After dinner, Herag stayed with Jim in a spacious room in the villa, drinking hot tea and chatting.

Outside, the cold wind howled, and snowflakes danced in the air.

The door had been tightly shut, as even the smallest gap would allow the biting cold wind to seep in.

The fireplace burned fiercely, and Herag checked its structure to ensure there were no issues with the chimney.

Herag lifted the teapot, poured himself a cup of piping hot red tea, added two cubes of sugar, and stirred with a spoon.

He stirred it a bit; the sugar cubes instantly melted, and he tried a sip, finding it a bit too hot.

Setting the red tea aside, Herag asked, "Since there's nothing else going on now, can you tell me about those Outer Heaven Demons? I'm quite interested in what signs you've discovered here."

Herag's curiosity was quite normal, as anyone learning about Outer Heaven Demons for the first time would be somewhat intrigued.

Jim said, "Actually, I don't know much either. Lord Arios just mentioned that they come from another world and are quite powerful. The reason we're here is because they found a dead Winged Demon in the Alster Mountain Range."

"Winged Demon?" Herag had little knowledge of the magic creatures in this world and hadn't heard of such a demon.

Jim, aware that Herag was a foreigner, explained, "A Winged Demon is a high-tier demon, very powerful. The guards here reported it to Amy City immediately upon discovering it."

"The Winged Demon's corpse was sent to Amy City, where Lord Arios personally examined it and found some peculiarities."

Herag looked puzzled but didn't interrupt Jim; instead, he picked up the red tea and continued listening.

Jim continued, "Lord Arios said the Winged Demon's body had several wounds caused by energy-type attacks, reminiscent of those used by Outer Heaven Demons."

"Can that deduce anything? It might have been other demons, or maybe exorcists with special abilities," Herag remarked.

Jim replied, "I thought the same, but Lord Arios considers the possibility of Outer Heaven Demons and insists on investigating, even if there's just a faint chance."

Herag nodded, sipped his tea, and stared at the fireplace deep in thought.

After chatting for a while longer, the two retired to their respective rooms to rest.

Herag lit the fireplace in his room, added some firewood, warming the room bit by bit.

He lay on the bed, processed recent events, then entered into a meditative state, beginning his meditation practice.

About two hours later, Herag suddenly felt cold.

He found it strange, for his physique should not feel cold even if the fireplace went out.

Moreover, he was nestled under the blankets, with even less reason to feel chilly.

Herag opened his eyes and sat up, finding the room pitch dark, the fireplace's embers long extinguished.

He glanced around the room, quickly noticing something amiss.

The floor was covered in dust, as well as the bedding.

Rising from the bed sent a cloud of dust swirling, as if he'd been lying there for centuries.

He immediately equipped the Storm Giant Shield, drew his longsword, and vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

What lay before him seemed eerily familiar, reminiscent of events when he first traversed to the Abyss Plane, albeit without the Abyss Plane's aura, ruling out his presence there.

He glanced at his left hand; the plane coordinates were intact, not activated.

Confronted with this unknown circumstance, he grew increasingly cautious.

Herag deployed Shenlan's environment detection to scan his surroundings.

The overall layout of the little villa remained unchanged, appearing just as it always had.

The difference was, no one remained in any of the other rooms.

He was the only one left.

"Was this teleportation? When did it occur?"

Examining the scene, it seemed to Herag as if he'd been teleported somewhere.

Though in a meditative state earlier, his spirit was highly focused; he felt no abnormal occurrences around him.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A sudden, urgent knocking broke the eerie silence.

Herag turned to look but didn't approach the door.

Using the environment detection, he saw emptiness outside with no one present.

"Evil Spirit?"

Herag quickly considered this possibility, then cast the Necromancy spell, Undead Perception.

This spell could sense and see spirits around him.

Scanning his surroundings, Herag found no spirits.

Next, he took out a necklace from around his neck, the Soul-devouring Crystal.

The Soul-devouring Crystal was a demonized item he bought from Lady Moran, said to cleanse lingering malevolence within.

He kept it on him, as it would turn red in the presence of evil spirits, and emit heat near exceptionally powerful ones.

To date, he'd yet to encounter such a spirit.

At the moment, the crystal remained unchanged, leading Herag to question whether Lady Moran had sold him a fake.

He re-stashed the necklace and fixed his gaze on the door.

The knocking continued with erratic variations in pace.

Herag naturally wouldn't entertain the idea of opening the door, opting instead to observe what might unfold.

The knocking persisted intermittently for about half an hour before abruptly ceasing.

With its sudden end, an oppressive silence descended upon the world, chilling and deathly still.

Herag watched the door intently, convinced something stood behind it, unseen but present.

Bam!

The door exploded suddenly, wooden fragments scattering, ricocheting off Herag's Absolute Defense Shield before landing on the floor.

The room filled with dust, severely hampering visibility.

Herag saw a humanoid creature standing in the doorway, around two meters tall, with robust limbs and prominently defined muscles, yet its waist was unusually slender, making the figure appear elongated.

The creature had no hair, replaced by writhing tendrils suspended in the air.

"Single eye..."

As the dust settled, the creature's likeness fully revealed itself to Herag.

A single enormous eye and a mouth brimming with sharp teeth, arranged in several rows like those of a shark.

Looking down, Herag saw the creature's feet resembled twin blades, glinting with a chilling cold light.

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