"Devil's Breath?" Cassius repeated. Having never heard that term before, he asked, "What do you mean by that? My Killing Intent, perhaps?"
"The Devil's Breath is the Devil's Breath!" shouted Randal. "Death hangs over the dead like the breath of a yawning beast! Death just like the one that hangs over you! You… You are no Angel… but a Devil…!!"
The scared peasant clambered to his feet, then moved his shaky legs in an attempt to escape the area.
He had to report back to the village and tell them what he saw!
He just hoped they'd believe him this time… They had to!
Before Randal could move even a few feet away from his original position, Cassius's muscular right hand clamped down on his left shoulder. "Stay here for now; I have some more questions I wish to ask you," he said calmly. "Don't worry, I won't harm you."
"N-No!! Stay back, you Devil!" Randal tried to resist but couldn't do a single thing against the physical power that kept him in place.
Cassius, while curiously looking at this peasant, thought, 'Although all parameters of my power have been severely reduced, I can still exhibit the approximate strength of a High D-Rank Hunter. But as for my Mana, Elements, and other various facets—all of them are unavailable for some reason. When I go to activate one of them or one of my Elemental-based Skills, a fuse ignites, but then it gets instantly blown out.'
He could still utilize the power of the Sword God's Training Manual, the Fundamental Body Refinement Manual, and, of course, the System. But everything else was barred from use, including the SSS-Rank VoidWarper Skill Set he had just acquired. Moreover, all of his Bloodlines now had large locks over them in his System Interface.
The first thing Cassius did when he arrived was ask the System about the weirdness of his Bloodlines, but the answer he received was: [Figure it out yourself, umu!].
Conveniently, some native human lifeform of sorts had appeared right when he arrived.
"Well, I can give you a choice if you would like one," he said, to which Randal replied, "Y-Yes, Devil, you should give me a choice!"
Cassius faintly smirked as he said seriously, "Your choices are simple. One: you tell me what I want to know, and I'll let you go on your way. Or two: I extract your memories myself and watch as you writhe in pain until you eventually… die."
He wasn't in the best of moods right now; he would do exactly what he said he would.
Randal instinctively knew that, which was why, after hesitating with a deep grimace, he sluggishly said, "F-Fine… I'll tell you whatever you want to know…"
Cassius nodded, loosening his grip on the man of around 22 years of age. "Oh, and if you dare lie to me—and trust me, I'll know—I'll just kill you anyway. But not before extracting your memories."
Randal furiously nodded. Large beads of sweat trickled down his face of average handsomeness as he truthfully answered everything asked of him.
—Three minutes later—
"So we're in the Village of Littlegreen within a Kingdom called Mistalore. Hmm… so I have somehow been transported to a world stuck in the Middle Ages… This is supposed to be the Land of Nightmares? The Nightmarescape? Something's not adding up…"
Surprise flashed past Randal's average face. "You know of the Land of Nightmares, good sir!?"
The peasant's attitude toward him had taken a total 180 in the last few minutes, but more importantly than that, it seemed like he knew something Cassius didn't.
"You know of the Land of Nightmares?"
Randal nodded twice. "Yes, good sir, of course I know of the Land of Nightmares! It is what the heroic Nightmare Slayers journey into for the sole goal of protecting the Land of Beginnings and all the people inside it!"
Cassius's expression froze, then he narrowed his eyes while glancing at the profusely sweating System Interface. 'You fcked up, didn't you?'
[T-The Mighty Idle Evolution System does not f*ck up, you inconsiderate Host! It's all just… just a calculated mistake! Yes, that's it. I accidentally calculated a mistake that just so happened to send you to the Secret Realm that borders the Land of Nightmares!]
[And I may have also accidentally locked your Daily Quest to this Realm as well… And you maybe, just maybe still need to get over there and spend an hour there to complete the Quest… That is assuming you still want to get back to Earth… Teehee…]
"Don't teehee me, you dumb bastard!"
"???" Randal tilted his head in confusion. "Is something the matter, good sir? I heard Devils hear voices constantly ringing in their heads… Is that the case here as well? But, oh no… G-Good sir, don't listen to the voice if it's telling you to kill me! I promise you that I can be extremely useful if given the chance!"
Cassius left his frustrating conversation with his oh-so-beloved System.
Shifting his perturbed expression toward the peasant, he asked, "The Land of Nightmares—how do I get there from here?"
Randal, unable to believe what he was hearing, said, "Good sir, surely you don't mean what you're saying. Anyone who's anyone knows that the only way to journey into the Land of Nightmares is to become a Nightmare Slayer. And to do that…"
Sensing his growing impatience, Randal directly said, "To become a Nightmare Slayer, you need to head to the Capital of Mistalore and take the Nightmare Slayer admittance examination…."
"And what's so bad about that?" asked Cassius, confused as to why the peasant was making such a big deal out of it.
Though, his brows did raise a bit when he heard Randal say, "The mortality rate… The mortality rate for those who take the Nightmare Slayer Admittance Examination is over 95%… And devils aren't allowed to participate. You'll be executed on the spot…"
Cassius coldly snorted. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not a Devil, then. Now, tell me, which way is it to the Capital of Mistalore?"