The cub stood silently in front of Nereus, its black fur soft. Twin horns curled from its head, and its glowing red eyes stared straight at Nereus—bright, unblinking, and unsettling.
At first glance, it looked harmless, almost cute. But the longer he looked, the more he felt it—an eerie power hiding behind that innocent face.
Nereus was on guard now because he thought the main boss had come—the one controlling that girl.
But then the girl woke up again, and upon seeing that girl, little cub ran to Nereus and started rubbing his body against his legs.
"Ohh, so this poor cub is also stuck here. But don't worry, I'm here. I'll save you," said Xin, grabbing the cub and putting it inside his chest to keep him safe.
But he didn't know that the cub was none other than the Demon King.
Aris was literally smirking when Nereus put him in his chest. And Nereus had no other choice now. He summoned his sword and pointed it at the girl, but suddenly flinched because the cub was licking his chest.
He peeked down into his chest, and the cub was licking it like he was about to suckle. Without wasting another second, Nereus slid his hand under his chest.
"I am not your mother, kiddo!" He put Aris's face facing outward so that he wouldn't touch his chest again.
Nereus deeply inhaled and looked ahead to fight the girl, who was now so creepy that no one could bear to look at her. But then suddenly, she stood there like she was some kind of statue.
Taking advantage of this unknown situation, Nereus took out his talismans and wrote something on them using water that he made come out from his fingers.
Within a few minutes, Nereus killed the ghost that was inside her and sighed in relief. But when he tried to open the door, he found it was locked.
He cracked his neck and kicked it a few times until it broke. He stepped outside and saw the man who had pushed him inside.
"You bastard! You're dead now!" Nereus rushed toward the man and punched him in the face while grabbing his collar and slamming him against the wall. Despite looking skinny, Nereus was powerful.
"Listen to me! I did that to save my daughter. I knew from your clothes that you were a Taoist, that's why I brought you here."
"Wouldn't it be great if you had asked for help from me? And where is the person who was with me?"
Just then, Aris jumped out from Nereus's clothes. And when Nereus let the man go, he showed him that they had put neo on the bed and he was still unconscious.
Nereus asked them about their daughter's condition, but then they told him the truth about their town—which was terrifying.
Something unusual had started happening in the town a few years ago when entire families died in a single night.
No one knows how they died, and they were hunters who only ate animals. But after they died, people started to get possessed and eat their own family members alive.
No one believed the tale until they saw it with their own eyes. And from that day, whoever's eyes turned completely black was confined in the dark room.
"You should have called someone for help then."
"We did, but no one came, saying it's a curse. Please forgive me for deceiving you, but we didn't have any other choice."
Just then, the man's wife came out after checking on their daughter. "Our daughter has become normal." Both husband and wife were very happy.
They first apologized to Nereus and then didn't take any money from him for the room. Neo was in another room, and so was Nereus.
Nereus put down the cub on the bed and was removing his robe when suddenly the cub transformed into human form.
Nereus quickly stepped back, but Aris stepped down from the bed and wrapped his arms around Nereus, pulling him closer.
"Thank you for saving me, Master."
"Are you a divine beast? Is that why you changed your form? But from your appearance, you look like a demon."
"Indeed, I am a demon. But I have never hurt or killed anyone to this day." Hearing this, Nereus pushed him back and judged him with his eyes.
But then Aris realized this was not the right time. So he hugged Nereus and made him fall asleep.
---
The next day, when Nereus woke up, he heard neo's voice coming from outside the room. He opened the door and found many people standing in front of it.
"Help us!"
"Our family members are possessed too!"
Nereus understood that this situation was coming, but now it was on him whether he was going to help them or not. Meanwhile, Aris was lying on the bed in his beast form.
"Nereus, they all have gone mad. When I said you wouldn't help them, they threatened to kill me."
Nereus gave a signal to Neo to step out from his way, and he stood in front of the people. They were all still begging for Nereus's help.
"SHUT UP!" Suddenly, hearing his shouting, they all went silent and startled.
"Do I look like a Taoist priest to you all, that you've come here to ask for help with your possessed family members?" After saying this, he glanced at neo.
"Go and bring our belongings. We are leaving right now. There is no need to stay in this selfish village."
The villagers' eyes widened because they didn't expect Nereus to say that he would leave without helping them. From their gaze, it was clear to Nereus that he had done the right thing by refusing to help them.
Because those villagers also didn't seem normal. And when Wen and Nereus stepped inside, suddenly a voice echoed in Nereus's head.
"Foolish son, remember everything and come back to heaven. We need you."
Nereus clenched his head because he started having a headache because of that voice. It was ringing in his head.