Advanced Cultivation Civilization

           ACC Chapter 13 Devil

Before the light stream from the distance could reach us though, something unexpected happened. Half of Simba's head, the left half, inexplicably vanished, alarming me so much that I stimulated every particle within a radius of 10m around me by flexing my divine sense.

"Such acute danger senses! Your body actually managed to react just enough that you actually kept half your brain!"

A figure appeared, materialising from empty space as if they had just popped into existence.

But the moment they made their presence known, it was as if every photon and light attuned spiritual energy particle within a radius of multiple km around the figure had met their king.

I was taken aback. This was the telltale sign of a deity art!

An armor, whose entire surface appeared to have been crafted out of white light itself, with silvery runes flashing in a way that denoted the transmission of energy covered her form. It wasn't bulky in the slightest, but served to emphasize the curvature of her body, which by itself was a piece of art crafted by the Gods themselves.

If the light wasn't being filtered by a membrane within my armor, I might have gotten blinded by the sheer volume of light her form was releasing.

Even when she spoke, those white rimmed pupils of hers were looking directly at me with a smug expression. There was something about her that made me fall into a momentary daze, coupled with the adrenaline rush of the previous battle.

"What? You didn't expect me to be this beautiful?"

Those words caused me to avert my gaze from her. She was a woman worth more trouble than even Lily.

"So, you succeeded." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yeah. And this stalker became the first to subject to experience its power."

"Your energy signature was still quite far away, how could you have appeared here?" This was the one question that shouldn't have even left my lips, but as you know, intelligent life can never escape the binds of curiosity.

"Simple. I delayed the photons that should have reached you when I was still miles out, making it seem as if I was still far away, yet I had already arrived... So, this is the fabled acute instinctual danger sense I have heard so much about." After her explanation, her gaze went back to Simba, whose lone crimson pupil was rolling within his eye as if he was struggling with something.

"An armor capable of giving a person the ability to unleash power akin to a deity art... Was it worth it to spend such a long time on that?"

"Of course! This will even allow me to comprehend faster!"

"Your aura is feeble. Was he that much of a pain?" She asked after a few seconds of silence.

"He had gained additional acknowledgement from the heavens."

"Oh! His new bloodline was that worthy?"

"Yes. That makes him even more troublesome, coupled with the fact that we can't kill him." 

"With half his brain destroyed, it will take him countless years to recover, even with the demons' advanced biotechnology... But I would have loved to permanently get rid of this stalker." 

"Don't worry, I can make it so that he never bothers you again."

We were both startled, retreating several paces away. With such extensive brain damage, there was absolutely no way Simba would have had cognitive functions, not to mention the ability to transmit through divine sense! 

And another thing was the different tone of the voice. This one had sounded more high pitched than his. 

Th gaping wound left by the obliteration of one half of Simba's brain started bubbling with a dark substance. It was Simba's own cells, and yet, there seemed to be some sort of taint to them, giving them a dark pigmentation. 

In a matter of seconds, the dark cells had multiplied enough to once again reform the destroyed part, even the mask of the armor. The visual spectacle was akin to one half of the head being painted with black while the other was left with its signature brown.

"What? You don't like the deal?" 

"Who are you?" I asked calmly. After the initial startlement, we had already deduced that whatever this new entity was, it hadn't managed to recover Simba's body to its prime. 

"hmmmm... I am what your inferior races call an Extra-dimensional devil. Though our race is just, 'Devil.'" 

"I thought that you only appeared during tribulations... Don't tell me...!" The conclusion alone caused me to briefly glance at Livia. 

"Yes." 

"He was suppressing you." Livia spoke without batting an eyelid. 

"I really have to thank you for weakening this crazy demon. Do you know how I felt reading his thoughts?! Almost every second, your name appeared within his mind! Emotions are really powerful tools!"

"Should we eliminate him? I think we can kill him now, right? After all, I do believe many have already gathered data on this situation."

"Even if we join hands, the chances of completely killing him has decreased to below 1% now that the Devil has taken over." I sighed, even as a new urge enveloped me.

"Let's chat. We humans have very little understanding of you Devils. Every breakthrough is supervised and we have to take all sorts of tests to determine whether one of your kind is lurking around within our minds. Any that succumb are killed instantly."

I sat down within the space and relaxed myself. This had now ceased to be my problem and instead had entered the jurisdiction of the Devil Suppression Department(DSD).

"Human, I am starting to find you interesting. We can chat a little while I repair this body enough to increase my chances of fleeing. So, ask away?"

"Do you really live in another dimension? Or could it be a pocket universe?"

Livia beat me to the punch, squatting down beside me, with a flame of curiosity burning bright within her pupils. She looked like she could devour the man... Or Devil.

"Well, thats a tricky question. Even we don't really have any idea. The heavens...as you call them, banished us from the known universe because we came up with an ambitious project. Basically, we are just losers being kept in a jail with a sentence of eternity..."

"And your breakthroughts to the Nascent Soul stage and beyond become the only ways to escape. Though even when we succeed, this dark color is a mark that gives us away in your reality, causing us to be hunted. Personally, I am just happy to have escaped the prison."

"Really? You don't have some grand plan?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Who doesn't have some grand plan tucked away in their mind? Don't be so naive, little darlings of heaven."

"Okay, then, what was the grand plan that led your banishment?"

"I can't tell you that. It seems like those hounds are about to arrive." The Devil turned his eyes towards Earth in the distance.

"Those crazies lack subtlety." Mumbled Livia.

"Since you have been a good sport, I will give your civilization a piece of advice. Your dark forest theory of the universe is sound, except that it lacks one vital component. There are behemothic predators that should have already detected you but haven't deigned to make contact because you are just a blip on the greater canvas that is the universe. Only those with sufficient development are worthy of their attention."

Those words caused a shiver to run down my spine and goosebumps to appear on my armor. 

Something or some powerful civilization had already detected us. No, they hadn't detected us, but instead, might have been watching since the beginning of our solar system!

"It was nice knowing you."

The half devil, half demon, spoke that line before a small snake slithered out of a hole on his armor, instantly enlarging into a behemoth with a girth surpassing even my personal craft, and red scales that I was sure any attack of mine wouldn't be able to penetrate without a bit of effort.

Its gaze was dull, lacking even the barest slivers of intelligence, until the Devil was absorbed through the scales like a stone sinking into water, after which the dull eyes gained a shine.

With one last glance, the behemoth slithered away from us with such momentum that every particle within its path was pushed away, creating ripples within the chaotic spiritual energy ocean of space, within our immediate vicinity.

"A powerful civilisation...just watching. That alone is terrifying! But it also makes me wanna reach a level where they will have to take notice. Don't you agree, Reed?"

There was no need to answer that question as my heart had already started beating in excitement, while my brain was coming up with the bones of a plan.

"Livia, come with me to the farm. Maybe your insights could even help me to further modify my armor."

"I gladly accept. I have always wanted to lay my eyes upon your pride and joy."

I stood up from my posture before teleporting away from this place. There had been many marvels of technology directed towards our battle such that there was going to be chaos in the foreseeable future because of the Devil's reveal.