Guss set Elias down as they arrived.
Elias wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the movement seemed to trigger another sharp spike of pain in his soul, causing him to wince and grit his teeth.
Guss, however, had no time to worry about his employer.
The demon possessed a debt-collection efficiency unique to his kind. He strode forward, extending a massive, spade-like hand toward Luke, who stood not far away.
“The pendulum.”
Not a single wasted word. Simple, crude, and straight to the point.
Luke stared at the rugged human before him, his eyes filled with confusion.
“And you are...?” Luke looked the man up and down. “Who might you be?”
Guss didn't bother to explain or waste any more breath. With a cold snort, he dropped his disguise.
In the blink of an eye, a towering figure over two meters tall completely blocked the moonlight falling on Luke.
The muscles in Luke’s face twitched violently.
“Oh!” Luke stammered, trying to hide the tidal wave of shock crashing through his mind. “So it’s a big demon brother!”
He forced a hollow laugh and asked boldly, pointing a finger at Elias, who was still gasping in pain on the ground. “Is this the will of one of the Archdukes, or...” He paused pointedly. “Is it the will of the fellow behind you?”
In Luke’s eyes, anyone capable of commanding a Scale Five infernal demon must have a powerful lord of the Inferno standing behind them. Elias, at best, was likely just a middleman or a messenger.
To his surprise, a look of genuine confusion crossed Guss’s face.
“Is there a difference?” the demon asked, his brow furrowing as if the question itself made no sense.
Now it was Luke’s turn to be struck with terror.
What the hell?!
‘Is there a difference?’
Did that mean that in the heart of this infernal demon, Elias—this mere lighthouse keeper—was equivalent to an Archduke of the Abyss?!
Was he serious?!
Luke stared intently at the deathly pale Elias, his mind racing with questions. What kind of monstrous background did this kid actually have?
Shock aside, Luke’s professional instincts remained sharp. Even as he spoke, his right hand had already slipped silently into his coat pocket, where he gripped his final trump card for survival.
“Hiss—”
Elias managed to pull himself upright. He was literally in a daze of agony, but he still gritted his teeth and threatened, “Cut the crap. You have one minute.”
Elias glared at Luke, his gaze cold and sharp. “If you don't hand it over in a minute, your head's coming off.”
Faced with this threat from an obviously exhausted Elias, Luke actually relaxed.
He clearly didn't care for such blustering intimidation, and a hint of schadenfreude flickered in the depths of his eyes. His hand inside his pocket was rapidly rubbing a certain casting material.
“Taking quite the backlash from blowing up that mountain of flesh, aren't you?” Luke adjusted his tie with an air of leisure and curled his lip. “You can barely speak without gasping, yet you’re still trying to play the tough guy? Though, I must admit, I’m shocked that a Scale Three like you actually had the ability to pull that off.”
He was stalling. He was waiting for the shuttle orb in his pocket to fully activate.
Damn it.
A bolt of realization flashed through Elias’s pain-wracked brain. This guy was talking so much because he was channeling a spell!
“Guss, do it!” Elias roared without hesitation.
The moment Guss heard the command and lunged at Luke like a heavy tank, the space around Elias rippled violently, like water.
It was that familiar Spirit World aura again. A rift appeared out of thin air.
On the other side, a Spirit World rift appeared beneath Luke’s feet as well.
He looked at the two of them with a triumphant grin, arrogantly raising his hand to give them a classic Velen gesture of contempt.
With that silent mockery, Luke’s figure flashed as he leaped directly into the Spirit World rift behind him.
Guss’s face paled with alarm. He didn't chase after the fleeing Luke. Instead, he twisted his massive body and lunged toward Elias!
He could clearly sense that something deadly was crawling out of the Spirit World rift that had been torn open beside Elias!
If his employer died right under his nose, wouldn't the Moon Lord pull his soul out and use it as a candle wick?!
However, when Guss reached Elias, the scene before him made him freeze.
A Spirit World creature was indeed floating next to Elias. It looked like a clown with massive claws—the kind of clown that would appear in a nightmare.
The facial patterns were similar, at least. The problem was that the creature’s current state was... indescribable.
Its sharp claws were raised high in the air, poised for what should have been a vicious pouncing kill. Now, however, it was frozen mid-motion.
Its hollow eyes were fixed on Elias, and it didn't dare move a muscle. In fact, its entire spiritual body was trembling. It was as if it were walking on thin ice, terrified for its life.
Elias stared expressionlessly at the Spirit World creature that looked ready to piss itself. He was just as confused as anyone, wondering why the thing wasn't attacking him.
But clearly, now was not the time to satisfy his curiosity. Luke had escaped with the pendulum!
“Go after him! Now!” Elias shouted at Guss.
Guss understood immediately. With a wave of his hand, he opened a crimson rift and dived inside.
The forest fell silent once more. Only Elias and the clawed clown remained, staring at each other while the latter continued to tremble violently in mid-air.
Before Elias could further examine this bizarre creature, the dark red rift reappeared.
Guss’s massive frame burst out of the rift. Scarcely a few seconds had passed. In his hand, he was clutching someone by the throat, holding him up like a helpless chick.
It was Luke.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Luke’s feet dangled in the air as he clawed desperately at Guss’s iron-like arm. His face had turned a deep shade of purple as he looked at Guss with a pleading expression, before turning a gaze more pathetic than a stray dog’s toward Elias.
The arrogance he’d shown while jumping into the portal, the middle finger, the mockery and nonchalance—it had all vanished in an instant.
His moment of glory hadn't even lasted three seconds before he was caught red-handed.
Elias ignored his pleas. He looked at this heartless Wayland mole with an expressionless face and slowly held out a hand.
“The pendulum.”
The two words were devoid of emotion, sounding like a death sentence.
Luke swallowed hard with great difficulty.
“I... I’ll give it to you...” He forced the words out of his constricted throat, immediately putting on a fawning, sycophantic smile. “Can you let me go?”
The only answer he received was the sound of Guss’s grip tightening. The demon increased the pressure on his wrist.
Luke’s cervical vertebrae let out a dangerous crack, and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“My mistake! My mistake!” Luke shrieked, his soul nearly leaving his body. He didn't dare try to negotiate any further, hurriedly fumbling inside his inner pocket. From somewhere, he pulled out the blood-stained pendulum and held it out toward Elias with trembling hands.
“Don't try anything!” Guss threatened viciously from the side.
“I wouldn't dream of it!” Luke shouted in a cracking voice, tears nearly welling in his eyes.
Elias felt nothing as he looked at Luke’s wretched, defeated state. He reached out and snatched the pendulum.
A bone-chilling cold met his palm.
It was real. This was the first time he had actually touched this containment object that so many factions were desperate to claim.
For now, he could only tuck it away inside his 【Gluttonous Stomach】.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the pain in his soul was so overwhelming, he would have loved to mock Luke right now.
Seeing Elias put the pendulum away, Luke acted as if he had found his last life-saving straw.
“Can you let me go now?” he asked, looking at Elias with the fawning eyes of a lapdog. He understood perfectly now—whether he lived through the night depended entirely on this man’s word.
“Brother! After all, we were colleagues!” Luke began to ramble incoherently, trying desperately to forge a connection. “When I get back, I’ll immediately recommend you to the higher-ups! I’ll get you a promotion and a raise! What do you say? Brother! Give me another chance!”
Elias looked at him coldly.
This was such a blatant lie that even a ghost would feel insulted. A Wayland mole was still trying to dangle the carrot of a promotion and a raise.
Elias didn't even bother to offer a retort. He turned his back on Luke, his tone as flat as if he were disposing of a bag of rotting trash.
“Guss.”
“He’s all yours.”
“Hey, hey! Brother! No! Don't!”
Luke’s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he began to struggle like a madman. He only managed to get out a couple of cries before his silver-tongued mouth was clamped shut by Guss’s rough, massive hand.
A cruel light flickered in the demon’s eyes.
Elias didn't look back. He simply faced the cold forest wind and left behind a single, quiet sentence.
“After all, evil spirits should go where they belong.”
Rate on N.U.
