A few days earlier.
The gigantic Lord of the Night stood upon the earth, its ink-green compound eyes fixed on the pink-haired Dream Demon floating in midair—a being completely disproportionate to its own massive form.
Whether human or Dream Demon, the greatest difference between them and the Insectoids was that there was little difference in their size and appearance. It was hard to judge an opponent’s strength just by looking.
Faced with a Dream Demon of unknown origin, it had to be extra cautious.
[Dream Demon, why do you help the humans and slaughter my kin?]
It didn’t attack right away, but appeared before her in person, which suggested the big bug had some intention to negotiate. Rita saw no need to antagonize it.
But Rita didn’t want to fight anyway. First, she wasn’t sure she could win. Second, maybe she could glean some intel from the bug.
“Uh? Isn’t it possible that you were the one who led your kin to attack my camp first?” Rita rolled her eyes at it.
The Lord of the Night couldn’t understand the meaning behind her expression. Its voice, as deep as a great bell, echoed in Rita’s mind.
[Lost swarms, if slain, so be it. All that matters is to breed. But why kill my offspring? What is your purpose?]
Oh, right, it was indeed she and Promi who killed the Broodmother and Commander during their scouting, which caused so much trouble afterward.
Looking at it from this angle, she really was at fault.
If these aberrants didn’t attack humans, that would be fine, but yesterday they devoured an entire goblin village, and today they attacked the camp. Would they be charging into Solus City tomorrow?
Rita stood firmly on the side of the Human Nation; reasoning with these aberrants was pointless.
She didn’t bother responding to that: “Then let me ask you—why are you massing at the border?”
[To survive. There is no other way.]
Thinking of these bugs crawling everywhere, Rita couldn’t see how that was “no other way.”
But the answer was so perfunctory that she didn’t get any useful information.
She could only act more aggressive.
“Then, who is that woman?”
The Lord of the Night didn’t answer immediately. Instead, it let out a low, heavy growl, like a giant vise clamping down. If Insectoids could feel rage, then Rita was experiencing it firsthand.
[Dream Demon, you dared to search the Soul of my offspring!]
So, the images that flashed before her eyes were indeed things she shouldn’t have seen.
“I had no such intention. It tried to curse me with its Soul, but failed.” Rita argued: “I’m hiding within the Human Nation. If you invade on a large scale, you’ll only ruin my plans. Why not speak frankly with me?”
[It was you who took our place of refuge, forcing us to come here. And now you pretend innocence. You deserve death.]
Along with the Lord of the Night’s mental message came a hammer-blow force that instantly blanked out Rita’s mind.
Though it lasted only a moment, when Rita came to, the Lord of the Night’s giant claw was raised, ready to strike.
So this was the attack that left Promi surrounded by the swarm? Lucky she was unharmed.
The Lord of the Night raised its massive head and unleashed another Spirit Attack.
It was similar to the one released by the small beetle, but far greater in every aspect.
Bigger, faster, stronger!
Rita tried to grasp that power as she had before, to at least stifle its momentum, but for a moment she had no idea how to start.
She desperately tried to recall the feeling from before—mind, Soul, will—whatever it was, like the time she grasped the Soul of the Lord Commander beetle.
Wasn’t she a Dream Demon? Shouldn’t she be skilled at this?
Rita searched with all her might, watching helplessly as that invisible yet real shockwave rushed toward her.
She was running out of time!
Suddenly, Rita sensed something new in her mind.
It hadn’t appeared out of nowhere; it had always been there, simply ignored by her until now.
But once she noticed it, she could no longer overlook it.
That extra force was dazzling—like a perfect emerald dropped among dull gray stones.
A flawless, translucent green gem.
Rita had sensed this power before, on the night she almost got into serious trouble—when Valfys, speaking softly, slipped the force into her mind.
Back then, Rita had wondered if it was a curse or some kind of tracking ability, but afterward, she felt no discomfort and nothing strange happened to others around her.
If it really was a tracking skill, she had no way to resist Valfys anyway, so she might as well let her look all she wanted.
Later, Rita tried to probe the force’s whereabouts, but after a long time, she found nothing and simply pushed it out of her mind.
Only now did Rita truly grasp it.
Rather than grabbing, it was more like her consciousness wrapping around the green energy, as if an invisible hand had enclosed it.
The moment Rita’s mind touched the force left by Valfys, Valfys’s voice sounded in her ear.
“You’re so slow, sister! I thought you’d notice it right away. But it’s fine—as long as you do what I taught you, there’ll be no problem!”
Rita didn’t need Valfys’s guidance. The moment her mind touched that emerald green, her body seemed to know what to do.
She had to do this—or rather, she should have done it long ago.
Rita raised her hand, the movement identical to when she seized the beetle’s Soul before, but this time, there was something fundamentally different.
First, her presence changed, so much so that the Lord of the Night’s follow-up slap after its Spirit Attack was half a beat slower.
Her intent to envelop the green energy felt for an instant as if it left her body, turning into an even larger hand, which firmly caught the Lord of the Night’s Spirit Attack and crushed it.
In truth, all of this happened in an instant.
Next, the Lord of the Night’s sharp claw descended toward Rita’s head. She clenched her fist, and the alluring aura around her formed into a massive sword, which clashed with the giant claw.
Thud.
The Lord of the Night’s sharp claw was sliced clean in half, crashing heavily to the ground.
The Lord of the Night let out a screeching cry, and another wave of near-madness rushed into Rita’s mind.
[Demon King—are you the Demon King?]
[No, you are not her. You don’t have her power.]
[But why—an heir? A blood kin? An offspring?]
[Can’t understand. Are you here to exterminate us all?]
The frenzied will and shrill cries became a tangled mess, most of it just broken, meaningless fragments that Rita couldn’t piece together—only the sense of something scrambling in her mind.
But there was no danger—only irritation. Now, most of what the Lord of the Night projected was nothing but mental garbage to Rita.
The Lord of the Night shrieked a few more times, then flipped itself over and plunged its huge body into the ground. The earth shook violently, and after a while, aside from a giant crater and toppled trees, everything returned to silence.
Though Rita had no idea what she had done, she had just normally, even casually, raised her hand and blocked the enemy’s attack. Why did that connect her to the Demon King? Why did the bug run away?
Yet Rita now felt even more the weight of those two words—Valfys and Demon King—far heavier than she’d ever expected.
Night. Inside the abandoned sentry post.
Rita didn’t rush back to camp. Using her little wings would be too conspicuous, and she didn’t want Momoka chasing her with that gun again.
That big shell looked valuable—at least more valuable than Momoka’s gun—so Rita took it with her.
She found an old bed, set her sleeping bag on it, and, just as she had in the day, tried to wrap her mind around that green presence to see what it really was.
Once she touched it, Rita actually discovered something different.
First came Valfys’s voice:
“I don’t know when you awakened this power, but you must’ve gotten past the immediate crisis, right? Then study hard, and strive to master these powers on your own as soon as possible! That’s it. Hope you come see me soon!”
What followed were streams of information pouring straight into Rita’s brain.
If she had to describe it, they were like Online Courses.
Yes, Online Courses! Long-winded, repetitive, teaching her step by step how to use Dream Demon abilities.
Seriously! Why do I still have to take Online Courses even in another world?
But the content was solid, starting with the basics of being a Dream Demon.
Lesson one: how to fly with your wings.
Are you crazy? I was born—no, transmigrated—knowing how to fly! Why do I need you to teach me that?
The problem was that the Online Course had no progress bar, no speed-up, and you couldn’t pick a lesson. Rita could only go through it slowly, step by step.
She watched all night and finally learned a useful skill:
How to Charm others.
Basically, it was an application of alluring aura, letting her control the actions of others—or rather, use psychological suggestion to get them to act as she wanted.
But the conditions were far too harsh. Either the other person must willingly obey her with absolute loyalty, or the intelligence gap between them must be enormous.
No, no, no, this had nothing to do with Rita not being smart. The so-called intelligence gap had to be so great that, at the very least, Rita couldn’t control humans.
And not just Rita. Probably few Dream Demons could do it.
She tried using the ability to control a few birds, making them fly in a straight line, then a V-shape, then circle in the sky, looking like a group of happy children…
This is insane!
Why am I playing with birds in the forest at dawn?
Rita tapped her head twice, deciding it was best to return and regroup with the others. As for these abilities…
As soon as Rita released her power, the birds scattered. Then, as if attracted by the commotion, a low growl echoed from the woods. A Tundra Direwolf emerged from the trees.
What happened next was simple: that Tundra Direwolf became Rita’s Animal Partner, staying with her all the way to camp, until she let it go.
Whether on the way back or now, Rita would review the Online Courses in her mind, but at this pace, she might never finish in this lifetime.
Actually, Rita’s progress was slow. Whenever she studied, she’d get sleepy. Though Dream Demons didn’t need much sleep, Rita couldn’t help nodding off.
This had to be Valfys’s Dream Demon hypnosis! Yes, it must be!
Now, Rita was still on the advanced lessons on flying with her wings in fancy ways.
Well, better than nothing, I suppose.
The path is long and hard. The path is long and hard.
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