Alph wanted to facepalm himself but stopped.

"Hey! Stop spreading false information! You can ruin lives, you know!"

Mesi pointed at the guy who remembered who Teren was.

"E-eh...? But he is..."

"No, he's not! Teren, are you?"

"No, who's this Devil Himself?"

"See!?"

"..."

Is this guy serious?

Were the thoughts some people had while they looked at Mesi.

"Yes! He's not the Devil Himself!"

At this point, Alph stepped in and supported Mesi.

"What...?"

Since the Alpha said so as well, people began doubting the words of the guy who pointed that out.

'If he didn't just cause mayhem, he may be hiding his identity. It's better to help him in this situation.' Alph thought.

Afterward, he signaled Teren with his eyes and they went into the second building. Of course, the battle continued but with Mesi not doing anything, having another 180 degrees turn of behavior, acting like a coward, Matthew was finally taken down.

The two reached Alph's room and once the door closed, Alpha immediately dropped onto his knees.

"I-I don't know how to explain myself but please... spare me!"

Teren expected this reaction and sat on the bed. This charismatic and mob boss, the Alpha was kneeling in front of him but he didn't think much about it. In Teren's eyes, he's just another Aberrant.

"I have a job for you."

He went straight to the point.

"I will do it!"

Alph shouted without hesitation. Since he was admitted to that prison, he would have nightmares about Teren from time to time. The fear and anxiety were deeply ingrained into him.

What did Teren do all this time? If he was still unable to conquer Heren City, how can he dare to fight against the whole world? He was just basically regrouping his force. The main growth in power will start once he had united his group in this city.

"Good. From now on, you'll be out of jail and do as I say."

"Okay!"

Alph replied once again. He was filled with determination. Back then, he learned how the Devil Himself was making the Handwing Gang grow under his hands. As long as Teren has a goal and was not totally mad, working under him should provide some other benefits - while the main benefit is getting to live.

"Can you convince your group?"

"Yes! I just have to say that it's you, Sir Devil Himself is who we will be working under. I don't think they will have any problem with that but..."

"?"

"It's about Mesi."

"My cellmate? What about him?"

Teren played dumb.

"Your cellmate?" Alph sweated more, "T-this is not good, Sir Devil Himself. That guy is dangerous. After you killed the Ogre, he came here after hearing that I'm back on business..." Alph ashamedly said before continuing, "I've sold him about 23 Spirits."

"Twenty-three..."

Alph thought that shocked Teren as it would shock anyone. It was already quite weird that Teren was not asking how the hell are Spirits being sold. However, Alph just thought that Teren have already heard of it.

"Mesi... he has taken all those Spirits one-by-one. He's unbelievable. At first, I thought he was attempting suicide but he survived them all and has gained their power. Although he couldn't be compared to the girl the Spirits came from when it comes to being abnormal but in terms of strength, I think he's currently the strongest."

For Aberrants like Alph, having one Spirit was already the limit. Therefore, twenty-three is just something otherworldly for them.

"The girl? Who are you talking about?"

But it seemed like Teren's focus was not on Mesi.

"The girl... oh, she's my niece, her name is Trisha Jane. She had been receiving Spirits since she was born. However, her body was unable to take it and that's why our family takes it away from her as advised. We thought it was a curse at first but the Spirits we've taken can be passed from person to person."

Alph fully explained, fearing that Teren might think that he's hiding something.

"Advised? Who gave you advice?"

Teren's frown became deeper and deeper.

Alph pondered a little, thinking if he should tell it or not but after a while, he decided to reveal it. He was not restrained, he was only respecting the one who advised them. But since it was the Devil Himself who asked, he should tell it.

"It calls itself the Ancient-"

"The Ancient?" Teren stood up with widened eyes.

Alph shuddered as he saw the pair of voids once again.

"Y-yes...!"

"Does it shapeshift?"

"S-s-shapeshift...? I d-don't know, Sir Devil Himself... but it was a tree..."

"Is it still here?"

Alph nodded. He felt like he would stammer again if he were to speak.

"Tomorrow, you point me the direction."

Teren didn't think he would've found the cause of everything so soon. When he was still a child, his father would take him to various places, meeting new people. While traveling, his father would always talk about the 'Ancient'

When he was a child, he didn't understand that much. However, after his life changed, he would learn who the Ancient is.

Alph wanted to know what's the deal with the Ancient. He didn't want Teren to cause it harm since it's the savior of their family. Therefore, the words that he wanted to swallow out of fear came out.

"Sir Devil Himself... is there something you need from the Ancient?"

"You're a low-ranking Aberrant so you don't know." Teren turned around as his face contorted to a deep frown.

"..."

"On the SSDA's list of most dangerous Aberrants, I, who they call the Devil Himself is only deemed to be placed on fourth even after all I did..."

Alph has heard that there is a list for the most wanted Aberrants. It's not that hard to make the connection and from the flow of Teren's words. But still, he was still ignorant towards the Spirit War and just how strong these Aberrants are.

"The Ancient places second on that list."

Although Teren knew that he wasn't really trying to be the most dangerous Aberrant back then since he only wanted to escape the world's pursuit, he didn't know how the SSDA ranks the Aberrants in their list. What if the Ancient is not only stronger but more dangerous as well?

Having strength doesn't make one dangerous, after all. These two factors are separated.

It's too soon but he had to meet the Ancient. He knew he should.