Sensing Alpha's arrival, Liora nodded her head in greeting and, after a brief pause, reached into her pockets and took an object out.

As she unclenched her fist, that object was suddenly revealed.

It was a small pile of dark gray ashes that moved continuously within her palm as if each individual particle possessed a will of its own.

The moment these gray ashes appeared in the outside world, Alpha's amber eyes shone with a newfound brilliance.

Subconsciously, she couldn't help but take a step forward and stretch her right hand, seemingly reaching out for them.

However, just before her hand came into contact with them, her movements paused while her eyes regained their clarity, snapping her back to reality.

Staring at the ashes floating within Liora's hand, Alpha couldn't help but wonder:

"Lord, what is this... thing?", she asked as she forced herself to take her hand back. Alpha's voice contained surprising vitality, losing part of its natural coldness.

Although Liora had not expected such an intense reaction, she wasn't surprised by Alpha's response.

Hearing her question, she didn't keep her waiting and immediately answered.

"These ashes are the remains of the Unknown. I was originally planning to throw them away, but considering your situation, I felt that they might be of use to you.", she explained.

"It seems that I was correct."

That's right.

The ashes floating within her palm were the remains of the Unknown, the ashes his bamboo body had turned upon his death.

Just like Liora mentioned, the reason she collected them was not to keep them as a memento, but to give them to Alpha, hoping that she would be able to gain something out of them.

Although Liora didn't quite understand how Alpha was created or how she worked, she still understood that she was a conscious mechanical puppet.

Since that was the case, the ashes of the Unknown—a rare Devil with the ability to create hundreds of puppets—should be somewhat useful.

"That's right... It should be...", Liora thought secretly.

Fortunately, Alpha didn't know what Liora was thinking. As she heard her explanation, she gradually came to understand where the previous feeling of longing she had sensed earlier stemmed from.

After she cast a faint glance at the gray ashes with a hint of yearning, she lifted her head and stared straight into Liora's eyes.

Then, as if she had made a decision, she spoke up, her tone a little awkward as she did so.

"Lord, I can feel that these ashes are indeed very useful to me. I believe that as long as I absorb them, I should be able to undergo a transformation."

"I understand that they must be very valuable, but may I-"

Before Alpha could finish her request, Liora waved her hand and, without hesitation, threw the ashes toward her.

Although the ashes were tiny and weightless, they didn't scatter in the wind. Instead, they held together, a clear sign of Liora's control over her powers.

Facing this sudden action, coupled with the instincts engraved in her body, Alpha stretched her hand and grabbed them.

However, the moment the ashes touched her skin, they didn't stay on its surface but instead merged right into her body.

A large number of clicking sounds followed, as if countless invisible gears began turning at that moment.

The next instant, Alpha's eyes turned empty and, like a doll whose strings had been severed, collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this strange scene unfold, Liora was shocked for a brief moment.

When she recovered, her shadow swallowed her figure, spitting her out beside Alpha.

Leaning forward, she stretched her hand and placed it on her forehead.

As her demonic energy flowed through her own body and poured into Alpha's, Liora instantly became aware of the changes taking place within her body.

In her vision, countless mechanical parts were constantly separating and reassembling inside Alpha, as if she were a living clockwork tower.

As each of these mechanical parts fell into place, Liora noticed that Alpha's strength grew stronger.

More importantly, these gears seemed to be only a small part of a more vast operation, which once finished, would completely transform her.

After she took a deeper look at these changes and made sure that this transformation would not harm Alpha in any way, Liora exhaled softly, feeling somewhat relieved.

Even though Alpha's presence was quite low overall and her strength was way weaker than Scurry's—hence making her seem much less important—her status in Liora's mind was completely different.

In her opinion, Alpha's lack of strength was not that big of a problem.

After all, whether it was Alpha, Scurry, or even most of the Devils with a place on the Crucible Ranking, they could be of no help to Liora during battles.

If she were to face an enemy that she could not beat with her current strength, no matter how many such subordinates she had, it would make no difference.

On the other hand, facing opponents that Liora could beat on her own, there was no reason to ask her subordinates for help.

What Liora valued in Alpha was her loyalty and devotion, something that no other Devil could possibly give her.

"Based on the current progress, it will take a few hours for Alpha's transformation to complete.", Liora glanced at Alpha, and after some thought, she gently picked her up.

With one of her hands supporting her, she lightly waved the other.

Streaks of crimson light flashed as she outlined many Devil Runes in the space before her.

Once the array was completed, the many runes fell to the floor and merged with it, fading away.

Then, following a seemingly small-scale earthquake, the ground beside the throne rose up, transforming into a large stone bed.

Walking closer, Liora casually placed Alpha on it before returning to her seat.

"It's finally time to take stock of my harvest.", she thought silently as she sat down.

Even though some time had passed since the events of the "Holy" City, she had yet to fully inspect what she had obtained in that battle, much less what she had gained during the subsequent chase of the Unknown.

It was only now—when everything was over and she could be sure that no one was going to bother her—that Liora finally had the time to check on them.

With anticipation, Liora leaned back in her seat and, with a wave of her hands, the spoils of the previous battles appeared before her.

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