Chapter 492

"Davey, Rinne absolutely does not want you to approach," Rinne said, forming an 'x' with her arms in front of her to signal her reluctance for Davey to come closer.

It appeared that a significant impact had been left on Rinne after experiencing the curse that heightened one's senses to the extreme. Davey could discern the effectiveness of the curse from the fact that the typically expressionless Rinne was reacting so strongly to it.

"Right. Anyway, this is a type of curse, so how can I use it as I please, right? I obtained it simply because I have a need for it," Davey replied, his smile filled with amusement as he reassured the golem.

Rinne regarded him with suspicion. Eventually, she nodded and cautiously approached him.

'Now!'

"Hiyaaa?!"

Davey's smile stretched to his ears upon hearing Rinne's shrill screams. After all, the girl had not let out a single scream even when her entire body had been nearly destroyed, but now she was screaming uncontrollably.

"As expected, this is truly remarkable."

The curse used by the Princess of the Abyss was exceptionally efficient in achieving its singular purpose, and it was this efficiency that intrigued Davey. However, he believed that the aftermath might be more complex than he had initially imagined. While it resembled a curse, he was uncertain of the potential consequences if used recklessly.

To prevent such complications, Davey had condensed Versha's dissipating powers into a small bead, no larger than his knuckle. With this, he could harness Versha's power and combine it with the curse that amplified one's senses using his mana. However, it wasn't Davey who had created this bead.

Versha, screaming for her life, had given Davey the bead containing her powers as a means of survival. Yet, in the end, Davey had killed her. Why, despite her cooperation? Versha was the one responsible for creating the parasitic virus through her curse and other abilities, making her a primary contributor to the state of the world. Why should he have spared her?

Of course, Versha had resisted, but just as Davey had done with Sleesia, he had employed Taboo's Karma to press their core, the source of their powers as Princesses of the Abyss, causing it to rupture. That was how Davey had killed his second Princess of the Abyss.

Davey wasn't sure how many Princesses of the Abyss remained or how many he would encounter in the future, but he was certain of one thing: the influence of the Abyss would diminish with the death of each Princess with distinct characteristics.

Rinne, completely deceived by Davey and subjected to another sensory overload, jumped away from him. She materialized a massive gun and aimed it squarely at Davey. "Rinne evaluates Davey poorly!!!"

Ignoring Rinne, who appeared ready to shoot him at any moment, Davey turned to Perserque and inquired, "How's the effect?"

"You're truly the worst, Davey," Perserque replied coldly as she fixed him with a glare.

Seeing her reaction, Davey was confident the effects were as he had expected.

"Don't worry. I'm merely trying to assess the associated risks."

The risks tied to the power of the Abyss remained largely unknown to them, hence the need for caution. Perserque regarded Davey with suspicion for an extended period, showing she had no faith in his overtly deceitful comments. Nevertheless, Davey figured they could believe what they wished, as he had no immediate plans to use this power on them.

"I look forward to how Illyna will react to this."

"I must warn that child."

"Keep your mouth shut, or I will let you experience it again."

"You despicable and vile bastard!!!"

Davey was eager to see how Sword Princess Illyna, the blonde with a captivating allure that might tempt one to give her a massage, would react to the effects of the bead.

Davey clicked his tongue as he rolled the bead in his hand and gradually released the repulsive power of the Abyss to attempt to assail him. However, since the power's source was a curse, the curse rejecting the flow deeply embedded within Davey easily quelled and suppressed it.

"In the end, no one else can use this but me."

The bead served as a nucleus containing countless curses from Versha. Even though Davey could manipulate the curse that heightened one's senses to the extreme at his discretion, delving deeply into the curse would cause the tens of thousands of curses trapped inside the bead to escape and strike Davey, the caster of the curses. If Davey didn't possess the curse rejecting the flow within his body, he would have promptly deemed this item a highly dangerous artifact requiring sealing.

In fact, Davey was only able to use the bead because the curse penalty it carried did not affect his body. Otherwise, he would have already turned into a puddle of bloody mess, much like the victims he had come across earlier. Nevertheless, because of the bead's inherent danger, Davey had to be cautious to keep it out of the reach of others.

"What about those who escaped?"

"I missed one."

From the very beginning, Davey had noticed that some people had managed to leave the area through a concealed passage.

"The villains this time are tough to deal with," Davey sighed and abandoned pursuit of those who had fled without hesitation.

However, his frown returned almost immediately. Why? Because the headache he had been experiencing had now reached its limit and was making its presence known. He knew that he wouldn't be able to endure it if it exceeded this level, which was what had driven him to act so recklessly earlier. So, he promptly retrieved the dimensional key.

"Are we going back right away?"

"Stop with the pointless questions and quickly hold hands with each other."

Rinne and Perserque swiftly approached Davey and made contact with his body. It seemed they had finally grasped the gravity of the situation when they saw him speak through gritted teeth.

Boom!!!

Davey felt as though his consciousness was nearly whisked away to another place as a profound bout of motion sickness engulfed him.

***

Davey had succeeded in obtaining the main material, plutium, but they still needed to make many more preparations before they could proceed with their plans.

They had designated void energy as the primary energy source for the nuclear reactor. To obtain it, Davey needed to recover one of the Demon Lord's Authorities that he had dropped in the Demon World and also shake the pockets of those who claimed to be the Demon Lord of Destruction until they were empty. However, his primary goal was to retrieve the powers that had been removed from his body and scattered all over the place.

Meanwhile, the Alchemy School's Advisor Edison and the other participants in this extensive project were shocked to see plutium, an ore they had never encountered before, appear in front of them.

The greatest advantage of plutium ore was that its conductivity for the force that would run through it depended on temperature. The fluctuating temperature was easy to control, meaning they could easily change energy conductivity by controlling the temperature.

Plutium also had several advantageous properties compared to other ores in this world. It might be lightweight, but it was tougher and harder than they had anticipated.

Davey, who already knew that plutium could conduct mana when exposed to forces working on non-physical laws, had completed the simulation of the process.

The challenge was that they needed void energy to refine the plutium ore, and it was also the primary energy source for the nuclear reactor. In other words, Davey had to retrieve the power of the Demon Lord of Destruction, who had already established himself in the Demon World.

Perserque completely disapproved of Davey working as soon as he returned from the Yurgian Continent. However, since Davey was the type of person who would not stop until he finished what he started, it was inevitable that they would argue.

But that wasn't the problem. The real issue was finding a way to enter the Demon World. Historical records showed that Sword God Ares had driven the demons to the Demon World in the past. The question was, did he create a dimensional split after chasing them all the way there?

If that was the case, Davey could enter the Demon World using the dimensional key. However, the dimensional key couldn't access the Demon World. In other words, the path to the artificial Demon World was somewhere on the Tionis Continent.

"For matters like this... it's better to consult an expert."

It just so happened that there was a person living in the Heins Academy in Heins Territory who had a deep connection with the demons and was related to Davey.

"Hnggggh!!! Rwinne!!! Rwinne, dwon't wun away!"

"R, Rinne judges that her behavior control circuit has overheated..."

"R, Rinne's sick? Blue, Blue Ribbon will 'Ho~' it for you..."

When Davey turned to one side of the room, he found Rinne lying on the ground as if she were a lifeless body, while two small children sat beside her, playing with her.

'Well, I need to give Rinne a vacation too.'

"Blue Ribbon, Red Ribbon."

"Yeeeeeep!"

"Daddy!"

The two children promptly rushed into Davey's arms and gazed up at him with sparkling eyes when they heard his voice.

"Does Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon want to go and meet with a friend?"

"Fwiend?"

"That's right. Shall we go and visit Myuu?!"

"Gwo! Red Ribbon wants to gwoo! Red Ribbon wants to see Myuu!"

Davey held his two children in his arms and moved toward the academy that was located at the west side of the territory.

***

A lively atmosphere filled the halls of the Heins Academy following its official opening. Davey had requested the souls freed from their curse, bound to the traces of the Kingdom of Prugrepf after their deaths, to wander the academy's halls. Since they held a favorable view of Davey, they willingly obliged.

Now, they seemed to have settled comfortably in the academy, finding their own places within its premises. Spirits occupied various spots, from the auditorium to the bathrooms and even decorative sculptures on the academy grounds.

"What! What are you looking at?! Are you ignoring me just because I'm a ghost living in the frescoes... Heok?!" The ghost, who often appeared in popular spots and shouted imperiously, choked, his eyes widening when he spotted Davey before him.

"They're ignoring you?" Davey approached the trembling ghost, who looked as if he'd just met his commanding officer for the first time, and patted him on the shoulder. He displayed an odd ability to touch the incorporeal figure, as if he could pin him down if he so desired.

"N-No... That's not..." The ghost's already pale countenance turned even paler as they discussed the topic. Davey couldn't help but chuckle at the ghost's terrified expression.

"You've grasped the concept perfectly. Carry on with what you're doing. I'll leave the academy's atmosphere in your capable hands."

Davey, being human, had eyes and ears and was aware of the faculty's approach to students. The more challenging the curriculum, the more crucial it was to inject moments of levity in unconventional ways. It may have seemed like utter nonsense, but a glance at the students of the academy made it clear that it worked.

"From now on, our chant is 'I am! The Devil!' Got it?! You are all devils now, and there's only one way to escape the devil!"

The young boys and girls, dressed as novice swordsmen, screamed and rolled on the well-kept lawns of the military training ground, making it evident that it was no mere nonsense.

Faculties of Swordsmanship and Magic.

"Is this the famous MBFD?"

MBFD, Monsters Born From Difficulties. The process was grueling and brutal, with little regard for emotional toll, but the results were undeniable. Of course, each faculty emphasized efficiency and put little concern into emotional stress.

Word about ordinary students, who had undergone the grueling teaching process, quickly mastering the sword and forming circles within a short time since the academy's opening, had already begun to spread throughout the continent.

The only places considered more comfortable were the Faculty of Alchemy and the Faculty of Liberal Arts.

"You can neutralize the acidity of your potion by using the aerilite grass here..." Milpieu, a pink-haired woman teaching dozens of students in a vast auditorium, interrupted her lesson upon seeing Davey's entrance.

"What's the matter?"

"Let's have a chat."

"...Our class will end here. You can engage in some self-study."

The students visibly relaxed when they heard Milpieu's words.

Davey had obviously arranged for her to teach a class at the academy. Her use of charm magic ensured the students remained attentive to her lessons.