Primordial Soul's Rebirth

The skill that Alex gained from the lust-binding system didn't have a specific rank, as it was supposed to grow along with the protagonist, Lokiath.

That was how the world—the maker of the system—had done it, making it impossible for it to be graded.

The skill, however, was supposed to function perfectly, or so its description said.

But when Alex tried to open a portal close to Alice after he picked Ann up, he frowned as he couldn't do it.

'What's happening?'

He muttered inwardly, confused as to why this was happening.

[It will take some explaining, Alex.]

Sophia, on the other hand, replied to his question without giving an explanation, causing Alex's frown to deepen.

The next second, something clicked in his mind, causing his expression to turn solemn.

'You knew this would happen?'

The fact that Sophia had always avoided talking about Alice's situation just played in his mind again and again.

He always knew that she had been hiding something from him, and although he could still remember that she swore that Alice was fine, he couldn't help but feel a wave of uneasiness wash over him.

[Yes, but you should find a place to find a place—]

'Stop.'

Sophia's advice, however, was cut short by Alex's cold words as he stepped into the portal but just then.

*Swoosh*

Viessa rushed at him with her claymore ready to cut him; Alex, however, just coated his arm with destruction energy while also partially transforming his arm into incubus form, making the punch enough to send Viessa unconscious.

*Baam—Crack*

"Arghh!"

And that is what happened, but just as he was about to move into the portal again...

"DEMON LORD—!!!"

Eric's roar reached his ears, causing his expression to turn sour.

He was already frustrated, irritated, and worried by the sudden situation that came up, and now this weak-ass bastard had enough balls to scream at him, so he stopped in his tracks.

*Step*

He took a step back, staring into the guy's eyes, causing his light brown eyes to quiver and his words to get stuck in his throat, but Alex just raised a finger at the guy.

No matter how cranky Alex was, he wouldn't kill a golden goose, so he froze Elizabeth and Eric in their spots with his temporal pause before he shot a concentrated mass of destruction energy at Eric.

Alex had already seen the time affinity Eric had, so he knew that the guy could still perceive everything even though he was frozen in time.

Now, either the guy would lose something really precious or he would awaken something that would give him a very strong boost, and Alex didn't care which course it was going to take.

If this event helped Eric, then it was good as the guy would grow faster; if the opposite happens, then it was better as Alex would have more time to prepare a nice welcome for the guy.

With no more interruptions, Alex finally stepped into the portal, appearing on the spot he had marked as home—the throne room.

The lover's dedication had an anchor point marker that marked a point as a home point, and the user could always go back there no matter where they were.

The moment he stepped out of the portal, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

*Inhale**Exhale*

"Take Mama to my room, pup."

Alex muttered with his eyes still closed as he let Ann down, along with Noctura, who was in Ann's arms.

"All right."

Noctura nodded her head and jumped down Ann's arms, getting into her larger and intimidating form, ready to move forward.

"What's wrong, Alex?"

Ann, however, frowned in worry as she questioned.

She had an inkling of what was happening, but she decided not to point it out as she didn't want it to be true.

Noctura, who heard that question, turned to look at Alex as well.

She didn't have it in her to question Alex about anything when she saw that his mood was off, but she wanted to know the same thing as Ann.

He told her that they were going to bring both Ann and Alice back, yet he returned with Ann alone; if this was not enough to make her realize that something was wrong, then what was?

There was no way Alex would just leave Alice behind after all.

'Sigh…'

Alex, on the other hand, sighed inwardly before he opened his eyes, a gentle light shining within. Enjoy new stories from empire

"It's nothing, Ann; go get some rest."

Alex patted Ann's head and gestured for Noctura to take Ann into her room.

He knew that Ann and Noctura had almost guessed that whatever was happening was related to Alice; they didn't have to be wiser to make that out.

But he didn't want to say anything about it; guesses and reality were different, and he wanted them to just keep guessing, as that would make them less worried.

It was not like he actually knew what was happening.

He was also just guessing for now.

"... All right."

Ann, after staring at him for a while, nodded her head, placing her hand on Noctura's head, and walked away from there.

*Creak*

The large door opened automatically as Alex, the demon lord, commanded it to.

*Thud*

And the moment both Ann and Noctura moved out, it automatically got shut, and Alex's face turned grim.

'Sophia, I want an answer. Right. Now.'

He growled inwardly while gritting his teeth hard enough for them to cause a light rumbling sound.

[...]

Sophia didn't say anything for a while, as if contemplating the best way to put it in front of Alex before she spoke.

[As I said before, Alice is perfectly fine—]

"Where is she?"

Alex, however, cut her words; he didn't want to listen to a long speech about where Alice was, he wanted a precise answer.

[In Phoenixia, the Phoenix empire—]

Sophia answered, but her voice was cut short again.

"Sophia..."

Alex growled as he closed his, directly entering the system space.

*Step**Step*

The moment he found a footing, Alex stepped forward, his eyes catching the sight of Sophia as he questioned.

"What have you been hiding?"

He moved toward Sophia with a frown on his face; he knew that she was way stronger than him, but he didn't feel scared of her at all.

He even felt like if he wanted to, he could force her to do anything—no matter what it was.

But he didn't want to do that, as he just stared at Sophia, who had been fidgeting for a while before she sighed.

"Well, she is in a safe place, but there are certain risks as well..."

She muttered as she averted her eyes from Alex's sharp gaze.

"I'm listening."

Alex frowned as he waved his hand; the throne behind Sophia moved closer to him, and he sat on it.

This did shock Sophia a bit, but she soon calmed down.

Alex was the real owner of the system, and although she was the system spirit and was here to keep his powers in check, these basic kinds of stuff, such as moving things and shifting spaces, could be done by Alex as well.

One just needed a little practice.

And well, Alex was Alex, so his practice was already perfect.

"As I have said before, she is in the Phoenixia empire and is safe, but she is sleeping, or, to be precise, hibernating."

Sophia explained to Alex in a gentle tone as she looked into his eyes.

This is what she wanted—she wanted Alex to at least listen to her words.

"Where? Why? And what are the risks?"

Alex, although still worried, questioned Sophia with a calm voice, a frown still marring his face.

Maybe Sophia's divine beauty had calmed him down a bit, or maybe it just made it hard for him to get angry at her, but for whatever reason, Alex was now calmer.

"Yes, I was getting to that."

Sophia gave a slow nod before she continued.

"Where: In the ancestral room of the phoenixes in the imperial capital of the Phoenixia.

Why: Because she is getting powered up for free, and to take all of that power in, she must keep her body inactive.

What are the risks: Well, she was summoned as a vassal for their guardian—"

*Grip—Crack—Shatter*

Sophia paused as she saw Alex crushing the armrest of his throne while gritting her teeth before she added in a slow tone.

"And they wanted her to get stronger before their ancestor or their guardian descended into her—which would take more than a year by my calculation."

Sophia hurriedly added her last words as she heard the sound of Alex's teeth being grounded.

"..."

Alex, on the other hand, calmed down again, trying to think things logically as soon as his eyes fell on Sophia's nervous yet sincere expression.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

If it is as Sophia says, then it is certainly a good thing for Alice; he was as sure as he could be about it, but...

"All right, I've made up my mind."

Ales stood up from his spot as he knew what he had to do.