Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

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"Over the long years, many races that have sensed the existence of the Abyss have tried time and again to resist or even destroy its existence, but their small and ignorant delusions are destined to be easily crushed by the great Abyss."

In the end, only two races survived to this day.

"One group strives to uncover the power to fight against the abyss, constantly absorbing and refining the holy power of light, attempting to directly dismantle and destroy the abyss; we call them the 'Lightborn'."

"Another method involves finding a way to preserve one's embers from the abyss's corruption. They mimic the power of the abyss, forming an outer shell using dark magic, retaining only the purest desires, in an attempt to survive when the abyss descends. We call them 'Darkborn.'"

"These two ignorant races still don't understand that whether it's holy power or magical power, it's ultimately just the 'life force' of the world. How could it possibly be a match for the abyssal power that erodes the world!"

"Only when holy power and magical power combine can they cause a little trouble for the abyss... but still, it's just a powerless struggle on the eve of death."

"The descent of the abyss is an eternal inevitability!"

Darkness surged within him, and sensing Lak's slight shock, he couldn't help but adopt a smug tone once more:

"Now you understand!"

"Even the 'authorities' that the pure Darkin are so proud of are just inferior imitations of the Abyss's 'origin'!"

The true abyss is far greater and more powerful than you can imagine!

Lak remained silent, his body slowly floating down to the ground.

Gazing at the territories belonging to humans and demons on either side of the sacred border—the rear of the Lightborn and Darkborn in the mouth of the Abyss—Rak gradually emanated a rich magical power.

As the gloom in his heart dissipated slightly, Lak knew that, at least for now, he was standing on the most correct path to destroying the world.

All that's left is to try and help the will of the abyss find its origin.

However, soon, Lak thought of a problem and lowered his head:

"Since you can become powerful again simply by waiting for the world's 'lifespan' to run out over time, why bother cooperating with me? Why not just wait patiently?"

“You don’t understand… this is an instinct from the abyss.”

Inside the body, "Darkness" shook its head and said:

"The abyss thirsts for decay, thirsts for destruction; even a little longer, a moment more, is a long and agonizing ordeal."

Besides, for some reason, there's always a voice in my head urging me to destroy the world as soon as possible, otherwise, it might be too late..."

“What’s too late?” Lark asked.

"Don't ask me, I don't know either!"

At this point, "darkness" sounded slightly irritated:

"If the abyss slows down, this world can only last for a few hundred thousand more years at most. But once I regain my origin, it will be a different story. In just a few hundred years, I can turn this entire world into a deathly realm where all life is utterly annihilated!!!"

The voice of the Abyss's Will gradually grew excited, as if the body's instincts were violently agitated:

"The moment the abyss enjoys most is when, after the entire world has withered into ruins, it savors the most beautiful end within the empty shell of the world!"

I have waited for this for far too long—I would gladly perish along with it all, just to witness the end of the world!

"Because the essence of the abyss is madness..."

The evil power of the abyss flowed silently within him, allowing Lak to feel the inherent evil and purity of this power for the first time.

Lak's pupils rippled, and he finally questioned the abyss:

Even if in the end you die along with the world, what's the point?

"A foolish question." The will of the abyss sneered.

"If that's the case, then human aging should also disappear with death, so why can't humans live forever?"

"Fate has already made its choice among countless unpredictable theorems."

"This is the inevitable end of the world."

"This is the abyss—"

A pitch-black aura swirled around him, shattering even the moonlight in the sky, and no light in the world could shine upon Lark.

The darkness laughed maniacally in its heart:

"We relentlessly drive ourselves toward destruction, pursuing... nothing more than the fleeting nothingness of the world!"

"How can the Lightborn stop it? How can the Darkborn survive?"

After we've experienced the world's lamentations, we too will vanish meaninglessly, but what we gain in return is an unyielding power that lasts until the world withers away!

Dark and wicked laughter echoed endlessly between heaven and earth:

"—No power can stand against the abyss!!!"

……

……

……

Demon City.

cell.

Mino, who had been captured again, lay dejectedly on the large bed. His power had been sealed back, and Altotai in the corner had once again become a powerless holy sword.

"I've spent all the gold coins I managed to get from the demons, so I can't summon the gate to escape anymore."

With a soft sigh, Mino scrolled through the system panel in the void and muttered to herself:

"It seems that the route of 'escaping the Demon King's castle through the main gate' is no longer feasible... What other methods can we use to escape the Demon King's castle now?"

Mino scrolled through the system prompts, and suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise.

A notification appeared at the end of the column, standing out prominently among the lines of messages about the extensive use/consumption of system items.

It was only now that Mino, who was examining the area closely, noticed it.

Profound words unfold before my eyes:

The power of light has reached its peak, and the shackles of the world have been shattered.

A trace of the power of the 'starry sky' has been born within you—

Chapter 366 System Upgrade? Fourth Demon Official - Torture Officer

"The power of the stars...?"

Mino stared blankly at the system panel, unable to react for a moment.

I never imagined that this thing, besides encouraging me to give it away for free, would actually have other legitimate uses?

"Could it be that the system has been upgraded?!"

Mino's eyes lit up, and he immediately thought of the plot that those legendary early cheat codes were actually just the tip of the iceberg in terms of functionality.

Could it be that even Tamino will one day awaken the Celestial Dragon bloodline?!

Overwhelmed with emotion, Mino clenched her fists in excitement.

Suddenly, shouts of "Add points!", "Transform!", "Awaken!", "Open Sesame!", and "Ciallo~!" echoed through the cell.

Outside the cell, the zombie maid, who was about to push the door open, paused.

Listening to the strange cries that rose and fell, Fim thought for a moment and decided not to disturb Mino's somewhat mentally unstable and unrestrained nights after entering the palace for the second time. He tiptoed away.

……

After half an hour.

Mino collapsed onto the large bed, panting, and once again realized the reality that she was still a useless person.

"This is outrageous!"

After being disappointed, Mino was even more frustrated. Looking at the prompt in front of her, she was puzzled: When did this prompt appear?

Mino raised his head and suddenly remembered that when he faced the abyss demons at the end, the holy power in his body seemed to have finally reached a saturation point, and then he felt as if some seed was sprouting in his body.

I hadn't paid much attention before because the battles were so exciting, but now that I'm reflecting on it carefully, the feeling is truly quite wonderful.

It was as if the immense holy power that could have filled the entire body had suddenly transformed into a seed, easily enveloping the holy power, while one's own body seemed to have become another world.

Immediately after the seed burst open, a faint, strange power took root in the holy power of the entire body and sprouted.

That power seemed to be the key to defeating the abyss demon—

Thinking of this, Mino carefully examined her body again and indeed felt something different.

"This is... the power of the stars?"

Within the body, a thread of light as thin as a hair travels through it. Unlike the brilliance of holy power or the darkness of magic, the light on the thread is as boundless as the starry sky, perfectly merging the two together.

Most importantly, the holy power within his body was sealed by the reinforced restriction, but this power remained unaffected!

"Holy crap, what kind of monster is this that exceeds the limit?!"

Mino was both surprised and delighted. With new power brewing within her, could she break through the Demon King's castle and escape?!

Thinking this, Mino raised his sword finger high, stood on the bed, swung it towards the ground, and let out a low shout:

"—Power of the Stars, rise!"

So faint as to be almost imperceptible, the wisp of starlight power within me traveled to my fingertips, and then…

There's no after that.

Mino remained in his position somewhat awkwardly, feeling the "My Lord is having another episode" look coming from his own holy sword in the corner. His lips twitched as he realized a fact.

There was only a trace of starlight power, which couldn't even break through the body.

Even if the power of the stars, which is derived from holy power, is more powerful, it is impossible to use it in battle without sufficient reserves.

Unless this power continues to grow... increasing day by day until it fills the body like holy power, it will not be able to unleash its true power. Only then will Mino be able to escape the Demon King's castle in a completely new form!

Mino was unaware of this at the moment, and simply sat on the bed letting out a long sigh:

"Is there no other way but to accept our fate?"

"Am I destined to live a humiliating life in the Demon King's castle, where everything is done for me, with exquisite and adorable demon maids serving me every day, soft and fragrant mature demons giving me massages every day, white-haired loli demons acting as my body pillows to sleep with, and tsundere twin-tailed Lolita demons stepping on my face every day...?"

In the corner, Artotai suddenly raised his sword hilt, looking puzzled:

"Except for the last one, there's nothing to be humiliated by, right?"