Chapter 190

"That sounds very tempting."

"Of course... this is a demon's contract..."

"Then tell me your conditions," Chen Ce said, remaining calm.

It's not that the conditions offered weren't tempting—on the contrary, he desperately wanted an ability even stronger than "clairvoyance." It's just... the benefits of being a demon aren't so easy to obtain.

The higher the reward, the stricter the conditions.

Selling one's soul is probably a small matter compared to that.

"My conditions are simple..." The devil's seductive words lingered in my ear, like a whisper from the abyss. "Only two..."

"Which two?" Chen Ce asked.

"First, you must use my abilities to uncover the secrets of mortals... any secrets... those are my favorite delicacies..."

"Hmm, I can accept that condition... Let's talk about the second one."

"Second..." Raum's shadow disappeared even deeper into the flock of ravens, as if he were hiding from something.

"You must take your pact with me away from the Immortal Bastion..."

"Hmm?" This condition surprised Chen Ce —it was unexpectedly simple. "Are you sure?"

"It's confirmed... You must take the contract scroll with you... forever..."

"This... oh, I see, you're afraid of Mordekaiser?"

No... you don't understand...

"So you really are afraid of him, aren't you?"

"Listen, mortal... the secrets of this are beyond your comprehension..."

So you're afraid of him?

"No, no, no...!" A hint of emotion finally flickered in the seemingly perpetually calm voice of the demon Raum.

It seems a bit rushed.

"Anyway... don't worry about it...! If you can accept it, sign the contract... if you can't, then leave immediately...!"

"Of course," Chen Ce said. "These conditions are perfectly fine."

Hearing the affirmative answer, the Spying Demon finally calmed down a bit—to be honest, it wasn't really afraid of Mordekaiser —at least not entirely. At most, it was "apprehensive"...? Probably.

The intricacies involved are... somewhat complex.

In short, staying away from Mordekaiser is good for it.

"Then, I will grant you demonic power... In exchange, you must abide by the terms of the contract... If you violate them, you will be punished by the [rules]..."

"I know the rules," Chen Ce nodded.

With that, the deal was officially finalized.

The illusion before Chen Ce's eyes gradually faded, and the flock of ravens began to screech.

He sensed an evil force... demonic power was surging into his body...

This process did not last long.

In the final moment of absorbing the demon's power, he looked at the blurry black shadow and gave a half-joking, half-threatening reminder:

"So you're still afraid of Mordekaiser after all, aren't you?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the cries of the ravens became even more piercing.

The blurry black figure trembled as well.

"I said... it's not fear...!" An angry growl echoed through the flock of ravens, and thousands of them immediately flew away in terror, turning into pools of blood in mid-air.

The demon Raum lost his composure.

Chen Ce happened to catch a glimpse of the figure as the flock of ravens departed...

It looks... not quite the demon I imagined...

It did indeed have the shadow of two demonic horns on its head... but it wasn't large or tall... it looked to be only about 1.5 meters tall...?

It didn't seem as strong as the demons in mythology; its body was rather slender...

Especially the waist... it's so thin...

Greyhound Demon...?

Chen Ce blinked in confusion.

Just as he was about to observe more closely, the other person seemed to notice his gaze—and realize his mistake.

In an instant, thousands more ravens covered its body, and the blurry figure gradually disappeared into the red mist.

"You can see the truth of everything... but you cannot see my true face... This is the first warning..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ce's consciousness returned to the real world.

The power of the demon... is very clear.

He tried closing his eyes and then channeling the magic within him.

Then he saw... through the Raven's Eyes...

LeBlanc's safe house doesn't shield him from magic... he can see inside the manor...

He saw...

Syndra is taking a bath.

Chapter 59 Miss Syndra Can't Take It Anymore

Noxus's future is already set.

Swain fell, but Chen Ce did not directly destroy the Trifarix Council he had established. Instead, he chose to replace it—the current Trifarix Council is managed by Chen Ce, Darius, and Katarina.

Of course, LeBlanc and her Black Rose also played an important role, but it was inconvenient to bring it to light... A large part of Katarina's Assassin Guild had already been infiltrated by the Black Rose.

After gaining power, Chen Ce's first action was to have Darius order the withdrawal of the Noxian Legion from the Gate of Mourning —especially the formidable Trifarix Legion.

He has already established his own power in Ionia, Freljord, and Noxus, and Demacia and several other countries are also crucial battlegrounds; he absolutely cannot weaken them at this time.

The Void could descend at any moment, and engaging in "internal strife" on the eve of this storm would be an extremely foolish act.

We must unite all available forces.

"The Battle of the Gate of Mourning... is too long past. Now we should focus on the future..."

Chen Ce was in his room pondering his future plans. The map in front of him had been scribbled and drawn on by him, turning it into "doodles" that only he could understand.

He pondered for a long time, and a somewhat immature plan gradually formed in his mind... Perhaps the details still need to be refined, but not now.

The future always brings unexpected changes, and sometimes overthinking can only limit one's initiative.

He patted his slightly sore neck and leaned back.

During this brief rest, he recalled the events of yesterday... the pact with the Spying Demon. He had the power, but he was still a little uneasy.

He needs to gather as much information as possible about the other party.

So he silently mobilized the power of the Death Realm within his body.

The Gate of the Underworld opened, and everything around them rapidly changed.

When he opened his eyes again, all he saw was desolation.

Countless ghosts wandered in the desolation, emitting mournful howls... but he only cared about the black mist beyond the horizon.

They were all old acquaintances. Mordekaiser sensed his arrival immediately.

Soon, the enormous "tin man" came into view.

"What brings you here..." Mordekaiser disliked pointless pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"I wanted to ask you about the thing about spying on the demon," Chen Ce said directly, "About its past, information, and so on."

"The past..." Mordekaiser pondered for a moment, "I don't know... Back then, I merely brought the raven it was attached to back to the Immortal Bastion ... It never revealed anything about itself..."

"Do you know anything about it?" Chen Ce asked again.

"I don't really understand... Demons are the mystery itself... They're always elusive... just like the other demons..."

The "other few" here naturally refer to the other primordial demons—like Fiddlesticks and Evelynn. Chen Ce knew this.

"Then... what does it look like? You should know at least a little bit about that, right?"

"As for appearance..." Mordekaiser recalled something from over a thousand years ago.

After a moment, he said somewhat uncertainly, "I only saw a blurry shadow... Raum was also very large, about three zhang tall... its body seemed to be red...?"

"Huge... red?" Both of these keywords are quite different from what Chen Ce saw yesterday—especially the latter feature.

"Yes... I caught a glimpse of red... on its back... um... well, maybe it's more like the color of a sunset..."

"The kind that's more pinkish or golden?"

"That's roughly it..."

"Hmm... what about gender?"

"Demons have no gender... a demon's gender is simply that it is a demon..."

"Is it good at disguising itself? For example... never letting anyone see its true face?"

"This is truly a perplexing question... but there seems to be a theory... it's rumored that the demon that lurks in the shadows always appears in a different form, the only commonality being that it always appears in an extremely majestic manner... I don't know the specifics..."

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Chen Ce was a little confused again—was this Raum a giant over three zhang tall or the one-and-a-half-meter "greyhound" he saw yesterday?

Why are you asking these questions...?

"I just wanted to learn more," Chen Ce shrugged. "I made a deal with it."

"A deal?" Mordekaiser was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, in order to obtain its power... the power of a demon can bring me many benefits."

"Then you'd better be careful... Mortals who make deals with demons usually don't end up well..." Mordekaiser had also considered making a deal with the demon Raum in the past, but he eventually gave up on the idea.

The history of primal demons is as long as Runeterra, yet who has ever seen anyone who made a deal with a demon gain immortality?

That eerie power is often accompanied by terrifying consequences that are impossible to bear.

"Okay, I'll be careful." Chen Ce nodded, and the Death Realm power within his body began to circulate again.

The Gate of the Underworld opened, and Mordekaiser vanished once more into the thick fog.

"See you later."

"I wish I never would see him again..."

"Stubborn."

"Shut up..."

Noxus needs to conserve its strength.

The northern Delverhold has sworn allegiance, and the abundant mineral resources it provides are enough to sustain this vast empire for some time.

There is absolutely no need to send troops to Demacia at this time.

This is what Chen Ce said to Darius.

The latter expressed his understanding—after all, he had a bigger problem to deal with right now—and his most important task was to appease his silly little brother.

Upon learning that Swain had been placed under house arrest, Draven a huge tantrum, drinking and going on strike—he was practically ready to cry, make a scene, and even threaten suicide.

LeBlanc's side is relatively peaceful; she can simply continue managing her Black Rose. Although Swain's previous reforms didn't deal a fatal blow to Black Rose, they certainly caused quite a bit of trouble.

And then there's Katarina, who's currently busy managing the Du House Du Couteau and its Assassin Guild, so she won't have time for a while—the news of General Du Couteau's return has spread, and now some of the "old guard" are openly questioning Katarina's abilities and hoping that General Du Couteau can take over the Assassin Guild again.

Only Chen Ce had nothing to do.

He had been spending the last few days at the manor enjoying a sweet time alone with Syndra, and in his spare time he also did some research on the power of demons.

After several days of testing and research, he has basically mastered the use of demonic power and also understands its limitations.