Death... and me

Kentucky inherited the twins' scorn for cliches, it seemed...

'First of all, we don't have a strong sense of hierarchy like you mentioned. In fact, where did you even think of that? Did you ever feel like being the boss or something similar?' the feather asked. 'When I ask that, I mean taking care of all the things related to being a leader. Resources, protection, subordinates, race members, negotiations, and so on.'

Kentucky rubbed the back of his head with his wing, replying, "Well... not really." The ones who usually took care of all that shit were Rean and Roan. Kentucky rarely intervened in them since he found it boring. "So... Minokawas, in general, aren't very fond of being leaders, huh?"

'Pretty much,' the feather confirmed. 'However, we do have something like leaders of our race, the really strong ones, of course, but they're very lax. Other than protecting our race when needed, those guys, me included, wouldn't move a single feather. Minokawas are all like that, or at least most of them are. With that being said, forget about your previous story about mixed bloodlines or whatever.'

"So..." Kentucky went back to the main topic. "Mister Feather, why was it that I was in danger?"

'The problem is that you're the only Minokawa with a Regal Bloodline. Neither your mother nor I have it. Perhaps this mutation that you got is related to exactly that since it has been a very, very long time since a Regal Minokawa appeared. I'm talking about this small crown of feathers on your head. I can also feel the difference in your bloodline compared to mine.'

Kentucky was taken aback for a moment as he thought, 'Didn't I hear a similar story just a while ago?' It was then that he remembered Erla. She was also the first Pristine Blue Carp after a very long time. However, that was only counting the Terces Continent and the Clendes Sea inside. Her case was different since Erla wasn't the only Pristine Blue Carp. Although a high-ranked Demon Beast, Erla now knew that there were other Pristine Blue Carps somewhere in the Realm of Gods. Kentucky, on the other hand, was the only one.

"Hmm... Usually, I would think that someone from our Minokawa race wouldn't want to have a Regal Bloodline Minokawa challenge their position. But you said that we don't really care much about leadership. If that's the case, why would someone want me dead?" Kentucky asked.

'You're correct. We don't care much about leadership.' The feather agreed with Kentucky on that. 'The problem here is what the birth of a Regal Minokawa means.'

"I'm listening," Kentucky nodded as he replied.

'To explain, you first have to understand that Minokawas aren't the only Divine Demon Beasts that can give birth to a Regal Bloodline. However, whichever Divine Demon Beast race it is, the appearance of a Regal Bloodline is extremely rare. As I mentioned, a Regal Bloodline hasn't appeared in a very, very long time.'

The feather continued, 'Regal Bloodlines are the cornerstone of the Divine Demon Beast races in the demon beast territories. A single one of them can grow to match the top experts of the Realm of Gods by relying on their bloodline alone. Let alone if they train to increase their power even more.'

Kentucky understood. "I see... so the information that a Regal Minokawa egg was laid escaped somehow, and then you and mommy had to flee with me. After all, if a Regal Divine Demon Beast could be eliminated before it grows, it would prevent a lot of problems for the other races."

'That's pretty much it,' the feather agreed with Kentucky. 'That's why we left you in the Mortal Realm. No one would ever believe we sent a future Regal Demon Beast to the Mortal Realm. After all, you would have to grow on your own and ascend to the Realm of Gods later. As you probably know, ascenders are very rare when compared to the number of Transition Realm beings in the Mortal Realm.'

Kentucky nodded, saying, "I know. I've seen a lot of Transition Realm beings back in the Mortal Realm, after all." It's just that a lot of them ascended through the demon beasts' portal on the Zasfins' planet. However, Kentucky didn't mention that. He could guess that such a portal wasn't something one could find on every planet of the Mortal Realm.

Then again, Kentucky couldn't help but ask, "Well, I understand why you left me there at first. However, why didn't you come and look for me after that? Since you went there once already, you could do it twice, no?"

'No!' The feather answered. 'Entering the Mortal Realm is an extremely arduous task with a huge backlash to those who try it. I suffered terrible injuries to achieve that, almost dying even. As for your mother, it would be impossible for her to try something like that with her cultivation. Due to the extent of my injuries, I would take a very long time to recover since my own demon core was damaged in the process. You know how it works, right? The higher your cultivation, the harder it is to heal severe injuries, let alone an injury to the demon core or dantian.'

Kentucky nodded in response. Rean had mentioned the same thing many times when he healed others. Kentucky himself could use the Instant Recovery skill, so he was well aware of it. "You were in no condition to head back. Mommy couldn't do that because she was too weak. It isn't hard to guess you haven't told any other Minokawa about it since you didn't feel safe. In the end, I had to climb my way here on my own."

'Indeed. Of course, I'm very happy you did so. I've never expected you would ascend to the Realm of Gods so fast. Considering the lifespan of a Transition Realm demon beast, I thought my injuries would recover first. That I would have to go back there to bring you to the Realm of Gods. As expected of a Regal Minokawa, I guess? Not to mention you're my child, so it makes even more sense. Hahaha!'