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Chapter Seventy-Six: Seeking the Light

On the other side, in Room 3-27 of the Bright Hotel in Mingguang City, as mentioned by someone earlier.

After briefing Plakaka on some important matters and confirming that everything was basically foolproof, Miss Vilyric, having removed the Mask of the God Fox, retracted her distant soul avatar with a sigh of relief. Without a care for decorum, she flopped back, lazily sprawled on the hotel’s soft large bed, gazing at the ceiling where a magic lamp emitted a gentle glow.

“Well… this should be fine, right? Whoa… suddenly, I feel like my schedule is so tight, I’ve become quite the busy bee. Tomorrow morning, I also need to visit the Lingyin Merchant Association to meet Yuna and that old Oracle… but the King of Corrosion, plus the four Demon Lords…?”

Sounds intriguing.

I wonder what the demon world is really like. According to Xi Fu Lin’s multi-dimensional world theory, it should be a large world similar to Aibus. But since demons usually either appear through portals or summoning rituals, it seems to differ from the Abyss, which is a world connected by boundaries.

Could it be that these two worlds aren’t actually linked?

Those Demon Lords, as depicted in various rumors, are almost invincible, far exceeding mortals; their presence in this world could lead to its destruction. They probably operate at least at the level of true gods; they might even be above that. If I were to cross paths with one, I’d have no clue how to cope…

Like a little caterpillar, the petite black-haired girl rolled playfully on the bed, causing her freshly changed crisp white pajamas to visibly wrinkle. However, she paid no mind to this, instead facing upward, mischievously shielding her eyes from the light projected by the lamp, and lazily yawned.

“Hah~ Whatever, they can’t come over anyway. No way we’d run into each other, right? Forget the anxiety, just let it all go!”

Thus rambling nonsensically, the room soon filled with the sound of the girl’s light breathing as she drifted into slumber.

Night grew deeper.

Yet, some individuals still couldn’t sleep.

“Doo doo doo ~ Doo doo loo doo doo ~ Doo doo loo doo loo doo doo ~”

A bizarre silhouette wandered through the empty streets at night, humming an uncertain tune.

“Doo doo loo doo loo doo… Oh~?”

It turned around, seemingly having spotted something interesting.

It was a standard squad of Temple Knights dressed in white armor, equipped with long swords and holy shields—five members in total.

They were here, tasked with a nighttime patrol, having detected an unusual sound that should not be present, prompting their investigation.

Its gaze focused on the golden-haired female knight at the front. It smirked with a twisted delight, halting its movement and quietly waiting for the two sides to face each other.

Twenty meters, ten meters, five meters—they were closing in.

“Huh? This is…”

The female captain, a Holy Knight, stared at it for a long while, exchanging glances with her comrades. The initially tense and serious expressions softened slightly as she cautiously lowered her sword shining with divine light, seemingly afraid of startling it.

“Little sister, what are you doing running around outside this late? Are you from Mingguang City? Would you like me to take you to find your mommy and daddy?”

“Hehe…”

It made a sound, the clear and pleasant voice of a girl, yet twisted and bizarre. The knights couldn’t see her expression, but could clearly perceive its.

Because she was wearing a mask, a mask interwoven with black and white, with the corners of her mouth twisted into a frenzied, joyful grin.

“Hey, Captain, something feels off here…”

The knight behind noticed its oddity and issued a low alert. They raised their holy swords again, seeming to be on guard.

Guarded… guarded… hehe… what kind of expression does that represent?

It pondered, curiosity piqued.

The leading female knight seemed to sense the unusual and dangerous aura too. Quietly placing her right hand back on the sword’s hilt, she remained crouched in front of it, trying her best to smile gently.

“Little sister, why aren’t you speaking? We’re not bad people; we’re messengers of light, knights of the goddess. Don’t be afraid; we’ll take you home, okay?”

“Hehehe…”

Knights of the goddess… light… light… it sought and was curious.

She was on guard, it was curious about such emotions, it twisted, it wanted to imitate, yet didn’t know how.

“By the way, your little mask is quite unique; it even moves! What a new kind of toy… ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!”

It leapt, closed in, devouring and absorbing the pure soul!

Hehehehehehe!!! Curiosity! New emotions! Information about light! It needs!!!

“Oh goddess, what the hell is this thing!!”

“Jorse, that girl fell over!”

“Captain, are you alright!?”

“Quick… run away… take her with you…”

I see… I see… this is what it means to be on guard, this is a wonderful emotion, it understands.

It absorbed, it was satisfied, her trembling gradually ceased, her emotions and memories turned into sustenance. She became it; a new body slowly stood upright, wielding a blade, and it began to imitate.

“Hehe…”

“Captain?”

“Hey wait, look… is that mask changing…”

“Puh!”

It swung the weapon, the head encased in armor soared through the sky, stained with blood.

“Jorse!!”

“Captain!? Have you lost your mind!!!”

Hehehehe!!! What is this? What is going on? Is this fear? Or confusion! So delicious!

“That mask must be the problem! Jeremy, hurry up and go warn the others! We’ll hold them off!”

“But…”

“Oh goddess, stop talking nonsense! Hurry up!!!”

“Yes… I’ll be back as fast as I can! You have to hold on!”

Someone fled, but it didn’t care.

“Hehehe…”

It licked the hot blood and souls from the blade; it craved more emotions, not enough, not nearly enough. These weak souls couldn’t even fill the gaps between its teeth.

“Come on, Daren, stay sharp. Reinforcements should arrive soon. Focus on defense, be careful not to hurt the captain, and watch out for that weird black-and-white mask. I suspect this is some kind of unprecedented parasitic magical beast, possibly a demon. That little girl has probably undergone the same fate, and now it’s just shifted its host.”

“Okay, you be careful too; but if this parasitic monster can unleash the captain’s full strength, just relying on us might…”

“Stop saying gloomy things! Let’s go!”

“Oh!”

“Hehehe…”

More emotions surged, more information… it needed, it searched; it hadn’t found… it sought… light…

So, let’s begin the feast…