Adil had been in the Demon World for as long as he could remember.
Born on the banks of the River of Oblivion, he rose amid the slaughter and succeeded in becoming one of the First Trial's few survivors.
Receiving the reward of the Demon World, he awakened the Gale Devil bloodline, granting him superb agility, high speed, and the ability to control the wind.
Although such a bloodline was not very strong and was, in fact, quite mediocre, it at least didn't have any particular weaknesses.
Based on this bloodline and his courage, he quickly feasted on the many Devils living in the wilderness upon his teleportation to the Crucible, and after his strength had grown high enough, he moved to the City of Embers.
Recalling these memories, which always haunted his mind, Adil wandered mindlessly through the city's streets.
In his right hand, a soul that he had just collected floated, while his mouth dripped with fresh blood.
"I didn't expect that I'd have a meal this early in the day.", Adil muttered in a low voice, his voice casual yet filled with murderous intent.
Before he could savor that satisfaction, though, his body froze.
In his senses, a massive, unbridled demonic energy was rushing toward the city at rapid speed as if it wished to destroy it.
He didn't panic, instead feeling weird.
"Who is so daring to target the City of Embers? Don't they know that the City Lord is ranked seventy-sixth on the Crucible Ranking?", he wondered, and lifted his head to stare at the sky.
There, at some unknown point, the owner of the surging aura had appeared.
It was a winged Devil with a human, androgynous body and two necks extending from its shoulders, each leading to a separate head.
One of the heads was that of an ugly male, while the other one was of a beautiful female.
The moment Adil's gaze landed on this creature, his eyes stung.
Blood began flowing out of them and dripped to the ground as if he had seen something terrifying.
He instinctively wanted to close them, but before he could, the female head on the winged Devil's shoulders opened its mouth.
A shriek that tore through heaven and earth spread, echoing in Adil's ears and penetrating through his body, reaching directly into his soul.
"No! No! No—", he screamed, but he didn't have time to finish his words. The next moment, his head exploded like a watermelon, splashing blood all over the place.
Adil was not the only one affected by the Two-Headed Devil's large-scale attack.
Everywhere in the city, whether it was the alleys, streets, or shops, the heads of the weaker Devils swelled before exploding.
The remaining Devils, witnesses of this strange event, stared at their now-dead companions in horror.
"A ranked Devil! This creature must be on the Crucible Ranking!", a Devil suddenly shouted, and their words immediately alarmed those around them.
A ranked Devil—these words were enough to strike fear in the hearts of any Devil in the Crucible.
Each ranked Devil possessed immense power and extraordinary means, and most importantly, they were filled with bloodlust and hunger.
Staring at the Two-Headed Devil who had obviously come to the City of Embers with malicious intentions, the Devils despaired.
The smartest among them turned their heads toward the towering structure at the city's center, hoping for that person to step forward and save them.
Sure enough, moments later, what had been waiting for happened. From the massive tower, a shadowy figure flew out and shot toward the winged Devil.
As a result of its flying momentum, the two figures collided and were knocked back, disappearing into the distance.
However, the collision of the two overwhelming auras could still be sensed, telling them that the fight was far from over.
Instantly, a brief silence spread throughout the city, followed by loud shouts, roars, and growls.
The Devils, who were originally filled with despair, pounced on their companions, first targeting those who had been injured and then the weaker ones.
They all understood that the fight between the two ranked Devils wouldn't end there. It was impossible for them to simply hope that the City Lord would emerge victorious.
Rather than hoping for someone else to save them, they would rather escape, or even more so, take the opportunity to become stronger.
--
Sitting on the mansion's roof with her legs dangling off its edge, Liora, being in the city, had also become a silent witness to everything that occurred.
From the arrival of the Two-Headed Devil to the deaths of many Devils, and the ensuing chaos—none of it escaped her senses.
"It's finally here.", she whispered, not knowing whether she should feel excited or nervous.
Shaking her head, she stopped thinking about such inexplicable things.
With a move of her mind, a javelin materialized in her palm, which she grasped casually.
She didn't adjust her posture, still seated, she lightly threw it forward as if she were throwing a dart.
"Aaagh!"
A painful cry reached her ears, and the figure of a Devil, who had been trying to sneak up on her, revealed itself before her.
She didn't move. The javelin had already pierced through their head, instantly killing them.
"It seems that no one can stay out of this...", Liora muttered as she collected the soul and jumped off the roof with an elegant leap.
Blending into the shadows, she traveled through the darkness and navigated through the surrounding streets.
Painful cries accompanied her figure wherever she went, as bodies of Devils dropped dead to the ground, killed in a single strike.
With Shadow Assimilation, Soul Tear, and Dusk Armament, Liora's attacks were ruthless and precise, never failing to kill their target.
She didn't know how many Devils she had killed, having long lost count.
She only stopped when she noticed that the population of Devils near the mansion had dropped to a freezing point, and that she was the only person still alive.
However, this didn't mean that the fight was over. Far from it.
Walking through the now-empty streets, Liora followed her intuition and the obvious, searching for her next target.
At the same time, she took advantage of this little free time to analyze the situation.
"Just like me, the other powerful Devils must also have begun collecting souls. Even if some have chosen not to stay and escaped like Scurry, those remaining should be more than enough to control the city."
"With the Devil Contract forbidding us from attacking each other, everyone is currently in a race against the rest to see who can eliminate the most Devils."
The number of Devils in the City of Embers was finite, and now, without the invisible suppression of the City Lord, the powerful among them were bound to have a feast.
Liora knew that in such a situation, she could only follow the current, becoming a hunter and waiting for the right opportunity to arise.
Only then would she have a chance to become one of the few final victors.