Orin: “On the bright side, we found them”

Sirinke: “But it does not seem like we are strong enough to step in”

Sukesir: “Yep”

At their level, they were too weak to do anything in this situation.

They actually considered themselves to be the weakest members of their group.

Sukesir: “Besides, you’re injured”

After their encounter with a mysterious, yet ridiculously powerful, masked demon, they did not emerge unscathed, especially Orin, who lost his lower right arm.

And then they kept getting from one trouble to the next, barely surviving encounters with various tribes until they ended up in some strange valley where the members of Tengu clan were battling against monsters with an unheard of ability to shrug off any kind of magical damage.

Doran managed to send several of the monsters to other locations using his portals, but soon ran out of mana, no, it looked more like he was drained of mana when one of those creatures managed to bite him.

The main powerhouses (Korkau, Lotus, and Aijasyl) were using their magic to keep the creatures occupied while the other members tried to provide support.

Unfortunately, even their mightiest attacks only seemed to stun the beasts.

Suddenly, trees started to sprout, trying in vain to entangle the beasts with their vines.

Lotus: “Rocco!”

Rocco: “I am here, my lady!”

Kizilkoz: “So am I!”

She shot out several exploding arrows at the beasts.

It did not do so much damage as to push them away, giving their group enough time to run for it.

As soon as they regrouped, they found Orin, Sukesir, and Sirinke in their hiding place. It was atop a tall platform, overlooking the scenery. Rocco used his magic to create walls of wood around them, but it was obvious they would not hold for long.

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After a tearful reunion, it was clear that everyone was present, except for the leader, and his right hand demon, Akjan.

Aijasyl: “Can you teleport us out of here?”

Doran: “I am trying, but my mana is low, and it feels like something is interfering with the flow of my magic…It might be some undead ability that activates upon making contact with the magic user”

Lotus: “In other words, we are sitting ducks”

Doran: “Not quite. I detected a portal that is nearby. From what I can tell it leads back to your home. I guess that is the last portal, at least for us, if we manage to deal with the beasts first”

Aijasyl: “What about Ren and Akjan”

Lotus: “Knowing my husband, he might have already finished the trial without us”

Aijasyl: “What are you saying? He would never abandon us like that!”

Doran: “That’s true; my brother is not that type of man”

Lotus: “Stop calling him your brother, you two are not even the same species!”

Doran: “Then stop calling him your husband, you pervy demon!”

Ren had previously told Doran about how he had struggled to keep lustful Lotus out of his room. Doran even witnessed that happening on several occasions.

Rocco: “Uhm, guys? Leaving the matters of brothers and wives aside, we need to survive against those….”

He pointed at the beasts that were breaking the wooden walls.

Even without their leader, they had to find some way of dealing with those beasts, or that would be then end of them.

* * *

Ren: “What the hell is going on with me?”

This trial, it had a strange effect on him.

Maybe because he was wearing the power stone on his neck, or perhaps the special property of the trial, he was experiencing a lot of blackouts and instances where he felt like dreaming.

And then, there were times where he felt like he was someone else, or more accurately, someone else taking over and using his body.

When he woke up, he found his clothing ripped up and his clothing having torn parts on the back left by his wings. And then there was a matter of a torn up half mask on his face he was wearing for some strange reason.

His demon blood was taking over, that much was obvious.

But for a boy that lived the first 16 years of his life as a human being, the change was intense.

His demon side was practically another person, someone who desperately wanted to come out to the surface.

Ren: “My head hurts…Akjan?”

They were no longer in a jungle area, but a more barren land.

His companion was on ground, on her knees.

A single tear was travelling down her face.

Akjan: “Ren? Is that really you? Or are you yet another apparition?”

She grabbed hold of his face, examining if he was a figment of her imagination.

Ren: “I don’t know what you are talking about, but I am here”

It was a strange reunion, to say the least.

“So, two more demons for me to kill, huh”

Death Hand stepped in, his face hidden by a mask. Akjan and Ren could feel the killing intent permeating the air.

This man was dangerous and if they were not careful, they would die.