187 THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH
Lillrune wandered aimlessly through the labyrinthine streets of Sodom City, his twisted hunger simmering beneath the surface. His sole focus was finding Lilleo Gullee, his fatal enemy.
He would corner strangers in dark alleys, demanding news of Lilleo, but more often than not, his hunger got the better of him before they could say anything useful.
Still, he restrained himself—mostly.
Lillrune's stomach growled, a gnawing hunger that threatened to consume him, but he wasn't foolish enough to let it override his senses completely.
Drawing too much attention here would only bring the city's police crashing down on him.
"Where the hell is Lilleo Gullee?" he snarled, his voice a deep, guttural growl laced with frustration.
A flicker caught his eye—a tiny red dot blinking at the edge of his mini-map, a crucial feature of the System he relied on to navigate these foreign streets.
"Is that him?" Lillrune asked, eyes narrowing.
Piggy's calm voice resonated in his mind. "It's possible. The red dot indicates hostility—enemies that pose a significant threat to you or your fatal enemies."
"Then it's gotta be fucking Lilleo Gullee, nobody else who hates me knows I'm here in this city," Lillrune hissed, baring his teeth as he lunged into motion, tearing through the narrow alleyways toward the dot.
But as he closed the gap, he noticed something unexpected: the dot wasn't standing still. It was moving—fast.
"What the hell?" he growled, irritation mounting. "Where's he running off to?"
Piggy offered no immediate answer, its silence a stark contrast to its usual stream of advice.
"You should tread carefully," it finally said, its tone cautionary. "This territory is unfamiliar, and you could be walking into a trap."
Lillrune laughed, a harsh, manic sound. "Trap?" he spat, feet pounding against cobblestones as he picked up speed. "Why should I care about traps? If I have to, I'll eat the trap or the whole fucking world!"
With that, he surged forward, chasing the elusive red dot, his hunger and fury propelling him into the unknown.
----
"He's following me," Leo muttered, gripping the reins of the horse General Nalum had gifted him after the Trial by Combat with the demons.
"Where are you leading him?" Yun-Yun asked, her voice steady but curious.
Yun-Yun and Petunia were seated behind him on the massive horse, its broad back easily accommodating all three riders.
"To the demons, of course," Petunia replied with a sly smile.
Behind them, Lillrune was closing in. Leo had deliberately drawn him away from the city, ensuring Lillrune's destructive rampage wouldn't claim more innocent lives. The wide expanse of the Heaven's Cage Plains stretched endlessly before them, its winds carrying a faint, eerie stillness.
Leo kept the horse at a steady, deliberate pace, just slow enough for Lillrune to follow.
He knew Lillrune's limitations—his map extensions likely weren't as expansive as Leo's. At best, Lillrune could only detect enemies within a hundred meters.
As they neared a lone hill jutting out from the plains, Leo pulled the horse to a halt. He glanced over his shoulder at Yun-Yun and Petunia. "You two should get off here. It'll be safer to watch from this spot."
Petunia frowned slightly but slid off the horse without argument. Yun-Yun followed, her eyes scanning the horizon for any signs of Lillrune.
"Be careful," Yun-Yun said softly.
Leo gave her a reassuring nod, then urged the horse forward to lead Lillrune again.
------
After the crushing defeat of the demon army in the Trial by Combat, they did not return to the ruins of Sodom. Instead, they regrouped, establishing a heavily fortified camp on the outskirts of Heaven's Cage.
The city remained on edge, its leaders wary of provoking the demons into open war. Though victorious, they knew that chasing the demons into the ruins would risk reigniting the conflict.
One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, a lone figure approached the demon encampment. His silhouette was stark against the dying light, his presence unnerving in its stillness.
"Halt! Who dares approach?" a demon guard bellowed, his voice carrying across the camp.
The figure stepped into the flickering torchlight, his voice cutting through the night. "Where is Lilleo Gullee?" he demanded. "I can see his dot here."
The guard's eyes narrowed. "You dare speak that name? I'll crush you for your insolence!" He swung his massive axe, the blade gleaming ominously.
To the guard's horror, the man's jaw unhinged, grotesquely wide, and with a sickening gulp, he swallowed the weapon whole.
He let out a guttural burp, his grin stretching unnaturally across his face. "What in the hell?"
The guard froze, disbelief etched onto his face, before turning to raise the alarm. "Intruder! Sound the alarm! He's... he's eating us alive!"
Chaos erupted within the camp. Soldiers scrambled to arm themselves, shamans began chanting protective spells, and commanders barked orders.
From his tent, Argun, the demon commander, emerged, his eyes blazing with fury. "What's happening here?"
"He's with Lilleo Gullee," stammered a nearby captain. "And he's devouring our soldiers!"
"Lilleo Gullee!!! He dares!!!"
As the demons advanced on the intruder, spectral figures began to rise from his shadow—wraithlike entities with glowing eyes and clawed hands. They attacked the demons with ruthless precision, tearing through their ranks.
The man opened his maw again, consuming another demon whole.
"What kind of abomination is this?" Argun roared, his voice trembling with rage.
"That's not the question we should be asking," Captain Harith muttered grimly. "The question is—what can we do to stop him?"
The demons threw everything they had at the intruder. Shamans summoned powerful spells, while warriors charged with reckless abandon. But it was futile.
The spectral guardians surrounding the man intercepted every attack, draining the shamans of their power and eviscerating the soldiers.
Within minutes, the battlefield was littered with the remnants of the demon army. The man stood taller now, his monstrous form brimming with a malevolent energy.
"Why do these fools keep feeding me?" he growled, his voice a mix of disdain and madness.