Chapter 46: A Higher Demon

'What should I do? Use Shadow Oblivion or summon Thirteen and Fluffington?' Nox thought, eyeing the humanoid snake looming over him.

Everything had happened so quickly. Just moments ago, Nox could have sworn he saw Snakey speaking with her party members. Now, she was right in his face.

An oppressive silence lingered as Snakey's green eyes stared into Nox's mask. As the silence stretched, Nox placed his hand behind his back, and the Fanged Dagger materialized in his grasp. He hoped to drive the dagger into her heart and end it here and now.

Nox didn't feel bad about what he was about to do; this being looked no different from any regular beast. However, just as he was about to strike, the intruder spoke.

"I never thought I'd see one of your kind here," Snakey said. "What a big surprise."

'Her voice…and her aura don't seem harmful,' Nox's brain was moving at a high rate, allowing him to notice even the slightest details.

Sensing no murderous or evil intent from the demonic snake, he decided to put the dagger away.

"I could tell from your appearance that you're a high-level demon, but I didn't think you'd be this powerful," Snakey said, her voice tinged with doubt, as she saw Nox's information.

But the system never lied.

[The Hound - Level 100]

While trying to escape from Viper's spike, she caught sight of the masked figure watching from a tree. Seeing his human-like build and the extremely dark abyssal eyes through the slit of his terrifying mask, she knew he was a high-level demon.

Not even normal demons possessed such frightening, lightless eyes.

'Demons like this only reside in the upper sectors. What is one doing in a dimensional rift in the lower sector?' Snakey had initially approached to greet him, but after getting closer and seeing his level, she stopped in her tracks, stunned.

Even among higher demons, this one was exceptionally powerful! If he wanted to get rid of her, it would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

'There are only a few that could cross the level 50 threshold, and somehow this demon has already reached 100! I approached him wrong; I need to apologize!'

"Please forgive me for intruding so brazenly!" Snakey said, bowing her head.

'Huh? She's not attacking me?' Nox was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. He had prepared for a full-on battle with the demonic creature, but nothing of the sort happened.

Instead, she bowed to him as if he were some powerful senior in a cultivation novel. The situation perplexed Nox; he didn't know what to do.

What was he supposed to say? He hadn't had time to think about this little detail because he had expected a fight to break out as soon as he encountered any of these beings.

"Snakey, what are you doing there?"

At that moment, the rest of the party also came into the bush in search of their party member, but upon seeing her bowing to a human-like creature with a demonic mask and lightless eyes, they immediately swallowed their saliva and nervously bowed.

"A high-level demon, and not just any, a level 100!" Gorgart exclaimed, looking down, avoiding Nox's face.

"Damn, level 100!" Jogo sucked in a sharp breath. 'The aura is equally oppressive… is he going to force us to give up our beast cores?'

'What is he doing in the lower sectors?'

Viper's body trembled. Higher demons, with their noble lineage and human-like appearance, were much more powerful, smarter, and had longer lifespans compared to lower demons.

'And they are known to be tyrannical, always wanting to control lower demons. Although we lower demons don't like them, we must respect their strength. Even if we ganged up on him, we would still lose.'

"Please spare us, great demon. We didn't know you were hunting in this area. If we had known, we'd have left long ago," Snakey managed to say under the intimidating presence of the higher demon.

By now, Nox was starting to understand the reason for their actions from the tidbits of information he was getting from their conversation, and a wicked smile couldn't help but appear on his lips.

Although the smile was hidden, his dark eyes that showed a macabre mirth made the five demons flinch back in terror.

'So they think I'm a higher demon, and higher demons look like humans,' Nox sighed in relief. 'I've been worried for nothing.'

But more importantly, I'm in demon territory, far from the human domain.'

Naturally, he had asked his grandfather many questions about this world and learned that humans weren't the only inhabitants. There were elves, dwarfs, mermaids, fairies, vampires, demons, and others.

'It would've been more convenient if I had appeared in a dimension in the human domain, but I'll make use of this opportunity and not waste the cooldown.'

"Please, we could give you 50% of our beast cores—no, all of them if you spare us." Seeing Nox's prolonged silence, the lower demons pleaded desperately.

Nox looked at the unappealing creatures and said in a deep, rough voice.

"I do not care for your beast cores, nor am I interested in taking your lives."

'He doesn't care for our lives or beast cores?' This was a first, and the demons almost thought it was a trick. Any other demon would have taken their beast cores and still eaten them to increase their strength.

But… this demon.

'This demon is different,' Snakey looked up at Nox with glowing eyes.

"What I want is some guidance," Nox added. "And what is this hunting game about? Are there any rewards?"

***

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