Bella watched as Aengus touched a specific section of the stone wall and pushed it, causing the entire underground prison to tremble.
With a grinding sound of stone against stone, a hidden door slowly revealed itself as he pushed it further.
"Ohh, a hidden passageway?" Bella muttered, intrigued. "So secretive! What did that witch hide in here?"
Aengus, already aware of what lay within, couldn't hide his disbelief.
There, in the middle of the dark room, stood a special prison made of sturdy tal bars and surrounded by an isolating barrier of so sort.
At the center of the cage lay a grotesque giant demon, its form a mass of writhing tentacles and a jelly-like body.
The demonic creatures were tied by chains, that appears as if sucking away his life slowly.
[ Appraisal: ]
[ Na: Kylian Dilo
[ State: Demonised, bloodline not assimilated ]
[ Age: 59 ]
[ Level: -- ]
[ Rank: Greater Demon ]
[ Abilities:
1. Blood Devouring
2. Gorvath Tentacles Demon Body (incomplete)
His na stirred old mories.
He was the sa old man who had helped him escape from the prison in Arcadia City, back in the human lands. Aengus couldn't comprehend how this old man had ended up here.
"Have you t this creature before?" Bella asked, noticing the way he stared at it with a mix of recognition and confusion.
Aengus snapped out of his thoughts at her question.
"Yes," he replied, a hint of reminiscence in his voice. "I t him once in Arcadia City, before the catastrophe. He helped escape from prison. But now... he's a demonized human."
Bella blinked in surprise. "A human becoming demonized? That's certainly interesting. I've heard about them. They use demon blood and cores to make dicines for that transformation. But those foolish humans don't realize it never guarantees control over the body."
She tilted her head, studying the grotesque figure with renewed curiosity. "And now, he's nothing more than a mindless creature..."
Rustle, rustle.
Suddenly, the creature stirred, its tentacles rustling against the chains that bound it. The sudden intrusion of light into the dark room made its movents jerky and unnatural, as if it was struggling to adjust.
Aengus stepped closer, only a few centiters away from the cage, with Bella following behind. He leaned in, trying to see if the creature would recognize him, though he knew his appearance had changed—his horns were different from the last ti they t. He hoped there was still sothing familiar about him.
The creature's movents grew more frantic, its tentacles twitching as it stared at Aengus with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Then, all of a sudden, it fell silent. Its gaze, however, remained locked on Aengus, as though sothing in it had finally clicked—recognition.
"Well, there you go, Aengus. It seems it recognizes you. Now, what are you going to do? Help it sohow?" Bella asked, her tone laced with sarcasm, trying to predict his next move.
Aengus didn't hesitate. "I don't know, actually. But let's free him first."
With a determined grip, Aengus tore at the bars with his bare hands, the sound of tal creaking under his strength echoing through the chamber. With a flick of his fingers, hellfire surged from his palm, and the chains lted under the intense heat, clattering to the ground with a final clank.
Freed, the tentacled creature seed to co alive, its body expanding and contracting as it let out a low, demonic growl. It looked at Aengus and Bella as if it was trying to communicate, but no words ford, only primal sounds escaping its grotesque form.
Bella chuckled. "Looks like it still has so rationality left. What are you going to do now? Why don't you show off that incredible power of yours again?" she teased, her eyes glinting with amusent.
But Aengus considered her suggestion seriously.
"Well, I can give it a try," he said before extending his hand toward the creature.
"Universal Synthesis!"
Instantly, a bright ethereal blue light covered the grotesque creature.
Bella watched the magical process, never bored of it.
After expending nearly 1,000 mana, the synthesis process was complete, and a humanoid figure stood where the creature had been.
"Ooh, that was real easy," Bella comnted. "You can do anything, can't you, Aengus?"
"Not really. There are still many things I can't do," Aengus said nonchalantly.
Bella remained silent, not wanting to delve into a subject that could lead to sothing she didn't want to hear.
Cough! Cough!
Their attention turned to the spot where an old man with a pair of horns was coughing, gasping for breath, and looking disoriented as if waking from a terrible dream.
"Oh, it's an old man. I thought it was sothing else," Bella remarked.
Kylian steadied himself and studied the duo, his gaze locking onto Aengus, filled with astonishnt.
"Hahaha... Boy, is that you? Ethan, right?" The old man suddenly laughed, rembering everything as if it had all happened yesterday. Because, all this while he had been moving purely on instinct.
Bella's face darkened at the ntion of "Ethan." She knew it was Aengus's previous na from his ti in the human lands—a na tied to soone she didn't like.
Aengus nodded, "Yes, it's ."
"Did you turn back to normal?" Old man Kylian asked, his mories still blurry.
"Yes," Aengus confird.
Kylian was astonished. The young man he once knew had beco unfathomable.
"Boy, what happened to you? Who is this demoness beside you? How did you turn into a 'demon'? Where are we? Isn't this the human world?" Kylian bombarded him with questions, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Bella was visibly annoyed, while Aengus began explaining the fate of Arcadia City, the fall of its people, his journey to the demon lands, his connection with Bella, and their shared goals. He carefully omitted any ntion of his more sensitive abilities.
As they talked, the group began making their way out of the underground prison.
Aengus's explanations were vague, and Kylian could sense there were reasons behind it. He didn't press for more details, understanding that so things were best left unsaid. He was simply grateful for regaining his rationality and receiving a new identity, sothing he desperately needed.
With each step, the old man felt a sense of hope he hadn't experienced in years.
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