Chapter 1486 - 1004: Late Night Visitor
Although the intel provided by Liliath suggested that the man named Ramses was the most likely culprit behind everything, Duanmu Huai, having been burned by shady missions countless times, had grown adept at recognizing that the apparent mastermind was often nothing more than a misdirection.
You could argue that Ramses deliberately reduced Naruse Mio’s guards, causing her to be constantly hunted down, aiming to kill her indirectly. But it was also possible that Ramses used this as a ploy to distract others—after all, too many guards could lead to a chaotic mix of allies and enemies, making comrades potentially more dangerous than enemies.
Similar situations were nothing new to Duanmu Huai. After taking down the boss, some NPC on his side would suddenly reveal they were the true mastermind all along while the so-called "boss" was just a scapegoat... and then promptly be killed off by the players.
Moreover, given that Liliath was part of the Jimongli Family, it was clear she wouldn’t be privy to detailed internal information from other families.
So, Duanmu Huai decided to shelve this matter temporarily and focus on Naruse Mio’s special training instead.
Since Naruse Mio’s powers had already awakened, the next step in her guidance was easy to determine. Duanmu showed no aptitude for spatial magic, but he did have some expertise in gravity manipulation.
The first lesson was, naturally, teaching her how to fly.
Generally speaking, members of the Demon Clan could fly instinctively. However, in Naruse Mio’s case, although her powers had awakened, she hadn’t yet transformed into the winged, tailed demon form like Liliath or Banriya—that was perfectly ordinary, according to Duanmu Huai. Typically, protagonists first awakened their powers and then underwent a secondary evolution during their showdown with the final boss. It was all pretty standard trope territory.
Naruse Mio was also putting in effort, realizing that her inability to fly was indeed a major issue. If she could fly, combat and escape alike would become much easier for her.
But—
"Lord Mio! Move faster! Be more nimble!"