Chapter 601 - 600: Do you know who you are ?

Chapter 601: Chapter 600: Do you know who you are ?

Keith and Kiro approached the new city.

When they arrived, they were shocked by how much it had changed.

Rank 0 experts could be seen everywhere, with a few High-Level Rank 0 beings appearing from time to time. It seemed that breaking through to Rank 0 had become far easier.

"Welcome."

Seeing the two unfamiliar faces, the guard greeted them with a smile, but his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

He was a Middle-Level Rank 0 being who had once encountered a Quasi-Rank 1 aura.

He could still vividly remember that experience—the breathlessness he had felt and the overwhelming pressure that had nearly crushed him.

But these two...

These two were several times stronger than that Quasi-Rank 1 being.

That meant they were either already at the Fifth Realm of the Quasi-Rank 1 Realm or had become Rank 1 beings.

"Thank you."

Kiro passed by with a smile as he entered the city with Keith.

They looked at the people moving around the streets with relaxed expressions.

The world had improved.

Prices had gone down, and things had largely returned to normal.

Keith couldn’t help but remember the time before the war, when prices had skyrocketed and food had become scarce.

He remembered how he had foolishly sneaked around to get food for others.

How naive he had been.

It was Leon who had finally solved the issue then.

"It seems things have pretty much returned to normal," Kiro said with a light chuckle.

Hearing this, Keith nodded.

"Yeah. It seems they have."

They entered the city and walked around until they finally reached the City Lord’s residence.

As potential Quasi-Rank 1 beings and above, they were treated like special guests.

The City Lord happily welcomed them.

Soon enough, they learned about everything that had happened during their absence.

Afterward, Keith and Kiro left the city.

"What do you think?" Kiro asked.

Keith sighed.

"To be honest, I really don’t know. Is it because of the changes? Or because Nekro has taken full control of the Mortal Realm?"

He paused for a moment.

"But what I do know is that we’re the princess’s bodyguards. How about we focus on rescuing her first?"

Kiro pondered his words.

True.

What more could they even do right now?

Rescuing Princess Rasel seemed like the most sensible course of action.

Perhaps they didn’t need to go toe-to-toe with Nekro.

But the fact that Rasel was imprisoned meant that she was useful to him in some way.

So a battle might ensue.

They had to think about it carefully.

---

Ynvashi Kingdom...

Capital...

Keith and Kiro arrived as they tore through space and traveled through the Second Layer of Space.

They had decided to rescue Princess Rasel first.

Afterward, they could think about what they would do next.

They arrived at the Royal Palace and began searching for Rasel.

It took them a while, but after some brief questioning of the palace personnel, they learned that Nekro was keeping her in the basement.

So they headed there.

Meanwhile, Nekro was in his room, devouring a huge amount of humans and beasts as his realm continued to improve.

The boundary between Middle-Level Rank 0 and High-Level Rank 0 was being pushed back.

But just then, he sensed two Rank 1 auras.

His eyes widened.

"It couldn’t be..."

Nekro spoke in disbelief.

He had still thought they might be some other Rank 1 beings, but he hadn’t expected anyone to breakthrough this quickly.

Worse, they were inside his palace.

And they were heading toward...

Wait.

Were they affiliated with Princess Rasel?

Why would they be looking for her?

---

"Princess..."

Keith and Kiro broke through the door to the basement and walked down the stairs, calling out for Rasel.

They called several times, but there was no response.

It wasn’t until they reached the deepest part of the basement that they entered a room where a human figure could be seen tied up.

It was Princess Rasel.

Her tattoos were glowing as her various gruesome wounds slowly healed.

"Princess!"

The two hurried toward her, their faces filled with shock and disbelief, and broke the chains binding her.

"Ke...ith..."

"Kiro..."

Princess Rasel spoke weakly as she struggled to open her eyes.

"We’re here."

Kiro helped her up as he spoke.

Keith, meanwhile, looked around the room, and his expression changed.

Pieces of human flesh could be seen scattered around the room, while dried blood stained the floor and walls.

Everything pointed toward the same conclusion.

Princess Rasel had been tortured.

There was no doubt that Nekro was responsible.

But why?

Was it simply because she had dared to stand against him?

Or was there another reason?

Princess Rasel fainted immediately after speaking, her green tattoos rapidly dimming.

"Do you think we can leave before he senses us?" Kiro couldn’t help but ask with a chuckle.

Keith smiled when he heard this.

"Most likely not."

Kiro carefully settled Princess Rasel against a wall before stretching his body.

Almost instantly, they felt another powerful Rank 1 aura.

A two-meter-tall demon appeared in the room.

"Quite bold, I must say," Nekro muttered.

"Heh. This isn’t the most dangerous situation we’ve ever been in," Kiro replied.

"Right. About time," Keith muttered.

He felt a strange familiarity with Nekro the instant he saw him.

And the closer Nekro got, the more intense that feeling became.

"Hmm... I’ll get back to you."

Nekro glanced at Kiro as he spoke.

Then he turned toward Keith.

"Ah..."

His eyes lit up with surprise.

"You are quite interesting."

Nekro spoke as Keith suddenly moved.

The strange familiarity made him uncomfortable.

In an instant, Keith appeared before the seemingly frozen Nekro and clenched his fist.

But the next moment Keith sensed a crisis, he stopped and tried to back away.

He was too close to Nekro.

He could only move a meter before Nekro grabbed him by the neck.

"Do you know who you are?" Nekro couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Hearing this, Keith’s expression changed.

He grabbed Nekro’s wrist with one hand and the fingers around his neck with the other, desperately trying to pry them open.

"You should be an outcast," Nekro continued.

"Because if you weren’t, you should already be worshipping me."

His eyes narrowed.

"You are a hybrid... a useless result of the honorable Demon Race mixing with humans."

"Huh?"

Keith froze.

Kiro’s eyes widened.

What?!