Chapter 185 Lilac Petals

The wisteria petals outside the window fluttered in the wind, scattering colorful patches across the ground.

Antanas counted heads, her brow furrowed.

"Did Nataliya also come in with Lan Qi?"

She always seemed to lose count, never quite matching the numbers.

Even if you added the five who entered on their side to Lan Qi, Tata the cat, and the boss who entered on Lan Qi's side, it still wasn't enough.

"I think so, maybe."

Pulana muttered vaguely.

"If you say so, then it's probably true..."

Antanas guessed that Pulana's clairvoyance had probably been triggered again, allowing him to see a glimpse of this shadow world.

The divination system was considered the most noble attribute because diviners could always obtain information far ahead of time.

As long as Pulana didn't go crazy, he was also a cheat in the shadow world.

To prevent revealing too much of the future and triggering chain reactions that would affect their visions and the best decisions for facing the future, they often chose to speak in riddles.

This made those around him anxious, even tempted to read the truth from his mind.

"Pulana, tell the truth. Did you see something more dangerous, which is why you didn't dare go to Purgatory City with Hyperion and chose to be the leader of the pack?"

Antanas narrowed her eyes, observing Pulana.

A few days ago, in Nistero City, Turingen Province, Pulana suddenly disappeared while they were watching an opera performance by the Empire.

Antanas had suspected Pulana then.

"No, why would I?"

Pulana said emotionlessly.

"Isn't it just that Hyperion might encounter Lan Qi and Taliya? What's so dangerous about that?"

Sinora said from the side.

"Uh."

Antanas thought that made sense.

Apart from occasional waves, the three of them had learned to live harmoniously together.

"What if Hyperion can't enter the ancestral land in Purgatory City?"

The Ice Snow Witch was still lost in thought, worried about Hyperion.

Although she didn't seem very close to Hyperion on weekdays, always maintaining an intellectual aloofness, she had long regarded Hyperion as her treasure. Now, letting Hyperion explore this unknown demon realm alone made her very anxious.

According to the information that Antanas the social butterfly had gathered in Nicalis yesterday, the Profane Sovereign was an extremely perverse, cruel, and unethical Great Demon. The purer the being, the more she wanted to defile and destroy it.

The Ice Snow Witch could see that the Profane Sovereign harbored a particularly twisted desire for Hyperion.

She couldn't imagine what would happen if Hyperion offended the Profane Sovereign and was captured.

"It's okay, Taliya and the others should be heading that way too."

Pulana shook his head.

"Your plan really doesn't have any loopholes."

Antanas gave Pulana a thumbs up.

With Lan Mama going too, there was nothing to worry about.

"Wait, so you definitely saw Taliya and Lan Qi together, right? And who's the other challenger?"

Antanas frowned, realizing something.

"There won't be any good sisters like that in the future..."

Pulana got up, walked to the French window, looked at the falling wisteria petals outside, his eyes distant, and said with emotion.

"Can't understand."

Antanas thought for a moment, but couldn't understand what Pulana meant.

Exotic demon realm refreshments that they had never even seen in the real world were arranged on the tea table.

Cookies embedded with rare demon realm berries emitted a fragrance, the flaky cake wrapped in precious nuts was rich in layers, crispy and delicious, and there were also three boxes of pudding in several flavors.

"Looks like we can only rest well in Nicalis, and then go back to the real world and ask Hyo-bo."

Antanas said, while impolitely taking another pudding and savoring it.

Compared to the shadow world where there seemed to be turmoil, the real world was so calm that there was no gossip at all.

The only thing they could do was reflect.

"Then is the goal of this shadow world still related to us?"

The Ice Snow Witch was still a little uneasy.

She didn't understand how Antanas and the others could slack off so peacefully.

After not seeing each other for a long time, the noble pride of the three Great Demons had been worn away, and now they either wanted to lie down or muddle through.

"The so-called muddling through is a subject of lying down and scoring points in the shadow world."

Antanas seriously explained to the Ice Snow Witch.

For support characters like her who wanted to win big, the most important thing was to find the team's big brother. However, since meeting the Heaven-Sent, she no longer needed to consider how to win.

"Let's just prepare for three weeks, and then go back to Brilda, the capital of the Kryth Empire in the real world."

Sinora sat upright on the sofa, sipping red tea and said.

Brilda was the real main battlefield.

Being in this shadow world of the old demon realm capital from ten thousand years ago felt like a dreamlike experience to her.

She had never even imagined visiting such a place, even for tourism.

This treatment was simply like being a specially appointed professor at the Protoss Royal Magic Academy.

After following Lan Qi, she had never suffered, and every day was like being in an amusement park. She only occasionally needed to make a move, and Lan Qi would ensure their safety. He always rushed to the front when something happened.

If this kind of boss put his mind to being a mastermind and conquering the world, his subordinates would have no choice but to be devoted to him.

Unfortunately, Lan Qi was too Buddhist, with no desires or needs, which was unlike a normal person.

"So, I really don't need to do anything next, just pretend to be loyal to the Profane Sovereign, and then wait for the shadow world to settle? Are you not considering that contribution points and rewards are linked?"

The Ice Snow Witch felt that playing the shadow world like this was too outrageous.

Even though Hyperion had said from the beginning that she would take them on a baby bus, the Ice Snow Witch thought Hyperion was just joking. She didn't expect them to be serious.

Pulana had also become abstract, and it was difficult to judge what he was thinking just by looking at him.

If they weren't all shadow world challengers and didn't clearly know each other's details and camp attitudes, she would have thought that Pulana had betrayed them because he was afraid to fight the Profane Sovereign.

"I, Antanas, am honest and upright, what do I need so many rewards for? I'll just wait for the shadow world to issue a minimum living allowance."

Antanas couldn't wait for the shadow world to remember that she was a noob. If she ever had to challenge the shadow world again, she could be assigned stronger teammates.

It didn't matter if the rewards were less. For demons with their long lifespans, being able to successfully clear the shadow world alive was a huge win. An eighth-order shadow world could at least raise her from level 81 to 82, which was a great harvest.

"Besides, we're not just completely slacking off. We're holding back many Great Demons in Demon King City and bewitching them all. As long as there are only schemers and pure ones left in this world, then we can achieve universal harmony and unity. We're playing a very important role in the demon realm right now."

Antanas put down her wine glass, blinked her eyes, leaned on the sofa, and joked.

It seemed that the four of them were lower-class horses, but they were actually playing the role of upper-class horses.

When the time came, Lan Qi, their upper-class horse, could lead the bull, horse, and cat boss to wreak havoc.

"So, Almis, don't worry, just follow us. If the Goddess of Destiny wants you to win, it's hard for you to lose."

Antanas comforted the Ice Snow Witch.

This time, the Goddess of Destiny had clearly arranged a cheater to lead them, so what did they have to worry about?

"Okay."

The Ice Snow Witch picked up her teacup, slightly opened her red lips, and drank the fragrant flower tea.

She was in.

At most, she would be mocked by Taliya a few times when she got out.

But Antanas and the others had become like this, and the Ice Snow Witch believed that the noble demon princess Taliya was also used to this kind of thing.

"Almis, you're right, we may only be related to the third mission."

Pulana thought for a while.

Looking at the shadow world information overlapping with the glass, he agreed.

[Mission Objective 1: Protect the little spark left by Calielra.]

[Mission Objective 2: Understand the state of mind of Black Sun Lankelos: 2.71%. (Unfinished)]

[Mission Objective 3: All challengers survive until the end of the 21-day time limit.]

At the same time, hundreds of kilometers away from Demon King City Nicalis.

Hyperion was also looking at this newly changed shadow world information.

Far from the hustle and bustle of Nical Island and Lis Island in Demon King City, the view was full of colorful wildflowers, swaying in the breeze. Beneath the cliff was an endless abyss, surrounded by clouds and mist, seemingly stretching to the sky.

She was very worried.

The occasional changes in the second mission objective made her feel a faint palpitation.

In her opinion, understanding the state of mind of Black Sun Lankelos was not a good thing.

Black Sun was a being who had endured too much inhuman torture. No one knew what state Black Sun would be in at the end.

If there was one person who could most quickly understand Black Sun, it would be Lan Qi, who was playing the role of Black Sun.

What was at the end of understanding?

Hyperion was very scared.

In any case, she didn't want Lan Qi to fall to the Black Sun.

Hyperion shook her head hard and strode forward firmly.

They were companions of destiny. She would always support Lan Qi and bring inner peace to him.

The fresh air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and plants.

In this sea of flowers on the cliff, Hyperion was carefully heading to Purgatory City Pasqual along the route indicated by Pulana.

A few more kilometers away.

Hyperion found a flat rock to sit down, took out a clean handkerchief from her backpack, and carefully placed the little gray cat in her arms on it.

The little thing hadn't made much noise along the way, just quietly curled up in her arms, its gem-like eyes vigilantly looking around.

This made Hyperion always worry about whether the little gray cat was still okay, and she always had to take it out of her chest to take a look.

"Tamisa, it's time to eat."

Hyperion gently said to the little gray cat, afraid of scaring her.

"..."

The gray kitten was like it had no vitality, ignoring Hyperion.

Hyperion felt that it was impossible to see her human form before she got on good terms with Tamisa.

Tamisa would never change back to her demon form before letting down her guard, even if she died, she would single-mindedly pretend to be a cat.

Hyperion had only heard about Tamisa from the information Antanas had investigated this morning.

When Tamisa's mother, True Night Sovereign Esmod, was pregnant with her, Tamisa's father, Mist Sovereign Orion, had already died on the front line.

Later, the vampires invaded Demon King City Nicalis, and True Night Sovereign Esmod also fulfilled her Great Demon duty to defend the city, and was seriously injured while pregnant with the child.

In order to allow True Night Sovereign and Mist Sovereign's pitiful child to be born smoothly, Calielra separated some of her source soul and gave it to True Night Sovereign.

True Night Sovereign Esmod died soon after giving birth to the twin sisters.

The older sister, who had a more lively personality and was easy to approach demons, was fostered in the home of the retired Thunder Sovereign.

The younger sister, who had a colder personality and did not approach any demons, was personally raised by Calielra.

However, Calielra was busy with demon realm affairs and often left her alone in the Demon King's Palace.

She gradually became a little cat that curled up in a corner and stayed there for a whole day.

Calielra soon disappeared.

No one cared about this child anymore.

Hyperion knew that Calielra was definitely not an irresponsible demon. Something must have happened to her that made her unable to do what she wanted and unable to return to Demon King City. Even when she died, she was worried about Tamisa and died with regret and worry.

Just thinking about this made Hyperion feel sad.

"Tamisa, you must be hungry, right?"

Hyperion said, taking out some jerky from her backpack.

She estimated that Tamisa hadn't eaten anything for a long time.

"We'll be safe when we get to the ancestral land. Let's fill our stomachs first."

Hyperion looked up at the sky. Several wild demon realm dark pigeons circled in the sky, making calls.

White mist filled the valley, and the silhouettes of the rocky ridges were looming.

Hyperion had originally wanted to shoot down a pigeon to eat, but thinking that she still had rations on hand, she let it go.

"Come on, try this, I specially prepared it for you."

However, when Hyperion brought the jerky to the little gray cat's face, the little thing turned its head away unappreciatively, its eyes full of disgust and distrust.

"Oh, I won't hurt you..."

Hyperion sighed helplessly.

The gray kitten was probably because she had a faint trace of magic similar to the Profane Sovereign on her body, so she hated her very much.

Hyperion thought for a while and took out a small bottle from her backpack.

The bottle contained fresh goat milk.

"You have to eat to survive. You are the continuation of Calielra's life. You can't waste your life."

Hyperion coaxed softly, carefully bringing the bottle's mouth to the little gray cat's mouth.

"Be good, open your mouth, I'll feed you."

The little gray cat seemed to hesitate for a moment.

Still unwilling to open her small mouth.

Taking this opportunity, Hyperion gently pried open its mouth without much force and fed the goat milk into its mouth little by little.

Hyperion watched the little gray cat's throat roll, making gurgling sounds as it ate, and couldn't help but smile.

"What a stubborn little thing."

She lovingly stroked the little gray cat.

If there was such a little gray cat in the real world, she would be healed by it every day.

"Cough cough!"

Just as Hyperion was distracted, the kitten coughed.

Hyperion was startled, realizing that she had fed it too much and hadn't given the kitten a chance to breathe, choking it.

"...!"

The kitten raised its paw and pushed away the milk bottle, staring fiercely at Hyperion.

It had discovered that this demon woman was not bad, but she really didn't know how to take care of demons.

"Sorry, sorry, I really didn't mean to!"

Hyperion quickly apologized to the little gray cat.

She lowered her head in guilt.

Before, when she saw Tata taking care of people, she didn't think it was difficult. But when she actually tried it herself, she found that she couldn't even feed a child.

What would she do if she became a mother herself in the future? She couldn't always ask Tata to help her take care of the children, right?

Hyperion was determined to start by taking good care of the little gray cat and improving her feminine skills.

She began to carefully feed the little gray cat again.

After returning to the real world, she should also find a cat that could replace a baby to practice feeding milk. She couldn't use Boss Cat, who was a trained cat. She had to find a more playful and cute house cat.

Hyperion thought.

After feeding it with difficulty, Hyperion carefully wiped the corners of the little gray cat's mouth with a handkerchief, making sure there were no milk stains left.

Then, she took the kitten back into her arms.

"Okay, we should go."

Hyperion took a deep breath, looked at the vaguely visible demon realm landscape in the distance, and her eyes flashed with a firm light.

"There's still a long way to go."

She stood up, gently patted the dust off her skirt, put on her backpack, and continued to move forward.

The mountain road was rugged and winding, sometimes steep and difficult to walk, sometimes gentle and comfortable.

Hyperion carefully avoided the sharp rocks and thorns, and sneaked along the hidden path.

Along the way, she occasionally looked down and watched the little gray cat in her arms with a caring gaze.

The little thing seemed to have eaten enough and curled up into a fur ball, sleeping soundly in Hyperion's chest, leaving only gentle breathing and occasional slight murmurs.

According to her experience in the shadow world, different mission objectives would eventually converge. Perhaps Calielra had left something in Purgatory City, and this little gray cat was the key. Lan Qi might need its help.

"Corridor, corridor, will we ever come back again?"

Hyperion said silently in her heart, clenching her fists.

"Don't worry, Lan Qi, I'll see you in Purgatory City."

She would help Lan Qi bring Calielra's little spark.

She remembered that Lan Qi had said that his biggest regret was not being able to play more with her in the Purgatory Corridor Academy.

In fact, she had always wanted to swim freely with Lan Qi in that school, but considering her merit, she had never told Lan Qi.

Perhaps this wish would really come true this time.

Thinking of that person, Hyperion's eyes became extremely soft.

She continued to walk towards Purgatory City.

The mountain wind howled, blowing her silver hair and cloak.

The figure of one person and one cat gradually disappeared into the mountains, leaving only a string of hazy mist shadows.

(End of this chapter)