Reincarnated as the Demon King's Son

Mareona raised her eyebrow when she heard Aldred say that.

"Friend?" Richa asked, staring at his hand. "I… I don't need friends."

"I understand that you participate in this treasure hunt for your parents," Aldred said. "They have a big debt right?"

"How do you even know that?"

"I can see it in your eyes."

"Seriously?"

"Your parents have debt too?" Ivette asked. "Are you here to make money for paying them?"

Richa nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Poor thing," Ivette said. "I participate in this treasure hunting for the same reason. I am so scared, but I have my brother accompanying me. And now, I have Aldred as well. It's thanks to him that I can pay my debt."

"Why are you still here if you already paid for it?" Richa asked.

"My parents are no more, and I want to accompany Aldred on his journey."

Richa looked down. "So you're the same as me, huh."

"You said you don't need friends," Rachel said. "You're wrong."

"How am I wrong?"

"Those you consider friends, are not your friends, to begin with."

"Friends are there to help you as well, so give us a chance."

Richa was silent. "Why… Why do you want to be my friend so much? It doesn't make any sense. From the beginning, I see people being betrayed left and right. Especially when they see a rare treasure, they wouldn't hesitate to stab their own lovers in the back to obtain it. So why are you guys so different?"

"Because we're family," Aldred said. "Family doesn't stab each other for a mere treasure."

Richa's breathing became heavy as tears streaked down her cheek. "Why are you doing this to me? I have decided to not give anyone a chance. Why do you guys come and make me want to break a promise I made to myself?"

Aldred and his wives slowly circled her and calmed her down. They then listened to her story from when she was young. It was exactly like what Aldred had read with more details.

After telling her story, she cried, but at the same time, she was feeling happy that she could tell someone about her burden.

Aldred's wives calmed her down and invited her to eat together. And that was the first time that Richa felt genuinely accepted.

Aldred told Bartrem to cook more food and Bartrem held nothing back.

Richa smiled when the girls asked her to eat and chatted with her.

Her cold mask completely disappeared as if she was a completely different person.

"Hey, can I get some of that food as well?" the lizardman asked.

"I would like to have a taste as well," the man inside the power armor said.

"Come here and take some," Aldred said.

Both of them excitedly entered the magic bubble and sat down with the others as they ate their food.

They merrily ate together until someone screamed.

"Damn, that Fiz creature is back!" a man shouted.

"Don't let it run away again."

The creature swam around the crowd, slashing left and right while slipping their attack while laughing and wiggling its butt at them.

"That thing is too arrogant," Aldred said. "I'm having enough of it." Aldred stood up and summoned his Phantom Doomblade.

"Blood Lust!" Aldred shouted as his aura completely changed from a fun-loving person to a bloody murderer.

Unexpectedly, the Agile Fiz stopped in its tracks and its big clear eyes turned crimson red. Not only that, its blue skin turned red and its face became vicious, turning into that of a terrifying midget.

The creature raised its trident and shouted in an unknown language.

Glowing whirlpools appeared everywhere, spinning like madness as they swept everyone nearby.

"There are powerful monsters inside the whirlpool!"

"Get away from them!"

"AHH!"

The beasts came out of the whirlpool. They looked like giant sharks with huge, sharp teeth. The treasure hunters didn't see them coming before they were shredded.

One man reacted quickly enough to save his own life, but he realized that his left arm disappeared, and his shoulder was leaking a lot of blood.

Before he could get to safety, a wide-open jaw was right in front of him and chomped him whole.

It was a slaughterhouse, and the treasure hunters were the pigs.

After devouring dozens of people the beasts exploded into red mist and the mist entered Agile Fiz's body.

[Agile Fiz]

Level: 119

Skill: ???

Fiz exploded with a powerful aura, and Aldred widened his eyes. "A Platinum Rank… and it's more powerful than that Behemoth we met a while ago."

Not only did it reach Platinum Rank, but its level was also near level 120 which was the level for Diamond Rank!

It could even be considered that this beast was a pseudo-Diamond Rank monster. If the monster was level 90, Aldred might have a chance to defeat it, but at level 119… it would be a miracle if he could even survive this ordeal.

Stella frowned as well. "That thing is too strong. You cannot defeat it, Aldred."

"I know," Aldred said. He had activated his godly eyes, and he knew for sure that he wouldn't be able to defeat this creature unless he sacrificed his life.

But the creature glared at Aldred with its pair of crimson eyes before charging toward him.

"Fuck, I have to fight it. Try to shoot it with Soul Flare while I buy some time."

Richa stepped forward and blocked him. "I can handle this. You stay back."

"No. You cannot handle this. Get away."

Richa didn't look at him and kept her sigh on the creature. "My parents are in the city of Burlisleho. Their names are Lina and Nordig. When you meet them, tell them I am sorry that I cannot see them for one last time."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't think I can go further from here," Richa said. "The monsters are becoming stronger, and they will be stronger the further I go. This is my limit. Please, Aldred. Please help my parents."

"Fuck! I am not letting you!" Aldred was about to grab Richa and bring her to the divine dimension.

"It's too late." Richa turned around and smiled at him. Then she turned into ice.

Aldred looked toward the distance and noticed that Richa appeared right in front of the creature.

The creature stabbed her stomach with its trident, but that was part of her plan. She held onto the trident with gritted teeth. "World of Ice."

SHEEENGG!

The whole world stopped for a fraction of a second. And then everything around 10 meters of her turned to ice, including herself and the creature.

Aldred and his wives approached the globe of ice. It was 10 meters in diameter, and they saw Richa and the creature trapped within it.

Stella caressed the ice. "This is a soul spell. She used her soul as a source of energy."

"So we cannot save her?" Aldred asked.

Stella shook her head.

Ivette cried. "I can't believe this. We just got to know her."

Sophia sighed. "I just began to treat her as a part of our family. I should have treated her even better."

Aldred got tears in his eyes. He believed it was his fault.

Stella put a hand on his shoulder.

Aldred breathed heavily. "Such a poor thing. I was trying to be a proper friend to her. We just met, and this happened…"

"You cannot blame yourself, Aldred," Stella said. "Let it go, and let us proceed."

Aldred grabbed her hand and looked down. "Now I know why so many people stopped their journey midway. This treasure hunting… it's not about our own lives, but those who we consider as friends."

Even though Aldred had just met her, he already considered her as family and wanted to bring her on an exciting journey together with his wives and the others. He had imagined so many scenarios in his mind, but all of them shattered.

"I will not let her death be in vain. I will learn from this mistake. I will become stronger. So strong that not even the world can't stop me."