Luram was panting lightly.
He begrudgingly followed Iovoi with the wagon in tow. Right now, he felt a shivering cold air that intensified his fear sharply, making his hair stand on end.
Meanwhile, Owen… Owen already left. Whoever that Iovoi was, it was clear that he is no match against them. And right now, he had zero confidence fighting a demon and understandably so.
He even received a quest by discovering what Luram was on about.
==========
[Level 87 Quest Series: Mending A Shattered Demon]
Objective: Investigate what Iovoi and Luram are doing.
Failure Condition: Getting caught or dying.
Consequence For Failure: Death.
Rewards: +500 Experience, Unlock the next quest.]
==========
"Hell no." Owen flicked the panel away. Dying isn't on his to do list and will never be to begin with.
He may be acting like a coward, but at least a coward lives. Owen didn't care what that Iovoi was planning because it was in no way his business.
He climbed down the rooftop and began running like the wind.
"…"
Iovoi faced the direction of where Owen left off.
"He disappeared." The deep voice of a man spoke as it 'glanced' at the direction Owen was escaping.
"Allow that insignificant bug to wriggle away. For something at the level of his existence, it is impossible for him to do anything remarkable to begin with." The young woman said disdainfully.
The old man was irritated by her unmindful outlook. "Did you forget what got us into this mess? It was because of your deliberate ignorance that provided the same humans you despise the necessary clues to figure out our true identity as a demon."
The young maiden chuckled cold-heartedly. "Are you not thinking too much? That human might not know that we are a demon? Or are you perhaps in a state of paranoia?"
Giving out an exhausted sigh, the old man said, "I may have believed that if it were not for the peculiar movements he exhibited. Has it never crossed your mind to think that an ordinary human would stay longer to satisfy their curiosity? That human left the moment we came into his sights. My intuition is saying that he is not what we consider…. Ordinary."
"Then go chase after that human. I am not stopping you in any way." The young maiden rolled Iovoi's eyes.
"What did we agree on about shared control? I did not give you permission for that." The old man's tone became icy upon the simple eye rolling gesture.
"What? It was just a small gesture and you act this angry already? Childish, how childish you are." The young maiden sounded exactly as if she was wronged.
The old man let it pass for now. "You can do anything you want, just remember not to overstep your boundaries."
"Hmph, unforgiving and intolerable as usual…" The young maiden sighed. "I cannot believe that you were ever a part of my personality."
"The feeling is mutual." Said the old man, giving her a cold stare.
"However, if we want to survive, we need to leave this decaying body and find a new one... We cannot let a single threat exist no matter how small they are."
"As the one who handles logic between us, I might as well let you act out your ineptitude." As the old man said this, a surge of black mist escaped Iovoi's body and flew towards Owen's direction, leaving the young maiden with full control over the body.
*Whooooooshhhh–*
"Finally, he's no longer here to bother me… I can finally operate in my preferred direction." Iovoi smiled widely under the mask.
Luram shivered. A sudden gust of cold air brushed past his nape. "Wh- wh- what was that?"
"Oh, ignore it. It is not something that you should pay close attention to." Now that Iovoi's other half is gone, the young maiden's voice was the only remaining sound to be heard.
"I'm sorry for asking something I shouldn't.." Luram lowered his head and asked, "What kind of person should I get for the ritual?"
Iovoi paused and thought for a moment, "It would be the best if the ritual material is a young beautiful woman. Preferably a virgin too."
Luram nodded and said, "I think I have someone that you'd like… But to capture her, I'd need your help."
"Ah! That is terrific. Very well then, lead the way human.." Iovoi's entire demeanor changed. Her body language was no longer static but more feminine.
— Meanwhile at Owen's location…
Owen was staring at the panel in front of him with a dark expression.
==========
[Level 87 Quest Series: Mending A Shattered Demon - Subquest]
[Hunter And Prey]
Subquest Objective: You are being hunted down by Iovoi's split personality. Make sure to escape or survive in a creative way.
(Optional) Extra Objective: Kill Iovoi's split personality.
Failure Condition: Death.
Consequence For Failure: Death.
Subquest Rewards: +250 EXP.
Extra Objective Rewards: +8,700 EXP, +1 Skill Point.]
==========
"…"
Owen was currently standing in front of a large house with a bushy appearance. The lights were turned off, but he could faintly hear the sound of a man and woman arguing.
He didn't pay attention to that as he was more worried about the warning the quest gave him.
"What did I just get myself into?" Owen felt as if he was thrown into the middle of the ocean with nothing to cling on. Every single second that he spent was equal to him sinking deep down the water.
He equipped his hauberk. Every piece of protection counts in more ways than one.
Owen was anxious. He didn't know when that Iovoi person would appear.
There was only one place in Wiunlen where he might survive if he stayed close to it.
The Guard Barracks!
Immediately, Owen began to run towards the middle of the city. If anything, they might have a guard or two who is a capable Siyech'an or a Fighter. They would be the only ones who can truly repel demons such as Iovoi.
But killing them would be impossible. The highest level that guards of Wiunlen could possibly get is under 55. Fighting a level 87 demon with them would be difficult, but not impossible.
Owen didn't hesitate and ran with his full speed.
Also, he did what any reasonable person would do at this moment.
"Help–! Wake up you sleepy citizens of Wiunlen! There's a f*cking demon on the loose!" Owen strained his throat just to shout those words out.
To his horror, no sound ever escaped his mouth. He wondered what was happening until he saw a circular shadow cast over his head.
He looked up.
Around him was a black orb that served as the center of the shadowy dome shrouding him.
No matter how strong his strides were, there was no sound at all. The ambient humming in his ears and the inaudible thumps were the only things that Owen could barely register as sound.
Not too far away, black mist with the appearance of a hooded old man flew after Owen. The mist roughly formed his figure which was enough to show some of his features.
The old man squinted.
"There you are…"
He then reached out his hand, a purple magic circle materialized and spun in his hand, shooting out a glowing mark aiming towards Owen's back.
The mark was a single floating rune containing several symbols accompanying the large crooked mark resembling a torn centipede with blood vessels growing out of it.
*Fssshhia*
The mark made a whistling sound as it sped through the air. Owen was too slow to dodge it.
Like a dart hitting its target, Owen was struck by the mark without any difficulty.
He felt his movements slowing down for three seconds, a gripping fear taking hold of his heart.
'Oh no–!'
==========
[Iovoi (Level 87) has cursed you with [Paralytic Fear-5]
Your soul defense isn't high enough to defend against the curse. [Paralytic Fear-5] is successfully applied to you.
==========
"AAH-" Owen froze, his psyche immediately being engulfed in fear, pure unfettered fear.
His muscles constricted as a natural defense mechanism. Like being chained to large cement blocks, Owen's body did not respond to him anymore.
He fell down into the ground, his knees collapsing.
Fear seeped into his mind relentlessly.
All of what he could think of is an irrational, freezing sensation of fear. What he feared the most was displayed before his eyes.
It wasn't losing his family, his friends, it wasn't death, it wasn't any of that.
He feared himself.
Or rather, losing what humanity he still had.
'Not…. again–'
Owen's eyes dilated, his strained expression suddenly diffused as it showed a whole other side of who 'Owen' truly was.
Iovoi visibly relaxed upon seeing this. Apparently, the escaping critter was just as he expected, a wriggling worm attempting to escape.
Iovoi flicked his arm as his misty cloak followed. A black ball of smoke flew out beside him and transformed into a shiny onyx pike grinded to smoothness.
With a simple thought, the pike flew towards Owen's incapacitated body.
Unfortunately, Iovoi was three seconds late.
==========
(Debuff) "Iovoi" Paralytic Fear-5
(1) Character is now paralyzed with fear, affecting one's capabilities greatly.
-75% Movement Speed, -65% Attack Speed, -20% Critical Damage, -20% Critical Rate, -15% Soul Defense, -20% Physical Defense, -25% Block Effectiveness, -10% Detection.
Duration: 7 Days.
(Class Ability Activated)
(1) Character is now invigorated with bravery, affecting one's capabilities greatly.
+75% Movement Speed, +65% Attack Speed, +20% Critical Damage, +20% Critical Rate, +15% Soul Defense, +20% Physical Defense, +25% Block Effectiveness, +10% Detection.]
==========
A couple of inches before the thorn landed on his back, Owen suddenly turned around and moved out of the way like a cat.
*Thraack–*
Landing on the cobblestone road, the thorn destroyed the rocky layer into shattered fragments that flew in many different directions.
Owen looked back at Iovoi and calmly assessed the surrounding area with a blank, unblinking expression. Somewhat like a machine in a human body.
Not even a second later, Owen began to run away like what he was doing before.
Not only that, he was even faster!
Iovoi was stunned for a second. He was sure that the spell worked as intended.
"If you thought that fleeing would do you any good, you are sorely mistaken!" Iovoi flung his hood, snapped his fingers together and a 2 meter long, black drill-shaped thorn solidified from the mist, much like the onyx pike but thicker.
The thorn flew towards Owen's head. Iovoi wasn't really expecting anything. For all he knew, Owen was dead after this.
Demons are sinister beings of magic. Their main attacking method consists of curses or in short, applying debuffs.
Unfortunately for Iovoi, Owen is the perfect counter to that!
As the thorn whistled as it descended, Owen turned around and noticed that it was headed for his… well, head.
His eyes grew wide.
Owen thought fast and pushed his gift to discern flaws to its maximum for a brief second to figure out its flight path.
With a quick sidestep to the left, the thorn missed and smashed against the cobblestone road like earlier, sending small pebbles flying out around the crater.
Iovoi did not dwell on it too deeply and merely flicked his hood of black mist, sending a dark cloud to follow Owen.
As the mist swooped down with the intention to kill, the mist turned green midway. Eventually, it condensed into a green sticky liquid that splattered all over Owen.
The liquid sizzled the moment it was exposed to air, releasing thin and straight white trails of steam.
Owen heard the sizzling.
With his flaw discernment in full throttle, he dodged to the right without even looking back. Just from the sound, he could identify that the right had the fewest amount of whatever was behind him.
A smart act, but unfortunately, Iovoi was prepared.
Iovoi held his middle and index finger up in his right hand and flicked it. This action prompted the green liquid in the air to move mid flight into Owen.
Owen caught sight of the sizzling splatter of goo changing direction just to jump on him.
'That is… unfortunate.'
*Tsssssss!*
The moment it touched his head, eyes, arms and neck, a searing hot feeling began to burn through Owen's flesh. His skin began to redden, then they grew blisters, then they popped, releasing steam, acid and blood mixed in a gruesome cocktail.
Owen's legs began to falter, his focus waning.
Owen did not show any signs of screaming or stopping despite it being too hot for his flesh to handle.
His skin was frying, his armor was starting to deteriorate rapidly, his hauberk was on the brink of ripping apart, his patched up shirt was destroyed, revealing his back which was eventually burnt by the acid.
Owen watched his HP bar lose its contents with a face of tranquility.
[-6 HP]
To protect his brain, Owen used his left forearm to scrape off some of the acid away from his head.
[-6 HP]
The acid was now melting his left forearm, the crisis on his head was now lessened.
[-6 HP]
Owen suffered this agony for exactly three seconds before fading abruptly.
*Vhoom..*
==========
(Debuff) Acid Melt-2
(1) The character will slowly melt under the acid, constantly taking damage until it fades. -5% HP every 4.5 seconds, -2% Movement Speed.
(2) Equipped armor affected by the acid will lose a maximum of 14 durability every 4.5 seconds. (Varies depending on material)
(3) If the character takes enough damage from the acid, [Weakness] will be applied as well.
Duration: 25 Seconds.
(Class Ability Activated)
(1) The character will slowly regenerate under the acid, constantly healing damage until it fades. +5% HP every 4.5 seconds, +2% Movement Speed.
(2) Equipped armor affected by the acid will receive a maximum of 14 durability every 4.5 seconds. (Varies depending on material)
(3) If the character doesn't take enough damage from the acid, [Weakness] will not be applied.
==========
This sudden replacement of pain into relief was unexpected.
Owen did not react much. '... A desired outcome.'
Never once did Owen stop running despite all of that. Fortunately, his class ability caught him in a pinch.
Just like that, the torturous experience under the acid was gone, just like that.
As the debuff took effect, Owen's clothes and armor started to 'regrow' missing parts. The chains on his hauberk started to shift and fix themselves into the right place. If there was a missing chain, the hauberk would 'grow' it out of nothing.
Metal regeneration? That could be the term for it.
This similarly affected his clothes. The threads began joining together as if they had a life of their own. No one would be able to see the area where Yuhmbir stabbed Owen anymore or the massive hole that the acid melted through his back earlier.
It was even better for Owen. He was gaining HP after being subjected to its merciless melting. The acid was there on his back, slowly sizzling into steam until it disappeared after helping Owen recover the HP and armor points that he just lost from its three second assault.
However, his hand did not grow back, nor did the damage on his face heal. The target of the acid's healing only applied to the injuries that he received quite recently.
Iovoi's expression was incredulous, he couldn't comprehend what just happened.
The supposed human that was splashed with acid didn't dissolve into a pink mush. Instead, Owen merely shrugged it off as he ran!
When Iovoi saw that Owen was stumbling in his feet earlier due to lack of coordination, he was even filled with confidence that it would be over.
But now, the old man was certain that Owen is something else entirely. Someone who can shrug off acid couldn't possibly be human unless they are strong enough to handle it. But Owen is out of the question since his presence is enough to indicate that he isn't remotely strong.
In fact, Iovoi found out that his presence was rather… weak.
Owen tirelessly sped through the road until he spotted a group of three women carrying sacks filled with vegetables on their backs.
His impassive expression suddenly faded.
Owen appeared as if he was just jolted awake, he looked around him in confusion until he heard a familiar voice of a boy in his mind.
'I took over the body to ensure your survival while you were knocked out.'
Owen's mind blanked.
Lifting his lips hesitantly, Owen did not know what to say. However, he pushed out what words were stuck in his throat with clinging obstinacy and reluctance.
However, knowing that the boy did not mean ill, he sighed.
His words came out soundlessly, "Thank you."
'Do not waste your breath on me. Try to get the women's attention in front of you.' The boy's voice responded, not paying much heed to his gratitude.
"Ah, I forgot how much of a mood wrecker you are… Well, since I can't even get their attention by screaming–" Owen grinned, a concerning thought flying through his head.
'Owen..?' The boy registered Owen's thoughts and was unsure of its feasibility.
The idea is straightforward, but it is by definition, a potentially horrible but desperate idea.
"Trust me on this one." Owen called out his inventory, allowing the dark blue panel to materialize on his right side.
'Then I shall rest for now.' After this, the boy's voice became unresponsive.
Owen did not waste time.
He reached his hand out and grabbed one of his hatchets. The [Iron Battle Hatchet] to be specific.
The hatchet with a short and sharp iron head bolted to the smooth brown wooden handle was pulled out of thin air.
After that, Owen threw it towards the three's general direction.
'Hopefully that doesn't hit anyone.' Owen prayed.
He wasn't aiming for anyone though. He was just trying to get their attention by hitting a wooden beam, thus destroying private property.
Iovoi shook his head seeing this attempt.
"I am done playing games with you." He made up his mind and dived down.
Along the way, Iovoi snapped his fingers to summon a black thorn that solidified from a chunk of his misty cloak.
Then, he aimed this thorn towards the hatchet.
*Clank!*
The hatchet was struck soundlessly inside the dome, rendering it unable to break out.
Owen's expression visibly sank the moment the hatchet was stopped.
With Iovoi's speed, he was able to catch up to Owen in under a few seconds. Even with all the boosts Owen had at the moment, it wasn't enough to outrun Iovoi.
Iovoi changed his shape into a trail of mist, immediately circling Owen before reforming into the shape of an old man in front of him.
Owen slowed down and brought his feet to a halt and then immediately attempted to escape the unfinished encirclement.
Sadly, Iovoi was faster.
Iovoi spread his cloak like wings and summoned a number of black, misty spheres that reshaped into thorns all pointing towards Owen.
"Nowhere to run now little one… Do you have any last words before I riddle your lesser form of flesh and bones with holes?" Iovoi raised his chin while looking down on Owen haughtily.
The group of three women laughed as they walked away, completely unaware of what was happening.
Them leaving is the equivalent of Owen's hope being extinguished.
Owen remained quiet.
Iovoi observed the human before him. He was still skeptical about his origins. However, for being in such a dangerous situation, the human did not seem too worried at all.
Iovoi then saw Owen squinting at him before opening his mouth to speak.
Owen then revealed a smile.
With helplessness in his voice, he said, "Respected Iovoi, it seems that I cannot outrun you with this body."
"Do you have it in you to spare this vessel of mine?" Owen mustered all of the finesse that he could apply to his voice.
"?" Iovoi visibly staggered back and looked back in shock.
The black thorns surrounding Owen shook slightly upon hearing those words.
He wasn't expecting that the human knew of his name.
He never did.
Iovoi did notice that the 'human' mentioned the word vessel. That should mean that the 'human' might not be human at all.
Lifting an eyebrow, he asked, unsure of what the human was getting at. "And you are?"
Owen bowed elegantly, copying the demon's traditional bow by presenting their right outstretched palm forward with their fist clenched behind.
"Ah, I am Ivorius… I recognize you, you're under his command, the esteemed Baron Praest, isn't that right?" Owen imitated the speech patterns that demons of nobility spoke with.
Although he couldn't get it perfectly, there was a resemblance of the attitude.
Iovoi was shocked that the human, or rather– demon… recognized him.
He questioned, seemingly confused. "Why were you running away from me then?"
Owen pleaded his case. "I thought that you were going to kill my vessel. Do you know how much of a hassle it is to convert another human as my puppet?"
"Is that so?" Iovoi nodded to himself as he found the alibi to be quite reasonable but still sketchy.
Fortunately for Owen, this half of Iovoi was less impulsive, but he wasn't good at scheming or preventing himself from being schemed at themselves. Unlike the female half who was the exact opposite.
"Yes, I happened to sense your demonic aura, so I checked it out for myself. Turns out it was you." Owen shrugged.
Iovoi was now convinced. He flicked his hand down, lowering the thorns and said, "Ivorius, if my actions have been impolite, I would like to apologize. You see, I am in a concerning predicament as seen by my current fragmented state."
"Nothing can go wrong during the process to rebuild myself. That explains my actions for the pursuit of your vessel." He added.
Owen began to speak with his hands held behind his back, acting all high like how demons do. "I do not mind what you've done since I might do the same if I was in your position. And say, what predicament would put you in such distress?" He then raised his eyebrows as if inquiring about it was caused by his curiosity.
Iovoi dispelled the thorns by gathering them back into his body. It was impolite to have weapons around a guest.
Iovoi sighed in dismay upon recalling what had caused him to fall this far.
"If I must recount, very well… After an unfortunate series of events occurred during a mission here in this town, my soul has been damaged, causing two of my main personalities to split."
"It was caused by a dastardly man named Jiu… No– was it Jiun?" Iovoi had some difficulty trying to remember who damaged him.
"Jiun Vertesi? The human combat master?" Owen raised an eyebrow in a pretentious way.
"Precisely.." Iovoi gave a simple nod.
"I'm assuming your other personality is away with that human?" Owen filled in the gaps by recalling that the quest panel said something about Iovoi having a split personality.
This question not only strengthened Owen's demon identity as irrefutable, it also gained some of Iovoi's trust.
Iovoi's body of mist nodded. "You are correct. I was fortunate to survive, but as you can see, I am still doing my best to recover to my peak state."
Owen smiled once more. "Perhaps I can help. My master and Baron Praest are in no way enemies nor are they allies. Changing that and giving each faction aid is beneficial, don't you think?"
Iovoi's dark eyes began to gleam. "That would be very appreciated. However, do you not have an important mission to do as well?"
Owen waved his hand as if to say that his worries are unneeded. "Helping a fellow demon is not going to take up much of my time. I assure you, I am most willing to help as long as you ask me to." Owen's words were filled with a sense of camaraderie.
In truth, it was nothing but a fruit basket of sweet lies that Iovoi ate out of desperation.
"Yes, your help is going to ease so many of my worries… Please, I need all the help I can get." Iovoi hovered gratefully before Owen and gestured towards a certain direction.
Iovoi fully believed that Owen was truly a demon controlling vessel. Not just because he was feeling anxious about his safety after being damaged.
No, that would be a very dumb reason by itself.
After being chased down by forces of mankind, he was separated from the others and was forced to hide and recuperate in Wiunlen without a way to contact the demon who is Baron Praest.
So, for 'Ivorius' to know his name and recognize his master by just sensing his aura or by seeing his abilities, that means he is also a demon with a ranking high enough to access such knowledge.
That explained the curse immunity and being unaffected by acid. It all made sense for Iovoi's head when he thought back to it.
"So, shall we head towards your other half?" Owen asked while running his hand through his scalp.
He then spotted his hatchet on the ground.
Owen inched closer towards it under Iovoi's watchful eye.
"May I?" Gesturing at the hatchet, Owen smiled.
"Ah, my apologies…" Iovoi floated before the iron hatchet and grabbed the handle with the axe head pointed towards him.
This allowed Owen to grab the hatchet safely.
Owen held the hatchet and took it away from Iovoi's hand. Without hesitation, he returned the weapon into his inventory.
Much to Iovoi's surprise, he couldn't sense soul energy when Owen did this.
A simple action, but it reinforced the demon identity deeper into Iovoi's mind like a mallet and an iron nail.
Iovoi's face was astounded. A spell to store items without soul energy leakage is simply too high of a level.
Seeing Iovoi's reaction, Owen was relieved.
He intentionally did this to show that his identity has basis.
With his signature smile, Owen snapped Iovoi out of his reverie. "Amazed?"
"Ah– yes, yes, it is remarkable…" Iovoi curiously floated around Owen to spot any injuries that he might have caused.
He was sure that his acid did something at least. But checking it right now, Owen's body appeared rather undamaged if it weren't for his face and missing hand.
"Excuse me? Are we not supposed to depart?" Owen gave him the 'go ahead' signal because the demon's constant observation was creeping him out.
After closer observation, Iovoi found that the human 'vessel' seemed to be more special than what meets the eye and left off with that in his head.
"That is an interesting spell you have there… I don't sense your demonic aura in this vessel's body. How did you do it?" Iovoi asked, dismissing Owen's question.
'I told you to go ahead, why are you so suspicious of me?' Owen grumbled internally.
Owen coughed awkwardly as he shook unnecessary thoughts away. He didn't think that far when he was lying his way out.
But then, Owen is a master of spewing lies without a trace of guilt or anything that would make it seem unnatural.
"This technique that I'm using is something that I call, Demonic Puppetry."
"I can control my vessel from far away with this technique. But since this is an ancestral technique passed to me by my father, I don't know about the specifics. Only those old monsters in my clan might know." Since Owen already made up a lie, it didn't matter if he expanded the story.
"How….. ingenious." Iovoi didn't suspect a thing. "I apologize for wasting your time, I will now fly ahead… Do not lose track of my figure."
Owen nodded in response. "I won't."
Hearing Owen's confirmation, Iovoi flew towards his other half.
Owen saw this and ran while tailing the misty demon. Iovoi was purposely slowing himself down so that he could catch up.
Fortunately, the black orb was still there, so making noise is not a problem at all.
What a considerate guy.
When Iovoi fully trusted him, that was the only time Owen put down his act.
Owen sighed, his breath unable to be heard inside the dome.
That was too close. If he didn't adapt to the situation quick enough, he was sure that he would've died. But since he earned Iovoi's trust, he might as well try to see if he could complete the entire series of quests.
He viewed the quest details and saw that it was completed.
==========
[You have completed - Level 87 Subquest: Hunter And Prey]
+250 Experience.]
[Performance Rating: A]
==========
[EXP: 200/200]
==========
[You have leveled up!]
[Level 2 > 3]
==========
[EXP: 224/800]
==========
"…"
While he was following Iovoi, Owen multitasked and opened his attributes.
'Whatever I did just got me into a shitshow… Can't be more prepared than this.' Owen could vaguely feel the air of oppression emanating from the path of peril that he paved ahead of himself.
He could not guess if this was the right thing to do.
He allocated 4 points to speed and one to strength. Since he was still in the early stages of the game, these two were the best stats to increase.
And to, you know… run? It would be useful if he got chased once again if his identity was revealed.
==========
---[Attributes]---
[Strength - 6]
[Speed - 8]
[Defense - 4]
[Intelligence - 2]
[Fortitude - 4 + (1)]
[Detection - 4]
[Luck - 2]
Available Points: 0
==========
'This Iovoi is really generous… Not only did he give me free armor repairs, he even made me level up.' Owen laughed darkly in his mind.
It was impressive that he even managed to bring up a laugh in his current predicament.
— Undbok Deep Forest…
Luram pulled the wagon with sweat dripping down his face. A woman tied up in hemp rope was being transported by him.
She was the chosen material for the ritual.
There was a reason why she was chosen. Iovoi's female half was more concerned with looks than the old man, so she would go for a beautiful vessel.
The woman was rather beautiful in all fairness though. She had curly black locks of hair and a toned body as she is a farmer. Her calloused hands and face filled with tiny scars did not detract her appearance at all but increase her attractiveness.
For the people of Adhaesit, capability is seen as more attractive than beauty alone.
Iovoi's female side was satisfied with the vessel but at the moment, the old man's absence was too lengthy for her liking.
She threw a fit with an inpatient tone.
"What is taking that fellow so long? By now, he should have gotten rid of that pest…" The female Iovoi was getting impatient. She stomped her feet as she walked to express her annoyance.
Luram noticed Iovoi's sudden change, but he didn't turn his head back in fear that she might lash out on him.
As Iovoi was grumbling in her mind, she felt a certain presence being hidden by some kind of stealth magic. She looked behind her and saw two black shadows shrouded by black mist.
When the mist unraveled, she saw Owen and the male Iovoi together.
"Eh?" She stood there, not knowing how to respond.
Seeing her confusion, the old man explained. "You can let your guard down, this person here is Ivorius, a demon, one of our kind. We both came to an agreement and he offered to help us."
The female Iovoi was skeptical, "And how did he manage to fool you?"
"Friend, I am sorry for my negligence, it may be because of my clouded mind to not warn you about my troublesome half." Iovoi said while shooting a glare towards the young maiden.
"I know, I know… I can help her drop her suspicions once she sees this." Owen acted collected and reached his hand out.
As he was the only one who could see the dark blue panel in front of his hand, when he pulled out a sword from it, others saw a sword's pommel, then a hilt, then a blade exit an invisible boundary before materializing.
Iovoi was astounded. "What–?? Spatial magic, how did y–" She paused upon seeing the old man's contemptuous stare.
Even Luram from the side felt despair seeing another powerful demon join Iovoi.
'Since when was Wiunlen this infested with demons??'
"Ahem, nevermind.. You presented irrefutable evidence, so who am I to reject my inferior half's deduction?" The female Iovoi clammed her mouth shut.
"Hmph." The old man didn't bother arguing and entered the main body.
Iovoi's main body convulsed as if he was being electrocuted before calming down.
"I did not miss your presence at all." The young maiden spoke with a scoff.
"Nor did I…" The old man obviously hated being with her.
Owen looked at them bickering back and forth with an interested expression. Aside from the tension of not being able to trick the young maiden, he managed to keep himself from stumbling badly.
Storing his sword back into the inventory, he touched his chin to keep up the demon pretense and asked, "I do wonder who the dominant personality is here… Were you originally male or female?"
The two stopped yelling at each other like an old married couple to answer Owen.
"Male."
"Female."
"..."
"This body is male, you can check the genitals to confirm it." Said the old man. He knew to himself that the true Iovoi is male and the young maiden is a mere manifestation of his personality breaking apart.
"Not anymore." The young maiden snickered.
The old man froze, then erupted like a volcano.
"What did I say about shared control?!? You never listen, don't you? I can't believe I was ever this insufferable!" The old man couldn't handle it anymore. He shouted at her with unconcealed rage.
"You can change it back, what did I do that was so wrong? In my eyes, all you want is full control!" The young maiden snarled back.
Owen merely watched from the side. He now understood why the old man was grateful for him offering his help.
He glanced at Luram and saw a woman bound with her hands and legs tied up. Her mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth as her eyes darted around with tears.
Quickly averting his gaze, Owen was more interested in finishing his quest.
"Hey." Owen called out to Iovoi, stopping the other two from their absurd mental fight.
"Hmm?" Iovoi stopped arguing with themselves and paused to look at Owen.
"What kind of ritual are you planning to do? I cannot assist you if I have no clue what it is." Owen held his hands behind his back to get into character.
The male Iovoi recounted his conversation with Owen, explaining everything to the female Iovoi.
"So he is not only immune to fear, he can withstand your Ravenous Venom and dodge your thorns? That makes me feel even worse for doubting Ivorius." The young maiden said apologetically.
The old man coughed twice and said, "Our plan is to fuse our souls through this ritual that was available for our current state."
"... After the fusion, our souls will enter a vessel to use as our new body as this current body of ours is currently being destroyed by purification magic." The old man added.
He revealed his left hand and removed the white silk glove covering it.
What Owen saw was a black rocky skin with webs of glowing white cracks all over it. After Owen managed to take a quick glance, Iovoi quickly put on his glove once again.
"Speaking of which, what kind of vessel did you get for us?" The old man asked the young maiden.
"See for yourself." The young maiden giggled.
The old man had a bad feeling. He walked towards the wagon, ignored the shivering Luram and saw the weeping young woman.
Dark lines filled his face.
"Of course this is what you picked… I should have trusted my instincts better."