"So this is where you’ve been hiding?"Jeremy’s voice was calm, indifferent, as he eyed the structure before him."SuperCannon, destroy these—"
Just as he was about to give the order, the doors suddenly swung open.
A hooded figure stepped out slowly from within, her pace deliberate and steady as she approached the group.
"My lord, I’m sorry—"
"It’s fine, it’s fine."The hooded figure already knew everything. She couldn’t bla Veronika for how things had turned out."Welco to my humble abode. Please, co in."
"But before anything else—"She raised both hands and pulled back her hood."I am Cambela. A pleasure to et you."
Jeremy stared at the woman with a surprised expression.What caught his attention wasn’t her beauty, but the scars and burn marks covering her face.
They made her... unique.
Her glossy purple hair and faintly pink skin made her look human enough.Only her horns—long, slender, twisted into the shape of a crown—set her apart.
"I’m Jeremy," he replied, taking a step forward.
anwhile, Aliken watched her with a grim expression.He hadn’t wanted to et her like this.In truth, he had hoped the human would subjugate her too—so they could at least stand on equal footing.But those thoughts were his alone. He dared not voice them.
"Lead the way. We have much to discuss," Jeremy continued, dismissing his undead legion into storage.He had no intention of bringing them along to this so-called "friendly" eting.
The devil woman had observed the undead closely, though she made no comnt.Still, she was deeply impressed by their power.She wanted to study them—but couldn’t let her thoughts betray the calm mask on her face.
Jeremy and his small group followed Cambela.
He had no real interest in stopping whatever sches the devil woman was cooking up.He wasn’t here to save the humans or play the hero.
He was simply... curious.
Jeremy couldn’t read Cambela’s status, but he could feel it—the pressure of a Rank EX.Even so, she didn’t feel as overwhelmingly strong as the late Bevrel.
Speaking of Bevrel, while Drae’mon had absorbed his Concept and gained a new Law, Jeremy had claid the corpse for future use.
Following Cambela, the group entered the lab.
The interior was highly advanced.Countless rooms stretched around them—so with transparent glass walls for observation, others more private and sealed off.
Inside, they saw humans in lab coats, studying and experinting on various creatures.Among them were many demons—and the more common monsters that erged from the Gates.
"Welco to my laboratory," Cambela said proudly, her voice echoing with confidence."This is the place where magic happens. Where evolution becos possible."
Her eyes swept across the rooms, subtly gesturing to each area and its purpose.
"Interesting," Jeremy murmured.He was genuinely impressed by what he was seeing.
"Of course, all of this is built on my unique power," Cambela added, locking eyes with him."After all, if I’m still alive after everything I’ve done to your world... it must an you’re interested in ."
Her gaze was firm and full of pride.She knew her strategic value—and that knowledge only fueled her ambition.
She wanted to build her own faction.Strong, capable, and above all—loyal—allies by her side.
Especially loyal.She had been betrayed once already—by a devil she trusted.The very sa devil now glaring at her with thinly veiled contempt.
She knew that look.He was jealous—of her and her unique power.
Jeremy, looking into Cambela’s eyes, grew even more curious.He had a rough idea of what her power might be, but he couldn’t quite figure out the purpose of the researchers.
How exactly did they help her?
"I know what you’re thinking."After a mont of silence, Cambela continued."My Concept is a complicated one. It’s called Genesis Catalyst. It grants the ability to create unique things... and to force the evolution of living beings."
Jeremy’s mind raced.That power—It was utterly terrifying.Imagine if humans could be evolved—Not just in terms of potential, but physically, biologically, at a structural level.The possibilities would be endless.
However, as he looked around, Jeremy noticed sothing odd.The guards and researchers in this place...They felt off.Like the light had gone out behind their eyes. As if they weren’t fully conscious.
Cambela noticed his gaze—But she said nothing.
After that brief mont of quiet, the trio resud walking.A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination.A pair of tall doors, inscribed with intricate runic patterns, stood between them and a room that radiated significance.
"Beyond these doors lies what I like to call the Genesis of Everything."
Cambela’s expression was full of fanaticism.Jeremy watched her with a strange feeling in his chest.She reminded him of soone...Soone who had loved their own power, and the boundless potential it represented.She reminded him... of himself.
Cambela stepped forward and, with a gentle push, opened the doors.
"What the hell—"Jeremy’s eyes widened in shock at the sight before him.
Aliken, on the other hand, just furrowed his brows.He knew exactly what this was.After all, they had once walked side by side. Each knew the other’s power well.
"Behold," Cambela said, her eyes glowing like twin stars."This is my power... in its purest state."She gestured at the vast, glowing pool in front of them.
"This liquid you see—It’s nothing less than the essence of the universe itself.The substance that makes evolution possible."
She continued, proudly, speaking of how special her power was.But Jeremy didn’t understand sothing.
Why was she telling him all this?
Shouldn’t she be protecting this secret?Running away?Taking it to her grave?
Still...He was amazed.
In all his mories, in all his lives—He had never heard of anything like this.
The pool glowed with a crystalline blue, and it moved as if it were alive.Countless tubes and strange machines branched from it, channeling the glowing substance into different rooms of the lab—where the researchers worked.
After a mont, Cambela turned to him.Her eyes had dimd.She looked serious now—deeply serious.The shift in her mood surprised Jeremy.
"I know what you’re thinking..."Her gaze didn’t leave his—Well, not entirely. One eye was hidden beneath a black band. It was part of her outfit now, part of her identity.
"I’m telling you all of this because I’ve co to a realization," she said after a pause."I can’t survive in this universe by relying only on myself."
"I need soone I can trust. Soone with a vision larger than this stupid galaxy. Soone not shackled by petty factions or second-rate players."
"I need soone who can take beyond all of this."
Jeremy listened, intrigued.
"And you, dear Jeremy..."She smiled faintly."You seem to be the one I’ve been looking for."
"Why did I choose this world?The galaxy is vast, filled with strange powers and Concepts—far beyond what mortals can imagine."
"During my travels, I t a strange individual—"Cambela sighed, her voice softening."She told I would be betrayed... hunted down... captured and used as a re tool for evolution."
"Of course, I didn’t believe her.How can you trust the words of a stranger?"
Her eyes closed, as if to shut out the past.
"But after being betrayed by the one I called my right hand—The devil standing beside you now, Aliken—Her words ca flooding back to ."
Jeremy continued to listen.He understood.He, too, had once been reduced to a disposable piece in soone else’s grand project.
"She told to flee to a certain planet on the edge of the galaxy.That there, I would et soone special."
And with those words, silence filled the room.
"...And?" Jeremy tilted his head, expecting more.But Cambela said nothing.She simply stared at him.
"So, this ’special person’... is , huh?" he asked, pointing at himself."Interesting. I won’t deny it.I am pretty special."
After another long silence, Cambela finally spoke again.
"I want to follow you, Jeremy.I want to stand at the peak of this life—And to do that, I’m willing to stand by your side."
"Forever."
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