Rey laughed so hard he almost choked—Gloria's face looked like she'd just walked in on a satyr doing the dirty in the mud with a Nestoriel. And that was an image that had taken a while to get out of his head of Rey's head.

  It took her a moment to calm herself, and when she did, she immediately hugged him.

  "But how?" She pulled back almost immediately. The hug lasted much shorter than he wanted. "What are you doing here?"

  "More importantly, Se?orita, what are you doing here? When did you end up in this kingdom of nightmares?"

  She smiled. "It wasn't long after we parted ways. I stumbled around the forest, somehow surviving all the demons. After about two weeks, I made it to the craggy plains. I didn't know what they were, but at least it was better than the forest—"

  Rey almost swallowed his tongue. "I'm sorry, you found this Hell's clogged-up toilet better than those dead woods. I get they are ominous and all, but come on…"

  He paused. They didn't know the future or of the lovely things this kingdom had to offer. So, he couldn't judge her for that. He knew it was his human side's rational thinking, because his other side just wanted to make fun of her, but after seeing a friendly face after weeks, he couldn't push her away so fast. He would need to wait for ten minutes at least.

  "Trust me, I know how foolish that sounds." She gave a sad smile. "It was okay for the first few days, but then the real, strong demons started attacking, and I longed to head back to the woods, but by then I was thoroughly lost. Everywhere I looked, I saw the craggy plains and the dark, lava rivulets overhead. I didn't know which way to go. On more than one occasion, I nearly lost my life. My body is riddled with scars from those weeks of fighting and running."

  Rey placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I understand."

  He truly did. He had lived it as what had happened to Gloria was precisely what had happened to Rey and the others. In his last life, after running from Unokir as he laid waste to the castle, he and the others wandered around the dead forest until they found themselves in the plains of the Kingdom of Night. Then they too got out of the forest, thinking to put as much distance between themselves and Unokir, in case he decided to come after them, only to find themselves in a place where Unokir wouldn't have so much as dared to step outside the safety of the forest.

  "How did you end up in this fair city?" Rey asked.

  "By accident or by luck, I ran into this demon called Paromae that was headed to a place better than the plains of Gerhor. I decided to tag along, and he brought me here thinking he was doing this out of the goodness of his heart, but instead—"

  "He sold you to him." Rey kicked the dead demon's corpse.

  It was a story as old as Hell. If you can't pay someone for their 'good' deed, or do not set a price for the deed beforehand, they would sell you to the highest bidder. Slavery was the price you paid if you couldn't pay in money. Freedom was a hefty thing to hold onto in Hell. Rey himself had been sold a few times. Sometimes, he sold himself if he ran out of cash. Then he would pretend to be the best slave and do everything his master desired, and after a while, take the sucker for everything he had. There was a sum on his head in most towns. Though once he got to the B-Tier, no one came to collect the prize. He always wondered why. It was easy experience killing bounty hunters.

  "Not exactly him," she replied. "But this group called The Black Hand."

  His eyes popped open. "You work for them?" He looked down. "I killed one of them. Why didn't you say anything before I killed him?"

  "You didn't give us a chance. One moment you were there and the next, you had cut his throat. Deofis will not be happy about this." She said exasperatedly. "He's going to want an explanation as to why he's dead and I'm not."

  There was a good reason Rey was freaking out a little. It was this group that had run them out of town after a very similar altercation. However, it was Ajay who had done the killing. Then the group cornered them in broad nightlight, which might as well be as good as daylight. Anyways, they had to fight for their life as they escaped the city once and for all.

  Good job, idiot. You just grabbed a flying arrow and shoved it up your butt.

  A moment of clarity passed, and he realized that he wasn't as weak as he was back then. Heck, he was probably the strongest Rank 5 demon or non-demon on the face of Purgatory. If anything, his strength was comparable to that of Rank 6 or even 7.

  I didn't need to worry about those assholes. Their assholes should be worrying about me and my rod of death.

  Rey waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, people in your profession end up dying all the time. Hazards of the occupation. Tell him that a rival group killed him while you ran for your life."

  "Except there are no rivals here." Her hands shook a little. "This is our turf."

  "Aw, look at you, miss pickpocket, you. Already falling into the lingo of the trade."

  She gave him a blank look. "This is not funny."

  "Hey, I'm the one who killed him. If I'm not worried, then you shouldn't be either."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "B-But—"

  "Relax, babe." Rey held her by the shoulders. "Now, take a deep breath." She didn't move. "Do it."

  She finally did.

  "How amazing is that sulfur-tinged air. Must feel great for you, though I'm sure it's inviting my death but right now is not about me."

  She frowned. "You are very strange."

  "I'm sure you knew that already."

  "What are you doing here, and where are the others?"

  "I'm here to get my scythe repaired." Rey shook his scythe, showing off the creaking blade that looked like it would fall at any moment.

  "I know a few blacksmiths that pay us protection money and wouldn't even charge you a thing," Gloria said.

  Rey leaned away as he raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think I am? A fucking peasant? I recently came into a lot of money. I butchered a Satyr and then took his hoard."

  "And you just want to be telling me that. Me? A member of a renowned thieving gang."

  "Sure. It's not like you're going to steal from the man that made sure that you didn't end up a mindless monster roaming a dead forest, foraging on rotten meat, and being constipated as fuck until some stronger demon came along and put you out of your misery."

  "Okay, okay, you made your point." She chuckled. "Come, at least, let me take you to one of the better blacksmiths in town."

  "I already know who I want to go to," Rey replied. "Now, if you can get me a discount from that old bastard, then the Black Hand's reach will have truly gotten far."

  "Who do you want to go to?"

  "Neriath."

  She raised her hands and whistled. "Yeah, you're all on your own with that one. Even we don't dare to threaten him."

  Rey snorted. "Thought as much. Besides, I hear his stuff is the best in town. So, you coming?"

  She gave her dead partner another look and then nodded. "You know, I will have to blame you eventually."

  He shrugged. "Let me get out of town and then blame away."

  Neriath's shop wasn't far from there. Gloria chatted absentmindedly as she kept an eye out for any of her fellow associates on the streets. After all, it wouldn't look nice if they found out she was strolling with her partner's killer.

  Rey wasn't particularly worried. Even though he didn't know these streets all too well, he knew enough to know what elements to watch for. Gloria wasn't like the Gloria that had stepped into Hell nearly two months ago. She had changed. In the sense that she wasn't the shining beauty that would've had the demons drooling. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were basically rags. In her place, he would dress down as well. Demons were known to be handsy, especially towards those they knew to be weaker.

  Still, he had to give it to her; she was surviving in this den of vipers. This was not the future, he was sure, she had envisioned for herself. She was a model back home, and if Rey were the judge in all the competitions she competed in, she would win every time. Every. Single. Time.

  They arrived at Neriath's shop to the sound of a hammer banging on metal. He was so happy to see the old weaponsmith. He had given him so much business in his last run through the town. They didn't have the money, so they had to run errands for him. On account of not being able to find the Satyr's treasure, which was why he had to ask the leacherous beast for it this time.

  Neriath was just as he remembered. An old, musclebound demon with a thick grey beard and long hair that was tied in a messy bun. He was no doubt a metalworker back on Earth. Though which Earth, Rey couldn't rightly say, as he was here long before Rey's Earth was given to Hell.

  "Hey, Neriath," Rey called. "Remember me?"

  "Why the fuck should I remember a dumbass that wears fur in this fucking heat?" The smith snapped.

  Rey smiled. Ah, just the Neriath, I remember.

  "Well, this dumbass is here to get his weapon fixed, and before you say anything else, yes, I do have the money."

  Neriath stopped his banging and finally looked up at Rey, who was about to show his scythe when their proceedings were very rudely interrupted.

  "Gloria?" Said a spindly, toad-like demon. He wore a ripped-up, filthy shirt that gave away what he had eaten yesterday, the day before that, the day before that, and another day before that. His eyes were bulging out like a frog, and they looked outwards in different directions. How this demon saw straight was beyond Rey.

  He knew this demon very well, for killing him was what had started all the troubles with the Black Hand. This was Bikrur, the biggest groper this side of the kingdom.

  "B-Bikrur." Gloria clearly wasn't thrilled to see him.

  "What're you doing here, bitch?"

  "Just showing a friend around."

  "Who is this fur-wearing chump?" He looked Rey up and down. "I like that silver in your scythe. It's best you hand that over."

  Then he squinted at Rey, sniffing the air as he stepped closer. Rey had a clever retort to the demon's demand, but it died on his tongue because of what Bikrur did.

  He walked past Gloria and casually felt up her breasts as if it were the most natural thing to do. Gloria jumped back, but she didn't dare slap his hand away. She had found herself in a position that no female demon would want to be in—surrounded by scoundrels who thought they could do anything to her since she was literally their property.

  Rey wasn't there when he did something similar to Kassandra, and Ajay had burnt him alive for it. That was one thing that had irked Rey for a long time. But here was the opportunity to right that wrong, firsthand.

  He waited for the demon to get close enough until he was standing right in front of him.

  "You smell funny, stranger," Bikrur said.

  "As do you. Are you trying to seduce a sewer? Anyway, you're disturbing this lovely lady and me. Besides, I was having a chat with—"

  The demon stepped in real close and took a deep sniff. His eyes widened. "Hey, this is a—"

  Rey activated Gravity's Domain with seventy percent gravity, making the demon crash to the ground. Rey struggled to stay on his feet because he was wearing all these furs that had become super heavy, but he somehow managed.

  "W-What are you doing to me?"

  "You shouldn't have touched the lady like that."

  Rey lifted his foot and slammed it down on his throat. His foot was way heavier than usual, and the slam had more impact than it should have. His throat was crushed immediately. Bikrur hacked and tried to fight off Rey's foot. Then he activated Gravitational Attraction on his head, and he tried to scream as his head tried to fly to Rey's hand.

  "Rey! Stop, please," Gloria cried.

  He ignored her and concentrated on the demon lying beneath his foot. His neck began to tear—a bloody line formed along his neck, right where Rey was crushing it. Dark blood seeped onto the ground. The demon groaned and fought, but it was all in vain. A few agonizing moments later, his head snapped off his neck and dashed off to Rey's hand.

  [+1 Magic Power]

  [+1 Endurance]

  [You killed a Demon (Exiled) – E+5]

  "You really shouldn't have touched Kassi like that." Rey hissed into his dead face. However, the demon wasn't entirely dead, as his eyes still moved about.

  "You killed him. You clean it up. I don't want this mess in front of my shop," Neriath stated calmly as if Rey had just stepped on a rat and saved everyone the trouble.

  "Sure thing." Rey looked toward the far end of the street, where a lot of garbage was already piled up. He activated Attraction and shot the recently departed's body away and flung the head using Repulsion.

  The head landed there faster than the body.

  "Oh, I win. Though I would've won in any case." He grinned.

  Gloria, on the other hand, looked like he had just signed her death warrant.