"Eren?"
Nina and Levine soon found out that Eren had stopped moving with them. They looked back to see Eren had stopped in his tracks. He looked like he had just found something shocking.
Saying that Eren was shocked was an understatement though. Sages were the pinnacle of existence for him for the longest amount of time. He knew that there were more powerful beings than Sages outside of Anfang. But he had never stopped to think about the extent of their powers.
The butcher tried his hardest. But he still couldn't wrap his head around the amount of accumulation one needed to face 100 Sages at once without breaking a sweat. As a result, his brain was short-circuited which made him stop in his tracks.
Alephee on the other hand thought that she had undermined the existence of Demon Princes by comparing them with Sages. She was sure that all seven Demon Princes would take offense if and when they learned of her doing.
However, the homunculus did not have the heart to tell Eren about it. The butcher looked like he would summon a table from his storage just to flip it up. All so that he could derive some form of mental relief from that act.
Alephee felt like she had to say something to make Eren react. His current thought process was too chaotic for her to read.
'Of course, what I said is only valid if we consider the actual Demon Princes and not their soul fragments. Demons or demonic rankers will be able to exert only a fraction of their original power with soul fragments. It is also limited by the state and accumulation of the vessel the fragments of the soul occupy at the time.
The Awakened demonic rankers certainly become more powerful than their counterparts after they tame the demons inside them and make them stay that way. However, they still have limitations.
No matter which world, certain rules can be bent but not broken. And therein lies the beauty of the game.'
Eren felt like he was hearing his name being called out in the distance. But he was too preoccupied with his current thought process to respond to any of those calls. He clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes before saying something very diabolical to Alephee.
'Power to contend with 100s of Sages... I want it. I want it, damn it.
Alephee, what is the demon-summoning ritual? How can I attract a Demon Prince's soul fragment and then tame it?'
Eren's stunned expression subtly turned hungry. A certain hunger for power could be seen in his eyes. His sheathed presence kept things under wraps. But nobody knew better than his victims that the butcher was at his most dangerous when his mana signatures were as calm as a serene sea.
It felt like the continent-spanning array was bound to react if Alephee answered Eren's question directly. But the butcher didn't care. His thirst for power had skyrocketed after hearing about power to rival 100s of Sages. He had even forgotten the fact that he was a mere Expert ranker and it was way too early for him to think along those lines.
Alephee couldn't blame Eren. She was only to blame for telling him information that she thought he wasn't supposed to know. It was better to keep certain things under wraps until the right time came to unwrap them.
She also found it satisfying that Eren wasn't really overwhelmed by the existence of Demon Princes. Instead, the news fueled his desire to reach their level. All while not underestimating the Sages in any way because he was still in touch with his own reality.
Alephee chuckled before answering honestly. She also knew that her answer wasn't enough to trigger a response from the continent-spanning array because she was not telling him the process to perform the demon-summoning ritual.
'Hehe. You don't need any demon soul fragments in you, Eren. Why become a Prince if you can aim for something even higher?'
She paused before asking him another cryptic question.
'Have you not realized... what Argo calls you these days?'
***
"EREN!"
Eren was finally snapped out of his thoughts when Nina shook him by his shoulders and yelled his name. She looked worried and tense, thinking that he was dreading his meeting with Demonmir.
'It's fine, Eren. Demonmir... that bastard will not be able to do anything here in the capital. And we'll make sure to exit safely out of the city once your graduation event comes to an end. I'll be with you.'
Levine and Jiana both looked at each other before speaking in unison.
'We will all be with you.'
Eren looked at them confusingly before finally understanding that his inaction was being taken as him getting scared. He laughed in his head but decided to use the opportunity to pursue advances with Levine nonetheless.
'Yes... yes... I'll need all three of you to be with me when the event ends. Thanks... thank you for being with me throughout my struggle, ladies.'
Eren replied in a voice coated in dread before taking all three ladies into his embrace. They had all stood close to him so it became easier for him to do so. The people walking by were a bit puzzled by the group's bonding activity. But it wasn't enough to make them stop and stare at them for more than a second or two.
Jiana had flushed cheeks when she was embraced by Eren along with the other two Master rankers. She then inhaled the smell of the butcher, and for some reason, her mind was lost in lustful thoughts. She felt like tearing the man's clothes apart before planting a kiss on him.
Things got worse for Levine. She felt like a fire had been ignited deep within her that could only be extinguished in a certain way. She willingly sank her head into his chest and started inhaling Eren's scent intently as if her life was dependent on it.
Nina was the normal one among them. And yet, even she felt like her urges were getting rekindled just by being embraced by Eren.
Nobody realized that Eren's forked tongue stretched way longer than usual as he licked his lips, smiling wickedly.
