Dorian felt extremely exhausted.

Exhausted to the point that, upon escaping danger, he immediately fell into a deep sleep, and if there wasn’t a significant threat, he probably wouldn’t wake up.

Speaking of which...

What exactly was going on with those who besieged him today?

Who was that entirely unfamiliar member of the Demon Clan created by?

How did I end up in this predicament?

For some reason, in a dazed state, it was as if an external force made him involuntarily begin to reflect on the life he had lived so far, recalling every detail.

Dorian was born in the Great Demon City, among the Demon Clan, he holds a status akin to a Prince among the humans of the Royal City.

Unlike other demons born under harsh conditions, he was born in Rome, naturally enjoying a privileged upbringing.

But unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. His family failed in their political alignment, supporting a priest who was unfortunately defeated in the priestly power struggle by a young priest who rose to power and reduced the family’s status drastically, eventually leading Dorian outside the Great Demon City, wandering through small settlements, surviving on his own talents.

That young priest was called Onora.

This priest seemed to have a strong affinity with the Great Demon Tree and could see things far deeper than her peers.

For instance, the memories of souls returning to the Great Demon Tree, which she could examine more thoroughly, a truly extraordinary talent, and it was only a matter of time before she became a High Priest.

Dorian admired her sincerely, without any resentment.

Later, after wandering for many years and gaining some notoriety, Dorian felt both physically and mentally exhausted, tired of such a lifestyle, constantly planning to return to the Great Demon City, even if it meant living in an inconspicuous corner of the suburbs, as long as he could live a peaceful life.

Unfortunately, the money he saved seemed to fall short of buying a small place in the Great Demon City... even Demon Clan’s real estate prices were troublesome.

The situation soon took a turn for the better because Onora approached him, asking him to use his talents to go back to the human world for a task.

Collect information about the Abnormal Fallen Demon Egg and search for anything related to the "Abyss."

Reflecting back, the appearance of Onora with her golden blindfold was quite attractive, making him a bit stirred, but if he dared to show it, he feared he’d be too moved to react next time.

And so, to complete the priest’s quest, for the promise of a small plot of land afterward, Dorian embarked on the journey.

Later came familiar events, joining forces with Eliphas, witnessing his defeat, and inadvertently seeing the Mad Fire through the other’s eyes.

To this day, he didn’t know what exactly Mad Fire was, but his mind couldn’t help but go mad over that thing.

Spending days either hiding in tunnels burning himself or attacking passing travelers to acquire food and supplies, regarding the burnt fingerprint mark? That was but an accidental mark left when wrapped in flames, and later he thought it suited Mad Fire perfectly, so he regarded it as his personal emblem.

His mental state was unfit for a long journey back to the Great Demon City, not even remembering how he ended up in the Warrior Country.

Dorian felt that his life was probably thoroughly doomed.

Just like this, better to survive miserably than to die well... I must survive...

Thinking this, he slowly lost consciousness, entering a long, deep dream.

In the pitch-black tunnel, Geng Ghost slipped into the shadows, eventually appearing beside Gong Qiying in some countryside location, revealing everything it had just learned from Dorian.

Although for Dorian, it was reminiscing in his mind, in reality, he was voicing his thoughts aloud.

"Interesting, there’s actually such a situation."

Gong Qiying eventually bridged the intelligence gap.

"Saw the Mad Fire through Eliphas, hence the madness?"

Gong Qiying suddenly felt fortunate, fortunate to have absolute control over the Dungeon’s creations, even the Mad Fire was under his authority, as long as he didn’t permit, no matter how profound, it couldn’t spread the more hazardous flames.

In other words, Dorian’s current manic mental state can be contagious, but the truly harmful Mad Fire flames were absent from him and couldn’t spread.

Otherwise, perhaps Mad Fire could use Dorian as a medium to unleash an irreparable disaster onto the outer world, making Gong Qiying a criminal.

Dorian mentioned a Demon Priest named Onora, which intrigued him.

"I never knew the souls of demons would return to the so-called Great Demon Tree upon death, that a priest could view the memories of the deceased."

Since learning of the Demon Clan’s existence, he always had the desire to explore the mysteries of this enigmatic race, finally now gaining some understanding.

Dorian provided him with information on Demon Clan’s societal forms, norms, and customs, truly allowing him a comprehensive study.

"That Onora of Demon Clan probably knows about the Abyss via the Great Demon Tree."

Gong Qiying thought of Ganago, the Demon Clan Dungeon Lord who died from the fusion of Mad Fire, Abyss, and Crimson Corruption into a "Dirty Bomb," likely the world’s first to experience these three filthy entities before Eliphas.

Presumably, Onora delved into Ganago’s memories via the Great Demon Tree, hence learning of the Abyss.

"However, the Demons still seem unclear on what they want with the Abyss. Surely they can’t genuinely see it as their origin?"

Gong Qiying pondered while teasing Geng Ghost with Experience Candy, the Demons’ aim concerning the Abyss, and how to handle Dorian, these were all considerations.

Furthermore, those wild demons appearing near Black Stone City didn’t seem to be of Dorian’s doing.

This guy didn’t even possess a Fallen Demon Egg, what could he use for human transformation?

Geng Ghost suddenly snatched the Experience Candy with a swipe and began licking them amusingly with its tongue.

"Let it be then."

Gong Qiying stood up, dusting off his pants.

He didn’t plan on directly dealing with Dorian anymore, but rather was leaving him there unattended.

Because this guy could serve an even more important purpose.

"Since you want to see the Abyss so much..."

A certain City Lord revealed a mischievous smile often seen when designing Dungeon traps.

"Then let’s make sure you see it plenty in the future."

Meanwhile, on Uffie’s side, a long distance from the pit.

The irrational Demon Clan member collapsed with a thud, looking on the verge of death, with many severe injuries added to its body.

Dorian, who was controlling it, lost his arm, and it dissolved instantly like a Vampire under the sun, surprisingly causing the Demon Clan’s life force to drain faster.

"Where is the Priest? Keep it alive, this is a valuable clue."

Uffie wiped the sweat from her forehead, calling the Priests over to heal the Demon Clan.

However, the Priests hesitated due to the psychological shadow left by the Demon Clan’s earlier riot. Uffie winked at Fanen, who let out a threatening growl from his throat.

[Fanen used Intimidation!]

[Highly effective on the Priests!]

"Eek!"

The threatened Priests let out a scream and obediently ran over to heal the Demon Clan.

"Well done." Fanen tossed a handkerchief to Uffie. Despite not trying to be intimidating, his beast-like face still showed signs of intelligence, his eyes glowing with humanity and wisdom... Honestly, it didn’t quite match his wild appearance.

"You’ve worked hard too."

Uffie caught the handkerchief, about to wipe her sweat, but fortunately, she looked at it first. Her hand paused, and she silently stuffed the fur-covered textile into her pocket, finding it quite unusable.

She had sweated quite a bit because it was really exhausting to subdue the Demon Clan without killing it.

"It’s a pity another one escaped," Fanen sighed and wondered, "Where did those flames on that guy come from?"

Uffie shook her head; she didn’t know what was going on, but her intuition told her those flames had nothing to do with Magic.

"Anyway, we managed to capture one."

She looked back at the foolishly large Demon Clan member and said, "Next, we just need to escort it back and hand it over to the Guild. As for the remaining Demon Clan members, we’ll catch them when we get news."

"Um, well..."

At this moment, Jockra’s voice suddenly came from the side, sounding timid.

"What’s up?" Uffie looked down at Jockra and Sai Ke, who was being pulled over by Jockra.

"Th-thank you..." Jockra’s face flushed, stammering without saying anything substantial.

"She wants to say thank you for saving us," Sai Ke stepped in to help, "This kid is shy and a bit stuttery, hope you don’t mind—"

Before he could finish, Jockra covered his mouth, her face turning even redder.

Uffie chuckled at this, pointing to Fanen, "He’s the one you should thank; he was the one who saved you first."

"T-thank you both!" Jockra said nervously, quickly pulling Sai Ke away, their voices echoing in the air.

"So you like the cool big sister type?"

"Shut up!"

"But she’s a warrior, skilled in Combat Skill. Aren’t you firmly in the Magic Faction?"

"Ugh, shut up!"

The air was filled with the sound of the two bickering.

"Ah, youth...," Uffie pretended to be older and sighed.

But when it came to the cool big sister, her thoughts immediately went to Maria, whom she had only met once, but in her eyes, was truly cool.

"I wonder if we’ll meet again." She muttered softly.

Fanen tilted his head, not understanding what she meant. He just took out a Transformation Technique scroll and used it on himself, turning from a fierce Wolfman back into his human form.

"Let’s go. It’s getting late; let’s hurry back into the city."

The group escorted the Demon Clan back to the city, planning to hand it over to the adventurer’s guild. The journey was smooth, without any other troubles. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

They encountered many travelers on the way, who appeared worn out, as if they’d been on a long journey.

After some inquiry, it turned out they were drawn by the news of the Sain Dungeon opening, most of them adventurers, though there were also quite a number of merchants and other opportunists.

The passersby marveled at the live Demon Clan, as if looking at a tiger in a zoo.

But as they neared the city gates, Uffie’s group unexpectedly ran into someone.

"We meet again, Uffie... Your Highness."

It was Edgar.

He was followed by several strong men, all dressed uniformly, exuding a reliable aura, indeed Lanle Prince’s bodyguards.

"What brings you here?" Uffie questioned the purpose of his visit.

"Please hand over the Demon Clan to us, so there’s no need to trouble the Guild again."

Edgar smiled politely:

"This is an order from His Highness Lanle."