Chapter 76 Chapter 76 "The Devil's... Nesting Period."...
The several hours Lin Miao spent in the illusion were only half a quarter of an hour in reality.
The human girl who had called him "Lord Reis" with a sly smile half a quarter of an hour ago, looked at him with such complicated eyes and a slightly hoarse tone half a quarter of an hour later, as if she was talking to a junior whom she had met after a long separation - even a "child". Reis should have felt disconnected and absurd.
However, perhaps it was because every second since her sudden disappearance had made him anxious and restless; perhaps it was because she had put on that half white and purple mask, and her entire aura had become awe-inspiring and mysterious, and the right side of her face that was exposed had a lonely expression;
In short, a blank appeared in his mind.
The burning sensation brought by the purification curse, like gnawing at the bones and knocking at the marrow, seemed to dissipate in an instant, leaving behind a strange feeling of emptiness.
The ruins of broken walls in the sea of souls began to shake violently, and the shackles that sealed memories deep inside trembled. The waves crashed, and the sharp pain seemed to crack the skull, which was several times worse than the previous curse and erosion.
Countless complicated thoughts flooded into my brain, entangled together, taking turns to gain the upper hand, but it was difficult to think deeply.
Cerberus... was the name given to the three-headed dog when it was born, symbolizing the most powerful manipulator of Hellfire.
Who can give it to me? Who can give it to me?
“…”
Growing up. What does it mean to grow up?
Does it mean adulthood?
The devil reaches adulthood at the age of two hundred.
Only when it reaches adulthood at the age of two hundred can the three-headed dog transform into its final form of both its original form and human form, fully develop its talents, and have absolute control over its own body.
During the war between Hell and Heaven a hundred years ago, the three-headed dog seemed to have not yet reached adulthood.
His Hellfire is not perfect, the lines on his face are still immature, and he still hides in the dark and secretly peeks at his master.
He can't even quite control his ears or tail when he gets emotional.
Now, of course, he is an adult.
In his castle by the River Styx.
In the lonely, silent and deserted castle, the three-headed dog went through the first and only transformation period in its life.
Reese didn't really remember that period very clearly, but he survived a near-death experience, and the heart-wrenching pain reminded him that he was still alive.
Nothing to complain about.
The only thing he remembered clearly was that both of his brothers were in a state of awakening during the transformation period.
It's ridiculous that people usually fight for the body to the death, but when it comes to the critical moment of adulthood, no one is willing to occupy the body.
The silver chains imprisoned most of the magic power, restricted the stimulation of talent, and the dog's body was about to explode.
The castle was empty, and it hit the annual weak period of the Styx barrier, and the water was whistling and surging, with a loud wind.
The dog could not smell a trace of peace of mind.
“…”
In the narrow and long phoenix eyes, gold, red and black were mottled and flashed alternately; the muscles on the cheeks twitched strangely, the three-headed dog's teeth were clenched, and a thin layer of sweat fell from the forehead, spread over the eyelids, and lingered on the red cheeks, refusing to fall.
"If you can't remember, don't think about it." A soft, cool palm supported his taut jawline, and the girl's caring eyes appeared in his blurry vision.
"It's fine as it is now, forgetting everything in the past and continuing to be my loyal Devil-sama.
After the Demon King's last wisp of consciousness merged into her body and he donned the half mask, a flood of images flooded into her mind. In just ten seconds, Lin Miao personally experienced everything the figure in the painting had gone through.
The ups and downs, thoughts and ideas, right and wrong, pain and expectation.
She experienced the rise and fall of his relationship with his demon subordinates, his acquaintance with the archangel, the scenes she participated in in the trial mirror, and much more.
Lin Miao regained his memories of his previous life as a demon king——
To be precise, half of the memory.
Everything that had happened since His birth came to an abrupt end after He incorporated Beelzebub's forces.
The mask symbolizes his identity and authority. The left half of the mask carries the first half of his life, and the remaining second half of his memory is probably in the right half of the mask.
If you get it, maybe you can uncover all the truth.
Lin Miao tried hard to control the changed cognition and surging emotions after recovering half of his memory, reminding himself that he had not yet fully regained his memory and power, and he had to continue thinking from the perspective of a human being, Lin Miao.
However, when she raised her eyes and saw the familiar face that had become more and more gorgeous, the memories of the past and the impressions of the present intertwined and overlapped, and the long-lost memories finally prevailed.
Lin Miao called out his original name, and couldn't help but use the tone of the devil to say what he wanted to say to him most in their "reunion" after a hundred years.
To see him grow up,
He was truly... happy.
With this half of his memory, Lin Miao knew quite well how strong the memory seal was that even the "Turning Point" could not break. Seeing the pain on Reese's face, he knew that the lock in his soul sea had been stimulated and became unstable, so he hurried to stop it.
Unfortunately, this human body is too weak to transform and use the magic power of others.
Lin Miao moved his hand away and looked at the pink-eyed demon who was stunned and obviously at a loss for what to do, and quickly recited a series of complicated spells.
"Do you remember it?"
"... Remember, remember." Martha shuddered and answered subconsciously.
"Okay, you perform the spell." Lin Miao stepped aside and said, "Aim at the center of his eyebrows."
Martha did as she was told. Only after she finished the spell and the pink magic entered the three-headed dog's soul sea to start repairing it did she realize belatedly:
How could Lin Miao, a human, know the ancient spell to stabilize the soul sea that even she had never heard of?!
She didn't have the chance to ask her doubts because Lin Miao soon realized something was wrong.
——The three-headed dog is sweating too much.
The black and red hair was stuck to the full forehead by the sweat that kept oozing out, sticking tightly and wetly;
Sweat rolled down the cheeks, gathered into clear beads at the tip of the nose, slid from the red cheekbones to the corners of the lips, and flowed down the neck in large quantities, pausing at the protruding Adam's apple, and then gathered into a pool in the clavicle, reflecting fine light.
It was as if he had been caught in a heavy rain, with his cheeks wet, which made his eyes and eyebrows look even more radiant.
...something's wrong.
Twelve out of ten things are wrong.
The spell she cast on Martha had no side effects at all. Even the pain caused by repairing the soul sea would never cause such a reaction in the three-headed dog.
"Ker... Reese?" Lin Miao gestured for Martha to stop the spell, frowning anxiously, "How do you feel?"
"I...I..." A rapid, suppressed gasp escaped the demon's throat. He strained his eyes to see the expression on the human girl's face. "I'm fine...I'm fine."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to be unable to support the weight of his body any longer. With a "thump", his left knee made close contact with the ground.
It hurts just to hear it.
“…”
Schrodinger's is fine.
Lin Miao held onto the demon's shoulders and was about to take out the voice transmission mirror to ask Cecia when Martha, who had been watching the whole process, hesitated and said, "Miss Miaomiao, judging by the three-headed dog's behavior, it might be a bit like... like... like..."
"Like what?" Seeing that she was hesitant and couldn't figure out what it was, Lin Miao interrupted helplessly.
"…nesting period."
“…”
What period???
Lin Miao raised one eyebrow. "Doesn't the nesting period of high-level demons only occur once when they reach adulthood, and then every hundred years thereafter?"
It is far less than a hundred years since the three-headed dog reached adulthood.
"Well, that's what I said..." Martha smiled awkwardly, "But if the demon's nesting period when it grows up is forcibly suppressed... it's very likely to suddenly erupt at some point in the future..."
The so-called "nesting period" is a special period unique to high-level demon races. It usually occurs during the metamorphosis stage of adulthood and assists in the evolution of the body and talents.
During the nesting period, the devil will fall into a dangerous state of being controlled by instinctive desires, showing various manifestations of "estrus", with drastic mood swings, and greatly increased desire to attack, protect, possess, etc.
Demons with partners will show strong dependence on their partners, being highly exclusive and clingy, and needing the other person's contact and companionship; demons without partners will project this need onto those with whom they have a close relationship or want to be close, such as the "master".
The Demon King was conceived from magma. He wasn't a high-level demon, and he never went through a nesting period. He knew this because he had accompanied Cecia through her adult nesting period during the conquest of Hell.
But the three-headed dog that reached maturity in the Hades world decades ago was now all alone because its master had disappeared and it had lost contact with Hell.
...If you let the nesting period come, if you fail to survive, the only outcome will be death.
"Nesting period..." The demon, who was already unconscious and only relied on Lin Miao to support him to avoid falling to the ground, still heard the key words. He grabbed the hem of Lin Miao's dress and shook his head in confusion, "Don't... don't leave me."
"You, you can't find a better...better dog than me! I'm...the best dog!"
"I will be...obedient...and be obedient during the nesting period."
"...Yes, very well."
...Have I actually returned to the mindset of a child?
The puppy, who is in a mess but is only trying to promote himself, even has a hint of tsundereness that seems endearing.
Lin Miao was speechless. The images of the young three-headed dog in her memory were forcefully brought back to her mind, along with many other things that she had not had time to digest, disturbing her mind.
She felt a little bitter in her heart and brushed away his sweaty hair: "I know. I won't abandon you."
"Martha, I'll take the three-headed dog and leave first." Lin Miao turned to the demon woman and said, "The king's life must be saved. I'll leave the aftermath to you."
"...Okay." Martha inexplicably felt that the human girl's way of giving orders was somewhat similar to that of Lady Cecia. Although she said "request" and "please" very politely, the meaning of her words was unquestionable.
She studied secretly for a long time, but could not grasp the essence of it; but the human lady showed her elegance with just a few words.
Is this why Lady Cecia likes her?
While Martha was still daydreaming, Lin Miao had already opened the panel in his mind.
Unlike in the past when he secretly prayed to be teleported to a suitable location, this time Lin Miao activated the "random" skill of "Apparition" and silently recited a very clear target location in his mind.
——The Underworld, the Three-Headed Dog Castle.
*
Returning to the three-headed dog's castle again, Lin Miao felt as if he was in another world.
Many of the unsolved mysteries have now been answered, for example, the trial illusion on the top floor is actually a life-and-death trap set by the devil for himself.
For example, why did the castle's interior layout perfectly suit her aesthetic taste? Why did a three-headed dog, which absorbed demonic energy, still have a fully equipped kitchen? Why did the pure gold throne have such an inexplicable attraction to her?
Because this castle was originally built for Him and is His residence in the Underworld.
Later, probably under His order, the three-headed dog went to guard the Styx and settled there.
Lin Miao sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the confused demon who was just holding on to the hem of her skirt.
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