I came out from the portal and landed on my back. I was now lying on the ground in a small room while the boss’ portal was still open. Shortly after, the boss also came out from the portal before he closed it.

“Wh-where are we?” I struggled to get up.

“I don’t know but I think we are safe for now.”

“Boss, you don’t know?”

“You are calling me boss now? Looks like you’re already aware of yourself despite still being in your demon form.”

“What?” I raised my hands in front of me.

I looked at my palm and my skin color was grayish while my nails were long, black, and sharp. I am indeed in my demon form now, but why am I being able to think clearly now? But aside from that, something seemed strange.

I commanded to raise both of my hands but why was I not able I see my right? I looked at my right shoulder just to see that it was cleanly cut. My vision suddenly got blurry and my head became dizzy. The pain that I somehow forgot for a few seconds came back rushing in.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” I shouted.

I did not know how loud my voice was or how my throat was able to remain intact. I just knew that I had to scream or else I might not be able to keep a sane mind. I held the part where my limb was cut off to mitigate the pain but it was not effective. In fact, the stinging got even worse.

“Shut up!” The boss kicked me in the face. “We’re still on their base, they’ll find us you’re that loud.”

My back made contact with the ground once again. My shouting was suppressed thanks to the boss yet the pain did not actually leave. I tried to keep a steady mind while I tried to gasp for air.

The boss pointed his palm at the wall then summoned a portal. He stuck his left hand inside the portal. As his arm came out, he was holding weirdly shaped chunk of ice. He used his claws to cut it to smaller pieces.

He came nearer to me as he held the pieces of ice. I was expecting him to use it against my severed arm but his next actions caught me off guard.

“Take this.” He shoved the ice pieces in my mouth.

It was cold and hard. The pieces were still not small enough for me to swallow so I still had to chew it. The longer it stayed in my mouth, the more numb my tongue became. But when the ice started to melt, my whole body was filled with disgust.

It was bitter and slimy. I wanted to spit it out but I also knew that I should not. Its scent also reached my nose. It smelled like that of raw innards. I did not know what it really was but I just wanted to believe that it was a medicine of sorts. As the sensation in my mouth became nastier, I chewed faster then swallowed despite the pieces still being not small enough.

After my mouth was already empty, I felt a sudden headache. A bunch of events and faces of people that I never saw before came surging in on my mind. It was overwhelming that I almost lost consciousness. It was only thanks to the sheer amount of pain that I was feeling that I was able to stay awake.

I just saw the memories and hardships of a man who was born in a well off family. One day, his family started to break apart. His mom got addicted to illegal substances while his father had another family in secret. He left home as a result and lived off with his own money that he worked hard for.

When he was already financially stable enough, he decided to go back home. Not because he wanted to see his parents, but because he has a little brother he wanted to take care of. Yet it was too late.

No one was home. What came to greet him was the smell of rotting flesh. Three corpses were lying down on the ground, each with plenty of stab wounds. One of them was holding a knife stained with blood, it was his mother.

Regrets filled his mind, if only he was able to take his little brother away sooner. He was able to live a stable and peaceful life, yet he was alone, alone with all his regrets. Yet it all changed when he acquired the power of a demon.

He finally had a man to look up to, and a new purpose to live for. He did all he can do for the newfound cause. Yet deep inside, he only fought to forget. He tried to wash away his sins. He wanted to turn his back away from his regrets.

He previously only thought about himself alone. He ran to save himself and work for himself alone. Therefore he decided to devote his whole self for his chosen king.

“Cray!” The boss called out as he slapped me in the face.

“B-boss? I-is this?” I struggled to talk while my mind was still unstable.

“That’s Shax’s heart.” The boss reverted to his human form then sat on a nearby chair.

“H-how did you-“

“I told you already, I was awake when you went in a rampage in the bar.”

“H-huh?”

“I remembered you saying that you cannot get any power from eating a lesser demon’s heart.”

“Just from that?”

“Yeah, and it looks like it worked.” The boss smiled.

“Huh?”

I looked at my arm and it was back! Although my jacket remained ripped, my arm grew back to exactly how it was. I tried to move it as well as my fingers and all worked totally fine.

Even the wounds that I got from the boss last night was gone. The disappearance of my arm as well as the unexplainable suffering I just felt seemed like a dream. Although I was physically restored, I felt very mentally drained.

“A directional king demon is really in a whole other level,” the boss smirked.

“I don’t think I deserve that phrase just after losing an arm,” I said with a weak smile.

“Your arm’s back so it doesn’t really matter.”

“But how did you get Shax’s heart in the first place?” I asked after I reverted to my human form then checked my restored arm once again.

“The portal that I can produce can store objects. Objects within those portals have their time stopped until it is taken out,” The boss explained.

“Wait, so you opened a portal below Shax’s shattered frozen body that night to get the heart?” I asked in surprise.

“As always, you catch on quick.”

“Is there something that you actually don’t know about me?” I jokingly asked.

“I do have two things I am not sure about which are the reasons why I did not give you Shax’s heart until now.

“That is?”

“First, I am not sure what kind of strain you body might receive if you get another power.”

“And the other?”

“I am not sure whether you will still be working under me after getting even stronger.”

“Did we not get past that already? I thought you already trust me?” I carefully stood up as my knees felt like it was about to fold any second.

“Didn’t you just admit that you also doubt me regarding going to this place?”

“I did, but can you blame me? You are basically a bundle of lies that grew a body upon!” I teased.

“But that proves the same to you.” The boss chuckled.

“I guess two liars can’t fully trust one another, huh?” I laughed. “So, what’s the plan? Can’t you use your portal to get us out of this place?”

“I tried to but something is interfering.”

“How were we able to get here then?”

“I just visualized a random place that I can access and then opened a portal here.”

“So the interference might be enveloping the whole building itself?”

“That is a possibility.”

“How about the phone? Have you tried contacting the others?

“I already did while you were spaced out. It’s no good.”

“It must have been that demon girl, right? I think she is responsible for the barrier.”

“She was doing nothing during the battle. It must have been her.”

“So if we can kill her or at least disrupt her to have the barrier disappear even for a moment-“

“Then I can use my portal to escape. The problem is how we’ll be able to do it. That barrier is tough.”

“If you can cover me then I might be able to smash it out.”

“Using raw power? Not a bad idea. But what if it doesn’t work?”

“Then let us think about it when that happens. We need to get out of here soon or they might find us.”

“I doubt they’ll pursue us. Maintaining a barrier to surround the hotel must require a huge amount of concentration. If that is true, they won’t leave the girl alone.”

“I see.”

“But at the same time, this is their home base. If we don’t get out quickly, the others that are battling Sir Ron right now might come back.

“If that happens, then we are dead.”

I took a deep breath. Our situation right was no joke. We were not just out numbered; their fighting methods also worked to their strengths. It was an amazing teamwork. There is no way that the boss and I can coordinate together that well due to my state.

“Are you still worried about going out of control?” The boss asked.

“Yeah, not being able to think clearly when I transform has its perks but it did not work earlier.”

“I think you are not exactly out of control or in a rampage.”

“Huh?”

“When you lost an arm, you started calling me boss again. That means you had a clear mind.”

“Now that you said it, I think I did.”

The boss stood up then walked closer to me. He put his hand on my shoulder then looked at me straight in the eye.

“I think that the surge of power intoxicates your mind to become overconfident. That overconfidence turns into malice and violence. But when you lost your arm, that overconfidence disappeared.”

“Overconfidence, huh.”

“You might not get drunk on alcohol, but you clearly got drunk due to too much power. You possess Ziminar, a directional demon so that is understandable. But you should take into mind that no matter how strong you are, it only takes one mistake to kill you. Everyone is one thread away from death.”

“Only one mistake…”

“You are strong but you are not invincible.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

Did I really think that I was invincible this whole time? Was I really that immature? I kind of want to deny it but it somehow seems true at the same time. I took a deep breath and tried to engrave what the boss said. Only one mistake and I am dead. Everyone is one thread away from death.

“Shall we begin our counter attack then, boss?” I pumped my arm.

“That was quick switching gears.” The boss smirked. “I promise I’ll treat you to some quality booze when we get back.”

“Alright! Let’s do it quickly then so I can get that reward!”

The boss just smiled as he shook his head. I was not sure if it was because he was amused or he only thought that I was already a hopeless case.