When Liora opened her eyes again, she instantly realized that she had returned to the Crucible.

However, her embarrassing state dampened her originally good mood.

Although the injuries she had sustained during the pouring of demonic energy had vanished as a result of her advancement, the blood that she had shed during that process had not.

As such, the moment she returned to reality, she found herself submerged in a massive sea of blood, with only her head barely poking out of it.

Liora secretly took a look around, and after she confirmed that no one had witnessed her embarrassing state, she casually waved her hand.

The blood around her swayed, and as if it were following her commands, began to flow into her right palm.

Then, it quickly spread to the rest of her body, merging with the black armor adorning her figure.

As the armor's crimson veins pulsated, the blood turned into its nourishment, causing its total amount to decrease at a terrifying speed.

Gradually, the sea of blood's level got lower and lower, until its last drop was finally devoured.

Liora didn't feel any discomfort while this was happening.

If anything, she felt a sense of satisfaction as if she had just eaten a hearty meal.

Although most of the demonic energy had integrated into her body during her advancement, part of it had inevitably flowed into her blood—blood that she subsequently shed.

Thus, taking this blood back not only did not harm her, but also greatly benefited her.

While feeling the minimal increase in her demonic energy, Liora turned her focus to the outside world.

After she cast a faint glance at the now-devastated Gothic castle, she lowered her gaze and took a peek at the ground.

Then, she activated her new ability.

Instantly, the shadows beneath her rippled.

They didn't swallow her figure nor turn into weapons, but instead grew larger, materializing into the third dimension and shooting upwards like flying black ink.

The shadows entwined around her feet, pushing Liora's body upwards and letting her soar into the sky.

Supported by the boundless darkness, she soon reached an altitude of hundreds of meters, getting a panoramic view of the City of Pain.

However, the appearance of the city at the moment went wholly against what one would expect from a major city.

A large part near its center was devastated and filled with potholes, having suffered under the expansion of the blood pool.

Yet, although the rest of the city was fine, it was silent and empty, completely devoid of any signs of life.

It was as if this was not an once-populous Devil city, but a ghost town.

As Liora's eyes landed on this scene, a faint trace of emotion flashed across her otherwise calm eyes.

She understood where all the former residents had gone.

They had died—not in her hands but in the hands of the Will of the Demon World—becoming nourishment for her advancement to become a Lesser Devil.

Moreover, Liora knew that this was not a single-case phenomenon happening in the City of Pain. Instead, the entire Crucible was like this.

Besides her, the person responsible for everything, the only people remaining alive were her subordinates.

Thinking of this, Liora suppressed her feelings and turned her head to the side, where three shadowy figures could be seen on the horizon.

With a casual wave of her right hand, the shadows beneath her feet moved and, like roaring waves, carried her body out of the city.

Once outside, Liora pressed her feet against the ink-like substances supporting her and launched herself forward.

With a deafening bang, her body hit the ground, landing right beside her three subordinates.

"Lord!", three uniquely distinct voices instantly reached her ears, as Alpha, Scurry, and the Owl Devil instinctively performed a salute.

Facing their respectful actions, Liora—who was still quite excited to have advanced—casually waved her hand again.

Wrapping the three people with her demonic power, she forced them to get up and face her.

"How long has it been? Did my advancement take a long time?", she asked with some curiosity.

Having experienced the strange sequence of events, Liora had long lost track of time.

She didn't know how long her transformation had lasted. It could have been mere minutes, or it could have been days or even months.

Facing Liora's question, Alpha took it upon herself to answer.

"Lord, it's been one hour, fifty-four minutes, and twenty-three seconds since the descent of the Demon World's Will.", she calmly reported.

Hearing the answer of ever-reliable Alpha, Liora lightly nodded her head.

This was within her expectations, although ultimately, it didn't matter.

There were far more important things to care about.

Taking a look at her three subordinates, and seeing that Scurry and the Owl Devil were frozen as if they had not recovered from the previous ordeal, Liora coughed lightly, attracting everyone's attention.

Then, she spoke up:

"Get ready. We'll soon be leaving.", she stated, and, facing the inquiring gazes of her subordinates, she didn't reply.

In fact, since her arrival at the City of Pain, Liora had sensed that the Crucible itself was excluding her, as if it were urging her to leave.

Liora knew why this happened.

With her having become a Lesser Devil, this place of Trial for Young Devils was no longer where she should be.

If it were not for the fact that she had just advanced, the Demon World would not have merely given her a warning but would have instead brought forth punishment.

Of course, if she were to ignore its warnings and try to stay here, it wouldn't hesitate to strike her.

Realizing this, Liora wasn't planning to risk her life.

After she informed her three subordinates of what was about to happen, she communicated with the Will of the Demon World and requested that it bring her away.

She didn't have to wait long for the Demon World to respond.

As if it had been waiting for this moment, the space around her shattered like glass, swallowing both her and her subordinates.

Their destination?

The real Demon World—the home of countless Devils and the source of evil in the Heavens.

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