Liora didn't know what hurt the Blasphemer the most: the impact of the two clashing energies—one demonic and one holy—or the "betrayal" of the Devils he once vowed to protect.

No matter what, Liora had to admit that he was quite surprised.

When she first heard about the Blasphemer's deeds and saw the "Holy" City up close, her first thought was that he was merely acting like a Saint, using justice and order as a means to enhance his strength and expand his influence.

However, when she witnessed the scene of him calmly facing death, and even seeking it, she had to change her mind.

"One could argue that such a person is worthy of admiration. Others, that he is simply foolish...", Liora whispered as she wandered through the city with her hands clasped behind her back.

With the Blasphemer's death, the white expanse had nothing to support its existence and soon shattered, sending her back to the "Holy" City.

Liora walked silently through the ruined streets, choosing against participating in the mindless slaughter taking place around her.

She didn't even take this as an opportunity to harvest souls, knowing full well that, with her current strength, the souls of ordinary Young Devils barely granted her a few Evolution Points.

The Devils in the city were able to sense her intentions and, coupled with the powerful aura she subconsciously exuded, no one dared to mess with her.

Making use of this small amount of free time, Liora decided to take stock of her current harvest.

It included the Blasphemer's soul, a mostly intact fresh corpse, and, most importantly, millions of Slaughter Points.

As Liora glanced at the flashing text at the bottom left in her field of vision, even she, confident in her composure, found it difficult to hide her excitement.

"Crimson Maiden - Slaughter Points: 6,562,409. First Place."

That's right.

Having slain the Blasphemer, Liora had not only obtained his Slaughter Points but had also taken the opportunity to jump to the very first place of the Crucible Ranking.

Since then, she, Crimson Maiden, would be publicly recognized as the strongest Devil in the entire Crucible.

"My rise is perhaps the fastest in the history of the Demon World. I jumped to the third place the moment I entered the Crucible Ranking, and less than a month later, I reached its very top."

Although an immeasurable number of Devils were born and passed away with every passing moment, Liora strongly doubted that any one of them would ever break this record.

Of course, this achievement was merely something for Liora to think about and be slightly proud of.

The Will of the Demon World didn't care about such a meaningless accomplishment, and as such, it was of no benefit to hold such a record.

Liora remained deep in thought, while the sounds of battle gradually became more and more distant.

But just then, her expression suddenly changed, her eyes flashing with a hint of surprise.

Instantly, her figure vanished, materializing again hundreds of meters away.

Standing on top of a building's roof, Liora lowered her head and observed a Devil standing right below it.

The Devil's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the sky with undisguised fury, cursing and muttering something in a language she could not understand.

If that was it, though, this person would not have attracted Liora's attention.

Such Devils could be seen all over the city, as, having awakened and bathed in their enemies' blood, several Devils had gone insane.

What caught Liora's attention in this Devil was not his strange behavior, but his appearance.

With tufts of white hair growing on his head, a long, well-trimmed beard, and a face covered with dense wrinkles, it was impossible for her not to recognize him.

He was the elderly Devil she had met in the City of Embers and one of the people she had signed a Devil Contract with, someone who should have died in Lord Embers' hands and become an undead a long time ago.

Yet now, he stood right before her, still alive.

"So that's how it is...", Liora thought silently as she recalled the strange feeling she had when she faced his undead self.

The lack of strength was obviously surprising at that time, but she had sensed a deeper, more fundamental difference.

Now, facing this Devil who looked identical to the elderly Devil and possessed the exact same aura, Liora finally understood why she felt that way.

"A clone? An incarnation? Or something of that nature?", she wondered, but no matter how much she investigated, she found no clues on the elderly Devil's body.

Thankfully, there was no need to investigate any further. The culprit responsible for her doubts was still here, and she could always choose to ask him.

Thinking of this, Liora's feet pressed against the roof, and with a wide leap, she landed right beside the elderly Devil.

Her sudden appearance didn't seem to faze him, though.

He didn't even turn his head and continued howling at the crimson sky, cursing in a strange language she could not understand.

"Cough, cough..."

It was only when she specifically made a move to attract his attention that the elderly Devil finally moved, shifting his gaze toward Liora.

But the moment his eyes fell on her, his bloodshot eyes turned even more ferocious.

"It's you! It's you! You are the one who ruined everything! Everything!", he spoke, his voice filled with resentment, enmity, and most of all, unabashed murderous intent.

His face darkened as the wrinkles on its surface twisted sinisterly, like vines that were about to jump out and bind her.

"It seems that you really hate me...", Liora glanced at the gnashing elderly Devil with some doubt.

Although she had indeed fought against this person before, that was only after he became an undead monster.

By that time, the elderly Devil was already dead and had no way of returning to life.

Moreover, Liora keenly judged from the elderly Devil's expression that he didn't hate her because of what happened in the City of Embers, as the way he looked at her was like he was staring at a complete stranger.

Obviously, he didn't recognize her.

"Do this person's 'clones' not share memories? Are they completely different individuals?", she analyzed, but this guess only raised more doubts.

"But if that's true, there's no reason for this person to hate me so much."

Throughout her otherwise short life, Liora had made various enemies.

Eshara, the Soul Devil, Lord Embers, the Two-Headed Devil, the Torturer, etc.

Yet, even when these people were about to die in her hands, they showed no such expression.

The elderly Devil didn't look at her like a mere opponent, but like an enemy that had slaughtered his entire family.

"Such hatred can not be explained. It's simply inexplicable..."

"Unless..."

Suddenly, a light bulb seemed to light up inside Liora's head.

The many bits of information she had collected throughout the past few weeks resurfaced, and coupled with the elderly Devil's peculiar "clone" ability, she had a terrifying but very fitting guess.

"If so, everything makes sense. I would have also gone insane if such a thing were to happen to me.", she thought silently, and the way she looked at the elderly Devil changed.

If before, the elderly Devil was someone who had piqued her interest and made her want to dig out his secrets, then now, she stared at him like a predator watching their prey.

The elderly Devil instantly sensed the change in Liora's eyes and guessed that she may have discovered his true identity.

But at this point, he didn't care.

"You ruined everything! Everything!", he spoke harshly, and as if that was not enough, he continued:

"Don't think that things are over! You're dead! You're dead!", he yelled at the top of his lungs while his aura fluctuated violently and his body began expanding like a balloon.

Clearly, the elderly Devil wasn't planning to confront Liora any further, but was instead ready to self-destruct his "clone".

He didn't believe that he could get rid of Liora like that. Rather, he wanted to destroy the evidence here, as well as send a message to his original body.

Unfortunately, just before his demonic energy exploded, a flurry of inexplicable words went straight through his ears and entered his mind, directly locking onto his soul.

Following a painful cry, the elderly Devil stopped moving and collapsed to the ground.

If it were not for his faint breathing, people would have mistaken him for dead.

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