Becoming Stronger

Lucifer downed a glass of whiskey.

"Then why could he hold back?"

"If he couldn't hold back, would you really sleep with him for one night, my lord?" Mazikeen stood to the side holding a bottle of wine, her face filled with curiosity.

The bar was dim and ambiguous, and the old photographs on the walls looked even more mysterious amid the interweaving light and shadows.

"Of course. If it's him, I don't mind giving it a try."

With a clatter, the bottle slipped from Mazikeen's hand. She was utterly shocked. At first, she had thought Lucifer was playing with the human, or would eventually use a clone, illusion, or something similar. She had never expected her to be serious.

"Lord Lucifer, with your status, there's no need to go this far."

Lucifer tucked the hair beside her ear behind it with her little finger. Her perfect profile looked even more captivating under the faint light, making Mazikeen feel a little feverish.

"Do you know why I betrayed God?"

"...Legend says it was because you couldn't stand Heaven's order." Mazikeen thought for a moment before answering.

"That's part of it. The more important reason is fate."

"Fate?"

"That's right. Fate. It was destined that I would betray God and become the Lord of Hell. I am the dark side God created. My existence is an anchor, a tool.

"But in order to resist fate, I still betrayed God and destroyed the world. Yet no matter how many times I destroyed the world, God would recreate it. So I grew tired of it and came to the human world, where I opened a small bar and quietly waited for fate to arrive."

Lucifer slipped her finger into the glass and stirred the orange liquor, sinking into her memories. Her gaze grew deep and distant, as though she could see all the events of the past through the small glass.

"Are you really certain that human can take you away? That's God we're talking about!"

The bar was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard, making Mazikeen's voice sound especially loud.

"When he first appeared, I could still sense the aura of another world. But in the blink of an eye, his aura had merged into this world and become no different from that of any other human. It was like ink falling into the ocean, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye."

"Then you just let him leave and turned him into your slave..."

Mazikeen's throat seemed to be blocked by something, and she couldn't say another word.

She could only kneel on the floor, her knees bearing immense pressure until cracks began spreading across the floor beneath her. A powerful pressure radiated from her golden pupils, making it almost impossible for Mazikeen to breathe.

"Mazikeen, this is my only chance. Nothing can go wrong. Do you understand?" At that moment, Lucifer finally displayed the majesty of the Lord of Hell.

"Yes... Your Majesty." After saying this, Mazikeen sprawled on the floor and gasped for breath.

"I'm going back to Hell."

Only after the bar had completely quieted down did Mazikeen raise her head, her eyes filled with infatuation.

She went to the liquor Lucifer had left behind and greedily lapped it up.

"Lord Lucifer."

Mazikeen was Lucifer's most trusted demon—and a lesbian as well.

Elsewhere, Kino carried Mandarin to a rooftop.

The city shrouded in darkness stretched out before them. Gotham, the city of sin, was permeated everywhere by an air of decay and depravity.

The dim streetlights gave off faint glows in the mist, barely illuminating the small patch of ground beneath them. The skyscrapers in the distance loomed indistinctly, like colossal beasts hiding in the darkness.

Kino toyed with the ring in his hand and quietly waited for the time to end.

3, 2, 1

Mandarin's head jerked backward, and he collapsed onto the ground.

What happened? I should have turned that guy into ash. And why does my face hurt so much?

"This is another one of your abilities? Rapid healing, Spatial Movement, invisible attacks..."

Mandarin noticed Kino standing at the edge of the rooftop.

"Not this time."

Kino turned around. Mandarin stared fixedly at the ring in his hand, unable to believe his eyes. He held out both hands and discovered that the ten rings that had originally belonged to him had vanished without a trace.

"Those are my Ten Rings! When did you steal them?" Mandarin's voice was filled with fury and confusion.

However, without the rings, he was merely a long-lived ordinary man. He no longer possessed any superhuman abilities, so he didn't dare act rashly.

Kino said, "Actually, I should thank you. You were the first person to make me feel fear—the fear of having Venom taken away, and the fear of nearly dying. They made me realize that no matter which world I'm in, I'm not strong. I can't rest easy just because I can travel between worlds."

After saying that, Kino casually picked a ring and slipped it onto his index finger. His brainwaves automatically connected with the ring, and he understood how to use it.

Seeing this, Mandarin hurriedly shouted, "Wait! We can talk this out!"

"I don't want to hear it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ring on Kino's finger fired a dazzling white beam that instantly enveloped Mandarin's entire body.

The light was like daylight descending, illuminating the entire rooftop. In the blink of an eye, Mandarin's body turned into countless particles of dust, which scattered away with the breeze and vanished without a trace.

Spectrum Ring: The energy beam released will destroy all bonds between the atoms and molecules of the object it strikes.

Kino felt no pleasure from taking revenge. He only felt waves of nausea.

"Urgh... Thank you, Venom."

Kino felt sick enough to vomit, but the sensation quickly faded. He understood that Venom had taken control of his internal organs.

[Why didn't you let me do it?]

Venom poked her head out and asked in confusion. She knew about Kino's past—even a chicken had never been killed by him.

"Because I want to become stronger. I can't rely on you forever. I want to be able to protect you when you're in danger instead of relying on luck to find someone else to protect you."

Kino hugged Venom's large head against his chest.

[Hmph~ You idiot.]

"I'm fine with being an idiot."

Kino walked alone through a narrow alley. The walls all around him were mottled and dilapidated, giving off an air of decay.

Before long, he was surrounded.

"Kid, if you don't want another hole in your body, hand over your money."

"Wait, this kid's so good-looking. Let me cut his face a few times."

"Idiot. Someone this good-looking should obviously be sold. I happen to know a boss who's into this sort of thing."

Kino frowned at the group of Black men. Their clothes were ragged, and how much money could they possibly have? He had even sacrificed his dignity to lure out this bunch of trash.

"Forget it. Venom, take care of them. Break all four of their limbs..."

"You bastards, stay away from him!"

A young woman's shout rang out from the alley. A green woman emerged while supporting herself against the wall.

Her body seemed highly unstable. The green color covering her flickered in and out, and the faint moonlight fell upon her, outlining her distorted figure.

"Hahaha, what kind of freak are you?"

"Whatever. We can sell you too."

"A green-skinned monster should fetch a high price."

After her professor deceived her into injecting herself with the drug, Pamela Lillian Isley's body had mutated. During this period, she had been studying her own body.

She hoped she could return to being a normal person, or at the very least freely control the toxins in her body. Otherwise, living in the human world would make her the source of a plague.

To avoid having anyone discover that something was wrong with her body, she had taken an alley she normally never used. She hadn't expected to run into an armed robbery.

"Who are you calling a monster?"

Pamela felt her anger surge. She controlled Vines to grow from the ground and smashed the men around, whipping them until their flesh was mangled and bloody.

The Vines were thick and powerful, lined with sharp thorns that whistled through the air.