Chapter 279
He was calm, however, as he stared at the cloudy sky, marveling at the forces of nature. The wind howled in the distance, carrying the scent of damp earth and sulfur. The view that some may find ominous looked somewhat breathtaking to him. Those sulfur clouds reflecting the golden sun rays swirled in chaotic patterns, like brushstrokes on a celestial canvas. It made him feel excited.
He had a content smile on his face, his lips curving ever so slightly, the glow of the sky reflecting in his dark eyes.
Despite the fact that he had not exorcised Sera…
He did not regret his decision one bit.
In fact…
He was overjoyed for letting her live.
Why?
It was simple.
It was part of his plan.
Something he had planned long before. In his plan, Sera’s death was never a part.
The ‘other thing’ he had wanted to do this whole time while fighting Sera was accomplished.
What was the thing?
He smirked as he looked at the black screen before him.
The screen flickered slightly, humming with a faint, ethereal glow.
[Sera Hegara is now the target]
His grin widened as he read the golden letters intently.
He had managed to bind himself to Sera, shifting from the main protagonist Evelyn to her.
Logically speaking, this was not ideal and even a wrong move; he had to put so much effort to bind to Evelyn, but now he suddenly shifted targets. It was an obvious waste of effort, right?
No, Oliver thought differently. He had multiple reasons to be this way.
After coming to the land of demons, he felt his perspective broaden; he noted the extreme diversity in the demonic races, way more than what could be seen among humans.
He had seen creatures with obsidian scales that shimmered in darkness, demons with six eyes that glowed like embers, and beings that spoke in voices layered with echoes.
Binding with demons could provide him unique advantages and insights that Evelyn could not provide.
It was a strategic move; he had to adapt to the environment he was in, and to adapt in that environment, he had to mix in with the demons.
These were the basic survival and growth traits that he had developed since he was born in this world.
Not only that, but there were other important reasons as well.
He was in the land of his mortal enemies, where he was facing imminent threats and dangers to his life every moment.
And for some weird reason, he was not receiving any rewards from Evelyn; he observed this strange thing for some time.
Any rewards or breakthroughs, there was nothing. It was as if… almost as if Evelyn had completely stopped training, which was very weird given her diligence and ambitions.
So, he was further motivated to bind to Sera as it became a pragmatic choice to him since it offered him the potential resources.
And, he also realized that relying solely on the main protagonist was not sufficient for overarching his goals and ambitions.
Only by diversifying his powers and targets, which included binding with Sera, could he position himself to gain a broader range of abilities and knowledge, which would only increase his chances of success in future situations.
Plus, he wanted to see what would happen once a demoness like Sera, one who was extremely talented, had a breakthrough.
Could he learn demonic techniques despite being an exorcist? He had heard of some exorcists employing techniques derived from demons, so he had to give it a try no matter what.
Sera was the perfect target; not only was she young, she was also a very promising candidate among other demons. From what he knew and heard, plus from what he had observed so far, Sera was someone with one of the best talents out there among the other demons in the same generation.
This could be proven by the fact that she was already an inquisitor at such a young age.
Vasoth was likely triple or double her age, but still respected her like an elder because of her talent and power.
This was enough for Oliver to know what benefits she could offer to him in the long run, or at least until he found another new target to bind to.
As for Evelyn, there were naturally going to be many opportunities in the future as well once he returned to the human world. He could get in touch with her then and restore their connection respectively.
For now, he wanted to test out whether it was possible to learn demonic techniques.
Why was this a test and not a conviction?
Simply because demonic techniques were framed and designed to work only with dark espera; someone like him with regular pure espera would not be able to perform those demonic techniques.
Would his abilities warp into something new? Something unknown? A bridge between two opposing forces?
In fact, he was not even sure if the system would recognize her as an important character worth binding to, but surprisingly, she had some significance to the world and was thus recognized as a bindable target.
Although, he could not remember what was her role in the original story.
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“Haah… I am so tired.”
Oliver yawned and buried his face in the ground.
The rough, cracked earth pressed against his skin, still warm from the day’s heat. He could feel grains of dust clinging to his cheek.
‘Damn, this is so rough. I want to lie in a soft, cushiony bed. I miss my comfy courtyard.’
He felt a little distressed as he remembered the life of luxury and comfort at the clan. Despite being treated as non-existent since his birth, his life was nothing lacking; they provided him with comfort that many ordinary people might never experience.
His clan was truly rich after all; they did not lack resources, given how they could waste a lot of elixirs.
Even now, the memory of silk sheets and the scent of fresh lotus incense made his muscles ache with longing.
‘What might be happening there right now?’ Oliver wondered.
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