Mind Demon's Path of Domination

"Do you think Alchemic Shapeshifting is truly that powerful?" Mark asked dubiously as he looked at a cracked diamond in his hands. "It is such a cheat if I can truly use it well."

Yuri nodded. She seemed deep in thought as they walked the silent plains of the Exchange.

But then, Mark realized another fact. A normal person couldn’t repeatedly use Alchemic Shapeshifting because it was extremely draining. The more complex the thing he wanted to change something into, the more Mindpower it required.

He required enough Mindpower to drain a normal Middle Demon ten times over to turn a demon into a human. Considering that it was a process that should be completed in a single burst, normal Middle Demons just wouldn’t be able to do it.

Mark was special—he had a World Space, and along with that came a nearly inexhaustible amount of Mindpower.

He had a small pond of Black Water stored in a remote part of his World Space and whenever his Mindpower neared exhaustion, the Black Water would evaporate and become his supplement. He would recover incredibly quickly.

If he didn’t have that incredible amount of Mindpower, his Alchemic Shapeshifting wouldn’t be this reliable. For a normal Middle Demon, it would be the same as using their Ultimate Demonic Art. They would immediately exhaust themselves after one or two meaningful uses of the Trick.

Shiden—the previous Hunter from whom Mark stole Alchemic Shapeshifting—was the same. He would be exhausted after just one use and he needed the healer in his party to heal him in order to use the Trick again. Only in Mark’s hand did this Trick truly shine.

Reol’ran’s voice echoed inside his mind, "I had been muddle-headed. That means you absolutely can’t reveal Alchemic Shapeshifting in front of other demons, too. If they see and understand its potential, it would lead to ugly consequences."

Mark nodded to himself. Alchemic Shapeshifting was extremely overpowered and could truly cause the collapse of commerce anywhere it was used, but if anyone strong knew he had such a ridiculous ability in hand, it could cause his ruin.

"As long as any of your enemies see you use Alchemic Shapeshifting, kill them no matter what. This is the biggest key to your rise that I can see, don’t even tell your allies about it. The ones who already know, fine, they are all trustworthy. The others? Kill at the moment they see it."

Mark nodded, even more serious.

"I’ll be honest Mark. Until this very moment, I had no hope in you surviving the FIrst Suffering."

Mark’s eyes widened slightly.

"You can’t blame me. The Sufferings of Misfortune are the tribulation of Tier 5 Beings and you are just a Tier 2 Being. In a year, you will become a Tier 3 at the most extreme scenario—which alone is unlikely. Do you think a Tier 3 can survive something that TIer 5s die against?"

"You thought I had no chance?"

"Yes. Your survival chance was 0%. I was... sure you would die in the First Suffering. But I still wanted to gamble and try my best to save the life of my destined partner. I didn’t want you... to die. That’s why I chose to tell you my True Name all those days ago. I want to see you survive."

"..."

"But my hope was thin. No matter how good Alchemic Shapeshifting is, no matter how amazing Clown’s Circus is, and no matter what secrets the Violet Screen may contain—there is just no way for you to survive against a tribulation like that.

"Tier 3 surviving Tier 5 level threat, that just doesn’t make sense and you are not even Tier 3 yet. But I never told you because I didn’t want to dash your hopes as well."

That was indeed a good call on Reol’ran not to tell Mark about her thoughts. Indeed, Mark’s hope was plummeting, and his heartbeat quickly calmed down. He looked at how much time remained before the Suffering would arrive.

Less than a year. Indeed, even becoming a Tier 3 before that time sounded nearly...

All the good things that he had, everything that he was, was just going to be a fleeting thing. This Suffering wasn’t just an obstacle in his path, it was the End. Reol’ran thought so—what else was there to know?

Reol’ran continued with an emotional tint to her tone, "Tier 5—Demon Emperors—can destroy countries in their sleep. They are monsters even beyond me but they die in this. They are smart, capable, and ruthless creatures but they die in it. You, Mark, didn’t have anything that made you any different from them."

The warrior of a woman held back her tears.

Mark sat down on the grassy plain and took a deep breath.

Reol’ran had always been searching for a way to make Mark survive. She had always been searching for that one tiny flicker of chance, but she never saw one. There just wasn’t any. So, even though she felt hate towards Yuri and Dona, she also did feel some appreciation for them.

Her own body was sealed, and she couldn’t provide what they could. And Reol’ran wanted Mark to be happy in his short life.

At the same time, she wanted to devote her own life to Mark till he died. And try not to let him die. He was her destined one.

Yet, deep down, maybe because she knew he would die one day soon, she had never been able to truly express herself to him. She had always restrained her own heart—unconsciously—from truly falling for him.

Even though the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted him to survive. To the point, her attempts at finding a way for him to survive had become all that she thought of even without her knowing of it. But she had never seen a chance for him to survive.

He was going to die.

Her simple dream of walking the path of evolution, toward the ultimate perfection, along with a partner whom she could trust her back to was not going to come true. As destined partners, no one could replace Mark.

Her and his Mental Space and World Space were connected profoundly. And truly, deep down, she truly wanted to lead a life with Mark. All the hate that she had built up for her ’destined’ one had become an obsession and she knew it, she wanted, obsessed, over Mark more than any of his other women did.

If he died, her own heart would probably follow.

Everything Reol’ran had ever wanted, she had never gotten it.

"Mark," she said, voice deep. Emotional. "I’ve always thought you would die, and because of that, I might have unconsciously bound myself from truly loving you. But now, I can see a chance, it might be small, but it is still a chance. So you better know it, you are mine before anyone else’s and I am no longer letting anything that is mine get out of my grasp. You are not allowed to die."

"Is that a confession?" Mark asked.

Reol’ran calmed her emotional turmoil. "There is nothing to confess, I told you before and I won’t bother telling again. I am yours, and you are mine. I always thought this wouldn’t last long and would end when the Suffering arrives, but I am not content with that. Are you content?"

"Well, I am kinda greedy."

"Hmph, because of Yuri, now I can see a small chance of you surviving," Reol’ran said. "She has my gratitude, I never give much heed to money, and this idea slipped my mind. But her pointing it out made me understand."

The 0% chance off survival had went up a bit.

Mark took a deep breath. So there was a chance of survival indeed. A chance meant that someone at the same level as him from the different worlds could possibly survive. All of them had a chance. It wasn’t impossible.

If he became the best someone out there at his current level, wouldn’t that mean he really would survive?

Reaol’ran heaved a long sigh. "I feel like I can breathe again."

Yuri poked at Mark’s cheek. Mark looked at her.

"Was what I pointed out that surprising? Your expression has been changing."

"What do you think?"

Yuri blinked, then grinned. She pushed her black hair behind her ears. "I think I did a good damn job pointing out the potential of Alchemic Shapeshifting to you."

She didn’t know when she went from standing beside him to in his lap. She also didn’t know who started kissing who, but she realized she really had done something damn good. His kisses were more aggressive than ever before and she wasn’t allowed to move away until he had enough of her.

"Really, didn’t Alchemic Shapeshifting just allow you to become the richest anywhere you go?" she asked, blinking and kissing his lips gently herself. Her hands were cradled around the back of his head, pulling him towards herself. "With your capability, I believe you can be rich by yourself anywhere you go."

"You think so?" he asked.

"Of course. Even without Alchemic Shapeshifting, you are a monster. And hell, you have a genius scientist helping you. What can stop you if not death?"

He forced his tongue into her, shutting her up for a good minute.

"I had no chance of survival apparently, but you pointing out the potential of Alchemic Shapeshifting changed that."

"What is that about?" She frowned.

He nestled into her neck but she didn’t reciprocate. "Tell me, Mark. Are you facing some threat I don’t know about?"

Seeing he was lost in kissing her neck, for now, she kissed his neck in return. He couldn’t kiss her for eternity, she’d have that answer later.