The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 834: Unconventional Methods

“Boom—!”

In the garden, the intense crashing sounds lingered, a testament to the fierce battle between Shien and Diere.

That being said, Shien was still holding back, leaving some leeway, and not truly fighting with all his might.

It wasn’t the first time he and Diere had engaged in such a fierce battle in the garden.

The reason stemmed from when Shien completed the task Diere had entrusted to him and reported back to her.

To prepare for the upcoming battle, and to defeat the person she had always wanted to overcome, Diere had unusually sought out Shien, hoping he would train with her.

Because it was a battle she absolutely had to fight with all her might, possibly even risking her life, Diere wanted to undergo rigorous training before the decisive day arrived.

In other words, Diere needed an opponent who could easily handle her full strength, help her correct the details in her combat, and achieve the purpose of fully training herself.

There were quite a few such opponents in the Buztout household.

Shien was one.

Yulin was one.

Lilith was one.

Shafney was also one.

But Yulin was recently extremely enthusiastic about guarding the gate, and even her spare time was allocated by Shien with various bizarre reasons to study family management with Riley. She couldn’t spare any time to accompany Diere. Lilith was naive and innocent, her actions lacking restraint, and it was uncertain if she could understand the meaning of “training.” Shafney was a legendary figure, rarely seen. Naturally, Diere wouldn’t seek them out.

Therefore, Shien naturally and logically became Diere’s sparring partner during this period, battling with her every day to hone her abilities.

Shafney had long known about this matter, but hadn’t paid much attention to it until today, when she suddenly felt a whim to come and see, thus witnessing Diere, and also the “Ghost” within her.

Under Shafney’s gaze, the battle between Shien and Diere entered its final stage.

“Swish!”

Shien used Instant Movement to evade an incoming claw strike, appearing like a phantom behind Diere.

“…!”

Diere reacted with extreme sensitivity.

Unfortunately, her speed was still no match for Shien.

“Checkmate.”

Shien’s hand landed on Diere’s back, magic power surging.

“Boom—!”

Amidst the explosive sound, a burst of magic power erupted, sending Diere’s petite figure flying. She tumbled somewhat awkwardly away from Shien. When she landed from mid-air, she couldn’t help but kneel on one knee.

“Ha… ha…”

Perhaps because she had exhausted her stamina, Diere gasped rapidly, her face covered in sweat. Even the single horn on her forehead flickered a few times before gradually disappearing.

“Alright, let’s stop here.” Seeing Diere like this, Shien immediately called a halt. “The amplification your ‘horn’ provides to your strength is obvious, but the burden on your body is equally apparent. If possible, it’s best not to use it too many times in a short period.”

Shien commented.

Diere didn’t refute.

This was indeed one of the weaknesses of [Demonification], it placed a certain degree of burden on the body.

“After all, it directly converts magic power from the atmosphere into strength for you. Your body hasn’t reached that realm yet, but you possess power far exceeding your normal state, so naturally, your body will bear some load, resulting in consequences like rapid stamina depletion, decreased endurance, and even injury.”

Therefore, even though Diere had regrown her horn and could control her Unique Skill, the side effects it brought couldn’t be underestimated.

And also…

“I’ve been meaning to ask for a few days now, isn’t your ‘horn’ much slower at converting power than before?”

Shien asked this question with suspicion.

Thinking back to when Diere activated her [Demonification] ability in the Atlus Gorge, transforming into a demonic form, she had instantly absorbed an extremely large amount of magic power, causing her strength to surge to Legendary Level, even approaching Limit Level.

But these past few days, while sparring with Diere, Shien noticed that her “horn’s” absorption of power was much slower than before.

For example, it might have only taken Diere a few seconds to reach Legendary Level using [Demonification] before.

But now, even though Diere’s level was higher than back then, it took her longer to reach Legendary Level from her current level.

“About a minute?”

Shien made his judgment.

“After activating [Demonification], it takes you about a minute to absorb enough power to reach Legendary Level, let alone Limit Level. You probably wouldn’t be able to do it in less than five minutes.”

In the eyes of many experts, such a speed was a glaring weakness.

“I know.” Diere nodded, indicating that she was aware of it, and replied, “But there’s no helping it. My ‘horn’ has only recently regrown; it’s still a young horn. Its absorption and conversion of magic power are much slower than in its prime. That’s normal.”

Clearly, Diere was aware of her own situation.

“Is that alright?”

Shien expressed his concern.

The reasoning was sound, but it couldn’t be the basis for facing Aldia.

“With such a slow conversion speed, if the Knight Commander is determined, he might be able to defeat you in an instant. Do you still want to challenge him?”

Shien asked.

Diere nodded without hesitation.

“I still want to challenge him.”

Diere didn’t have a shred of hesitation.

“You…” Shien wanted to say something more but gave up, shaking his head. “Since you’ve said so, I can only support you.”

“Then let’s continue.” Diere immediately said.

“Let’s take a break.” Shien naturally wouldn’t indulge this girl’s madness.

Look at how she’s panting; doesn’t she know her own limits?

This competitive spirit, who knows where she learned it from. It’s enough that she’s relentless in bed, but she’s also relentless off it. Really…

Just as Shien was thinking about scolding Diere, Shafney finally spoke.

“I see, so you want to challenge Aldia Elvenbein?”

Shafney walked over gracefully, looking at Diere’s panting figure, her eyes showing an interest that wasn’t there before.

“…I’ve made you laugh, Your Highness.”

Diere was silent for a moment, catching her breath, then bowed to Shafney with few words.

“What are you trying to do?”

Shien raised an eyebrow, looking at Shafney vigilantly.

“Don’t always look at me with that expression. People who don’t know me might think I’m someone who causes trouble.”

Shafney couldn’t help but lightly hit Shien.

Shien curled his lip, even wanting to say, “Aren’t you?”

But seeing the threat in Shafney’s eyes, he very wisely chose to shut up.

Shafney snorted softly and turned her head to look at Diere again.

“This kind of training might be helpful for your overall strength progression, but if your goal is to better control and utilize the ‘Ghost’ within you, this method is insufficient.”

Hearing this, not only Diere but even Shien couldn’t help but be slightly startled.

“What?” Shien looked at Shafney in surprise. “From what you’re saying, it seems like you have a way to help Diere better utilize the power of the ‘Ghost’ within her?”

To Shien’s question, Shafney neither nodded nor shook her head.

The reason was simple.

“If I wanted to, I could do it, but compared to me, Millu is the expert in this area.”

Shafney gave this explanation.

“Millu?”

Shien was slightly taken aback.

“…Ghost Demon Millu Pesh?”

Diere murmured.

“That’s right.” Shafney looked at Diere with interest, then said, “I just realized that this lovely young lady’s power seems to be of the same nature as Millu’s.”

Diere’s Unique Skill was an ability that, through her “horn,” absorbed magic power from the atmosphere, converting it into strength, theoretically able to infinitely amplify the user’s power.

But this was only the operating mechanism of Diere’s Unique Skill.

In reality, there was a reason why Diere’s Unique Skill was called [Demonification].

“Simply put, her Unique Skill is actually a kind of transformation of herself.”

Shafney explained.

“After that ‘horn’ appeared, this lovely young lady’s constitution changed. She is no longer a pure human, but rather, with the influx of external magic power, the negative power deep within her heart is stimulated, thereby achieving the purpose of enhancement.”

In other words, when using this Unique Skill, Diere was no longer human but a ghost transformed by stimulated negative power.

“The nature of this power is quite similar to Millu’s [Ghost Seed].”

Shafney’s words were suggestive.

“Millu’s [Ghost Seed] also assimilates both her own and external negative power, thereby transforming herself, changing her constitution, and then transforming into an existence called a ‘Ghost,’ wielding negative power different from that of mortal life, that is, the power of a ghost.”

These abilities stood in opposition to the power that mortal life could possess, and were thus not only strange but also evil, even unacceptable to the mortal world.

As an existence of a “Ghost,” opposing “human,” it was understandable that the power of such an existence wouldn’t be accepted by people.

But it couldn’t be denied that these abilities were powerful.

Millu’s ability was known as the most versatile Unique Skill, capable of achieving many things. Not only could she pass through walls, become invisible, curse, possess, fly, etc., but she could also deploy a ghost domain, create a ghost city, and transform mortal beings into an army of ghouls, making her extremely evil and eerie.

Compared to Millu, Diere’s [Demonification] didn’t have such a wide range of applications, but in essence, it was the same type of ability as Millu’s.

In other words…

“If Millu helps, the ‘Ghost’ within her will definitely become much more manageable, thereby lessening the burden on her body, and that ‘horn’ can also grow rapidly.”

“If all goes well, she might even learn the true fighting style of a ‘Ghost’ from Millu.”

“As for me, although I can use [Ripple Heart Demon] to connect with Millu and obtain her fighting style, teaching her how to fight with the ‘Ghost’ within her, [Ripple Heart Demon] cannot connect to other people’s Unique Skills, so Millu is still more suitable to teach her.”

Shafney’s words caused Diere to lower her head, lost in thought.

“Have Millu teach her?”

Shien was conflicted.

The reason was simple.

“Are you sure Millu can teach someone?”

Shien seriously doubted this.

He hadn’t forgotten how naive and innocent that girl was, how lacking in restraint she was, practically another Lilith, even less sensible and thoughtful than Lilith.

Have the girl who dared to imitate him and blow up a Demonized Being with a single finger teach Diere?

With all due respect, Shien could only see a future where Diere was accidentally killed.

On the other hand, Shafney didn’t seem worried about this.

“With Lid watching over her, there shouldn’t be any accidents.”

Shafney said this with a smile, making Shien want to roll his eyes at her.

Shouldn’t be any accidents?

How could that sound reassuring?

Shien once again seriously doubted the feasibility of this matter.

Of course…

“That girl is too playful. Whether she’s willing to teach is still unknown.” Shafney shrugged. “If you personally ask her, she might agree, but she’s also very likely to lose patience quickly.”

In other words, while Shien worried that Millu couldn’t complete such a task, Millu might not even agree to accept it.

“Uh…”

Shien was speechless.

At this moment, Diere suddenly spoke.

“If Her Highness the Ghost Demon can truly make me stronger, then I’m willing to try.”

Diere made this decision without any warning.

“Diere!”

Shien called out to her.

But Diere’s face was calm.

“I’ve always known that I would never be able to defeat that person using conventional methods.” Diere said indifferently, “And since conventional methods won’t work, I can only use unconventional ones.”

This girl was as decisive as ever.

Shien wanted to say that this was a very dangerous thing.

But he also knew that if it was merely dangerous, this girl wouldn’t mind taking the risk.

Diere Elvenbein, this person wasn’t averse to risks and was even somewhat impetuous.

Even for Shien, it was difficult to dissuade her.

“Don’t worry.” Diere naturally knew what Shien was concerned about, and said concisely, “I have the blessing of Goddess Lildas, the protection of fate. I won’t die so easily.”

Before Shien could react to this statement, Shafney was the first to be stunned.

“What did you say?” Shafney asked Diere in surprise, “You said you’re Lildas’s blessed one?”

Diere lifted her eyes, looked at the breathtakingly beautiful demon, and slowly nodded.

Seeing this, Shafney’s eyes finally lit up with intense interest.