"Shut up...SHUT UP!!! I...I am not a fucking HUMAN, understand?! I am the Demon Lord, the harbinger of death to filthy humans like you, do not...do not ever call me human."

Huh, looks like I hit a sore spot. He must have gone through some shit on Earth.

"Which era are you from? Appraisal says you're three hundred and sixty seven, which would mean you died sometime in the early 1800s. Well, I suppose you could've lived in a different era and got reincarnated in this world at-...," I began.

"Enough! I will not speak of this any further, understand?!" He snapped furiously.

Yup, definitely a sore spot.

It's probably dangerous to keep provoking him like this, so I should quit while I'm ahead. More importantly...how do I get out of this?

I think I've managed to keep my cool pretty well, all things considered, but this is still a pretty dire situation I've found myself in here.

"Yeah, sure, I get it. So, you're after my Skills, right? Get on with it, it's not like I'm in any position to stop you, so you might as well get it over with," I remarked, as he composed himself.

"It seems I got a bit heated, I ought to calm down. And yes, I suppose I should proceed. Hm, which one to pick? <Appraisal>," He chanted, narrowing his eyes at me.

Hm? Didn't he already cast Appraisal on me in that Dungeon, while he was possessing that King Ant? Does that mean his Appraisal doesn't save information like mine does?

And he said 'which one to pick', I'd been under the impression that he intended to steal all, or at least most, of my Skills, but maybe he can only steal one? Is it one per target, or does it have a cooldown period?

"Huh? Wait...those Devour and Drain Skills, the last time I used Appraisal on you, those Skills displayed effects that increase physical power and Mana. What is going on?" He frowned in bewilderment.

"Ah, so you wanted one of those Skills for yourself, to make yourself stronger. Sorry, but I deleted those effects, I don't need them anymore," I replied with a smirk.

"I see, you must have reaped the full benefits of those effects...how disappointing. Well, no matter. I shall take your Enrage Skill instead...after that, I will kill you."

No question, then, he can only steal one Skill or ability per target.

"Do your worst," I responded, as he raised his right hand up towards me.

"Your story ends here, Kaivel Intrix. [Demonic Art: Larceny]," He chanted, a dark glow extending out of his hand towards me.

It began to engulf my body as it closed in on me, before his eyes widened in disbelief as the glow abruptly dispersed.

"What?!"

"Oh, was that not supposed to happen?"

Fuck, that's a relief! Looks like he really can't steal my Skills.

"Impossible...this has never happened before!" He snapped incredulously.

"Hey, it happens to the best of us, no need to be embarrassed."

"You insufferable little-...!"

"Come on, no need to get all huffy, maybe the heavy concentration of Mana disrupted your Demonic Art," I smirked in response.

Given how powerful he is, I seriously doubt I stand a chance against him, so for now, I'll just use my words.

"Tch..."

He looks a bit uncertain, he isn't sure if what I said might actually be true or not. I'm guessing his Larceny Skill has never failed before...but if he thinks there's a chance that the Mana concentration in the air is the reason why it failed, he won't kill me, not yet.

"So, how does it work, can you try again, or is it just one attempt per target? Or maybe it takes some time before you can try again? Or-...?" I began, before trailing off as he turned around and walked away, leaving the room.

Huh, he's leaving the doors open. That probably means he's coming back soon.

Sure enough, he returned a few minutes later, with Nereszu trailing behind him.

"Keep an eye on him, Nereszu. I shall be stepping out for a moment, I need some fresh air," Remarked Vaszel with a grimace.

"My Lord?"

"Tch, I find myself in a rather irritable mood, so I would like to take flight and clear my mind. In the meantime, watch him.

Once I return, we shall make preparations to move him to a different location, there is a possibility that the Mana concentration in this room interfered with my Larceny Skill.

So, we shall move him somewhere else, and I shall try again tomorrow. I shall return in an hour or so," Stated Vaszel, before heading towards the doorway and leaving before Nereszu could respond.

Between me figuring out that he used to be human, and the fact that his Larceny Skill failed, I guess he's pretty ticked off.

"Looks like it's just you and me. Wanna play a game to pass the time?" I inquired, as he let out a sigh and sat down.

I'll wait for him to let down his guard before making my move, I probably only have one attempt, and I can't afford to screw it up.

"Quiet, human, do not speak to me."

"Aw, don't be like that. By the way, how do you guys plan on moving me? Knock me out first, I'm guessing?"

"No. We will not be doing that. I will kill you, here and now," He remarked, after taking a brief glance at the doorway.

Huh?

"Seriously? You're going to defy your leader's command after not even a minute?" I responded in bemusement.

"Larceny has never failed before. We have had several of our enemies restrained in this chamber before, the strongest among the army we defeated over two centuries ago.

And Lord Vaszel never failed to use Larceny on them...which can only mean that stealing your abilities are impossible. He does not want to accept that, so he is holding out hope...but it is far too dangerous.

We have allowed you to live long enough, I cannot allow the threat you pose to us to persist any longer. I can simply tell him that you tried to escape and fell into the Mana Current. Now, [Nullification Zone]...come on...," He muttered, a look of focus on his face as he struggled to activate his Skill amidst the dense concentration of Mana.

A smirk spread out across his lips as he pulled it off, the Mana in the air around me going stagnant as he cast his nullifying force field, before raising his right hand, an unstable mass of Negative Energy forming, before steadily stabilizing.

He began compressing and concentrating it, as I frantically tried to think of a way out of this...crap, without my Magic, I have no way to get to the platform!

I can't use Descent to manifest my wings, and I can't use Negative Energy to propel through the air either!

Shit, shit, shit...!

"Now, die!" He snarled, whipping his arm across and firing out a pressurized Negative Energy slash, hitting the chains attached to my shackles, before I plummeted down towards the Mana Current, helpless to save myself...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.