Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)
Chapter 332 - 332: The Imps and the Demon (2)

Third Person's POV

They had literally passed through their bodies, and the sensation it left behind still clung to them.

It was a bone-deep chill and not of wind or weather, but something foreign—something beyond their understanding as of now.

Suddenly, they noticed the streak of red under Ethan's nose.

Instantly, their eyes widened with alarm, but before either of them could speak, he raised a hand and moved it from the front of his face to below in a down clawing motion.

And just like that, like a curtain pulled aside, the world returned.

The dark shroud dispersed, the shadows peeled away, and they reappeared in the alley with them being once again part of the physical world.

At that moment, the duo's attention was elsewhere, and too many questions were revolving in the duo's heads.

What kind of terrifying dark magic had they just experienced? Why had he never shown them this spell of his?

What had gone wrong with Ethan's body? Why had his nose bled?

But despite so much confusion clouding their heads, neither of the girls voiced their concerns as tact and instinct held their tongues.

They, too, had seen the imps and their minds had arrived at the same conclusion as Ethan.

Without a word, Ethan reached into his spatial ring and retrieved two thin, black, soft masks. The girls instantly recognized them, the Faceless Ones' Guise they had worn in the City of Vord.

Taking them, they slid them over their faces without hesitation.

Within seconds, three entirely unremarkable individuals stepped out of the alley and disappeared into the crowd.

Though they were no longer the trio from before, they were ghosts once again wrapped in mundane skin who melted into the crowd like smoke in the wind.

After about ten minutes, a massive figure who towered nearly nine feet tall and cloaked in billowing black robes appeared in the alley as if conjured from the shadows themselves.

His presence was chilling, and even the surrounding air seemed to recoil.

His steps were slow but deliberate, and with each one, the faint sound of grinding stone echoed eerily in the confined space.

He paused at the exact spot where Ethan's group had vanished, his head lowering beneath the deep hood as he knelt.

One enormous, clawed hand touched the cold gray stone path, and as his thick fingers brushed the surface, a flicker of confusion passed through the faint glint in his eye.

Only a thin scent of blood lingered, and it was barely more than a whisper even to his sharp senses.

Remembering the testament and the descriptions of his subordinates, he instantly concluded that his targets were from the vampire race.

Then, something subtle stirred within his soul sense, and a teasing and sweet scent that even he found addicting like a drug curled like smoke across the edge of his awareness.

But just as he was about to lock onto it, a sudden surge of wild and malevolent darkness rose from the surroundings like a tide.

It crashed into his probing senses and even corrupted the amplified perception granted to him by the magic artifact nestled in his robe.

He narrowed his eyes beneath the shadows of his hood, and an instinctive low growl escaped his throat.

With determination to succeed, he extended his will again, but this time the same storm answered him and blotted out everything.

His senses plunged into total darkness for a second and made him blind, but the darkness receded in the next second.

He tried again, and failure after failure mounted while a sense of frustration started gnawing at him like a hungry beast.

Suddenly, his patience snapped, and with a furious roar, he stomped on the stone floor.

The impact shattered the ground in a one-foot radius and sent spiderweb cracks rippling outward while dust and pebbles burst into the air.

Almost simultaneously, the four small figures, the cloaked imps who had been spying on Ethan's group the night before, appeared at the entrance of the alley.

No words were exchanged as the towering demon's blazing gaze fell on the one closest to him, and before the poor creature could even react, a clawed hand flashed out and a sickening crunch followed.

The imp was smashed into the stone with brutal force.

In an instant, its frail body exploded into a grotesque smear of black blood, crushed bones, and pulped flesh, with the ground beneath it turning slick with gore.

The remaining three imps froze in place and started trembling with terror, eyes wide with a palpable fear, but they dared not flee.

Their legs were rooted to the spot as if bound by chains of fear.

Standing above the ruin of the imp's corpse, the towering demon stared at his blood-soaked hands.

After a moment, his breathing slowed, and his rage, though still simmering, dulled into cold detachment.

A faint ember, glowing with a dark orange hue, dropped from his index finger.

The moment it touched the remains, a violent burst of black-red flames engulfed the pile and consumed the body in an instant.

The heat distorted the air, and the pyre vanished almost as quickly as it had erupted while leaving behind nothing but ashes.

The cinders rose and were carried away by the night breeze like forgotten whispers in the next moment, making the brutal killing feel like it had never occurred.

The demon didn't utter a single word in the whole process, yet a message from his sound transmission hung heavy in the alley.

Find them, especially that boy...

The command pulsed through the remaining imps' minds, relayed through a sound transmission laced with a metallic chill.

As soon as they heard the command, they sighed in relief, and their fear settled into grim purpose.

They bowed low again and again before melting into the darkness and vanishing with eerie silence.

Left alone, the massive demon turned and began to walk into the city with the crowd parting subtly in his path, and many not even realizing why they moved.

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