who Now?

[You crazy idiot, I can't take it anymore!]

Zhihao had always wanted to do something like this purely for the rush of adrenaline, and he wasn't guilty about it. For him, this was the simplest way out. If he really did end up falling and dying, he'll just try again in another level. 

In a split second, three things happened all at once, one more shocking than the other. 

Kazan yelled out, "It was me! It was me! I admit it!"

Alvi moved forward and decided to go OOC as she saved Zhihao from falling over. Although she looked like a small girl, she surprisingly had immense agility and strength. 

[You little piece of sh*t!]

"Thank you." Zhihao beamed. 

[Alert: The gambling bar has been used.]

Zhihao wanted to laugh and cry as he heard the notification. 

Just what was going to happen now?

He was almost there!

Who in the world hated him so much?!

Suddenly, the moon goddess spellbook deactivated on its own without Zhihao's permission. Li Ling was immediately thrown out and everyone saw the new human suddenly appearing out of thin air. The shock was normal. 

[This is the effect of the gambling bar.]

Zhihao was a great actor but this was really unexpected. Just why did this have to suddenly happen?!

The crowd had started going crazy once again.

"T-two vessels?"

"Another human?"

"Has the demon gone crazy?!"

"Watch your mouth, if he hears you, your mouth wouldn't be intact anymore."

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

"What is happening?!"

"Oi oi oi! This is too much to take in"

"Wasn't that just a little ghost?!"

"This is getting more interesting."

Zhihao moved forward and caught the falling Li Ling. 

"Hi there!" Li Ling reacted as he looked at the handsome face of the man that was carrying him. 

Zhihao looked back at him and couldn't help but chuckle, "Hi again!"

[Stop flirting.]

[Can you guys focus on the situation at hand?]

Zhihao put Li Ling down and was getting ready to say something, but his words were cut short by his dear brother, Doji, "I know him."

"You know him?" Zhihao responded. 

Itsuki wasn't from here and Doji hadn't gone to the human realm so there was no way the two should have known each other or at least that was what Zhihao thought.

[This is not going to be good]

Zhihao was a bit worried. Three things had happened at once and the crowd was still unsure on what of the three should they discuss, but now that Doji had spoken up, they all focused their attention on the new vessel in front. 

Kazan also seemed to look taken back as he saw Itsuki. 

Zhihao had no idea how these people knew Itsuki but he was surely going to find out soon. 

"Isn't that Itsuki?" Doji questioned and as the crowd heard this, they were all shocked. They had never seen this human before but they had often heard his name. 

"Who is that?" The demon king asked and his voice made the energetic crowd go silent once again.

Doji stepped forward, seeming to be more than happy to spill the tea he knew. Zhihao had a bad feeling about this. He cursed the person who had used the gambling bar to do this. Li Ling was safe inside the moon goddess spellbook and now he was outside it, being stared at by ghosts and demons who held hostility in their eyes. 

"This is the human Taki is messing around with."

[Ding~ New hint!]

[Taki and Itsuki are dating.]

"..."

Zhihao didn't know if he should laugh or cry as he heard this. He had really underestimated T.I.A.D. Every time he would think he had figured it out, he'd be pushed back to the original position from where he started off at. 

Zhihao looked at Kazan who was glaring at Li Ling as if he were ready to tear the human apart any moment now. 

Zhihao was standing near Alvi so he whispered, "Alvi, just why did Taki and Kazan break up?"

[Didn't I already answer this question?]

[Taki likes humans. The first time he met Itsuki was in the human realm and at that time, he was still dating Kazan. He was interested in Itsuki and the two became friends. Itsuki knew Taki was a demon but he was not scared of him and on the contrary, he was interested in the demon, maybe even more than how much the demon was interested in him.]

[The two started hanging out together and when Itsuki wanted to visit Taki's world, Taki was more than happy to bring him here and be a guide.]

[It is unclear if the two had romantic feelings towards each other at that point in time, but it is most likely that they did not or at least Taki did not. Even though Taki was a demon with a cold personality, he was a man who would never cheat on his lover and at that time, he really did seem to be in love with Kazan]

[When Itsuki was visiting this place, Doji saw him and he thought this was the chance to spread rumors and tried to draw a draft between Kazan and Taki. He was successful. He told Kazan about Taki's newfound interest in this good-looking human and jealousy got the best of him.]

[Kazan tried to kill Itsuki but Taki saved the man. The two lovers fought and in the end, broke up.]

[After they broke up, Taki started to develop romantic feelings towards Itsuki and Itsuki was already in love with this demon. The two started dating and it became the local gossip among the ghosts who were always interested to know what this demon prince was up to]

Zhihao who heard all of this looked at Li Ling and didn't know what he was supposed to do. He suddenly understood why Itsuki had a demon detecting talisman and not a demon repelling one, he also found out why Itsuki and his grandmother's relationship had started to worsen. 

The grandmother was a shaman so she must have already been aware of Itsuki dating a demon. She had wanted to keep him safe, after all, who would want their grandson to date a demon? If she had agreed to such a thing, she would have really been a crazy woman. 

Kazan, "You dare bring him here?!"

Zhihao snapped out of his thoughts as he heard this, he looked at Kazan whose expressions had turned ugly as he glared at the human. 

Zhihao didn't know what he was supposed to do and he couldn't guess what was going to happen next, but he still decided to speak up. His plan to make Kazan confess was both a success and a failure so, at this moment, he felt like it was best if he just winged it. 

He could always deal with the after-effects of his words, "So what if I bring him here?"

[You idiot!]

[Demons are banned from dating Humans!]

Oh...

Turns out that he was in much bigger trouble than he thought. 

"What type of thing is this?!" The middle-aged demon questioned, his whole face red because of anger. 

"They are dating!" Doji answered enthusiastically. He was the only person who was thoroughly enjoying himself at the moment and his happiness was not hidden. 

Zhihao shook his head as he tried to think about what he was going to do next. 

"Alvi, what is more important? The festival or me dating a human?" Zhihao whispered. 

[Depends. Your dating scandal is much more interesting to listen about, but the festival is much more important.]

Zhihao nodded as he took a breath in and looked back up at the demon king with unwavering eyes, "I think we have more pressing matters to attend to. The festival must go on. If father wants to question me about my private life, might as well do it later. I'm not going to run away."

If the mission was completed, Zhihao was going to be thrown out of this level so it really didn't matter what happened after it. 

Before anyone could say anything, Kazan spoke up, "You're right. The festival must go on."

Zhihao looked at him and smiled. 

This demon was planning something and Zhihao didn't have a good feeling about it. 

Kazan suddenly kneeled down on the floor and spoke, "Your highness, forgive me. I killed the original vessel."

Damn... 

Zhihao understood what he was planning. 

This demon was really a pain in the ass. 

Doji who heard Kazan, understood what he wanted to do, and was naturally happy to help him, "The vessel is destroyed? How can that be?" 

Zhihao looked at the demon that was acting like he was shocked and aggrieved. 

[I don't think this is going to end well.]

"Taki is so impressive. I have always believed in you." Doji complimented with a fake smile that was basically begging for Zhihao to punch him, "You saw this coming, didn't you? And you bought along with you a second vessel? That's genius!"

Zhihao pulled Li Ling behind him and glared at Doji who was trying to pick a fight with him. 

"Is that so?" The demon king questioned as he heard Doji. 

Taki tricking Itsuki to make him come along as a second vessel was much more believable than Taki dating the human. 

"Absolutely not." Zhihao answered immediately, "Itsuki is not a vessel."

The audience was silent as they heard this. It was the first time Taki had raised his voice against his father. They were not the only ones shocked, Li Ling and Alvi had also not predicted Zhihao to have such a strong reaction. 

By this time, Zhihao had already guessed that they weren't going to get out of this cleanly so if worst came to worst, he could always make a run for it. With his mind thinking like this, he was able to keep calm and follow his gut that always seemed to work for him. 

Zhihao was a man who was considered to have the greatest luck among the pro-gamers; he could only hope that his great luck worked magic once again. 

"I'm dating Itsuki, why would I be sacrificing him?" 

Doji was shocked to see Taki react this way, but it wasn't totally unexpected since he knew how much this brother of his loved this mere human. 

Doji knew Taki was a cold man at appearance only, in reality, he was a demon who was passionate and devoted to his lover. If he didn't like someone, he would not date them and if he really loved someone, he would protect them with his own life on the line. Doji had seen this with his own eyes when Kazan and Taki were dating. 

Doji hated Taki for this. He was a demon so why not behave like one? Why was he always doing such ridiculous things? 

Doji knew that Taki would protect this human named Itsuki, but he never thought Taki would actually raise his voice against his father. This was much better than he had expected. If Taki wanted to dig his own grave, Doji would naturally not stand in the way. 

"So are you saying that we should just go home and forget about the festival?" Doji sneered.

Zhihao looked at him and smiled, "Then are you saying that I should sacrifice my boyfriend for something so trivial?"

Doji, "Taki, your words are very disrespectful."

Zhihao wanted to say something but Li Ling stopped him as he stepped forward instead, he was the topic of the conversation. These two demons were arguing about him without asking for his permission, how could he just stand there and accept it? 

Li Ling was enjoying the way Zhihao was protecting him but he still couldn't just stand there and say nothing. 

"I'll agree."

Zhihao looked at the man who had gone senile.