Challenge

"Okay, Ruby. Thank you for talking to me today. I hope we can meet and talk again."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you. I'm so glad I got to meet and chat with you. Alright, see you later?"

"See you!"

Ruby got into her car and waved before leaving. Sofia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. For him everything he learned today was very shocking, especially about Ruby Lim.

He felt that he already knew enough information about her. However, there were still many things he did not know.

"Ruby was pregnant and her baby died before it could be born when Lucien was declared missing. I'm sure Lucien doesn't know about this yet, because if he did he would be even more angry." she thought. Sofia is hesitant to tell Lucien about this, moreover she begins to sense that Ruby doesn't seem to really love Victor as she seems.

"Hey fox girl, long time no see?"

"Hah?"

Sofia flinched when she realized that a man was standing behind her. This voice seemed familiar to him.

"W-who are you?"

"Have you forgotten who I am? I'm Max, we met one year ago, remember? That time you infiltrated our group pretending to be a newly resurrected demi demon!"

Sofia trembled, of course she still remembered the incident. The incident where he almost got caught by the enemy, if not for Jayden and Sebastian. Maybe now he will not be able to breathe free air like this.

He was reluctant to turn his head because this man might have prepared something to make him not move. Right now the only thing he could do was to stay calm and think of a plan that could get him out of here soon.

"Don't think you can run away, Fox! I won't let you off the hook this time. I will definitely break your neck and make that soft fur a coat!"

"What do you want from me? You want to convey a message from the person who ordered you?"

"Tsk, dammit! You guessed pretty well then! Turns out a fox is useful too. I thought you could just peek and spy on someone like a hungry fox."

"Shut that mouth! Just tell me what you need and tell me the message that was sent to me!"

"To you? Tsk, don't get too confident! This message is for your leader, Claude Von Damme. Tell him that 'Demon's Bloodline' is challenging him at the casino table. Show your best jockeys and consider this an appetizer before the attack comes!"

"Tch, you don't need to do that because the winner can already be determined!"

"Oh really? You've tasted the painful defeat of a group that can only contain useless cowards?"

"Useless cowards? Don't make me laugh Max! Save that confidence. Do you think I don't know who you guys are? You're just demi-demons who weren't welcome in Supernova Revenge and decided to form a new group and gather more followers. You guys what a shame, do you guys think you can beat us?”

"How arrogant of you, Fox! Laugh while you still can. But tomorrow maybe we'll chop each of you up one by one and display your alpha heads over the fireplace."

"Wow...you scared me!"

The man left Sofia, after his presence was no longer felt, Sofia immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Not that he was scared, he was just surprised that he was caught off guard and didn't realize that someone was standing right behind him.

He tried to guess, there was a possibility because the person standing behind him was a demon like him. But even if it's a monster or a demon, it never reaches that half.

For him, the back of his body is his weak point. Because of that he never let anyone stand let alone touch the back of his body.

"What happened to me?"

***

"Claude...!" Sofia walked in a hurry while calling Claude.

"What's wrong, Sofia? What are you in such a hurry for?" he asked.

"Where's Claude? I have to talk to him immediately!"

"You looking for me?" Asked Claude who entered the room with Jayden, Paul and Erwin.

"Claude, we just-"

"Calm down, Sofia! Don't panic! Are you saying that you just received a message from a member of the Bloodline Devil?"

“R-right, h-how did you know that?”

“Coincidentally I also got a message from them!” Paul said. This is quite surprising because it is Paul who is the election group of spies who also get the message.

"Paul, you too?"

"Maybe it's because they already know that I'm the top leader for the spy division. That's why they're after me. But what about you? How did they know that you're also part of the spy division?"

"That's because he was caught and almost executed trying to infiltrate one of their groups. If Sebastian and I hadn't arrived then his fox head might have become an extension over their fireplace." Jayden said in a haughty manner. He thought that Sofia should be thanking him.

Sofia tried to hold back her annoyance, she didn't expect that Jayden could brag about himself because of that. He didn't have time to thank him because he had something he needed to say right away.

"I forgot about that incident; Sofia, I hope you'll be more careful because if you do get caught again, then this time-"

"It's Lucien who will save me!"

"What?"

"Claude, you have to tell Lucien right away that he has to get ready. Because he's the only one we can rely on right now!"

"Tch, what exactly are you saying? You're exaggerating his strength that he hasn't even shown at all."

"Maybe it's not for you yet, but I fought him the first time I met him!"

"What? You fought him?"

Hearing Sofia's confession, they immediately listened in amazement as if they couldn't believe it. But it couldn't be helped in the fact that Sofia was the first to find him and bring him here.

Claude knew that Sofia had mentioned this before, but he didn't go into details.

"I met Lucien in the forest on a full moon. At that time he almost turned into a monster with a perfect form and decided to hide in the forest. I found him and managed to paralyze him. But then he almost killed me."

"What form did you see?"

"The form of a very large wolf with glowing red eyes. He looks very ferocious and brutal, raging and almost destroying anything he crosses. I have never seen such a monster, than a monster wolf, he looks like a devil who came from hell. "

"Tch-" Jayden growled in annoyance. He didn't understand why Sofia was only telling them things like this now as if she had done it on purpose.

"Why are you only telling me this now, Sofia?"

"I already told you guys when I brought him. But I think explaining everything in detail at that time would just make Lucien look too conspicuous. I didn't want to make him feel too burdened since he wasn't used to all this then."

"You're right! There's no need to explain what you know in detail because just by looking at Konstantin's crest on his back we should have realized it already. Alright Sofia, what message did they convey to you?"

"They challenged us to name our best jockey at the casino table tonight. They want to make a bet and I believe this is their first challenge to show their true power."

"Tch, a challenge at the gambling table? Isn't that too trivial for devils like us to do?" cheeped Jonathan who was sure that they would win easily.

"I don't think the challenge at the gambling table is the only challenge they will give. This is just curiosity. All this time they have hidden Nere's fangs secretly from us because they know their strength at that time will not be able to stop us. But if they If you dare to openly challenge, that means they have prepared troops to attack us."

"No matter how hard they try to get rid of us, it will never succeed. Our numbers and strength are much greater. Therefore they will not be able to take our place even by an inch." he said. They all thought about how they had managed to maintain their existence for hundreds of years, blending in and getting along with ordinary humans without any problems. Their members are constantly changing, just like their leaders. But the one thing that will never change.

"One will go, then 10 will come. Until whenever Supernova Revenge will never run out of members. Humans who have died will sell their souls to the devil and by themselves they will come. If tonight they challenge us to fight at the gambling table, then all we have to do is win that battle.”

"What if that battle was precisely a trap they set up to target every one of our members and force us to show our trump card to them? Wouldn't it be as if we were purposely showing them all of our secret strengths? Including our weaknesses?"

"Harry's right, Claude! We have to be careful about accepting challenges from them. Don't let us fall into their trap."

"Calm down, Erwin. I know what I have to do. I honestly want to show them our true power, but I don't want to reveal Lucien's whereabouts to them. Because if they find out about him, they will definitely target him too!"

"So what should we do?"

"Sebastian!"

"Yes, Sir?"

"You, Jonathan and Harry, it is the three of you who will represent us tonight. I believe in your abilities, therefore I hope you do not let me down. And for you, Sofia. Keep an eye on Lucien. Don't let them meet him and target him. I'm not I want them to influence Lucien and make him doubt Supernova Revenge."

***