Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 75 - 72 Are You the Devil?

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The dark purple, menacing tower, with its rough skin occasionally streaked by electrical sparks, did not visually represent the traditional brick and stone structure but more so resembled the keratinous layer of a living being. Influenced by the absurd idea born in his mind, Lyle felt the walls beside him pulsating slightly.

The City of Sins was probably also a special administrative region managed by some grand duke of the Demon Race. The passersby on the streets were mostly from the Demon Race, along with some half-human-height Inferior Demons. In such an environment, Lyle and William’s odd attire invariably drew the attention of nearby demons, but that was all it did—draw attention.

William kept muttering on one side, "Relax, according to the intelligence I’ve purchased, in this City of Legends, as long as you’re well-disguised, no one will easily interfere with you. I’ve heard there’s an organization here that likes to wear masks, and they’re not to be trifled with. Lyle, we need to disguise ourselves as members of this organization, and there are some important points to note."

"Which are?" Lyle asked.

Maintain indifference, calmness, equal treatment of all races, yes, it’s that sort of superiority feeling where you believe yourself to be high above and beyond worldly matters. If necessary, we may even need to persecute the people around us." William took out a booklet with yellowing covers, with lines of densely packed points to note. Behind the part covered by William’s fingers, Lyle saw a familiar emblem, a nightshade blossom, and pressed his temples, the gesture replacing his habit of rubbing the center of his brow after donning the mask.

"William, this high-and-mighty, coldhearted organization you’re talking about, what’s it called?"

"An-something," William flipped to a page in the booklet, which had a capital letter at the beginning, "Damn it, I forgot."

"Andrei," Lyle said.

William clapped his own palm, "That’s right, Andrei, the Andrei band of thieves."

Under the beaked mask, Lyle’s mouth twitched, and he touched the signet ring on his index finger.

The outside world’s misunderstanding was a tad too much, it seemed the literature society’s propaganda was not up to scratch.

"All in all, Lyle, we need to disguise ourselves as members of Andrei."

They need to disguise.

"Alright, where do we go now? Stay here, or go to another district?"

William took a step back, his tone becoming serious, "Lyle, let me state upfront, this place is a secret realm. The opportunities that follow are all for us to grasp by ourselves. We have to cooperate fully, without squabbling and exposing ourselves, lest we end up losing our lives here."

"You’re right, and while we’re on the subject, William, are you up for a game of Russian roulette?"

William was utterly perplexed.

As the two proceeded down the street, the attention from those around did not diminish. Indeed, was the daytime appearance of Andrei members too bizarre?

Lyle looked up at the sky.

It was night, the City of Wandering must have moved to the southern hemisphere’s polar region, or some other magical place.

Only in the central district of the main city, with that massive Secret Pivot Eye, could the residents, whose biological clocks were disarrayed, tell what time it was, for it functioned as a clock.

The City of Sins was more crowded than the Black Abyss District and Andrei district, densely packed houses, and intricate alleys stacked over one another like piles of cans, as its name entailed, this was the darker side of the City of Wandering, and human trafficking and smuggling might well be its main businesses.

Noises came from an alleyway beside the two.

"Opportunity!" In delight, William darted into it.

Had the man lost his mind? Why wasn’t he considering the possibility of a trap? Lyle followed him closely, pulling a magic wand out of his pouch. Medusa poked her head from beneath his collar, and the Talent Sphere turned into a transparent cloth that unfolded behind him.

There were three Demon Race children bullying a shrunken, frail figure; in appearance, that is—Lyle was not familiar with the life span of the Demon Race.

"Stop, that’s mine!" William bellowed, perhaps confident in his ability to overpower, he began to boast.

The boy with a single horn on his head retorted immediately, "Andrei people? Hmph, is this piece of trash yours? Then I’ll kill this piece of trash too!" He then kicked the body crouching on the ground again.

William’s intimidation failed to take effect; he didn’t understand the ways of Andrei. Lyle did not stand by, because bullying wasn’t a commendable act, especially by a bunch of brats.

With a light tap of his wand on the ground, accompanied by a clear sound, the Plague Doctor emerged from the shadows. The Talent Sphere transformed into a dark liquid, spreading from the Plague Doctor’s feet and slowly moving toward them.

The children were the first unable to withstand the eerie silence brought by the Plague Doctor.

"Are you going to save this piece of trash too, And—Andrei person?"

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"Hehehehe," a sinister laugh echoed from beneath the beak of the night owl, "No, children, being dead is the same for my experiments. I had been worried about the lack of living materials, but here... aren’t there still three left?"

The deep and hoarse voice spread like a dense fog.

"Grammer, are there still three pieces of trash here?" a trembling child asked their leader.

"Run, he’s talking about us as his experimental subjects!" The three unruly brats screamed as they ran deeper into the alleyway.

"Perfect." Lyle chuckled as the Talent Sphere quickly crawled back into his body, and he waved his magic wand in a circle in the air.

Lyle extended his hand towards the figure at the end of the alleyway.

"They’re gone, get up."

"Yes, my lord." A dusty and delicate arm appeared, bruised at the elbow. A worn-out coarse dress covered the body but seemed too bulky for the slender figure. Under the messy brown hair, a pair of pale green slit eyes brimmed with panic; delicate features evoked pity, and even the fearful expression became seductive and sinful due to a unique charm.

"An immature succubus."

It was older than Lyle had imagined, measuring at about one meter sixty. It was surprising that it was bullied by children. The thin figure leaned against the rough wall, with two arms awkwardly held in front of its chest under the gaze of William and Lyle.

"Aren’t you going to run?"

"I can’t escape; I’m too weak," the mellifluous voice carried a touch of misery, but its silent demeanor was much better than Lyle had expected, considering he had just disguised himself as the Great Demon King.

"Aren’t you afraid of me?"

"I am afraid."

"Then why are you so calm?"

"Sister told me, when facing Andrey, you can only reason with him, this way, at least you can die a little more gracefully." The words ended in sobs.

Lyle’s face darkened a few shades, notorious as he was.

"My lord, I am willing to cooperate with you, but please, let me give this to my sister. This is my last request." It spread its palms open, displaying a black nameplate inscribed with the name ’Anna’ in Latin.

"I don’t need your cooperation, driving them off was just a small effort; you’re free now." Lyle realized he had to fight for the sake of Andrey’s reputation.

"Is this true?" Its face slowly filled with surprise, the kind of relief one feels in the life remaining after death, huh?

"True, you can leave whenever you like."

"Thank you, my lord." It bowed and prepared to pass by the two men.

William stopped it.

"Shouldn’t you show some gratitude to your lifesaver?"

"But, my lord, I have nothing," the succubus opened its palms, "I can only express my thanks; I know it’s meager, but I..."

"Just sign your name here." William pulled out a parchment inscribed with a pentagram and unfamiliar Demon Race script, obviously authentic.

"What is this?"

"An eternal servitude contract for the Demon Race."

The succubus’s large eyes stared blankly at William, lips pressed tightly together.

Lyle spoke the words the succubus meant to express.

"Are you a devil?"