Chapter 51 — Crimson Maiden [13] - Cicada & Owl

Unfortunately, his confidence was soon shattered.

Instead of answering his question, Liora sized him up before asking a question of her own:

"Are you the thirty-sixth-ranked Devil? Titled Cicada?"

Under her undisguised gaze, the Ant Devil had a bad premonition.

Still, he forced himself to calm down and nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, Your Excellency, are you looking for me—"

Before he could finish his words, Liora waved her hand and interrupted him.

"I’ve heard that you’re very close to Blasphemer. Can you grace me with what you know of him?"

Instantly, the Ant Devil’s face turned pale, and he understood that his premonition had been correct.

"Your Excellency, I’m indeed quite close with Lord Blasphemer. However, I’m afraid that..."

He paused mid-speech, and a flash of hesitation flashed across his brown eyes, as if he was contemplating whether to speak any further.

Liora didn’t urge him, but stared at him silently, awaiting his response.

That was until suddenly, she lifted her head.

"Interesting...", she whispered in a low, almost inaudible voice.

Then, for the first time since she appeared, she actually got up from the large throne.

The shadows beneath her moved and turned into a giant mouth, swallowing her figure.

Only a split second later, the shadows in front of the giant stone door squirmed, and Liora’s body was spat out.

The moment she appeared in the outside world again, Liora stretched out her hand and grasped the seemingly empty space in front of her.

Then, she brought her hand down.

A booming bang rang, as a deep pit surrounded by many cracks formed on the floor.

Yet, Liora’s hand never actually touched it, stopping a few centimeters above it.

The air trembled slightly, and as if an invisible paintbrush was painting in reality, many colors began appearing around her hand.

As these various colors converged, they turned into the Ant Devil’s head—clasped tightly in between her fingers—followed by the rest of his body.

"A clever trick. Sadly, it’s nowhere near enough to let you escape under my watch.", Liora commented casually, ignoring the struggle of the Ant Devil, who wished to break free from her grasp.

With her other hand, she punched each of his struggling limbs, shattering his white exoskeleton and rendering him unable to move.

Then, still holding his head, she slowly approached the throne.

As she did, she passed by the brown exoskeleton left by the Ant Devil, who was still life-like and extremely vivid.

If it were not for her strong intuition, even Liora wouldn’t have seen the differences between them.

After all, she had never seen such an ability—shedding one’s own body and leaving a clone-like exoskeleton behind.

"No matter how strange they may seem, the titles bestowed by the Demon World are always accurate.", Liora thought silently as she threw the now-paralyzed Ant Devil to the floor.

Sitting down, she waved her hand, ready to summon Alpha and ask her to interrogate him.

But just then, an elderly voice reached her ears.

"Lady Crimson, do you wish to get information out of him? If so, I believe I can help.", a Devil with the head of an owl and holding a thick book with his two wings stepped forward.

His feathers trembled as he did it, a clear indication of his inner fear.

"What can you do?", Liora didn’t rush to refuse, wanting to see what he wanted to say.

Seeing that she was willing to give him a chance, the Owl Devil breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his decision had been correct.

"Your Excellency, I possess a unique ability that can help me peer into other people’s memories. If you trust me, I’m willing to help you deal with this damned, rotten person."

As the Owl Devil spoke, he glanced at the Ant Devil with hatred in his eyes as if the two were not chatting happily not long ago, but were actually mortal enemies.

Liora was not fooled by his act, but she also didn’t point it out.

After a little bit of thought, she nodded slightly and gestured for him to give it a try.

Having obtained her agreement, the Owl Devil cautiously approached the Ant Devil with steady yet quick steps.

Seemingly sensing his approach, the Ant Devil finally woke up from his previous stupor.

He neither showed fear at having been captured nor chose to beg for mercy.

Instead, a surprisingly resolute expression appeared on his face, and he opened his mouth:

"You’ll never be able to get anything out of me! I’ll never betray my brother! Justice shall prevail!", he roared, almost making Liora feel that she was the villain.

However, she quickly suppressed these inexplicable thoughts and watched the Owl Devil’s performance.

The Owl Devil, unlike Liora, didn’t overthink his words.

Standing before the Ant Devil, he leaned down slightly and brushed his feathers against his mangled, deformed body.

Seconds passed as he waved his wings, and yet, nothing happened.

Just when Liora thought that the Owl Devil’s ability had failed, something finally changed.

With a move of his feathers, the Owl Devil opened the old book, and from within, an image flew out and appeared before Liora.

"Your Excellency, these are his memories.", the Owl Devil’s voice rang in Liora’s ears, but she didn’t have the time to pay attention to his words.

Her whole focus was on the moving pictures in front of her.

In those pictures, she saw the life of a Young Devil.

From his birth at the River of Oblivion to his awakening of the Cicada bloodline and his ascendance to the Crucible.

The Ant Devil’s life unfolded right before her, as if she were watching a mere movie.

Fortunately, this "movie" was sped up, so it didn’t take long for her to go through it.

A couple of minutes later, she closed her eyes, only opening them again when she had completely digested the Ant Devil’s memories.

She didn’t rush to make any plans but turned her head to look at the Owl Devil with amazement.

"I didn’t expect that there was such a talent among you. How come you are not famous?"

Liora was not trying to flatter him.

The ability that the Owl Devil had just shown held extraordinary meaning, and it should be more than enough to help him reach the very top of the Crucible.

In response to her doubts, the Owl Devil showed a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Rubbing his wing against the back of his head, he let out an awkward chuckle before explaining:

"Hehehe... Your Excellency. You don’t know. My bloodline awakening only granted me a single ability. Moreover, this ability has several requirements before it can be used..."