Chapter 279: Broken Individual
"It's like finding someone's presence comforting, their smile warm," she began while eyeing Reign for any reaction.
"It's about wanting to be with them, to share moments, to protect and maybe even to... feel something."
Lilith felt a little awkward discussing such a human concept she learned from watching a drama series on TV.
'Damn it, I might actually like her,' Reign sighed.
Every word she said hit the mark, and now he felt that this could complicate things.
It wouldn't be an issue if he were a good guy, but he was a monster who had killed many people and would surely kill more in the future.
And the worst part was, he enjoyed killing and eating humans more than anything.
That alone was already a major hurdle, because he doubted she would accept his way of living.
If there was one woman who could accept him for who he was right now, it would be Anna.
She was the only one crazy enough not to question him at all; she would even support his endeavors by killing humans alongside him.
Even Lilith, who was a devil herself, found him too evil and brutal for her own taste. It showed that his actions were beyond even the baseline for what an actual devil would find acceptable.
'I can't talk to her right now,' he thought. 'I need to figure this out first. Maybe I'm just confused,' he added, attempting to deny his own feelings.
"Which Tier 4 city is on the brink of being overrun by the corrupteds?" he asked hurriedly, trying to shift the conversation to distract himself.
Lilith noticed this but decided not to point it out, avoiding pushing him into a corner.
As a demon lord, his emotional instability could potentially cause the destruction of this whole building.
"There's a Tier 4 city called Brentwood. I heard from my intelligence that the number of corrupteds surrounding the barrier is increasing daily. I think that's your best bet to kill humans without attracting too much attention to yourself," she responded.
"That's it? Just one? I need more cities. Give me all you got," Reign ordered.
One city was no longer enough because he planned to leave for long a period of time to think, and to sweep through more Tier 4 cities along the way.
Lilith was taken aback by his greediness. 'Is this guy trying to kill all the humans? Surely he's not thinking something so crazy,' she wondered.
However, despite opposing his methods, she needed him for her plan.
'I could just stop him after I get the seed,' she thought to herself. Preserving humans was a must for her.
Devils, angels, and humans lived in a delicate balance, and if humans went extinct , it would spell the end for the devil race as well.
"Alright, I'll give you all the data so you can choose which city is best for your picking," she responded with a heavy sigh."
Sacrificing a few cities was a small trade-off in exchange for a better chance of getting inside the Garden.
"Good, now call George and Melissa. I want to speak with them," he ordered, his attitude completely changed after realizing he was experiencing something out of character.
Lilith did not like his tone of voice, but she still followed his command.
After a few moments, the duo sat on the sofa in front of Reign, with Lilith sitting on her own chair nearby.
He glanced at the two of them. They had only just reunited, but now he needed to leave them behind again.
They were just too weak to accompany him; they amounted to nothing more than dead weight. Enjoy exclusive adventures from m-v l'e|m,p-y r
"George, I'm going out first to get stronger," Reign declared, leaning forward with a fierce intensity in his tone
"The Demon Territory is dangerous, so it's better for me to go there after I reach Demon King status," he added.
'Demon King status?' Lilith raised her eyebrows, feeling that Reign was being rather too optimistic about something so difficult to attain.
While it might not be a big deal in Hell, achieving that status was a monumental feat in the human world.
The requirements to ascend to that rank were unfairly high, nearly impossible to meet.
According to her intelligence team, for every 200 Demon Lords, only one could reach that status, highlighting just how rare and challenging it was, given that Demon Lords were already scarce.
'Even if he were a genius among geniuses, it would still take him years to attain that rank. Consuming humans wasn't the sole requirement to break through.'
'If that were the case, all demon lords would do the same and just keep on killing,' she thought to herself, considering the implications of such strategy.
'But where is he getting this confidence from ? Or does he has more lose screw than I assumed?, '
"Okay," George nodded and accepted. He had no say in this matter and could only wait .
Lilith almost laugh up after hearing George's response.
She assumed he was ignorant of how difficult it really was to reach Demon King status—it could take years, perhaps even a decade.
"Good. While I'm gone, I want you to work for Lilith and gather more information about the Demon Territory. Also..." He paused for a moment. "And don't tell Cyril about me, and don't mention that I'm the one who saved her," he added.
George and Melissa exchanged surprised glances, unsure of how to respond to his request, so they just nodded.
After he finished giving his instructions, he turned to Lilith and ordered her to take care of them.
He was already treating her more like a servant than a partner, but she could only endure.
"Are you leaving without waiting for Cyril to wake up?" Mellissa asked, overhearing Reign discussing plans with Lilith.
"Of course. Why should I wait for her?" Reign replied, his tone dismissive and indifferent, as if Cyril's well- being was no importance to him.
It was a complete reversal of the attitude he had before he became aware of his feelings. Now, he was doing his utmost to ignore them.
This line of thought wasn't merely because he disliked having a relationship with her; it stemmed from a fear that entertaining such emotions would make him soft, illogical, and dumb in the long term.
Recalling how he had almost jeopardized himself to save a single human woman reminded him of the idiocy of it all.
He had become vulnerable because of her, and he despised this feeling; he wanted it gone.
"But you like—" Mellissa blurted out, but before she could finish her words, she felt his killing intent.
She gasped for breath after realizing that she just made a huge blunder.
"I think you people are misunderstanding something. I'm a monster, and I've never liked or considered anyone as my friend or ally. You're just my tools for convenience, so just do what I ask you to, and stop meddling in my business or I'll kill you all myself," he warned, his dominating and brutal aura exerting a pressure that also weighed heavily on George and Lilith.
'What is this killing intent? He's not joking at all,' Lilith thought, puzzled by how quickly his demeanor had changed like a light switch.
'He's even more mentally broken than I thought ,' she concluded quietly to herself.