A Background Character’s Path to Power Chapter 408: The Devouer’s Dillema

’Thud.’

I hit the ground hard.

My body skidded a few ters across the snow before finally coming to a stop.

I lay there for a second, staring up at the shifting gloom.

The iron grip on my ankle released .

Groaning, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. My clothes were torn and my skin stung from the friction, yet I was alive.

Which was a bit surprising since I expected to be attacked and torn apart the mont I was separated from the group.

Instead, I had rely been dragged here; not a single monster laid a hand on .

’But where am I?’ I squinted, my eyes adjusting to the deeper darkness of this secluded spot.

Just as I turned my head, I t a pair of violet eyes staring at .

’It is that wolf!’ I instantly recognized it.

The shadow wolf was sitting on its haunches ten ters away, watching with a calm, unblinking gaze.

’No... It’s not the sa.’ I realized.

My instincts scread at instantly.

This was different.

The previous ones had been hollow puppets, re shapes made of shadow. This one felt solid. A heavy, suffocating pressure radiated from its form, making the air around it tremble.

This was the real deal.

Probably the Night Devourer itself.

’Greetings, intruder.’

A voice echoed inside my head.

I gulped, my throat dry.

The voice was deep and resonant, vibrating against my skull.

I took a sharp breath to steady my racing heart. Panic would only get killed faster here. I closed my eyes for a brief mont, focusing my mind to activate the ntal Thread technique.

’Likewise,’ I projected the thought back, keeping my ntal voice as steady as possible. ’I presu you are the...’

’Yes. I am the Night Devourer you lot speak of.’

The wolf lowered its head slightly, its violet eyes locking onto mine.

’But my real na is Nemo. And this is only a part of my consciousness. Not the real .’

’I see.’

I muttered the words in my mind.

So the main body was busy fighting the Blood Marquis outside. That explained why I was still breathing.

’Then,’ I asked, ’what is it you seek from , Sir Nemo?’

Nemo’s violet eyes narrowed slightly.

’You are different from the others. You carry a scent. A scent of sothing far ancient and... powerful.’

The wolf leaned in closer. Its snout was inches from my face, yet I felt no breath, only a cold void.

’Ancient?’

My thoughts spun.

Was he talking about Virion? Or perhaps Lady Nisha?

It seed unlikely. I hadn’t been in contact with either of them for a while. A physical scent would have faded long ago.

’But maybe he isn’t slling my body.’

Creatures of this rank and type might perceive the world through aura, mind, or soul signatures. If he sensed the lingering traces of a Primordial or a Transcendent on , it would explain his hesitation to kill imdiately.

’I need help,’ the wolf continued, interrupting my deduction. ’And you, little intruder, might be the only one capable of providing it.’

My eyebrows shot up.

A Monster Overlord asking a human for help?

’Help?’ I asked, letting a bit of skepticism bleed into my ntal tone. ’You are an existence that rivals natural disasters. What could a weak half-elf possibly do for you?’

’Do not play humble with ,’ Nemo growled in my mind. ’I know how ’weak’ you are. I have already felt that strange fla you possess. And more importantly...’

The wolf turned its head, looking toward the invisible ceiling of the do.

’...you seem to have a connection to that parasite.’

My brow furrowed.

’Other parasite?’

’The human male,’ Nemo clarified, its voice dripping with disdain. ’The one who stood beside you, smiling while his intent was cold as ice. The one you were watching with suspicion the entire ti.’

’Bane.’ My mind clicked instantly. ’Are you talking about him?’

’Precisely,’ Nemo continued. ’But even though you walked together, I could taste the thick, bitter distrust rolling off you. You two are not allies. You are more like two predators wary of each other’s territory.’

I stayed silent as I processed this. The Night Devourer was sharper than I thought. It had accurately read the subtle tension between Bane and that even Uru’en had probably missed.

’Let’s say you are right,’ I finally admitted, deciding not to deny it. ’But why bring him up?’

Nemo’s violet eyes darkened, the shadows around him rippling with agitation.

’Because that man... he is dangerous,’ Nemo continued, turning his gaze back to . ’More so than the loud one in the red robe raining blood on my shell. The red one wants to kill . That I can deal with.’

The beast bared its teeth. It was a grimace of pure, unfiltered hatred.

’But the other one... he plans to enslave ! He waits for the mont I am exhausted, the mont my focus is entirely on the battle, to sneak into my Heart and bind my soul.’

’Oh!’ I made a surprised expression while thinking about my hunch being correct inwardly.

Bane really was trying to ta this thing. And it was intelligent enough to realize the strategy: Let Yaro weaken the beast, then strike at the critical mont.

It was a simple yet brilliant plan.

’But why tell all this?’ I asked. ’Since he is already in your domain, why don’t you just crush him?’

’I cannot,’ Nemo admitted, the frustration palpable in the ntal link. ’He is elusive. Although I hate to admit it, his control of darkness is almost as good as mine. He wears the shadows like a second skin. Besides, the mont you were taken, his true colors were revealed. So he shed his disguise and slipped away from your friends and vanished from my imdiate sight.’

My eyes widened slightly.

’So he already left the do.’

’Right,’ Nemo confird. ’But he has a way to co back, thanks to that strange cat.’

...Did I hear a cat?