“The selection will begin just after two days?” Ren exclaimed as Korgan finished explaining.

“Indeed, it will be the first challenge against every demon eligible to participate.” Said Korgan. “Many members of the other clans are likely to show up, every demon that does not wish to lose the once in a life time opportunity shall enter.”

“Speaking of which, you said something about being eligible, what did you mean by that?” Ren asked with one raised eyebrow.

“It just means demons like me who have participated in the last Selection are not eligible to enter.”

“What!!!? Grandpa, you have participated in the Selection before?”

“I have, and as you can see I have lost.” Korgan said with a chuckle. “Of course my best friend, Akil Ras emerged victorious, so it was not a complete loss.”

“I see. So the last Demon King was selected this way as well then?”

“All of the Demon Kings had been selected this way, all fifty six of them until now.”

“Fifty six? No kidding?” Ren shook his head. “Wow, so the tradition of choosing the ruler through trial has been going on for centuries.”

“Demon kind needs a protector, with the threat of humanity constantly at our necks, with them producing more and more of their famed warriors and adventurers, the demon kind needs a strong leader in order to survive. That is the purpose of the Demon King-to protect all of the demons.”

“I see, so basically Demon King is like the hero for demon kind, right?”

“More than a hero, Demon King is the one who sets a right example for others to follow, the one who guides, nurtures, and protects. Demon King is the one responsible for it all.”

“Wow that sounds amazing!”

“Regardless of the status, a ruler shall always have enemies. Regrettably, I suspect that what led to my dear friend’s demise.” Korgan looked at Ren straight in the eyes. “Grandson, I know you have the ambition that lies ahead of you, and that for that purpose you desire to participate in the trials. I am sincerely proud of you having such strong ambitions, but…” he paused. “Please don’t die. With deaths of your grandmother, your uncle, and your father, you are the only family I have left. If anything, do me a favor. Live so long that you will outlive your old coot for a grandpa!”

“Grandpa, don’t say that!” Ren protested. ‘Wait, does that mean I am participating in these trials? Well, guess I have no choice in the matter, then.’ Ren continued. “I am not going to die, that I promise.” He grinned while pointing his left thumb up.

Korgan smiled while looking at his grandson. ‘He definitely is Ymit’s son. That smile…’ Korgan’s right eye filled with tears, which Korgan proceeded to wipe off his face with the sleeve of his robes.

“Thank you, my grandson” Korgan was at least head and half taller than Ren, who was about size of an average demon. It was mostly because Demons get taller as they age. So it was easy for Korgan to place put his left palm on top of Ren’s head in an affectionate manner. ‘For so long I didn’t even know I had a grandson, I never had the opportunity to be a grandfather until now. So many moments in my grandson’s life I have missed. Heck, I don’t even know who my daughter in-law is! But that doesn’t matter, what matters is that he is alive and well. I just have to make sure he survives.’

Korgan took out a small bag from his Orin-Yakit crystal, which he wore as a necklace. Inside the bag, he had many small glass bottles. He proceeded to pass the bag to Ren.

“Grandson, take this. This will help you along the way.”

“Thanks, grandfather. But what are these things?” Ren opened the bag and stared at the many bottles that seemed to have something inside of them, but he wasn’t sure what.

“Bottles filled with my magic.” Korgan gestured at the set of bottles that were dark in appearance. “I put my fire type magic inside these bottles, while these” he gestured at the bottles that were brownish, yellow, and clear in appearance “contain earth type magic, lighting type magic, and my spiritual form.”

“Spiritual form?” Ren asked out of curiosity.

“You have never heard of it before?”

Ren shook his head.

“Then allow me to show it to you” Korgan closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. The reddish black aura around him became more visible till it was obvious the air around him was shifting, as if something was manifesting. Like some sort of an ethereal body coating itself around Korgan, it was see through, but it indeed exuded the aura of impregnable defense. All in all it was a gigantic form that resembled a crow; it even had jet black wings. The mouth had a big beak. It noticeably was missing its right arm just like Korgan.

“This is the spiritual form” Korgan was floating inside the mighty manifestation.

“Wow! Grandfather, this is amazing!” Ren exclaimed.

“I fear that some of your enemies will be able to use this power, because of that I gave you some of my magic.” Korgan’s face turned serious. “Be warned, each bottle of magic can be only used once, that is if you use it up. As for spiritual form, if you use it once it will be active for around one hour before dissipating, which was the most energy I could muster to put inside the bottle.” Korgan had to admit, concentrating his energy while draining his energy from his hand into a bottle took a lot out of him, he was still feeling drained. “Use mana inside the bottles sparingly and wisely, don’t forget, these are the tools for your survival!”

“Understood” Ren nodded. ‘Wow, he truly is serious about survival thing, I guess it means what is ahead of me is very dangerous. What in the world have I gotten myself into?’ Ren just realized that he literally was walking into the danger zone. Cold sweat ran down his brows while a shiver passed through his spine.

“Uhm, grandpa, you said you participated in the Selection before, do you by any chance know what kind of trials it has?”

“The trials are different for each generation, even if I told you what I have been through; I doubt you will go through the same ordeal.”

“Oh, I see.” Ren sighed. Apparently getting knowledge from the past would not help a bit. “By the way, do you know who is participating in the Selection aside from me in the Karatengu household?”

“I am not completely sure, but I presume most of them, including your friends, especially Kizilkoz, would aim to participate.” Korgan mentally thought ‘Akil Ras’s daughter, just how far her ambition will take her?’

“I see, then I will just ask around then. Thanks grandpa” Ren left the room.

“I truly hope the trials go well, and these are not my last moments seeing him” Korgan nervously muttered. “Great Ones please protect my grandson!” he begged while praying.

Meanwhile, Ren happened to find out that Orin, Akjan, Kizilkoz, Aijasyl, Shaula, and some other Tengu demons he didn’t know a lot about planned to participate in the trials. There were some lizard demons like Sukesir and Sirinke who also wanted to participate.

“Boss! I truly can’t wait for the Selection to begin!” Orin exclaimed excitedly with all four arms pointing skyward.

“It truly is an opportunity for all demons to show their worth to the Great Ones; truly a chance of a lifetime!” Aijasyl said with pride. She looked at Ren with scary gaze “So please don’t do anything stupid!”

Ren nervously laughed. Considering she has been keeping track of how much destruction he caused inside the kitchen with his mishaps, it was natural for her to worry about his future actions. “Oh, c’mon, it’s all in the past now, right?”

“Of course it is! My Ren would never do anything stupid!” Akjan said while looking at Aijasyl strictly for demeaning Ren.

Ren thought ‘Since when did I became ‘her Ren’ to Akjan?”

“Akjan, you have not seen the half of what he did to the kitchen knives. Just the other day when took a knife out of its scabbard the metal shattered into pieces. And if that wasn’t bad enough he tried to put some weapons in their places! I had him take all of them back and apologize to the head chef.”

“Is she talking about the knives you requested me to…?” Kizilkoz began before Ren covered her mouth with his hand.

“No, it’s a completely different set of knives. Don’t be mistaken.” Ren lied in order to make sure Aijasyl didn’t find out how he tried to use trickery to get himself out of a bad situation. She would chastise him for deceit and would give him a very painful lecture while chasing him. That was truly a scary thought. Ren shuddered from just imagining it.

“So the Selection, huh” Ren purposefully changed the topic of the conversation. “I can’t wait until the day comes!”

Just like that the two days have passed. The members of Karatengu household have all organized themselves and began to move out, in total there were twenty demons from Karatengu household participating. Master Korgan bid them farewell while wishing for best of luck.

While they were on the road, Ren was talking with Orin.

“Do you know where are we going?”

“Of course, Kalkan kingdom’s Lake of Beginning. That is the life spring specified by the Great Ones.”

“Is that so? I see, so the life spring is that place? I didn’t know that”

“It’s a place that is rumored to have nurtured our ancestors for its water is consumable. It is one of the factors that allowed our ancestors to survive here. I heard it has lots of fishes there as well!”

“I see.”

“With you leading us, I think we will be ok against any obstacle, boss!” Orin said while expressing his complete trust in Ren’s abilities.

“Oh, don’t say that, I will need your help as well.”

“Any time you need my help, I will be there, my leader!” Orin said loyally. He was rather glad to follow someone who was as ambitious as he was humble. The demon Ren Karatengu did give him a new light to look up to; he truly was a demon to be admired. Orin couldn’t think of anyone else who was more suitable for the position of Demon King. Unbeknownst to Orin, Ren didn’t even know everyone assumed he desires to become Demon King. In truth, Ren’s sole desires are cooking and gardening, but each demon he met got completely wrong idea of Ren’s character, which caused this warped version of fearless leader Ren to emerge in Karatengu household’s mind.

In Kizilkoz’s mind in particular, he was quiet terrifying.

Once they reached the lake, they set up a camp near it. Many clans have set up their tents near the lake as well. All of them would have to wait until the morning until the first trial begins. Until then, everyone would have to spend the night here.

As expected, female demons camped with other female demons, while male demons camped with male demons.

On the male side, along with Ren, Orin, and Sirinke were five more demons from Karatengu household. All of them were having some fun time over a bonfire and cooking up giant caterpillars that were everywhere. Strangely, they tasted delicious once they were cooked over flames. Orin used small explosions in order to light the bon fires.

“Couldn’t you have just lit them with fire magic instead of exploding them?” Ren asked.

“No can do boss, I am not able to use fire type magic. The only magic I am proficient in is Mi mana usage for explosion. I am afraid that is the extent of my magical ability.”

“What about the spikes you have growing from your arms?”

“That is just my body’s ability, it is not based on mana.” Orin replied.

“Wow, General Orin, that is so cool!” one of the demons with three bushy tails said with obvious awe.

“It is nothing special. Every member of my clan was able to do that.” Orin said in a sad tone.

“Come to think of it, you did mention your clan once. Can you tell me, if it is not a secret, what happened to it?”

“I suppose there is no longer a point in keeping quiet about it. All right, boss, I will tell you.” Thus Orin began his story.

“I was born into Rheno clan of Beetle Demons. Our clan specialized in long ranged and hand to hand combat. Rheno clan was powerful, but due to this it had attracted the attention of the other demon clans who wanted to weaken us. My family possessed artifacts that allowed us to gain exponentially greater power; they were our heirlooms, the artifacts passed on by our ancestors. Our enemies saw the importance of the artifacts to us, so they decided to steal them from us. Without the artifacts, my clan fell prey to the enemies pouncing on it one after another. Many of us were scattered while the ones who resisted were killed. By the end of it, I was left alone to carry out my vengeance. Left with nothing, I went on to be hired for other clans as an assassin in order to survive. Then, I found out that one of the artifacts of my family, one of the Power Stones was being traded. But sadly, that was not the case. Then I met you, boss.” As Orin finished his story, he found that Ren and others had tears in their eyes. Orin thought ‘What is going on?’

“General Orin, I never thought you had such horrible past! I am very sorry for being so rude!” said a demon with a large yellow mane and triangular horns.

“It’s ok. And what’s up with the ‘General’?” Orin asked.

“It was my idea. I thought that if young master is the boss, then as his right hand you would be a general.” Said Sirinke with a proud look on his face.

“Oh, is that so, then it’s fitting. Alright General Orin, reporting to Boss!” Orin admitted. He kind of liked the sound of ‘General’ title.

Everyone laughed at loud about Orin’s acceptance of his new title. The male demons side sure was lovely.

On the female demons’ side, Kizilkoz was having a rather nervous time.

‘This is it, the first trial. I have to make sure everything goes well, but I am not even sure what to be prepared for!’ even her father in the past had admitted to her that trials are never the same so knowledge of past trials would not be of any use. ‘Even so, they would have helped me a little!’

“There sure are many demons camping near the lake” Akjan said after meditating for few minutes.

“Is that so? I didn’t really notice until you pointed out, oh Great Ones, there are at least thousand living beings here; don’t tell me all of them are demons?” Aijasyl asked.

“Not necessarily, anyone can participate in the Selection, it does not exclude humans” Akjan said in frank manner. “Everyone, be careful, there might be humans beings in disguise among them and they will not show mercy.”

“If they are in disguise, how do you expect us to distinguish them?”

“To be completely honest, I am not sure. I used to distinguish by smell, but apparently there are demons that smell similar to humans.” Akjan admitted. “Take Ren for example.”

All of the girls imagined the hornless demon, their leader, Ren Karatengu. Everyone nodded “Agreed.” There was no denying it, his looks, even his smell was like human. He was just one heck of a weird demon.

“Say, Akjan, isn’t the Kas clan going to participate in this Selection as well?” Shaula asked, concerned that her friend might have to face her worst enemies. Shaula and Akjan have become fast friends, confiding in each other some of their intimate thoughts.

“I am afraid that is the case. Oh, how I wish that they would not be here! But of course, it is the Selection, the one chance in a lifetime, so they are bound to be here!” Her eyes now seemed red from the anger in them. “Shaula, forgive me for saying this, but if I encounter them, I am going to attack them. They have done too much to go unpunished.” Kas clan, those murderous demons, they have taken everything away from me; I will not let them do it again!

“If they do encounter us, they will be our adversaries, it wouldn’t be unusual for a battle to occur, but if what you said about their power is true, then we have very low chance of surviving.” Shaula muttered.

“Hold on, how strong are they?” Aijasyl asked.

“I am not sure, but the strongest of them exceed the Iron rank.” While Jar Kas was only Iron ranked, it was rather impressive since he was young. In demon society ranks measure the power levels of the demons, apparently humans used other scales. For demons, Earth Rank was the lowest, followed by Stone Rank, Brass Rank, Copper Rank, Iron Rank, Bronze Rank, Silver Rank, and finally Gold Rank. Akjan herself was only a Brass Rank, so she wasn’t the weakest but she wasn’t very strong either. As Demon gets stronger, the amount of energy within their body would expand, making them stronger, each rank higher than the previous had ten times more energy within their body for disposal than the rank below them. But putting the effort to train and allow their body to produce the energy and control it in order to grow it within themselves, it took time and patience. Those with talent could make their energy grow and become stronger in order to advance forward. If energy within the body starts out as a spark, then the practitioner is the one who uses that spark in order to light a flame, a flame that continuously grows larger and larger as the practitioner gets stronger. The ranks are measured by how much energy an individual demon can produce. The highest ranked demons said to possess powers rivaling human gods, some said to have gone beyond Gold Rank.

Akjan could tell that in Karatengu clan, only Korgan Karatengu was Silver ranked. She wasn’t completely sure of Ren though, considering the fact that she discovered he has no talent for producing energy from his body, he could not use mana at all. But his strength was enough to kill Jar Kas, who was Iron Ranked, then does that mean his physical strength is stronger than Iron ranked demon? Akjan’s thoughts drifted off to completely wrong direction before she focused her own thoughts.

“Regardless, even if Jar Kas is dead, there is still Nar Kas” She shuddered from the thoughts. Back when she was imprisoned, she was able to conceal her gender in order to not be violated due to being female. But Nar Kas, he took his time torturing the prisoners, one by one, while others were forced to watch. He would hang the prisoner by their arms and slowly slice their backs with a sharp knife, leaving wounds that never truly fade away. He did it while laughing hysterically; savoring the moment he could unleash his true nature. It was because of him, Akjan’s back had three scars etched on it.

His brother, Jar Kas was more violent, instead of relishing in pain of those enslaved to him, he would humiliate them further. If any prisoner tried to rebel against him, he would slice off their horns, their pride, leaving them less than demons, humiliated for life. She was a prisoner of Kas clan, with her younger siblings taken away from her, there was only her grandfather left, along with other Tang clan members. She didn’t know what happened to Akjai and Akjin, her younger siblings, she only knew she never saw them since the day they were taken, while she helplessly watched chained to a wall.

All of the prisoners were bound by shackles that prevented usage of magic, but her fellow Tang clan members managed to one day to steal the key that unlocked the cuffs. They tried to escape, but they were intercepted by Kas clan guards. Akjan was told by her grandfather to run, while he and the others would hold the Kas clan back.

“Don’t look back, Run!” that was the last thing she heard her grandfather say. She ran and ran, until she was far away from the Kas clan territory she did not stop. With the chains gone, her magical power slowly restored itself. But she kept running, until eventually, when she was far enough did she fall on her knees and cry with her cries echoing through the sky. It was the day she lost her last family member, just like that.

“Kas clan, I will destroy you, just you wait” that prison cell, the wall that had so many of her horns of her clan members, it was a horrifying sight she saw many times in her dreams since then. She touched her back, starting from neck down till her hip along her spine were three vertical scars, a reminder of the ones she hated above all. She knew that Kas clan was nearby; her scars itched in their presence

Meanwhile, Altyn clan, the clan of Phoenix demons, had a secret arrangement. They sent out a special assassin, Demon Killer, in order to kill the other demon leaders in their sleep, in order to lessen the competition. The Demon Killer was a unique demon, his body was literally made of poison and fire, making him strong in those regards, but it also meant he was weak to water. Regardless, due to his ability to shrug off flames that many demons were proficient in and ability to kill without being noticed by most sensors, he earned his position as the top assassin in Altyn clan. Now his task was to kill the leaders of the rival clans who were camping around the lake, just waiting for the first trial in the morning.

It was perfect killing time, the time when most demons were asleep.

His name was Tun, servant of the Altyn clan. Tasked with disposing of the potential enemies, he proceeded to merge his presence with the darkness of the light, in order to deliver well timed strikes to unsuspecting enemy demons. With his methods, he was successfully able to mix in poison to the cups used by the Aris, Bukka, and Kanat clans, so he was sure at least one member of each clan would succumb to early death. He did so by concealing his own scent and appearance. His unique body allowed him to distort the air around him to make anyone looking at him see right past him. His body was always coated in flames, flames literally made up his flesh and blood, so he used his nature to his advantage. If he concentrated on his flames hard enough then it would eliminate any scent on him, making him untraceable even by most sensitive trackers. The fact that he secretes poison from his body was another ability of his. Before becoming a subordinate of the Altyn clan, he was an exiled member of the Kumis clan, serpent demons specializing in poison. The reason he was exiled was due to his heritage, he was half a Phoenix demon, born from an affair between member of Altyn clan and Kumis clan, to produce an offspring that had the power of both. While the Kumis clan saw him as disgrace and exiled him, the Altyn clan gladly offered him a place among them.

“I will fulfill my duty, and then one day I will have them acknowledge who I am!” He declared within his heart before heading towards his next target.

Judging by the family crest, it was the Tengu clan.

“The Tengu clan is participating as well? They truly must be desperate.” The Tengu clan which served the Karatengu family is one of the age old enemies of the Altyn clan, with the heads of each clan fighting against each other relentlessly. By now, the Altyn clan was clearly winning, despite their struggles, the Karatengu family was almost completely destroyed at the hands of the Altyn clan, leaving only the old head of the clan alive. It was just a matter of time when the head of Karatengu clan, Korgan Karatengu, would pass away due to old age. He no longer was worth fighting against, he already lost everyone. The Karatengu bloodline has been severed, the Altyn clan no longer needed to bother with a frail one armed demon approaching deathbed. Still, the patriarch of the Altyn clan would be displeased if the Tengu clan members were allowed to participate in the Selection. It would be insulting to their pride, to assure themselves of their own infallibility; it would be the best course of action for Tun to assassinate the Tengu clan members right here right now.

“These Tengu clanners just don’t know when to quit, do they? They have already lost but they dare to step forward, such imbeciles!” He concealed himself as best as he could after sensing that not all of the members of the clan were asleep. In particular, a certain white haired demon was walking around the camp and looking from side to side, as if she was able to sense something was not right.

“My disguise is perfect, my scent is nonexistent, so she shouldn’t be able to see me. Then why is she still not sleeping?” he could see the small bags under her eyes, it was clear she was straining her eyes. “I see, paranoia. She expects someone to sneak in here and kill them. It seems like she has some experience when it comes to being cautious against possible threats. I suppose I should do this the old fashioned way.” He had a dagger at his hip; it was rather long and curved at the tip, resembling a crescent moon. Its main purpose was to be used to behead an enemy in a single swing, a perfect assassination tool.

Just as he was about to emerge from the bushes he was hiding behind, just in case so that she wouldn’t walk in on him, in order to sneak behind her and deliver a fatal blow to her neck from behind, he heard a strange noise.

“Oh YEAAAAH!” a very strange sound came from behind him, from on top of the tree that was above the bushes. Then a stream of hot liquid came splashing upon Tun’s body.

“Aaaggh” he tried to suppress the pain but it was almost impossible. His sole weakness- water has been doused on him from such a close distance. It has managed to touch right half of his face, most of his upper body and entire right arm. Due to the fact his body consisted of poison and fire, naturally adding water to the mix had horrifying consequences. The areas on his body splashed by water burned without stopping. The pain spreading throughout his entire body was unbearable, so much that he ended up running away while screaming in pain.

His screaming of course alerted Akjan who was keeping watch and woke up the rest of the Tengu clan.

“I heard a noise, what is going on?” a sleepy clan member asked Akjan.

“I don’t know, I thought I saw someone running away from here.” Akjan’s eyes opened wide. “Wait, it couldn’t have been assassins?” She looked at Shaula and Aijasyl who despite being woken up were on full alert mode.

All three of them exclaimed “REN!”

“Without a doubt, if it was an assassin, he would target Ren, our leader.” Shaula said with horror.

“Where is Ren, in the name of Great Ones, if an assassins did something to him I will find and kill them!” Aijasyl voiced her anger at the prospect of Ren’s death, something she couldn’t imagine happening. Ever since he rescued her, Ren found a special place in Aijasyl’s heart. She was not about to lose him.

“What happened to Boss?!” Orin was armed with spikes on all four of his arms. “He is not inside the tent. Where is he? Is he alright?”

“I don’t know… Ren! Where are you? Ren!!!” Akjan desperately called out to her beloved one’s name. She was afraid, afraid that she might have lost him for good. He might not realize it, but to her Ren meant everything. Just thinking of harm befalling upon him pained her heart enormously. ‘Please, please be alright, please answer me.’

As if to answer the calls of the worried Tengu clan members, a voice sounded out.

“Oh, hey guys what’s up?” It was Ren, sitting about seven meters high up on top of the tree, now zipping up his pants in the groin area.

“Ren. What in the world are you doing there?” Aijasyl said in a cold voice. It was obvious her anger was born of worrying. But the murderous nature of her aura although justified was extremely fearsome. Her face seemed to say ‘Give my concerns back!’

“I don’t know, I was just sleeping. Then I found myself on top of this tree, having some urgent business to take care of. Luckily I finished right before you arrived.” Apparently his bladder was full, so he unconsciously walked out of the tent and climbed the tree in order to take a leak.

The Tengu clan members understood perfectly what he was implying. Their expressions were varied. Aijasyl’s green hair seemed to be rising upwards in waves of her anger, Akjan was meekly smiling with embarrassed expression, Orin just put his upper left hand on his face as if to say ‘Good grief.’, Shaula was looking at Ren only from the sides of her eyes not willing to look at him in the eyes. Kizilkoz was the only one who was thinking “What kind of business is he talking about?” other clan members who understood the implication were embarrassed while the ones that did not stood in confusion.

The assassin arrived back to the Altyn clan’s camping ground, greatly injured. When asked about what happened he replied that he was attacked from behind by water user. His right arm was completely burnt, while his face suffered the worst injuries. His once golden right eye was now nonfunctional white, his entire face except for area around his left eye looked like a bark of a rough tree. Even with the healing ointments and curing flames, the injuries to his skin were irreparable. Unlike a pure Phoenix clan member he did not possess the ability to regenerate limitlessly, but the flames could help him heal, albeit slowly. Even with the flames, the injuries hurt.

He told them that he managed to poison at least three clans before targeting the Tengu clan. He told them how he was struck from behind when he was targeting a Tengu clan member. The Altyn clan’s suspicion was confirmed- Tengu clan had some nerve not to be put down even after all the beat downs they received from Altyn clan in the past. Due to the assassin’s report the Altyn clan now had a mistaken assumption that Tengu clan has a powerful water magic user among their ranks. Assassin just nodded in agreement, too embarrassed to admit that he was caught off guard by someone taking a leak. Just like that, another strange rumor about the Tengu clan was created.