Star Forge Titan

Although the underground headquarters was a long way from the surface, the difference between day and night was still apparent through the interplay of light refraction and artificial light sources. Even the vegetation grew lushly.

With a brief sense, Alvin confirmed that his body had basically healed after 34.5 hours of hibernation.

Even the horrific wound on his neck had shrunk to the point where it was almost completely invisible. At first glance, it looked like just a piece of skin that was paler than the surrounding skin.

However, the liquid positive energy stored in the regeneration furnace located between the two hearts has been consumed to repair various serious injuries, and only a shallow layer remains. It will take at least a month to accumulate enough to initiate emergency repairs again.

The ocean of vitality in the body also appears sluggish and slow, and it also requires sufficient time to circulate and grow before it can recover.

In other words, it is best not to fight with others in the short term, as your strength will drop to the point where you can only exert 100%. If you want to burst out with several times the output as usual, it is best to wait until your body functions are fully restored.

After a moment's thought, Ivan raised his hand and summoned the Nervous Axe, which had been stored in its spirit form. The Nervous Axe in its hand-axe form didn't look particularly special. Holding the axe in his hand, the black-haired boy silently communicated with the demon soul hidden within it:

"...No response?" Alvin raised his eyebrows and immediately put away his axe.

A few seconds later, the sound of the doorknob turning was heard at the entrance of the ward.

Like the wall, the wooden door, painted white, opened inward. The person who came in seemed not to want to disturb the patient so she moved very quietly, but the dangling golden diamond-shaped braid immediately exposed her identity.

"Yo." Ivan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, raised his hand and greeted.

Catherine, who didn't expect him to wake up, was startled and her strange braids seemed to jump up.

"Don't scare me!" The Duchess shouted halfway with a mixture of laughter and tears. She immediately realized where this place was and quickly covered her mouth.

After glaring at Ivan, she walked to the bedside and found a chair to sit down.

Catherine looked up at the black-haired boy in front of her, her braids slightly lowered, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"You recovered really quickly? Normal healing spells aren't this fast, are they? Did you take a rare alchemical potion before the battle? That's right, ordinary alchemists can't repel descending demons."

"Don't make it sound so easy. I barely managed to survive by trying my best." Alvin spoke the truth with confidence.

Yes, this is indeed the truest truth.

Before Ivan knew the person playing for him was the real Paraplegic Kobold, he might have felt a little guilty about saying this. After all, he had a ton of secrets he couldn't reveal. If anyone knew, he'd probably kill them right there and then, burning half their soul to the bone.

But now it was different. He had literally walked back and forth on the line of death, using all his strength to overcome the spirit of the evil god himself, and survived the brutal, bloody and murderous sword that seemed to manifest the essence of the word "war".

"Barely?" Catherine's eyes became more and more strange. She did remember how miserable the other party was when he was first discovered, but those hideous wounds healed on their own before anyone could get close, and not even a drop of blood flowed to the ground.

At that time, someone subconsciously asked:

"What level of transcendent being is this gentleman? Could it be..."

Then, someone covered his mouth. Most people present chose to remain silent, and at the same time, they turned their gaze to the Duchess herself, the only one qualified to explain this matter.

At that time, Catherine was also stunned, but she was not surprised by Ivan's unusual recovery ability.

Although this level of recovery is rare for extraordinary people, it has appeared before. Nobles like her who have mastered a lot of mystical knowledge even know how to obtain similar power in a short period of time through potions or rituals.

What truly froze her was the thick, infernal aura lingering at the scene. This demonic aura, peculiar to otherworldly beings, often lingered for a long time after its arrival, and the more powerful the demon, the more so.

At this moment, the concentration of the infernal aura lingering in the laboratory was so high that it had even surpassed Catherine's perception. She couldn't even imagine what level of demon had descended upon this place. After all, the barrier created by the ritual alone had prevented even so many transcendents from breaking through it in a short period of time.

With this level of concentration, it can't be a big demon or a demon prince, right?

Catherine thought with a wry smile, but then she denied the thought herself.

If it was a being of that level, even if it was just the temporary arrival of a vessel made of the flesh and blood of the blasphemer, it would be enough to trigger an extremely serious large-scale disaster and cause a vicious incident that would be difficult to resolve. It would definitely not be something that an ordinary transcendent could handle, even if it was a genius.

After a long moment, she finally gathered herself, coughed lightly, and walked over to the group. Without regard for the difference in status, she took the initiative to help Ivan up. As a transcendent, while her physique wasn't her primary focus, the Duchess was still able to carry a tall man.

"This Lord Elian is a friend of the Carolingian family. Please do not doubt his friendship with the royal family. Even Your Majesty would agree with this statement."

Catherine's righteous words dispelled the doubts in many people's minds. The practices of the Carolingian royal family in recent decades have created a fairly good reputation among the people, especially the current emperor who is extremely down-to-earth and a cheerful person who makes everyone happy.

Catherine felt no guilt at all about dragging her brother out to support her. He wouldn't be unhappy about it. Besides, Alvin had personally saved someone's life by helping him while they were running down the street wrapped in a shower curtain. Just standing up for him wasn't a big deal.

Although Catherine helped Ivan ward off unnecessary suspicion, the subsequent impact of this incident involving the secret headquarters of the New Era Equipment Research Institute would not disappear with the Duchess's words. At best, it only diverted attention away from Ivan.

No matter what, the matter of the devil's arrival must be investigated thoroughly.

"What do you think?" Catherine suddenly asked:

"What do you mean, how should I see it? I'm confused too." Alvin answered subconsciously, then he suddenly paused, thinking of someone worthy of suspicion.

"But if we talk about clues, it's not that there are no clues at all."

"Oh? Tell me about it." Catherine's eyes lit up and she subconsciously took two steps closer.

So, Alvin selectively told Catherine that Rimore suddenly went crazy, and then he discovered that he seemed to be under an illusion magic, so he and a few friends started to investigate the matter.

"Indeed, this is a perfect timing." Catherine grabbed her braid and put it to her nose to sniff, with a thoughtful look on her face.

"But, do you know? There is another coincidence. That Joseph official researcher is also lying in the ward of the Healing Institute now." The expression of the blonde girl became a little subtle.

"He was caught in a stampede and suffered three broken ribs. The broken bone even penetrated his lung. If he had been rushed to the hospital a few minutes later, he would have likely died in the corridor. Even with the expensive and troublesome combination of magic and divine arts, it would take at least a week to recover enough to walk on his own."

“…” Alvin was stunned.

"Is that so? That's really hard to say. There are too many uncontrollable factors in the stampede. Even if he is really the mastermind, he wouldn't almost lose his life just to cover up a thing."

The two looked at each other and felt that the whole thing was becoming more and more confusing.

"Oh, right." Alvin suddenly remembered something.

"Who is the identity of the deceased?"

"Gena Cohen, a second-level spellcaster, is an alchemist affiliated with the Materials Research Department. He is a very ordinary person and has a good relationship with his colleagues. He comes from the Sri Lanka Province, which is located at the junction of the Empire and the Great Wilderness Forest. Therefore, he is very good at making tea and often comes to the office early to prepare tea for everyone. Therefore, no one would have thought that he would actually take the initiative to summon a demon." Catherine sighed.

Even though she was born into a noble family that often had to treat subordinates like gold coins, the girl's nature still made it difficult for her to completely ignore the loss of a life.

What's more, the other party is most likely just an innocent person being exploited.

“…” Ivan had no expression on his face, but his five fingers were clenched.

Thinking back to what he had seen, the other party's mental state was clearly abnormal, and there was a high probability that he had been deceived like Limore. The most likely spells that could deceive people were naturally various illusions.

In other words, the mastermind behind the two incidents is likely to be the same person.

And what he hated the most was this kind of thing, this kind of evil thing that implicated innocent people and was completely contrary to the word "right"!

Even if he is a villain, the kind that deceives, confuses, and even forces others to sacrifice for themselves is the most despicable and despicable kind.

He doesn't even dare to say out loud that he wants to rule the world, nor does he dare to stand up and become the enemy of the world himself. And yet he has the nerve to come out as a villain! He has absolutely no dignity or style at all, and can only be considered inferior!

"We can't just let this matter go like this." Alvin said slowly.

"Yeah." Catherine nodded.

"You rest first. I will keep an eye on this matter and tell you as soon as I find anything."

After saying this, the Duchess, who was always decisive when doing business, said goodbye and left.

In the quiet ward, Alvin summoned the Axe of Annihilation again.

He had something he wanted to ask the other party.

The Terror Demon will not easily appear outside the battlefield, which means...

Ivan tapped the smooth side of the axe with his finger.

"Wake up, there's no one around now."

"Bang!" With a crisp sound like smoke exploding, Karlbant, who looked like a lamb but had a devilish tail with a heart-shaped end structure, jumped out of thin air while stretching his limbs.

It landed on the quilt that Alvin had casually pushed aside. Its miniature size made the quilt look as tall as a small hill to Karlbant at this moment.

But this did not pose a problem for Karlband, who was strengthened again by the good fortune. He slid down the clean and soft cotton quilt cover with a "swoosh" sound like riding a slide.

In the second half of his descent, he knelt down with an extremely respectful attitude, and slid all the way to Ivan's side with such unprecedented respectfulness. He paused for a few seconds before quickly saying:

"Lord of Despair, wielder of the Axe of Annihilation, a brave man recognized by the Blood God, I, your most loyal servant, Karlbant, am reporting here. How may I be of service to you?!"

Chapter 54: Triple Curse

“…” Alvin’s face darkened.

"This single bed can't accommodate so many people."

"Ahahaha, master, you are so humorous." Karlbant forced out a smile with twitching mouth corners.

For the Terror Demon, wild laughter, crazy laughter, and rude curses are their most common expressions, but a polite smile, oh, Blood God, this is really difficult for humans, or rather, difficult for demons, difficult for demon sheep?

But for those who had witnessed the previous battle against the terrifying Riel demon, it was so sacred that it was beyond words and so glorious that it brought honor to the whole family. If they had horses, it would be like a dream-like skull-stealing ceremony.

Karbant now worshipped his human master to the extreme.

Don't forget, it was sitting in the first-class seat watching the battle as a weapon. No, it went beyond watching the battle, but participated in it personally!

Ignoring Karbant's self-admiration, Ivan noticed that the sheet beneath the demonic sheep had sagged noticeably. Furthermore, the light shining on it cast a shadow behind it.

Then think about the way it appeared just now, which was similar to the arrival of a summoned creature.

He could be sure that at this moment, Karlbant already had a complete body and was no longer a pure soul projection or some illusory thing. Even this guy's voice became clearer than before, and even carried a childlike joy.

The ability to restore the body of a once-defeated demon was most likely the work of the Blood God Korrel.

I just don't know if there is any deep meaning behind it doing this?

"Let's not talk about anything else for now." Ivan waved his hand and looked at Karlbant with a serious look.

"Aside from the battlefield, what's the reason for your appearances in other places in the material world?"

"A specific summoning method? Or maybe a specific sacrifice?" Karlbant answered immediately without reservation, just like an extremely loyal little servant.

"Is it difficult to get these things in the material world?" Alvin continued to ask?

"The difficulty level varies depending on the method. Wait, Master, are you finally planning to summon the Horror Demon Army and bring endless war to this hypocritical world? Oh, oh, I, your most loyal servant, Karbant, will do my utmost to help... Ah-poo!"

Without waiting for this hot-blooded guy to continue talking nonsense, Alvin reached out and grabbed its head and lifted it up.

"It's cracking...it's going to crack!" Karlbant let out a bleating howl in a cute voice.

"Shut up." Alvin let go of this war-obsessed idiot and gave up the possibility of getting a direct answer from it.

However, this information alone has already given him a lot of speculations, but they still need further verification.

Let’s do it secretly after we’re discharged from the hospital.

Then, Alvin suddenly remembered another thing.

"By the way, how did you manage to hide that Deep Despair Armor? I remember you buried it in the basement of the alchemy workshop before you came here, and you even sealed it with a fifty-centimeter-thick layer of lead."

If that kind of thing is destroyed easily, it will cause all kinds of difficult consequences, but Alvin can't take it with him on the train, so he seals it properly in this way.

But Ivan never expected that Karlbant, who was heavily bound by the contract, would secretly hide the armor on his body.

As he spoke, the smile on the boy's face did not seem to change, but when he saw this expression, Karlbant lay on the ground in a duck sitting position and trembled continuously.

"I didn't hide it, I really didn't hide it." Karlbant explained eagerly, even biting his tongue.

"Then what happened before?" Ivan's smile became colder, almost freezing the space.

"Yes, it is a blessing." Forcing himself to force a smile, the humble and pitiful devil sheep looked up at his master who was also smiling, but there was no smile in his eyes.

Not daring to play word games and at the same time being heavily bound by the (correct quantifier) ​​contract, Karlbant had to honestly explain the changes brought about by these blessings.

Because Ivan himself righteously rejected all powers, the blessing from the Blood God had to fall on the Deep Despair Armor, and the remaining scraps were thrown to Karlbant, who served as a power transmission transit station. As a high-level demon, it was fully qualified to be this "antenna", and those low-level demons did not have this honor (Karlbant's words).

Each blessing will make the person wearing the Armor of Despair stronger and more agile, and even their physical strength will increase to a level far beyond that of ordinary people. It is not at all as heavy and cumbersome as ordinary full body armor.

In addition, the marks that symbolize blessings also have different special powers.

The first seal, the seal of fear, can make anyone who faces this armor feel incomparable fear, and even feel uncontrollable despair. However, the wearer will also be affected by this, unless he can dispel it with a stronger will.

Ivan looked confused. He didn't seem to feel anything at the time. He didn't seem to feel anything at all when facing the armored enemy.

Does this thing really have this effect?

The second seal is the seal of wrath. Put on this armor and say goodbye to your peaceful daily life.

Fear hangs over the surroundings at all times, and the anger rising in the heart is indeed endless. That anger can ignite magic power, burn the soul, and produce violence that wants to destroy everything.

The wearer of the Armor of Despair will be in a state of eternal anger. This anger will even mix with magic power to produce a flame of rage that can ignite the soul. Its appearance looks like a flame that has seeped into black ink and burst into flames. The red and black flames that enveloped Ivan's body before were this kind of magic fire.

Anger? Ivan recalled that he was indeed very angry at the time. That anger even triggered the barbarian's [Rage] and the [Perfect Power] talent obtained after the strength attribute entered the perfect realm.

So that's why my strength at that time continued to increase endlessly?

But thinking about it carefully, he did not seem to lose his mind because of this. Instead, he kept his anger like a warhorse, always firmly under the control of his self-consciousness.

Does this thing really exist?

As for the third brand that was obtained after the battle just now.