"Devilia, don't do anything you will regret! All we need is a drop of blood!" High Duke Oris also warned Devilia. "Don't make this more complicated than it is."
"High Duke Oris is right. If you're really innocent, all you need to show is a drop of blood. Do it," High Duke Mila said to Ryder.
"This is useless! I'm telling you that I'm perfectly fine. You all are doubting me unnecessarily. That is understandable since you're all stressed right now about the Death Domain, but are you really going to believe him? He is lying!" Devilia said as she pointed at Mao and accused him of lying.
" He's not going to get anything from lying. All he can do is delay us for an hour this way before he dies. Even if he is lying, it's not like we will lose anything if we indulge him," Ryder said in full seriousness.
"Just show us your blood. We aren't going to lose anything. If he's lying, I'll let you punish him on your own!" he continued.
" Of course we lose something! We lose our precious time, which I can utilize elsewhere. If it isn't a waste, why aren't you testing Rale and the others as well? Why am I the only one that's responsible to probe my authenticity!" Devilia let out in a hurt tone.
" Devilia, you're wasting even more time than what we would have wasted. This is the last warning. I'll count to ten. If you don't show us your blood, you'll be forced! That's the last bit of relaxation I can give you," Long Chen let out as he sighed.
Devilia looked at them for a few minutes as if she was contemplating something serious, before ultimately nodding her head.
"You don't believe me. It's because you're a little stressed, I think. You guys should have rest. I will see how the repair work of the Palace is going on," She said as she turned her back on them and started walking towards the exit.
"High Duke Oris, please stop her and test her blood. She isn't going to listen like this," Ryder sighed as he looked at High Duke Oris.
High Duke Oris nodded his head as he started flying after Devilia, but as he was getting near her, two golden skeletons came out of the ground and caught the legs of High Duke Oris.
While High Duke Oris was shocked, he noticed that Devilia had started running towards the door.
"You idiot!" High Duke Oris roared in anger as an energy wave came out of his body, destroying the golden skeletons with ease. The energy wave was so powerful that it was equivalent to the energy wave that had appeared when High Duke Oris and the Death Envoy's attack had collided, but unlike last time, this energy wave was more controlled.
It destroyed the skeletons and didn't go any further as it stopped without going any further.
High Duke Oris disappeared from his position and appeared before Devilia as he caught her neck and smashed her on the ground.
High Duke Oris used his nails to scratch the hand of Devilia, letting her blood flow.
Everyone saw the blood color, which was different from the dark blood of the Demons.
" Death Domain Blood," The Vampire King muttered as he saw the blood.
" You are not Devilia! Tell me who you are?! What did you do to Devilia?!" High Duke Oris let out as he started tightening the grip on Devilia's neck.
"I-i am Lu! I am the person he was talking about! I came here to impersonate others and get the information to my people! Please don't kill me! I will tell you everything!" Devilia started crying out loud as if she was seeing her death now, and she knew that if she didn't say anything, she was going to die.
Ryder walked closer to High Duke Oris and Devilia with clenched fists. The others also followed behind her.
"Sigh, he probably killed your Duke sneakily and took her place. Such a cruel plan from Elisia but really effective. She does think like a ruthless King; I must say," Vampire King muttered as he nodded in praise of Elisia.
Ryder glared at the Vampire King but didn't say anything. He simply looked back at High Duke Oris.
"Attacking me and failing is a different matter, but killing a Duke of Demon Realm to make your plan go forward. Elisia is really brave to come up with this plan. She even dared to target Devilia? If she's really looking for death that much, then I'll give it to her," Ryder said in a Devil-like tone. He didn't know why, but he could feel his blood boiling at the thoughts of his people dying.
It was as if he had gone through the same thing before. It was as if he had lost everything he held precious once before, and he couldn't do anything. He could feel a desire inside his heart. A desire to burn everything! A desire to destroy even the Heavens for what they took from him. He couldn't understand what this feeling was. He wasn't even that close to Devilia. He felt like there was something more to this feeling than Devilia. His anger was taking over his head.
He didn't know, but at that moment, there was a glimpse of shine on his Bracelet of Immortality as if it was happy.
A red shine also appeared in Ryder's eyes. For a brief second, it seemed like his eyes were back millions of years, looking at the destruction all around him. Ryder didn't notice anything. He was just lost in his anger to notice such minor things. All he knew was there there was an anger inside him that he couldn't suppress
"High Duke Oris, we're not going to Death Domain. Send an envoy there with a letter from me. Tell them that I want Elisia here at all cost. I want Elisia on her knees before me in twenty-four hours! She deserves death for being responsible for our Duke's Death! Tell them that if I don't get Elisia, they should be ready for the consequences," Ryder declared as he glared at High Duke Oris.
High Duke Oris was stunned at Ryder's words. In his eyes, Ryder was a guy that always looked to avoid wars if possible, but it seemed like he was thirsty for war if he didn't get what he wanted. He was even more surprised as he saw Ryder's face.
He didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling as if he was not just looking at Ryder. For a brief moment, he felt like he was looking at the Ancient God himself, that was thirsty for slaughter.
" I will do as you said; just let us hear what he did to Devilia first. If she's actually dead, then Elisia truly deserves death along with the others that participated. I will fully support you in the war if it's the truth," High Duke Oris said as he nodded his head.
" Tell me! Did you kill Devilia?" he asked the woman in his grip that looked like Devilia.
"N-no, I didn't kill her! I did not need to kill her! I only made her unconscious and trapped her! She is perfectly fine! If I had Killed her, my skill of Impersonation would be broken! I left her perfectly safe! She is just sleeping because of the effects of my skill! I can free her if you want!" the woman lying on the ground said.
Ryder heard his words, and his anger was a little less, but he hadn't calmed down perfectly.
" High Duke Oris! Take him with you and bring Devilia safely back!" Ryder told High Duke Oris before he walked back like a king and sat on the throne with one of his legs resting on his other legs.
'Just what exactly happened to him? His visage is all different? He was like a sensible prince before, but now I get a feeling as if I'm looking at a deep abyss. Is this his real personality? Even I'm feeling intimidated,' The Vampire King thought as he watched Ryder sitting on the throne.
He never thought that it was ever possible, but he was actually feeling intimidated by a kid. He couldn't understand why it was that way. Just what was Ryder hiding? Just who was he exactly? The Vampire King has even met the Demon Emperor before. Still, the King of intimation he felt from Ryder was entirely different from the intimation he felt when he met the Demon Emperor.
When he had met the Demon Emperor Salem, he felt like he was standing before a person that was impossible to be defeated. He felt like Demon Emperor Salem was the real king while he sat just a kid before him. He was like an incomparable mountain in Vampire King's eyes, but the feelings he got from Ryder were entirely different.
