Chapter 916

“Senior Alge.”

After gently touching the little flower in his pocket to confirm Princess Filia’s condition was normal, Li Ang expanded the effect of [Secretive Tail] to include the burly man behind him, then asked curiously:

“Were you always this tall and bulky?”

“No…”

Upon hearing Li Ang’s question, the tall and massive Alge shook his head and answered cautiously:

“I was originally only about one meter sixty, slim and small—completely different from now.

Later, during a mission, my body was severely damaged, so I applied for [Demon Nine Threads] and replaced almost my entire flesh, becoming what you see now.”

“I see…”

Li Ang had already learned some of this from the description of [Skin Thread]; he brought it up merely to start a conversation. Seeing Alge take the bait, he smiled and continued:

“Senior Alge, you seem to have some… wariness toward me?”

“Uh…”

“Don’t worry—I’m not some particularly insane person. You don’t need to be so guarded around me.”

With a slightly helpless shake of his head, Li Ang explained:

“About me eating the Three-Headed Dog God—it’s not nearly as exaggerated as rumors claim. At the time, both Nicole and I were swallowed by it, nearly dying inside its belly; half our souls were digested.

Nicole’s soul was far stronger than mine, so she suffered little, but my soul at that time was too weak—even if I’d returned safely to this world, I couldn’t have controlled my body and would’ve needed to lie in bed for years.

Plus, the part of my soul I lost was inside the Dog God’s body. My soul yearned to complete itself, so I had no choice but to consume it. I was forced into it.”

“Oh… I see…”

“The same goes for the Dream Realm incident—I had reasons for doing what I did…”

Seeing Alge still kept his distance, Li Ang thought for a moment, then explained his past ordeal and why he’d been enraged by the Nightmare King, his expression earnest:

“Senior Alge, whether you or Director Edward, you both misunderstand me.

Things like ‘eating true gods’ or ‘destroying the Dream Realm’—those were special circumstances. In normal times, I’m actually quite level-headed and rarely act recklessly.”

“….”

Indeed, he still looked quite gentle, easy to get along with…

After hearing Li Ang’s explanation, Alge noticed he wasn’t as insane as rumored, and his tense expression finally relaxed slightly.

But that strange feeling—like he might be controlled at any moment—still lingered in his heart. After hesitating, he cautiously voiced his doubt:

So he noticed that, huh.

Li Ang, walking toward the roadside, raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing it.

After noticing that [Skin Thread] bore the “Corrupted” tag and fell under the domain of [I Am the Demon], he switched out the demon badge before the two had even let go of each other’s hands.

After all, [Demon Nine Threads] was unusual—it wasn’t just an anomaly, it was Alge’s own body. [I Am the Demon] could potentially dominate it, so testing was necessary for peace of mind.

In that instant, though Li Ang gave no command, the slot containing [I Am the Demon] flickered briefly—proving that any body marked “Corrupted,” regardless of owner, was subject to [I Am the Demon]’s influence.

And that flicker, likely, had briefly dominated Alge’s [Skin Thread], which he’d sensed…

“Don’t worry—it’s another misunderstanding.”

Seeing Alge’s still wary expression, Li Ang—who held only mild goodwill toward Taurus Division—decided to lie outright to win him over as an ally:

“You know I was once called the Demon Scholar. I possess several demonic anomalies and have extremely high compatibility with demonic-type anomalies. That’s probably what caused your misunderstanding.”

Another misunderstanding…

Alge vaguely felt something was still off, but couldn’t pinpoint what. He nodded reluctantly, accepting the explanation for now.

With the “misunderstanding” resolved, he seemed more at ease—though he still instinctively lagged half a step behind Li Ang, he finally began to converse normally.

“Li Ang, uh… sir…”

He’d intended to call Li Ang by name, but instinctively added a title. Walking under the sunlight, his shadow completely engulfed Li Ang, the burly man unconsciously rubbed his sleeve, then asked cautiously in a low voice:

“What are you planning to do next?”

“Simple. First, return to the embassy district to retrieve the two people left there, then visit the Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

After a brief pause, Li Ang smiled and explained:

“When I met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Krook, I proposed purchasing long-range communication technology. The scholar who invented it should be from Krook’s No. 1 Research Zone.

I estimate the minister had already compiled the technical data by last night. If we go now and take him hostage, we can obtain his summary of similar technologies and the inventor’s information—possibly leading us to No. 1 Research Zone, and from there, to Artifi-01’s location.”

“??? ”

“What? Is there a problem?”

You dare ask if there’s a problem?

Watching Li Ang turn back, his face puzzled, Alge’s cheek twitched slightly.

Didn’t you already quit the mission? Why are you still chasing Artifi-01?

And weren’t you just saying you’re usually level-headed? How can you casually propose kidnapping a national minister? Where’s the level-headedness in that? It’s outright…

Huh… why is he so calm? Am I overreacting?

Meeting Li Ang’s surprised gaze, Alge recalled the young man’s terrifying record—and suddenly, kidnapping the foreign minister didn’t seem so outrageous.

Never mind anything else—he’d already kidnapped the Princess of Krook, and she’s right now in his pocket. So during an investigation, casually snatching a minister… maybe it’s not such a big deal?

“Nothing…”

Suppressing his entire internal outburst, Alge, whose bottom line had unconsciously shifted backward, shook his head. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked:

“Mr. Li Ang, if you really trace the scholar’s whereabouts and find No. 1 Research Zone, would you mind if I notify Director Edward?”

“Of course not.”

Li Ang smiled, his expression warm as he replied:

“I told you this precisely because I intended for you to tell him. I didn’t mention it to Director Edward earlier because I wasn’t sure this method would work—I wanted to confirm it first. Uh… when the time comes, please notify him for me.”

Ah…

Alge had never expected the so-called God-Eating Demon to be this generous—not only did he not hold a grudge against his own director for sidelining him, he was even willing to share hard-won intelligence. A wave of shame surged in his chest.

Honestly, compared to Mr. Li Ang before him, Director Edward’s actions were downright disgraceful. While the director schemed to steal credit and push others aside, Li Ang was working tirelessly to complete the investigation—never once holding a grudge against his own director.

This is truly… Director, you’ve been completely outshined.