At the hospital, on a luxurious hospital bed, Nicolas was lying down.

Surrounding him were three people.

One kid was sitting in a corner on a sofa, engrossed in playing games.

Another was smoking by the hospital window, bathed in the golden rays of dusk.

The last one sat beside the hospital bed, looking at Nicolas with a worried expression.

These three were Vandas, Vasta, and Vazter.

All three were vice-captains of Beta Team, C.A.C.D.

And they were also triplet brothers.

Nicolas: Uhm... ha...

Vandas: You’re awake! How are you feeling?

Nicolas: Ha... water... I'm so thirsty...

Vandas immediately jumped up and rushed to get water for Nicolas.

After finishing an entire 20-liter bottle...

Nicolas: You guys are...?

Vandas: I'm Vandas! The one you saved! If you hadn’t shielded me from that attack, I’d be dead by now!

Nicolas: Ah! I remember now..! And the other two?

Vandas: They're my younger brothers! Cold and quiet, totally unlike me!

Vazter: You talk too much. Let me focus on my game!

Vandas: Huh? Did you just order your big brother around?

Vazter: So what?

Vazter’s eye color changed. Countless 1s and 0s appeared in his eyes.

Vandas: ! N-Nothing... I'll talk more quietly, okay?

Vandas got scared.

Vasta: You've awakened, haven't you?

Nicolas: Awakened? What’s that?

Vasta: You don’t know? Awakening is when we unleash the potential of our body or possess a special bloodline. Once released, it grants superpowers.

Nicolas: Superpowers? I don’t have that. I only have Blessings...? Does that count as a superpower?

Vandas, Vasta, Vazter: !!!

Vandas: B-Blessings? No way...

Vazter put his game console into his info pouch and asked, slightly trembling:

Vazter: What kind of Blessing do you have?

Nicolas, startled by their reaction, still answered:

Nicolas: Uh... which one do you mean?

Vasta: Huh? What do you mean by that?

Nicolas: I have three Blessings. Which one are you talking about?

!!!!

How the hell does he have three Blessings??

Vandas: A-Are you serious? Even those in the "Global Council" only have one!

Vazter: Gulp... Which one is your strongest?

Nicolas: You mean my strongest Blessing? Probably [Gluttonous Blessing]. I can "eat" — eat the past, eat the future, even devour someone's entire timeline. That demon earlier? I ate it too. I can even absorb the memories of those I eat.

Vandas: Huh?! So that demon... is really dead?

Vandas’s voice trembled, mixed with a hint of joy.

Nicolas: Huh? Yeah..? Wait… don’t tell me… it was immortal?

Vasta stepped in to explain: That’s right. "Demons" are born from human negative emotions. They can resurrect endlessly as long as those emotions persist. Even "He" could only seal them, not destroy them completely.

Vazter, report to the higher-ups now. We must recruit him!

You’re free to be discharged whenever you wish. We won’t bother you anymore.

After saying that, Vasta led the other two away.

Nicolas: Am I... really that powerful?

Agene: Compared to this universe, you are very powerful.

Nicolas: Ah! Agene! There you are! Where’ve you been? Were you in my head?

Agene: No, I was at home. Only my voice was in your head.

Nicolas: You probably heard everything just now. Are demons really that hard to kill?

Agene: In this universe, yes. Those were just low-tier demons. There are higher-tier ones too. They don’t have physical bodies — they’re abstract entities. They are Chaos, Fear, Darkness, Death.

Nicolas: Then how do you fight something without a body?

Agene: Did you forget your Blessings already? Gluttonous Blessing is one of the strongest. I’ve sealed most of its power, leaving just enough for you to defend yourself. If it were fully unleashed, even the multiverse would collapse instantly.

Nicolas: That terrifying? Then how do I unlock more of it?

Agene: Easy! Didn’t you already try? Just "Eat".

As Nicolas was about to respond, a very familiar sound echoed.

Emergency alarm...

Nicolas slowly walked out, looking around. Soldiers were evacuating the sick, disabled, and wounded.

Nicolas: Looks like they forgot about me. Whatever, let’s see what’s going on.

He approached the hospital window and saw thousands of low-tier demons flying in from afar.

Nicolas: Holy sh*t! There are so many of them!?

Agene: There’s a mid-tier demon watching you.

Nicolas: A mid-tier demon? Where? I can’t see anything.

Agene: I forgot to tell you — mid-tier demons and above don’t have physical forms. They're abstract beings.

Nicolas: Then how the hell do I fight that?

Agene: Looks like you need a new Blessing.

[Blessing Unlocked:]

[Perception Blessing]

A Blessing specialized in countering those without physical bodies or abstract entities. Also includes an auto-counter system against sneak attacks.

Nicolas’s mind went through a purification process, becoming incredibly clear.

His vision sharpened drastically.

He sensed something in the sky.

Looking up — oh dear.

A grotesque demon, with arms replaced by sharp metallic blades.

It looked down slowly, its hollow, deep eyes locking onto Nicolas, sending chills down his spine.

It didn’t speak but flashed a strange, creepy smile.

Yet Nicolas understood its message:

"You can see me?"

With a blur, it lunged faster than any lightning bolt ever known.

But... [Gluttonous Blessing] activated automatically.

That familiar silence returned.

Nicolas devoured — but this time was different.

He ate the concept of lightning itself.

Whoosh — in all of reality, "lightning" ceased to exist.

[New Ability Unlocked]

Nicolas’s eyes transformed into dual pupils — double irises in one eye.

Both glowed crimson like blazing embers.

His aura shifted — cold, ruthless.

Just in time, the horde of low-tier demons arrived.

Nicolas turned and glanced at them.

Any demon he looked at went insane.

Some, overwhelmed with terror, committed suicide on the spot.

Others screamed, stabbing their own allies with tridents before killing themselves.

Some collapsed, minds shattered, memories devoured, giggling madly before getting stabbed by another demon.

Nicolas walked slowly, through a mountain of corpses — every step consuming more.

Inside the Gate — a space independent of the Universe.

At the highest throne sat nine grand silhouettes.

They were the Oldest Demons, Platonic Conceptual Entities beyond reality.

Death: What a foolish plan.

Fear: How many times have we trusted Sloth now?

Envy: Idiots.

Wrath: F**k Sloth, ruined everything.

Lust: Ah~ Sloth~ you're always the dumbest of us.

Darkness: ...

Chaos: Not even worth discussing.

Sloth: yawning What’s going on...? I just woke up.

Greed: We lost 2,000 low-tier demons and 1 mid-tier demon. They were mine. You just need to repay me with 2,000 mid-tier and 1 high-tier demon, and we’ll be even.

The Eight Demons reacted simultaneously:
“What the hell!?”

Darkness snarled:
“Your demon? Greed? More than 1,200 of them serve under me! Don’t get cocky!”

Death cut in coldly:
“That’s enough. Stop arguing over trivial matters.”
“Right now, we need to figure out how to break that thing.”

Lust growled:
“That invisible wall separating us? No idea who the hell put it there. It’s driving me insane being trapped for so many years! I want to travel across the Multiverse…”

Fear said in a low, unsettling voice:
“There’s something on that boy… something that doesn’t belong to this Multiverse. I have a hunch — if we get our hands on it, we might be able to escape from this place!”

The other seven demons all nodded in agreement, their eyes lighting up.

The House of Votex

Inside the mysterious manor known as the House of Votex,
Votex Agene was sitting calmly, sipping his favorite tea.

Agene smirked softly:
“Oh... You’re actually thinking of targeting Nicolas?”
“If you’re serious about that... then I’ll play along.”

End Chapter 3