Chapter 524 - Misconduct (2/2)
”Um... the person who invaded the world where we met Tanjiro and Nezuko... Undead Lucifer.”
Gulping, a little nervous after finally getting his answer, Ray continued, ”I don't want to sound like an annoying bitch but... did Lucifer actually invade that planet because of you?”
”Because of Kaal...” Nik smiled bitterly. A moment of truth for him, as he continued, ”Kaal and Lucifer... they shared bed together in the past,” he lied, more than willing to shaming the root cause of his dilemma, ”but then, Kaal left for another woman. I mean, from then on, it's practically Kaal getting chased by Lucifer and now, the mad lad has diverted his attention to the future incarnation of the Temporal Fiend's Originator.” Furrowing his brows by the scandalous information, Ray observed Nik carefully before commenting softly, ”Well... can't blame Lucifer for that... but, should we even try to fight—”
For a moment, Nik decided not to hear anything after Ray mentioned 'we.' He felt a little delightful for some unexplainable reason... well, no, Nik knew that he simply felt relieved by Ray's decision. It was a small step and even if Ray spoke of retreating, he didn't leave Nik out. ”We—” cutting Ray's words, Nik smiled, ”— are going to do nothing.” Nik pointed at the large vulture, rotten and possibly an undead, forming from the corpse of the host, ”Instead, I will take that ride and try to... placate the man. I would really like it if you wait... I mean— I, ehm,” a little coherent when directly under Ray's lit up gaze and Yar's amused expression, Nik stammered for a brief period before recollecting his thoughts and smiled wildly, ”I think you got what I mean, right?”
”Yeah...” Ray nodded with a sigh. Pointing at a certain direction. ”I'll be waiting there, in the last night's camp. if someone attacks us, we'll try to fight if it doesn't cause any loss... if it does, I'll be waiting in the Transmigration Paradise... with Brian. Preparing for the auction, probably. Of course, I'll message you before leaving.”
”Thanks,” Nik rubbed the back of his head before taking control of the fully formed vulture. It was basically a leading illusion where Nik's illusion would be running towards a certain direction while the bloodthirsty giant vulture would follow. Jumping and landing behind the vulture, cutting a piece of rotten flesh before climbing into the body of the undead with a little space above him as he controlled the blood flow of the monster using waterbending to keep himself from getting drenched, Nik took off.
”Let's go...” Ray gave one last glance towards the position of his first kill. A scowl once again marri g his expression as Yar inquired worriedly. ”You'll be all right?”
”In time...” Ray grunted and held Yar's hand as she flew.
Meanwhile, Nik finally recalled an important piece of information. Every adventure would end in seven days in accordance with the homeworld. But the moment Nik accepted to enter the Rank-Up quest, he had basically allowed himself to enter another adventure. So, as to not cause any panic, he decided to connect the consciousness of the girls in his homeworld for a brief period and sent a clear message regarding him taking a Rank-Up quest. He didn't interact with them since he was still fearful that there might be a greater time difference which may cause negative impacts on the girls.
Once finished, Nik thought for a moment and decided to inquire Sky about everything she knew of Lucifer and the answer did not make him feel any less nervous.
Lucifer is a beast, the fact that he has attained Great-Grandmastery in many aspects of reality had already defined the fact. But one thing kept on stinging his mind... while he was more than willing to use his remaining uses of [Smite Token], the fact that Lucifer might be in this place already raised multiple questions.
If this plane was invaded, why weren't the hosts notified? If Lucifer really had so much of a beef with him, why didn't he find Nik himself? If he really knew about his homeworld, why not attack it first and gain leverage?
Most of these questions arose from the contradictions of his own methods since Nik would have done the latter two parts against his opponents most definitely. This, alongside Sky's words, allowed Nik to glean a few insights in Lucifer's character, allowing him to form a few base plans that required greater eloquence than strength.