"~Now."
Cipher’s voice appeared in the Heavenly Demon’s head, and she found herself leaning against a tree.
She was shocked by the sudden change in scenery but quickly recomposed herself and stayed calm. Was this what he meant by run?
Before she could complete the thought, a notification appeared before her.
[You have died]
She felt as though her heart had stopped.
"What?"
She was about to move but controlled herself. Cipher had said he had a plan. She had to trust him. If she made a move now, she would ruin everything.
She steadied herself and remained still.
On the opposite side of the tree, the demon stood over Cipher’s corpse.
He crouched down and inspected the body carefully. No heartbeat. No breathing. No mana circulation. The divine sense that had been wrapped around him moments ago had completely vanished.
Truly dead.
He straightened up and turned around.
"Return to your posts," he commanded the demons gathered around him.
They hesitated, their eyes fixed hungrily on Cipher’s body.
The demon’s eyes flashed with crimson light, his authority pressing down on them like a mountain.
The lesser demons scrambled away, fleeing in every direction.
He watched them go with mild contempt.
So greedy. So eager to consume him. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
These humans were always so scheming. Even interacting with a corpse could lead to unforeseen consequences. Poisons hidden in the blood. Curses embedded in the flesh. Traps woven into the very bones.
He had lived long enough to know better than to trust a human, not even a dead one.
The demon stretched lazily, rolling his shoulders.
"What a waste of time," he muttered.
Then he rose into the air and flew away, his crimson hair trailing behind him like flames.
...
The Heavenly Demon remained frozen behind the tree.
She extended her senses carefully, checking once, twice, three times.
He was gone.
Completely gone.
She peeked out from behind the tree. The clearing was empty now. Only Cipher’s broken body remained, lying motionless in a pool of his own blood.
She rushed to him, gathered his body in her arms, and flew away at maximum speed in the opposite direction.
She didn’t stop until she found an opening deep in the forest.
She landed and scanned the surroundings. No demonic presence. No cultivators. No beasts.
This place should be fairly safe.
She waved her hand.
Qi surged outward from her palm. The nearby trees groaned and fell, their trunks splitting apart instantly under her control. The wood separated into planks, each one slicing itself to size mid-air.
The planks flew toward the center of the clearing and drove themselves into the ground, assembling rapidly. Walls formed. A roof took shape. A door materialized.
In seconds, a small wooden shack stood before her.
She carried Cipher inside.
More planks assembled themselves into a crude bed. She laid his body down gently and knelt beside him.
Then she simply... observed.
...
She looked at her hand.
During the week they were locked up in the Moonlight Sect’s cell, they had been able to condense over a hundred thousand demonic qi. Mostly thanks to the fifty percent increase in mana recovery rate from the Majin species’ intrinsic skill.
Cipher had then spent a significant amount of that qi fighting the demons, but he had still preserved enough to revive her.
That being said, this was just a basic body. More like a mana vessel, really. It just had qi and consciousness and nothing else.
She had no talent whatsoever. She couldn’t even recover the qi she had spent.
What was Cipher planning by reviving her?
Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
"The System," she thought.
That’s right. Cipher had the Resurrection skill. And since she could access the system, she should be able to use the Resurrection skill on him, right?
Was this what he was planning?
She opened the system:
[Name: Cipher]
[Level: 294 (200,000/294,000)]
[Species: Majin]
[Class: Cheater]
[Status: Dead]
[Health: 0/15,600]
[Mana: 10/1,570]
[Strength: 156]
[Stamina: 156]
[Agility: 156]
[Intelligence: 157]
[Stat Points: 0]
[Cheat Points: 19,500]
[Skills (12/25): Resurrection (SSS), Pain Tolerance (SS), Battle Instinct (S), Mana Dominion (A+), Regeneration (A), Unwavering Will (A), Aura (B), Battery (C), Shadow Assassin (C), Penetration (C), Sword Mastery (D), Dagger Throw (D), Mana Recovery (C), Voice Transmission (D)]
[Unique Skill/s (1/2): Heavenly Demonic Sword Art (Unique)]
[Cheats: Cheat Shop (Max Level), Absolute Appraisal (Max Level), Aimbot (Max Level), Fly Mode (Max Level), True Sight (Max Level), No Cooldown (Max Level), Auto Loot (Max Level), Map Editor (Max Level), Overkill (Max Level), Infinite Stamina (Max Level), ESP (Level 5), Infinite Inventory (Level 2), Fast Travel (Level 1), XP Multiplier (Level 1), Item Duplication (Level 1), Parallel Thought (Level 1)]
[Owned Cards: Delete, Fork, Class (2), Patch, Mirror (2), Rework (3), Seed (3), Blank (4) & Export (2)]
She could access the system. So she should be able to access the skills, right?
She concentrated on the Resurrection skill and tried to activate it.
She stayed silent for a while.
Then she opened her eyes.
Nothing.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing x100.
She began breathing heavily. Was something wrong? She couldn’t use the abilities.
She tried summoning the Cheat Shop. Cipher had leveled up so much. If she could roll for him and gain cheats for him, maybe she’d find something that could revive him.
She smiled nervously. Maybe this was what he was planning.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
She couldn’t even access the shop. After all, it was also a skill. An intrinsic skill of the Cheater class.
She looked at the Heavenly Demonic Sword Art.
She remembered now.
It wasn’t that she could use his skills. She had only managed to use the Heavenly Demonic Sword Art because she was the Heavenly Demonic Sword Art.
Her breathing quickened.
Then did this mean there was no way to revive Cipher?
Was he lying to reassure her when he said he had a plan?
No.
She convinced herself, calming slightly.
He wouldn’t summon her if he didn’t have a plan. After all, she had no way to recover mana and would die eventually after her qi was exhausted.
Wait.
What if he had just misjudged the situation? What if he thought she could access the skills?
She began panicking once again.
Then that meant he was permanently gone.
And she would be too, soon.