To get there they had to pass through several forests. There weren’t any monsters in them. Trying to be sneaky was the plan, but Mash couldn’t use the form that let him go invisible. The others wouldn’t be able to keep up with his invisibility and there was always the chance that one of the demons had the ability to detect him. Then he remembered Jill’s sight might let her teleport to him if anything went wrong.

“Jill, can you follow my locations with the skills you have?”

They were still a good distance away from the demons, so he didn’t mind discussing their skills at the moment. He was a bit confused when she shook her head in the negative. She must have noticed he didn’t understand, as she gave him an explanation.

“Aren’t you the one with a mark from a being stronger than gods that is literally designed to stop skills from seeing your fate?”

She was right, though the snarky tone was unnecessary. Honestly, he had somewhat forgotten about the things the marks did and had assumed that it would only stop the snake from seeing him. He should see what skills fail because of the marks and should probably study them more in general. It was something he had been ignoring since it felt so far beyond him. Although, he would need to do that later. Understanding could only come through effort.

[Remind me to check the marks after my next advancement.]

He told Priscilla to remind him, as her memory was literally perfect. Ultimately, he wanted to get rid of both marks regardless of what benefits they provided. It was simply another thing that was forced on him by circumstance, and he wanted to make sure to prevent any influence those might have on his life. That was something to solve in the future though.

They continued to walk for a bit, eventually noticing the difference in their surroundings. The first thing that changed was the trees. They started looking more decayed, and some of the leaves had turned white. It was strange to feel like the trees had grown old, but that was it looked like. It was as if they aged as people would. Eventually, the grass began to change, as it too started turning white. At this point, they decided that flying would be better. All of them could fly now, even Red could do it by manipulating her body. She could just control her whole body to rise into the air and move it with her magic.

When she had first tried that, it looked wrong, like her body was being lifted up by invisible ropes. Now, it seemed somewhat normal, though it still felt weird to see her move without actually needing to make any physical movements. Luke had his item and could fly just as well as any of them.

Finally, Mash had the opportunity to use one of his transformations, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy at the prospect. When he achieved his golden body, he felt that it affected everything about him, including his transformations. He really wanted to use his dragon form, but that wasn’t really the best thing for a stealth operation. It would get its time to shine, of that, he had no doubt.

As he changed into the cat form, he was surprised to notice the differences immediately. His face didn’t grow any fur on it, and his hair grew out more like into something like a mane. Framing his head as fur would. His whole body was covered in white fur that matched his hair too, and he noticed the change to his wings. Before they looked more unnatural, but now it reminded him perfectly of some birds. They were smaller now, but he felt like he could make them larger with a thought. His hands and feet had become less human too, growing into something that resembled a cat, and he could feel claws on his fingers. He even felt a tail trapped within his clothing and had to pull it out with his hands.

Finally, he noticed the changes in abilities. His mental affinity had improved so drastically, that he could actually feel the emotions of the others just by looking at them. Furthermore, his reflexes and sixth sense had improved greatly. He was much more aware of his surroundings too, even his domain felt more natural.

His friends noticed the differences too, as before his fur was a different color from his hair. Plus, his face had also grown fur before. Looking at his friends now, he could feel their apprehension. He wondered if all people with mental magic had to deal with this.

“Well, what happened?”

Mash couldn’t help but sound a bit hesitant, unsure of what exactly they were noticing that he was not. As he talked, he noticed that his tongue was longer, and collided with sharp teeth. Feeling around his mouth, he noticed that four of his teeth were longer and sharper than the others. He wondered how this form would affect the insides of his body but didn’t have a method to check. Priscilla would probably warn him if something bad had happened. Luke spoke up first, seeming the fastest to adjust.

“Your soul changed shape with your transformation, it didn’t do that before.”

“Plus, you don’t look human anymore, and it’s kind of weird to see an animal standing on two legs.”

Jill continued as soon as Luke stopped, and Mash looked down at his hands and feet. It was true to an extent. His limbs would certainly be more natural on an animal, and his way of using them looked wrong, even to himself. Should he try emulating an animal more? He discarded that thought, imagining himself moving on all fours. However, he wasn’t planning on walking on all fours.

“I’m not going to crawl if that is what you’re thinking.”

His voice was also slightly different, and he noticed he was slurring some of his words. It was definitely strange, but he couldn’t do anything about it. It was simply how this form worked.

“This is fascinating and all, but can we just get on with it.”

Red sounded bored and a little like she was expecting something like this. She thrust her hands toward the demon territory, and the four of them took to the air. Mash wings grew a little when he did so, but they were still smaller than they were before, only reaching just beyond his arm’s length. The feathers were harder, and somehow more shaped than they were before.

They flew just over the treetops, careful to stay hidden from any possible watchtowers. He couldn't see any structures but knew that they were heading in the right direction. Better to be careful. They hadn’t seen any but didn’t want to take the risk. Plus, this distance would let them drop into the trees if they needed cover. Honestly, Mash camouflaged pretty well with the trees, as his fur was all white and he had worn a white shirt too. That was a lucky coincidence.

They flew for a few minutes before the demons’ camps came into sight. They were spread out over a large area and were probably around twice the size of the village. They weren’t very advanced though, and he noticed most of the structures were no better than huts. There weren’t any real walls either. There were a lot of demons though. Most were these small hideous creatures with odd potbellies. They look both starved and fat at the same time, and Mash was disturbed by the sight. There were crude fires and pieces of meat being cooked, and that alone had surprised him. He had assumed that the monsters would eat raw meat, so seeing them cook felt wrong.

There was another problem with what he saw. The larger demons that had invaded the town were further in the back and it seemed like the strongest demons here were the white-skinned ones he fought before. Those were around level sixty but weren’t actually a threat to any of them. On top of them being higher level, their classes were unique and stronger than most at the same level. Honestly, Mash was fairly certain that he alone could destroy this whole place and kill all the demons. Which meant that Robert, Edward, or Mister Linwood would all be able to do the same. The question in his mind was why they hadn’t?

He sent the words through the telepathy, the new form letting him send it to all of them at once. His improved mental magic was incredible, and he told Priscilla to remember the method that he was using now. Hopefully, he would be able to send messages like this even without the form. They would have to speak to answer him, but he still wanted to be as silent as possible. They seemed equally as interested and merely shrugged their shoulders for a response.

She nodded vigorously, making some odd gestures with her hands. After a second, he understood what she was doing. She was mimicking weaving, probably to indicate her strings. Mash sent a mental message to confirm anyways.

Nodding once again, she held up four fingers. It seemed like they had some leads, but there was still the question of what to do with demons. Remembering what they had done to the people back at the village, he was tempted to destroy them all.

[Fly around and try to find more permanent structures. Even the demons should have managed to make something. These do not seem capable enough to detect you if you do so.]

Priscilla sent the message, followed by an image of several birds she had spotted while looking over the demon territory. It was a good idea, and he was about to tell the others as much. However, they were already nodding. Priscilla had sent the information to all of them, and he realized that she was probably being affected by his improved affinities too. Now, he wanted to test his Priscilla form and see what it would do to his lightning magic. He could feel her eagerness at the idea too.

They took the air once again, feeling a cold wind cross them as they headed deeper into the demon lands. The demons had really taken a large chunk of land, but they still hadn’t seen any permanent structures or any demons above the white-skinned ones. It took a while, but they eventually noticed something more complex. At first, they had been looking for a fort of some kind, but it was Jill who noticed that something deeper. It was probably due to her strings, but she pointed out a tunnel. Even from a distance, they could see demons moving in and out of the tunnel and guessed that there was a more permanent structure within.

It seemed like they had found what they were looking for. Mash was tempted to just fly in there but knew that was not smart. If they decided to do something like that Jill would be the one to go. Unless they had a way to lock down her teleports she could teleport away at the earliest sign of danger. They flew a bit higher, before discussing their next course of action.

The conversation didn’t last long, and they ultimately decided to let Jill enter on her own. She would try and sneak in and would hopefully return with some new information. She didn’t actually fly down but teleported directly to the ground. When she did that, Mash realized what the real strength of a flight skill was for her. Teleporting freely within sight and being able to fly meant that her teleportation space had expanded to the skies as well. Mash watched as she teleported from place to place, flinching every time she got close to a demon. Logically, he knew that she would be fine, but couldn’t help but worry a little. He kept flinching until she vanished into the tunnels.