Those time travelers that year

At this moment, all the black and red mist that had surged from the shattered demon statue had entered Grandet's body. Grandet had now transformed into a gigantic, enormous man, seven or eight meters tall and wide, resembling a ball of flesh. This ball of flesh didn't look too good; his face, still bearing recognizable features, was contorted in agony, crackling sounds echoing throughout his body. Beneath his stretched skin, red veins of blood covered his entire body.

Seeing this, Iris closed her eyes, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Holy!" Then, forcing her last ounce of will, she connected with the two-handed cross-shaped swords. White-gold holy light emanated from the blades, extending along her arms to Iris's body, beginning to heal her wounds. "Lord! Help me, I can make it in time!!!!" Although the white-gold light produced a miraculous healing effect, beginning to heal her internal injuries and dispel the stagnant blood within her body, it couldn't completely heal the severely wounded Iris in a short time. Therefore, Iris could only pray silently, hoping that fate would be on her side.

However, it is clear that fate was not on her side.

Bang!!!!!

Just as Iris was racing against time to recover, the fleshy ball that Scrooge had become exploded, blood and bits of flesh scattering like a torrential downpour across every corner of the platform.

"Ugh!!" The platinum-gold light that was already teetering on the brink of collapse intercepted the blood. But even though Iris had mentally prepared herself, seeing this situation, she couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea and retching.

"The Glory of Korgos, let me think, it's been almost a thousand years since I've seen it." That chilling voice rang out again, and the bone-chilling cold made Iris's body stiffen.

Abandoning further treatment, Iris gritted her teeth and raised her sword once more. Squeezing out her last bit of strength, she drew her sword towards the direction from which the sound came, unleashing a final burst of sword light.

"Weak, too weak!" A mocking voice rang out, followed by a rapidly approaching black and red shadow that tore through the platinum sword light and crashed into Iris.

With a loud bang, the blade in Iris's hand was knocked away, and she was sent flying again, crashing into the iron door that blocked the stairs and platform.

Iris fell below the iron gate, bleeding profusely.

Her consciousness began to blur, leaving only faint breathing and her stubbornly open eyes, indicating that she was still alive.

An arm, stained with the blood of the sacrifice, reached out, grabbed her, and lifted her up. A gigantic figure appeared before Iris, with goat horns, a horse's face, bull's hooves, bat wings, and a snake's tail. Strips of cloth stained with dark red blood were wrapped around the demon's body, beneath which lay blackish-red skin, shrouded and swirling in blackish-red smoke. Occasionally, countless distorted faces could be seen through the smoke—men, women, the elderly, and children.

Countless twisted and tormented souls wailed and cursed, their tearing sounds gradually destroying Iris's remaining consciousness.

"The descendant of that knight who single-handedly stormed my palace and interrupted my immortality ritual is now nothing but a weak rat!" A voice, like a knife cutting through glass, emanated from the demon's fangs, carrying a terrifying aura. "Though I cannot personally tear apart the one who disrupted my plans, the one who dared to betray me as king, slaughtering all his descendants and devouring your soul and body piece by piece will at least satisfy my longing."

"Don't blame me! You lovely little she-wolf, hate your ancestor instead!" The demon opened its massive maw, filled with fangs and sharp teeth. "Hopefully, your howls and cries of pain are beautiful enough... Hahahaha..."

Just as the demon opened his sharp teeth, about to put the captured Iris into his mouth and taste her flesh, an untimely voice rang out.

"Hi there! How about working for me? Five social insurances and one housing fund, meals and accommodation included, please!!!!"

88. A hero saving a damsel in distress? No, that was just a side effect...

The voice was sincere, extremely sincere, as if it came from the mouth of a seemingly harmless person. However, the demon, interrupted by the voice, did not think so. Instead, he stopped what he was doing and, with a violent aura, suddenly turned around.

The evil aura spread with the demon's movements, and instantly, the wails of countless souls resounded throughout the area. The platform was filled with the sound of rushing water, but it wasn't water; it was blood that reeked of blood. This water branched into dozens of streams, flowing across the entire platform before converging towards the demon's location, floating at his feet and flowing into his body.

Two pairs of bat wings spread open, swirling with black and red mist, and distorted soul faces constantly emerged within the mist.

The snake's head and tail flicked red tongues, dark red flames burned on the bull's hooves, and a pair of equally fiery eyes stared cruelly at them. Anyone with a weak heart would have been terrified to death by now. Even the most resolute knights and fearless barbarians would succumb to fear in the face of such a sight, for this was a monster no mortal could contend with. In every world, in every mythology, these monsters called demons share a common title—enemies of the gods. Enemies of the spirits, shadows spreading death and disaster, the source of all suffering.

"Mortal, who are you?" With a terrifying aura, the demon uttered a chilling voice, questioning the uninvited guest. Its fiery eyes fixed cruelly on the human who had come to its doorstep.

"Hello, dear!" A young man in a black trench coat with dark gold eyes greeted the demon standing before him with a cheerful smile, as if he hadn't seen or felt anything. "My name is Charles. I'm currently preparing for a trip abroad. I'm a part-time archaeologist with an engineering background—the kind where 'engineering impoverishes three generations, archaeology ruins a lifetime.' You look strong and energetic, a rare find in the job market. So, why not consider working for me? I offer five social insurances and one housing fund, plus three meals a day."

Charles's smile was sunny and cheerful. It was like a friendly, approachable Black man with pearly white teeth, wearing a black suit, and exuding unparalleled affability, chatting with you in a very cordial tone… But who was this random Black guy again? Obama?

Faced with this reality so drastically different from normal circumstances, the demon was momentarily stunned, staring at the guy in front of him who seemed completely oblivious to the atmosphere around him. For some reason, the demon seemed to see a black phantom standing to the side, but it was probably just an illusion; there was nothing there, only an ant that, in the demon's eyes, seemed oblivious to the world, waving its hands and maintaining an idiotic smile.

"Hey! Mortal!!!!!" The demon stretched its head out, its voice dripping with bloodlust, and asked, "Do you know who you're talking to?"

“A demon!” Charles replied innocently.

"Then why did you look like that idiot?" the demon said. "To me, you looked like a fool, no, or a brainless idiot, hahahahahahaha..." The demon laughed loudly, and with his booming laughter, the wails of the souls grew even louder.

"Well, the salary and benefits are negotiable!" Charles maintained his smile, as if it were frozen on his face, completely unfazed by the scene before him. "Oh, I see!" Suddenly, Charles clenched his fist and slammed it against his other hand, a look of sudden realization on his face. "Are you worried about your pension and health insurance? Don't worry, you can rest assured with me. I'm a legitimate businessman; keeping my word is a fundamental principle for any merchant."

The demon's laughter stopped abruptly. He looked at Charles with a strange expression, completely baffled as to what this seemingly frail human was thinking. Not only was he spouting nonsense, but he was also acting like he hadn't noticed anything, which made the demon wonder if he had already driven the man insane with fright.

"You want to be a hero and save the damsel in distress, huh? You ant!" The demon suddenly laughed cruelly and raised the hand that was holding Iris.

"Oh, that's just a side effect..." Charles said nonchalantly. "If you work for me, I guarantee you'll gain much more. So, could you please put this young lady down first? If she doesn't receive treatment soon, she's probably going to die."

"Hahahaha... Mortal, ant, are you trying to fool me, a king?" The demon laughed loudly, then roared.

"No, it's just a piece of advice from the Chinese people." Charles put away his smile and adopted a seemingly harmless demeanor. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Whether it was a genuine illusion or not, at that moment, the demon seemed to see an adorable white creature behind the human before it—a…standing white rabbit…a rabbit wearing a rather rustic-looking hat, with a red five-pointed star on both the hat and its chest, sporting an innocent-looking smile, as if saying, "I'm a good person." Of course, it would be even better to ignore the black rabbit behind the white rabbit, wielding a cleaver in one hand and a brick in the other!

"Mortal, are you threatening me?!" the demon said angrily. "In that case, congratulations on successfully provoking me. I will make you die a horrible, horrible death!"

"Oh dear! Oh dear! It seems we can't reach an agreement." Charles sighed. "I originally wanted to resolve this peacefully, but I didn't expect..." Before Charles could finish speaking, a dark shadow pounced on him, and the demon's free hand grabbed Charles.

"A wizard?" The demon's claws missed their mark. Looking at Shire, who had appeared more than ten meters away, the demon said, "So what! Mortals, from beginning to end, have always been nothing but ants..."

As soon as the demon finished speaking, it transformed into a black shadow and instantly appeared behind Charles, who had apparated to a distance of more than ten meters. Its sharp claws, accompanied by a tearing sound, descended upon Charles. It seemed that in the next instant, Charles would be torn to pieces.

"Ants?" But faced with the sudden attack, Charles calmly replied, "Are you mistaken! This demon..." Turning around and looking up at the claws suspended in mid-air, Charles continued, "Tell me, who are the ants?!"

The demon's claws hovered above Ciel, and a long, flaming whip extended from behind, firmly binding the demon's hand that was about to strike Ciel. The scorching flames began to burn the demon's arm, the unimaginable heat instantly injuring the demon, who shouldn't have been afraid of fire.

"What?" The demon, whose arm was bound by the flaming whip, angrily tried to tear it off, but to no avail. "How is this possible!?" The demon turned around and saw a demon of similar size, engulfed in flames hot enough to melt gold and brand iron, wielding a flaming whip and a blazing greatsword, standing on the edge of the platform behind him. "Impossible!" The demon stared at the scene in shock, then, as if realizing something, he suddenly turned his gaze to Sharl.

"So that's why!" Ciel laughed brightly, "Catching Pokémon really does require beating them half to death first!"

Roar! ! !

The fire demon roared and pulled hard on the hand that was gripping the flaming whip. The demon whose arm was wrapped in the whip was pulled by the fire demon and almost fell over by the force.

"Damn it!!" The demon stomped on the floor, cracking it to steady himself.

"The blade is coming!!!" Just as the demon stabilized its body, Charles pulled the two-handed cross sword that Iris had knocked away back and stabbed it into the demon's other hand.

"what!"

The blade pierced the demon's arm, the one that was gripping Iris, when it caught the demon off guard. As the blade struck, a white-gold light erupted once more, causing the demon to release its grip on Iris in pain.

With a swift movement, he grabbed Iris and, in the next instant, retrieved the two-handed sword that the demon had flung off. Using Apparition, he took Iris with him and they left the spot.

Boom!! In the instant that Xia Er teleported away, the demon slammed down with a punch, cracking the floor.

It's past 5 AM, and I'm out of drafts. I haven't even started writing tomorrow's chapter yet...

Okay, don't bother me for now (⊙o⊙)... I need to go watch Overwatch... oops! I mean, I need to go write. Okay, that's all for now.

89. Making candy

One was a demon who had just escaped from its seal, a demon who called himself king. The other was a Fiend, born from the [Fiendfire Curse], and subsequently modified by different systems of mysticism from two different worlds. These two colossal monsters, equally massive in size and possessing equally imposing presence, engaged in a passionate melee. Of course, calling it a melee isn't quite accurate; the Fiend, wielding a flaming greatsword and whip, certainly didn't intend to fight bare-handed like the other demon.

The flaming whip lashed out in all directions, while the flaming greatsword, carrying temperatures high enough to melt steel and possessing the soul-stripping and tearing effects of the [Sword of Binding], mercilessly slashed at the demon that had just escaped its seal. Unfortunately for the demon, its speed far surpassed that of the Balrog. Despite their equally massive size, this demon was significantly faster. Its entire form was like a black and red afterimage. If Charles hadn't cleverly hidden behind the Balrog while carrying his burden, and hadn't skillfully activated the barrier, he probably wouldn't have survived. He was here to capture a pet, not to play the Suffering Souls game and grind bosses.

Besides, there's a burden dragging him down in his arms. Even if he wanted to act freely, he had to deal with this hindrance first! Seeing this, I bet the viewers in the comments section are either saying to ignore the girl and just let her die, that this book is going down the path of killing the sister to prove the Dao… or they're saying to go all out while it's hot. Well, considering the perverted nature of the author's current projects, I feel like the latter option is more likely to be mentioned.

That's what they say, but in reality, it's another matter. If it were anywhere else, Charles probably wouldn't have bothered. However, since they were all on the same train, this incident seemed incredibly serious. Without a witness to help clear his name of suspicion, Charles might not be able to retain his noble status and would instead have to become a fugitive.

"Honestly. Always causing trouble for my son!" Holding Iris's soft body, Ciel had no other thoughts at this moment. [Brain Occupation] firmly blocked all mental interference that could trigger negative emotions; he didn't want to repeat his lapse in composure on the train. Although the demon who broke the seal didn't seem as strong as the Balrog in hand-to-hand combat, it was a master of both magic and martial arts! In fantasy novels, that's a perfect protagonist template. Besides, this guy's speed is truly incredible. Even in Fate, its agility would be at least around A, right?

With the removal of the barrier and the tireless gathering of the main tank, at least for now, Shar can temporarily switch talents to heal.

"So, girl, there's no need for you to repay me with your body." While trying to pour the red potion into the girl's mouth in his arms, Charles maintained the barrier and the battle against the fire demon while nagging, "Just don't bother me anymore. I'm a busy man with tens of millions of lives every minute. If you hadn't pulled me into this mess, I would have been out doing business right now... Huh?"

Iris, half-conscious, tightly clenched her lips...

"Naive author, do you really want to send me to the inquisition? Tch, young man!" Charles muttered, glancing at the potion before putting it back. He then turned his gaze to the demon locked in a fierce battle with the Balrog. "Who the hell told you naive kids that only classic tropes happen at times like this? I'm not leaving! If you're talking about health packs, there's one right here!"

Balrog, seize him!

Roar! ! ! !

The fire demon, seemingly forever engulfed in flames, roared to the sky and charged forward, pouncing directly on the demon. Seeing this, the demon swiftly dodged the fire demon's attack, attempting to use the opening to attack Sharl, who was inside the barrier, and the critically injured Iris, using its speed.

[Master-level spell - Mass Paralysis]

The rapidly approaching demon froze, nearly stumbling and falling. A master-level spell from the College of Winterhold had pierced its defenses, freezing it in place for a fleeting moment. Although this time was short, perhaps only a breath or two, the demon could easily escape the [Mass Paralysis] spell. Having been hit once, it might not repeat itself, but now, it didn't have that time.

The flaming whip coiled around the demon's neck, pulling it backward by the neck. The flaming demon's greatsword, burning with flames, pierced through the demon's chest.

"Aaaaah! Damn it!" The demon, freed from its restraints, cried out in pain. Even as a demon, it was clear he wasn't in the same category as the Balrog. Moreover, the Balrog wasn't a true demon, merely an animated fire elemental born from the [Fiercefire Curse] constantly embellished by Sharl. Although this HP spell had been drastically altered, it was still just a spell. It just so happened that its AP was higher than the demon's magic resistance…

The flaming greatsword pierced the demon's chest, pinning him to the ground. The raging flames on the greatsword continuously scorched the demon's body, and a steady stream of black and red mist poured out from the pierced point. Similarly, the overflowing smoke was filled with groaning, twisted souls.

"Get out of my way!!!" The demon, humiliated and pinned to the ground, roared in fury. With its roar, countless enormous black spikes pierced the ground and pierced the fire demon's body. However, as a puppet born of fire element, the fire demon was unaffected by the demon's magic. Scorching lava spewed from its body, burning away the incoming spikes.

The demon appeared to be immortal, burned by flames, pierced by a greatsword, and strangled by a whip. In short, every wound inflicted on this demon merely emitted blackish-red smoke; what seemed fatal only healed rapidly after releasing the soul-binding mist. The same was true now; the Balrog was firmly suppressing the demon whose chest was pierced by the flaming greatsword, but only temporarily.

"Shadows, blood, and souls!?" After carefully examining this demon that appeared to have just escaped its seal, Ciel had to admit that this incident had once again broadened his understanding of the main world. Even though this demon had only broken free of its seal and didn't seem to have fully recovered its power, the aura it exuded was absolutely no less than that of a Servant from Type-Moon.

However, as an expert in demonology in every sense of the word, even though the demons in this world weren't the kind that twisted the void, the knowledge of demons granted by the warlock profession allowed Sharl to see through this demon's true nature at a glance. This demon was indeed immortal, but this immortality was definitely consuming the power of its soul and various negative emotions.

If I'm not mistaken, this demon maintains its immortality by devouring souls and flesh. But why does this power give Ciel such a strange sense of déjà vu?!

"You think you're Lolica?!" Charles pouted. "Alcatel's River of Death is incredibly cool, unlike your pathetic self!" Seeing that the Flame Demon had temporarily subdued the demon, Charles opened his palm towards the demon.

“Your life is my food.”

“Your soul is the source of my strength.”

[Learn from life]

[Crafting Healing Stones]

I'm feeling sluggish, I'll try to write one more chapter... I'm so sleepy...

90. The Great Cataclysm Returns

A green light connected the demon's and Ciel's palms, and green life energy was continuously drawn from the demon's body by Ciel and gathered in Ciel's hands.

"What is this?!" The demon, pinned to the ground, suddenly screamed in terror. His life force was being forcibly extracted. "No, this is mine, my power!!!" The souls this demon devoured were equivalent to his life and power; Xia Er's extraction of his life was tantamount to extracting his power. An ordinary person would be instantly drained of life force by [Life Drain], but clearly, this demon, having devoured countless souls, wouldn't have all its life force drained by Xia Er in one go.

This also caused the demon to utter a cry of fear for the first time since its seal was broken. For the people of the Overworld, a demon experiencing fear was undoubtedly a joke, but it was practically a joke in the face of the Charr. After all, this wasn't Azeroth, a world teeming with overpowered characters and rampant bosses, where warlocks had never existed. Perhaps throughout history there had been many cultists who wielded demonic power, but probably no one had ever imagined that a human with the ability to enslave demons would appear.

"No, mortal! You dare steal my power! Die!" The demon roared in terror and rage. The black and red mist that clung to its body transformed into burning black and red flames. Instantly, the demon's power increased by a level, allowing it to withstand the pressure from the fire demon and prop itself up. Using one hand to support its upper body, it pointed at Sharl with the other and shouted, "Hand of Uranov, crush my enemies, devour souls in the abyss of darkness!"

With a loud hum, a massive crack appeared in the floor beneath Charles's feet. From beneath the crumbling rock, a gigantic, pitch-black hand emerged from the ground, its five fingers pressed together, pressing down on Charles.

The jet-black hand was over ten meters long. Compared to this hand, Charles looked like an insect. The hand closed, as if intending to crush Charles, who was essentially an insect. The open barrier trembled, making cracking sounds. As more and more cracks appeared on the barrier, the barrier, which was confident that it could withstand artillery fire, was already teetering on the brink of collapse under the tight grip of this black hand. Once the barrier shattered and the hand closed, Charles would be crushed into a pulp.

Seeing the barrier about to shatter, Charles frowned. This demon's abilities were truly beyond his imagination. If he relied solely on warlock spells to deal with it, it would be difficult. After all, he was just a warlock dressed in tattered equipment, not a protagonist wielding a divine weapon.

"Fine, that's enough anyway!" Using a small amount of power to temporarily prevent the barrier from shattering, Charles stopped the [Life Drain] spell. In just this short time, he had drained the equivalent of dozens of people's life force. "Speaking of which, this demon is really trying to catch up with Alcatel! But, it's incredibly weak." Stopping the spell, Charles held a jade-green crystal in his hand—a healing stone, also known as candy. "Candy from the candy gate!" Charles shook his head, then pressed the healing stone, containing the life force of at least dozens of people, against the chest of the still unconscious Iris, whose breathing was growing weaker. "Who says a warlock's candy has to be eaten?"

"Oh, Mr. K, oops! Mr. Xia is giving out candy!" The life force in the healing stone was guided out by Xia and poured into Iris's body. After consuming the life energy of six or seven people, Iris's eyelashes twitched.

"Cough cough... um... cough cough. What's wrong with me..." Iris slightly opened her eyelids, looked at Charles, and asked weakly, "What... wait... demon."

"So, is the burden awake?" Charles placed his right hand on Iris's forehead. "However, whether you're awake or not, you're still a burden, so please continue sleeping."