Chapter 8: Toya’s Gift, the Devil’s Pass

A-Wei was dead.

He had been disemboweled. Toya had shielded Ron from the most lethal blow, but Li Wei had already lost his mind, fixated solely on killing Ron. His furious, roaring voice echoed throughout the vehicle.

The demon warriors finally stopped watching in silence. By sacrificing humans, Li Wei had indeed gained a significant boost in power, but unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong opponent. As a bodyguard carefully selected by Ron, Toya was not only kind-hearted and warm, but her strength was also among the best of the demon warriors on the bus; the only one she arguably fell short of was her own older brother sitting in the front.

Li Wei’s strength was nothing compared to Toya’s, and he was easily knocked to the floor by her. Had it ended there, Li Wei’s crimes would not have been fatal; at most, he would have been sent to the rear for trial as a deserter. But as luck would have it, he could no longer distinguish reality from the Spirit Realm, and he used the power of a Devil’s Pact without hesitation.

"Damn you! You all deserve to die!" With bloodshot eyes, he scrambled up from the floor.

"A Devil’s Pact!" Toya cried out in shock.

In that moment, the expressions of all the demon warriors shifted. The Devil’s Pact was the ultimate taboo in the demon warrior villages.

Toya’s brother made his move. With a single hand, he suppressed the rampaging Li Wei. "You have killed 362 people." His voice was cold with fury; the number of the Devil’s Pact was visible. "I wondered why we kept receiving reports of missing human engineers lately—I never imagined it was a piece of trash like you behind it!"

Li Wei was too terrified to speak, his sanity partially returning now that he had been subdued. He knew exactly what punishment awaited him once a Devil’s Pact was discovered. Following the village rules, Toya’s brother called for a vote. If the majority present agreed, the execution would be carried out immediately.

Toya could not bear to watch. She took Ron and retreated to the back.

"I don't know what got into Mototak to make him trust a Devil’s Pact," Toya sighed.

"Maybe he was bullied," Ron said, casually offering the reason he had observed.

"Bullied? What is that?" Toya looked puzzled.

Ron explained the information he had on Li Wei. Toya was incredulous. "That is a trial every demon warrior must endure!"

"???" Ron was instantly filled with confusion.

It turned out that in the demon warrior villages, every demon child went through this so-called "bullying," which was actually a brutal form of training designed to weed out the weak and ensure only the strongest offspring remained to protect the village. Survival of the fittest—that was the demon way of life.

In Toya’s view, this was only natural. Ron’s mouth twitched, but he could only offer his respect and well-wishes; after all, these were her people's traditional values. This was likely one of the reasons why patients with Resonance Syndrome often suffered mental breakdowns. Many concepts in the Spirit Realm were entirely at odds with modern human values, and when consciousness was bombarded by the conflicting ideologies of the two worlds, it was inevitable that some would go mad.

As Ron pondered this, he noticed Toya stroking the Demon King Meow with a look of sadness. She was deeply pessimistic about the coming war. The affection Ron had shown Toya was not entirely an act for Li Wei’s benefit. While Toya did not fit his criteria for a bed partner, she was an excellent friend. For instance, just moments ago, no other demon warrior would have stepped in to protect Ron when Li Wei went insane. Among the busload of warriors, only the kind-hearted Toya would have done so, which was precisely why Ron had chosen to strike up a conversation with her.

"Is the war very intense?" Ron asked.

Toya looked dismal. "When they're planning to send even unqualified warriors like Mototak to the front lines, it means the front has already collapsed."

"Then why are you still going?"

"I have to." Despite her pessimism, Toya was uncommonly firm. "I need to protect the village."

At this, she seemed to remember something and pulled a card from her hand. "Here, take this. I won't be needing it anymore anyway."

Ron took the card, puzzled. It was a [Demon Pass].

"This is..."

"I had planned to travel the world as a coming-of-age gift to myself, but I suppose that won't happen now, so this card is useless," Toya said with a smile. "Consider it a gift for your kitty. If you sell it, you should be able to buy enough cat food for its entire life."

As they spoke, screams erupted from the front. The execution of Li Wei had been passed unanimously, and the demon warriors were busy disemboweling him. With Li Wei’s death, the instance began to collapse. The decorations on the bus reverted to their mundane, realistic style; the demonic aesthetic peeled away like a washed-off coating, gradually vanishing.

Ron stood up. "I should go."

"Mhm." Toya gently handed the Demon King Meow back to Ron. It was hard to imagine that a three-meter-tall demon warrior could seem so gentle. "You really should get off. You humans have your own battles to fight. I hope we can meet again."

Ron paused, then smiled. "We will."

With that, he stepped over Li Wei’s bloody, horrific corpse and stood at the bus door. The demon warriors watched Ron’s departure coldly. Humans had formed a resistance front with them; though they despised the weak, they were a people who kept their word.

The swaying of the bus gradually ceased, and various noises flooded Ron’s ears. He turned his head to see a bus packed full of people. Elderly folk sat in the front, talking loudly, while young people in the back kept their heads down, playing on their phones.

Everything had returned to reality. There was no sign of Toya or the other demon warriors.

Meet again? That would likely never happen.

Ron looked down at the card in his hand—the [Demon Pass] Toya had given him.

***
Name: [Demon Pass]
Category: Permanent Tool Card
Effect: Grants unrestricted passage within Spirit Realm instances.
Note: Watch your balance; please recharge in a timely manner.
***

Through the Demon King Meow, Ron saw the specific details on the card. With it, he could open any door or device in Spirit Realm instances that required a card to verify access. As long as the balance was sufficient, he could also use it to make purchases within these instances. The method of recharging was simple: just treat it like an ATM deposit. (Though one shouldn't go to the counter; the staff would think you were crazy.)

A very useful card. Praise be to Toya!

Though, it didn't seem to do much for his combat power...

"Meow~!"

After Ron got off the bus, the Demon King Meow, coiled around his neck, suddenly let out a cry and spat out a card. He caught it instinctively.

[Devil’s Pact].

It seemed this was his reward for clearing the instance. But he was in no mood to deal with that now.

Within the Resonant Spirit Realm, Vivian was burning.

Literally.

While he had been struggling with Li Wei on the bus, his actions in the Spirit Realm had not ceased. Ron needed Vivian to grow stronger as quickly as possible, so he had intended to teach her some magic. Who would have guessed that a spell meant to ignite enemies would end up setting Vivian herself on fire?

He hoped this girl wouldn't burn all her clothes off.

As Ron thought this, he took off his watch.