My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

”Now tell me where we need to go. I’ll open a portal, and we can arrive there instantly.”

Nova nodded. He was finally prepared and ready to return to his family. A strong sense of excitement filled him — he had missed them dearly. At the same time, a faint nervousness lingered in his heart.

This time... he wasn’t returning alone.

”Since we’re currently in the western part of the human continent and Aureth is in the east, we should head in that direction,” Nova said.

Nyxara replied calmly,

”I’ve visited Aureth before. Just tell me the exact location you want to go. I need a clear direction so I can properly tear space and connect it to that area.”

Nova wasn’t particularly surprised that she had been to Aureth before. After living for more than a thousand years, it would have been stranger if she hadn’t.

”I’m going to participate in the Grand Youth Tournament held in the capital of Aureth,” he explained. ”So let’s go there.”

Nyxara nodded, but Nova quickly stopped her.

”Oh — before we leave, shouldn’t the two of you cover your faces? It would be better. Your beauty will attract unwanted attention.”

He was right. Just like his wives, both Nyxara and Velena would draw far too many eyes.

In fact, their more mature figures made them even more noticeable. In terms of facial beauty, Asia stood roughly on the same level as Velena.

Rieka was a step below them, yet she was still considered a great beauty in her own right. Nova couldn’t even imagine how much more stunning she would become once her bloodline fully awakened.

Perhaps she might one day surpass even the greatest beauties of this world.

Of course, he couldn’t say for certain. He had never seen those legendary women himself.

He only knew that Lady Aurora of the Elven Continent was regarded as the second most beautiful woman in the world. He knew nothing about the one ranked first.

For now, the most beautiful woman he had personally seen was Nyxara.

Nyxara didn’t argue. She simply took out a black veil that matched her outfit and put it on. She understood that he was right, and in any case, she had never liked attracting unnecessary attention.

Velena then spoke up.

”I don’t have anything to cover my face.”

Fortunately, Nova still had extra veils that he had previously bought for Rieka and Asia. He took one out and offered it to her.

”Here. You can use this one.”

Velena looked slightly surprised. She hadn’t expected him to carry something typically used by beautiful women.

Nyxara narrowed her eyes and asked,

”Why do you have this?”

Nova laughed a little awkwardly.

”Well... I got them for a friend.”

Nyxara didn’t press the matter further. It wasn’t a big deal, though she could already guess that the ”friend” he mentioned was most likely a beautiful girl.

With everything settled, she tore open a spatial rift and stepped through it. Nova and Velena followed right behind her.

Nova could have simply used Monarch’s Transposition and exchanged places with one of the Deadborns currently staying with his family.

Now that they were outside the Abyss, he could clearly sense their presence and freely use all of his related skills.

However, doing so would have created unnecessary problems. His Deadborn would have appeared in his place, and although he could have recalled it immediately, a Sovereign like Nyxara would not have found it difficult to track him down afterward — especially with her mastery over Space affinity.

More importantly, for some reason, Nova felt uncomfortable even considering such a move against Nyxara and Velena. The moment the idea crossed his mind, he discarded it.

As Nyxara herself had said, she was not the type to attack others without reason. Nova trusted his own judgment... and because of that, he chose to trust her words as well.

....

Far beyond the human continent — and far beyond any of the other known continents lay an island regarded as a true dead land.

Countless powerful demonic beasts beyond ordinary comprehension, along with other unknown and terrifying living beings, resided there.

This island did not fall under the jurisdiction of any race. It was known as the Desolate Land, the Land of Death — a place where even Demon Lords and the Emperors of other races could not travel freely.

At the edge of the Desolate Land, surrounded on all sides by towering mountains and dense, oppressive wilderness, a single cloaked figure sat in silence.

After a moment, the figure stood up.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and powerfully built. Black armor covered his body, forged from an extremely tough material, and the armor itself was stained with dried blood — as if he had been fighting continuously for days without rest.

The moment he rose to his feet, three figures appeared before him and knelt.

”My Lord.”

Among the three, two were male and one was female. All of them looked tall and intimidating, and each wore a mask that completely concealed their faces.

For beings of their level to kneel so respectfully already made it clear that the man before them was no ordinary existence.

His deep voice finally rang out.

”Even after all the time we spent here... we still failed to make contact with those beings.”

”It seems this trip was also a waste of time.”

The masked woman spoke first.

”My Lord, I believe contact is only possible if they themselves wish for it. Otherwise... there is nothing we can do.”

The second figure added,

”Yes, my Lord. We should return. We have already wasted enough time here.”

The third figure continued,

”My Lord, those two bastards may have already come out of hiding with Demon Lord Raze’s heart by now.”

Upon hearing those words, the cloaked man reached up and removed his hood.

He had tanned, human-like skin, a sharply intimidating face, crimson-red eyes, matching long red hair, and a pair of black horns rising from his head.

A cold smile spread across his face.

The three kneeling figures instinctively gulped when they saw that expression.

”Alright,” he said. ”Let’s go. Communication stones don’t even work in this shitty place.”

With that, the four of them shot into the air and left the Desolate Land. After several hours of travel, they finally crossed the massive energy field that surrounded the island — marking their official exit from that forbidden region.

One of the three figures behind the red-haired man muttered,

”Seriously... even the Fourth Level is better than that hellhole.”

The other two silently agreed.

As they continued traveling, the red-haired man suddenly came to a halt when he felt his communication stone begin to buzz. The three figures following behind him immediately stopped as well when they saw their lord pause.

He took out the stone. A panicked figure appeared above it — it was Lily.

”Husband!! Where are you?! Why couldn’t I reach you before?!” she shouted.

”Do you even know what happened here in your absence?! Auuuu... aauuu!”

She continued shouting and crying at the same time.

”Do you know what your daughter has done?! Auuuuu... aauuu!”

The man was none other than the strongest Demon Lord of the Abyss — Kharos Zarok, father of Nyxara and husband of Lily.

Lily’s frantic cries echoed through the air. The three figures standing behind Kharos were his generals.

They exchanged glances with one another, clearly curious about why their Queen was behaving this way and what exactly the Princess had done.

Kharos let out a quiet sigh. His voice came out calm, yet it carried a natural, intimidating pressure as he ordered,

”Calm down... and explain properly.”

Lily’s crocodile tears continued to fall as she began to speak.

”She—she...”

After Lily finished explaining everything naturally from her own perspective, while fabricating a few details to make Nyxara appear more guilty — she finally fell silent.

Kharos’s expression remained completely calm. He spoke in a steady voice,

”Alright. I’ll talk to you when I arrive.”

With that, he put away the communication stone. A smile slowly appeared on his face.

It was not a smile of happiness... but one of clear interest and mild surprise.

”My generals,” he said calmly, ”it seems something truly interesting has happened in our territory.”

The three generals exchanged glances with one another. In the next moment, Kharos drew a long black sword, tore open a spatial rift in front of him, and ordered,

”Follow me.”

Naturally, his generals followed closely behind their lord as they stepped into the spatial rift.

**

Thanks for reading...