The Daily Life of the Demon King

Chapter 464 - 464: Opportunity Went Boom.

Alex was sitting at the table in the Crimson Raiders' headquarters, holding a cup of instant noodles in his hands. His gaze once again drifted toward Lilith, or rather, to the fiery crystal necklace that now adorned her neck. Earlier, when her hair blazed like a torch, he had wondered what had caused her powers to spiral out of control. The answer turned out to be simple: it wasn't the absorbed Eridium. The true cause lay in another source of energy — mana that had seeped into her body.When checking her condition, Alex clearly felt a flow inside her that didn't belong in her system. And the only explanation pointed toward Anya, Nyarlko, and Jinx — they were more than capable of making something like this happen. The only surprise was that the mana hadn't just empowered Lilith but had pushed her powers into critical overload.

Alex ate another mouthful of noodles and, closing his eyes, focused on locating the four little "gremlins." Finding Anya, Nyarlko, Jinx, and Tina took only a moment — the whole group was already sitting in Moxxi's bar. The reason for their escape was obvious: the girls simply didn't want to stick around Lilith, who had turned into a walking furnace. Alex decided he'd ask his daughters later what exactly they had given Lilith, but for now, he preferred to finish his noodles peacefully in the company of his new friends.

At the same time on the first floor, Tannis noticed that the temperature was gradually returning to normal. But along with relief, her nose caught the scent of food wafting down from upstairs. The scientist tried to brush off the thought of eating, but her stomach loudly objected, reminding her it was time for a snack. Climbing to the second floor, Tannis spotted the group at the table — each one holding a cup of noodles that gave off a mouthwatering aroma. Her stomach growled even louder.

Without hesitation, Tannis walked over and sat down beside them:"I don't know what you're eating, but I want some too. As a researcher, I need proper nutrition; otherwise, my brain won't function."

Everyone gave her a quick glance — and immediately looked away. The reason was simple: Tannis was still strutting around in short shorts and a bra. Without turning his head, Alex pulled a cup of noodles from his inventory and set it in front of her. Just as Tannis was about to crunch into it dry, he quickly poured hot water into the cup, closed the lid, and pointed to the time written on the packaging. It all happened so fast that the mad scientist didn't even get a chance to say a word.

"So, how are your studies going, Tannis?" Lilith asked, setting her empty cup on the table.

"After several hours of scientific madness, the kind you can only experience either in fantasies or in my bed — invitation still stands — I've come to the conclusion that there's a direct connection between the Vault, Eridium, and Handsome Jack!" Tannis replied, throwing Alex a meaningful look.

"Can you stop trying to drag me into bed already?" Alex sighed wearily.

"And why should I? You're hot and exactly my type. Though, I admit, I need to verify that firsthand. I suggest we conduct a series of experiments… in different positions, in my bed. Tonight. Then at night. And perhaps tomorrow morning as well," Tannis added in a serious tone, without even blinking.

Alex groaned, covering his face with his hand. He had never dealt with such a straightforward woman before. The rest of the group nearly choked on their food at her words. Brick smirked broadly and gave Alex a pat on the shoulder, to which he only responded with an empty stare. Lilith, however, knew Tannis wasn't quite right in the head, but this was the first time she had seen her so bold. Usually, after being turned down, the scientist would just shrug it off and switch to a new project.

Alex silently prayed that at least one of his wives would show up to put an end to this nightmare. Tannis, however, went on, vividly describing how exactly everything would happen, in what positions, and with what sounds. Then, just as suddenly, she switched gears and calmly started eating her noodles as if nothing had happened.

Alex let out a sigh of relief, grateful that Tannis had finally gone quiet.

"So what kind of connection did you find between Jack, Eridium, and the Vault?" Lilith asked once the pause settled in.

"I don't know exactly yet. I just realized they're connected," Tannis answered casually with a shrug.

"You're all stupid if you didn't notice it earlier," Alex remarked calmly, brewing himself some coffee.

"What do you mean?" Lilith frowned. "What exactly didn't we get?"

"Who are you calling stupid? I'll have you know, I'm the greatest researcher, archaeologist, and scientist!" Tannis shot back. "The Dahl corporation still wants me dead because of my discoveries. Though maybe it has more to do with the fact that I quit by blowing up my last lab… but most likely it's because of my Vault research," she added, pointing her finger at Alex.

Alex smirked and finally spoke:"Alright, I'll share the truth with you… It's simpler than you think. Eridium amplifies Siren powers — that's the first clue. Hyperion mines it by the ton — that's the second. Jack has a Vault Key, but it's inactive. That means he's using his daughter as a battery to charge the Key and open the Vault ahead of schedule. And inside… there's a weapon capable of wiping out all his enemies and 'cleansing' Pandora of bandits. In short, Jack is preparing genocide."

The room fell silent, broken only by the clinking of a spoon against a cup and the noisy slurping with which Tannis devoured her instant noodles. Everyone stared at Alex in shock. At that moment, the voices of Angel echoed in the minds of Maya, Zer0, Axton, and Salvador, confirming every word Alex had spoken.

It wasn't that Angel had deliberately hidden the truth — she had simply seen no point in revealing her situation before. Maya took it upon herself to explain to the others what she had learned from Alex.

Lilith was shaken by the revelation: Jack was keeping his own daughter, a Siren, imprisoned, using her as a living battery for the Vault Key. And all of it was for his own ambitions. Alex didn't interfere, quietly sipping his coffee in slow gulps. He shared this knowledge only to accelerate the Crimson Raiders' plans. He already knew exactly where Angel was being held.

Thanks to her constant connection with Maya, Axton, Salvador, and Zer0, Alex had traced the source of her signal. He pinpointed the Bunker, where tons of liquid Eridium were being pumped into Angel and redirected into the Key. This allowed Jack to fast-track the Vault's opening.

Alex figured he'd stick around this universe for another couple of days, a week at most. He still needed to find the main Vault. And for that, he'd have to track down Typhon — whether the man was hiding on another planet or still somewhere on Pandora didn't matter.

"How did you figure all this out?" Lilith finally asked, having digested the information.

"It wasn't that hard. My job is to know everything. And I do," Alex replied, lazily running his finger along the rim of his mug. "I've only been on this planet for about ten hours, and I already know more than you do. And trust me, that's hardly an accomplishment."

"Well then, enlighten us," Brick snorted, leaning back and waving his hand.

"Remember the freight train you asked me to stop?" Alex narrowed his eyes slightly. "There was a terminal hooked into Hyperion's network. I hacked it and pulled everything I could. Where the Eridium goes, why… Put the pieces together, and the picture became clear."

He didn't mention that he had already known much of it beforehand — from his "past" experience.

"Let's say that's true," Lilith muttered, leaning against the table. "But maybe you'll actually explain what exactly you found in there? We didn't get the chance to check ourselves, you know — Sanctuary was being bombed, I had to teleport the entire city… and all the rest."

"Of course," Alex drawled, reaching into the inner pocket of his coat.

Everyone froze in anticipation. The girls watching the broadcast already had a feeling Alex was about to pull some kind of nonsense. And they weren't wrong. A second later, he stretched out his hand — his fingers forming a heart, which he held out directly to Lilith.

She looked first at his hand, then at him. The others struggled not to burst out laughing. Brick and Salvador clamped their mouths shut with their hands, pounding their fists on the table. Mordecai just snorted and took a swig from his bottle. Maya rolled her eyes and shook her head — she was becoming more and more convinced that Alex was strange. Meanwhile, a glowing <3 appeared on Zer0's mask, and he immediately mimicked the gesture, just for the sake of it.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Lilith asked, staring at him.

"I'm giving you a piece of my heart," Alex smiled. "Because what I found on that train is really worth your attention."

"Unbelievable…" Lilith muttered, pushing his hands away. "Now get to the point. What exactly was on the train? Weapons? Or something else?"

"Weapons. But very different ones," Alex replied with a sly smile, thinking about his new pets.

"And did you bring them? Or is all we've got now just your little heart? Which is already packed with women?" Lilith narrowed her eyes, folding her arms.

"I'm afraid if I had brought samples, Sanctuary would already be gone. And you'd all be dead before you even realized what happened," Alex said calmly, tapping his finger against the table.

"And what kind of weapon is that supposed to be?" Brick asked in surprise.

"It's complicated… It's a weapon, and at the same time, it isn't. If Jack knew one of his people had developed something like this, he wouldn't need to open the Vault at all. With this, he could wipe Pandora clean of all life. People, animals, plants — nothing would remain."

"So what the hell is it then?" Lilith asked, completely confused now.

"Easier to show," Alex replied, pulling out his phone. "I ran an analysis through a portable lab."

Alex placed the phone in the middle of the table and pulled up the analysis data. Activating the holographic projection, he let everyone see what he meant. Lines of text and schematics lit up in the air. The first thing that became clear was why he had called it both a weapon and not a weapon.

Because what Hyperion's freight train had been carrying were mutated skags with a special kind of mutation.

Reading the first lines of the report, everyone immediately understood why Alex had said that if such a skag had appeared in Sanctuary, they would have died without even realizing what had happened. The further they read, the worse it became. If Jack had known that one of his scientists had bred such creatures, he wouldn't have needed the Vault or the Warrior. These monsters could have destroyed Pandora on their own.

The first skag caused instant death the moment a person got near it. The second brought a slow, agonizing death from dozens of diseases. The third carried bacteria that devoured all living things. The fourth turned people into insane killing machines that attacked everything in sight.

Alex silently waited for them to finish reading. Inside, he only smirked—Jack was so obsessed with the Vault that he didn't even notice the horrors being born right under his nose. "I see the goal, I don't see the obstacles," Alex mentally placed him in that category of people.

"Where are these creatures? And how did you manage to collect samples without dying?" Lilith was the first to break the silence, staring at him intently.

"Those skags are in a very safe place. And why I didn't die—that's a family secret. But one thing I'll say for sure: I can't die. Even if someone kills me, I still won't die," Alex said, thoughtfully stroking his chin.

"If you can't die, can I dissect you?" Tannis asked coldly, her eyes locked on him. "I'm just curious why you're such a hottie. Maybe I'll find the answer inside."

"No, you can't. And you won't find anything there. I was born this way. Anyway, discuss your plans to fight Jack and Hyperion. I'm going to check on the girls—it's dinner time," Alex said as he stood up from the chair.

"Don't you want to take part in this? Or are you going back where you came from?" Brick raised an eyebrow.

"What's there to listen to? The plan is simple: find where Jack's keeping Angel—I already know where. Free her, take the Vault Key. Then beat Jack with a stick. Open the Vault, and that's it. Well, except I'd like to take over 'Helios' in the end. But discussing how to pull it off doesn't interest me. So I'm heading to Moxxi's bar to check on the girls," Alex said and headed for the balcony.

A moment later, he jumped down and, with his hands in his pockets, calmly walked down the street toward the bar.

"I like it. Pretty straightforward plan," Brick shrugged.

"I agree. Grab the key, beat Jack, and that's it—victory," Salvador backed him up.

Lilith tiredly covered her face with her hands and groaned. In their team, there were two "muscles" who only wanted plans like "blow it up and beat it." But what interested her much more was why Alex wanted "Helios." Her first thought was that he wanted to take over Hyperion. But she quickly dismissed it. Alex didn't look like someone who wanted to become the next Jack. She just didn't know his goal was much simpler—to have his own orbital station. Why build one if you can take a ready-made one? !"

Meanwhile, the bar erupted in laughter and joyful hums. Moxxi watched the destruction with an expression of pure delight, as if she'd received the greatest gift of her life.

Alex simply leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, grinning like a man who had just pulled off a magnificent trick.

To be continued…

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