Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

"Oh."

The scenery outside flashed by, and the space itself seemed blurry.

Just a few hours later, Rhodes saw pale white snow falling again, and the dilapidated houses of the rural village were clearly visible in the distance. For a fleeting moment, he could even spot some children.

Of course, these last signs of human habitation were also obscured by something special.

That is the Central Mountain Range—the towering mountain with a frost dragon coiled atop its summit.

The train seemed to disregard the existence of space, passing directly through the earth, disappearing from sight like an eel.

In an instant, the outside world turned into endless darkness. All Rhodes could see through the glass was his own reflection and Ivina sitting on the other side.

His face remained unchanged, with sword-like eyebrows and bright, piercing purple eyes, while his short, tousled hair gave him a dashing appearance.

……

...

Boom boom boom—

The vehicle stops at the station and then proceeds to the next station.

The rotation continued again and again, but there were only people getting on the bus, and no one getting off.

And from these auras, Rhodes also sensed that there were more and more witches.

It seemed like a gathering place; there were over a hundred people in one vehicle, and a tenth of them were witches…

There are quite a few enemies.

That kill list was clearly aimed at Natalie's life, so he was prepared to encounter many witches after he came out.

Regardless of how foolish they were, inside a moving vehicle like a train, they wouldn't have acted so directly, or rather, they didn't expect that they would be so eager.

It's quite an achievement for a group of underground rats to have managed to snag so many train tickets, especially considering they're witches from all over the world.

All I can say is that Cecilia and her team managed their team too well and their penetration into other cities was far too thorough.

The lurking killing intent and the spreading hostile intentions were steadily increasing—

"Splash, splash—"

The food cart was being pushed through the corridor, and along with it came a delicate fragrance.

"Dong dong dong."

"Hello, here's your order." The girl outside the private room knocked on Lilith's isolation barrier and spoke.

“Let’s end it. If they’re going to fight on the train, there’s nothing I can do.” Rhodes tapped his finger on the table. “Or… if they’re going to give us extra food, there’s nothing I can do about that either.”

The information gap is stark—Lilith and the others don't know that Rhodes' strength is enough to kill someone who has been promoted five times, so it's obvious that Cecilia doesn't know either.

This means that the witches outside never expected from the beginning that they would be facing not just one fifth-level ascension, but two fifth-level ascensions.

One of them is even a terrifying enemy that can rapidly recover its health bar and grow stronger the more it is hunted.

Rhodes's efficiency in absorbing witches is at least three times that of other divine beings, which means that hunting witches is his best source of sustenance.

“It might accidentally hurt others,” Lilith said. “They don’t care, but everyone here is a nobleman from Linlank.”

"Yes, I know, there's nothing we can do about it."

"it is good."

Lilith didn't hesitate and withdrew the barrier.

In an instant, Rhodes and his companions re-established contact with the outside world.

"Ah." The short-haired black maid saw Rhodes and the others sitting comfortably in place, a glint of light flashed in her eyes, and then she revealed a professional smile. "Gentlemen and ladies, here is your order."

“We don’t seem to have ordered dessert.” Rhodes’ eyes glanced at the maid.

"Of course I know, it's just..."

She hadn't finished speaking.

The moment Rhodes's purple eyes met her gaze, she froze, losing the ability to speak.

Because it felt as if countless ants had crawled into her head, frantically gnawing at her skull and emitting terrifying, mocking whispers:

Believe in me...

[Kneel down...]

[Kneel down...]

[You, lacking piety, will die.]

You want to kill a god, die.

"Bam—"

In an instant, the short-haired maid knelt down on the ground in horror, her lips trembling, and she immediately prostrated herself with her hands in front of her—a perfect dogeza (a traditional Japanese kneeling gesture).

"what……?"

The moment she knelt down, she was lost in confusion.

Why? Why did she suddenly kneel down?

Because of the strange sound?

Is that the voice of a deity?

That's not right, that can't be... Witches don't have gods...

The moment she realized what was happening, sweat had already soaked her back, and she was trembling with heat all over her body.

A strange fragrance wafted from Rhodes, which intensified her panic.

Yes, it was a strangely fragrant scent, a scent that could even activate her deepest desires, but now all she felt was fear.

"I, I..." His mouth trembled, and he couldn't utter a sound.

"Why are you kneeling?" Rod narrowed his eyes, turned around, and lifted her head with his hand.

"I! I'm sorry! I..." The witch stammered, unable to speak, because after meeting Rhodes's gaze, the fear in her heart made her heart ache as if it were about to explode.

"Fear me, why? What did you hear?"

The commotion from Rhodes' side instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the carriage—

People from all the private rooms peeked out curiously, regardless of their status.

Because the maid being so frightened that she knelt down was quite amusing, wasn't it? Even though the nobleman hadn't done anything wrong.

In the private room opposite Rhodes, Mira gripped Sheila's hand, her face filled with fear. "Sheila... can you feel it?"

“Hmm…” Sheila’s voice trembled, “Just now, a terrifying aura emanated from the boss.”

"Thankfully, it's not targeted at us."

"But something's not right. I have a feeling this aura is the energy of a demon god race, but the boss..."

"Shh—" Sheila covered Mira's mouth, her voice urgent and low, "Don't say anything."

of course.

The scene froze at that moment.

Everyone watched this scene with curiosity, but the maid didn't say a word or explain why she knelt down.

"You dare not say? Don't worry, I won't kill you."

"I……"

She still stuttered; fear had numbed her nerves.

Rhodes remained silent.

What's happening here?

He had already prepared to kill the witch outright—because the witch was vaguely releasing killing intent, and was even a powerful being who had advanced five times.

But inexplicably, she knelt down the moment she saw him.

Is this an attempt to gain sympathy before launching a sudden attack, or a strategy to create public opinion to embarrass him?

Or perhaps...

Rhodes sensed the crown within his body that belonged to the [Demon God Seed].

Is it because of this thing?

But that's strange.

Whether it was Cecilia, Mira, or Sheila, after coming into contact with him, they were simply driven by their primal, greedy desires.

Mira and Sheila's desire is money, so they've been asking for money every day these past few days; while Cecilia's desire is lust, so she was in heat before.

But clearly, this witch, despite also undergoing five ascensions, manifested entirely differently—

Because of what?

In an instant, Rhodes guessed a possibility.

Murderous intent.

Because she released murderous intent towards him.

So—the crown is a warning to her.

Chapter 161 The Easiest Way: Slaughtering Witches

When Rhodes obtained the power of the crown to activate desire, he did speculate that he might be able to control all witches in the future.

But what he didn't expect was that even though he hadn't been able to touch the crown yet, he still had a suppressive effect on those witches who had murderous intent towards him.

The witch before them was a being who had ascended to the fifth level—her inner pride would never allow her to kneel down and put on such a show.

Or rather, the fact that her body was trembling in her maid outfit was the best evidence; genuine fear can never be concealed.

So--

What if he could actually touch that crown and take control?