Chapter 3 - Stray & Beauty

The next night, Ryuuga headed to an abandoned building where he'd heard rumors of people disappearing. Since the rumor was fresh, he decided to investigate, suspecting it might be the work of a stray devil. After all, Cleria wouldn't have exterminated all the strays, would she?

As Ryuuga stepped into the dimly lit abandoned building, his senses sharpened. His keen intuition told him that danger lurked within the shadows, yet he kept moving forward.

The faint scent of decay lingered in the air, mixed with an eerie chill that sent shivers down his spine. With each step, the creaking floorboards echoed ominously, as if warning him to turn back.

But Ryuuga was not afraid at all. He moved silently, his senses attuned to every sound and movement around him.

He didn't know how strong the devil was, but it might be stronger than him. So, he needed to keep his guard up.

Suddenly, a low growl pierced the silence. With a swift motion, he unsheathed the kitchen knife he brought and coated it with his Qi.

Out from the darkness emerged a sinister figure, its eyes gleaming with malice. It was a male stray devil, his twisted form exuding an aura of malevolence.

"Kekeke! Human brat, did you come here to become my food?" The devil laughed, saliva dripping to the ground. He was already quite hungry. Though he saw that Ryuuga had some kind of unknown power, he still considered him just another human boy.

"Puny bat, you're courting your own death." Ryuuga grinned. This wasn't the first time he'd encountered a devil. Even in the cultivation world, there was a universe ruled by the Devil Emperor.

He had already gauged that the devil was only in the Acquired Realm, just one rank higher than him. He was confident he could defeat the stray devil.

Without hesitation, Ryuuga leaped into action, his movements fluid and precise. The devil lunged forward with a ferocious snarl, but Ryuuga countered with a swift slash of his Qi-infused blade.

The kitchen knife sliced through the air with deadly accuracy, leaving a trail of shimmering energy in its wake. Each strike was calculated, each movement honed through years of training and experience.

The devil, taken aback by Ryuuga's skill, launched a barrage of attacks in retaliation. But Ryuuga remained unfazed, his focus unwavering as he danced gracefully amidst the chaos.

"Your attacks are weak. Is that the best you can do?" Ryuuga smirked.

"FUCK YOU, BRATTT!!!" The stray devil, humiliated, intensified his barrage against Ryuuga. It seemed his pride had been wounded as he had expected an easy fight. With each clash, sparks flew, the sound of metal against metal reverberating through the air.

"Useless attempt." Ryuuga shook his head, deciding to end the battle. Though rank-leaping battles were usually impossible, his experience made it easy for him.

In a final, decisive strike, Ryuuga unleashed his energy, channeling it into a single devastating blow. With a resounding clash, the devil dropped to the ground and the breath of life on his body has disappeared.

"Phew... not bad." he exhaled with a smile upon seeing the stray devil's demise. It wasn't too shabby. Despite wielding just a kitchen knife, the quality of his Qi had made the blade remarkably durable.

He then stored the corpse of the stray devil in his dimension so that he could conduct research on it. With a sense of satisfaction, he sheathed his blade and prepared to leave the abandoned building behind.

"That was a good fight." As he was about to leave, a gentle voice caught his ear. Glancing in the direction of the voice, he saw a young woman standing there, smiling.

She was exceptionally beautiful, her presence seeming to illuminate even the darkest corners of the abandoned building. Her long silver hair cascaded down her back like a shimmering waterfall.

Her face was a portrait of serenity, with delicate features that spoke of both strength and kindness. High cheekbones accentuated her gentle smile, and her eyes, a mesmerizing shade of cerulean blue, sparkled with an otherworldly brilliance.

Dressed in a flowing white dress that billowed around her like ethereal mist, she exuded an aura of tranquility and grace.

"Are you Cleria of the Belial Clan?" Ryuuga asked. Though he had never seen her face before, he could deduce her identity based on her energy. As a High-Class Devil, she was on par with a Master Realm cultivator.

"You're correct." Cleria nodded. She didn't conceal her identity, as this town fell under her jurisdiction. She was aware of the supernatural beings residing here, as they were required to inform her of their presence.

However, she didn't recognize the boy before her. His power was quite remarkable for someone his age. He must be a prodigy of a certain force.

She gracefully walked towards Ryuuga with a smile.

"What's a young boy like you doing out here at night? You should go back and not do this anymore. Boys your age should be playing around together and studying." Cleria said, shaking her head. Regardless of the circumstances, the boy before her was just a child. He was too young to be involved in this kind of world.

She reached out as if to stroke Ryuuga's head, but he caught her hand.

"Woman, how dare you try to tou—Ahem. I mean, don't touch my hair, it'll get messed up." Ryuuga said, changing his words halfway. How could he allow some random woman to touch his head so casually?

As a cultivator, the head was one of the most important parts of the body because it housed the brain. He couldn't allow others to touch his head easily. They might put curses on him, and the effects could be deadly if they reached his brain directly.

"Okay." Cleria saw that the boy had quite a weird way of speech but she just nodded and answered as she stopped trying to touch his head. He is quite mature even though he is probably only five years old.

"Okay." Cleria replied, noting the boy's peculiar way of speaking. She simply nodded, deciding against trying to touch his head. Despite his young age, he seemed quite mature.

"Right. Just a reminder, you must stop trying to investigate the King Piece right now, or your life might be in danger." Ryuuga warned her. He felt she was gentle and good to be around. Plus, he wanted to research her clan's power, which had enabled her cousin to become the emperor of rating games.

Without waiting for her response, he turned around, and a door suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Eh? Wait!" Cleria was surprised by how Ryuuga seemed to know what she was doing and wanted to ask how he knew and where the King Piece was.

But Ryuuga didn't bother to stop. He entered the door and disappeared from the abandoned building. Anyway, they would meet again soon enough.

"Sacred Gear?" Cleria muttered as she watched Ryuuga leave in an unusual manner. She thought that he must have a Sacred Gear that allowed him to teleport anywhere he wanted as long as he entered the door.

She then took out a notepad and a pen from her pocket and began writing. Basically, she wrote about Ryuuga and his power. She had always been a curious one since she was young. That's why she wanted to find out about the King Piece.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

As he returned to the white dimension, Ryuuga immediately approached the corpse of the stray devil to conduct some research on it.

When he met Irina earlier, his existence alone altered her future, earning him several Destiny Energies. With these, he could separate a portion of energy from the stray devil's body for analysis.

"Interesting. This energy allows the possessor to alter the surrounding phenomena. Hm? So it's also based on imagination, huh..." Ryuuga mused as he examined the energy, which he dubbed Devil Energy. It was a type of power he had never encountered before, distinct from Qi. Qi, a natural energy generated by the aura of heaven and earth, primarily nourished the body and mind.

In contrast, Devil Energy was an innate type of energy that gradually increased through training and talent. With sufficient Devil Energy, almost all types of non-special powers could be replicated.

"Really interesting." Ryuuga said with a smile. His body gradually adapted to the Devil Energy and evolved. Now, he could store Devil Energy inside his body and even convert Qi to Devil Energy and vice versa.

Then, a pair of bat-like wings appeared on his back. Yes, as he adapted to the Devil Energy, you could say that he was also a devil now and so he had their wings.

"Ugly." Ryuuga shook his head and hid the wings. He didn't like using wings, even though he could in his previous life. Floating without any help was far better.

But, even though he could use them, it didn't mean that he had mastered them directly. He needed to train using Devil Energy first and then learn their implementations.

"Well, subject no.1, you're of no use anymore." Ryuuga said to the corpse of the stray devil. He didn't need it because he had already finished his research on it. After all, it was just a Low-Class Devil, so not much could be obtained from it.

He placed his hand on the corpse and activated the devouring part of his technique. Devouring here didn't mean he devoured the corpse, but rather the energy that used to exist inside it.

If it were another cultivator, they might hesitate because the quality of Qi varies among individuals, and merging different qualities could cripple them and abolish their cultivation.

But Ryuuga had the Devouring Evolution Scripture, which he designed to purify the energy before absorbing it, ensuring that the absorbed energy became pure and clean.

"As expected of this great me." Ryuuga muttered, complimenting himself for creating such a good technique.

After he finished absorbing, the devil's corpse looked empty, its skin wrinkled to the maximum. Without hesitation, he threw the corpse into another space he created to act as a garbage dump for things he no longer needed.

Now, his cultivation has also advanced a little. He is close to becoming an Acquired Realm cultivator. The thing is, when he absorbed the energy of the stray devil, the low-quality energy would be treated as trash and needed to be filtered first. Because of that, some energy was lost in the process.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

A month had passed since then. Ryuuga's cultivation finally entered the Acquired Realm after hunting down one more stray devil. However, during the last encounter, he didn't meet Cleria because he left immediately without waiting for her.

Fighting Low-Class Devils proved too easy for him. They only lasted a few seconds before meeting their demise.

As he reached the Acquired Realm, the Qi inside his body leaked out and formed a protective energy around him, greatly increasing his strength and defense. Now, bullets won't even scratch him.

In Kuoh Town, he had seen several pure-blood devils wandering around. The Kuoh Town Incident was about to unfold. During this event, Cleria would meet her demise alongside one of the church's priests.

He decided to help Cleria because she was an important asset to him. It was better for her to live than to die meaninglessly.

Irina had also been visiting his house almost daily. As a result, he gained more Destiny Energies, preventing her from interacting with the protagonist.

During this month, Ryuuga had created several inventions within the white dimension using his past knowledge. Most of his creations were advanced technologies from a planet he had visited before. He had mastered the technologies there.