Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

Chapter 520: Cooperation With Another Devil

"How did you end up in such a state? With your vision, you should have realized the high nature of this world long ago."

"Even if you couldn’t reincarnate as a native and start all over, you should still refrain from invading this universe."

Liora’s question was sound.

After all, Archdevils could already wander in the Origin Sea and had the ability to select which worlds to invade.

With their intelligence, if they were to meet a high-level world, they would either choose to invade quietly or straight up leave.

There were only a few idiots who would choose to barge in without making adequate preparations, risking their lives for an illusory hope.

Understanding her confusion, the elderly Devil coughed awkwardly.

He showed a look of embarrassment before he responded.

"Your Excellency may not know..."

"Each of the ’secret realms’, as the beings outside call them, can be considered a completely different world. At least, viewing them from the Origin Sea, there is no difference between them and an ordinary world."

Saying this, he shook his head, his face full of regret.

"This is why I ended up like this. I initially believed I was only invading an ordinary world with at most a few Archdevils in charge."

"Who would have thought that the ’ordinary’ world would end up being a mere part of a giant honeycomb?"

Liora had already expected such an answer, but she was still quite surprised to hear this.

She couldn’t help but look at the elderly Devil with pity, knowing that he had been tricked.

But at the same time, her mind couldn’t help but wander.

"Could it be that the many secret realms of this universe exist to serve that exact purpose? To attract outsiders and plunder their essence and power?"

In most cases, worlds devoured energy from the Origin Sea, both to sustain their operation and to advance.

Yet, there were also some other special ways for worlds to improve their strength.

For example, if a powerful being died within their bounds, the energy they released upon their death would directly merge with the surrounding world, increasing its strength, albeit slightly.

Granted, a mere Archdevil or even an Ancient Devil was not enough for a higher-level world to advance and was akin to a drop of water in an ocean.

But if there were hundreds, thousands, or even millions of such beings, it was only a matter of time before the benefits piled up.

Countless thoughts went through her mind, and she felt she might have solved one of the many enigmas troubling the Human Federation.

However, Liora quickly collected her thoughts and returned her attention to the present.

She focused on the elderly Devil, wondering what she should do with him.

Beings from other worlds might feel happy to meet a fellow "companion" in foreign lands.

However, this was not the case for Devils.

The appearance of a second Devil was a great threat to members of their race. In a certain way, it was more likely that they would perish at the hands of their own kind than at the hands of the native creatures.

Although Liora did not feel any threat from this man, and the rate at which she advanced made her confident that he would never threaten her, she still could not accept letting him go.

The only reason she hadn’t killed him yet was not because she was being merciful, but because she feared he might possess a powerful trump card.

If he was pushed to the point of despair and saw no hope of survival, he might activate it and try to pull her to death with him.

Even if his attempt didn’t succeed, there was always a chance it would attract the attention of the Awakeners and Gods within the Blood Forest Realm, or even that of the powerhouses of the outside universe.

Liora fell into deep thought, her consciousness locked onto the other party.

Fortunately, seemingly sensing her thoughts and worries, the elderly Devil spoke up.

"Your Excellency, don’t rush to deem me as an enemy. In fact, we can always cooperate.", he said, his eyes flashing with resentment.

"I’ve been imprisoned in this world for thousands of years. The ’Hosts’ I’ve changed during this time number in the millions."

Saying this, the man looked down at Aaron with some disdain and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, it’s very rare to meet a truly talented human."

"Even the Otherworld Demons that I parasitized in the past ended up dying before they could bring me out of this secret realm."

"I don’t know if I’ve been targeted by the Will of this world or if I’m simply unlucky."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted back toward Liora, his tone almost pleading.

"I’m afraid that Your Excellency is my only hope of leaving this place alive. I don’t request anything else."

"All I ask is that you take me out of this world with you once you leave."

Liora did not truly believe his words. At the very least, she didn’t believe that this man was as pitiful as his current appearance would suggest.

Even so, she didn’t believe that he was entirely lying. It was true that he wished to cooperate with her and that leaving this world was his ultimate goal.

This was more than enough to form the basis of their cooperation.

Liora pondered briefly.

After thinking it through, she finally nodded her head.

"We can indeed reach a cooperation—provided that we sign a Devil Contract, of course. Moreover, taking you out of this world is indeed not impossible...", she prefaced her speech.

However, just as the elderly Devil let out a sigh of relief and smiled faintly, Liora’s next words stunned him.

"...but you need to pay a certain price."

"You only have two things that I’m interested in at the moment. Your memories, and your body in this world."

"As long as you’re willing to give up, we can discuss the exact terms of our cooperation."