When that sudden laugh reached their ears, both Shane and Lide reacted.
No, it should be said that even before the laughter rang out, both of them had sensed something and looked toward the source of the sound.
"This Magic Power..."
Shane furrowed his brows.
He felt a somewhat familiar but, for some reason, extraordinarily uncomfortable Magic Power.
Lide’s voice was even colder as she stared intently at the shadows to the left.
There was a passage there.
The abrupt laughter had come from the other end of the passage.
"So it is, I hadn’t expected the renowned Beast Demon to come; no wonder three Legendary Refined Demons disappeared so cleanly and efficiently."
With these words, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the passage.
It was a tall figure.
The figure was clothed in a black robe, the face hidden by a hood, the feet bare and directly touching the ground, yet not a speck of dirt clung to them, fair, translucent, tender and smooth, obviously belonging to a woman.
Her voice was delicate and alluring too, not so much tinkling like a silver bell but mature like a formidable woman, exuding a strong presence, giving the impression that she was difficult to handle.
However, her figure was exceptional. Even though a black robe covered her entire body, where it should curve, it curved, and where it should be pert, it was pert. Furthermore, for some reason, the robe seemed somewhat moist and clung to her body, revealing the contours of her figure without doubt.
Undoubtedly, she was a woman who could captivate men.
Even without revealing her face, just her figure and voice were enough to dazzle onlookers.
However, Shane could not harbor any improper thoughts in his heart.
There were two reasons.
One was because of that peculiar Magic Power of hers.
The other was the pure malice he could feel radiating from her.
Not hostility nor a killing intent, but sheer malice.
That feeling was like when someone appeared before her and spoiled her plans, she would not show any hostility, nor would she radiate any killing aura, but nevertheless, she would carry out every single vicious and evil deed she could think of on the person before her, even if they were not her enemy or opponent. That didn’t matter at all.
Therefore, Shane immediately understood.
This was an evil person.
An unquestionably evil person.
All her actions, every move she made, every deed was only for the sake of "doing evil."
This caused Shane to feel a natural repulsion towards the woman in the black robe.
Lide’s expression also darkened.
"The feeling of this Magic Power, could it be..."
Lide had a suspicion but did not voice it.
There was something else she needed to clear up.
"Are you from the Primordial Demon Faction?"
The other party responded promptly.
"Yes, Your Highness Lide Domar."
The woman in the black robe, without concern for her modest attire, bowed exaggeratingly, causing the robe to hang loose and reveal large swaths of skin, even the front of her body was left undefended, while she introduced herself.
"I am Magie, an Envoy of the Primordial Demon from the Old Demon Clan Faction."
This term made Lide’s gaze intensify.
"Envoy?" Shane, not understanding, asked Lide, who was above him, "What is that?"
The one who answered wasn’t Lide, but the woman in the black robe who called herself Magie.
"An Envoy is a position within the Primordial Demon, Count of Beizut."
Magie spoke to Shane with a smile in her voice.
"We of the Primordial Demon are different from the typical Old Demon Clan Faction; we have a clear hierarchy."
"The highest position is naturally our master, our leader."
"Below the leader are the three Great Apostles, who command directly under our leader, esteemed almost as if one under him but above tens of thousands."
"Each Great Apostle has four Envoys under them, acting upon the commands of the Great Apostles."
"Typically, if the leader has any commands, they are usually only given to the Great Apostles, who are then responsible for delegating the tasks to us Envoys to execute. The rest are low-status, without a voice or influence, not even a shred of status, they don’t even have a will of their own and act like puppets."
"There are many Envoys in the Primordial Demon, but they are not figures who should come to the fore, at least they are not beings that someone like Lord Beizut should pay attention to."
"The true core of the Primordial Demon consists only of one leader, three Great Apostles, and twelve Envoys."
"Now that this is explained, do you understand?"
Indeed, Shane understood.
So, what you mean is this?
"We’ve caught a core member of the Primordial Demon this time, right?"
Shane narrowed his eyes, his voice carrying a teasing edge.
Magie remained unflustered, even managing a smile.
"You may interpret it that way if you like," Magie said, shrugging her delicate shoulders, making her black robe nearly slip off once more. "Although I’ve heard that the organization recently seems to have recruited some big shot, intending to establish a fourth Great Apostle, at least for now, that is the state of affairs for us ’Primordial Demons.’ Are you satisfied with this explanation?"
"Right, right, the reason I’m aware of the existence of Lord Bezut is because the Great Apostle I serve told me about the variable that someone like you brought to Elf Country," Magie casually divulged such a secret to Shane, adding, "That person told me to keep an eye on that cute and naive elf girl by your side. Would you like to introduce her?"
Upon hearing these words, the smile vanished from Shane’s face.
At the same time, a subtle yet terrifying magic power began to burn slowly from Shane’s body, causing the temperature in the entire cave to plummet dozens of degrees, turning it icy cold.
"Oh my, how terrifying."
Magie took a step back, her voice still as tender and seductive as ever.
Lide also made herself heard.
"Calm down, Shane!" Lide shouted, "She’s deliberately provoking your rage! Don’t fall for it!"
Shane of course knew this was intentional.
Such obvious taunts and incitements were not something Shane was too foolish to recognize.
But even so, he did not have the capacity to endure it all.
After all, by nature, Shane was an ordinary person prone to impulsiveness.
"Congratulations," Shane said expressionlessly, "if your goal was to incite my anger, then you’ve succeeded quite smoothly."
Shane slowly drew the Holy Sword from his waist.
"Do you intend to make a move against me, Count of Beizut?" Magie’s voice became pitifully sweet as she said, "I’m just a frail woman, far from those significant figures who have faced the count in the past. Are you going to strike against someone as weak as me?"
At that moment, Magie’s voice was like a witch’s murmur, penetrating directly into Shane’s heart, and lingering there.
For just an instant, an involuntary feeling of reluctance arose within Shane.
"An ability to influence the spirit and even the soul, hm?"
Shane lifted his head, his gaze sharply locking onto her.
"Is this what you’re relying on?"
The involuntary feeling of reluctance in Shane’s heart was instantly counteracted by his ’Inner Destiny.’
Magie’s voice faltered, and her expression also shifted slightly.
The next second, without any hesitation, Magie turned and ran into the dark passage behind her.
"Thinking of running?"
At the same time, Shane disappeared on the spot, reappearing in front of the passage.
Lide, perched atop Shane’s head, seeing this unfold, suddenly shouted out.
Indeed, without Lide’s warning, Shane already felt it.
He sensed the terrible magic power and presence surging out from the passage in front of him.
A chaotic noise like a roar burst forth from the passage.
What emerged from the passage were three gigantic Legendary Refined Demons.
As they roared, they pounced without any warning, their countless gaping maws opened wide, unleashing breaths of fire, lightning, frost, torrents, and poison gas.
A violent explosion erupted in the passage, the shockwave like a storm shaking the entire cave.
For a moment, dust flew, and rocks scattered.
Were it not for the fact that this was the site of the Demon Refining Ceremony, the space already isolated by the ritual and completely separated from the outside world, the destructive force could have shattered the entire cave.
Yet, amidst such a storm, Shane did not retreat even half a step.
He did not use Instant Movement to dodge as before, nor did he counterattack with magic but, like swimming against the current, he did not dodge or evade, directly facing the breath attacks and charging towards the gigantic Refined Demon.
A dazzling radiance shone from the Holy Sword.
Shane’s voice was cold as he raised the gleaming Holy Sword in his hand, slashing through in a sweeping motion.
A brilliant sword light suddenly appeared, with a piercing whistle, sweeping in all directions.
In the sound of neat slashing, the massive forms of the three Refined Demons were cut by the sword light and became motionless in place.
The stone walls surrounding the passage also shook suddenly as if exploding, raising a burst of rubble.
It was the sword light scraping past them, leaving behind shocking cuts that caused this.
After Shane made his slash, he immediately used an Instant Movement and vanished from the spot.
Only the scattered rocks and those three inert Refined Demons remained, motionless.
It wasn’t until much later that the three Refined Demons finally moved.
Their bodies neatly split in half, the cut surfaces incredibly smooth, slowly toppling to the ground.
Blood stained the earth red.