7 Volume 1: Chapter 6- Pishak Attack!

Tugas baru di hari yang baru. Ketika Ren menerima jimat tertentu dari Shaula Tengu dengan ekspresi bertanya di wajahnya, dia menjelaskan tugas tunggal yang ada di depannya.

Karena Ren telah mengundang begitu banyak iblis kadal ke dalam klan Tengu, ada kekurangan tempat perlindungan dan bahan yang digunakan untuk membangun mereka jelas kurang karena itulah Ren harus mendapatkan kayu. Banyak dan banyak kayu.

"Berapa banyak kayu yang menurutmu akan dibutuhkan?" Ren bertanya dengan gugup.

"Cukup kayu untuk membangun setidaknya sepuluh rumah." Shaula menjawab dengan ekspresi minta maaf. Dia adalah salah satu dari beberapa anggota klan Tengu yang dilahirkan ke dalam klan. Fitur-fiturnya agak unik karena hal yang paling nyata tentang dirinya, telinganya, ia memiliki enam dari mereka, semuanya berwarna biru, sepasang di tempat di mana seharusnya telinga normal, sepasang di atas kepalanya, dan sepasang lainnya di belakang kepalanya menyatu dengan rambut biru yang sama. Wajahnya halus dan terlihat seperti manusia dengan mata yang memiliki pupil kuning berbentuk berlian. Tanduknya agak tidak biasa karena fakta bahwa alih-alih menghadap ke depan mereka menunjuk ke belakang ke arah rambutnya disisir. Orang bisa mengatakan bahwa tanduknya agak seperti jaring rambut. Dia adalah iblis yang lembut, tidak temperamental, dan mengikuti etiket formal.

Tentu saja, dia tidak kehilangan kesabarannya ketika seseorang seperti Ren masuk ke tanggung jawabnya dengan telanjang meminta ganti pakaian.

Ketika dia berbicara, Ren bisa mengatakan bahwa dia agak mempertimbangkan perasaannya dan mencoba untuk berdebat dengannya dengan berbicara sebaik mungkin. Bahkan setelah melihat secara langsung trauma yang didapat Ren dari Jilan Snakes, dia hanya menugaskannya untuk tugas-tugas yang melibatkan tanaman tanpa melibatkan binatang buas.

Dia mengenakan gaun yang sangat mirip dengan yang dikenakan Aijasyl dengan lambang keluarga Tengu di bagian belakang. Tentu saja miliknya telah dimodifikasi untuk memiliki bukaan di belakang untuk memungkinkan sayap seperti kelelawarnya memanjang. Sayapnya berwarna biru gelap. Ren yakin bahwa di balik gaunnya dia memiliki ekor panjang dengan ujung cakar yang kadang-kadang terlihat setiap kali mereka berbicara. Entah mengapa, Ren tidak bisa menahan diri untuk tidak melihat ekornya bertanya-tanya bagaimana tepatnya cara kerjanya.

Setiap kali Ren melihat ekornya dengan tatapan tidak bergerak, Shaula dengan cepat menyembunyikannya di bawah roknya, sementara wajahnya akan memerah. Tampaknya agak tidak pantas untuk menatap ekor orang lain begitu lama, tentu saja Ren tidak tahu itu.

"Sebanyak itu? Oh, dan apakah aku harus melakukannya sendiri?" Tanya Ren dengan nada rendah.

"Sayangnya itu yang terjadi. Aku sangat menyesal, tetapi semua orang sudah memiliki tugas yang ditugaskan kepada mereka." Kata Shaula sambil terlihat agak minta maaf.

"Bagaimana dengan Orin, Akjan, atau bahkan Aijasyl?" Ren mati-matian ingin seseorang membantunya dengan tugas itu meskipun hanya satu iblis yang mau bergabung dengannya.

"Orin dan Akjan ditugaskan untuk mengawasi iblis kadal dalam menanam benih untuk panen berikutnya, Aijasyl merawat Kuil Suci." Kuil Suci adalah lokasi di mana anggota rumah tangga Tengu sering pergi untuk berdoa bagi jiwa orang yang mereka cintai yang telah meninggal. Tuan Korgan sering berkunjung ke tempat itu. Sesekali Aijasyl diam-diam akan mengunjungi kuil dan meninggalkan persembahan makanan kecil, lilin, atau bunga. Itu agak jelas dia ada di sana karena lilin yang dia tinggalkan terbakar dengan api hijau.

Di dalam Kuil Suci, di atas alas, di dalam kotak terbuka, terbentang pedang tertentu. Itu adalah pedang keluarga Karatengu, yang terakhir digunakan oleh Tuan Korgan sendiri. Setelah kehilangan keluarganya, Guru Korgan meninggalkan pedang di dalam Kuil Suci, sehingga pedang itu akan lenyap bersamanya. Pedang itu ditinggalkan di sebuah kotak terbuka tanpa takut akan keselamatannya karena alasan sederhana — pedang itu istimewa. Itu hanya dapat diangkat oleh seseorang dengan garis keturunan Karatengu yang mengalir melalui nadinya. Orang lain akan mendapati pedang itu begitu berat sehingga mustahil untuk diangkat. Itu tidak bisa digoyahkan bagi siapa pun yang bukan Karatengu. Lagi pula, pedang itu dibuat oleh pendiri klan Karatengu dari tanduknya sendiri. Di masa lalu ia menerima cedera yang menyebabkannya kehilangan tanduk. Tidak ingin berpisah dengan tanduknya, ia menghancurkan tanduk itu menjadi debu dan menggunakannya dalam proses pembuatan pedang. Karena sifat unik tanduk iblis dan pengerjaan yang luar biasa, pedang Kara, pedang iblis yang hanya mematuhi keturunan klan Karatengu diciptakan.

Mampu mengangkat pedang adalah buktinya seseorang adalah keturunan keluarga Karatengu. Awalnya, Tuan Korgan berencana memberikan pedangnya kepada putra-putranya, tetapi setelah mereka pergi, dia tidak lagi melihat kebutuhan untuk memilikinya. Dia tidak bisa memegangnya seperti dulu karena hanya mempertahankan satu lengan.

"Aku mengerti, jadi terserah padaku sendiri untuk mengumpulkan kayu sebanyak itu, tapi tunggu bagaimana tepatnya kamu ingin aku membawa semuanya? Aku bukan bagal yang bisa membawa barang sebanyak itu di punggungku!"

"Jangan khawatir tentang membawa apa pun. Jimat yang kuberikan padamu bisa digunakan untuk menyimpan barang-barang di dalamnya. Kamu bahkan tidak akan merasakan beban benda-benda di dalamnya."

"Kedengarannya seperti kalung yang dikenakan Aijasyl di pasar." Ren langsung membuat koneksi.

"Memang. Jimat itu memiliki Orin-Yakit Crystal di dalamnya. Ini bertindak sebagai ruang penyimpanan yang hampir tak terbatas dalam dimensi lain. Di sini, saya akan menunjukkan kepada Anda bagaimana menggunakannya!" Shaula mengulurkan tangannya ke arah jimat yang tergantung pada seutas benang di leher Ren. Dia mengambil saputangan dengan tangannya yang lain dan kemudian menyentuh jimat itu.

Saputangan langsung ditelan oleh jimat yang meninggalkan Shaula dengan tangan kosong.

"Luar biasa! Benda ini benar-benar bisa melakukan triknya, tetapi potongan kayu yang akan kukenakan kemungkinan akan lebih besar dari jimat, jadi …"

"Jangan khawatir tentang itu; jimat akan menyerap apapun ukurannya selama itu menyentuhnya." Shaula menjelaskan kepada Ren yang bingung.

"Begitu, itu sangat berguna." Ren berkomentar. Alat semacam ini dapat memiliki banyak kegunaan! Itu semacam keajaiban pembuatan sihir!

"Jika kamu ingin mengeluarkan sesuatu darinya, sentuh saja permukaannya dan pikirkan apa yang ingin kamu keluarkan." Shaula melakukan hal itu.

Seketika sebuah kapak muncul di tangannya. Itu kecil, berwarna merah dan hitam, dengan pola seperti api. Jelas sekali tajam.

"Aku meletakkan ini di sana agar kamu menebang kayu, aku juga menambahkan mantra keheningan dan mantra ketajaman di atasnya, jadi kamu tidak perlu khawatir tentang hal itu membuat suara yang tidak diinginkan atau menumpulkan bilah pisau setidaknya selama beberapa hari . " Shaula melanjutkan.

"Itu sangat perhatian kamu, Nyonya Shaula, dan terima kasih." Ren memiringkan kepalanya dengan hormat.

"Panggil saja aku Shaula, tidak perlu menjadi formal, setelah semua kita berdua Tengu." Shaula main-main mengedipkan mata kanannya. Ren menemukan pemandangan itu luar biasa menggemaskan. Tidak hanya dia memiliki sosok yang hebat, dia juga adalah salah satu iblis yang paling sopan dan membantu dalam rumah tangga. Dalam arti tertentu dia tampak seperti wanita iblis yang ideal Ren datang untuk memvisualisasikan dan menghormati. Gerakan imutnya hanya membanjiri statistiknya dalam benak Ren, menuntunnya untuk menatapnya intens dengan cara yang melamun. "Dia sangat imut!" Ren mendapati dirinya berpikir.

"Apakah ada yang salah, Ren?" Shaula bertanya setelah melihatnya menatapnya dengan tatapan seram.

"Tidak, hanya berpikir bahwa kamu benar-benar sangat imut." Ren tanpa sengaja mengucapkan pikirannya dengan keras.

"Ah?" Shaula menatapnya dengan ekspresi tercengang di wajahnya, sebelum menyadari apa yang baru saja dikatakannya. Ren mengembalikan tatapannya dengan tatapannya yang sama-sama tercengang. "Oh nak, aku mengatakannya dengan lantang."

Dia menatap matanya sejenak sebelum memerah karena kulit kebiruannya yang pucat. Rupanya bukan itu yang dia harapkan.

"Kamu seharusnya tidak selingkuh secara terbuka dengan semua orang, Ren. Akjan mungkin marah padamu." Shaula berkata dengan ragu-ragu, berusaha yang terbaik untuk menghindari "kemajuan" Ren.

"Kenapa dia marah padaku? Bukannya aku mencoba memasak lagi, kan?"

Ren tidak benar-benar menyadari perasaan sebenarnya Akjan terhadapnya, karena memikirkannya hanya sebagai kawan yang berharga. Dia membuka dirinya, jadi dia merasa bahwa dia bisa percaya padanya.

"Kamu benar-benar putus asa." Shaula berkata dengan ekspresi putus asa.

"Kalau soal memasak, ya, itu masalahnya." Ren mengakui.

Shaula berpikir, 'Apakah dia dengan sengaja mengubah topik pembicaraan atau dia benar-benar sepadat ini? Tidak mungkin, tidak ada iblis di dunia ini yang bisa mengerti ini! '

Sial baginya, makhluk yang dia pikir tidak bisa ada berdiri tepat di sampingnya.

"Yah, kalau begitu kurasa aku akan terus maju, semakin cepat aku selesai, semakin cepat aku kembali!" Ren hendak pergi sambil masih menunjukkan senyum konyolnya, tetapi tiba-tiba dihentikan oleh Shaula.

"Sebelum kamu pergi, Sukesir memintaku untuk memberikan ini padamu." Dia mengambil sesuatu dari jubahnya. Warnanya hijau kekuning-kuningan, bersisik, dan itu terlihat seperti jubah. Kecuali kenyataan bahwa bagian yang seharusnya menjadi tudung itu tampak seperti kepala kosong yang tidak menyenangkan. Tanpa ragu ini adalah kulit iblis kadal.

"Apa-apaan ini?" Ren memeriksa materi. Itu kasar, kuat, tetapi halus saat disentuh.

"Sukesir mengatakan bahwa dia mematuhi kesepakatan yang telah dia buat denganmu, jadi dia memintaku untuk menyerahkan jubah kadal yang dibuat khusus kepadamu sebagai tanda terima kasih."

"Dibuat khusus, ya, rapi!" Ren melihat ke bagian dalam jubah. Itu tidak seburuk yang dia harapkan; Bahkan itu agak bersih. Dia dengan cepat mengenakan jubahnya sendiri. Dia tidak merasakan beban di pundaknya; itu hampir seringan bulu. Ketika dia menutupi kepalanya dengan kerudung, Shaula menatapnya dengan ekspresi heran.

"Ehm, Shaula, ada yang salah?" Tanya Ren, sedikit khawatir mengapa Shaula memegang kedua tangannya ke pipinya, hampir seolah dia mengagumi jubahnya.

"Luar biasa, dia bilang itu ukuran khusus untuk kamu, tapi aku tidak tahu itu akan membuat kamu menyerupai artikel asli!" Mata Shaula dipenuhi dengan kekaguman terhadap keahlian setan kadal.

"Tunggu, maksudmu aku terlihat seperti iblis kadal sekarang?"

"Ya, dengan tudung di atas kamu bisa lulus untuk iblis kadal agak mudah, aku hanya bisa mengatakan itu kamu pada pemeriksaan lebih dekat."

"Aku mengerti, itu cukup bagus." Ren mengakui.

"Ini jauh lebih baik daripada baik, sangat baik!"

"Maksud kamu apa?"

Wajah Shaula berseri-seri dengan senyum cerah.

"Maksudku dengan jubah kamu dapat dengan mudah berbaur dengan orang-orang setan, dan kamu tidak perlu lagi khawatir menonjol karena penampilan seperti manusia!" Dia melanjutkan. "Kulit kadal dapat melindungi dari panah dan itu sangat tahan lama, namun begitu ringan. Ini adalah jubah yang sempurna untukmu!"

Kemudian realisasinya menghantam pikiran Ren. Benda ini sempurna. Luar biasa. Dia harus berterima kasih secara pribadi kepada Sukesir nanti karena memberinya barang yang luar biasa ini.

"Itu bagus; aku tidak berpikir itu mungkin, oh itu membuat perjalanan ini jauh lebih mudah!" Wajah Ren canggung. "Kamu tahu, aku awalnya berencana untuk bersembunyi sampai malam sebelum mulai memotong kayu untuk menghindari perhatian pada diriku sendiri."

"Kedengarannya tidak masuk akal, dan agak sulit dilakukan." Shaula menjawab, setengah hati bertanya-tanya apakah ide aneh Ren agak rasional, setidaknya dari sudut pandang tertentu.

Ren melompat dan memeluk Shaula, yang tidak mengharapkan tindakan seperti itu darinya. Dia memegang erat-erat sejenak. "Terima kasih banyak, Shaula, kamu adalah penyelamat hidup!"

"Oh tidak, tidak, tidak. Ini bukan apa-apa, tidak perlu berterima kasih padaku." Dia berkata sementara Ren masih memeluknya. Yang benar adalah ini adalah pertama kalinya dia dipeluk oleh iblis laki-laki, jadi reaksinya untuk membeku di tempat dia berdiri agak diharapkan.

"Kalau begitu aku libur." Ren pergi untuk memotong kayu, meninggalkan Shaula yang bingung untuk menjaga punggungnya saat dia berjalan keluar dari rumah Karatengu.

"Setan yang aneh," bisik Shaula, masih merasakan sensasi tubuhnya memeluknya erat.

Ren pergi mencari kayu. Sial baginya, ia segera menemukan bahwa di wilayah Karatengu, di mana sebagian besar ladang digunakan untuk bercocok tanam, tidak ada banyak pohon untuk ditebang, sama sekali. Satu-satunya yang ia temukan adalah ranting yang pecah berkeping-keping.

"Ini tidak akan berhasil, dia memintaku untuk membawa cukup kayu untuk membangun sepuluh rumah, dan kecuali salah satu dari mereka tahu bagaimana memperbesar ranting menjadi proporsi raksasa, ini tidak akan berhasil." Ren tercermin.

'Tapi tunggu, dia tidak mengatakan apa-apa tentang dibatasi ke wilayah Karatengu. Benar sekali! Saya dapat menemukan kayu di tempat lain dan membawanya. Dia mengatakan untuk membawa banyak kayu; dia tidak mengatakan dari mana membawanya. ' Ren tersenyum nakal.

Ren dengan cepat melanjutkan untuk melintasi bidang. Sekarang dia secara resmi keluar dari wilayah Karatengu. Dia tidak tahu banyak tentang jalan dari tempat dia keluar, tetapi dia yakin bahwa di mana pun dia pergi dia akan dapat kembali. Masalahnya, tidak ke mana harus pergi?

Ren berpikir sejenak, dan kemudian memutuskan untuk pergi ke mana kakinya menggendongnya. "Harapan untuk keberuntungan!" Dia melanjutkan tanpa peduli ke wilayah mana dia mungkin secara tidak sengaja masuk.

Sementara itu, di perbatasan klan Aiu, salah satu keluarga pemegang kekuasaan, pembuat ramuan sedang mempersiapkan ramuan khusus dalam pot besar yang dapat dengan mudah memuat tiga setan yang tumbuh di dalamnya. Ini adalah upaya untuk meningkatkan tubuh anggota klannya agar dapat melakukan pemberontakan terhadap keluarga besar. Dalam arti mereka ingin menaklukkan wilayah mereka. Klan Jou dari serigala Frost telah kehilangan pemimpinnya, yang dinonaktifkan dan dipenjara oleh Raja Iblis. Klan Jou awalnya merupakan ancaman bagi klan Aiu, itulah sebabnya mereka menawarkan waktu mereka untuk kesempatan yang sempurna. Sekarang waktunya telah tiba. Dalam kenyataannya ambisi klan Aiu tidak berbeda dengan klan Jou, itulah sebabnya mereka dalam arti menyaingi keluarga. Ketika saingan mereka kehilangan pemimpin mereka, klan Aiu sangat gembira, sekarang mereka akan memiliki kesempatan untuk mengambil kekuatan untuk diri mereka sendiri. Meskipun tujuan mereka sama, cara mereka merencanakan untuk mencapainya sangat berbeda.

Klan Jou ingin berhadapan langsung dengan Raja Iblis saat ini dan dengan paksa memindahkannya dari kekuasaan dengan membunuhnya dan mengambil alih jubah Raja Iblis. Klan Aiu melihat tindakan klan Jou ini dengan berani dan bodoh. Raja Iblis mungkin sudah tua, tetapi dia masih merupakan salah satu iblis terkuat di Kizilalem. Klan Jou kehilangan pemimpin mereka adalah hasil yang diharapkan karena langsung berhadapan dengannya.

Alih-alih pendekatan bodoh seperti itu, klan Aiu memilih untuk fokus pada menumbuhkan jenis pohon dan ramuan khusus untuk membantu diri mereka sendiri dalam membuat tubuh mereka lebih kuat. Pohon-pohon yang tumbuh adalah dari alam yang unik, ketika dimakan itu akan memungkinkan iblis yang lemah tumbuh lebih kuat pada tingkat yang tinggi secara eksponensial, dan pengaruhnya terhadap iblis yang lebih kuat juga hebat. Caranya adalah menunggu sampai pohon-pohon berbunga bunga, yang diperkirakan anggota klan berada dalam waktu satu hari. Setan peringkat Bumi, setan dengan kekuatan serendah mungkin bisa menjadi Setan peringkat Tembaga dalam semalam di bawah pengaruh memakan pohon tersebut. Karena klan Aiu adalah keluarga setan beruang, itu adalah tugas yang mudah bagi mereka untuk mengkonsumsi kayu. Nama pohon itu adalah Yoko, pohon yang memiliki banyak kegunaan termasuk membuat senjata yang kuat, meningkatkan jiwa iblis, dan secara drastis memberdayakan iblis. Jika setiap klan Aiu mengkonsumsi pohon ini setelah mekar, maka klan Aiu akan mendapatkan kekuatan yang cukup untuk menumbangkan klan mana pun di jalannya. Dengan demikian, mereka akan menaklukkan wilayah, satu demi satu sampai Raja Iblis akan menjadi yang terakhir tersisa, tetapi pada saat itu sudah terlambat dan dia akan dipaksa untuk menyerah.

Saat ini klan Aiu hanya memiliki dua anggota peringkat perunggu, sementara ada selusin anggota peringkat Besi, sisanya adalah peringkat bawah. Tetapi dengan bantuan ramuan dan pohon Yoko mereka akan bisa mendapatkan kekuatan untuk melangkah ke dunia yang sama dengan Raja Iblis, dan siapa tahu mungkin bahkan lebih kuat darinya!

Pohon Yoko menguatkan jiwa, sementara ramuan itu akan menguatkan tubuh, itu adalah kombinasi sempurna.

Sementara pembuat ramuan membuat sentuhan terakhir pada ramuan, salah satu anggota klan datang kepadanya dengan sebuah laporan. "Kami melihat setan kadal di dekatnya, haruskah kita menyerangnya?"

"Tidak, iblis kadal tidak pernah bepergian sendirian, mereka kemungkinan besar dalam kelompok besar, memprovokasi salah satu dari mereka sama dengan mengundang pertempuran penuh. Kita belum mampu melakukannya, setidaknya tidak sampai besok" pembuat ramuan itu salah satu pemimpin klan Aiu, bernama Soh Aiu, dan dia tahu betul setan kadal itu. Bagian atas telinga kanannya hilang dan tanduk kirinya terasa lebih pendek dari kanannya, dan wajahnya memiliki bekas luka besar yang melintang di atasnya. Itu adalah luka-luka yang dideritanya dari bertarung melawan iblis kadal, dan dia tahu pasti bahwa mereka tidak lemah dan bisa menimbulkan banyak kerusakan. "Jangan memprovokasi iblis kadal, jika kita tidak menyentuhnya dia tidak akan menyerang sendiri." Setan kadal tidak pernah menyerang lebih dulu, pengalaman Soh telah mengajarinya sebanyak ini, dianggap tidak terhormat untuk menyerang tanpa sebab, bagian dari alasan setan kadal itu menurun. Masih sekarang bukan waktunya. "Kita akan berurusan dengan iblis kadal setelah anggota klan kita telah mengkonsumsi pohon Yoko setelah mekar dan minum ramuan yang akan siap besok. Sampai saat itu terus melacaknya."

"Iya nih." Anggota klan menjawab. "Kami kehilangan pandangan tentang dia di perbatasan wilayah kami, kami kira ia kembali ke tempat asalnya."

"Luar biasa, sekarang kita bisa menunggu sampai ramuannya siap dan pohon mekar." Ramuan itu membuatnya beberapa bulan untuk membuatnya dan itu dalam tahap akhir, ia perlu dingin sepanjang malam untuk mendapatkan sifat uniknya.

Tanpa diketahui mereka semua, iblis kadal yang mereka awasi tidak lain adalah pemuda Tengu yang tanpa tujuan mencari kayu untuk ditebang.

Ren berhasil menyelinap ke wilayah klan Aiu, sebagian besar tidak terlihat, beberapa anggota klan Aiu melihatnya ketika ia mencapai perbatasan wilayah klan, tetapi setelah itu mereka kehilangan pandangan padanya, terutama karena Ren memiliki nasib yang agak disayangkan jatuh ke lumpur yang dalam saat masih berjalan. Untungnya, lumpurnya tidak terlalu dalam; mencapai sekitar hingga ke leher Ren. Dia masih bisa bernapas, tetapi sulit untuk bergerak. "Bagaimana aku bisa sampai di sini, dalam hal ini, di mana aku?" Ren bertanya ketika dia benar-benar berenang melalui lumpur cair yang terus melapisi tubuhnya. Itu adalah substansi seperti cairan yang tebal dan padat dengan bau aneh. Ren hanya bisa berharap ini bukan yang dia pikirkan. Pada kenyataannya itu adalah tempat di mana anggota klan Aiu menanam pupuk untuk pohon Yoko, yang merupakan campuran dari berbagai jenis kotoran yang dibiarkan dalam keadaan cair untuk meningkatkan sifat nutrisi untuk membantu pohon Yoko tumbuh lebih baik.

Disorientasi, tertutup lumpur dari kepala hingga kaki, dan masih berenang di dalamnya, Ren bertanya-tanya bagaimana tepatnya dia berakhir di tempat ini. Setelah keluar dari wilayah Karatengu, dia pergi tanpa tujuan ke tempat yang dia pikir bisa menemukan kayu, tetapi segera dia tersesat, sekarang dia berada di wilayah yang sama sekali asing bagi dirinya sendiri. Tidak seperti wilayah Karatengu yang memiliki tanah padat yang ditutupi dengan rumput tinggi, wilayah ini tampaknya sebagian besar tertutup lumpur, setidaknya sebanyak yang bisa dirasakan Ren saat ini. Walaupun itu membuatnya memiliki kesan yang agak buruk tentang tempat yang dia temui, itu memang memiliki hasil menutupi kehadirannya dari anggota klan Aiu, yang menganggap bahwa Ren adalah iblis kadal. Klan Aiu berpikir bahwa iblis kadal tertentu pergi dari wilayah mereka, tidak menyadari bahwa Ren semakin dekat ke tanah mereka saat berenang melalui lumpur yang dalam. Karena seberapa banyak tanah yang tertutup lumpur dan fakta bahwa Ren hanya bisa bergerak perlahan melalui lumpur yang tebal, ia akhirnya menghabiskan sebagian besar hari untuk menyeberangi lumpur. Pada saat malam telah tiba, sebagian besar anggota klan Aiu tertidur nyenyak, dengan pembuat ramuan termasuk, klan Aiu selalu tertidur begitu tiga matahari terbenam ke dalam tidur nyenyak yang tidak dapat membangunkan mereka sampai yang pertama dari tiga matahari terbit. Mereka tidak khawatir, persiapan mereka selesai. Pohon Yoko akan mekar pada hari berikutnya dan ramuannya akan siap digunakan pada pagi yang sama, itu adalah strategi yang menjamin kemenangan. Setiap anggota klan Aiu pergi tidur dengan satu pikiran di kepala mereka, "Besok, kita akan menaklukkan kerajaan ini, dan kita akan menjadi orang-orang yang memegang kendali!"

Setelah mereka tidur, mereka tidak bisa mendengar suara seseorang naik dari lumpur, akhirnya mencapai permukaan tanah yang keras setelah berjam-jam berenang melalui lumpur. Dia lega akhirnya menemukan tanah untuk berdiri setelah waktu yang lama dan jahat di lumpur. Dia mencium dirinya sendiri dan menemukan bau busuk itu mengerikan tak tertahankan. Entah kenapa kulit iblis kadal yang dia kenakan sepertinya mengangkat lumpur seolah-olah itu bukti lumpur. Karena ini hanya tubuhnya yang tidak ditutupi oleh kulit kadal yang ditutupi oleh lumpur.

"Ini bau; aku bahkan tidak bisa menemukan kayu untuk ditebang …" Ren hendak mengeluh kepada dirinya sendiri ketika dia melihat pohon-pohon panjang sepuluh meter yang sedang mekar bunga merah. Pohon-pohon tidak banyak cabang dan sangat tebal, tetapi bunga-bunga tumbuh di permukaannya. Itu agak indah, terutama karena fakta bahwa bunga-bunga bersinar dalam kegelapan, memungkinkan Ren untuk melihat pohon-pohon.

Ren agak terpesona oleh pemandangan di depannya sebelum mengingat tujuannya. Dia akhirnya menemukan kayu untuk ditebang. Dia tumbuh bersemangat dari penemuannya. Ada begitu banyak kayu di sini sehingga dia yakin itu akan cukup untuk membangun sepuluh rumah. Ren tersenyum pada keberuntungannya. "Ya! Saya telah menemukan tempat tak berpenghuni dengan kayu gratis!" tidak menyadari bahwa klan yang menjadi milik pohon itu tidur di dekatnya di tanah, dalam tidur nyenyaknya.

Ren mengeluarkan kapak ajaib dari jimat dengan memikirkan kapak sejenak. Kapak baru saja muncul di lengan kanannya, itu agak menarik, satu detik tidak ada di sana, detik berikutnya kapak muncul dari udara tipis. Ren tidak bisa menahan diri untuk berpikir 'Jimat ini pasti adalah sesuatu', karena ia memikirkan kemungkinan tak terbatas yang ditawarkan dengan membawa jimat tersebut.

Namun, saat ini bukanlah waktu untuk melamun; sudah waktunya untuk menebang banyak dan banyak kayu!

Ren mengayunkan kapak ke pohon Yoko, tanpa menyadari nilainya kepada klan Aiu, melanjutkan dengan cepat menebang pohon satu demi satu. Ren agak terkejut dengan betapa mudahnya menebang kayu, pohon-pohon itu tampak kokoh dan kasar, tetapi mereka tidak cocok dengan ujung tombak tertinggi dari kapak yang tersihir.

"Aku benar-benar harus berterima kasih kepada Shaula lagi karena telah melantunkan mantra yang sangat berguna pada kapak, dia membuat pekerjaanku jauh lebih mudah," Ren berpikir sambil membayangkan betapa sulitnya pekerjaannya jika dia menebang kayu tanpa pembatalan dan ketajaman suara. Dia mungkin tidak akan bisa memanen satu pohon pun.

Ren dengan cepat menjatuhkan sepuluh pohon. Mereka sangat besar sehingga Ren mengalami kesulitan menempatkan mereka di dalam jimat, setidaknya sampai dia ingat bahwa jimat memiliki ruang yang hampir tak terbatas di dalamnya. Jadi, dia melanjutkan untuk mengetuk jimat pada setiap pohon dan menatap dengan heran ketika masing-masing diserap ke dalam jimat kecil. Jimat itu seperti lubang hitam kecil.

Ketika Ren selesai dia melihat sekeliling dan menyadari ada banyak pohon yang tumbuh. "Yah, dia memang mengatakan untuk membawa cukup untuk membangun sepuluh rumah, jadi apa yang kumiliki tidak cukup," Ren menyimpulkan. Dia berpikir sejenak.

Kemudian dia membuat keputusan untuk menebang semua kayu yang dia lihat di depannya. Cukup mudah untuk melihat pepohonan dalam kegelapan karena daunnya yang merah menyala.

Setidaknya ada seratus pohon. Ren mengambil waktu memotong masing-masing.

Mengabaikan massa besar bulu yang tertidur, yang merupakan anggota klan Aiu yang tidur, Ren melanjutkan tanpa suara memotong setiap pohon Yoko yang bisa dia temukan.

Pada akhirnya, Ren sudah lelah mengayunkan kapak berkali-kali, jadi setelah dia meletakkan setiap pohon yang dia potong di dalam jimat, dia duduk untuk mengatur napas.

Dengan menggunakan kapak untuk banyak pohon, dia telah kehabisan staminanya dan mengeringkan tubuhnya. Sementara dia sekarang terbiasa dengan iklim panas Kizilalem, tanpa diragukan lagi membuatnya dehidrasi lebih cepat. Merasakan mulutnya kering, Ren mencari air dari sumber mata air.

Namun yang menarik perhatiannya bukanlah pegas tapi panci raksasa berwarna hitam murni; itu bara menyala di bawahnya, berkilau dengan api ungu. Ren tidak peduli tentang fakta bahwa itu tampak mencurigakan; dia hanya peduli jika ada cairan di dalamnya.

Ren naik ke pot, itu diisi dengan cairan hangat yang bersinar dalam warna biru dan kuning. Dia naik ke dalam panci, membasahi seluruh tubuhnya. Tanpa khawatir efek samping dari minum zat yang tidak diketahui ini, Ren mengambil air dengan tangannya dan setelah menciumnya ia melanjutkan untuk meminumnya. Itu pasti bisa diminum dan rasanya juga manis. Ren dengan cepat menemukan dirinya meminumnya sambil masih mandi di dalamnya. Rasanya sangat enak … sangat menarik!

Karena ukuran pot Ren secara harfiah berenang di dalamnya sambil membayangkan dirinya kembali di rumah Karatengu, mandi. Karena cairannya hangat, dia secara alami berasumsi bahwa ini semacam mandi mewah, tidak peduli siapa yang mengaturnya seperti ini atau meninggalkannya di lokasi tertentu itu. Dia bahkan tidak menyadari bahwa goresan di tubuhnya menghilang dan luka yang dia terima ketika mencoba menghentikan Akjan dari bunuh diri mulai menyembuhkan dirinya sendiri. Dia duduk di dalam panci setidaknya satu jam sebelum dia memilih untuk keluar dan kembali ke wilayah Karatengu.

Namun dia tidak menyadari efek ramuan terhadapnya, atau fakta bahwa dia membuat ramuan sama sekali tidak berguna dengan duduk di dalamnya dengan penutupan kotor begitu lama. Dia akhirnya menggunakan efek penuh ramuan sambil meninggalkan sisa-sisa dicampur dengan kotoran. Ramuan kehilangan kekuatannya jika ia terikat dengan apa pun yang tidak seharusnya terikat dengannya.

Tidak tahu apa yang telah dia lakukan, Ren melanjutkan untuk keluar dari pot dan kembali ke wilayah Karatengu. Namun masalahnya adalah dia lupa di mana itu. Dia menggaruk kepalanya dengan tak percaya, sambil masih mengenakan jubah kadal itu. "Aku masih harus menempuh jalan panjang seperti ini '.

Ren meninggalkan wilayah klan Aiu pada waktu yang tepat, sebelum matahari terbit. Setelah cahaya pertama pagi bersinar, anggota klan Aiu bangun satu demi satu. Mereka mengharapkan hari ini untuk memulai dengan kayu Yoko dan ramuan siap untuk digunakan dan penaklukan wilayah akan dimulai. Sebaliknya mereka bertemu dengan pemandangan yang mengerikan – semua pohon Yoko diambil, bahkan tunggul pohon pun tidak dapat terlihat dengan jelas. Mereka semua pergi, terpotong rupanya dan hilang dari mereka. Dan ramuan mereka …

Telah dihancurkan. Menurut pembuat ramuan ramuan itu seharusnya terlihat berwarna emas kebiru-biruan, tetapi ini lebih seperti lumpur bagi mereka. Mereka semua membuka mulut karena terkejut melihat kesempatan penaklukan mereka dicuri tepat di bawah hidung mereka. Siapa yang bisa melakukan hal seperti itu?

Entah bagaimana kesempatan mereka untuk menaklukkan kerajaan iblis telah terbakar dalam semalam. Mereka tidak tahu apa yang bisa terjadi atau siapa yang akan melakukan hal seperti itu. Satu-satunya hal yang mereka tahu adalah bahwa mereka kehilangan dua kartu truf mereka.

Mereka tidak bisa curiga bahwa pelakunya adalah pemuda Tengu tertentu dengan indera pengarahan yang buruk.

Kata Tengu akhirnya pergi ke mana dia pikir dia mungkin menemukan wilayah Karatengu, tapi entah bagaimana dia berakhir di antah berantah.

"Oh, aku benar-benar bau menavigasi, bukan?" Ren berkomentar agak malu tentang kurangnya kemajuan dalam mendapatkan kembali. Dia memiliki kayu di dalam jimat; kapak itu masih bersamanya.

Dia cepat-cepat menyingkirkan kapak demi pisau perak yang dibawanya di ikat pinggangnya. Itu adalah pisau perak yang sama yang dia dapatkan setelah pertempuran dengan para imam Pishak. Kapak mungkin bekerja dengan baik pada kayu tetapi terlalu lambat, itu tidak akan melindunginya.

Pisau perak di sisi lain tampaknya dirancang untuk tujuan membunuh. Tidak diketahui Ren, tujuan sebenarnya dari pisau perak adalah untuk membunuh iblis. Itu dibuat sedemikian rupa sehingga itu mematikan bagi iblis sementara tidak berbahaya bagi manusia. Pisau perak memiliki mantra yang dilemparkan ke atasnya untuk memungkinkannya menyebabkan jumlah maksimum kerusakan pada tubuh iblis tidak peduli seberapa kuat kulit iblis itu. Jika Ren adalah setan berdarah penuh, dia bahkan tidak akan bisa menyentuhnya tanpa tersentak karena rasa sakit. Tentu saja, untungnya baginya, bukan itu masalahnya.

Ren bermain-main dengan pisau sedikit, membayangkan dia menebas musuh. Dia mengayunkan pisau itu ke atas dan ke bawah, dari sisi ke sisi, tanpa petunjuk nyata bagaimana cara menggunakan pisau dengan benar.

Setelah selesai mengotak-atik pisau, Ren melanjutkan untuk berjalan maju.

Setidaknya sampai dia mengalami pertemuan yang agak tak terduga dengan orang-orang berjubah.

Sementara itu, di wilayah Karatengu. Akjan Tang selesai dengan tugas hariannya untuk hari itu. Dia merasa khawatir bahwa Ren belum kembali, itu sudah malam. Kemudian, dia menyadari bahwa dia mengkhawatirkannya, dia tidak pernah khawatir demi orang lain sebelumnya. Tapi dia tidak pernah mencintai orang seperti itu sebelumnya …

Dia berjalan ke dalam kehidupannya seperti percikan cahaya, menerangi keberadaannya dan memberinya alasan lain untuk hidup. Dia merasa bahwa nasibnya entah bagaimana terikat padanya, tanpa ragu, dia ingin bersamanya di masa depan.

Untuk mencintai seseorang tanpa syarat, dia dulu berpikir itu hanya dongeng, tetapi ternyata itu adalah perasaan yang sangat nyata, dia tidak menyadarinya sampai sekarang. Jika seseorang bertanya kepadanya sebelumnya apakah ada setan baik di dunia dia pasti akan menjawab tidak dan bahwa semua setan itu kejam dan tidak berperasaan.

Siapa yang mengira pandangan dunianya akan terbalik sedemikian rupa.

Jika dia tidak ada di sana, dia yakin dia akan kehilangan tanduknya atau bahkan mungkin hidupnya, bertemu nasib yang sama seperti yang dialami klannya. Namun, seolah dengan kontradiksi dengan takdirnya sendiri dia masih hidup, aman, tidak terluka, dan dicintai.

'Ren Tengu', dia bertanya-tanya, 'Sepertinya aku tidak mengerti kamu.' Di satu sisi dia adalah iblis seperti penduduk Kalkan lainnya, tetapi dia berbeda, dan bukan hanya penampilannya yang seperti manusia, itu adalah hal yang paling aneh tentang dia, itu adalah cara dia mempengaruhi orang-orang di sekitarnya yang benar-benar terkejut nya.

Dia tidak kejam, sebaliknya dia adalah orang yang agak rendah hati dengan senyum yang aneh. Namun, dia bukan pengamat yang tidak bergerak, tidak; dia adalah tipe yang melakukan apa yang dia inginkan kapan pun dia mau seperti kekuatan pengganggu besar-besaran. Kekuatan pengganggu besar itu telah menyelamatkannya dan memberinya alasan baru untuk hidup.

Dia tidak membiarkannya mati, tidak, dia datang pada saat yang tepat untuk menyelamatkannya dari rahang klan Kas. Dia mengembangkan sedikit kasih sayang padanya setelah itu karena kebaikannya yang tidak biasa. Ketika dia menemukan nasib klannya, dia siap untuk mengakhiri dirinya sendiri. Tapi, deklarasinya pada hari itu telah mengubah semuanya.

Akjan masih tidak percaya Ren memintanya menjadi keluarganya, arti dari kata-kata seperti itu dan cara dia mengatakannya … Akjan menghela nafas, membuat hatinya berkilau. Dia adalah orang pertama yang dia rasakan dan dia berharap akan memilikinya selamanya.

"Ren, apa pun yang terjadi, aku akan melindungimu." Akjan Tang memutuskan pada saat itu untuk mengabdikan sisa hidupnya untuk melindungi orang yang ia cintai. He has saved her life and now she will do her best to preserve his.

Akjan's gratitude for Ren's generosity was profound, not only did he offer her a new life, but he also indirectly offered her a future, with him by her side. She would have been fine to accept her death in that dark dungeon if he had not stopped her, that demon… had so selfishly claimed her heart for his own. Akjan's heart beat faster thinking of the moment when their lips almost touched or the feeling of his embrace that made her feel like it's worth living.

Just imagining herself spending all her life with him, holding on to his hand while laughing together, gazing at each other's eyes in a loving fashion, made Akjan swoon from imagining it happening. Her white tail was swiveling excitedly from her innermost thoughts.

It made her happy to have fallen in love with a demon like him. He single handedly had ended her nightmare called Jar Kas and vowed to protect her and even asked her to marry him. This caused Akjan's left eye tear up. "How can you be like this? Such a weird and selfish demon!" She clutched her heart as it beat faster thinking about him. "But maybe it's because you are so selfish that you are different from all of them." She smiled while looking at the sky. No matter how many times she said this she felt like it was never enough. "Thank you, Ren." She smiled and whispered "my husband" after which she blew a kiss into the air imagining him receiving it.

Interrupting her dazed fantasy was a certain event that unfolded afterwards…

On the other, unknown territory, the young lad who has unknowingly captured Tang demon's heart was having a bad situation of his own. The cloaked people turned out to be Pishak Priests. When they saw Ren they proceeded to attack him. One of them was so strong that he ended up throwing Ren about five meters away with a punch to the chest. Ren was pinned to a tree with the force of the impact. Even with lizard skin cancelling the damage, it hurt a lot. The hood of the lizard cloak ended up covering his face so he used his left hand to take the hood off his head. He did it just in time.

The Pishak Priest's fist stopped an inch before Ren's face. Ren was sure that if he received a direct impact he would be finished. Ren was all too aware how physically weak he is. Out of all Tengu workers he was physically the weakest, much to his chagrin.

The attacker stopped his fist right before fearful Ren's eyes; his features were not visible for they were hidden under white cloak. When he saw the person under the lizard skin he hesitated in attacking him further. Originally he thought that lizard demon was approaching, but this was someone wearing lizard skin.

"Are you one of us?" He asked after looking over Ren. This person seemed like a human being, he couldn't find any demonic features, and there were no horns either. Then his sight fell upon the knife Ren strapped to his belt.

Ren was scared stiff unable to answer his attacker, he could only hope he would not be killed.

"That knife, then you really are one of us." The cloaked man dropped his fighting stance. He backed away, giving Ren some space.

"Apologies, comrade, I did not intend to harm you, your disguise was most convincing."

Ren looked at the Pishak Priest in front of him. He was taking off the hood of his cloak. Under the hood there was a face of a handsome man with pale features almost like his face was carved from white rock covered in salt. His eyes were unnaturally green and his hair was short and yellow.

"Right, disguise." Ren grumbled. 'It seems he didn't realize I really am a demon.'

"I presume you are travelling towards our meeting location."

Ren wasn't sure what this person was talking about, but in order to not arouse suspicion and risk getting killed by him he just nodded his head. The punch from earlier had fractured at least one rib and it stung in a painful fashion. Ren could barely hold back from clutching his chest in the pained area. This guy was strong, unusually strong; one more punch from him would be fatal.

"Then your disguise is understandable, but worry not there are plenty of our order nearby, there is no reason to worry about being seen by demons, we have the numbers advantage. So you can take off the lizard skin. Do you have the order's robes on you?" when Ren shook his head, he replied "Worry not, I have a spare with me." He took out a white and blue cloak identical to the one he was wearing. He offered it to Ren, who was too scared to refuse.

Ren quickly put the cloak on. Now his face was concealed. He put away the lizard cloak inside his amulet.

"That looks much better." said the Pishak Priest.

"Erik! Did you find the demon?" A voice of the older man under a cloak shouted out.

The one called Erik turned to face him. The old man's featured were also hidden by the cloak, leaving only glowing red eyes visible. And a beard, a shaggy silver beard. His robe was blue and red in contrast to Erik's.

"No need to worry, it was no demon, just one of us in a disguise." He pointed at Ren who now looked like a full-fledged Pishak Priest.

"Apakah begitu." The old man looked Ren over. "Then, in that case, sorry for targeting you."

"It is fine, really" Ren tried as best as he could to make himself seem less suspicious so that he could run for it. These guys, according to Master Korgan, hunt and kill demons due to their twisted beliefs of human supremacy. 'This is really bad, if they find out I am a demon I am doomed. I have to get out of their sight pronto!'

"I assume you are heading towards the meeting location, then you can come with us, no need to worry about safety, with three of us together a single demon is no match!" Erik proudly said.

Ren thought about it with tears flowing from his eyes from fear. Good thing the cloak's hood completely covered his head and some sort of veil concealed his features. 'Of course I should worry, I am demon after all!' he said mentally while shaking his head up and down. Apparently Pishak Priests thought of it as him agreeing.

"Follow us; we know a shortcut to the meeting location." Erik said with a strong smile and put the hood back on his head.

'Why did I nod? Why?Why?' Ren cried mental tears. He really has done it now, he got himself into a mess so huge that he wasn't sure how to get out. Now he will have to follow these Pishak Priests in order to not seem suspicious or else they might kill him.

"Let's go" the old man beckoned. Erik and reluctant Ren followed him.

The route they took was rather different from anything Ren has seen before, most likely because they were in another territory. He could barely navigate through Karatengu territory so it was rather hopeless for him to try to guess his approximate location. Unbeknownst to Ren he was only a few miles away from the Karatengu territory.

They walked through the forest and crossed a river. They walked for some time before they reached a certain location. Ren lost count of how many footsteps he took to get there. He just had to follow these guys so he didn't look around much. What he did notice was that in this place the architecture was different. It looked like some sort of altar and there were several shrines nearby. Upon each building was a golden emblem with a seven sided star inside of a full moon, all of which was surrounded by three knives. The knives resembled the one Ren had on his belt.

"We got here just in time, our deacon is probably waiting for us to show up to begin the ceremony." Old man said while stroking his beard.

'Ceremony?' Ren thought cautiously 'Well, it can't be a bad thing, right? I mean it's just a traditional thing, nothing to worry about. I can just sneak out while they are praying or even do so after ceremony ends to not seem suspicious!'

"Come brothers, let us join the ceremony!" the old man said with an audible happiness. Ren wasn't so sure he liked the sound of that.

Erik was trembling from excitement. "Finally, finally, it's our turn!"

Ren had to think of something to say so he blurted out "What a great day!"

"So it is, brother, so it is" Erik said joyously without noticing Ren being hesitant and fearful.

All three of them crossed the courtyard and walked into a building that looked like the main place of worship. It was a huge building, and strangely enough it seemed much bigger in the inside. It was already beginning to be dark outside, so countless candles were lit to shine inside the room. Strangely the candle light was pure white. There were chandeliers with candles hanging on the ceiling. Ren wondered how exactly someone would lite a candle that high up. The place looked like a formal place of worship with many tables and chairs. There were balconies inside the building that lacked the usual rails. 'How exactly anyone can consider them safe' Ren thought. Strangely, some of the priests were standing on top of those balconies while chanting some kind of rituals while holding metal pentagrams. On top of each balcony there was a single statue, no doubt someone significant Ren knew nothing about. Each balcony lacked stairs connecting them, but they did have ropes attached to them that were used to climb on top of.

The most significant part however was that this building had about thirty Pishak Priests gathered inside of it. All of them turned their heads towards the entrance when the three came inside the building. The door closed with a dull clack, unusual sound for a door so heavy.

"Now that all of us are here, let us begin the ceremony!" a loud voice from the center of the room boomed. It was a man wearing a cloak of complete pure white and Ren noticed he had the golden emblem on the back of his cloak unlike the rest who wore blue, red and mixed cloaks without any pattern on the back. He was their leader.

All of them made a sound that resembled "YES"

Their leader was in the center of the room, near him was something covered in a grey blanket, obviously concealing what was underneath it.

On the table before him was a sword inside of a box. Ren couldn't make out the details from far away aside from the fact that box was black and red.

He was told to climb up on top of the balcony. Ren did just that.

"As you all already know, our raid of the demon territory was a huge success!"

Every single one of Pishak Priests applauded.

"For today's gathering we have earned ourselves two prizes, this sword" he pointed with his right hand, Ren noticed the arm looked rather metallic with sharp fingers. He was pointing at the sword in the box on the table. "Without a doubt it's a demon sword, one of most powerful swords created, capable of easily ending lives of any demon."

Every Pishak Priest looked in awe. Their leader tried to lift the sword up by the hilt but he could not do so. The sword seemed to be as heavy as weight of world itself. It stayed contently inside the box. "It seems it has an enchantment preventing anyone from lifting it. No matter, it's just a matter of time before we can use it against demons."

Ren sighed in relief. 'It's just a sword he can't even use, no need to worry me, there is nothing to worry about.' Ren tried to calm himself.

He turned with his back towards his audience. He was now facing something covered by grey blanket. "As for the second prize, I present to you- The Half Blood Demon!" He proceeded to take the veil off.

What Ren saw made him gasp from shock.

It was Aijasyl, bruised from head to toe, many scratches on her, and her forehead was bleeding. She was tied to a gigantic upside down pentagram by her hands and feet, and her mouth was gagged.

In Ren's mind a chaos ensued. 'Nothing to worry about my ass! This is horrible! How did this happen?' Everything seemed to be going in direction of disaster. How did Aijasyl get captured? What will they do to her? By the looks of it she put up quite a fight before they took her. She seems conscious, but barely, it was obvious she couldn't cast any spells with her hands tied. "This is really, really bad, what do I do?" Ren thought. 'I can't save her, there are too many of them, and I am too weak to be of use.'

"For centuries our order existed for the sole purpose of cleansing the world from vileness of demon-kind. But we have found ourselves at disadvantage due to their power. That is why we, the Pishak Priests, have chosen to take their power for our own in order to use it against them. It was a great sacrifice of our own purity, but the price had to be paid."

The deacon spoke with authoritative voice.

"For many decades we have consumed the hearts, eyes, and internal organs of demons in order to gain portion of their power. Through trial and error, we have persevered while many brave ones lost their lives with this endeavor. After all, it's hard for a human being to be compatible with demon's power." He dramatically extended his hand. "But today, the new generation of Pishak Priests will be born! The ones who will take on the most unique power belonging to none other than this half-demon!"

Everyone except horrified Ren was applauding, but because they paid so much attention to the speaker they did not notice anything wrong with Ren.

"Unlike other demons, half-demon's powers are highly compatible with our bodies and it will grant so much more power to the recipient. Even the blood of half-demon has its uses, unlike pure demon's blood it's safe for us to consume, in fact, after harvesting her heart we will hold a feast. And she is the main dish."

Everyone was applauding in loud voice. Only Ren was clutching his mouth ready to puke. 'Exterminating demons by eating demons? I am not even sure which one of us is demon anymore. I feel sick.'

"All of her flesh will be used by us to bestow us with power like no other before it. The power we shall use to kill every demon in this realm!" He took out his knife and took of the hood of his cloak. With this he revealed his face.

Ren now saw the familiar face; he has seen this man before. When he met Aijasyl, this man tried to kill her. And that metal right arm… There was no mistaking it, it was Jama! The man who almost killed both Ren and Aijasyl, from whom they barely escaped. 'Why is he here, out of all human beings, it had to be him!' Ren clutched his head from fear. The punches from Jama hurt really badly, he had bruises on his sides for weeks after the incident. Ren was only alive because he took Jama's knife and used it against him. 'That would explain the metal arm; I guess you can't reattach what was cut off after all.'

"Now the time has come for the sacrifice, observe! Followers of purity and angels, as I shall end this half-demon's miserable existence." Jama was approaching semi-conscious Aijasyl with knife in his hands, ready to stab her heart out.

Ren couldn't help thinking 'Somebody stop that madman, somebody, anybody do something!'

Jama took each step slowly, deliberately savoring the look of terror within Aijasyl's eyes as he came closer and closer to his prey, and he was only a step away from sinking his fangs into her flesh.

Then, small sound that Ren could hear.

"Are you sure it's here?"

"Yes, I can smell them."

"You might want to get out of the way."

Then next moment was followed by an explosion that demolished the entrance of the building.

The ones who entered through this disaster zone were three demons, two of them standing while one of them floated.

Ren instantly recognized them. It was Orin, Akjan, and Shaula. They have come to rescue Aijasyl.

Orin said "Just as I thought, there are many of them."

Akjan looked far ahead and saw shocked Jama standing near helplessly tied Aijasyl. "Aijasyl! She is right over there! We must save her!"

Shaula who was flying up high swooped down in order to get closer to Jama. She flew in fast like a bolt of darkness, swiftly covering the distance with few wing beats. Yet, her motion was violently stopped by several Pishak Priests combining their powers to make an invisible barrier that repelled and managed to harm her. She still managed to lift herself up into the air but now visibly faltering. Pishak Priests apparently were well versed in magic because many of them started shooting fireballs at her, forcing her to dodge. One of them shot ice projectile at her left wing that his with pin point accuracy. Her wing instantly became frozen. She helplessly plummeted down. 'That's a power of ice demon, why does human have such power' she thought while she was falling.

The others didn't fare much better. Akjan was using her extended claws on both of her hands and some form of energy manipulation to swiftly kill Pishak Priests who were attacking her. It was the infamous void, darkness magic, which she coated her hands in, giving them an aura of darkness. They made her claws much sharper and swifter than ordinary allowing her to strike down her enemies in a precise fashion. The trouble was the enemy was not weak, for each one she killed, two more seemed to stand up against her, and each new one was more powerful than the previous. One Pishak Priest opened his palms while facing her, revealing a brilliant light that blinded her for a moment, allowing Pishak Priests to strike a decisive blow.

As for Orin, he kept shooting many of his dark orbs that exploded with enough force to send many things flying. But because of the fact that the enemy was very swift, many of his shots missed. One in particular landed little too close for comfort to Jama. He cringed upon seeing the table upon which the sword in box was lying reduced to bits of scrap wood. Those explosions were no joke. The sword along with the box landed on the table which was under the balcony Ren was hiding on.

Jama shouted out "Restrain him, he is the biggest threat!"

The core members of Pishak Priests sprang into action. Orin was prepared for a fight, out of all four of his arms two meter long spikes appeared. He used the spikes as make shift swords against the enemies who were fearlessly ganging up on him. The trouble was due to the sheer size of his body, Orin was quiet slow in comparison to agile Pishak Priests, meaning they were easily able to dodge his attacks. Of course their disadvantage was that he was very strong. Luckily, they had a way of subduing a demon like him.

Ren quietly observed as his friends were overwhelmed by the numbers and were subdued one after another. Ren kept hiding on top of the stair less balcony, behind the statue, hoping none would notice him.

Unfortunately, in the struggle that followed the Demon trio was defeated. Shaula was pinned to the wall with a staff with semi-circular ending, unable to break free. Akjan was held down on the ground by Pishak Priests who literally chose to hold her with weight of their bodies. She couldn't muster the strength to stand up as five to seven men were crushing her down. As for Orin, he kept trying to shoot his enemy down or kill them with his spikes. But his enemies managed to wrangle tough ropes around his neck and all four hands and started pulling in different directions, effectively immobilizing him, while forcing his head to point to the ceiling.

It seemed like everything was lost, the Pishak Priests were winning. They were rather overjoyed that they managed to thwart their attempt at attacking them by capturing them instead. While several of them were holding down each demon, some Pishak Priests took their sharp silver knives, fully intent on slashing the throats of each demon.

Then, CRASH!

Ren happened to be so scared that he was leaning upon the statue near him on top of the balcony, but due to the fact that he leaned too far, he ended up tilting it too much, resulting in him making the statue fall down. Ren of course tried to stop statue from falling down, but because of his miniscule physical strength, he ended up falling with the statue instead. Statue ended up falling with Ren clinging on to it.

Just by chance, the humans who restrained Orin with ropes happened to be underneath the falling statue. They were caught by surprise as a heavy stone object ended up falling right on top of them. They were instantly crushed.

The Pishak Priests who saw this scene instantly interpreted as one of their own betraying them. One even shouted out "Kill the traitor!"

Orin was freed from his ropes. As for Ren, who managed to be more or less unhurt but shaken up (He fell on top of someone, cushioning his fall), he tried to look for a weapon.

The only thing within his reach was a sword that was still inside the box on top of the table near him, to where it flew after Orin detonated its last location. Without a second thought Ren reached out and grabbed the sword. Then he turned around just in time to see Orin about to attack him.

"Die human!"

"Orin! It's me!" Ren quickly took off the robes, revealing his face.

Orin stopped his motion the second he saw his face. "Boss? Is that really you? What are you doing here? Why are you dressed up like that?"

"I will explain later! Right now we need to save Aijasyl before it's too late!"

One of the Pishak Priests attacked Ren with silver knife which Ren managed to block with the sword. The sword was somewhat lighter than the knife he had on his belt and it moved swiftly. It had only a single edge, but it was enough to block and cut an enemy. Ren was surprised how swift the blade was, he effortlessly ended up cutting down the human attacking him across the chest and then proceeded to behead him. Due to adrenaline rush from intense fear, Ren fought for his dear life.

Orin fired off two explosions in directions of Akjan and Shaula, causing the humans pinning them down be scattered from trying to avoid the explosions. Akjan and Shaula quickly got back to their feet and started fighting again. At least ten of the Pishak Priests were defeated, five crushed under a statue, others killed by demons. The fight continued on.

Jama seeing the fact that demons had someone on their side desperately shouted "Hold them back until I finish the sacrifice!"

Ren saw the scene in front of him. Jama took the knife and fanatically lifted it up and was about to stab Aijasyl. Running out of options, he decided to finish the half demon the old fashioned way. Aijasyl's eyes were filled with fear as she saw her upcoming fate-death by the hands of the same humans that killed her parents.

Dia menutup matanya.

Jama felt a killing intent. A sword was flying at him. Jama ducked at the right moment. The sword flew on top of his head without even touching him. It was that kid, Jama looked at Ren, finally recognizing him. 'That is the same kid that stole my arm!'

"You missed!" Jama was overjoyed, now he had the chance for long awaited revenge he was dreaming of since the time he lost his arm.

Due to the curved blade of the sword Ren threw at Jama, it ended up travelling through the air in an arc like a boomerang, which ended up reaching the chandelier that was above Jama.

The chandelier was held by metal chains, but apparently the sword was much sharper. It easily cut through the chains when it made a comeback. The chandelier now plummeted down towards the ground.

Jama didn't even realize that the chandelier above him was falling on top of his head. The only expression he had before he was crushed underneath it was gloating 'I won! I won! You can't defeat me!' Sadly for him, he was the one who lost.

The chandelier landed on him, killing him in an instant. His crushed remains looked like bloody putty. A nasty sight to see and a painful way to die. His head in particular was a bloody mess, after all that was where the falling chandelier struck him down.

Seeing their leader killed had demoralized the Pishak Priests, whose surviving members stopped fighting against demons and started to run away. All of them touched the floor and in an instant they were gone. It just showed that they could have escaped any time they wanted. Now all that remained in the building were demons and corpses of dead Pishak Priests.

Shaula still had one of her wings frozen, so Akjan was trying her best to make it come back to normal temperature.

"Lady Shaula, please stay still, this will not hurt a bit." A stream of Dark substance appeared within Akjan's palm. She took that substance and applied it on the frozen wing.

The wing quickly started to thaw out. It was as if the dark substance absorbed the cold into itself leaving only warmth in its place.

"Thank You, what was that skill?" Shaula gratefully asked. She has never seen anybody use such ability before. It was so effective that her wing no longer felt like it might shatter and returned to feeling like living flesh.

"Just a darkness magic application, nothing special." Akjan said humbly. Shaula just stared at her in wonder. 'Affinity for darkness magic is extremely rare, it is considered one of the most coveted and hardest to obtain. This girl is too humble.'

Both Akjan and Shaula diverted their attention to the single human being remaining in the room. They were alarmed. Why did he not run with others of his kind? What does he hope to accomplish by himself? He was standing near Orin. Akjan wondered why Orin wasn't attacking him.

Then that human being turned around. She saw a very familiar face.

"Ren!" Akjan ran up to him. This was unbelievable, why was he here? Did he know that Aijasyl was kidnapped and came to rescue her? How did he know about it?

"Hi Akjan, hi Shaula" He said it in unusually sad tone. What he saw today gave him a rather bad impression of humanity. No wonder demons hated them. 'But more importantly…'

"Guys, help me untie Aijasyl from that dreadful thing." Focused only upon the injured demon tied to a giant pentagram in front of him, he used his sword to cut the ropes on her left arm. Akjan came towards the right arm and with a swift slash the rope was severed. She did two more slashes to free her legs.

As her body was freed, Aijasyl plummeted down like a sack of potatoes. She would have fallen down if Ren did not manage to catch her fall on his back.

She was still breathing, thanks Great Ones. Yet, she seemed so weak, she was conscious but she still didn't speak a word.

Her eyes were open, Ren couldn't see her on his back, but he could tell drops of liquid soaking his back. It was not blood. It was tears. Ren understood that under current circumstances it was the best option to just let her cry on his back.

She held on to his back tightly, Ren couldn't really blame her.

Ren still had the sword in his arm. He shifted his grip on the sword so now he held it reverse grip in his left arm. With a short motion he put the sword on his belt.

He needed to use both hands to carry Aijasyl, it's not that she was heavy, in fact she was surprisingly light, but he didn't want to accidently drop her down, she was too injured already.

"Let's get out of this ghastly building already!" Ren said after stabilizing Aijasyl on his back.

Soon, all five demons exited the building. Orin launched several exploding orbs towards the building in order to completely obliterate it. Soon, all that was left were rubbles.

They walked in silence for some time, before that silence was interrupted by Ren.

"Ok, just tell me, what exactly happened while I was gone?"

Orin was the first to speak up. "I am sorry boss, they took us by surprise. They attacked the household out of nowhere and took lady Aijasyl. They disappeared shortly afterwards, somehow it was almost as if they sunk into the ground!"

It must have been the same way how they managed to get out of the building.

"Where the heck was Master Korgan when this happened?" Ren was rather angry at the fact that his mentor got hurt in this calamity and he had to know why the master of the household did not protect the household.

"Master Korgan was outside the Karatengu territory, visiting the graveyard of his family. It seems like the humans were watching us, for they struck us at most vulnerable time." Shaula answered.

"But Ren, why were you in there? How did you end up in that place?" Akjan asked him, looking at him with her round eyes almost as if seeking a perfectly rational explanation.

"I lost the track of where I was, and before I knew it, I was in there." Ren did not want to tell them of his encounter with two Pishak Priests, they had enough to worry about right now.

"Then, boss, why were you wearing their robes? A disguise?" Orin asked.

Ren thought for a moment and decided to roll with it. "Indeed, considering they outnumbered me, I had no choice but to blend in."

All three of them thought "Brilliant!" What an ingenious idea, sneaking in to their lair unnoticed and disguising himself as one of them.

"But how did you know lady Aijasyl was captured? We found her by her scent and we already knew she was abducted, but how did you find out about it?"

Ren scratched his head. "Well, their actions seemed suspicious, so I presumed I had to see what was going on. I didn't know they took her, so I was quiet shocked when I found out." Ren tried to make it seem that he sneaked in rather than was forced to go to the Pishak Priests meeting location. After all, it would sound humiliating if they found out that he was mistaken for one of the humans.

"Oh, I see." Akjan smiled. The demon of her dreams impressed her once again with being able to be at the right location at the right time.

"It was very fortunate you were there Ren, before you dropped that statue, it seemed like we were goners." Shaula admitted with sunken face. The experience of having one of her wings frozen and getting almost killed made it seem that she barely escaped with her life intact. The fact was, she was still alive thanks to the weirdo demon in front of her.

"Indeed, I am afraid to imagine what would have happened to Aijasyl if you weren't there, boss." Orin respectfully reflected. He was rather glad he was a subordinate of a demon who was this capable.

"Speaking of Aijasyl, why were they targeting her?"

The one who answered, to Ren's surprise was Akjan. Her expression was serious and glint of anger could be seen from her eyes.

"It is because they wanted to steal her powers. Those bastards!" She punched the tree nearby, leaving a fist sized dent on the bark. Ren made a note to himself to never make her angry. "Why can't they leave demons alone? Their twisted view of the world has done enough harm to everyone!"

Ren did not expect such an emotional outburst from her, but it was understandable. He presumed that was the exact reason her clan members lost their lives, due to the greed for power. No wonder she was very angry at the thought of human beings stealing demon's powers.

Realizing that she showed her anger in Ren's presence and seeing him look rather alarmed, she quickly apologized. "I am sorry; I shouldn't have made such an outburst."

"It is fine, we all have a reason to have such feelings about them" said Orin.

"Indeed" Ren had to admit.

After walking for some time, he noticed that Aijasyl on his back was sleeping. When he considered waking her up, Shaula whispered "Let her rest, she has gone through a lot because of them. It is no wonder she needs this."

Ren nodded, the rest of the way they tried to talk quietly, trying to make sure Aijasyl rested on Ren's back while they walked back towards the Karatengu Household.

Meanwhile, inside the Karatengu household, Korgan Karatengu has just returned from visiting his family's grave site. The grave site was located on the mountain top, a location upon which he wished he would be put to rest once he was gone. His wife and son lay there underneath the ground, with stones marking their resting place. There was an empty grave as well with his second son's name on it because while the body was not found Korgan was sure his second son was no longer of this world. This place might be the place where the Karatengu bloodline would end, with him, Korgan, as its last member passing away.

'I don't have much time left in this world, soon I will join you, my family' Korgan whispered before heading back towards the Karatengu household. 'It's about time I visit Akil Ras and ask him to take the Tengu clan members under his wing.' In terms of finding a leader for the Tengu clan, Korgan felt that he failed completely. Now there was no choice but to ask his old friend for help, after all Korgan planned on going back towards the mountain top and dying there for he no longer had any reason to keep living. Each day pained him and he just wished it would be over.

When Korgan got back to the Karatengu territory, he saw very awful scenery. Several houses were set on fire while there were many injured Tengu clan members being tended by other demons.

When a Tengu member named Jop saw Korgan, he immediately ran up to him. "Master Korgan you're back!"

"Jop Tengu, what exactly happened here?" Korgan said in an angry voice which surprised Jop due to the fact he never heard Korgan get this angry before.

"We were attacked by humans."

"Humans you say? Any specific groups? How did they look like?"

"I don't know who they were, but they were all wearing strange robes that covered their entire bodies and they had enchanted silver knives…"

Korgan immediately thought 'Pishak Priests! Why did they attack my clan? What are they after.'

"Were there any victims?" Korgan asked.

"Luckily there were no casualties other than several demons being injured, but …" Jop paused.

"But what?" Korgan asked, while looking at Jop with a scary expression.

"They managed to take Aijasyl and the Karatengu Sword"

Korgan's eyes opened wide. He did not care what happened to the weapon, he was more concerned with what happened to one of his subordinates.

"Do you know where they went? We must follow them immediately…"

"Master Korgan, lady Shaula already took a team with her in order to find her, and we don't know where they are." Jop said, sadly, there was nothing they could do; the enemy just disappeared into the ground after capturing Aijasyl. They just were gone, not a trace remaining after they sunk into the ground.

"This is beyond horrible, if they do something to her, I will…"

"Master Korgan, there were at least twenty of them and each one was at least as powerful as brass ranked demon or higher. We have no way of tracking them."

Master Korgan sighed. "Understood, you mean to say even if I try to track them down I wouldn't be much help, isn't that right?"

Jop gulped "Yes, I am sorry to say so, Master Korgan."

"No, you're completely right." Korgan was saddened by the fact that he could do nothing to save his subordinate, but right now all he could do was help tend the wounded.

Korgan went to the room where at least ten wounded demons lay and he personally helped each one with their wounds. Even having just one arm did not prevent Korgan from pouring his energy through his palm to restore the vitality to ailing demons. By giving them some of his energy, Korgan made sure that the injuries they received wouldn't be too life threatening.

It took him some time to tend to every single wounded Tengu member, and it did exhaust his energy, but this was his duty as their master.

After some time, someone shouted out "They're back! They're back!"

Korgan went out of the mansion to see who has returned.

According to Jop, Shaula took Akjan and Orin with her. But now returning with the three of them was Ren. Korgan noticed Ren was carrying someone and by looking closer he noticed that it was form of Aijasyl. She seemed injured and she was unconscious. Yet, Master Korgan was just glad she was ok.

Then his attention went to the object Ren was carrying on his belt.

Korgan's eyes went wide. 'Impossible, that is…' it was the Karatengu family sword. He was told it was stolen by the humans along with the box it was inside of. The sword can't be directly lifted by anyone other than Karatengu family member. For anyone else the sword would seem to be stuck to the surface upon which it lays, unmovable and un-yieldable.

But now, Ren Tengu was walking with that sword on his belt as if it was as light as feather. This did not make sense… 'Who is he?' Korgan inwardly wondered as the group approached him.

The four demons came towards the Karatengu mansion.

"Young ones, you have succeeded in saving her." Korgan said, while focused on Ren.

When Ren saw Korgan, he said "Aijasyl is injured, is there anywhere I should take her?" he said it bluntly, after all in his opinion Korgan wasn't there when his mentor needed help.

"Ikuti aku." Korgan led Ren to a room with a large bed. Ren didn't know about this room, he never was in it before. One of the demons Ren didn't talk to much, named Raia, started to tend to Akjan's external injuries. She was still unconscious after falling asleep on Ren's back while Ren was walking towards the mansion. Shaula proceeded to help with the bandages and healing ointments as well.

Orin, Ren, and Master Korgan promptly exited the room in order to not interrupt the tending process.

Ren was slightly angry at Master Korgan but he didn't let it show.

Korgan weakly smiled and said. "I can imagine that you are angry at me for letting this happen and I don't blame you for that. But please understand I did not want this to happen and I am truly sorry for letting it turn out this way." Master Korgan bowed with his head down.

Ren sighed. "I see." Ren could no longer hold grudge against this elderly demon, after all it was humans fault for doing this, not a fault of a demon who wanted to visit his family graves. "Do not worry, I do not blame."

"Thank You" Korgan replied.

"On another matter, please follow me" Korgan said while pointing with his only hand.

Korgan, Orin, and Ren walked towards the certain chamber, the room that held relics that reminded Korgan of his long gone family.

"Ren, could I please take a look at the sword on your belt?" Korgan asked. He wanted to verify that his eyes were not deceiving him.

Ren took the sword off his belt and gave it to Master Korgan.

Korgan proceeded to examine the sword. Without a doubt, this was Korgan's sword. It was not a replica or an accidental look-alike, but the genuine Karatengu family sword. 'Yet, he is able to pick it up. Did the sword lose its property?'

Korgan put the sword down on the floor without anything but floor underneath it.

"Orin, could you mind picking that sword up" Korgan beckoned to Orin.

"Of course!" Orin bent over the sword and tried to lift it up by the handle with his upper right arm. He expected it to be easy. Grasping the handle he did, but lifting it up was another business altogether.

No matter how hard he tugged at it, the sword did not budge an inch. Thinking that more force would allow him to lift it Orin tried to use two arms, then three arms, then all four together, but to no avail. The sword seemed to have a will of its own- the will to be stuck to the surface which it lay upon.

"Master Korgan, it wouldn't move!" Orin said after the tenth unsuccessful attempt at lifting up the sword.

Korgan looked at the scene in front of him with intense curiosity. 'So the sword did not lose its selective property, then in that case…'

"Ren, now you try to lift it."

Ren approached the sword and with an awkward motion he easily picked up the sword without feeling any weight on his arms. Korgan could only watch in disbelief.

"Boss! How did you do that? It was nearly impossible for me to lift, yet you just did it!"

"It's not that heavy, look" Ren passed the sword to Orin's arms.

Then, Orin fell down, arms pinned down with crushing weight of the sword.

"You're kidding, right?" Ren said after watching Orin unable to stand up while having the sword rest on his palms.

"Boss, the weight of the sword is crushing me!"

"Oh, sorry" Ren took the sword off Orin, who upon standing up was rubbing his hands, apparently it hurt a lot.

"Both of you stay where you are." Korgan Karatengu was lost in thoughts and there was only one thing that could confirm his doubts. 'This is impossible, it has to be a dream, some kind of illusion…'but he could not deny the facts.

'The sword can only be lifted up by a Karatengu. Karatengu family doesn't have any branches other than mine, and my branch ended with deaths of my children. I had only two sons and both of them have passed away, then who in the world is he?' Hopefully Yrpak-Kan could show him the answer.

After a few minutes, Korgan returned with a strange blue crystal.

He took the crystal and smeared some blood on it from his thumb.

Instead of showing no reaction like Korgan expected, the crystal glowed bright red. One of its thirteen sides showed the direction to go in.

Korgan followed the directions and soon found himself facing to whom the crystal was pointing at – Ren.

No matter from which way he looked, or from which direction, the crystal still pointed at Ren.

The crystal can without a flaw, find the user's descendant. So now, without a doubt, Korgan found out that Ren was his descendant. 'He is my descendant? Tapi bagaimana caranya? Neither Omir nor Ymit had any children, unless…'

Korgan always kept two patches of braided hair in his breast pocket, closest to his heart. Each braided lock belonged to one of his sons and each was kept in his safe keeping after they passed their training ceremony. He originally kept each lock as a symbol of pride in his sons, and after his sons passed away he kept them as keepsakes of their memory. He never thought he would use them like this.

Korgan wiped his own blood off the Yrpak-Kan crystal with his own clothing. Orin and Ren were still puzzled over what Master Korgan was doing. The crystal returned to its normal state after Korgan wiped off his blood.

Then, Korgan pressed the first lock belonging to Omir on top of the Yrpak-Kan crystal. The crystal did not react. Then Ren was not Omir's descendant.

Disheartened, Korgan took out the second lock and pressed it upon the crystal. He half expected it to fail just like the first lock, but to his surprise the crystal started glowing brighter than it did with his blood, now almost in a violent way. The crystal was glowing in powerful light in Ren's direction. Without a doubt, Ren is Ymit's son. Korgan just realized, his grandson was standing right there, in the room. 'I have a grandson!' Korgan thought, his mind overwhelmed by joy, while his hand was shaking, he put the Yrpak-Kan down in fear of dropping it. That is why the way Ren smile seemed so familiar; it was the same warm smile his son used to give when he was truly happy.

Ren, who saw the light of the crystal, without understanding the implications, just looked confused with his head tilting to the side.

Korgan stepped forwards, facing Ren with an expression full of joy.

"Ren, when you came to this place you said you knew not who you truly are."

Ren nodded.

"Then let me give you the answer, you are my grandson!" Korgan embraced Ren with his only arm. Ignoring the fact that Ren was completely confused, Korgan Karatengu said in a tear filled voice "Welcome home, my grandchild."

To Korgan, this was a day he found that not all of his family was gone, and that his beloved son had left him a gift. The gift he was tearfully embracing. Nothing could describe the joy Korgan Karatengu felt at this moment.

He never imagined that he had a grandchild, let alone that one of his sons had a child. But this kind of surprise made Korgan thank the Great Ones repeatedly for giving him such a miracle. "Great Ones, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" The day may have started sadly, but to Korgan it has ended magnificently.