On the roads of the City of Embers, a fur-covered Devil could be seen walking through the streets. It had three arms and six legs, while its entire body was covered in thick white fur that glistened brightly.
Its steps were slow, as if its mind was preoccupied with something.
Just as the Three-Armed Devil passed by a dark alley and was about to take a turn, the shadow beneath it rippled, and a figure burst out.
Before the Three-Armed Devil could react, the figure's slender hand pressed down on its head—and crushed it.
Blood and brain matter splattered across the ground, only to vanish a few moments later. The thin layer of exoskeleton covering the upper part of the hand pulsed, devouring everything about it.
At the same time, the Three-Armed Devil's soul flew straight to the figure's mouth. In just a split second, everything regarding this Devil had completely disappeared.
Savoring the sweet taste of the soul in her mouth and feeling the Myriad Devils Armor gradually become stronger, not a ripple of emotion crossed Liora's face.
It had been more than a week since she had awakened the Myriad Devils Armor, and throughout this time, her daily schedule was pretty much the same.
Every few hours, she entered the Life and Death Arena to fight other Devils, while the rest of the time was spent either hunting lone Devils or wandering through the City of Embers.
"That's the last one for today.", Liora whispered, and after making sure that no trace of what had just happened remained, she slipped away.
--
Some time later, Liora returned to the inn she was staying in.
Seeing the familiar grinning Devil with outstretched claws, she tossed two souls as per usual.
Then, she didn't rush to go back to her room, but walked to the bar in the room next to the entrance.
Although, according to the time of the Demon World, it was late afternoon, the bar was still packed with Devils, and only a few seats were empty.
Liora found a random seat and sat down before turning to the bartender behind the counter.
"One Bloody Mary.", she ordered coldly, and the bartender, a rare Devil resembling a human, nodded in acknowledgment with a smile.
Reaching out to one of the bottles behind him, he poured its contents into a glass and slid it across the counter.
Glancing at the cocktail, which looked exactly like blood, Liora subconsciously felt a faint sense of disgust.
This held true even though she knew that this cocktail wasn't made of blood, but was the creation of a Devil who had awakened wine-making skills.
Suppressing the impulse, she picked up the glass and took a small sip.
Immediately, she felt a scorching flame glide down her throat, as if she had swallowed hot lava instead of a drink.
Her demonic energy boiled, and she felt both her mind and soul become clear.
"Good drink!", Liora couldn't help but praise, and she took another sip.
While doing this, she didn't forget to pay attention to the rest of the bar.
Although every customer was a Devil, every single one of them showed surprising restraint—cursing at each other but never fighting.
This was not the first time Liora had witnessed this scene, but she was still fairly surprised.
She strongly suspected that the owner of this inn must be a powerful Devil. Otherwise, these Devils would have no reason to act like this.
"Have you heard? Ash City has fallen. They say that the City Lord offended a Devil ranked on the Crucible Ranking..."
"The Goat Devils have decreased in this area over the past couple of months. The shops in the city have a serious shortage of meat currently..."
Various conversations echoed in Liora's ears. Part of them were news of the City of Embers, while others were rumors that these Devils had heard.
They spoke casually, and none of the Devil lowered their voice, obviously not caring whether their words would be overheard.
Liora listened to everything with a gossipy expression, when she suddenly heard something that almost caused her to spit out her drink.
"I heard that many Devils have been attacked inside the city during the past week. Admittedly, most of the victims were weak, but no one even saw who did it. That alone is evidence of the attacker's strength."
The more this Devil spoke, the stranger the expression on Liora's face became. Especially when she heard about the details of the victims, she realized:
Wasn't the killer they were talking about... her?
"So I've become a mysterious serial killer?", Liora joked inwardly, but she decided that she should lie low for a while to avoid getting caught.
But before she could finish that thought, another voice caught her attention.
"I think I know what happened! There've been rumors recently that the Soul Devil received the Demon World's punishment. She must be devouring others to recover from her injuries!"
The voice of this Devil was low, but the moment they finished speaking, silence spread throughout the room.
Then, the whole crowd boiled.
"What? Wasn't the Soul Devil on a 650-battle winning streak?", a shocked voice asked. No one ridiculed the voice's owner for their gaffe, as they were shocked too.
In fact, even Liora was surprised.
Having spent a week in the City of Embers, she was no longer a newborn Devil who knew nothing about the Crucible.
By now, she understood that although every Devil in the Crucible was a Young Devil, the difference in their strength was massive.
As such, Devils tended to judge one's strength based on their winning streak in the Life and Death Arena.
The Horned Devil, for example, whom Liora encountered in her first Life and Death battle, only had a streak of 30 or so victories, and was actually fairly weak.
On the other hand, the Ink and Canine Devils, both of whom had a winning streak of about 900, were considered the top combat powers within the Crucible.
Since the Soul Devil had managed to obtain 600 consecutive victories, her strength was not to be underestimated.
Liora judged that even now—after she had awakened the Myriad Devils Armor—she could only gain about 300 to 400 consecutive victories.
Even so, she had few rivals in the City of Embers.
Liora's eyes narrowed as she thought about the Soul Devil, or, more accurately, about her injuries. Still, she showed nothing on the surface.
Compared to her, the other Devils' reactions were way more intense.
Some of them immediately rushed away after paying for their drinks, while others hurriedly returned to their rooms and began preparing.
Soon after, Liora was the only person sitting at the bar—apart from the bartender.
"Aren't you going to follow them?", the bartender smiled faintly at her as he wiped a glass with a damp towel.
His words, though perfectly normal, seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm as they fell on Liora's ears.
She didn't reply.
She tapped the counter with her glass and spoke, her tone as cold as ever:
"Bring me another one."