523. Never Changing

523. Never Changing

I swept my gaze over my surroundings. I saw the crimson skies glowing above. I spotted the undulating mountains in the distance. Tall white peaks rose over the horizon, and an ocean of black expanded all around me. I lay there, floating as I craned my head back to face the sky. The dark sea held still. No gust of wind washed over me.

This was the Netherworld. And I was finally back.

“Huh.”

I said nothing more. I stared up, looking where I had last seen my dad. The moment I fell out of his pocket space, he began to vanish. That ever-changing world of fractal walls faded away, leaving me alone down here.

It had been so long since I was last in the Netherworld. This was my home, but it felt so unfamiliar. And yet, it was nostalgic at the same time. I sat up, taking in a deep breath. I smiled as I saw the vast terrain.

I remembered the time I had spent here— to sluggishly crawl over those rocky flatlands, to scale up mountains, and to cross through valleys. The fond memories of staring at rocks were still fresh in my mind. I recalled chasing wild Demons. I thought about the time I spent together with Haec. The time I had spent in the Netherworld… it was… it was…

“It’s so boring!”

I groaned, falling back into the dark water. I paused and furrowed my brows.

“Well, not the time I spent with Haec. That was nice. But everything else—”

I had been so slow back then! It took me forever just to swim ashore when I had just been born. And that was when I was still an Infant Demon— time back then seemed so much longer than when time passed now.

And it wasn’t a result of magic or anything. I had just experienced so many more things now. So it felt like time was moving faster. At least, that was Daniel’s explanation when I asked him why days felt like they were so much shorter now compared to when I first arrived in the Mortal Realm.

In any case, I wasn’t in the Mortal Realm. I was back in the Netherworld. I was here to find my first companion.

Haec.

Last I heard, he was under the command of the Demon King. Which was weird, really. I had been fighting Regnorex’s forces all this while, trying to keep them out of the Mortal Realm. But maybe if I had actually let them through, I would have just met Haec without returning to the Netherworld.

I shook my head, dismissing the thought.

That was never going to happen. I had other companions I cared about. Friends, too. There were things that mattered to me, and I wasn’t going to sacrifice the entirety of the Human lands just to see Haec again.

I knew I could see him again through my own means. I wasn’t going to let any of my companions be endangered by the Demon King. I especially wasn’t going to let my children get hurt either.

And now, I was back in the Netherworld. I had foiled the Demon King’s plans— also enraging him in the process. But that was fine. I just had to avoid him so I didn’t die. That wouldn’t be too difficult, right?

After all, the Netherworld was a vast place. It wasn’t going to be easy for Regnorex to find me. But that also meant it wasn’t going to be easy for me to find Haec.

I looked up again, letting out a soft sigh.

“This isn’t going to be easy…”

I trailed off. But I had known it wasn’t going to be easy from the very beginning. And yet, I still embarked on my journey to return back to Haec. Because he was my first companion. I made him a promise— I wasn’t going to break it.

So I was going to find him. I had to find him. No matter what, I was going to have to track Haec down!

“…in maybe five minutes.”

I groaned as I closed my eyes. I was still hurt. I hadn’t fully recovered from the battle I had against Levithus in the Mortal Realm. Sure, I now had [Passive – Weaker Regeneration], but it wasn’t nearly as effective as a healing potion, let alone a Potion of Regeneration. I needed to [Rest] for a while. At least a full day. Probably more. Although…

I opened my eyes, glancing up.

“There is no day or night in the Netherworld.”

I murmured to myself. So keeping track of time wasn’t going to be easy. I just had to go based on instinct alone. I felt like I had been floating here for at least an hour, and most of my injuries still remained. It was going to take a while until I recovered.

“I guess I’ll just wait…”

I suspected that, with the severity of my injuries, I’d only be fully healed in maybe twenty more hours. That was assuming I was right in saying that I had been using [Rest] for an hour now. It would be stupid to roam the Netherworld while hurt. It was extremely dangerous here, especially since the Beast was awake. Sure, I was far enough away that I was probably safe. But there were many more things throughout the Netherworld that would want to kill me.

Well… probably everything wanted to kill me. From wild Demons to the Demon King. So I just waited, looking through my Status in the meanwhile.

Salvos (Secely’s Sentinel) (The Devil’s Daughter)

Species: [Primeval Demon of Pride]

Secondary Species: [Lesser God]

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Subspecies: [Angelic Devil Princess] – Lvl. 158

Class: [Draconic Apprentice] – Lvl. 125

General Skills:

[Advanced Mana Manipulation] – Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Corruption Resistance] – Lvl. 1

[Identification] – Lvl. 6

[Racial Skill: True Divinity] – Lvl. 1 (Maxed)

[Racial Skill: Universal Language Comprehension] – Lvl. 2

[Rest] – Lvl. 5

[Wisdom of the Old Gods] – Lvl. 5

[Title Skill: General Status Effect Resistance] – Lvl. 1

[Ttle Skill: Invoke Wrath] – Lvl. 2

[Title Skill: Protection of the Sentinel] – Lvl. 1

[Title Skill: The Devil’s Grace] – Lvl. 1

[Racial Skill: Divine Essence of the Angelic Devil Princess] – Lvl. 1 (Maxed)

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality]: 255 (+30) (+10)

[Strength]: 255 (+30) (+10)

[Endurance]: 255 (+30) (+10) (+3)

[Wisdom]: 400 (+30) (+10) (+50)

[Agility]: 440 (+30) (+10) (+5)

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 9]