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With my character as a guarantee, I swore that whole incident with Mo Ning was entirely an accident. And that was why I couldn’t be blamed either for wanting to ride her, probably…

As I galloped ahead with Mo Na and Cinderel in my arms, our destination this time was the habitat of the Fire Elementals. Following closely behind me was the Cerberus couple, Sasani and Sinmosa. Above me were Jeerah and the representative sent by the Purgatory Shadowcats to accompany me, Masrow.

Our entourage was headed to the habitat of the Fire Elementals with the rest of the Abyssal Golems in tow in order to retrieve one of the required ingredients, a core of an Eight-star Fire Elemental, and also the heart of an Eight-star Fire Devouring Fish.

The Fire Elementals were allies with another clan friendly to me, the Demon Fire Salamanders, because they had a common nemesis, the Fire Devouring Fishes. Of the two ingredients mentioned, that fish heart was probably going to be the most troublesome to get, even with the Fire Elementals’ help. After all, I had only seen a Six-star fish up till now but nothing higher. However, I had a rough guess as to how to find an Eight-star, assuming it even existed.

“Relax, there will definitely be one.” Ferti’nier suddenly popped up with that bit of revelation. Yet before I could even clarify this matter further, she actually went silent once more without any warning. Did I do something weird?

If I had to describe the relationship between the Fire Elementals and the Fire Devouring Fishes, it would be that of a prey and its hunter. The Demon Fire Salamanders were on equally hostile terms with these fishes, making them perfect allies for each other. Because of that, there were probably no other clans who knew more about the Fire Devouring Fishes than the Demon Fire Salamanders and the Fire Elementals. That was why I decided to pay the Fire Elementals a visit, in hopes of getting an Eight-star core while also procuring some intelligence.

“Mama, are we going to visit those fire spitting people now?” She asked while tugging on my wrist and leaning in, her own arms still wrapped around Cinderel. She looked up at me and pouted. “Mo Na doesn’t like them, they are mean.”

Our last encounter with them did start off rather unpleasantly because of their brash behaviour, or rather arrogance. However, that bit of arrogance only seemed like childishness to me, because they didn’t have the strength to back up that arrogance.

The Fire Elementals had an obvious weakness, and that was their absolute helplessness against the Fire Devouring Fishes. The last time we encountered them, we easily defeated them simply because we had equipment made from the bones of said fish… Truly, it was the very definition of an epic fail.

It seemed like another encounter was inevitable this time around. Hopefully, that fellow had learnt lesson or I would have to resort to brute force again.

I prodded Mo Na on her little cheeks. “That’s because Papa needs their help.”

Because the Fire Elementals lived in a lava lake, that meant that my golems were basically dead weight since they couldn’t swim. With my biggest trump card sealed off like that, that meant I had to resort to other methods, like those equipment I mentioned before, along with my new allies.

The Purgatory Shadowcats, the Hellhounds and the Purgatory Warhorses could all be considered my allies now. Along with me were three representatives from their respective clans. With such a showing, they most likely wouldn’t try to start any trouble with me, or perhaps I should say that I wouldn’t have to bully them too much…

‘Whether it was by force or by deception, what mattered was I got that core.’

‘If everything proceeded according to plan, I might even be able to get them to help me locate Nola, assuming that the elemental to greet us this time had a better temperament than Arca…’

‘It had been some time since we last saw Nola. Before leaving, she mentioned she was heading home, who knew if she actually made it back in the end, or was just wandering around right now.’

‘Those salamanders should have had more dealings with the Fire Devouring Fishes as well, so if there was anyone who had information on an Eight-star fish, it would be them.’

Just as I was mulling over how to procure those two ingredients, the silent up till now Mo Ning suddenly spoke up with an earth-shattering question. “Dearest, is little Mo Na your daughter?”

“… Please don’t address me as dearest.”

Mo Ning innocently batted her eyes at me. “But we’re already engaged.”

“Please don’t…I’m about to cry.”

“Why are you about to cry, dearest?” Mo Ning threw me a concerned look. “Little Mo Na is really adorable.”

‘Me crying has nothing to do with Mo Na… it’s about you calling me dearest. Ahhhh…all that nonsense about being engaged is fine and dandy, as long as it’s a cute girl we’re talking about. Why is it I’m engaged to a horse! What went wrong in my life!? Why must I suffer so… what did I do to deserve this…’

Naturally, she had no way of knowing what I was thinking right now, but that didn’t stop her aggravating me further whether on purpose or by sheer coincidence. As we continued riding on, she maintained eye contact with me even as we passed by an undulating stretch of road. For some strange reason, this ride was extremely smooth. I had no horse whip or saddle to control her galloping, but it still felt extremely smooth riding on her, perhaps even better than driving a car.

‘You know. If you’re willing to cancel that whole engagement thing, we can still be friends…’

After a few hours of being together, I gained a rough understanding of who Mo Ning was as a horse. During battle, she was icy cold. Silent. But once you got to know her, she slowly became a lively, warm horse.

“Actually… Mo Na isn’t my real daughter…” I knew Mo Na was well aware of this fact as well, but this was the first time I said it out loud. I could feel her shifting uncomfortably in my arms the moment I said that. Her body stiffened a little but this situation only lasted a few seconds before she quickly recovered into a more comfortable position.

“Mo Na’s mother was an Imp. In order to save me, she ended up being captured by the enemies. By the time we saved her, she was already pregnant…” I gently patted Mo Na on the head then said softly. “I bestowed the name Mo Ci on her.”

Speaking of Mo Ci, I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my heart. I rarely thought about those who died, because I was a person that easily lost himself in grief. Once I entered such a state, leaving was hard. Whether it was now or then, such an emotional state wasn’t allowed. That was why I avoided thinking about those who died on our journey, though I would still think to myself sometimes how great it would be to have them back again.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.

The journey up till now had seen a great number who sacrificed themselves for me. I had never once forgotten about their sacrifice, I just did not want to recall those painful memories… because I was now in a spot where I couldn’t retreat nor show weakness. The apocalypse was coming soon, and the current me didn’t even possess the right to take part in that battle. Other than thinking about ways to strengthen myself, I had no time for other matters.

Perhaps it was because I had gone silent for a long while, or perhaps it was because of the undisguised grief I was displaying right now, Mo Ning couldn’t help but interrupt my reminiscing. “So what happened to little Mo Na’s mother?”

“Dead.” I breathed in deeply at that point and hugged my little baby even tighter, taking in that comforting scent she gave off. “While incubating, a Devil’s egg requires a lot of mana… she could have given up then, but that would mean that only she lived… and that was she gave up… gave up on her life… in order to hatch her…”

Mo Na’s birth meant the death of Mo Ci. I was fighting outside at that point, but if I was by her side then, she wouldn’t have died no matter what. I could have given her some of the souls I had harvested. Failing that, I could have even given her some of the Small Imps I had under me… but… but there were no buts in this world…

“So that’s how you became Mo Na’s mama?”

“Papa.” I strongly emphasized that point.

Her eyes went wide. “… But you’re clearly a female, so shouldn’t it be mama?”

“An accident happened so my current body has no gender, but my soul is definitely a male’s.” I simply left it at that, either way it wasn’t like there were many who believed me.

“Whatever you say then, as long as you’re not a male.”

‘Mo Ning seems to like females… well, that’s her life to live… as long as it’s not a male homosexual we’re talking about… otherwise I have to burn him.’

Putting aside that issue for now, I gently kissed Mo Na on her head and said, “Baby, your papa will love you forever.”

“Mhm, Mo Na loves her mama too!” She leaned in and spun her head around a little before closing her eyes to sleep.

“You can sleep in papa’s arms for now. Later…” Before I could finish that sentence however, something happened ahead. I could feel a torrent of mana gathering before a rift spanning two meters wide tore open the dimensional space ahead. The rift itself resembled a shattered mirror, and as I got closer, I could feel it beckoning to me. Within the voids of dimensional space, I could vaguely hear someone praying for me to descend.

‘That’s…’

“A summoning. And it seems to be of the highest tier as well.” Ferti’nier finally broke her silence to explain. “I felt a disturbance just now -so it was to construct this Summoning Gate.”

‘Summoning? So there is a caster somewhere summoning me? But shouldn’t it pull me directly over there… at least that was what happened with that deplorable Occultist.”

“You were too weak in the past, plus the offering was quite bountiful.” As she said that, I could picture her smirking in my mind. “This time, it’s different. You have three Original Sins, and have even gained the title of a Devil Overlord. Even though your strength is still that of a Four-star’s, your position is already the equivalent of an Overlord’s. You have the right to refuse this summoning, but I do not suggest you do so. Because even if you cross over, you can still come back at any time.”

Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.