Death... and me

Because Rean heard Aelire saying the same power was 'trying' to take control of that Dark Beast, he imagined it wasn't just a mindless animal like the others. The fact it talked now was more than proof enough of it, so he wasn't really surprised.

Rean didn't dare approach it, though. Even without his Divine Sense and limited Natural Spatial Perception, he could tell he wasn't that Dark Beast's match. Instead, Rean simply used his Divine Energy to amplify his voice, just like he did previously with Kentucky and Aelrie. "Make a deal? I might be imagining things, but I'm pretty sure all your friends tried to kill us a few minutes ago. A lot of them even suicided to try to reach this objective."

"Suicided? Hahahaha!" The Dark Beast Boss couldn't help but laugh sinisterly. Right after, he turned around and sent a signal.

Rean and the others watched as a few different Dark Beasts, also having the same Red Tattoos but not as many, approached. Yet, what really caught their group's attention was the many Dark Cores they brought with them.

The new Dark Beasts then left the Dark Cores there and retreated. Following that, the Dark Beast Boss released the same kind of Dark-Red Flame... No, it wasn't a flame this time, but a type of energy instead. That energy enveloped the hundreds of cores until...

*Bzzzzzzz...*

Small bodies began to take shape. Organs, bones, dark blood, and finally, the whole form of the Dark Beasts. The only difference was that these new Dark Beasts were very small, not even a tenth of the size of a normal Dark Beast, let alone that boss.

However, Rean, Kentucky, and Aelrie immediately understood. Those were none other than the Dark Beasts who committed suicide trying to kill them with those explosions of Dark-Red Flames. It's just that they were very, very weak now. Even a Core Formation Realm Angel would easily dispatch them.

Things didn't continue like that for long. As soon as these Dark Beasts finished taking form, the Dark Elements and Divine Energy of the Environment seemed to find new targets, rushing into the small Dark Beasts. Even without Divine Sense, Rean's group could feel the power of those Dark Beasts increasing very fast.

"Just... what are they? Some kind of living and self-rejenerating puppets?" Rean asked, surprised. Obviously, none of the Dark Beasts they killed had really died. They only lost their power. At this rate, it would take a few years for them to recover to their original strength, but that was still amazing to see.

"Puppets?" The Dark Beast Boss narrowed its eyes.

*Roar, roar, roar!!!*

At the same time, the small Dark Beasts seemed to have understood Rean's question, getting angry as a result. They weren't the only ones. All the other Dark Beasts in the surroundings seemed to get angry as well. They definitely didn't like to be called puppets, much to Rean's surprise. After all, he thought those Dark Beasts had no intelligence until a moment ago.

The Dark Beast Boss then waved its paw, causing all the newly reborn Dark Beasta and the others to close their mouths, stopping the roaring. "If you know what is good for you, don't use that word again. Even if I have to sacrifice this life of mine, I will enter the Death Zone and kill you."

Rean, Kentucky, and Aelrie were as puzzled as they could be. However, Rean quickly nodded. "I had no ill intention when I used that word. Seeing their reaction, it is obvious they aren't mindless beasts as I initially thought. So, what are they? How can they be reborn this easily? By the way, can I have your name? I'm Rean, and these are Kentucky and Aelrie."

"Just call me Lotar," the Dark Beast Boss answered. "This ability is not really revival. Once one is dead, one is dead. The truth is that they hadn't completely died, preserving their soul and the rest of their bloodlines inside their cores. Through the use of our race's special ability, we can use these two things to reconstruct their bodies."

Rean nodded. "Very well. That's definitely a heaven-defying ability, but I have seen my own share of such ridiculous abilities in my life, so I won't say it is impossible. Now then, going back to the previous topic, why would you ask to make a deal with us? As far as I can remember, you were dead-set on killing us... even if you didn't really die like we thought."

The Dark Beast then pointed at Aelrie. "We want her. If you think about it for a moment, you should see that all the explosion flames didn't really cause her as much harm as it did to you and the Divine Bird."

"What?!" Aelrie was taken aback. She didn't have anything special about herself, so why would they ask for her?

Rean narrowed his eyes. "She is our friend. And I'll tell you more. The whole reason for Kentucky and I to be in this place it to protect her. We even put our lives on the line to make sure we would achieve this objective. So, tell me, do you think we will give her to you?"

Lotar didn't seem surprised by Rean's words. "Perhaps you won't, but you will soon have no other choice. I don't know how you are blocking the master's Soul String Technique, but it will eventually take over her soul once again. If you don't want that to happen, you will let us have her instead. We can truly prevent her soul from being controlled."

Rean and the others were even more confused. They thought they wanted Aelrie for something nefarious... nor to protect her. "Why would you want to protect me?" Aelrie couldn't help but ask. "And what would you gain from that?"

The Dark Beast looked deeply into Aelrie's eyes before pointing one of its claws in her direction. Right after, a dim, dark red light appeared on it.

Seeing that, Aelrie's eyes suddenly changed... into dark red colors!

While that happened, Lotar mentioned. "Because we need our queen back."