Returning Fully Loaded

Naberius truly deserved his status as a noble prince among Demons; even the commotion he caused when going home matched his standing.

The other Demons simply transformed into Soul Fireballs, quietly found a hole, and burrowed into it to return home. But Naberius? As the enormous Soul Fireball returned to Hell, it utterly demolished his own lair and dragged the weakened, barely surviving evil spirits back to Hell along with it.

Li Feng could only say: impressive. He was leaving anyway, yet he took everything he owned back to Hell with him. Forget leaving behind so much as a hair in the human world—even the land itself had to be taken back to Hell.

What, had he bought that land with money, so he planned to haul it back to Hell too? A noble prince, my ass. He was just a poor bastard.

Curling his lip, Li Feng mentally gave Naberius the middle finger. It was a lair he'd run for years. There should've been plenty of good stuff inside. I'd originally planned to pick up some bargains in your lair, but what happened? You're fucking stingy.

Although Naberius had been banished back to Hell, Li Feng's eyes still twitched as he looked at Leono, who remained holy and whose skin was crystal-clear. The war's over. Can your biological father—or grandfather—take back that energy already? It gives me chills just looking at you.

Leono vaguely understood that the excessive energy God had bestowed upon her had caused her to evolve.

Leono curiously touched her feathered wings, then looked at Li Feng, who was retreating again and again in the distance. Just as she was about to return The Key of Solomon to him, she suddenly sensed something.

Li Feng watched Leono first fly toward him, then abruptly turn and fly toward the hole Naberius had created when he returned to Hell. Smacking his lips, Li Feng opened a Portal to the monastery and muttered, "She's going to save Adam, isn't she? Does this count as a beauty saving a hero? I just wonder whether Adam, that Flesh Golem, can withstand the immense energy coming off Leono. If he can't and turns to ashes, that'd be amusing."

The moment he entered the monastery, Li Feng saw Mordo circling what appeared to be a female gargoyle. The gargoyle being scrutinized seemed unable to endure Mordo's affectionate gaze and backed away in terror.

Scratching his head, Li Feng walked up to Mordo and raised his right hand, preparing to pat Mordo's shoulder. After thinking it over, he lowered his hand again, swallowed, and quietly asked, "Mage Mordo, don't tell me that gargoyle took a hit for you during the battle with the Demons or something, and your understanding of the word 'companion' got twisted, making you fall in love with her."

Damn it, if Mordo falls for a gargoyle, how am I supposed to explain it to Ancient One when I get back? What if Mordo stays in this world and refuses to return to the Marvel Universe? Ancient One will skin me alive.

But love across species should be true love, right? As for reproductive isolation, that's a problem. If they solve the reproductive isolation issue, what species would a gargoyle and Mordo's child be? Gargoyles are essentially stone. Would it be a stone man?

Mordo rolled his eyes at Li Feng and pointed at a wound on the gargoyle's body. "Look."

That's your wife. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to let me look at her for free?

While grumbling inwardly, Li Feng followed the direction Mordo pointed and looked at the gargoyle.

Several Magic Runes had been carved onto the gargoyle's body. Although Li Feng could not quite make out their effects, the wound on the gargoyle was visibly healing, and he had a rough idea of what the runes did.

Eyes wide, Li Feng realized that he seemed to have underestimated The Key of Solomon. The gargoyles had only possessed the book for a short time, yet they had already found so many ways to use the Magic Runes within. If the gargoyles fully mastered the healing runes, would every one of them become a beast-version Wolverine? And these were only Healing Spell runes. What if they covered their whole bodies in offensive runes...

After silently lighting a candle for the Demons of this world, Li Feng said, "I'm going back to my room to restore my Mana. You can take your time studying the Magic Runes."

Much later, Li Feng sat at the edge of his bed, restoring his Mana. He took out a flask filled with Holy Water and cautiously took a sip.

I wonder if this world's Holy Water will turn into poisonous water after passing through a Transdimensional Portal. After all, the rules of different worlds are different.

Shaking the flask, Li Feng estimated that the Holy Water inside would last him several days. At one sip a day, it'll take about ten days to finish it. So I'd better stay in this world for ten days before returning to the Marvel Universe.

But when Li Feng thought about how he had neither money nor friends in this world, and that if he did not want to end up homeless like a vagrant, he could only stay at Gargoyle Monastery and face Leono's holy radiance all day, his head began to ache.

Li Feng scratched between his brows, his heart pounding. Should I just wander the streets instead?

Just as Li Feng was considering how to find some thugs to rob, Ophiel's voice came from outside the door. "Austin, the Queen asked me to return The Key of Solomon to you and thank you on her behalf."

Li Feng opened the door and accepted The Key of Solomon from Ophiel. With a hint of apology on his face, Ophiel explained, "The Queen originally wanted to thank you in person, but as you know, after using The Key of Solomon to communicate with God, she was unable to control the sudden surge of energy within her. Her charm became overwhelming, and even we were somewhat affected. So the Queen can only remain alone in the meditation chamber for now and familiarize herself with that energy as quickly as possible."

Li Feng nodded, thinking happily, I'd be delighted if Leono never came out.

Li Feng glanced toward Mordo's room and saw that its door was wide open. Curious, he asked, "Is Mordo still studying the Magic Runes on your bodies?"

Ophiel lowered his head to look at the Magic Runes on his body and said, "Mordo and Adam are chatting on the roof." After hesitating for a moment, Ophiel curiously asked, "Did you really see that he has a soul now?"

Although Li Feng had not seen Adam after the battle, he knew the plot. He therefore nodded with certainty.

Ophiel shrugged, unable to understand how a Flesh Golem could suddenly develop a soul. He could only imagine that it was God's reward for Adam.

"Oh, right. Before entering the meditation chamber, the Queen instructed me to take you to our Collection Room. You may select some artifacts or materials as our gift of thanks."

Li Feng's eyes lit up. His playing cards were nearly used up, and he was short on materials to forge more. Leono's gift had come at exactly the right time.

However, Li Feng took out his flask from his pocket and asked, "Could you give me some more Holy Water?"

Compared with artifacts, Li Feng trusted his own strength more. Furthermore, he could sense that after using the Holy Water, his aptitude as a Mage was slowly improving. Perhaps before long, he would be able to form a fairly powerful fireball.

Ophiel knew just how complicated the process of making the Holy Water Li Feng had consumed was, as well as how precious its ingredients were. The monastery did not have much in stock to begin with, so he regretfully shook his head. "I'll need to report this to the Queen before I can give you an answer."

Pointing at Li Feng's flask, Ophiel continued, "If you only want more Holy Water for your own use, I advise you to forget it. I don't know if you've heard of drug resistance, but these special Holy Waters will also cause you to develop resistance. When the Queen gave you the Holy Water, she had already calculated the amount you could endure. So even more Holy Water cannot help Purify your mind or improve your aptitude as a Mage. Of course, if you intend to use Holy Water against evil creatures, then pretend I said nothing."

Li Feng froze, then realized that was true. If Holy Water could infinitely improve a Mage's aptitude, he should consider remaining in this world until his aptitude became so extraordinary that even gods would drool before leaving.

Waving his hand, Li Feng indicated that he did not want any Holy Water. After listing several common magical materials to Ophiel, he returned to his room to study the spells in The Key of Solomon. As for the Demon sealed within the scroll, Li Feng would have to be out of his mind to converse with a Demon in the monastery. Hiding in the Mirror Dimension would not work either.

Ten days later, Li Feng sat alone, cross-legged in the training ground where the gargoyles practiced martial arts, and drank the last sip of Holy Water.

After a long while, Li Feng, sensing the changes in his Mana, suddenly stood up. As his right hand slowly rose, a soccer-ball-sized fireball abruptly appeared in his palm.

Grinning, Li Feng waved his right hand. The fireball circled him several times before shooting toward an archery target fifty meters away. However, it grazed the edge of the target and flew into the distance, dissipating into the air after traveling roughly a hundred meters.

Li Feng scratched between his brows and muttered to himself, "While the Holy Water Purified my mind, it also strengthened my mental power. So now I can precisely control a fireball within fifteen meters and make it automatically track targets once it appears within that range. But beyond fifteen meters, I can only aim in advance and have the fireball fly at the enemy along a fixed trajectory. Its flight speed is a little slow, though—about the same as an arrow. Too many people in the Marvel Universe can dodge arrows."

"By my calculations, it's time to return to the Marvel Universe. But I'll have plenty to do after I get back. First, I need to forge some playing cards that conserve Mana. Then I need to practice the fireballs' accuracy and increase their speed. It would be even better if I could make them fly as fast as bullets. Finally, I need to pry some spells out of that Demon."

After leaving the training ground, Li Feng found Mordo chatting with Adam and Wade. "Looks like you've made new friends in this world."

After saying that, Li Feng gave Wade an ambiguous glance and told Adam, "I haven't congratulated you on gaining a soul—and love."

"Thank you." Adam turned to look at Wade, who was blushing slightly, and said, "Being human feels wonderful. At least I'm no longer alone."

Mordo looked Li Feng up and down, noticing his greatly improved Mana, and asked, "Are you ready to go home?"

When Li Feng nodded, Mordo stood and embraced Adam. "My flight home is about to take off. Take care, my friend."

Adam patted Mordo's back as they embraced. "I will. You take care too."

As Li Feng and Mordo returned to their respective rooms to pack their belongings, Ophiel hurried over to find Li Feng. He handed him a scroll and a wooden box emanating faint energy fluctuations. "The Queen knows you're leaving. She asked me to give these to you. The scroll records the principles behind the spells the Queen deciphered from The Key of Solomon. As for what's in the wooden box, it is a gift from her."

After speaking, Ophiel pointed toward Mordo's room. "The Queen has prepared a gift for Mordo as well. I'll deliver it to him now. Take care."