I watched Evelina run laps around the yard, her form improving with every circuit. She really was a genius; in just a short ti, she had completely changed the way she moved.
I don’t think it’ll even take another hour for her to reach perfection.
Even I’m flabbergasted. Was it because she was using as a reference, or was she just that good at understanding her own body?
Well, that’s one thing.
But there’s sothing else that’s been creeping out ever since I arrived here.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that sothing was watching .
Sothing...
CLASP!
I snapped my gaze downward and saw a demonic jaw open beneath , a rotten hand reaching out to grab my leg.
"What?"
[Black Sun]
I focused my power into the tips of my shoes and pressed down on the portal, unleashing a powerful torrent that forced it shut.
"S-Sothing wrong?"
Evelina asked as she passed on her thirteenth lap.
"It’s nothing. You’re doing great." I smiled at her, and as soon as she went by, I glanced down again.
That was clearly... well... demonic.
Was it because I still had faint traces of chaos energy from using it so often? I no longer had the amulet or the eye. There was nothing protecting from demonic attacks now.
This was... a side effect I hadn’t considered.
"After you’re done with thirty laps, heal yourself with [Dark Recovery]. I need to check on sothing!"
"H-Huh?" Evelina slowed, gaze snapping to where I was already turning away. "You’re... leaving?" She swallowed, then forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "...Fine. Sure. I’ll do it. Just don’t disappear on ."
Evelina agreed quickly, though I could tell she found it strange—her lips pressing together like she wanted to question but chose not to, especially with walking off on my own. With the tracker on now, she didn’t push; if I was going sowhere out of her sight, she’d rather not fight on it... yet.
So my suddenly asking to leave was out of character, but it wasn’t enough to make her suspicious.
I quickly went sowhere secluded, where Evelina’s command still held, and no one could watch .
"Beelzebub."
[What do you want this ti, mortal?]
He answered quickly—for a being of that much power to respond imdiately ant he still had an interest in , even now that I no longer had his eye.
But more importantly, what was that interest, exactly?
For now, I was guessing he knew about demons trying to interfere in my life.
I couldn’t exactly get another [Amulet of Exorcism]; there was only one in the novel. And even if there were more, I couldn’t just take one when I didn’t even know where they were.
"Demons—any way you can stop them?"
I could hear Beelzebub laugh mockingly at my question.
[Really? Do you call on for every problem you have now? And here I thought you were competent enough not to rely on a being like .]
"Don’t pretend you’re not interested in my soul." I smile sarcastically. "What would happen if another demon managed to grab before you do? I’m not as strong as I used to be, after all."
[You...]
I can feel Beelzebub growing irritated. In all his years, he had never even considered a mortal threatening him over sothing so obvious.
Out of all the champions he’d ever taken an interest in, he’d never t anyone so suicidal that they’d ask him for a favour this casually.
Well... he definitely had t so like that. The problem was that they were more predictable.
With ? He wasn’t even sure if I wouldn’t let myself be taken by another demon on purpose, just to spite him.
[You’re insane. Fine, I’ll do sothing about it, but don’t expect the problem to be solved.]
Oh, how I love receiving nepotism from a demon prince. Life’s just easy like that.
Although judging by how he handled our previous deal...
I’ll definitely need to be more careful around him.
And I have to train my black flas to at least match my profaned attunent—or, better yet, regain it entirely.
Sooner or later, I’d need to separate ties with him and get independent.
Probably through a deal with a spirit or a fairy instead of demons. Once that’s done, I’ll do the sa for Evelina—though, considering her succubus’s current power and how interested it is in her, there’s no need for that anyti soon.
"Did you miss ?" I called out as I stepped into the yard.
Evelina’s head snapped up, eyes locking onto like she was counting every second I’d been gone. Only when she confird I was in one piece did she let herself sag to the ground.
And I was greeted by an incredible sight.
Evelina sank to the ground, her white, damp tunic clinging to her, the thin fabric tracing the soft lines of her body. Her black pants were just as unforgiving, the wet cloth hugging her hips and thighs, outlining her shape in a way that was impossible to ignore.
—Clear Mind—
The spell didn’t work.
Right... no more light magic.
"I take it everything went well?"
"Yeah, much better than I expected."
Evelina hugged her legs to her chest, chin resting on her knees—not so much bored as restless, her eyes never really leaving .
"So... what next?" she asked, like what mattered wasn’t the training itself but how long I was going to keep my distance.
Her footwork was already decent, and while I’d like to train her the way I did Vivianne, it was way too inefficient. I still needed to get stronger myself.
Maybe...
"We fight."
"Fight?" Evelina laughed. "Already? I thought I was going to do more basic stuff before getting into that."
"I changed my mind. Besides, you’ve never really had the chance to fight before, have you?"
"Think you can take on?" she asked, voice dipping into sothing warm and amused, like the idea of struggling under her was a private little fantasy she’d been nursing for a while.
"Probably."
Evelina snickered and stood up, tying her hair into a ponytail, using dark magic as the tie.
"I’m starting to miss your submissive side." Evelina walked to the far right edge of the yard. "I think I’ll use this fight to see it again."
I took my position at the far left, already coating myself in black flas, relying on the vague mory I had from when I was unconscious during my fight with the Shadow Society Monarch.
I still had no idea what the nature of these black flas was.
But if I wanted to know more about them, combat was the way to figure it out.
"Please do. It’s been a while since you looked at like I was pitiful."
I said it in a sweet tone, clearly relishing the idea. But that didn’t an I was going to go easy on her. That was rely a bonus.
"So, what are the rules?"
"No limitations, but... you’re not allowed to just assault from long range."
"I can do that. I’ve been itching for a chance to fight you for a while now~." She licked her lips. She definitely ant it—probably ever since we were still raiding the emperor’s tomb.
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