5: Chapter 5

No matter how shrewd the people of the Underworld are, they would never imagine he would hide in their own territory. The darkest place is under the lamp—sometimes, it really is the safest way.

After Butler Izumi withdrew, Luo Yu ate his meal alone.

In the days that followed, he went to the Heaven Realm on time every day, soaking in the Mirror Lake of Light to cultivate.

The process was indeed tedious.

But every time he refined the lake water and his strength surged up a notch, the sheer thrill of it made it impossible for him to stop.

He had also figured out the patterns of the angels' patrols, trying his best to slip in during the gaps. He wasn't afraid of ordinary angels; it was mainly Gabriel. Running into her would be a huge trouble.

Luo Yu calculated that the Holy Light Dragon's current combat power had already far surpassed an Ultimate-Class Devil. Although he hadn't officially stepped into the Maou-Class yet, a quasi-Maou-Class was definitely secure.

If he persisted for another ten days or so, he would be able to break through to the true Maou-Class.

At that time, he planned to take a look deep inside the Mirror Lake. That place was the core of the Mirror Lake of Light, the source where light spirits were bred, and where divine and sacred beasts of the Super Devil King Class gathered.

As night fell, Luo Yu glanced out the window.

These past few days, he had stayed indoors without even stepping out the door. All his meals were delivered by Butler Izumi. In the eyes of others, he was probably a textbook shut-in.

Who would have thought that he was running back and forth between the Heaven Realm and the Human World every day?

“I'll go out for some fresh air.”

He pushed open the window, and the night wind poured in.

Luo Yu was used to being alone late at night.

An old habit left over from his past life.

Whenever he felt suffocated in his heart, he liked to find a place with no one around to stay for a while, just to change his mood.

Tonight was no exception.

He walked to the garden behind the villa, where the streetlights illuminated the entire area brightly. The flowers were in full bloom, a stream flowed gently along the stones, and some oddly shaped rockeries stood beside it. Combined together, it really had an indescribable charm.

His whole body relaxed unconsciously, and much of his daytime irritation dissipated. “Luo Yu?”

A female voice sounded from behind him, carrying a hint of surprise.

Luo Yu turned his head.

Sitting under the bamboo pavilion was Sona. She was wearing casual loungewear, a pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose, holding a book in her hands, reading by the light. An unfinished chess game was laid out on the small stone table in front of her.

The dim yellow light silhouetted her profile. Sitting there so quietly, she inexplicably lent a touch of softness to the scene. “Did I disturb you?” Luo Yu walked to the edge of the pavilion.

He had turned off his perception just now and hadn't noticed she was there. Looking at her, she had probably just returned not long ago. “It's no trouble,” Sona said, putting down the chess book in her hand, her tone apologetic. “There have been too many things to deal with at home these past two days, so I couldn't look after you.”

The engagement between the two of them would expire in three years.

But during these three years, she was still his fiancée in name, and they lived under the same roof. Although she had instructed Butler Izumi to take good care of him, some things couldn't be resolved just by giving instructions.

Luo Yu didn't think too much of it.

He glanced at the chessboard on the table, then swept his eyes over the book in her hand, casually changing the subject: “Do you like playing chess?”

Sona smiled and turned the book over to show him the cover.

It was a collection of chess strategies. “To be precise, I prefer researching chess tactics,” she said.

The rules of the Rating Game themselves were a magnified version of chess. As the heir of House Sitri, improving her ranking was a mandatory task. Studying chess tactics was also a compulsory course she had set for herself.

Most of those pure-blooded devils in the Underworld only cared about the strength of their peerage, and never took tactics seriously.

Unless the opponent was too weak.

Once the strengths of both sides were equal, tactics became the key to winning or losing.

Luo Yu sat opposite her, tapping his finger on the chessboard on the table. “Other people's tactics, strategies, layouts, and methods... no matter how good they are, they might not necessarily suit you.”

Sona looked up at him. “A soft-hearted person cannot play a ruthless game,” Luo Yu said. “Insisting on imitating others will only result in a poor imitation, losing your original flavor.”

He paused. “Playing chess is often about mindset and obsession. Other people's things can be used as a reference.”

“But if you really want to make it your own, you might as well start from scratch and figure out a playstyle that belongs solely to you.”

“When that day comes, you will naturally realize that the difference between the two is like night and day.”

“You are quite good at chess.”

Sona glanced at Luo Yu with slight surprise and casually closed the book. She wouldn't believe that someone who could say such things knew nothing about chess.

She really hadn't expected that this fiancé of hers was actually a chess master. “Good at it?”

Luo Yu pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said, “The phrase 'good at it' is too heavy. At best, I'm just a chess player.”

Sona felt there was a deeper meaning in his words, but after careful consideration, she couldn't point out what was wrong.

A chessboard.

On a small scale, it was the piece of wood in front of her.

On a large scale, the entire Three Realms was one.

Those who could truly see through the chess game and perceive all changes...

The deity who had already fallen counted as one, and Great Red, the True Red Dragon God Emperor, counted as another.

The Four Great Satans who perished together with God back then could count as one when combined.

Shiva of the Hindu Pantheon was barely qualified, while Indra of the East could only count as half.

This was linked to strength, but more importantly, it was about one's realm. With different realms, one's vision was naturally different.

Luo Yu knew very well that in these Three Realms, he was at most a chess player. And what he was playing was an endgame already set up by others, just like the game in front of Sona.

He was still far from controlling the board and truly understanding chess... “Luo Yu, are you interested in playing a game with me?”

When she was in the Underworld, she had Rias to play chess with. Since coming to the Human World, she had been busy dealing with peerage matters and hadn't had a proper game. She had flipped through several chess books, and her hands had long been itching. “It is better to accept than to decline politely.”

After the chess pieces were set up, Luo Yu made a gesture of invitation.

Sona played white and went first, starting with a very steady opening. The first move didn't show any particular pattern.

The two of them made several moves in quick succession.

Suddenly, a strange look flashed in Sona's eyes.

Luo Yu made an unexpected move, pushing a piece forward by one square. “Queen first!”

Sona was stunned. She hadn't expected Luo Yu to bring out his Queen so early. “Queen first, and the remaining pawns and knights will follow and charge forward. Just like a general leading the charge in battle, utilizing that unstoppable momentum, one can crush the enemy lines in one fell swoop.”

“...This is chess, not a battlefield.”

Sona felt Luo Yu was somewhat conflating concepts.

Luo Yu casually replied, “Actually, some things are interconnected, even if it sounds like a fallacy. Besides, chess originally evolved from those things anyway.”

After a few minutes, the two had already traded over a dozen moves.

The opening on the board gradually took shape. Sona used the King's Pawn Opening with the white pieces, which was the most common move that almost every beginner had played.

But understanding this opening thoroughly was not that simple. Once it reached the middlegame, every step required a massive amount of calculation.

Luo Yu made a move.

Sona's face changed on the spot.

Philidor Defence.

With this move, Luo Yu's black piece formation was completely revealed. This was a common defensive system used against the King's Pawn Opening of the white pieces, famous for its stability, making it easy for the black pieces to secure a draw.

Clearly, his previous moves didn't follow the pattern of the Philidor Defence.

How did it suddenly become one just with this single move?

Sona couldn't figure it out no matter what.

On the chessboard, if you can't see through your opponent's intentions, you can only be crushed step by step.

Sona was in this exact situation. She thought Luo Yu was playing the Philidor Defence and had already prepared her counter-strategy.

But then, Luo Yu shifted his formation.

Sona failed to react in time and lost several pieces in a row.

This was just the beginning, not even reaching the middlegame yet.

Sona had guessed before that Luo Yu's chess skills were not low, but she really hadn't expected them to be this high. She hurriedly tried to find a way to salvage the situation, but unfortunately, it was already too late. Luo Yu's overall layout had long been established.

Clack.

Luo Yu casually took her last knight.

Even without finishing the game, the situation was already crystal clear. Sona's side had completely collapsed, leaving no hope of a comeback.

Lost?

Sona was somewhat dazed.

She had never been defeated so miserably. From beginning to end, she had no room to fight back, being completely suppressed the entire time.

Luo Yu made another move, putting her in checkmate directly. He picked up the black Queen and said, “You have too many thoughts. Trying to protect your knight, you ended up losing your rook. Wanting to keep everything and unwilling to sacrifice anything is impossible. Trade-offs are very important.”

“Although the Queen is valuable, she is also the prime choice to be used as bait.”

Seeing that Sona was still in a daze, Luo Yu didn't say any more and stood up to leave.

She needed some quiet time to herself now.

After a long time.

Looking at the endgame before her, Sona let out a bitter laugh. “To lose like this... even looking back now, I can't see the slightest possibility of winning.”

She looked up towards the fourth floor, in the direction of Luo Yu's room.

Today, she suddenly realized that this fiancé of her was not as simple as the Underworld and her family thought. “How rare. You actually took the initiative to teach a devil, and a pure-blooded one at that.”

Just as Luo Yu stepped into his room, Ddraig's puzzled voice rang out in his mind. “Don't fool me with that fiancée nonsense. I don't believe you would go to this trouble just because of a title.”

“Ddraig, you've been talking a lot lately. Let me make this clear first: I don't have that much prejudice against devils.”

“I don't believe that either. Have there been few devils who died by your hand? Not counting stray ones, there are plenty of pure-blooded ones, and you've even slaughtered Maou descendants. No matter how I look at it, it seems like you have a blood feud with the Underworld.”

Luo Yu was somewhat helpless.

He really didn't have that much of a grudge against the devils of the Underworld. It was all brought upon themselves by those blind pure-bloods. That Maou descendant was even stupider, wanting to take him in as a servant? He really thought too highly of himself.

If he didn't kill that guy, he wouldn't be able to swallow this anger.

Besides, quite a few Fallen Angels had died by his hand as well, so why focus only on devils?

It made many people in the Three Realms, like Ddraig, genuinely believe he had an irreconcilable feud with the Underworld.

...

“Teaching her can be considered compensation. Compensation for using her.”

Luo Yu brought the topic back to the main point. “When you put it that way, I can understand. Although she came to your doorstep herself, if you are exposed, this little girl will definitely be implicated. After all, she is your fiancée in name; that much is obvious.”

Luo Yu nodded. “For her, as the heir of House Sitri, it would be easy to clear her name. Her biological older sister is even one of the Four Great Satans of the Underworld. But there are some favors I don't want to owe.”

“Whether she treats this as compensation or a favor, it has nothing to do with me. I just want peace of mind for myself.”

These words sounded quite selfish, only caring about his own comfort.

But to Ddraig, this wasn't an issue at all.

Dragons were naturally proud, free-spirited, and lived only to do as they pleased. Who cared about any damn rules? Selfish or otherwise, following instinct was the way to go. Otherwise, during The Great War back then, the two Heavenly Dragons wouldn't have charged straight into the battlefield.

Now that Luo Yu had also become a Dragon, some of his thoughts were gradually changing.

...

In Sona's room. “I lost, completely.”