Mind Demon's Path of Domination

As Ryan looked into a small crack in the ground that seemed to lead deep into the abyss, he felt a weird sensation.

This was a sensation he had never experienced to this incredible extent. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He was not invincible, he was not the fastest, not the strongest, nor was he the most capable. Heck, with his Puppet body, even better than the norm Demonlings could crush him under their foot.

But he was unkillable. He was a cockroach if he considered his main body, too.

Destroy the main body’s head? It will revive due to the Mask of the Savage, or now, Armor of the Savage. Cut off his limbs? He would heal with Alchemic Shapeshifting? In fact, most things couldn’t even hurt Mark with his Armor on.

And for Ryan?

He felt unkillable by himself too.

It was the power of a social circle.

There were two sorts of power. Hard power and soft power. Hard power was what Mark was used to wielding. The power to kill his enemies if they moved in a way he didn’t like. But soft power?

It was the umbrella of power from things like reputation, connections, and organizations. Now, his interests were aligned with the interests of more than ten Tier 5 creatures. If he died, so would they die.

If someone tried to kill him here, they will protect him.

Of course, they were in a very weakened state—not even being able to use their demonic tricks—but their bodies alone could kill creatures that could kill Mark.

But Ryan quickly realized something. Being in protection was a cozy feeling, but being strong himself was a better feeling. And in the end, he would only have himself for his Sufferings.

"So I have to enter this crack and move underground?" He murmured.

The Grey Winged Humanoid, the Succubus, and the Blade Demon, who had somehow become Ryan’s—and Mark’s—core mentors, all nodded.

Ryan grew thoughtful. The Blade Demon and the Succubuss were the strongest demons around, while the Grey Winged Humanoid demon hailed from a mega force where he was mentored by creatures at the level of War Slayer armor throughout his life.

These three were the best mentors to have. Though he would also get some points from the other demons once in a while.

Huff.

Clearing the random thoughts from his mind, Ryan focused on the underground. That was where his current mission laid. He had to get the Demon Suppressing Bloodline and try to integrate it with his no-bloodline demonic body.

"The underground is where this weird tree’s source is hidden," the Grey-Winged humanoid explained. "We all sent our minions into the underground to research, so if you meet any of them, they would also help you. Some of them are even Tier 3, so they would be a big help."

Ryan frowned. "How dangerous is this?"

"There are dangers, darling," said the Succubus. "Mainly, try not to be captured by this tree’s roots. Your main body had escaped after being caught by the tree, but that is because your main body had Portal Keys, and you don’t have those. So if you get captured by this hell-forsaken tree, it’s all over for your clone."

Ryan nodded.

What they didn’t know, of course, was that if the clone died, so would his main body. He hadn’t told them about that yet because he was afraid they would use that to threaten him.

But now that they were in a contract and couldn’t hurt each other, and because they were in a mutually beneficial one, he could reveal that truth. Sometimes, honesty was better than dishonesty.

He had to show them that this clone was more important than it seemed, otherwise, they wouldn’t take its life or death seriously.

"In fact, seniors," he began. "This clone is not actually a clone but a Puppet of sorts. And I and my main body share sensations and such... along with life or death. One of us die, we both die. And in fact, I am going through one of the most life threatening moments of my own life."

They all grew speechless.

This cunning little piece of shit!

If they had know Ryan was a puppet, which if killed, would make Mark die, they could have used that to threaten him. In fact, they could have used that to make Mark their slave. He would have had no choice other than to save them.

But now, due to his cleverness, they were forced to work together. Multiple Tier 5s were forced to work for the benefit of a talented Tier 2!!!

Ryan smiled shyly. "Anyway. If you guys have minions whose powers were not sealed like yours, why didn’t you guys use it to chase my main body when it was here anyways? Are all of them underground?"

The Succubus smirked. "Not really. We each have our strongest subordinate hidden inside our World Spaces. Mine is a Tier 4 creature, and the guy near me who is wafting edgy blade aura also has a Tier 4 minion. And this Grey-wing guy has a Tier 4 minion too, his Life Guardian. They are all hidden inside our World Spaces."

Ryan blanked out. "They can use all their powers?" He asked.

"Of course. None of them are sealed." The Grey-winged Humanoid said with a sigh.

"Then why didn’t you guys use them to capture my main body before I escaped?" Ryan asked with a sweaty forehead.

If those Tier 4 creatures had come out, Mark would surely be made to stay here.

The Blade Demon shrugged. "Indeed, they could have jumped out of the World Spaces to capture you but there is a big problem. They are protecting us from each other. A Tier 4 with their full power can kill us right now, so if our guarding powers jumped out to catch you, other guarding powers would jump out to kill us."

"Yes!" The Succubus chuckled. "If this blade guy’s minion came to catch you, I was planning to have my minion kill him."

Mutual suppression, Ryan realized. None of them could act as they pleased—they were all enemies and if they had to, they would kill each other for benefit with closed eyes.

He liked the way they functioned.

"So, if I go down and meet your minions, they won’t try to kill me, would they?"

"Of course not. They have orders not to fight against each other." The Blade Demon was calm, as if he was not provoked by the wench at all. "You should go in and come back with a bloodline. It won’t be too hard. Just go with your wit and it will be easy."

Ryan had some more conversation about the underground with them and with a bit of hesitation, finally entered the crack. He moved down silently and soon enough, he felt a smooth ground beneath his posterior.

Smiling nervously, he let go of his hold and felt himself slide down into the underground of this eccentric place.