CHAPTER 28: SUPERIOR BEINGS

 "What are you doing here?" Hazel asked the gods, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"

Oh, relax. No one can see us," Freyja said casually.

"Hmm, is that so?" Hazel questioned.

"Yes," Blossom affirmed with a reassuring smile.

Suddenly, system notifications flooded Hazel's vision:

{Player, you are now bounded with three gods}

{Player is the third to achieve this}

{Your growth is now determined by the gods}

{The Vampire Lord's eyes are all over you}

{You have called the presence of superior being}

{The master of the Former Demon Lord has his eyes on you}

{Subordinates of the Vampire Lord and of the Demon Master will attack you}

{There is now a bounty on your head}

{Please enjoy}

{The Galactic Devourer is watching}

~End of system notification~

"What the f*ck is all of this bull sh*t?!" Hazel shouted, anger and frustration evident as he foresaw more trouble heading his way. "I can't believe there are people stronger than the gods, and according to the system, they're called galactic devourers," he muttered to himself. "Will I have to fight these devourers later on? I guess I better become stronger, 'cause I won't let anyone die again."

"Get up from your bed already. Let's see everywhere," Freyja urged.

"Can't you just go by yourselves?" Hazel asked.

"We can't leave our master. We can only be a short distance away," Blossom explained.

"Hmm, okay, let's go," Hazel conceded.

He got out of bed and headed towards the window, prompting Grim to say, "That's not the way to the door."

"Oh, I know," Hazel said, jumping out the window.

The gods were tethered to him, staying close as he flew through the air. "I really like this boy. He has my style," Grim chuckled, amused by Hazel's antics.

Hazel flew around, pointing out the various reconstructed locations. Blossom was particularly surprised by the transformation. What she remembered as ruins now resembled the town before the apocalypse, with light banishing the darkness and beauty restored.

As they continued their aerial tour, a new system notification appeared:

~System notification~

{Your location is now exposed to certain few}

{Hunters are coming to collect their bounty}

~End of system notification~

"I just can't get peace of mind," Hazel sighed, landing on the hall's rooftop.

Suddenly, Alexa materialized from the shadows. "There is a group of demons heading this way. What should we do?"

"Sigh! Gather the bearers. Let's go handle them," Hazel said, using Soul Search to locate the approaching demons. While he focused, Freyja nudged him playfully. "Sooo, you like that girl, right?"

"What?" Hazel stammered, hesitant to answer with Blossom present. Avoiding the question, he dashed off with incredible speed towards the demons' location.

~The approaching demons~

"I have his location," a bull-like demon announced to the other four demons accompanying him. "This is going to be an easy win."

"Wait, he's heading to our location at immense speed," the bull demon said, surprised.

"That's even better. We don't have to sneak in anymore," a humanoid demon replied. "It's better to end it faster anyway," he added with a laugh.

Hazel arrived swiftly, hovering in the air above them. His voice boomed, amplified as if through a speaker, "Leave now, or die."

The demons scoffed, bewildered by a mortal's audacity. "How dare you, insolent nothing, speak to me like that?" the humanoid demon sneered.

"Oh, so that's how you want it," Hazel said, slowly descending to the ground.

As soon as he landed, the titleholders appeared beside him. "Do you really still think you want to fight?" Hazel asked the demons.

"Number is nothing to me," the humanoid demon declared arrogantly.

"Oh really? Even when you see her?" Hazel said as Loris materialized beside him.

"Zig?" Loris exclaimed in surprise.

"Uhn?" Hazel responded, confused by her reaction.

"Loris, what are you doing here?" Zig, the humanoid demon, asked, his tone softening.

Loris and Zig rushed forward and embraced, leaving the rest of the group utterly perplexed.

"Hey, Loris, care to explain what's going on here?" Ashton asked, his confusion mirroring the others.

"Oh, sorry. This is my elder brother, Zig," Loris explained.

"Why didn't you tell us you have an elder brother?" Oscar asked Loris.

"Well, you didn't ask," Loris replied simply.

While the reunion unfolded, Freyja whispered to Hazel, "So, will you kill him?"

"That depends," Hazel replied cryptically.

Grim sighed thoughtfully, curious about Hazel's intentions.

"So, what are you looking for?" Loris asked Zig.

"You must have received the notification, right?" Zig replied.

"Oh, so that's why you're here," Loris realized.

"Loris, do you mind explaining?" Hazel interjected.

"Well, we demons received a system notification saying we are to hunt the new demon lord, and the killer gets a gift price from a god," Loris explained.

"So why didn't you tell me earlier?" Hazel asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I wanted to, but I slept off," Loris admitted sheepishly.

Hazel was about to speak when Zig interrupted, his gaze fixed on Hazel. "Who is he to you?"

"He is my master," Loris said with a smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Zig demanded, his confusion turning to anger.

"I'm bounded to him," Loris explained.

Zig's anger flared, his aura exploding outwards with such force that the other demons choked and collapsed.

"What's wrong with them?" Oscar asked, bewildered.

"Hmm, I don't seem to know," Ashton replied, equally confused. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked the fallen demons. The situation was strangely comical.

Zig, believing they were mocking him, grew even more enraged, his aura intensifying to monstrous levels, forcing the remaining demons to back away to avoid being crushed.

"Bro, don't sh*t yourself," Oscar quipped, a nervous laugh escaping him. The others joined in, though Darwin and Mia remained silent and unsmiling. Hazel noticed their continued anger but pretended otherwise.

As Zig's aura reached its peak, he began to transform, his body contorting into a new, menacing form with backward-bending horns. "I will destroy you," Zig roared.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Darwin appeared behind Zig. Zig reacted instantly, leaping away, but as he jumped, he saw Darwin holding his arm. He looked down to see one of his arms was gone.

"How dare you!" Zig bellowed. He tried to regenerate, but the limb wouldn't reappear. "What did you do? I can't regenerate!" he exclaimed at Darwin.

"It's quite simple, actually," Darwin said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. "I just used my lightning to continuously eat away at where I cut. So, if you try regenerating, my lightning will just consume it."

"You delinquent! I will..." Zig began, but Darwin appeared before him in a blur, his axe raised to strike.

Zig braced for the fatal blow, but Hazel suddenly stood between them, blocking Darwin's attack with his scythe.

"Move out of the way," Darwin growled.

"You can't kill him. He is a brother to our friend," Hazel stated firmly.

Darwin's jaw clenched, his anger reaching a boiling point. "I will kill you!" he roared at Hazel, launching an attack.

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