Death... and me



Things continued like that for another nine days. Finally, Rean's Divine Sense caught the presence of a being in the Middle Stage of the Transition Realm. "Ah! There it is! Fast, Kentucky, go in that direction!"

Kentucky nodded and increased his speed. A flash of Light and Dark streaked through the skies, soon reaching an enormous lake in the middle of a grassland. "It's here."

Kentucky then shot into the lake with Rean, diving at crazy speed. It was then that they found a giant shell lying dormant on the lake floor. The being inside was exactly the Demon Beast in the transition realm they detected a while ago.

Rean then used his Divine Sense to send a message to that aquatic Demon Beast. 'Hey there. Would you mind answering a few questions?'

The shell trembled a little. The demon beast then spread its Divine Sense and caught the sight of Rean and Kentucky. Of course, Rean and Kentucky allowed themselves to be seen. If not, the difference in cultivation would make them invisible to the Demon Beast. Sure enough, the Demon Beast also noticed Rean and Kentucky's much higher cultivation.

*clak, clak, clak...*

The shell then opened, showing the mollusk Demon Beast inside. 'H-How can this little one help, sirs?' The enormous difference in cultivation obviously put the mollusk on guard. 

Rean smiled as he shook his head. 'Don't worry, friend. We are not here to cause you any harm, nor will we stay for much longer. We know we are in the Demon Beasts Territory of the Realm of Gods. However, we don't know where exactly. Would you be able to show us where we can find a Demon Beast city?'

Although several times rarer, Demon Beasts did have cities. The reason for their rarity was obvious the fact that only at the Transition Realm would they gain sentience. Rean's group had visited some of those during their time in the Regal Azure Dragon's care.

The mollusk felt relieved as it didn't seem like Rean and Kentucky were lying. At the very least, there wasn't a reason for them to treat him that well since they could simply force an answer out of him. Still, the mollusk was quite puzzled by their question. 'City...? I'm sorry, friend. Would you mind explaining to me what a city is? I've lived my entire life in this lake, only going out when I really had a need for something, so I'm not very knowledgeable about the outside world.'

Rean and Kentucky were taken aback. 'You don't know?'

The mollusk continued in silence, waiting for them to answer. 

Seeing that the mollusk wasn't lying, Rean used his Divine Sense to explain what a city was. 'And that's about it. We need to know if there is any place around here similar to the description I gave you. Cities in the Demon Beasts' territories are really rare, exactly by the lack of sentient beings within it. Oh, by the way, you can call me Rean.'

The mollusk seemed marveled by Rean's words. 'There are such things between our Demon Beast Races? Oh, right, I'm Zutuk. Anyway, I wish I could see one of the cities you talked about. They seem very interesting.'

Zutuk continued. 'Unfortunately, there is definitely no such thing anywhere around here. As I said, I only went out a few times out of necessity, so I might be wrong. Yet, if there was anything like a city here, I think I would know. Sorry for not being able to help.'

Rean shook his head. 'It's fine, friend. Do you perhaps know which continent of the Demon Beasts Territory this is?'

'I'm sorry, I'm truly unaware of such things,' Zutuk answered. 'However, I admit that I'm a pretty bad choice to gather information from. Instead, you should visit the Red Luans. Their leader is a stage higher than me, and he definitely traveled a lot more than I did. He is a Bird, after all.'

'A Late Stage Transition Realm Demon Bird, uh?' Rean didn't see why not. 'Sure, please tell us where we can find these Red Luans Territory.'

A few minutes later, Kentucky shot out of the lake and soared into the skies. Back down the lake, Zutuk looked at a small pile of Rank Three Divine Stones with excitement. He had never seen a Rank Three Divine Stone before, let alone so many. What he thought to be a calamity when Rean and Kentucky appeared turned out to be the greatest fortune of his life until now. Naturally, such a meager amount meant nothing to Rean, so he gave the stones without even thinking.

In the air, Kentucky used his Spatial Powers to increase the speed, flying in the direction of the Red Luans' home. It took another three days to get there, and they kept their Divine Sense spread nonstop. Yet, they still couldn't see a single Demon Beast at the Transition Realm of higher. Only when Kentucky sighted a huge mountain range in the distance they finally found another one. 'So much red...'

Countless flocks of red birds flew in and out of the mountain ranges, with nests filling them at every crevice. Different from the Divine Demon Beast Blue Luan, the Red Luans were quite common. They did carry a faint trace of the real Blue Luan bloodline, but that definitely didn't make them Divine Demon Beasts.

The Red Luans noticed Rean and Kentucky's approach. As very territorial creatures, they immediately launched themselves against them, red to lay their lives to get rid of the enemy. Yet, just as they were about to clash head-on...

*Creeeeeeeeeee!*

A powerful cry echoed from Kentucky's mount. His Divine Demon Bird bloodline presence spread everywhere, instilling fear in all the Red Luans. Not a single Luan had the courage to flap forward anymore. They all fled back into their nests as they trembled nonstop.

Kentucky then landed on the top of one of the mountains, waiting.

It was then that a red streak of light came from further inside the mountain. Soon, it landed right in front of Kentucky. It was none other than the Late-Stage... No, it had been a long time since Zutuk saw this Red Luan, which was now in the Peak Stage of the Transition Realm.

"I'm sorry for my race's behavior, seniors. I'm Gooti. May I be of any help?" The Red Luan could feel Kentucky's bloodline as well. Cultivation was obvious there too, but Kentucky's bloodline definitely gave Gooti a much heavier pressure.

Kentucky smiled in response. "I hope you can."