“The Creator … implemented something like this?” Raea asked. A chill ran down her spine as she glanced at the door and the yellow stain on the carpet. The motes of powder seemed to be shimmering, gathering together into a pile albeit at a very slow apce. “Why would he do something so cruel?”

“So we can’t leave,” Camael said. “Why else?”

“But he didn’t have to make it torture to exit the room,” Raea said and pursed her lips. “Couldn’t he just create a barrier to bump people back inside?”

“Fear,” Palan said as his nose crinkled. “He’s removing any future thoughts of going against him. I wonder if it costs the Creator any mana to do something like this.” He rubbed his chin. “That blind man’s revival times did get longer the more he died.”

“You’re planning to throw him out of the room repeatedly, aren’t you?” Creed asked. It was hard to tell what he was thinking because his expression rarely changed. “I suggest against doing that, especially if you plan on staying here in the future. Raphael will resent you, and you don’t know what he’ll do to you while you’re sleeping. Levy can attest to that.”

“Raffi’s a bully,” Levy said and pouted. Her carapace was cooling down, reverting back to their original color. “Levy only took his hair to make a doll.”

Creed shrugged. “Anyways, you’re planning on finding Sariel?” he asked Palan. “If you want information from her, just threaten her a bit. She tries to act like an adult, but she’s only eighty years old—still a baby. Bare your fangs and growl at her and she’ll comply right away.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Palan said taking one last glance at the pile of yellow dust on the floor. He descended the stairs with Raea and Cory following behind him.

“Is it really okay to let him go? What if he doesn’t come back?” Levy asked and tilted her head.

“He’ll be back,” Creed said. His body rose off the ground and floated through the air before landing in his bed. “It might take a few years or decades, but he’ll evolve and fall for the Creator’s temptation eventually—it’s not something a demon can resist. He ate Raphael and Asura twice; I wouldn’t be surprised if he evolves within the year.”

“That’s so unfair,” Camael said and sighed. “Do you know how much effort I had to put in to evolve past archangel?”

“But you leeched off Levy’s evolutions?” Levy asked. She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks out “Levy did all the work.”

“Yeah, but do you know how hard it was to take care of you all those years?” Camael asked. “I’m not a babysitter, but I bet I’d make a great one after dealing with you for so long.”

Levy shrugged. “Levy could’ve done it without Cammy.”

Raea couldn’t help but laugh at the bickering coming from above. Though they already descended to the second floor of the tower, Levy’s and Camael’s voices were still crystal-clear to her and Palan. “I guess that’s where they were,” she said and nudged Palan’s side.

“Where who were?” Palan asked.

“The other angels and demons with high contract levels,” Raea said. “I always thought it couldn’t have just been us who went through this rapid development. If I thought about linking my life with a demon, someone else had to have also. And now we found those who did!”

“So … they’re just as dumb as you?” Palan asked and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not dumb,” Raea said and pinched his waist, drawing blood with her claws.

Palan winced and brushed her hand away. “Anyone willing to link their life to someone else’s is dumb. Especially a stranger they just met.”

“Well, you agreed. So who’s the dumb one now?” Raea asked with a smug smile.

Palan shook his head. “I didn’t have a choice,” he said. “That’s different.”

“Whatever,” Raea said and rolled her eyes. They walked down the hall, Palan using his sense of smell to track Sariel and Headmaster, until they reached another staircase going down. Raea hummed and lowered her voice, asking, “Do you think they were telling the truth? That our greatest desires will be fulfilled?”

“Weren’t you the one who said not to trust them?” Palan asked with a snort. His hands clenched. He had thought he wouldn’t ever be affected by chastity again after his evolution, but he had turned into a docile goat without even knowing it. “It’s best to stay away from them.”

“You don’t want to eat them to evolve anymore?” Raea asked and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you couldn’t stand being weaker than me.”

“I’m full,” Palan said. “And not just physically. It feels like I’ve reached the limit of archdemon. I really should thank the Creator for creating such a nice food source.”

“I don’t think most people could exploit them like that,” Raea said and drew her lips into a line. “We’re in the capital. They’re not allowed to leave that room. And anyone they don’t want eating them can easily be killed with a wave of their fingers.” She rubbed her chin. “Maybe they were telling the truth.”

“I’m sure they wanted me to evolve,” Palan said. “But I don’t believe in their reason. It wouldn’t be the first time someone forced me to evolve.” He recalled the time Madison had stuffed Igor’s corpse down his throat, forcing him to evolve into a greater demon. “There has to be some unknown benefits to evolution that I don’t know about that they’re exploiting me for.”

“The insane commander gathers the scraps produced by our evolution,” Cory said and raised her wing into the air. “Like the silk from the cocoons, the powdery stuff that’s left behind, and the liquid inside. Maybe he knows?”

“Pyre?” Palan asked. “Yeah, he’d probably know. I’ll ask him when I see him again.” He stopped walking, pausing in front of a leather couch in the living room on the first floor. Danger Noodle moved forward and thrashed the couch before tossing it to the side by twisting its neck.

“Do you not like snake leather couches?” Raea asked, staring at the couch that was mangled beyond repair. “I guess you wouldn’t, huh?”

“There’s something down here,” Palan said as he crouched and grabbed the corner of the carpet, pulling it back. Beneath it, there was a trapdoor. Instead of opening it normally, Palan punched it, launching it towards the floor below. It landed with a cracking sound while the ladder leading down trembled. “We’re getting close—urgh!”

“Palan?” Raea asked and grabbed his shoulders. She shook him, but instead of answering, he panted in response. “Palan!”

Palan shrugged her hand away while gasping for breath. Sweat poured from his brow as his torso-mouth widened. Silk threads sprung out of the opening, wrapping his body. “Oh,” Cory said, her eyes brightening. “He ate something bad too!”

Raea took a step back and furrowed her brow as a black egg made from silken threads was formed above the entrance to the basement.