“Oh, becoming stronger, huh.”
Sashaya crossed her arms and rested her chin on her hands, looking at Via with considerable interest.
She showed no sign of surprise after hearing this request.
“I plan to regroup and reclaim the position of Demon King,” Via paused for a moment. “In my previous life, I was betrayed by others. However, with my current strength, settling accounts with those traitors is still somewhat insufficient.”
“That’s more than just ‘somewhat insufficient.’ You haven’t even reached Transcendent tier yet.”
“I’m close to breaking through, but… you’re right. Even after reaching Transcendent tier, there would still be a significant gap compared to my previous Legendary-tier strength. That’s why I thought of you, Lady Sashaya. I believe you definitely have ways to help me become stronger quickly.”
“Then, what are the conditions in exchange?”
“I will satisfy your curiosity.”
“Curiosity, huh…”
“Yes. I can cooperate with your research as long as I don’t suffer any irreversible harm. However, if it exceeds what I can endure, I must have the right to refuse.”
“Via, aren’t you being too naive? I am the Abyssal Demoness. Why should I negotiate terms with you!”
Sashaya suddenly stood up. She raised her hand, and the dolls immediately ran over carrying her staff.
“The law of the Desolate Fallen Continent is that the strong dominate the weak. I can force you to cooperate however I please according to my mood, let alone fulfill your requests.”
“No, you can’t do that, Lady Sashaya. If you really do that, I can simply end my own life.”
“End your own life?”
“As long as I detonate the Abyssal Force inside my body, it will be enough to devour me completely,” Via displayed an unyielding attitude. “I’ve already died once. I’m not afraid of dying again. If I die, so be it. But you would permanently lose an extremely rare research subject.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“This is a negotiation. We should establish a cooperative relationship. I believe research proceeds most smoothly when the test subject fully cooperates, right?”
Sashaya fell silent.
She had a hundred ways to kill Via, and she could even use forbidden magic to completely control her mind and turn her into a puppet. But if she did that, Via would become a mindless individual, unable to activate the potential of her mixed blood.
To be honest, she didn’t really want that outcome.
However, she definitely wanted to see Via willingly cooperate. In exchange, helping Via become stronger didn’t seem difficult.
“Via, I can agree to your request.”
“Lady Sashaya, are you serious?”
“Of course. I still don’t want to miss this opportunity. After all, this is the first time I’ve seen a mixed-blood between demonkin and humans.”
Sashaya handed her staff to a doll and sat back down, her attitude softening considerably.
Kurei and Melu both breathed a sigh of relief.
The tense atmosphere earlier had been terrifying.
“I want to reach Legendary tier,” Via said.
“You’re too greedy. If reaching Legendary tier were that easy, I would have already created a bunch of Legendary-tier beings to conquer the entire continent.”
“…Is it really impossible?”
“I can help you rapidly advance to Transcendent tier and lay a solid foundation for Legendary tier. Whether you can go further than that will depend on your own talent and potential.”
“That works.”
Via was quite satisfied hearing Sashaya’s promises.
“You can all stay in my manor for now.”
Sashaya’s gaze first swept over the two demonkin maids before finally resting on Via. The corners of her mouth curled upward.
“I hope you won’t bore me, Via.”
“Via, can I dissect your body to see its internal structure?”
“Lady Sashaya, do you think I’m one of your dolls? Something that can be taken apart and put back together?”
Wearing a light blue patient gown, Via sat on the operating table with her arms crossed, clearly refusing.
“Is that so? What a shame.” Sashaya sighed.
“If you take me apart, I won’t be able to come back to life.”
“Even for research, can we keep it at least somewhat normal?”
Via lay down on the operating table of her own accord.
It had been nearly ten days since she first entered Sashaya’s manor.
During this time, the Abyssal Demoness had been relatively restrained, only conducting various examinations without moving on to any overly aggressive research projects.
At the same time, the upper limit of her mana capacity had been continuously expanding. She was getting closer and closer to reaching Transcendent tier.
“Ready, Lady Sashaya!!”
The dolls acting as assistants pushed the device over to the operating table and shouted loudly.
“Let’s begin. Record all parameters. Today’s research is on the tolerance limit for abyssal aura purity.”
Sashaya walked up to Via and attached a tube to her chest.
“Today’s experiment carries some risk. If you feel uncomfortable, you must tell me.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll try to be careful. After all, if I kill you, I really won’t find another specimen like this.”
“Begin.”
Sashaya stepped back slightly and waved her hand, issuing instructions to the dolls.
“First, 10% purity abyssal aura.”
“10% purity abyssal aura, injecting!”
A doll pushed down the lever and stopped at the 10% mark, channeling abyssal aura into Via through the tube.
“10% shows almost no reaction. Then let’s increase it—20% purity abyssal aura.”
“30% purity abyssal aura.”
“40%—”
Sashaya continued giving orders.
The purity of the abyssal aura being delivered into Via’s body grew higher and higher, already far exceeding what ordinary demonkin could withstand.
If the two demonkin maids had been subjected to this, they would likely gradually lose their sanity, go berserk, and transform into abyssal beasts.
What surprised Sashaya, however, was that Via showed no intense reaction. She simply lay on the bed with her eyes closed, her consciousness somewhat hazy.
“Stop!” Sashaya shouted.
The dolls stopped the flow of abyssal aura. The final reading settled at 80% purity.
Via had temporarily lost consciousness and fainted, but there were no signs of her turning into an abyssal beast—she merely appeared uncomfortable.
“Incredible… truly incredible. Even I cannot withstand 80% purity abyssal aura, yet Via, as a mixed-blood, can endure it?”
Sashaya’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the scene before her.
The result of this experiment had far exceeded her expectations.
From excitement, the Abyssal Demoness’s hands trembled slightly.
“Perhaps… Via could solve that problem?”
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