Chapter 740: 740
Demon Particles, as the name suggested, were substances capable of corrupting and destroying the smallest constituent units of magic in the air.
For Magicians, they were a nightmare, an invisible toxin that caused magic deficiency and magic power disorder, both potentially fatal.
In other words, it was a poison designed specifically to kill Magicians.
And the time required for the poison to take effect was... two seconds.
Within two seconds, Rhodes already felt it.
His heart thudded irregularly, his lungs and throat burned dry, and every nerve in his body screamed with discomfort.
Mira also winced, but both could still move. Without hesitation, they shot out of the contaminated zone like arrows, wings of magic trailing behind them.
Once they landed on clear ground, Rhodes unleashed a flurry of healing and aura magic, weaving multiple layers of restoration over them both.
Yet, the symptoms didn’t fade.
The buff’s recovery effect replenished lost magic power, but magic disorder wasn’t something that could simply be "healed." The more he channeled magic, the worse the imbalance became.
Rhodes stayed calm. ’If magic won’t work, there’s still alchemy.’
However;
"Take Over: Satan Soul!"
Mira’s form shifted instantly. Her hair flowed like molten silver, her skin darkened, and black sigils spread across her body.
She flexed her hands once, the pain was gone. "Sure enough, this works."
"What about after you dispel the form?"
Mira canceled her magic. "Still fine."
"That’s good, then I..." Rhodes started, only to cough and take two shallow breaths, his throat burning again.
Before he could react, Mira seized his face, pressed her lips to his, and sucked.
Slurp~slurp~
Rhodes froze. He knew Satan Soul Mira could be bold, but he hadn’t expected this kind of "first aid."
A heartbeat later, the ache and suffocation vanished. He realized what she was doing, absorbing the Demon Particles directly from his body.
Ashamed yet relieved, Rhodes wrapped his arms around her and let her continue.
Tiny black motes, invisible to ordinary eyes, streamed from his mouth into hers.
When she finally released him, Mira licked her lips and asked, "How do you feel? Any lingering discomfort?"
In her Satan Soul form, her lips were deep crimson, and dark lines streaked across her cheeks like cracks, a wild, alluring contrast to her usual gentleness.
Rhodes exhaled, then said solemnly, "To be safe... you should do a bit more, in case there’s any residual poison."
If it were normal Mira, she would’ve rolled her eyes and scolded him for being shameless. But Satan Soul Mira only gave a teasing smile, lifted his chin, and bit down.
Meanwhile, all around the mountain, small creatures, rabbits, pheasants, even birds mid-flight, suddenly collapsed and died.Even they had traces of magic in their bodies, and the Demon Particles had poisoned them all the same.
If the pollution continued to spread, the area would soon become a dead zone.
Fortunately, after Mira "treated" Rhodes several times, she rose into the air, inhaled deeply, and flew back into the contaminated zone.The Demon Particles seemed almost alive, swirling like dark mist, and then rushed into her open mouth as if being summoned.
Within moments, the mountain air cleared.
Rhodes touched his lips, still sore from her bite, and chuckled.
"Seems I married a bad woman who drinks, fights, and even guzzles Demon Particle poison."
Mira landed beside him and dispelled her magic, her eyes narrowing playfully.
"What was that, dear?"
Rhodes looked at her, expression dead serious.
"I asked if you still want dinner."
She touched her stomach and frowned.
"This kind of thing shouldn’t make me fat, right?"
"Let’s check."
"Eh? Ah!"
Rhodes scooped her up, tossed her lightly, then caught her again, pretending to weigh her.
"Not heavy at all. What Satan Soul eats has nothing to do with Mirajane, right?"
"You’re twisting logic again," she said, though her smile betrayed her amusement.After a pause, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered,
"If that’s the case... since Satan Soul kissed you, does that mean you’re cheating?"
Rhodes met her gaze, eyes glinting.
"Then tell her," he said softly, "if she’s got the guts, make me cheat completely."
Mira jumped out of Rhode’s arms, cheeks flushed, and scolded, "Improper!"
Who knew who had even started that conversation?
Laughing, the two returned to the bandit stronghold. Almost no one was left alive. The few bandits who had survived the initial clash were now sprawled motionless on the ground, if they hadn’t died in battle, they’d succumbed to the Demon Particles soon after.
The entire Kuza Bandit Gang had been annihilated.
Rhodes summoned his monsters to sweep through the nearby forest, ensuring no lingering traces of Demon Particles remained. They also gathered the bandits’ corpses and carried them down the mountain for official processing.
When the King’s appointed cleanup official arrived and saw the state of the bodies, he nearly turned pale.
He had known the new Earl was powerful, but never imagined a scene like this. The corpses were charred, torn, or frozen in horror, and the sheer devastation made his scalp tingle.
Rhodes, seeing the man’s apprehensive expression, calmly said,
"It wasn’t us. A very dangerous individual has entered the Kingdom."
The official hesitated. "Is that... so?"
"Please investigate these men’s backgrounds thoroughly," Rhodes added. "And prepare a complete list of all known bandit gangs operating within the Kingdom."
"Yes, Your Excellency, Earl!"
The next morning, Rhodes received the list. It detailed every significant bandit group in Joya, though, naturally, it didn’t include those wiped out in the last half-month.
Rhodes and Mira reviewed the list together, exchanged a glance, and immediately set out again.
They had found traces of Tartaros activity. That meant one thing, this wasn’t over.
If the demons were colluding with bandits, then the only way to uncover the truth was to crush every gang and follow the trail.
Thus began another wave of "bandit suppression."
It was a glorious era for Joya’s criminal underworld.
Bandits across the kingdom found themselves blessed with the once-in-a-lifetime privilege of meeting Fiore’s former most beautiful Magicianm and, if they were especially unlucky, of being personally "corrected" by a Ten Wizard Saint.
A few even had the unique honor of witnessing that same Saint Ten momentarily fumble a new spell in mid-battle.
The bandits were thrilled.
The King, officials, and common folk were even more thrilled.
The only ones not thrilled were the nobles, many of whom had recently been "re-educated" by the King’s reforms. Otherwise, they too might have joined the celebration.
Between missions, Rhodes carefully documented everything he’d learned about the demon, along with the properties of the Demon Particles.
He made several copies of the report and sent them through a courier company with orders to deliver them to the other Wizard Saints.
Thanks to his new title, he didn’t even need to bother with addresses, just names were enough.
Finally, Rhodes drafted one more letter, deliberately written in the tone of a polite "colleague" rather than a subordinate. It contained only dry mission details and safety updates.
There was not a single line about when he planned to return.