Alka knew nothing about demons, nor did he know much about the so-called Abyss. His understanding of the Abyss and demons came from entertainment from his previous life.
While the two bear some resemblance, they are clearly completely different entities.
The Abyss in this world resembles a more powerful plane.
This plane awakened a will, said to be the will of one of the original Creation Titans after his death.
Following his death, the worlds he created gathered around his body, tainted and corrupted by it, forming the original Abyss.
The Creation Titan's essence was to create the world's death. His remaining will still sought to create the world, but it was clearly powerless.
These days gradually distorted into plunder, plunder, fusion, and devouring.
Turning other normal and intact worlds into part of the Abyss.
Thus, the Astral Cancer was born.
Of course, this is only one theory of the Abyss's birth.
Within the astral realm, countless theories exist to explain the abyss's existence.
The demons within the abyss are truly bizarre, their variety as diverse as anything in the universe.
But there's one unmistakable criterion for identification: the monster's horns, body shape, and wings.
A demon as deformed as the Imp couldn't be very powerful.
And the towering demon before them, with its bat-winged wings spread out, might even be larger than its own body.
His well-proportioned figure, muscular build, and the patterns and patterns on his body all demonstrate his power.
Not to mention that Alka had already seen it.
He saw clearly the monster's power.
This demon was, by analogy, a fourth-level demon.
Surrounding them were three other demons, about the size of a normal human, but appearing thinner and with shorter wings, clearly unable to carry them.
These scarlet demons attacked, spewing lava and flames.
"Ah, I'm so lucky. Hehe!"
The massive, broken-horned demon looked at Alka and the others, his eyes fixed on Alka.
To everyone's surprise, he actually spoke. While they couldn't understand his words, they understood his meaning perfectly.
"A human with a strong soul—truly delicious! I can't wait."
With these words, the giant bat wings behind him spread out and flapped gently, charging towards Alka like a cannonball.
A starry gauze garment enveloped the group.
A twinkling starlight effect appeared on Alka's body.
A meteor streaked across the sky.
"Bang!"
A resounding explosion.
A massive figure was sent flying, slamming directly into the water, sending up a massive splash.
A large amount of steam billowed out.
The figure that had plunged into the water stood up.
His orange eyes were bloodshot, and his face and body were noticeably sunken.
A corner of his wing was fractured and twisted.
One strike, just one strike, and the demon was clearly at a disadvantage.
Alka stood there, staring at his hands, the twinkling stars above them.
So powerful!
Only when he actually fought someone of his level in real life did he truly understand the bonuses afforded by the [Scepter] level.
After all, the Galaxy itself is a rather auxiliary item.
It primarily serves to enhance, divine, and decipher.
But when its special effects and enhancements were applied to him, the power it unleashed was far greater than Alka had imagined.
The broken-horned demon's face was ferocious, a hint of disbelief evident. With a roar, he thrust forward fiercely at Alka.
The molten lava-filled attack erupted directly, transforming into a pillar of fire.
This attack had an extremely wide reach.
It was clear that it was an extremely powerful attack.
The moment it erupted, the demon flapped its wings, turned without hesitation, and soared into the sky.
He fled.
The iron fist, gleaming with starlight, struck down heavily.
The pillar of fire was instantly broken and extinguished.
Watching the demon fleeing into the sky, Alka's eyes shone with a light like stars.
Whoosh!
An extremely piercing sound pierced the air.
A meteor rose from the ground and shot into the sky.
The group, who had just dispatched the three small monsters, looked up.
They saw the meteor streak by.
It crashed through the sky at breakneck speed, slamming heavily into the demon.
Blood, scalding like lava, showered the air.
One of the demon's wings was shattered, and the demon plummeted to the ground like a kite with its string cut.
Alka followed the demon down.
Everyone saw only a trailing meteor crashing into the swamp.
Water gushed out like a fountain.
A simple wave suddenly formed in the swamp, spreading outwards, its waves crashing against everyone's legs.
The water fell.
Alka's eyes shone with starlight, and his body was surrounded by a starlight effect.
Grabbing the demon's only remaining intact horn, he emerged from the splash.
The demon's body was like a tattered ball, dragged through the water like rags.
Blood, like molten lava, flowed from every part of his body, merging into the water and emitting a thick vapor. It was clear he was no longer alive.
Crush.
Completely crushed.
Alka had no idea how powerful this so-called demon was, or what level it stood compared to the others.
But in front of him, he had no chance of fighting back.
Too weak.
"Waste! What a waste!"
Simon hurried over, trailed by a floating structure.
It looked a bit like a stretcher.
"Hurry, hurry, put it on this, or it'll all drain away," Simon said hastily.
Looking at the stretcher, Alka nodded quickly.
For Simon to be so anxious, this demon must have some valuable material.
When it comes to materials, Alka admits he's far inferior to Simon.
Without hesitation, he placed the demon on the stretcher.
A mechanical grinding sound rang out.
A barrier of magical power appeared around the stretcher, enveloping the entire demon.
Even the lava blood it oozes out is contained within.
Watching this, Simon breathed a sigh of relief.
"This demon is definitely a mid-level one. Its blood is like lava. We've truly found a treasure." He clapped Alka's shoulder.
He laughed heartily and said, "We're both so lucky!"
"Uh... calm down." Seeing Simon's excitement, Alka patted his shoulder.
And what a perverted statement. What does "blessed" mean?
Saying "blessed" to a corpse is bizarre.
Aside from Simon, Matresa was also very interested in the demon's corpse.
Aside from these two, everyone else gathered around Alka and stared at him.
Compared to the dead demon, they were more concerned with Alka.
He lifted his hand and glanced at the galaxy above.
"So powerful?"
They had all seen it.
In Alka's meteor-like form, his speed was superior in most situations.
He was only slightly inferior to Sofia within the team, but the problem was, let alone at the same level.
Even if he was one or two levels higher, no one could be said to be stronger than Sofia based on speed alone.
When his speed was sufficient, he also carried a powerful force and impact. The demon was crushed to death by Alka.
Lucille jumped onto Alka's shoulder.
She said, "Judging from its appearance, it should be a relatively ordinary mid-level demon.
Compared to lower-level demons, mid-level demons possess extremely strong physical qualities and possess powerful spells.
If I had to make an analogy, it's roughly equivalent to a Toucher who has mastered the core spell, and they are a special race with strong physical qualities."
Lucille gave everyone a brief explanation of the so-called mid-level demons, analogous to the beings in their current world.
While not entirely accurate, the analogy was roughly the same.
Alka held out her hand, still shimmering with starlight.
"I didn't expect it to hit me like a meteor, with such immense power."
While in that state, Alka felt as if she had transformed into a meteor, enveloped by a surge of energy.
When he collided with his enemy, he felt no rebound.
Instead, he was able to move freely, controlling the energy surrounding him and targeting a specific point during the impact.
Of course, he couldn't do it yet, but he felt he could.
Previously, during his dream training, Alka had never used Meteor Form to directly strike someone.
He'd focused more on controlling the energy that formed to strengthen himself and unleash a variety of attacks.
He also trained himself to fly using starlight.
Only after achieving stable flight could he use Meteor Form.
Today marked his first time using this form to attack.
Unexpectedly, Meteor Form turned out to be his most powerful attack form.
Simple, direct, and brutal.
It had a decisive effect.
"I didn't expect a Scepter-level artifact to be so powerful? And you said it was more of a support type,"Sofia sighed.
Alka, in turn, shook his head with some regret: "What a pity! This artifact really isn't suited to me."
Very well, it's just not suitable.
Once Alka focused on using the energy of the Galaxy, his use of the Mirror or Dreamcatcher's power would be somewhat suppressed.
As a Scepter-level Galaxy...
The extreme dominance of his own energy, coupled with the inherent incompatibility of the two Holy Grail-level artifacts, made him cautious even in exerting his power.
If Alka didn't have sufficient control over these two artifacts and their perfect compatibility, he might not even be able to use them at all.
In that situation, he would have to choose between the two Holy Grails and the Scepter.
Looking at the beautiful Galaxy Ring in his hand.
Alka sighed.
That was good, but what a pity.
His state had essentially stabilized. He possessed the fragments of the godhead from his dreams, the kingship from his dreams.
He couldn't possibly give up the two Holy Grails that perfectly matched him just for this one [Scepter]-level artifact.
Just use it.
When Sofia and the others' strength reached the fourth stage, or when Alka obtained another more suitable [Scepter]-level artifact.
He would definitely have to pass this artifact on to someone else.
Find a more suitable user.
"Alright, let's keep going."
With that, everyone re-boarded the Flying Swallow and continued on their way.
A "coffin" sat on the thruster behind them.
Alka, Simon, and Mathilda gathered around the coffin.
"Let me take a look," Simon said, pulling out a thick book and flipping through it.
The top of the book bore the distinctly visible gear symbol of the Church of the Holy Machine.
Flipping to the page he was looking for, Simon said, "Demon blood, like lava, is the hallmark of mid-level flame-type demon blood.
This blood holds powerful energy. According to research and experimentation, explosive and flame-type weapons crafted from it are top-tier.
Weapons that can be crafted include the 'Abyss Walker,' the 'Hellfire Cannon,' the 'Flame Extinguishing Stone,' and so on."
"The horns of mid-level demons are a symbol of power and honor for powerful demons. They are typically possessed only by demons of exceptional bloodline or status. They are characterized by intricate spiral patterns.
They are one of the strongest materials in the world, requiring grinding tools made from their blood to process and grind.
Adding it..."
The two listened as Simon read out the characters in the book before him, one by one. It wasn't until Simon finished explaining the uses of the various materials on the demon before him that Alka quipped softly, "Honestly, isn't this a walking treasure trove?
And is your thirst for knowledge so strong in the Church of the Holy Machine? You've dissected a demon like this."
Hearing this, Simon turned and glanced at him.
He said silently, "For most people, demons are a disaster."
Simply put, demons are treasure troves only for the powerful.
And Alka, having just reached the fourth stage and already possessing the [Scepter] artifact, can be considered the strongest of his level.
Not to mention, he possesses more than just this one artifact.
"Furthermore, most of the information in this book, including the Demon Chapter, isn't actually studied by most scholars.
The Demon Chapter is knowledge bestowed by the Sage, and it's been disseminated. However, most people likely haven't seen a demon, so no one studies it."
Lucille, standing nearby, nodded at this. She also possessed knowledge related to demons.
She ran over and leaped onto Alka's shoulders, explaining, "It's said that the Sage spread this knowledge primarily to encourage people at the time to be willing, or even proactive, to fight these demons.
About 1,300 years ago, a widespread demonic disaster occurred."
Everyone on the ship nodded in agreement.
After all, if you want people to actively fight, you have to offer them sufficient benefits.
And every demon corpse brings in enough wealth.
This is a life-and-death battle.
As the three chatted, the group began controlling the machine to dismember the demon inside, breaking it down into various components.
The dissection revealed the structure of demons and humans. While the outer appearance bore some resemblance,
their internal structures made them distinct species.
The demon's internal organs were minimal, consisting of only a single core, akin to a heart. The blood that gushed out of it was more like energy.
The channels that transported this energy were similar to blood vessels, a very simple structure found throughout the limbs.
And the stomach, which sustained the entire body and supplied it with energy.
It might be called a stomach, but it could more accurately be described as a grinder, or even a melter.
The dissection process provided a deeper understanding of the demonic species.
…
They were sailing at a rapid speed.
They mostly avoided the wandering demons along the way.
Of course, if they encountered demonic attacks, they wouldn't shy away from them.
With their team's strength, as long as they didn't encounter overly powerful demons, they could handle them, or at least escape.
The journey was relatively safe.
A faint floral scent wafted through the air.
The slightly exhausted crew on the boat finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Only the scent of flowers filled the air, not the smell of sulfur. As they got closer, the signs of battle gradually became fewer.
They also encountered several patrolling Flower Knights and even saw their accompanying priests.
At this stage, protecting the Fragrance Land had become a top priority.
Even Alka and his companions were stopped and questioned, even though most of them knew Alka and the others.
Finally, they spotted the reef they'd previously camped on, along with the surrounding trees, from afar.
They slowly steered the Flying Swallow closer.
Several figures impatiently rushed forward.
They and their sisters were fighting in the background. These were the puppet teams remaining on the Marsh Sea.
Alka carefully examined the puppets remaining on the sea. Although they bore traces of battle, they were undamaged.
"Should we continue camping here? Or go to the Land of Fragrance?"
Sofia asked from the side.
Alka thought for a moment and said, "Let's continue camping here. The Land of Fragrance may have been placed under military control. It's not suitable for us to come and go freely."
After all, the enemy could almost certainly be targeting the Flower Fairy, who was undergoing her final resurrection ritual.
This place, of course, became the most important location.