In the emptiness of a desolate belt, a fleet of ships was facing a difficult situation.
The fleet was amorphous, with ships of various types, but each one had a demon skull emblem emblazoned on it.
This was the fleet of Tolaen, the Red Devil, the same title as Eva, but in the infinite universe, similar titles were very common.
Tolaen is a Grade A criminal from the Silver Arm Starfield, another of the galaxy's three central starfields, but this one belonged to the Arcane Church, another of the three universal civilizations.
On the main ship, Tolaen, a 'man' with red skin, black horns, and an athletic build, frowned as his subordinate spoke. - Captain, that guy actually managed to bypass the limiter we put in place, he woke up and blew up the ship he was on, most of the slaves died in the explosion, we captured him again, but he's on the verge of death.
Tolaen grunted in irritation, it was truly a loss for him this time. They were going to Star Abyss to sell the goods he had acquired. That guy was a special order, along with the ship and the other dead slaves. This was a real loss.
Black Dog, Mercer, a Grade A-level Pugilist whom he had put a lot of effort into capturing, he hadn't expected that this guy could explode with such force even while severely injured.
-The others don't matter, but he needs to be saved, he can't die before the exchange is complete!- Tolaen shouted at his subordinate.
-Yes! Captain, we've already taken him to the medical center, he can still be saved.- The subordinate promised quickly, sweating profusely. He knew Tolaen wasn't in a good mood and could kill someone simply for being annoying.
Tolaen grunted, dropping the subject, he was about to say something else when a ship emerged from the Hyperdrive very close to his fleet.
Tolaen frowned, thinking it might be a pursuer, but soon noticed it was just a small civilian ship. This left him even more bewildered, he was traversing the universe at that moment, a desolate belt, off any standard route. The chance of encountering another ship was so small it was almost impossible, let alone a civilian one.
This left him confused for a long time.
On the other side, the small ship was actually Ringo's ship. While traveling through the universe, Ringo kept several clones to use future vision, searching for 'good things'. He did find some, but nothing really very useful.
Until he discovered Tolaen's fleet.
Ringo remembered this guy, after all, he was one of the few BGAs who advanced during the storyline. However, currently, Tolaen is just a peak Grade A Super.
Tolaen is quite strange, he's a mage, but a mage focused on physical combat. His spells are all geared towards physical enhancement. In Ringo's opinion, this was a complete waste, because although in the initial stages the pugilists were indeed stronger and more difficult to deal with, in the intermediate and final stages they were merely moving targets.
Even so, Tolaen managed to advance to Grade S, which was ironic.
The reason for Ringo's stop here was simple: among Tolaen's cargo was a BGA, Black Dog, Mercer.
This guy wasn't very famous, but Ringo still came all the way here thinking about saving him. Why? Because he's a subordinate of another BGA.
Although he was subordinate to Ames, and knew he wasn't far from becoming a Beyond Grade A, having more friends is better than having more enemies. Tolaen was only a Grade A now, even though in terms of combat strength he could be considered one of the strongest in the explored universe. For Ringo, there were no more Grade A Supers that could reach his eyes, which is precisely why his advancement was so difficult.
Tolaen was no longer a subordinate of the Arcane Church, instead, he was just a wanted criminal. Dealing with him had no consequences, and capturing him now was a great advantage. He was almost at Grade S, a stage he would reach in about 100 years.
Besides, he's a wanted criminal, so Ringo had no qualms about taking action against him.
So, when he encountered him through the vision of the future, he came directly to him.
The current Tolaen is far from reaching the same level as its future version.
During his evolution to Grade S, he would normally assume a more human form, only activating his demonic form during combat. Currently, he is unable to revert to this appearance, looking completely like a demon.
Tolaen used transfiguration magic to further enhance this bloodline, the pugilists drew power from their bodies, while mages like Tolaen used external energies to enhance their bodies.
It was a rather uncommon skill among mages, but that didn't make them weak.
Tolaen managed to achieve Grade S for a reason.
The next moment, Ringo emerged directly from the ship as a clone quickly pushed it away. His physique had transformed: purple skin, black eyes with red pupils, demon horns sprouting from his head, a sharp, pointed black tail growing from his back, black and sharp nails, and fangs.
In his hand, Umbra Alba was already trembling with excitement, it had been a long time since they'd had a good fight.
His energy spread throughout the universe, and although it was far from the momentum of a Grade S attack that would send ships tumbling away, it still left Tolaen's subordinates filled with fear.
Tolaen himself looked furious, he stared at Ringo's figure emitting demonic energy outside his ship, clearly defying him.
Tolaen had no idea who Ringo was, but at that moment, it didn't matter anymore, he was pissed off as hell.
-Captain, should we attack?- The subordinate swallowed hard, asking with evident fear.
Tolaen ignored him, instead turning and leaving, ready to leave the ship, he wanted to see who this wretch was who dared to appear before him in such a 'pompous' manner.