724. Perception

Twilight Castle, underground laboratory.

A guard's voice came from outside the door. "Your Majesty, Duke Sigismund has arrived."

"Take him to my study. I'll be there shortly."

With that, the Demon King focused his attention once more on the sample before him, whose entire body had been parasitized by mycelium.

In the rooms of the basement were parasitized subjects of various races, and even the Parasitic Tree from which the skill [Fusion Parasitism] had originated.

Most of half a day later.

Watching the mycelium that had been removed from the sample's body grow back again after being replenished with a little magic power, the Demon King sighed softly. "That won't work either."

Only then did he remember that Sigismund was still waiting for him in the study, and he hurriedly left the basement.

"I hope he doesn't misunderstand and think I'm trying to put him in his place."

Among the remaining dukes and princes of the Empire, the Demon King's assessment of Sigismund was fairly good.

Though he was wildly ambitious and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, he was at least capable, and reasonably intelligent.

People like that could be regarded as useful assistants until their strength exceeded what could be controlled.

The only thing that puzzled the Demon King somewhat was that Sigismund seemed to be deliberately concealing his appearance.

Before today's meeting, the Demon King had already held two grand assemblies through that set of Image Projection Crystals.

In everyone else's crystals, the silhouettes shown were their own.

Only Sigismund's crystal was pitch-black every time, obscuring what little visual information there was.

Combining that with the Empire intelligence department's reports that Sigismund had long been secretly recruiting Evil Mages, the Demon King suspected that Sigismund might have come into too much contact with Abyss Magic,